It has been SO LONG since we’ve had a Middle School Book Report!!! In the spirit of Goddess Girls, Steven and I decided to start a new series of tween girl books that speak to both our expertises’. Namely:
It’s going to be great.
Summary of Amazingness
By Patricia
In the middle of one of Pinkie Pie’s awesome parties, her way-less-enthusiastic family shows up wanting to see Princess Twilight. They’re in dire need of royal help because the family rock farm is going under! Pinkie Pie immediately suggests throwing a big rock concert to remind everyone how great rocks are, but her pony-Mennonite family are sick of her frivolous suggestions and tell her to get serious. So her friends try to plan a party without her while Pinkie Pie paints her room brown and tries to schedule business meetings. Eventually her family sees she is miserable and apologizes, and the Ponypalooza is a huge success, somehow making people order more gravel and bricks. Yay!
Igneous Rock: Pony Mennonite
Analysis within MLP Canon and Fanon
By Steven
So let’s start with one thing; I have no idea what the Word of God is on the canonicity of this series, but I kind of want for it to be canon as written, and here is just one reason why: “Nine Inch Tails.” That’s not to mention a number of other ponified bands, but it does at least introduce something other than saccharine-sweet pop and quasi-country into canon (note: this was published in 2013, before the introduction of Countess Coloratura a.k.a. MLP Lady Gaga). For this book, though, apart from the fun little references like those, there’s really nothing noticeably out of canon. Pinkie is Pinkie, except when she’s Pinkamena, the Pie clan are basically American Gothic in pony form, the Mane 6 do their thing, and parties get thrown. It basically qualified as a standard slice of life episode without pushing any canon boundaries, save perhaps one; Igneous and Cloudy Quartz (Pinkie’s parents) have perfectly normal, if slightly stilted, speech patterns, despite the show’s canon (and a large slice of common fanon) depicting them as using archaic English forms (as of S05E20). All things considered, that gets a pass.
Pony Lady Gaga
Patricia’s Favorites
Character: Pinkie Pie’s pet alligator, Gummy, who does nothing except blink occasionally
Part: All the bands that play at Ponypalooza: Coldhay, John Mare, The Whooves, and Neigh-Z
Thing I Learned: Sales of gravel are directly related to rock concert attendance
Steven’s Favorites
Character: Pinkie Pie, for equipping the Cutie Mark Crusaders with spring-loaded shoes. That’s something that would get you on a watchlist in any other nation.
Part: Ditto the bands. That was cute.
Thing I Learned: That either gems are dirt cheap or else Equestria is an economic powerhouse, allowing random citizens to upgrade their driveways with bling. Now I want an amethyst car park. Also that apparently major headliner bands will do a concert for free if you know them well enough?
I mean, let’s face it; they’re Ponyville’s resident terrorists