• "The Hooffields And The McColts": Episode Followup


    Hey guys! Your friendly neighbourhood ferret here, hungry to give you another awesome followup. Head on down below for more excitement and mayhem thanks to the exceptional Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco.
    So, lots of you may not know, I am a huge book nerd, and the "Wuthering Hooves" thing really made me giggle. The actual book Wuthering Heights, is rather macabre and gothic brooding angst and I'd think would more be something Rarity would enjoy. Lots of tortured souls in that one. Maybe the pony version is happier?

    So, this is gonna be a butt heavy episode, I can tell.

    So Harry, you wanted to discuss how you really felt that Heathcliff was clearly Brontë's desire to express her dissatisfaction with the male ideal at the time?

    Attempt number 4 to smack Fluttershy in the face fails. Fluttershy: 1, Twilight: 0

    "Oh Twilight, it's okay, I'm secretly a ninja cult-leader and that's why you'll never be able to hit me. But yes, your new tattoo is very fetching."

    I can't even begin to express how much I love the idea that a slice of cake divided by a cupcake equals a pie. Also! A reliable source tells me that the molecule shown is maltose, also known as malt sugar.

    "Why yes! This is my little black book, I keep the name despite the fact it's no longer little or black, but you get the point."

    When I rewatched this scene, I noticed that Twilight's magic doesn't release the books til they're at rest again. So at least she doesn't drop them on Spike, she just places them on him.

    Fluttershy: 2, Twilight: 0

    I love the detail put into things like this, the book slowly drifts across the screen during this shot and it's such a nice touch.

    Twilight may have forgotten to mention she's trying a new workout regime involving breaking all your bones and then doing aggressive physiotherapy.

    The Book of Friendship Solutions, chapter 56 page 456. Friendship Solution #1: Run away from all your problems.

    "On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again"

    I don't even know what to say here, but all I can think is Twilight really needs to accept that Fluttershy doesn't use tail or mane extensions.


    Again, these little shots take barely more than a few seconds long but there's so much detail in them

    Compare this shot to the original we saw in the book. It's really striking, I love the small details too that tell us so much about the families before we even meet them. The Hoofields have lush green space and trees and lots of pumpkins, whereas the McColts have dead brown grass and no trees. Not to mention the rickety looking barn vs the heavy duty fortress.

    Also, did anyone spot the Red and Blue motif going on?

    I wonder if these guys are related to Pinkie, or perhaps one of their kids went off and inspired Pinkie and Cheese. Though I sort of love the idea of someone manufacturing and selling Party Cannons.

    I'm torn here, do I make a Cinderella reference, do I make a Peter Pumpkin Eater reference, do I make a Jack Pumpkin head joke?  So many choices!

    And now we meet the head of the Fugate I mean McColt clan Big Daddy McColt. I hope you guys will write lots about him as he's become my new favourite character.

     Fus ro dah works in Equestria. Good to know.

    I love the variety of ponies in the various clans. There are so many nods to fictional hillbillies, the biggest(har!) being the big Clydesdale in the background looks a lot like Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies.

    Darnit Twilight, did video games teach you nothing? Don't anger Big Daddies. At least this one doesn't have a giant drill to mess you up with.

    Big Daddy lists off pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin quesadillas, pumpkin paella, pumpkin cheese, pumpkin pie, pumpkin fritatta. These are very cosmopolitan hillbillies.

    Sonorous spells, I see Twilight is well read. (Or watched the movies)

    I know you wanted to branch out Twilight, but I don't think Princess-Of-Fruits-That-Everyone-Thinks-Are-Vegetables is gonna work out.

    Here we see how Alicorn wings provide superior protection against thrown squishy projectiles.

    I love the tomato slingshots, this is a really cool view of Earth ponies doing what they do best. Being incredibly inventive. I also love that they seem to have developed special extra squishy tomatoes that grow on bushes so nicely.

    "I know it's not entirely up to what you're used to Mr Tortoise, but please consider it. I promise the jacuzzi will be fixed very soon, the repairpony just took issue at having to dodge flying objects."

    "Twilight, that feather looks really familiar. Aren't quills supposed to wear out over time? Wait...that looks like a pegasus feather, have you been plucking yourself and dying the feathers again? I thought Rainbow Dash told you that would throw off your trim."

    But how does it measure up to the MMMM?

    That is an impressive amount of detail on his drool trail. I also love how the leftmost pony is almost morbidly fascinated by it, and not just because I felt the exact same way.

    Unlike Troy, this time the equines were on the inside. Also, can I get notice of the fact that they're throwing cake? I love that they apparently burrowed into the cake and spent the time making cakeballs.

    Big Daddy McColt knows the benefit of plenty of rope traps with easily accessed triggers.

    Phalanx maneuvers are really only effective when everyone involved is about the same size.

    Here we see Twilight and Fluttershy realizing that the idea of some good clean fun to relieve tensions may not have worked out as they had hoped. Who knew so many ponies had poor memories of playing dodgeball?

    I don't know this is the right place to show off your massage techniques...

    Red Squirrel's cousin reveals the treachery behind last years acorn shortage. There will be justice for the Proletariats!

    Uh oh, now you've done it, the frowny lip has come out.

    I love that the poor Clydesdale is still just trying to get a bite to eat that isn't pumpkin.

    Well, I've heard of parrots eating clay, so why not ponies eating dirt?

    Another small detail here, the river bobs up and down as they argue. It's such a tiny thing, but I love the attention to detail the animators put in to these things. Also note the small differences to set apart Hooffield and McColt, they're almost identical except for those small touches.

    I love the detail in this, as they move up the mountainside. How it starts out very pretty and they throw dirt, then they move higher and throw rocks, then higher and throw wood, then at the top where they throw produce and hay bales.

    So, this really has been the season for bushy eyebrows, I also love that Twilight caught them just before the kick connected. It's also good to know her magic just holds them loosely enough they can still blink and breathe.


    Poor Pot-on-head(Fanon name pending) isn't sure what's going on, but he'll try to look as unimpressed as the others.

    I love the reconciliation in this scene, every single pony pair is a McColt and a Hooffield. It's a really small thing that helps emphasize the friendship regained. Also, I love both the fancy pony and the Elly Mae pony, Though I'm not sure what a tuning fork has to do with building. Maybe ponies like their buildings to sound good when they fall over? Or perhaps it's meant to represent he's very good at precision work.

    Another small nod folks may have overlooked. The statues are made of stone and vegetation representing the skills of the two clans. I also love how each clan has very distinct cutie marks. The Hooffields all have farming cutie marks, barrels and veggies and such and the McColts are all woodworking cutie marks, nails, hammers and such.

    "Um, Twilight, I know I said I'd like to try new things with you, but this new exercise plan really isn't working out for me."

    Anyways guys, I'm finished here and I hope you all enjoyed this episode as much as I did, we got lots of new ponies to write and theorize about and some more amazing story.

    What will come next? Will they all go somewhere? Will trios be sent out by the map? Will Sunset come visit and adventure with the map? Who knows! I'd love to hear your theories though.

    As well, do you like these followups? Would you rather I focused more on funny shots? On little animation flourishes? On theories? Let me know in the comments!