| "Dragon Quest" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode | |||
 Spike watches the great dragon migration. | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 2 Episode 21 | ||
| Written by | Merriwether Williams | ||
| Original air date | March 17, 2012 (2012-03-17) | ||
| Running time | 22 minutes | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magicseason 2 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Dragon Quest" is the twenty-first episode of thesecond season of theanimated television seriesMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The episode was written byMerriwether Williams. It originally aired onThe Hub on March 17, 2012. In this episode,Spike observes the great dragon migration and begins questioning his dragon identity.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Dragon Quest (full episode) — Official upload of the episode ontoYouTube |
TheMane Six and an eagerSpike gather to witness the spectacular greatdragonmigration. His enthusiasm deflates whenRainbow Dash casually dismisses him as a "lame dragon," and though the other ponies defend him, their well-meaning comments only deepen his embarrassment about his small stature and gentle nature. That night, Spike lies awake troubled by questions about his origins and identity, realizing that despite living among ponies his entire life, he knows nothing about dragon culture or where he truly belongs.
The next morning, Spike announces his intention to join the migration and learn how to be an authentic dragon. ThoughTwilight supports his decision, she secretly follows him along withRainbow Dash andRarity, who disguise themselves as a single large dragon to avoid detection. Spike eventually catches up with a group of teenage dragons in a volcanic region, where their leader Garble immediately begins mocking his diminutive size and lack of wings and asks whether he qualifies as a real dragon at all.
The teenage dragons subject Spike to a series ofinitiation challenges like violentwrestling matches and dangerouslava pool competitions. Spike performs poorly in most events but accidentally impresses the group with his pain tolerance after an especially painful belly flop into molten rock. The dragons accept him as a "rookie" member and celebrate with a raucous party where Spike gorges himself on gems. Garble invites Spike to participate in a raid on aphoenix nest to steal its eggs, a mission that requires him to distract the parent birds while the others loot their home. Though initially reluctant, Spike follows through with the plan but discovers a single unhatched egg that the other dragons demand he destroy as proof of his commitment to their group. When he refuses to smash the egg, Garble turns violent, which forces Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash to abandon their disguise and help Spike escape to safety.
Back inPonyville, Spike reflects on his experience and writes toPrincess Celestia about learning the difference between what he is biologically and who he chooses to be as an individual. The phoenix egg Spike rescued hatches into a baby bird that he names Peewee.
Sherilyn Connelly, the author ofPonyville Confidential, gave the episode a "B" rating.[1] In her review of the episode inSF Weekly, Connelly observed that Spike's refusal to smash the phoenix egg stemmed from his personal connection to the situation, noting that "he was once an abandoned egg, too", who was later taken in byTwilight Sparkle and her family.[2]
In a critical analysis of the episode, author Jen A. Blue argued that unlike "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", which unintentionally depicted flaws in gender socialization, "Dragon Quest" appears to address these issues deliberately. Blue analyzed the dragons as representing "the masculine counterpart to thematriarchal society ofEquestria" and explored the possibility of atransgender reading of Spike's story; Blue wrote that he possessesstereotypicallyfeminine traits yet chooses to define himself through his own sense of identity rather than conforming to physical expectations. She examined the dragons'King of the Hoard game as "one of the most perfect depictions ofhegemonic masculinity" she had ever seen. Blue interpreted it as a demonstration of power-based masculinity where dragons fight over treasure that ultimately goes unclaimed. Blue distinguished betweenpower andfreedom, arguing that the dragons' destruction of phoenix eggs represents the ultimate expression of power because it eliminates choices entirely, while creation represents the ultimate expression of freedom. She concluded that Spike rejects the power-driven dragon culture and "more than any character we have seen before, more even than theCutie Mark Crusaders, is abrony."[3]
Alesha Davis, in a retrospective review forThe Post, criticized the episode for its portrayal of fantasyracism, arguing that the ponies treat Spike as separate from other dragons in a way that resembles real-worldprejudice towardminorities. Davis analyzed the episode as "accidentally representing the struggle of a kid who is a minority attempting to reconnect with theircultural heritage when they've been raised in an all-white space." Davis commented that while the ponies often treat dragons likerabid animals, the dragons themselves demonstrate complexsocial structures withrituals andvalues, and they accept Spike more readily than the ponies feared they would.[4] Jamie Kingston ofWomenWriteAboutComics criticized the episode for giving "the unfortunate message that Spike is better off with the ponies than he is with his own kind, because they're cruel, violent jerks," which she argued "analogues uncomfortably with white people who adopt outside their race aswhite saviours."[5]
The episode was part of the Season 2DVD set, released byShout Factory on May 14, 2013.[6]
