Through the Door

Doctorwhobox
serial_name=47-48 Through the Door
writer=David Wise
series= Series 1
length=2 episodes
date=November 18 & 19, 1986
preceding=The Revolt of Paradise Estate
following=The Quest of the Princess Ponies|

"Through The Door" is the sixteenth serial in the United States children's television series "My Little Pony".

ynopsis

A door is opened to the world of fairy tales, and the ponies meet such legends as Robin Hood, Aladdin's genie and Hercules.

Plot

Part 1

North Star, Lofty and Paradise are flying through the unexplored mountains of Ponyland when they discover a huge golden door, with a sign warning 'Keep Out'. North Star wants to barge on through, but Paradise warns her not to, suggesting it might be The Golden Door. This, legend would have it, is the gateway to the Land of Legends, where the most fearsome monster ever known was long ago banished by a sorcerer. As soon as Paradise is gone, North Star sneaks a peek through the door, but sees nothing of interest and gives up. As she flies off with Lofty, and arrow flies past their heads, fired by none other than Robin Hood, who steps through the door and introduces himself. He is quickly followed by his Merry Men, as well as Paul Bunyan with his ox, Aladdin with his lamp, Rapunzel, Scheherazade, and finally Hercules, who frantically closes the door, shouting 'it's after us!'.

Back at Dream Valley, Heart Throb laments that she lacks a true love, and Paradise assures her she'll meet someone soon - just as Prince Charming appears. He professes his undying love for Heart Throb, and she agrees to be with him forever - but within seconds, his 'one true love' becomes Paradise, and then Galaxy. Hercules gets to work cleaning up the Paradise Estate, and Scheherazade teaches the Baby Ponies the Dance of the Seven Veils. Lickety-Split sets Aladdin's genie to work, asking him to grant her perfect weather for her picnic - but he reponds with a bombardment of questions about exactly what the conditions of a 'perfect' day would be.

Unable to find her beloved Prince Charming, Heart Throb stumbles across the Golden Door, and walks right in, leaving the way open for the monster to invade Ponyland...

Part 2

As Robin Hood instructs North Star in archery, he misses a shot, much to his alarm. Likewise, Hercules finds himself unable to lift the Paradise Estate, and Prince Charming discovers a wrinkle on his face. At her wit's end with the genie, Lickety-Split switches to wishing for a giant ice-cream cone, with Wind Whistler supplying the required level of fanatical detail. They're delighted with the result, until it topples and looks to crush them - but it vanished before it hits the ground. With the door open, each of the legendary characters is losing their unique magic.

Heart Throb is disgusted to find the Land of Legends is a barren wasteland, its building crumbling to dust. Paradise meanwhile flies over the rainbow to Megan, who discovers that all of the books in the her bedroom are now blank. Bringing her back to Dream Valley, Paradise introduces Megan to Robin Hood, but they're interrupted by the arrival of the monster. The legendary characters cower inside the Paradise Estate, but the Baby Ponies stand up to the monster, which leaves him weeping - it too is less effective outside the Land of Legends.

Heart Throb arrives and tells Prince Charming she's not surprised that he doesn't want to go back to the Land of Legends while it's falling apart. The legendary characters are alarmed, as this wasn't happening before they left. Megan tells them they must all pass back through the Golden Door, but the other legends refuse to take the monster with him. The monster pleads that he was born into his role as much as the heroes were. Megan reasons that the monster is an essential part of the legends, and they finally agree to return to the Land of Legends together, closing the Golden Door. North Star misses her new friends, but takes solace in reading of their adventures in Megan's books, knowing that they'll now live on forever.

Notes

* Features the songs 'There's a Prince in Your Future' and 'Born to be a Monster'
* When Lofty and North Star introduce themselves to Robin Hood, they switch voices (Lofty has a British accent, North Star has an American accent). Not only that, but they trade places a lot too.
* In the scene where Lofty and North Star switch voices, Lickety-Split is standing beside North Star for one second.
* When Scheherazade teaches the baby ponies her dance, Baby Cuddles looks like a unicorn.
* When Hercules gets weak and drops Paradise Estate, Buttons stands near the doorway while she should be with Lickety-Split and Wind Whistler helping the genie grant Lickety-Split's wish.
* Shady and Posey suddenly show up at the picnic scene in Part Two.
* Heart Throb flies through the door twice-one time in Part One, and one time in Part Two.
* In the picnic scene, Wind Whistler and Lickety-Split switch bodies, making Lickety-Split a Pegasus and Wind Whistler an Earth Pony.
* One of the Sea Ponies Prince Charming sweet-talks is Beachcomber, making her only appearance in the series apart from two shots in The Magic Coins, and a single shot in The Ghost of Paradise Estate.
* Heart Throb can be seen without wings in the audience watching the Legends leave.
* The French translation is titled Au-delà de la porte d'oz - 'Beyond the Door of Oz'

DVD Releases

* US (Region 1): Disc 4 of "My Little Pony: The Complete First Season"
* Australia (Region 4): "Through The Door & Sweet Stuff and the Treasure Hunt & Pony Puppy & Would Be Dragonslayer"For foreign language DVDs, see My Little Pony DVD releases.

External links

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