My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic “Amending Fences” Review

One of the greatest things about My Little Pony is its reliance on character development and continuity. Unlike shows like Spongebob or Uncle Grandpa, the characters mature as they learn life-retaining lessons. Most episodic cartoons don’t have any kind of continuity, but things that happen in MLP have an effect later on. “Amending Fences” is a perfect example. Way back in “Friendship is Magic Part 1” (episode 1, 5 years ago!) a trio of friends ask Twilight to come to a party. The latter declines, saying she has to do something. This plot is revisited here. What we have is a great episode which takes a look at the themes of fixing past friendships, realizing decisions can have longterm effects on people, and what it means to be a true friend.

Here’s the official description from Discovery Family:

When Twilight realizes what a bad friend she was before moving to Ponyville, she and Spike return to Canterlot to make amends to her former friends.

5 years later, this scene is revisited

Twilight Sparkle has always been the main character of the show. When it comes down to it, the show is in essence about her realizing her destiny as the Princess of Friendship. This episode could be one of her most important yet as we see she desperately wants to rekindle her friendship with Moon Dancer. First however, the trio of Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twingleshine deserve praise for being such great characters to have around. The voice actresses, especially for Minuette, were fantastic. The dialogue between Twilight and them was a lot of fun to watch. I hope they get to appear again in a future story.

The core of the story focuses on Twilight’s attempts to fix her old friendship with Moon Dancer. The latter represents someone whom at one time was hurt by another she considered to be a best friend and thus wants nothing to do with friendships in general. It all comes together in the climax when we see the extent of Twilight’s decision not to attend the party how much it hurt Moon. It’s quite emotional, in fact it’s one of the most emotional scenes of the entire series. It gets one thinking that it’s important not to take a friendship for granted. You never know how a decision can affect another person. Moon Dancer is also an interesting idea since Twilight could have been like that if the latter had not ventured out into Ponyville and learned the value of friendships.

Adding Pinkie Pie was an excellent touch and brought some cheer. (If only there were more people like her whom is concerned about the welfare of others!) M.A. Larson is one of the show’s most well-known writers, and he brings quality writing throughout the episode. Spike’s role is perfect. He isn’t overbearing that he becomes a focus yet he’s in it enough to escape being a background character. The use of flashbacks was fantastic and provide insight into the present day.

Overall, M.A. Larson delivers one of the best episodes of Season 5 yet. Twilight stories are usually great, and this episode is definitely top tier. The climax is incredibly done and is what bumps up the score to perfection. Twilight’s old friends are fun and engaging, especially Minuette. It’s hard to ask for a better episode on the 4th of July!