My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2/E23 Ponyville Confidential: Difference between revisions

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[[File:ponyville_confidential_grab_5624.png|frame|I need gossip! Gossip about ponies!]]

 

 

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' But it's all lies! Gabby Gums prints what she wants! She doesn't care whose reputation she destroys! }}

 

 

Another school day ends, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are disappointed that their classmate Featherweight got his cutie mark before them. Apple Bloom's got an idea, though: they can use the school newspaper, the Foal Free Press, to get their cutie marks! Not through arts and crafts, despite Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's first impressions, but by writing for the newspaper.

At the Spa, the Mane Six discuss the latest Gabby Gums column. Despite Twilight's worry that some of Gabby Gums' articles are a little too mean-spirited and invasive, the others brush off her concerns... and then Featherweight sneaks in and catches a photo of Rainbow Dash contemplating a hooficure. Sure enough, after Diamond Tiara dismisses their "tell-all" interview with Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders start coming up with even nastier articles about the locals of Ponyville in a desperate attempt to get their journalism cutie marks. When they target the Mane Six ("Applejack Asleep on the Job", "Twilight Sparkle: I Was a Canterlot Snob", "Rainbow Dash: Speed Demon or Super Softie?"), the gang decides they need to get to the bottom of Gabby Gums and put a stop to their harmful rumor-mongering. Rarity still thinks they're blowing things out of proportion... until she reads an article containing excerpts from her diary. Twilight innocently asks if Sweetie Belle would know who Gabby Gums is, since they both work on the school paper - which is all it takes for Rarity to put two and two together. Keeping her suspicions to herself, Rarity loudly insists to her friends that her dear little sister would never associate herself with somepony like Gabby Gums.

 

 

 

 

Just as Diamond Tiara is about to follow through with her threat the following morning, the Crusaders burst in with a new story. Diamond Tiara quickly has the staff print it up... too hastily, as it's not a gossip column but "An Open Letter to Ponyville". In it, the Crusaders officially reveal their identity as Gabby Gums, apologize for spreading ugly rumors, and resign from the gossip business.

Once Cheerilee gets the whole story, she strips Diamond Tiara of her position as editor-in-chief in favor of Featherweight. But there's still room at the newspaper for Diamond Tiara... right next to the messy printing press, that is.

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* [[Absentee Actor]]: While certainly not a main character, Silver Spoon only appears briefly during the opening and doesn't speak, making this notably the first time Diamond Tiara is the sole antagonist in a CMC episode.

* [[Accidentally Accurate]]: The Gabby Gums article about {{spoiler|Princess Celestia}} stuffing herself with cake under the headline " {{spoiler|Celestia}} just like us?" - just the image she wants to project because ponies are always too formal around her.

* [[Alliterative Name]]: Gabby Gums.

* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: Some viewers may be surprised to learn that tail extensions for horses are a very real thing.

* [[Bad Boss]]: Diamond Tiara harshly criticizes the CMC's original stories for not being "juicy" enough, does not even consider the feelings of Ponyvillians, and even {{spoiler|blackmails the CMC to keep them from quitting their job.}}

* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: Rainbow Dash actually wanted to have Gabby Gums write about her. She wasn't happy with the result.

* [[Bubble Pipe]]: Spike has one in the CMC photo of him.

* [[Call Back]]:

** The Balloon Rainbow Dash and the Nyandash poster are [http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/277/255/85a.jpg seen again].

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: In the beginning, the CMC get caught in embarrassing situations. {{spoiler|Featherweight secretly took pictures of them and they wound up being used as blackmail by Diamond Tiara.}}

* [[Collective Identity]]: Gabby Gums.

** Their later hype over stories might have been fueled by their first victims (Snips and Snails) being dumb (or good-natured) enough to ''take pride'' in their humiliating stunt being the headline story.

* [[Covered in Gunge|Covered In Ink]]: Whoever works the printing press ''will'' end up this way, {{spoiler|including Diamond Tiara within ''seconds'' of getting the job}}.

* [[Dawson Casting]]: The person voicing the blue colt printing the newspaper sounds way too old to be a kid.

* [[Death Glare]]: Cheerilee gives Diamond Tiara one once she finds out what she's been up to.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Fluttershy's "tail extension" and her embarrassment is like being accused of breast augmentation.

** Pinkie Pie's reaction to Gabby Gums saying she's obsessed with parties is a lot like someone being forced to confront their alcoholism.

* [[Embarrassing Old Photo]]: Granny Smith has a library's worth of them and is happy to show them to Apple Bloom.

* [[Et Tu, Brute?|Et Tu, Sweetie Belle]]: Rarity to Sweetie Belle after finding out that she stole and published her diary.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: [[Camera Fiend]] Featherweight can be seen right before Rainbow Dash agrees to get a pedicure. Guess who ends up in the gossip column the next day?

