My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1/E17 Stare Master



"Scootaloo: We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Apple Bloom: And we wanna crusade for our cutie marks!

Sweetie Belle: And we... um... yeah, what they said!"

"Written by Chris Savino"

Rarity's got a big order to fill at her boutique, and her little sister Sweetie Belle keeps getting underhoof. Fluttershy shows up to drop off a freshly-groomed Opalescence, but things get hectic again when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo show up for the big Cutie Mark Crusader Sleepover the girls have been planning, and Sweetie Belle shows off the capes she'd made for her and her friends. Unfortunately, said capes were made with the special gold fabric Rarity had been using, forcing the frazzled unicorn to pull an all-nighter to get the order done, and preventing her from chaperoning the sleepover. Fortunately for the CMC, Fluttershy volunteers to let them stay at her house, despite warnings from both Rarity and Twilight that the Crusaders might be more than Fluttershy can handle.

This quickly proves to be the case, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders proceed to turn Fluttershy's house upside down with their efforts at finding their special talent and making their cutie marks appear. Nothing seems to work, whether it's Cutie Mark Crusader Chimney Cleaners, Cutie Mark Crusader Creature-Catchers, or Cutie Mark Crusader Carpenters, and poor Fluttershy is run ragged trying (and failing) to calm them down; the Crusaders prove to be even too savvy to fall for the "Shh" game trick.

"Fluttershy: I'm the world champ, you know. I bet you can't beat me! (grins sheepishly and then holds her breath) (Beat) Scootaloo: I lose! Sweetie Belle: Me too! Apple Bloom: Me three!"

Finally, Fluttershy tries to put the Crusaders to bed with a lullaby, but Sweetie Belle insists in joining in, and as good a singer as Sweetie is, her version is rather more energetic and a good deal louder, loud enough to startle Fluttershy's chickens out back. The Cutie Mark Crusader Chicken-Herders try (and fail) to round up the birds, and Fluttershy is forced to use "The Stare" on the chickens to subdue them and get them back in the coop.

Later that night, the Crusaders are just settling down for bed (or so they let Fluttershy think), when they notice one of Fluttershy's chickens has broken loose and wandered off...into the Everfree Forest. They sneak out to chase down the wayward chicken, but Fluttershy quickly discovers they're gone and tries to track them down. Then Fluttershy runs into Twilight, who had earlier gone to visit Zecora...only to discover her Unicorn friend has been turned to stone!

Turns out there's a cockatrice on the loose. When Fluttershy tries to warn them, however, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are dismissive of the beast based on its silly-sounding description.

"Apple Bloom: Why, if I ever saw one of them cock-a-thingies face-to-face, I'd laugh at how silly it was!"

They quickly change their tune after witnessing the beast turn its petrifying powers on Fluttershy's chicken... followed by it going after them! Fortunately, Fluttershy is able to use "The Stare" to not only scare off the beast, but brow-beat it into turning Twilight and the chicken back to normal, earning her the respect and gratitude of the Crusaders. The next day, all is well, Fluttershy has learned her lesson about biting off more than you can chew, and Twilight has learned once again not to underestimate Fluttershy.

Tropes (YMMV items can be found here).
"Hush now, quiet now, lay your sleepy head!!! Hush now, quiet now, IT'S TIME TO GO TO BEEEEEEEEEED~!!!"
 * Absentee Actor: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike are nowhere to be seen in this episode.
 * Pinkie Pie might not count, as while the character is absent, her (voice) actor is prominently there as Fluttershy.
 * A Day in the Limelight: This episode mainly focuses on Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
 * Alliteration: Everyone of the Crusader's new jobs begins with "C" - Creature Catchers, Carpenters, Coalminers, Chicken Herders, Carpet Cleaners, Chicken Rescuers
 * Adult Fear
 * The All-Solving Hammer: The only tool the Crusaders use to "fix" Fluttershy's broken table.
 * Badass in Distress: Twilight Sparkle, who took out an Ursa Minor on her own, gets turned to stone by a cockatrice which leaves Fluttershy to protect Cutie Mark Crusaders and save Twilight.
 * Badly-Battered Babysitter: Fluttershy. Rarity also experiences this to a degree when Sweetie Belle wrecks her workroom, and implies that she's been through it before with the trio.
 * Beyond the Impossible: Fluttershy wins a staring contest with a cockatrice.
 * Boss in Mook Clothing: The cocktarice doesn't look threatening, but its ability to petrify anything makes it one of the most dangerous monsters in the show.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Sweetie Belle says "I know this one!", she looks directly at the camera instead of at Fluttershy.
 * Cat Smile: Bonus points for it being from an actual cat.
 * Comically Missing the Point: Sweetie Belle, the entire point of a lullaby is to lull.
 * Cute but Cacophonic: The Cutie Mark Crusaders, who almost seem to insist on screaming their desires as much as possible. Of particular note was Sweetie Belle, who managed to invoke Oh Crap/This Is Gonna Suck from the others (see below).
 * Death Glare: Fluttershy's stare, which is actually a plot point.
 * Defanged Horrors: The cockatrice turning its victims to stone comes across as this.
 * Disaster Dominoes: Sweetie Belle's attempts to help Rarity during the Cold Open just end up making a big mess.
 * Epic Fail: The Cutie Mark Crusaders attempt at fixing Fluttershy's table.
 * Foreshadowing: Sweetie Belle's well-intentioned but disastrous attempts at helping Rarity become a major plot point in a later episode.
 * Go Through Me: Fluttershy orders the Crusaders behind her then stands between them and the Cockatrice to protect them.
 * Holy Halo: Appearing on the Crusaders' heads each time Fluttershy refers to them as "sweet little angels" (talking first with Rarity, later Twilight). Subverted in that they raise enough of a ruckus to drive her crazy.
 * It's Quiet... Too Quiet: This is how Fluttershy realizes the Cutie Mark Crusaders have snuck off into the Everfree Forest.
 * Lyrical Dissonance: Sweetie Belle's funk-infused version of the lullaby.

