History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E8JustForSidekicks

** This isn't the first time the Crusaders have had to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E17HeartsAndHoovesDay use one of Scootaloo's feathers to get the job done]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Spike manages to get all the pets in line before anyone's the wiser, however he sacrifices all his gems in the process, and obliviously eats his remaining one, much to his despair.]]

* AndYourRewardIsEdible[=/=]FoodAsBribe: Spike goes to great lengths for a jewelry feast.

* PracticalCurrency: Played with; Spike is getting paid with jewels, something that isn't that practical in RealLife but, in-universe, is a dragon's favorite food. They're also valuable to ponies as well, but their individual worth is very difficult to calculate; the tiniest of Spike's gems (which would likely fit in even Angel's paw) is worth enough bits to buy an industrial-sized pet hairdryer, while the bigger gems are used to pay for a few train tickets and a tray of donuts.

* NoSympathy: Angel's general behavior towards Spike.

* BookEnds: The episode begins and ends with [[spoiler:Spike eating the gems for his cake, prompting one big '''[[SkywardScream WHY!?]]''']]

** In the opening, Spike keeps eating the gems he is planning to add to the cake to the point there are none left; at the end, [[spoiler:he eats the single one remaining he got for critter-sitting]].

** True to his inherent dragon nature, Spike's main concern at the start of the episode is for jewels. As he crosses more ponies who demand jewels for helping him through his misadventures, Spike becomes more and more willing to give them away until the end, when [[spoiler:he finally sacrifices his last jewel to get out of a mess all on his own]].

** [[spoiler:DramaticIrony]]: By [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E12GamesPoniesPlay "Games Ponies Play"]], it's made evident that Cadance's reasons for not inviting him turn out to be [[spoiler:more understandable]].

* FawltyTowersPlot: Spike uses one gem after another to cover up his lie about being a good petsitter. [[spoiler: It would have come crashing down on him at the train if Angel didn't decide to cut him a break.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: For "[[SynchronousEpisodes Games Ponies Play]]"; [[spoiler:Twilight's comment on being a good leader by being calm and collected foreshadows her own lesson on keeping calm in that episode]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Spike and Angel towards each other. Spike has previously shown that he doesn't like Angel, and Angel's antics throughout the episode don't really change that. [[spoiler:Then at the end, when Spike confesses that he should have been taking care of pets instead of focusing on his cake, Angel grabs Spike's last gem and feeds half of it to the hungry dragon to save them all from being caught by the Mane Six]].

* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: [[spoiler:Twilight, who doesn't realize Spike and the pets are hiding in their train cabin, reassures Applejack with her faith in Spike as a petsitter. Seeing how Spike's been anything but a good petsitter throughout the entire episode, this really hits Spike where it hurts]].

* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: [[spoiler:When Spike apologizes to the pets for neglecting them, Angel decides that Spike has suffered enough and helps Spike evade the Mane Six and further punishment.]]

* [[spoiler:ShaggyDogStory: Spike goes through all sorts of crap to make his jewel cake, only for him to continually have to spend the jewels to get himself out of trouble, until he's only got one left... which he eats prematurely... ''again''.]]

* YankTheDogsChain: Yanked by the "dog" himself. [[spoiler:Spike, after having to put up with the pets and having to give away all but one of his gems, unknowingly eats his last gem... ''[[WhatAnIdiot again!]]'']]

** Opal [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4PgXFxQv1Y sums the trope up with Tank]]; head smack followed by nuzzle.

* BookEnds: The episode begins and ends with [[spoiler:Spike eating the gems for his cake, prompting one big '''[[SkywardScream WHY!?]]''']]

** [[spoiler:DramaticIrony]]: By [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E12GamesPoniesPlay "Games Ponies Play"]], it's made clear that Cadance's reasons for not inviting him turn out to be [[spoiler:more understandable]].

** [[spoiler:DramaticIrony]]: By [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E12GamesPoniesPlay "Games Ponies Play"]], it's made clear why Cadance's reasons for not inviting him to be [[spoiler:more understandable]].

* DogWalksYou: Spike bringing the pets along on leashes is a strange sight. Naturally, Winona is the one plowing ahead while the others keep up (and Opal being dragged along).

* SquashedFlat: Winona is subjected to this by the [[ItMakesSenseInContext industrial pet hairdryer]]. Unlike typical examples, this is shown to be non-injurious and ''Winona is absolutely loving it.''

* YankTheDogsChain: Yanked by the "dog" himself. [[spoiler:Spike, after having to put up with the pets and having to give away all but one of his gems, unknowingly eats his last gem... ''[[BookEnds again!]]'']]

* AmusingInjuries: As it usually happens in Spike-centered episodes.

** The CMC get battered even worse during their brief stint.

* BigBallOfViolence: The pets get into one at least once.

