My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1/E24 Owl's Well That Ends Well

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Twirling your Badass Mustache? Check. Nice Hat? Check. Black Cloak? Check. Evil Laugh? Check, check, check.

Spike: Uhh... hi there. I'm Spike. I'm sure Twilight has told you all about me.
Owloysius: Hoo?

Written by Cindy Morrow

Spike and Twilight are getting ready for the meteor shower which happens every 100 years, and when Twilight asks Spike for an astronomy book, Spike goes to get it, only to accidentally burn the pages away due to him sneezing from the dust. Rather than tell Twilight the truth, he tells Twilight someone else must have checked out the book. They arrive at the spot where they meet with their friends, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike enjoys being admired as "Twilight's #1 assistant". He eventually falls asleep during the party and Twilight takes him home. After getting Spike to bed, Twilight begins to write about meteors and a gust of wind blows away the paper. An owl grabs it for her, but when it's about to fly away, Twilight asks him to accompany her during the night.

When Spike wakes up the next morning, he notices the owl, now named Owloysius, now is helping him with the daily chores as the junior assistant. While Twilight leaves, she asks him to introduce himself to the owl. However, Spike gets suspicious and starts to get jealous at the possibility of being replaced, as Twilight shows off Owloysius to her friends and basically having most of his chores done by the owl, leaving Spike with little to do. Eventually, Twilight finds the book Spike burned by accident, and is angry and disappointed in him for lying to her. In response, Spike steals Opalescence's toy mouse, then tries to use ketchup and feathers to frame Owloysius as a mouse-killer. Twilight catches him in the act, and expresses her deepening disappointment by saying "This is not the Spike I know and love!"

Thinking Twilight hates him, Spike runs away to the Everfree Forest and takes refuge in a cave when it rains. He sees a lot of gemstones, only to later find the cave is occupied by a full grown dragon. Spike tries to have a friendly chat, but the dragon is more interested in frying him to a crisp. However, Owloysius shows up and distracts the dragon, and Spike is overjoyed when Twilight comes to rescue him. They escape with Owloysius taking point so they can see their way through the dark forest.

After everyone is safe, they discuss their issues. Twilight was worried about Spike running away; she tells him he'll always be her #1 assistant and friend, and that Owloysius is to help her at nighttime (so Spike can sleep)...not to be Spike's replacement. They both apologize, Spike for being jealous, and Twilight for not being more sensitive. Spike then apologizes to Owloysius for his jealousy, and learn that the two followed him to the cave because Owloysius noticed his ketchup-smeared footprints.

Spike decides to write the weekly letter to Princess Celestia, learning that telling lies and being jealous gets you nowhere, and there's a lot of love for everyone to go around. During the writing, he falls asleep.

Tropes

Spike: Twilight hates me. I'm cold and hungry, tired and lonely; could it get any worse?

(It starts to rain)

  • Dastardly Whiplash: Spike, as seen above, carries out his plan to set up Owloysius dressed as one of these. He even twirls his mustache.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The first episode with a plot centered around Spike.
  • Disappointed in You: Twilight to Spike after catching him in the act seen in the A Bloody Mess entry above
  • Evil Laugh: Spike gets one, complete with a Dastardly Whiplash getup.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Pinkie Pie's joke about how the punch is Spiked.
    • There's also the easy-to-miss shot of Spike briefly holding one of Twilight's frilly saddles like it's a pair of panties.
  • Got Me Doing It: Twilight Sparkle hears Spike mishear Owloysius's hoots as "Who?" enough that she does it herself at the end of the episode.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Spike suffers from this when he thinks the owl will replace him. (For bonus Stealth Pun points, he's literally a green-eyed monster!)
  • Harmless Villain: Spike stoops pretty low when he tries to make it look like Owloysius killed the mouse, but he gets caught way too quickly to cause any significant harm in doing so.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Spike's obviously in the wrong here, but you can't help but feel pity for him.
  • Ironic Echo Cut:

Twilight: Spike knows he can't be replaced.
(cut)
Spike: They're trying to replace me!

  • Mood Whiplash: The transition from Twilight gently praising Spike as he sleeps to angrily confronting him about the burnt astronomy book is very sudden and shocking.
  • Owl Be Damned: Spike suspects this of Owloysius, but then again, he's slightly biased.
  • Reality Is Unrealistic: It took time before some Bronies realized Owloysius was based on the real name Aloysius.
  • Rock Bottom: The classic "Can it get any worse?" accompanied by a sudden downpour.
  • The Runaway: Spike
  • Severely Specialized Store: When Spike needs a new quill, he goes straight to Ponyville's quills and sofas store.

Spike: But the store is called 'Quills and Sofas'. You only sell two things!
Store Owner: Sorry, Junior. All outta quills until Monday. [beat] Need a sofa?

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