Happy Hearts and Hooves Day… any love potions made by the Cutie Mark Crusaders notwithstanding. The instant I realized what Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were planning – which would be the moment I saw the
extended summary for this episode – I found myself caught somewhere between laughing myself silly and gulping in sheer fear for Ponyville. That feeling only shot higher once I saw
how those three fillies got that particular idea.:
Apple Bloom: (kicking pebble aside) Do you think it just wasn’t romantic enough?
Scootaloo: Maybe it was
too romantic.
Sweetie Belle: (sighing in dejection) Either way, we failed.
Apple Bloom: (sighing similarly) There’s gotta be something else we ca—
(Cutie Mark Crusaders crashing into Twilight Sparkle, who’s reading new, presumably romance-related book)
Twilight: Oh, my goodness. I didn’t even see you there. I’m so, so sorry.
Apple Bloom: Oh, it’s okay, Twilight. It was an accident.
Twilight: I’ve just been reading the most fascinating book about Hearts and Hooves Day. Did you know that this holiday got its start because of a love potion?
(Cutie Mark Crusaders getting new idea, then sliding under Twilight)
Sweetie Belle: Did you say “a love potion”?
Twilight: That’s right. It even has the recipe. (flipping to appropriate page)
Sweetie Belle: I don’t suppose we could borrow that book for a little while, do ya?
Twilight: Of course you can. (handing book to Cutie Mark Crusaders, then turning back to bag with Elements of Harmony book) I have another book here that I think you’ll— (looking down to see that Cutie Mark Crusaders have already run off)
If it helps, the “excessive speculation” that I wished to avoid with a show like this included romance-oriented scenarios, so I would be just fine if Big Macintosh and Cheerilee decided that they were better off either staying as good friends or hanging out more often as a couple. Speaking personally, I may have a few memories floating through my mind in the wake of these reflections, but perhaps that’ll be for another time. I’d call “Hearts and Hooves Day” a hilariously awkward, if not also vice-versa, episode rolling around mere days before Valentine’s Day.