* BrattyHalfPint: Angel Bunny's defining personality trait. Partially justified in this episode because he realizes Spike doesn't know how to take care of the pets, so the rabbit feels NoSympathy for the dragon and therefore sees no problem on giving him a bad time on purpose.

* ButtMonkey: Spike... Ooooh so much with Spike.

* ChaseScene

* CruelToBeKind: Zecora takes one of Spike's gems from him and gives it to charity... in order to prevent his natural greed from getting the better of him. As mentioned above, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess for good reason.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: Spike. The pets also get a little more focus than in previous episodes.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Spike helped Cadance save the Crystal Empire, yet she doesn't invite him to help the others with welcoming the Head of the Equestria Games, so he definitely suffers a bit from this.

* FawltyTowersPlot

* FromBadToWorse: Spike's problems to keep the pets under control and try to save his jewels.

* GrowlingGut: Spike's stomach is particularly noisy when he's hungry.

* TheKlutz: Tank is revealed to still not quite have gotten the hang of flying around, basically as an excuse for why he gives Spike as much trouble as the others. {{Justified|Trope}} because Tank is a tortoise and lacks the quick reflexes to make him an effective pilot.

* LickedByTheDog[=/=]PetTheDog: Literal examples. The whole episode is pretty much a PetTheDog occasion from the writers to all the pets, giving them the chance to shine by their own.
* LooseLips[=/=]SayingTooMuch: When greeting Rarity, Sweetie Belle mentions the snow globes at the Crystal Empire's train station. Rarity immediately gets suspicious of this, and it's obvious she doesn't completely buy Sweetie's later excuse.
* LowerDeckEpisode: {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by the title. Due to some organizational changes in the sequencing of the season episodes, the episode this one plays lower deck to actually airs after it.

* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Probably the main lesson Spike learns in this episode.

* SilentSnarker: Owlowiscious

* SquashedFlat: Winona is subjected to this by the [[ItMakesSenseInContext industrial pet hairdryer]]. But, unlike typical examples, this is shown to be non-injurious and ''Winona is absolutely enjoying it.''

* TagalongKid: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

** Rainbow Dash insists that she isn't hiring Spike to petsit Tank because he might 'slack off' while she's gone, not because she's worried he'll hurt himself by crashing into things. Then he licks her cheek and she blushes.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: {{Averted}}. Peewee, Spike's adoptive phoenix from "Dragon Quest", is shown in a series of framed photographs in the library during the ColdOpen to have been returned to a set of phoenix parents (presumably his original parents) by Spike, presumably after an incident involving ice cream and Twilight's mane.

* {{Tsundere}}: Opal pretty much [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4PgXFxQv1Y sums the trope up with Tank]].

* LoyalAnimalCompanion: Though her rambunctious and hyperactive tendancies still cause trouble, Winona is the only animal to ''immediately'' obey Spike's orders. Owlowiscious to some extent as well, due him and Spike being a VitriolicBestBuds.

* CharacterDevelopment: True to his inherent dragon nature, Spike's main concern at the start of the episode is for jewels. As he crosses more ponies who demand jewels for helping him through his misadventures, Spike becomes more and more willing to give them away until the end, when [[spoiler:he finally sacrifices his last jewel to get out of a mess all on his own]].
** Add to that all the ponies' housepets now have established distinctive personalities to some extent.

* OddFriendship: It seems Spike and Owlowiscious have become pretty friendly to each other since their [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell earlier friction between each other]]. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin Similarly]], among the pets, Tank and Opal spend most of the episode together; they even rub heads as a sign of affection, and when the pets are on the move, Tank (thanks to his flying device) carries Opal so she doesn't need to walk.

* RealMenHateAffection: Rainbow Dash doesn't really want to be seen showing affection but does nuzzle Tank anyway. Going right back to her awkward stance after it is done.

** Everyone [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin keeps calling Tank a turtle instead of a tortoise]], except [[InsistentTerminology Fluttershy isn't around to correct them]].

** Rainbow Dash advises Spike to get a helmet, saying that he would only want to get hit in the head by a turtle once. Later, before he goes looking for Angel, Spike gets hit in the head by Tank: cue a scene cut to Spike walking all the animals with a helmet on his head.
*** Further, as soon as he hands over the rest of the pets to the CMC, he dumps the helmet on Scootaloo's head, who then is promptly hit by Tank.

* TheKlutz: Tank is revealed to still not quite have gotten the hang of flying around, basically as an excuse for why he gives Spike as much trouble as the others. {{Justified|Trope}} because Tank is a turtle and lacks the quick reflexes to make him an effective pilot.
** [[InsistentTerminology Tortoise.]]

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Spike helped Cadance save the Crystal Empire, yet she doesn't invite him to help the others with welcoming the Head of the Equestria Games, so he definitely suffers a bit from this.
* EasilyOverheardConversation[=/=] TrickDialogue: Spike really gets a good scare when accidentally overhearing the Cutie Mark Crusaders discussing how they take care of the pets.