Crunch the Rockdog

Doctorwhobox
serial_name=43-44 Crunch the Rockdog
writer=Linda Woolverton
series= Series 1
length=2 episodes
date=November 12-13, 1986
preceding=Baby, It's Cold Outside
following=The Revolt of Paradise Estate|

"Crunch the Rockdog" is the fourteenth serial in the United States children's television series "My Little Pony".

ynopsis

A vicious dog carved from rock charges through Ponyland, turning everything it encounters to stone.

Plot

Part 1

Paradise reaches the end of a story she's reading aloud - a pony named Valentine bids a tearful goodbye to her friend as he rides off into the sunset. The story makes Gusty, Buttons and Truly sentimental, but Wind Whistler simply questions the logic of leaving for a long journey at sunset. Gusty accuses Wind Whistler of having no feelings, which quite upsets her.

Outside, the Bushwoolies are chased by Crunch, a huge dog made from living stone. Ranting all the while about how much he hates soft, nice things, he catches many of the Bushwoolies, and turns them to stone with a single touch. One Bushwoolie manages to reach the Paradise Estate and warn the Little Ponies. Gusty wants to charge in and attack it, but Wind Whistlers insists that a calm approach is needed.

Megan, Danny and the Little Ponies head to the Mushromp to seek the Moochic's advise. He tells them to speak to His Elevated Eminence in the Purple Mountains. On the way there, they find Crunch chasing a single Bushwoolie. The Bushwoolie with Megan charges in to help, but Crunch catches them both and turns them to stone. Danny leaps out from hiding and tells Crunch he's a bad dog, ordering him to sit. Crunch just laughs, and with their cover blown, the Little Ponies make a run for it. Crunch sends an army of living boulders after them, which Gusty tries to fend off with a dust storm, to no effect. She turns and runs straight into Crunch, who as he turns her to stone laughs that he'd like her to stick around forever...

Part 2

Truly wants revenge on Crunch for turning Gusty to stone, but Wind Whistler knows there's nothing they can do and they must keep going. As the others run ahead, Buttons draws the living boulders to the edge of a cliff by strategically winking in and out, then uses her telekinesis to make the ground crumble beneath them. She catches up to the others at the Purple Mountain, where a booming voice introducing itself as His Elevated Eminence - the Purple Mountain is alive. His Elevated Eminence explains he created Crunch to guard the Heart Stone, which sits deep inside him. He made the mistake however of giving the Rockdog no emotions. It opens a rock tunnel, and asks the group to retrieve the Heart Stone and use it to stop Crunch.

As soon as Megan removes the Heart Stone from its place, the mountain begins to shake, and His Elevated Eminence roars at them to get out - without the Heart Stone he now has no emotions. They race back out the way they came, narrowly avoiding burial in a rockfall - and find Crunch outside, waiting for them. Truly angrily rushes at Crunch, and Buttons, Megan and Danny warn her to stay back, but Wind Whistler encourages her, loudly announcing that she doesn't care what happens to the other 'romantic idiots'. Crunch calls her bluff, turning Truly to stone, and Wind Whistler responds by picking up Megan, carrying her to Crunch for 'his next victim'. When she's close, Megan points the Heart Stone at Crunch, and it transforms him into a small puppy of flesh and blood, while also restoring everything he turned to stone.

As Truly, Gusty and the Bushwoolies celebrate their freedom, Megan breaks off a tiny piece of the Heart Stone and places it in a locket around Crunch's neck. Crunch turns back into a Rockdog, but with the attitude of a friendly puppy. He leads Danny into the Purple Mountain to replace the Heart Stone, restoring His Elevated Eminence to a benign state. Buttons and Truly apologise to Wind Whistler, realising her logical approach saved them where their rash action failed.

Notes

* Includes the songs 'I Hate Soft' and 'It's Wonderful To Have A Heart'
* In the fantasy sequence at the beginning, Valentine appears with the hairy feet and neck scarf associated with male ponies, though Paradise says she's female. "Her" companion, the obviously female yellow earth pony, is said to be the male.
* The beginning of this episode features what appears to be Baby Buttons. This was probably an animation error, as Baby Buttons is never mentioned anywhere else in the series, and no Baby Buttons toy was ever released in the United States. One was released in Germany and Austria.
* In the song "I Hate Soft," Hugster the Bushwoolie is shown escaping, even though it's supposed to be Wishful that escapes!
* When Truly is turned into stone, sometimes her hat is stone too, other times it's fabric.
* A few seconds after Megan breaks off part of the Heart Stone and gives it to Crunch, the Heart Stone itself is whole again.

DVD Releases

* Region 1: Disc 4 of "My Little Pony: The Complete First Season"
* Region 2 (German): "Kransch der Felsenhund"
* Region 4: "Bright Lights & Crunch the Rockdog"

External links

* [http://dreamvalley-mlp.com/songs86-4.html#i_hate_soft Song lyrics]