Stare Master

Dear Princess Celestia (CC: Princess Luna)...

Wow, 17 episodes left, including this one, and I will be done with Friendship is Magic. =[ Early on, I wanted to race through it, planning to do two episodes at least a night. Then it turned out I was lucky to get even one done a night, sometimes two. Now I've picked up the pace again, but it's because I want to actually watch them. Show has definitely grown on me, going from a conscientious objector as I deemed myself in my first posts here, to what many would probably consider a 'brony' or 'pegasister.' I like it. =]

At Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle is trying to help out her big sister, Rarity, who just tells her to stand someplace out of the way. Sweetie Belle tries to get ribbon, up on a high shelf, and manages to trash Rarity's workplace as the falling ribbon triggers a series of unfortunate events.

"The good news? The ribbon is off the shelf now."

Sweetie Belle begs to help Rarity clean up, saying she thought if she helped she might get her cutie mark.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are actually kind of tragic, as almost everything they do, they are just doing to try and get their marks.

Fluttershy rings the doorbell and enters, bringing back Rarity's pet cat, Opalescence, from her grooming. Rarity doesn't understand how Fluttershy does it, as her own pet attacks her if she gets near.

"I ought to give you a cauliflower ear!"

Rarity asks if Fluttershy used 'the stare' on Opal. Fluttershy says she can't control when she uses it, it just happens, and that she's just good with animals is all. Rarity comments that her cutie mark should be of Opal instead of butterflies, Sweetie Belle is intrigued and runs near Opal, hoping she might get a mark for being good with animals.

Opal disagrees.

Rarity says she 'bit off more than she could chew' and needs to make 20 robes for a Trottingham client ASAP. She even has a special golden silk she painstakingly made. The other Crusaders come rushing in and cheer up Sweetie Belle. They are having a sleepover at Rarity's that night. Sweetie Belle shows off her cape she made, which has the crest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and is lined with Rarity's precious golden silk.

Not quite as badass a symbol as it could be, but it works.

"No, no, no, no, no! That better not be what I think it is!"

Sweetie Belle used up the last of Rarity's golden silk, and Rarity cancels the sleepover, since she will have to work all night and won't be able to watch them.

"We done goofed...." "Consequences will never be the same..."

Fluttershy foolishly offers to take them for the night. She says it won't be a problem, Rarity asks if Fluttershy has met the Crusaders, because a problem is all it would be. Fluttershy says she can take care of small animals like Opal, she can handle the sweet little angels that are the Crusaders. Rarity consents, but has obvious misgivings about it as the Crusaders and Fluttershy run out of her home.

Well, they are Crusaders, of course they're holy.

They literally run into Twilight Sparkle out in the streets and go play near a well. Fluttershy was saying her plans for the evening, which included a tea party, braiding each others tails, sitting quietly and coloring, and telling fairy tales. The Crusaders probably didn't even hear, as they left her in the dust.

Twilight and Fluttershy talk, and Twilight is impressed that Fluttershy is going to take on three fillies all by herself. Fluttershy still doesn't think it will be a problem. Twilight says she's going into the Everfree Forest to see Zecora the zebra to get some tea. Fluttershy is alarmed, and tells her to be careful.

Later that evening, the Crusaders are going berserk in Fluttershy's house, throwing things around and letting loose a barrage of rapid-fire questions.

"I must think calm comforting things, butterfly wings. Emerald rings. Or a murmuring brook. Murmuring, murmuring, murmuring..."

Fluttershy tries to calm them down, asking them what game they want to play. They say they are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they want to crusade for their cutie marks! Or the want to adventure in the Everfree forest. Fluttershy says oh my, no, the forest is full of strange creatures. The Crusaders say she could help them capture them, so they would be Cutie Mark Crusader Creature Catchers.

"You can lure them out, then we'll beat 'em with our whoopin' sticks!"

Scootaloo puts a wicker basket on her head, grabs up a rug  and puts it around herself and Applebloom, then they start playing Everfree Forest creature and Creature Catcher. They run around playing, eventually breaking a table, somehow.

"It's fubar." "What's 'fubar?'" "It's Germane." "Oh, never heard of that."

They apologize to Fluttershy and accept that they aren't Creature Catchers. Applebloom says maybe they can be Cutie Mark Crusader Carpenters.

"We can rebuilt it. We have the technology. The wrong technology as we have medical gear, but still."

 The results are... as to be expected when the Crusaders are involved. Scootaloo didn't even know they were trying to remake a table.

"Fubar." "Fubar." "I looked up 'fubar' in the Germane dictionary and there's no fubar in there!"

Fluttershy suggests they play a game called 'Shhh' where you have to remain quiet the longest, and she is the world champion. The Crusaders immediately talk and lose on purpose.

"This game sounds lame, I forfeit!"

They start rampaging around her house again, even going up into the chimney to be Cutie Mark Crusader Coal Miners. Fluttershy puts the kibosh on that, and tries to put them to bed. The Crusaders are upset because they had planned on crusading much more than they did, and can't get their marks if they're asleep. Fluttershy says maybe they'll see their talent in a dream.

Aww.

Fluttershy starts singing them a nice, calm, lullaby.

"Ooh! I know this song, but you're singing it all wrong!"

Sweetie Belle says she knows that one and wants to sing along. The other Crusaders instinctively cover their ears. Sweetie Belle turns it up to 11 and belts out her version of Hush Now, Quiet Now.

"Just try and sleep now!"

