My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ‘Inspiration Manifestation’ Review

I always get excited at the prospect of a Rarity episode, she seems to have consistently quality outings. From the classic ‘Suited for Success‘ to the more recent (and amazingly awesome) ‘Rarity Takes Manehatten,’ she has had quite a few great episodes. This one got some interesting hype. When you release a promo image with a pony having evil green eyes, hype is ensured. Is Rarity a Changeling? Is Queen Chrysalis back?? Sadly, those aren’t the cases. But what we do get is pretty solid nonetheless. It was interesting to see Rarity take on a more antagonistic role.

Here’s the official episode description from The Hub:

Rarity is suffering from a bad case of creator’s block when she is asked to help make designs for an upcoming fair. Spike tries to help out by using a magic spell he learned that will bring anything Rarity thinks of to life. But the spell works too well as Rarity starts to get carried away and tries to make everything in Ponyville fancy.

This wasn’t a classic like ‘Rarity Takes Manehatten,’ but it was definitely a lot of fun. (And much better than the previous episode, ‘Trade Ya!’) Spike was surprisingly a highlight. He hasn’t had really any great roles in the season, so it’s good to see him taking on a proactive part here. (He actually learns a lesson without looking too foolish.) This lesson is something that is applicable to everyone. If you see your friend is doing something you don’t think is right, then it’s your job to let them know about it. It’s amazing to this day how this show can evoke such emotion from the viewer. How can one not feel sad after Claude tells Rarity her invention is awful?

Rarity turning ‘evil’ was fun to watch. I do however think this plot could have been expanded a bit. There’s no information at all about the book. Who wrote it? What was it for really? The ending is also very anti-climatic. Spike’s speech was nice, but enough to actually whip out that energy from Rarity? Speaking of which, where did that energy go? There’s quite a few unexplained things, which may have benefited from a two-parter. Think about it: wouldn’t it have been great to see Rarity completely go the other way and the other ponies have to journey and stop her, in the process gaining information on that infamous book?  Still the ending wasn’t terrible, just a little disappointing. Oh, and having Owlowiscious throughout the episode making Spike realize the truth was an excellent touch, definitely his best role since his first appearance back in Season 1.

Overall, a solid episode. ‘Inspiration Manifestation‘ has some cool concepts, though sadly a few are left unexplained. Despite that, it’s a lot of fun. Spike actually has a solid role, and watching Rarity never gets old. The background music was also a surprising highlight, it actually makes the episode have an epic feel.