#castlemania

I love Castlemania.

For those who don't remember, the main premise is that Twilight and Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack all find themselves exploring The Castle of the Two Sisters at the same time for different reasons, and they all end up accidentally frightening one another in the process. It's a tightly executed farce that makes great use of every single character, creates an immersive spooky atmosphere, and at the same time, tells us a great deal about Equestria's rich history.

It is here, in the Castle of the Two Sisters, that we first learn of the Pony of Shadows (who goes on to be the main villain of Season 7). It is here that Twilight discovers the Journal of the Two Sisters. It is here that she gets the idea to keep a journal of her own - one that she and all her friends can keep records of their experiences in.

From a storytelling standpoint, this not only solves the problem of "how to maintain a friendship letter epilogue format in a world where Twilight is a princess herself," but the memories contained in that journal actually end up becoming the key to defeating Tirek at the end of the season. (The writings also go on to become a source of inspiration for ponies across Equestria many years later).

This episode changed the entire series in a million tiny little ways, subtly and organically, all while telling a quirky little haunted house story full of whimsy and well-timed humor.

That's an incredible feat.

I understand that Castlemania is far from perfect. It's been pointed out that Celestia's abandoning an entire library to the elements, (not to mention the potentially dangerous knowledge contained in those books), is unjustifiably foolish and irresponsible. However, the absence of any mention of this castle for 63 episodes (over three years) after it was first introduced in the pilot is something of a plot hole in and of itself. One could also just as easily ask why Celestia had left the Elements of Harmony unguarded for a thousand years. So why not just roll with it?

While I recognize that their attempt to reintegrate the castle is somewhat clumsy, that attempt in and of itself was all about honoring the roots of the show - calling back to early episodes, and trying to build on pieces of Equestrian history that had long been ignored. I feel that this approach and philosophy of world-building was the biggest strength of Season 4 as a whole, and one of the grounding forces for the evolution of the show for years to come.

Overall, the good in this episode profoundly outweighs the bad. The remarkable accomplishments of Castlemania are both plentiful and subtle - a game changer that is largely uncelebrated.

Most of all - and I can't stress this enough - it is really, really, really, really awesome that Pinkie Pie is a pipe organ prodigy.

...Because of course she is.

Discuss. -Sprocket

Little Dark Age