My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2/E12 Baby Cakes: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Baby-Cakes_5374.jpg|frame| [[Hurricane of Puns|Pinkie thought it would be easy as pie... but babysitting is no piece of cake]].]]

 

 

 

At the Ponyville hospital, the Mane Six are gathered to view the newborn foals born to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Mr. Cake introduces his son, Pound Cake. Then he introduces his daughter, Pumpkin Cake. To everypony's surprise, Pound Cake is a Pegasus and Pumpkin Cake is a Unicorn. Mr. Cake explains it that [[Hand Wave|both he and Mrs. Cake have distant Pegasus and Unicorn ancestors]] ([[Lampshade Hanging|and quickly wonders if that makes sense]]). Regardless, Pinkie is so thrilled to have new little playmates, she wants to sing and play with them on the spot, only to get kicked out by Nurse Redheart. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity warn the Cakes that their babies' pegasus and unicorn abilities may manifest early and wild.

The twins are stunned by Pinkie Pie's stern and responsible attitude, and immediately go to sleep when she tells them to... only to disappear from their crib when Pinkie looks away for just ''one second!'' After a frantic search, she realizes that their pegasus and unicorn abilities have manifested; she chases them all over the house, trying to keep up with them, but is clearly disadvantaged both in numbers and in (a lack of) abilities. Pinkie tries more and more drastic ways of keeping them in line, but the babies easily use their talents to get past her. Finally pushed past her limits, Pinkie Pie bursts into tears of defeated frustration; astonished at the sight, the twins come up to her and dump a bag of flour over themselves, and Pinkie stops crying to admit that it ''is'' pretty funny.

 

 

 

 

They begin to remark on how amazed they are, but Pinkie [[Ironic Echo|shushes them]] because the twins are asleep. The Cakes apologize, complimenting Pinkie on how responsible she is, then ask if she'd like to be their go-to babysitter on a permanent basis. Pinkie, recalling her ordeal, immediately refuses in an [[Ironic Echo]] of her original eagerness, but when the babies smile and call her name in their sleep, she instantly relents and tells the Cakes she has some free time on Tuesday.

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* [[Absentee Actor]]: Spike appears in one scene, but has no dialogue.

* [[Adult Child]]: Pinkie's [[Adult Child]] nature is what initially makes the Cakes hesitant to pick her as the foals' babysitter.

* [[Adult Fear]]: When Pinkie momentarily loses track of the foals toward the end of the episode. Any real parent could tell you how terrifying it is for their children to vanish, even for a few moments. It doesn't help at all that one of the things Pinkie sees as she's looking around the room is an open window...

* [[Baby Talk]]: Pinkie resorts to this when the twins' diapers need changing.

** Also, when the babies pull their disappearing act:

* [[Badly-Battered Babysitter]]: As soon as the Cakes leave, Pinkie learns just how stressful babysitting can be. Especially when one of the babies is a Pegasus with {{spoiler|super strength}} and the other is a Unicorn who {{spoiler|can levitate and phase}}.

* [[Big Ball of Violence|Big Ball of Diaper Change]]: Ensues when Pinkie has to try to wrangle both babies to change their diapers behind a drawer. It ends with Pinkie wearing both diapers and both foals gleefully naked.

* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Twilight flat-out tells Pinkie she expected she'd need help with the twins, and that she figured she couldn't handle the responsibility. This gets the door slammed in her face by an upset Pinkie.

** Rarity doesn't even bother making an excuse not to babysit; she simply refuses on the spot.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: A Pegasus and Unicorn giving advice on baby Pegasi and Unicorns, [[Sarcasm Mode|not a hint or anything.]]

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Of the [[Pink Girl, Blue Boy]] variety for Pumpkin Cake's and Pound Cake's respective blankets.

* [[Cuteness Proximity]]: The Mane Six in the beginning, but Pinkie most of all: she barges in the nursery and actually breaks into song for the newborns. Thankfully, Nurse Redheart was there to firmly remind Pinkie that the babies were trying to sleep.

* [[Determinator]]: Pinkie Pie becomes this in her responsibilities towards the babies after Twilight makes a well meaning yet condescending remark that "some ponies just can't handle the responsibility" of caring for babies. She continues to be this right up until her breakdown.

* [[The Diaper Change]]: Yes; in this universe, [[Nobody Poops|ponies can poop.]] Which leads to [[Squick]] since only unicorns can actually change them without needing to use their teeth or tails, as seen when Carrot Cake first does it.

* [[Economy Cast]]: Out of all of Ponyville, the Cakes only ask the Mane Six for help on-screen.

** Maybe they did because they know Rainbow dash is strong and quick so she might have a easy time keeping up with the two foals.

* [[Efficient Displacement]]: When Pound Cake's tantrum breaks a faucet, the pressurized water slams Pinkie Pie through a door, leaving a perfectly silhouetted outline behind.

* [[Epic Fail]]: Changing diapers must be learned, and doing so on twins requires additional dexterity; however, Pinkie managing to get one on her own hips and another on her ''head'' denotes a special brand of incompetence.

* [[Every Girl Is Cuter With Hair Decs]]: Pumpkin wears a little blue bow after the Cakes bring her and Pound home.

** RD, Rarity and Twilight mention at the beginning of the episode that Unicorn and Pegasus foals can manifest their respective abilities very suddenly. Take a guess what happens at the end of the episode.

** Pinkie, while following the Cakes around Ponyville, keeps saying "Pick me! I'd love to babysit!" and takes repeated poses of cuddling/rocking non-babies (a bunny, a book, apples) in diapers. After they get the "no" from Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, having grown a touch bored, juggles the [[Egg Sitting|cloud baby]] she was cuddling, and misses. When it drops to the ground, she glances around quickly and then dashes away. This shows right away that Pinkie might not be the best of choices for a babysitter.