"Fluttershy: There's a cockatrice on the loose! Apple Bloom: A cocka-what-now?"
 * Mama Bear: Fluttershy.
 * Mood Whiplash: The first half or so of the episode is fun, funny and light. But when the Crusaders go off into the forest and Fluttershy goes after them, it takes a genuinely creepy and suspenseful turn.
 * Oh Crap/This Is Gonna Suck: Subverted that the situation may not be as bad as expected, but the faces Scootaloo and Apple Bloom made when Sweetie Belle offered to sing practically said it all.
 * Parrot Expowhat:

"Sweetie Belle: "Two chickens? I thought only one escaped!" Apple Bloom: "Grab them both!""
 * Psycho Strings: When Rarity realizes what Sweetie Belle did to her golden silk.
 * Sidetracked by the Analogy: Rarity confesses she's bitten off more than she can chew with her big dress order. Sweetie Belle points out that she's not eating.
 * Sound Defect: Despite having only hammers to fix the table, we hear a saw and a jackhammer as the CMC attempt to revive it.
 * Staring Down Cthulhu: Initially averted as Fluttershy shivers and won't look at the cockatrice, but when she has to, she stares it down so hard that, it gives up and concedes to her demands out of fear.
 * Stuffed in The Fridge: Played with upon the reveal of the petrified Twilight Sparkle.
 * Super Speed: Sweetie Belle somehow manages to sew the lining into her CMC capes in the five seconds between Rarity showing off the sheet of golden fabric and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo showing up.
 * Surprise Creepy: Starts out with Rarity and later Fluttershy becoming a Badly-Battered Babysitter and the Cutie Mark Crusader's antics...Then Fluttershy finds Twilight turned to stone...
 * Taken for Granite: This is what makes the cockatrice so dangerous.
 * Theremin: The sound effect accompanying Fluttershy's Death Glare.
 * Title Drop
 * Too Dumb to Live: After being told that a Cockatrice is a terrible creature with the head of a chicken, the Crusaders walk no more than ten feet. Then...

"Sweetie Belle: Um... that doesn't look like a table. Scootaloo: We were making a table? Apple Bloom: Somepony needs to put this thing out of its misery."
 * Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup: The apparent cause of the CMC's failed attempt to repair Fluttershy's table. (If it wasn't implied one of them would have been perfect to do the props in "The Show Stoppers", it could just be concluded they're all bad at improvised carpentry.)


 * Truck Driver's Gear Change: Sweetie Belle's rendition of "Hush Now, Quiet Now".
 * Twitchy Eye: Rarity near the beginning, upon witnessing the mess left by Sweetie Belle, and later Fluttershy, once she's back at her cottage with the Cutie Mark Crusaders…as she presumably realizes just what she got herself into.
 * Two Men, One Dress: Performed by Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
 * Wasted Song: Fluttershy sings an absolutely gorgeous lullaby…before it goes off the rails.
 * ...in a rather awesome way, though.
 * With Catlike Tread: Sweetie Belle's rendition of the lullaby; she has quite a powerful instrument.
 * Working Title: Previously known as "Fluster-shy".
 * Subverted Trope:Just in Time: You see that Fluttershy is rapidly turning to stone, covering half of her body, but in the next scene the transformation is put to a halt and the stone breaks without reaching her neck.