The Golden Horseshoes

Doctorwhobox
serial_name=54-55 The Golden Horseshoes
writer=Carla Joseph Conway and Gerry Conway
series= Series 2
length=2 episodes
date=September 14-15, 1987
preceding=Spike's Search
following=Flight to Cloud Castle|

"The Golden Horseshoes" is the twenty-first serial in the United States children's television series "My Little Pony".

ynopsis

When a mysterious illness strikes the unicorn Mimic, the search is on to find the four Golden Horseshoes, scattered all around Ponyland - their ancient magic is her only hope.

Plot

Part 1

Spike is alarmed to discover the unicorn Mimic has fallen very ill become strangely transluscent. Megan decides the illness must be magical in nature, and with Wind Whistler, Lofty, Paradise, North Star and Spike, she flies to the Mushromp to consult the magical expertise of the Moochick. There, they are startled by what sounds like a large pack of wolves and rush inside.

Revealing the noise to be coming from a magic box he's created, the Moochic tells the story of the first unicorn, who lived in the land of Argyte. She possessed four golden horseshoes, which each granted a magic power: one to show the future, one to make a blazing light, one to read thoughts, and one to float like a cloud. She lost the shoes in a tornado, which carried her to Dream Valley and scattered the shoes throughout Ponyland. The Moochick supposes that Mimic is a descendant of that unicorn, and the horseshoes must be returned to her to restore her magic. He promises to look after Mimic while Megan's party looks for the horseshoes. Giving them the magic box, he directs them to the first horseshoe in Skree-ra.

At Skree-ra, North Star introduces her friends to Fleetfoot, leader of the Skree. The Skree are gamblers, using the future-telling horseshoe to ensure that they always make winning bets. When Fleetfoot says the Skree cannot part with the horseshoe, Wind Whistler challenges him to a footrace - if she wins, she gets the horseshoe, if he wins, she becomes his slave. Fleetfoot knows he'll win, but nevertheless the horseshoe is put on show at the end of the racetrack. When Fleetfoot outruns Wind Whister, Megan opens the magic box, and steals the horseshoe as the Skree hide from the noise.

When they're far away from Skree-ra, Megan uses the horseshoe to predict where they'll find the next - a place Paradise recognises as Blarkland. There, they meet the Blarks, large rats who collect junk and riddles. The king Blark offers the light-giving horseshoe in exchange for a riddle he's never heard before. Paradise recites the Riddle of the Sphinx. A Blark named Cracker finds the horseshoe in a huge, unstable pile of junk, and Paradise flies him to safety as it collapses and almost crushes him. As thanks, the Blark king orders a tunnel dug to the lair of the goblins, who stole the third horseshoe from the Blarks long ago. The Ponies attempt to sneak in, but come face to face with three enormous goblins armed with nets...

Part 2

The group scatters and hides, but the Goblins quickly capture Megan, Spike, North Star and Lofty, knowing their locations by reading their minds. Wind Whistler and Paradise, each wearing a horseshoe around her neck, appear to be shielded from the Goblin's magic and remain unnoticed.

The Goblins present their captives to their mother, who is pleased with the gifts, but greatly irritated by her sons' constant fighting. Wind Whistler and Paradise set the others free when the Goblins fall asleep, and North Star steals the horseshoe from the Goblin mother's neck. At first, she's outraged, but she soon realises that without it, her children are better able to get along.

Whizzer takes the Moochick back to his workshop to try and make some new horseshoes, but the magic is beyond him, and he succeeds only in creating a large explosion.

Lofty leads the way to the final horseshoe, high in the Mountain Elf kingdom. The gatekeeper explains that it's in the possession of the young elf May, and by Elven law only May herself may decide to hand it over. May is keen to show off the horseshoe's power, and flies the Ponies around the mountains. Megan suggests they fly to Dream Valley, and as soon as May sees Mimic, she realises the unicorn needs the horseshoe more than she does and surrenders it. When the four horseshoes are placed on Mimic's feet, she absorbs them and becomes fully opaque, her magic restored.

Notes

* Includes the songs 'All Through The Night' and 'We're Friendly With The Beasts'
* This is the final appearance of Megan, as well as the Moochick.
* This episode was made in the new animation style introduced in Spike's Search - most notably, the Little Ponies have a longer, more slender shape. The original style was resumed from the following episode, Flight to Cloud Castle.
* While Megan and the others look for the third horseshoe, Wind Whistler turns magenta for a second.
* When Whizzer offers to fly the Moochic back to his workshop, Cupcake, Truly and Galaxy are all shown with wings.
* Lofty has a horseshoe around her neck like the others right before they actually find the last horseshoe.
* In the German translation, this episode was titled Die goldenen Hufeisen

DVD Releases

* Region 1: Disc 2 of "The Quest of the Princess Ponies and Other Stories"
* Region 4: "Spike's Search & The Golden Horseshoes & Somnambula"

External links

* [http://dreamvalley-mlp.com/songs87-1.html#all_through_the_night Song lyrics]