* [[Furry Reminder]]: The twins do not crawl, they walk (and run) just like real foals can right after birth.

* [[Girls Love Stuffed Animals]]: Pumpkin has quite a collection, which she loves chewing on.

** Given Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, it seems that this is something that is only temporary, as child-aged pegasi and unicorns are much weaker flyers and magic-users. The in story explanation for why this is is unknown. The real explanation is [[Rule of Funny]].

* [[Hand Wave]]: Judging from his expression, not even Carrot Cake believes his explanation about pony genetics.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: The job proved too much for Pinkie and she eventually breaks down crying.

* [[Hollywood Genetics]]: Apparently ponies can give birth to different races of pony if it's in their ancestry. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Carrot Cake.

** Horses rarely give birth to twins. That both foals are born healthy and without complication is highly unlikely in real horses.

*** [[Justified Trope|MAGICAL ponies, remember?]]

* [[Ironic Echo]]: When the Cakes finally ask Pinkie to watch the babies (as she'd been begging them), she sarcastically remarks "I'll have to check my schedule.", somewhat offended by the implication that she can't handle the responsibility. At the end of the episode, when the Cakes ask her to be their regular babysitter, Pinkie (slightly traumatized from the experience) panics a little and says the same line (before finally relenting due to how fond she is of the babies).

* [[Jaw Drop]]: When Pinkie finds out Pumpkin Cake can levitate toys with Unicorn magic.

** Also, Pinkie's "pig song" bears more than a small resemblance to the Chicken Dance.

* [[Metaphor Is My Middle Name]]: Pinkie ''Responsibility'' Pie. [[Rule of Funny|Ignore previous mention of it being "Diane".]]

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: The foals are running wild, and it's hilarious! The foals are missing, and it's ''[[Adult Fear|terrifying]]''!

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: The ''babies'' get one at the end, when they realize they've gone too far with their over-the-top, free-spirited antics at Pinkie's expense.

* [[Mythology Gag]]: Flour-covered Pinkie is quite reminiscent of her original character design, based on Surprise from G1.

* [[No Social Skills]]: Twilight doesn't appear to even ''notice'' how much she offended Pinkie Pie, even as Pinkie is kicking her out of the bakery.

** [[Justified Trope|Makes sense]], as Twilight is still learning about sociability.

* [[Nothing Is Scarier]]: There's nothing in the brief "horror" sequence, except for a moving shadow that's very obviously Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake ostensibly not disappearing. Try not to be spooked by it.

* [[Ocular Gushers]]: Pinkie Pie and the twins.

** Pound and Pumpkin start crying the second their parents leave, and it just builds for Pinkie from there. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that babies can and do suffer from separation anxiety, freaking out when their parents leave them for more than a few minutes.

** By the end, they again pull this trope when they realize that [[My God, What Have I Done?|they caused Pinkie to break down and cry]].

** First Pinkie Pie bursts out of the twins' cake and then she conducts a two pony comedy routine with herself.

** She doesn't take it well when the twins start pulling it on her, however.

* [[Old Dark House]]: temporarily for one scene, Sugarcube Corner takes on aspects of this {{spoiler|when Pinkie Pie is in a darkened hallway with curtains waving silently from a breeze coming through a window, and the only sound is one of the foals sucking on a rubber chicken}}.

* [[Panicky Expectant Father]]: Normally, Mr. Cake keeps an impeccable aspect, but when his twins are finally born, he looks as if he were returning from war, with his messy hair, untied bowtie and unshaven stubble.

* [[Rimshot]]: Twice, the first time performed by Pinkie Pie and the second a call back when Pinkie protests the twins' taste in stand up comedy.

** Obviously the diaper was for pegasi, that's why it could contain a cloud.

* [[Rule of Three]]: Nurse Redheart shushes Pinkie Pie three times before finally kicking her out of the nursery.

** Every time one of the Mane 5 declines to babysit for the Cakes, Pinkie pops up cradling whatever the pony was occupied with (Twilight's book, Applejack's apples, etc.).

** Pinkie tells [[Steven Wright]]'s "spot remover" and "ant farm" jokes, with little success.

** A super-strong baby boy whose name refers to his propensity to bang on things, and a red-haired baby girl with a topknot? [[The Flintstones|Where have we seen that before?]]

* [[Take That]]: Pinkie's "Oink!" song sounds ''exactly'' like the repetitive and condescending dreck in so many shows aimed at young children. Even at one month old, the foals cringe, [[media:what_the_shit_3602.png|slack-jawed in disbelief]], and are finally driven to tears by how bad it is.

* [[Talking in Your Sleep]]: The twins. And their first word along with it.

'''Pinkie on stage:''' Tell me about it. }}

** Pinkie is also somehow able to accompany herself during her 'Oink!' song's backing vocals.

* [[Tears of Joy]]: {{spoiler|Pinkie Pie after hearing the twins say the individual words of her name.}}

** Even earlier than that, when the twins started to cry when their parents left. Pinkie may said [[Oh Crap|"Uh-oh"]], but her expression ''definitely'' pointed to this trope.

* [[Wall Crawl]]: Pound Cake seems to be doing this on the ceiling until Pinkie spots his wings. Pinkie has to use suction cups to try and catch him.

* [[Weirdness Coupon]]: While a well known Pinkie Pie trait, an instance specific to this episode is Twilight's complete non-reaction to Pinkie wearing diapers on her hip and head.

* [[Wild Magic]]: Baby Unicorn/Pegasus traits are crazy powerful. Pumpkin Cake can levitate toys and herself, and turn obstacles intangible on a whim. Pound can fly and generate enough thrust with his wings to drag the full-grown Pinkie all over the house.