The Prince and the Ponies

Doctorwhobox
serial_name=61 The Prince and the Ponies
writer=David Wise
series= Series 2
length=1 episode
date= September 23, 1987
preceding=Somnambula
following=|

"The Prince and the Ponies" is the twenty-fifth and final serial in the United States children's television series "My Little Pony".

ynopsis

The ponies are delighted to be invited to dine with royalty - until they discover they are to be kept as royal pets.

Plot

The Little Ponies receive a royal invitation to dine at the Palace du Branforr, with the Newborn Twins as guests of honour. The First Tooth Babies become quite jealous when they realise they'll be staying behind at the Paradise Estate.

In the palace, the Little Ponies check out the bedroom where they'll be staying, and are shocked by the arrival of a young girl, Suzette. She asks for their help to find her missing brother, and then disappears as a butler arrives to announce dinner is served.

As the adult Ponies dine with the Duchess, the Newborn Twins fall asleep. The Duchess' butlers take them away, saying they'll leave them in the Ponies' room. When dinner is over, the Ponies find the baby buggies, but no sign of the twins themselves. Before they can search, the Duchess' guards arrive, placing them under arrest and locking them in the dungeon.

The jealous First Tooth Babies run to the castle, determined to wreck the party. They gleefully imagine the Newborn Twins being used as pets.

In the dungeon, the adult Ponies meet Prince Phillipe du Branforr, Suzette's brother and the palace's rightful ruler. He explains that the Duchess was really his scullery maid before she usurped him and locked him up. As their guard sleeps, Buttons uses her magic to remove his belt and give Phillipe the keys. Opening the cell, he leads them to escape through a secret tunnel - but on the other side, they encounter the palace guards, and a chase ensues.

The First Tooth Babies are let into the palace by Suzette, and she shows them that the Duchess' daughter actually has turned the Newborn Twins into pets, which was the whole reason for the royal invitation. Angered, the babies arm themselves with fencing swords and take on the palace guards, as Phillipe and the adult Ponies attack from the other side. Together, they go to confront the Duchess. The guards recover and follow them, but Phillipe points out the Duchess' cruelty to the Newborn Twins and asserts his authority as true ruler. The guards force the Duchess back to the scullery along with her daughter, and Phillipe is returned to his rightful place on the throne.

Notes

* Features the song 'Ooh, Those Newborn Twins'
* The sixth First Tooth Baby, Baby Fifi, does not appear, although she featured in The Ice Cream Wars. This is quite odd, as she would have fit in perfectly with her French accent.
*Spike is the only character to appear throughout the entire My Little Pony series. He first appeared in the pilot episode and continued to feature until his brief appearance in this episode. Megan also appeared in the pilot, but made her last appearance in The Golden Horseshoes, six episodes before the series ended.
*Molly did appear in the second season, but only briefly (in Spike's Search). She had her last regular appearance in The Magic Coins.
*Of the Little Ponies, Posey and Heart Throb had the longest run, being introduced in Escape From Catrina and last appearing here.
*The flutter ponies and baby sea ponies never appeared in the second season. The flutter ponies last showed up in The Return of Tambelon and the sea ponies in Through the Door.
* In the German translation, this episode was titled Gefahr für die Baby-Zwillinge - 'Danger for the Baby Twins'.

DVD Availability

* US (Region 1): "Flight To Cloud Castle and Other Stories"
* Australia (Region 4): "The Prince and the Ponies & Rescue From Midnight Castle & Escape From Catrina"

External links

* [http://www.dreamvalley-mlp.com/songs87-2.html#those_newborn_twins Song lyrics]