All in Marederation
- Story by Christina Rice, Art by Brenda Hickey
At Sugarcube Corner, the Cakes and Pinkie Pie are hosting a party to celebrate their successful business. However, as they're doing this, a new visitor comes into town — Temperance Flowerdew, a harsh and strict crusader on a mission to rid the world of the evils of the tooth-rotting, health-ruining and deceptively pleasant menace that is sugar. Unsurprisingly she's not a fan of the Cakes' establishment, and in short order manages to turn most of the town to her point of view. As the anti-sugar craze sweeps through Ponyville, Sugarcube Corner swiftly loses all business and the Cakes' financial prospects take a turn for the worse — as do the Apples, who relied on them to sell their own apple-based treat. Temperance is eventually able to turn Pinkie Pie to her side as well, stressing the dangerous effects of sugar overconsumption to change Pinkie's mind.
As it turns out, however, not all of Ponyville is quite on board with Temperance's crusade, as Twilight discovers when a cryptic note directs her to Sweet Apple Acres. There, she discovers that Ponyville's remaining sugar-lovers have established a secret bar where they can continue to enjoy sweets, and are pigging out on them beyond all limits of sanity. Fed up with this rift and the ridiculous extremes both sides have been reaching, Twilight decides to confront the problem at its source and goes to speak with Temperance and Pinkie herself. After learning that Temperance's hatred of sugar is due to a combination of a strict upbringing where no sugar was allowed and a terrible case of indigestion brought about when she first had the change to sample sweets and ate far too much for her own good, Twilight proclaims that sweets are perfectly fine to eat — in moderation, without overindulging and as part of a broader diet.
Much like Pinkie before her, Temperance is convinced to rethink her position when confronted with the effects of her crusade — a lot of miserable ponies who can't have anything sweet anymore, and a lot of sick ponies who overindulged in sugar in response to her overly strict measures. Convinced of the error of her ways, she thanks Twilight and departs Ponyville to spread the word of the benefits of moderate eating.
This issue provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Moderation in all things. Going to an extreme on either end of an issue will help no-one.
- The loudest voice talking isn't the wisest one there. Don't let yourself get swept up in the fervor around you.
- If what you have to say is important, then make yourself heard. Twilight only gets through to Temperance when she stops being cowed and refuses to let herself be silenced.
- Just because you have a valid point, it doesn't mean an opposing view isn't also right.
- Balloon Belly: Happens to Spike and several townsponies in the underground bakery at Sweet Apple Acres. Temperance also gets one when she pigs out on sweets as a filly.
- Big "WHAT?!": Pinkie Pie and the Cakes when Temperance bans sugar in Ponyville.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The sugar controversy is very closely patterned after Prohibition, with sugar replacing alcohol and worries over health issues replacing concerns over drunkenness. The visuals are otherwise identical, including a pseudo-Puritan firespitter heading the Anti-Sugar League and an underground speakeasy where ponies gather to enjoy sweets (complete with Spike in a fake mustache playing the pianoforte, Fluttershy Sitting Sexy on a Piano while singing in an opera gown and Rainbow Dash somehow managing to convincingly replicate the effects of drunkenness after goings nuts on milkshakes).
- Drunk on Milk: After the Cakes and Apples are forced to open an underground sugar bar in Sweet Apple Acres due to Temperance Flowerdew's anti-sugar crusade, their clientele includes Rainbow Dash, who has managed to get herself completely drunk, complete with bloodshot eyes, from drinking milkshakes.
- Freudian Excuse: Temperance's views on sugar manifested when she was a young pony, having grown up in an environment that taught her snacks were bad. One day she finally had the chance to try these forbidden treats, but she went overboard and made herself sick. From that day forward she became obsessed with making sure no one had to feel like she did.
- Fridge Logic: Invoked by Twilight who asks Temperance if her sword was necessary in pointing out evil.
- Ironic Name: The word "temperance" means moderation. Temperance promotes an extremist stance against sugar, and has to be taught the value of moderation.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Temperance does have a point that eating a lot of sugary goods is bad for a person, causing such things as tooth decay and weight gain. The problem is, her extreme methods cause most people to believe sugar is pure evil and must be banned in all forms, rather than promoting ideas about a balanced diet and moderation.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Pinkie Pie reacts this way when Temperance makes her believe she's made people sick and hurt them with her baked goods and parties.
- Temperance has the realization when seeing what her extremist views are doing to Ponyville, with half the populace unhappy and miserable from holding up her stance to an unhealthy degree, and the other going on huge sugar binges out of fear they'll never eat sugar again. She eventually sees the light when Twilight teaches her to preach moderation instead of an "All or nothing" mindset.
- Only Sane Man: Twilight is one of the few characters to not become either swayed by Temperance's anti-sugar mindset or go on extreme snacking binges out of fear that sugar will be banned permanently.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Lampshaded when Twilight asks Temperance what authority she has banning sugar in Ponyville.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Twilight finally has enough of Temperance yelling at her to be silent and refuses to back down after one too many shouts.
- Sitting Sexy on a Piano: As part of the Prohibition pastiche, the underground sugar bar set up in the Apples' barn includes Fluttershy singing while lounging on Spike's piano in a dress.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Temperance Flowerdew, an elderly pony who believes sugar is pure evil and goes from town to town guilt-tripping ponies, and leading protests to get baked goods and candy banned. She genuinely is concerned about the health of other ponies, but her "All or nothing" mindset proves to be just as unhealthy as she views sugar to be.
- You Are What You Hate: Temperance just wanted to stop people from feeling as sick and unhappy as she did when she first had sugar, but comes to realize her warped standards of healthy living are causing people to be both unhappy and unhealthy.
