Twilight Sparkle – Tara Strong,

Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy – Andrea Libman,

Applejack/Rainbow Dash – Ashleigh Ball, 

Spike – Cathy Weseluck.

My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic is a TV series, with multiple spin-off movies which all together provide the background for toys called “My Little Pony” produced by Hasbro; a similar phenomenon of cross-promotion also occurs in the case of Monster High (toys are accompanied by a TV series which reinforces popularity and sales of the toys).

The previous episode: Suited For Success.

The next episode: Sonic Rainboom.

Summary of the series (see here)

Summary of the episode: 

The episode is built around the argument between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Even though all the ponies live in the world of magic, these two present different approaches to it. Twilight has more of a scientific attitude, she prefers getting evidence for any kind of event and does not believe in prejudices. Pinkie on the other hand claims her cunning can predict the future: her body gives her all kinds of warnings for specific events to come (e.g. when her tail twitches, something is going to fall from the sky). Annoyingly (from Twilight’s perspective, who does not believe in such “signs”) all Pinkie’s predictions turn out to be completely accurate. 

Following Pinkie Pie’s feeling that something unexpected will happened in Equestria, she and the rest of the gang go to the gloomy swamps nearby. There they meet Hydra, a giant dragon-like creature with four, very hungry heads. While they escape the monster, Twilight gets into real trouble. She saves herself after she trusts her guts – just like Pinkie trusts hers. When the ponies are safe, Twilight admits: “[…] Pinkie sense somehow… makes sense. […] Just because I don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Then she concludes with another vital observation: “It just means you have to choose to believe in them, and sometimes it takes a friend to show you the way.” The reconciled ponies return home, full of faith in Pinkie’s abilities.

The classical element in the episode is of course Hydra. In Greek mythology, Lernaean Hydra also lived in the swamps, but had nine heads, the number in the series was reduced to four. In mythology Hydra was one of twelve tasks (labours) Hercules had to perform – the hero killed the monster, even though initially he had issue with the regrown heads. In Feeling Pinkie Keen, Hydra lives, moreover – it has a chance to present a little bit of a personality. At the end of the chase, the creature, or rather one of the heads (previously slightly confused by the fuss with the ponies) shows ponies its tongue, mocking our heroines, and then walks away with pride. 

Even though Hydra appears only for a minute, its presence once again proves that the world of My Little Ponies is full of mythical creatures, often inspired by classical antiquity. The creature is also spared, and even though it is still a threat to the main characters, it is defeated without violence nor bloodshed. Hydra also nicely blends in with the episode’s main topic – believing in something that you cannot entirely explain. Just like in Greek mythology, a leap of faith can change the perception of the world, revealed to be far more complex than it might have appeared at first glance. Hydra, as a supporting fantasy character, would be an exemplification of the episode’s motto, mentioned at the end by Twilight.

Entry: “Hydra” on Theoi.com (accessed: September 2,2020).

Hodkinson, Owen and Helen Lovatt, "Introduction" in Classical Reception and Children’s Literature: Greece, Rome and Childhood Transformation, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018. 

Translations: Multi-language soundtrack.

The series proved to be very popular among teenagers and adults as well: fans call themselves: “bronies”; because of this popularity, it could be considered as having reached a crossover audience.