History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury

* CluelessAesop: Probably not entirely clueless, but as more than one viewer has noted, the aesop of this episode, if taken as the face value "you should listen to what your friends have to say instead of dismissing them", almost falls flat when one remembers that Pinkie Pie hardly ever actually tried explaining that she knows what parasprites are and how to get rid of them. It is true that at one point Pinkie does try to explain but fails because the others won't listen, but it doesn't change the fact that most of her "attempts" are simply her asking for this random instrument or that, never trying explaining that music can lead parasprites away. Or the fact that the very first time Pinkie Pie and a parasprite appear on screen, she disgustedly proclaims that now she has to find a trombone and trots off, ''completely ignoring'' Twilight asking Pinkie Pie if she knows anything about the strange creatures, having been the only one present to recognize and name them. Considering all things, of course, this could more or less lead to a DoubleAesop, as Pinkie pointing out at the end how she tried to tell them when they wouldn't listen makes it evident that she did learn the importance of explaining herself properly.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Based on the episode's lesson, the Mane Five would've listened to Pinkie so they could get the Parasprites out easier.

!!Tropes present in this episode (YMMV tropes can be found [[YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury here]]):

* ExtremeOmnivore: Use magic to inhibit their appetite for real food? The parasprites will simply eat everything else instead.
** And we mean EVERYTHING else. [[UpToEleven They even start eating the words from Twilight's books!]]

* {{Facepalm}}: A Double while Rainbow Dash is being fitted for her outfit with Rarity.

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: The parasprites seem to form this briefly on Rainbow Dash when they cling to her body. {{Lampshaded}} by the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPqjKk_xCo "Equestria Girls"]] commercial.

** This entire episode is essentially a WholePlotReference to [[Recap/StarTrekS2E15TheTroubleWithTribbles "The Trouble With Tribbles"]] from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]''.

-->'''Twilight:''' [[Film/BlazingSaddles We need to build an exact copy of Ponyville right over there. We've got less than a minute!]]

''[Spike and the parasprite are sleeping peacefully]''\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' ''[yawns]'' What's there to worry about?

* FromBadToWorse: And how!

Confused, Fluttershy and Twilight ask why she doesn't want one, only for Pinkie to declare [[NoodleImplements "Now I have to go find a trombone!"]] Twilight dismisses this as "[[Cloudcuckoolander typical Pinkie Pie]]" behavior.

Confused, Fluttershy and Twilight ask why she doesn't want one, only for Pinkie to declare [[NoodleImplements "Now I have to go find a trombone!"]] Twilight dismisses this as "typical Pinkie Pie" behavior.

** Part of Applejack's roundup music sounds a lot like the theme from Series/{{Bonanza}}.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If Pinkie Pie had explained at the beginning that parasprites are gluttonous creatures that reproduce by eating and can strip entire villages bare if given the chance, or outright told them that they can be hypnotised and led away by music, they never would have caused all this trouble. This contributes to the CluelessAesop because Twilight actually ''asks'' if Pinkie Pie knows anything about parasprites after she names them as such at the episode's beginning, only to be ignored because Pinkie's too concerned with finding a trombone.

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Celestia at the end seems to know just what the little winged fuzzballs are, and concludes that Ponyville isn't exactly in presentable form at the moment, so she thanks them for the "parade" and extricates the town from the visit by [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial claiming that she's needed elsewhere to deal with an "infestation"]].

* [[{{Facepalm}} Facehoof]]: A Double while Rainbow Dash is being fitted for her outfit with Rarity.

* [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Horde of Impossibly Cute Locusts]]

* [[MagicalNegro Magical Zebra]]: Subverted. Twilight visits the African-themed zebra for advice. Zecora quickly identifies the name of the troublesome species and, just when it seems like she will reveal a key bit of ancient tribal wisdom, she tells Twilight "...you're doomed".

* [[OneManBand One Pony Band]]: Apparently the best way to get rid of parasprites.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If Pinkie Pie had explained at the beginning that parasprites are gluttonous creatures that reproduce by eating and can strip entire villages bare if given the chance, or outright told them that they can by hypnotised and led away by music, they never would have caused all this trouble. This contributes to the CluelessAesop because Twilight actually ''asks'' if Pinkie Pie knows anything about parasprites after she names them as such at the episode's beginning, only to be ignored because Pinkie's too concerned with finding a trombone.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Goes both ways here. If Pinkie Pie had bothered to explain more about the parasprites before rushing off to find the instruments from the beginning, or if her friends weren't too caught up in their business to listen to her during the times she ''did'' try to explain, the damage wouldn't have been nearly as bad.

* WorkingTitle: According to Larson, the episode was originally called [[https://twitter.com/M_A_Larson/statuses/209495405443039233 "Pied Piper Pinkie"]] in reference to the homage to said fable the episode ended up with, though he says this is not a bad thing.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to Larson, the episode was originally called [[https://twitter.com/M_A_Larson/statuses/209495405443039233 "Pied Piper Pinkie"]] in reference to the homage to said fable the episode ended up with, though he says this is not a bad thing.

* FixFic: The ''Friendship is Magic'' fanfic ''Whisper'' explains the parasprite infestation and Twilight's attempt to fix it going horribly awry, as the work of sabotage by [[spoiler: the Great and Powerful Trixie, who wrongly blamed Twilight for an apparent curse (actually a case of poison joke) that spoiled Trixie's stage presence.]]

!!Tropes (YMMV items can be found [[YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury here]]):

''(Spike and the parasprite are sleeping peacefully)''\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' ''(yawns)'' What's there to worry about?

!!Tropes (YMMV items can be found [[YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury here]].)

* [[OneManBand One-Pony Band]]: Apparently the best way to get rid of parasprites.