** [[Fauxshadowing|Subverted later]], when he's seen as Diamond Tiara threatens to blackmail the Crusaders, yet doesn't snap a single photo. {{spoiler|Then [[Double Subverted]] when it was his eyewitness account that brought Diamond Tiara's [[Bad Boss]] status to Cheerilee's attention.}}

* [[Gilligan Cut]]: The CMC hoofbump, ready to start gathering news. Cut to them bored out of their minds trying to come up with something to write on.

** Only Twilight was against Gabby Gums spreading lies about other ponies until it happened to those other ponies.

*** Though this is only briefly spotlighted with Rarity. The rest are just out-and-out hypocrites.

** Rarity scolds Sweetie Belle for snooping in other people's lives, when she snooped in Sweetie Belle's stuff twice before. Though she does [[Hypocrisy Nod|acknowledge]] that when scolding Sweetie Belle.

* [[Ironic Echo]]: The CMC give each other an eager hoof bump on starting out their work as Gabby Gums. By the time they start regretting telling hurtful stories about other ponies but decide to continue, they give another, but less confident, hoof bump.

* [[Intrepid Reporter|Intrepid Reporters]]: The CMC become this and start investigating everyone's personal lives.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: If Diamond Tiara telling the CMC that she doesn't care about other ponies feelings didn't tick anyone off, {{spoiler|her blackmailing CMC and then confessing that she would continue the column one way or another should.}}

** Later, she steals Dinky's paper and shoves her hard enough to send her flying off-screen. [http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/091/7/b/derpy_and_dinky_by_kujaex-d4unkbo.jpg The Derpy fanon fans had a field day with this].

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Featherweight probably had to be light as a feather to sneak around getting those pictures.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?|My God What Have We Done?]]: The Cutie Mark Crusaders start having this feeling as early as their first round of stories, but ignore it. It isn't until they've basically enraged the entire town that it sinks in just how much they've hurt everypony.

** Each of the Crusaders sport a gray flannel fedora.

** Also, Rarity's "Hot New Hat".

** Truffle Shuffle is seen wearing a fez as part of a sight gag. Spike is also wearing a fez in the photo for the article that Gabby Gums created and was rejected by Diamond Tiara.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: Trixie's secret is not revealed to the audience.

** Fluttershy, after Gabby Gums wrote a particularly mean article about her.

** Pinkie Pie too when Gabby Gums writes about her being an out of control party animal. She begins wailing that she does have a problem.

* [[OOC Is Serious Business]]: Applejack and Big MacIntosh are so upset with the girls that it's ''Big Mac'' who delivers a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] lecture, and ''Applejack'' who limits her responses to "Eeyup" and "Nope". It's the first time he's ever raised his voice to another pony, and ''boy'' does it have an effect.

* [[Pen Name]]: Gabby Gums.

* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Where all the other ponies either shunned the Cutie Mark Crusaders or were so angry they sent the fillies away rather than say something they would regret, Rarity's response (despite her own fury) is to scold Sweetie Belle, use her own actions to make a point about privacy, and make Sweetie Belle question if what she was doing was truly ''worth'' her Cutie Mark. This prompted the CMC to stop being Gabby Gums and eventually write their apology letter.

* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: The CMC get one {{spoiler|from Big Mac, of all ponies.}}

* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: It's not a coincidence that Pinkie Pie is never heard from again after the Sugar Cube Corner scene. <ref> Insert [[Cupcakes]] joke here and move on.</ref>

** Maybe she decided to go to rehab?

** Gabby Gums has the same initials as [[Gossip Girl|another famous blind-item-publishing gossip-monger]].

*** They even use the same "XOXO" when signing off in their final letter.

* [[Slasher Smile]]: Diamond Tiara dons an expression pretty close to one when telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders that their next story better be juicy. It doesn't help that she's right up in Apple Bloom's and our faces.

* [[Smash Cut]]:

* [[Some Kind of Force Field]]: Twilight sets one up to keep the CMC from entering her library after {{spoiler|she finds out they are Gabby Gums}}.

* [[Spinning Paper]]

* [[Unfortunate Names]]: The former editor-in-chief was named Namby-Pamby? Poor kid.

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Rarity, after reading a nasty article by "Gabby."

* [[The Voiceless]]: Featherweight

* [[What the Hell, Hero?|What the Hay, Heroes?]]: The CMC get a few once their identities are revealed, but special mention goes to [[The Quiet One|Big Macintosh]]; if the pony of the fewest words [[OOC Is Serious Business|actually gets mad enough to articulately chew you out]], you ''know'' you've screwed up royally.

* [[Worst News Judgement Ever]]: Diamond Tiara wants to avoid "namby-pamby" stories, despite other foals viewing Namby-Pamby as a ''good'' editor-in-chief.

* [[Your Little Dismissive Diminutive]]: Heard in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo4a6tap3jQ this] clip.

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