Sweetie Belle's singing woke up Fluttershy's chickens. The Crusaders hear them and instantly rush down there, becoming Cutie Mark Crusader Chicken Herders. Fluttershy flies down and pleas for some kind of sanity. Her 'stare' power activates and mesmerizes the chickens, getting them back in the coop. The Crusaders agree to go to bed and not do any more crusading.

We see the stare in action.

As soon as Fluttershy leaves the room, they start discussing their new crusades. Sweetie Belle nixes the 'cottage cleaners' idea. They see one of the chickens may have gotten loose and Cutie Mark Crusader Chicken Rescuers are green lit. They don their capes and sneak out, right past Fluttershy who is talking to herself about how good she is with kids and how nothing gets past her. Scootaloo catches her cape on a fence post and rips a chunk out of it.

Fluttershy realizes it's too quiet, and checks upstairs, sees they are gone, starts panicking. She checks the chicken coop and sees a chicken is missing, Elizabeak. She sees the chicken tracks and hoof(?)/horseshoe(?) trails leading into the Everfree Forest. She says they really bit off more than they could chew, and that she really bit off more than she can chew by agreeing to watch them, then goes into the forest after them.

"Every ponies bit off more than they can chew.. Oh my! Even the creatures that are eating them right now!"

Scootaloo and Applebloom start bickering with each other over how to call  chicken. Sweetie Belle yells at them, then they try to get cutie marks for arguing and of course, nothing.

Fluttershy freaks herself out by stepping on a branch and backing into a tree. She sprints ahead and thinks she sees Twilight. The clouds over the moon part and reveal it is Twilight, but she's been petrified. Fluttershy is scared for the Crusader's safety and flies off, overcoming her fears of the forest.

Rest in peace, Twilight. =[

Scootaloo and Applejack are still arguing. Sweetie Belle has enough and tells them to knock it off, and wonders what the cutie mark for arguing would even look like. I would presume it would be something lawyer-y.

Fluttershy finds them and tries to get them out of there, explaining that a cockatrice is on the loose. A creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a snake that destroys any non-wall creatures blocking or blocked by it. The Crusaders think a cockatrice is silly and boast how they would laugh at it if they ever saw it. Fluttershy tries to warn them to never look one in the eyes, when the chicken runs out.

"A cock-a-what? I'd punch it in the face and tie the long hair on his head to the short hair on his tail and kick him down the street!"

The chicken jumps into a bush and suddenly they see what looks to be another chicken too. The cockatrice leaps out, and turns Elizabeak to stone. The Crusaders run, tripping over something that turns out to be Twilight Sparkle.

"WHO'S CALLING ME SILLY NOW?!?!?"

Fluttershy is being amazingly calm even though one of her closest friends lies 'dead' on the ground and there is an evil creature hunting them. The cockatrice moves in for the kill. Fluttershy is still being super calm and collected, ordering the Crusaders behind her, making sure they are okay, then doing the impossible: staring down a cockatrice.

"Who do you think you are?"

The cockatrice started petrifying her, but was no match for 'the stare.' She orders the cockatrice to un-petrify her friends and to never do anything like that again. The petrification shatters off of Fluttershy and she makes sure the Crusaders are alright.

"Without me, personally, every wise guy still around, will come and take a piece out of your cockatrice hide! Then where you gonna go, tough guy?"

 The Crusaders are astonished, and proclaim her the queen of stares, or the Stare Master. They apologize for running off and vow to always listen to her. Fluttershy says they better, or she'll use 'the stare' on them.

"Don't look at her, whatever you do!"

They all start laughing, and Twilight wanders over dazedly.

"Why did I wake up covered in snail goo?"

The next day, Twilight is writing a letter to Celestia about what went down. She tells Fluttershy she was wrong and Fluttershy really does know how to handle the Crusaders.

"Wow! Twilight admitted she was wrong? D-did I die last night? Am I in heaven?"

Fluttershy admits she learned the hard way not to bite off more than she can chew, and that just because she's good with animals, doesn't mean she's good with kids. Rarity arrives, saying she finished her robes and got them delivered. Which tells us that Trottingham can't be that far from Ponyville. Or, Rarity used magic to deliver them, teleporting to some far off location and back in seconds.

"Jawohl, Herr Stare Master!"

Rarity tells the girls to get their things, but they are just running wild. Fluttershy calmly says, "Girls." and they immediately line up, ready for instructions. They quickly go get their things after Fluttershy asks them, Rarity is dumbstruck. Fluttershy winks at Twilight, saying she's just as good with kids as she is with animals. Rarity asks for her help with Opal, Fluttershy agrees and asks when, Rarity turns, exposing Opal digging into her flank with her claws. The episode ends as Twilight and Fluttershy laugh at Rarity's predicament.

"Oh, Rarity, what a maroon!"

What I learned from this episode:

• Not only are there magical powers, there appears to be...mutant? powers as well. Fluttershy can not only talk with animals, but her stare can bend them to her will. That actually makes a lot of sense. It explains why Pinkie Pie can do the Bugs Bunny antics she does, and has her Pinkie Sense. It also evens the playing field a little in the Unicorn vs Pegasus vs Earth Pony battles. An average Unicorn will still have way more spells at their disposal, but an exceptional pegasus with say Cyclops style laser eyes would add a whole new element.
• Cockatrice are confirmed to be real, and evil, exposing another dark aspect of the Ponyverse.
• Does Fluttershy ever watch the Crusaders again? I can't remember any S2 episodes with that happening but I could be wrong.
• The Crusaders would be pretty fun to 'fillysit', in moderation anyway, since they have such a zeal for getting their marks they're just non-stop action. Your home would probably get trashed though.