Season 7 Episode 11: Not Asking For Trouble
This episode beings with an excited Pinkie Pie, who's quickly revealed to have been summoned to the Yak village of Yakyakistan for the ceremony of Yickslurbertfest. It's revealed that she 'subtly' hinted at wanting an invitation, by sending him hundreds of scrolls begging him to invite her. After the opening credits, Twilight mentions that they still don't know very much about the yaks, and appoints Pinkie as the 'official friendship ambassador to the yaks'. Cut to Pinkie's expedition to Yakyakistan, and she's flying there in a hot air balloon with Gummy. They play I Spy, and unsurprisingly, Gummy never answers.
As Pinkie arrives in Yakyakistan, she is greeted by Prince Rutherford and the other yaks stomping at the ground in an act of destruction. She questions what's wrong, and wonders if Yickslurbertfest is cancelled. Nope, as it turns out, the scared holiday is celebrated by yaks coming together to stomp, and stomping apparently helps the yaks relax. Upon this revelation, Pinkie joins in, before Rutherford commands her to stop, telling her to "check self before wreck self". Ugh, they really chose to have him say outdated and contextually-modified slang that no-one used in the first place? Anyway, apparently Pinkie has destroyed a scared branch in her stomping. She apologises, but it's revealed that Rutherford was simply messing with her.
Rutherford proceeds to give Pinkie a tour of the yak village, despite her mentioning that she's been there before. It supposedly in unrecognisable due to the decoration, and according to Rutherford, yaks not only have an eye for decorating, but also are amazing builders. This is shut down by Pinkie, who quickly reveals the shoddiness of the thin-walled mud huts, before apologetically fixing the hut back up. Rutherford goes on to show Pinkie the eating hut, sleeping hut, and music hut. This culminates in Rutherford making Pinkie an honorary yak. Pinkie is thrilled, and asks for a horn bump... before quickly coming to the realisation that she doesn't have a horn. She asks Rutherford if he can make her some honorary yak horns, but he states that they'd be too heavy for her.
Happy with their reignited friendship with Pinkie, the yaks start stomping vigorously. Unfortunately, this causes a giant avalanche, which proceeds to engulf the yak village. Although apparently there's an avalanche at Yickslurbertfest every year, this is an especially heavy one. The yaks try to remedy the problem by digging the snow away, though their forceful exertion causes further avalanches, and exacerbates the problem. Pinkie offers to fetch Twilight and the others to come help out, though Rutherford outright refuses, stating that yaks don't need help. Fortunately they have a Plan B; to simply wait for the snow to melt. Pinkie brings up just how long that would take, and Rutherford reinforces the strength and endurance of the yaks.
In a show of solidarity, Pinkie tries to reassure the yaks that they'll be able to make it through the avalanche, by showcasing some snow recipes, such as snow cakes and snow spaghetti. Although Rutherford seems receptive of Pinkie's active imagination, the other yaks don't seem so thrilled. The destruction of the town is emphasised by the yaks sleeping on piles of snow, and dancing to the ...silence created by snow? All right then. After this, Pinkie overhears two yak children about how hungry they are, and mentions to herself that Twilight and the others would be more than happy to help, if only she could convince Rutherford that asking for help is okay.
She attempts to convince Rutherford by relaying a story about goats, that parallels the situation the yaks are currently facing. The goats suffer through a sandstorm, and enlist the help of the neighbouring cows. The cows helped the goats, causing both groups to survive the sandstorm and live happily ever after. She asks Rutherford what the moral of the story is, providing three positive options with regards to asking for help. Rutherford answers with a fourth, negative option, stating that the goats were weak, and the cows should have stayed out of their business. Pinkie sighs in exasperation, as the screen fades to black.
In the morning, Pinkie tries a new tactic. She starts by complementing the new yak way of life, in an attempt to use reverse psychology. She goes on to state that she knows who would really like the new snow sandwiches: Twilight and the other ponies. Then, out of nowhere, Rutherford tells of a rather depressing story from his childhood about his family never rescued him from a hole, which is how he learned to survive on his own. Pinkie finds numerous flaws in his story, which she brings up, only for Rutherford to shut her down by insisting that yaks never ask for help. Pinkie brings up the yaks' hunger and snowy environment, and Rutherford rescinds Pinkie's honourary yak status in an act of anger.
Pinkie returns to Ponyville to try and get some help from the others. On the way back, Pinkie and Gummy play 20 (Million) Questions, with Pinkie guessing first. This cuts to Pinkie disappointed that she used up all 20 million of her guesses without correctly guessing what Gummy as thinking of. I guess 'nothing' wasn't one of her guesses. There's a brief cut back to the yaks, wherein Rutherford exclaims that the snow sandwiches have lost their novelty, though the snow couscous is still good. Cut back to Pinkie, who relays the story to Twilight and the others. Applejack mentions bringing some apples for the yaks, and Rarity states that she can bring some fabric. Pinkie is against this idea, as the yaks are very proud, and would refuse any gifts. As such, the Mane Six plan a covert friendship mission.
As the Mane Six travel back to Yakyakistan together, Pinkie attempts to get the others to join her in 20 Questions, but is quickly shut down by Rainbow Dash. Upon arrival, she mentions how hard it will be to scale the compound walls, as she attempts to grapple up them in a ninja suit. Rainbow simply flies up0 there, exclaiming how awesome she is. Now granted entry, the Mane Six get to work restoring Yakyakistan. Rainbow clears the clouds, Twilight grows some crops, Fluttershy makes some bed, Rarity hangs some decorations, and Pinkie bakes some cakes. As the yaks wake up, Applejack mentions how fixing up a village takes a lot out of you, which is odd, as she was the only pony not shown to actually *do* anything. The yaks exclaim that Rutherford was right; just waiting would solve the problem in itself.
The Mane Six try to leave without being noticed, but unfortunately Rutherford notices them. She tries to brush their presence off by stating that they are simply there to enjoy the snow cakes, though Rutherford immediately mentions that he's not mad at Pinkie for bringing them. He states that he's happy that Pinkie helped them without having to be asked, and that means that she really understands yaks. He reinstates her honourary yak status, and provides her with her own ceremonial yak horns. Pinkie is thrilled, as she can now do a horn-bump, though quickly realises that the horns are too big for her as she falls over in the snow. Everyone shares a laugh, as the credits roll.
Woo, the episode is finally over. The moral of the story is obviously that it's okay to ask for help, which is decent, though the moral itself was pushed *far* too hard. In fact, the yaks actually seemed to be getting by fine on their own. For ht matter, I'm honestly surprised that they brought the yaks back. They were originally responsible for one of the worst episodes to date, and this renewal fares little better. Considering one of the main premises of their previous appearance was a lack of communication, I find it odd that they were given a much larger degree of eloquence this time around. What really saves this episode is Pinkie's performance; ironically, this is one of her best episodes in my opinion. Her character felt completely on-point, and helped retain interest in what was otherwise a rather bland episode.
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