Our 100th episode opens with Cranky Doodle Donkey and his fiancee Matilda, who suddenly discover that the wedding invitations they sent out have today's date instead of tomorrow, and everypony in town got one. The two fly into a panic to push up their timetable and get married by this afternoon. Who's responsible for this mishap? None other than Derpy Hooves (credited as Muffins), who got them done cheap by hiring poor little Featherweight. It's nice to see Cranky and Matilda again, who debuted back in the second season when Pinkie Pie reunited them after he spent his whole life trying to find her, and hearing Derpy find her voice again is a real treat.
Derpy's feeling awful about her mistake and wishes there was a way to go back in time and fix it, piquing the interest of her friend Time Turner (credited as Doctor, but Derpy just calls him Doc). He's voiced by Peter New, who reminds me a bit of Paul McGann in his delivery, with a bit of Tom Baker. He invites her into his home (which could very well be bigger on the inside) and rambles a bit about his fascination with science, and shows Derpy around, specifically mentioning the flameless fireworks he invented (but can't figure out how to ignite). Then when Derpy finally mentions the wedding, he realizes he still needs to get his suit tailored (and it's green, just like McGann's).
The mane six are trying to stop a bugbear from destroying Ponyville, and as such Rarity isn't at the Carousel Boutique and can't help Turner with his suit. Vinyl Scratch/DJ P0N-3 is walking by and he begs her for help finding a tailor. She can't hear him through her headphones, so just takes him to the bowling alley. He runs into Jeff Letrotski (credited as Lebowski Pony), who just happens to be a tailor himself. (I also noticed his cutie mark is a rug, and that is hilarious.) His team is missing a guy, so agrees to fix up the suit if Turner bowls with them.
As the bugbear rampages through Ponyville, Matilda looks desperately for her wedding planner (Pinkie Pie), but spots Sparkler (credited as Amethyst Star) directing foals to safety. Apparently she was quite the organizer before Twilight showed up and eagerly agrees to help. This scene also provides our first look at the bugbear, and it's pretty cool design. I four-armed black (with yellow stripes) and white bear with a bee's wings and stinger.
As Sparkler and Matilda run away towards the spa, Derpy flies by them and asks if there's anything she can do, and Matilda quickly mentions
flowers. She goes to Roseluck and two other mares to get them but
nothing is ready. The trio faints at the thought of trying.
Meanwhile at Town Hall, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon are setting up the decorations for the ceremony. After expositing a bit about their friendship, they hear the commotion outside. The moment she learns it's a bugbear, she freaks. Apparently, her real name is Sweetie Drops, and she used to work as a secret anti-monster agency in Canterlot, and that she was the one who captured the bugbear initially and that it's escaped into Tartarus to find her. Not wanting Lyra to get hurt because of her, she jumps out the window on a grappling hook and blends into the crowd, as Cranky is seen pleading to a jeweler pony about the wedding bands.
Back at the bowling alley, Turner is staring down a 7-10 split which could mean winning the bowling tournament. However, Derpy busts in and excitedly says she's going to use his flameless fireworks for the wedding since they look like flowers. He runs after her, and his bowling ball only knocks down one of the pins.
The bugbear fight scrolls by in the foreground as we transition to the spa. Matilda is stressing out, and Lotus Blossom tries to calm her down. As it turns out, Stephen Magnet is there too, the sea monster from the first episode(s). He and Cranky are old friends and recounting how he never gave up searching for her does manage to relax her...then Stephen brings up how big a deal the wedding is to the ponies attending, and it looks like she's freaking out again.
We then cut to Vinyl Scratch entering her house, where her roommate Octavia Melody is on her bass (or cello?) trying to figure out what to play at the wedding. Everything she tries sounds rather generic, so Vinyl brings out her sound board and adds some dubstep to the mix. The two jam for a while in a cool sequence, until Octavia realizes she's going to be late for the wedding. The two burst out of the house on mobile speakers and zoom towards Town Hall, jumping over what appears to be a stuffed shark (clever), streaking past the bugbear battle, and picking up Matilda, the Cake family (delivering the wedding cake) and countless other ponies along the way (it would take too long to mention them all). Cranky loses his toupee as it streaks past him. Somepony drops their cane in the street, which trips the mobile and sends everypony flying. Gummy, Pinkie Pie's pet aligator, watches all this from a distance, and internally monologues about the futility of life.
Everypony luckily manages to land safely in Town Hall; even the cake landed with each layer in one piece. Princesses Celestia and Luna are on the scene, and seemed to forget to bring a gift. Shining Armor is crying like little filly (apparently he always does this at weddings) while Cadance tries to console him. As Derpy admires her flameless firework floral arrangement, Sweetie Drops enters and announces that the mane six have defeated the bugbear. She then takes a seat next to Lyra, who confesses something trivial to Bon Bon and the two remain on good terms.
Derpy goes to the door as Time Turner runs up. It seems he left his suit at the bowling alley and is instead wearing Tom Baker's scarf. She gives him a hug, and he realizes they're short on time and goes inside with an "Allons-y!"
With Cranky missing his toupee, Stephen Magnet cuts off half of his moustache and plants it on Cranky's head, reflecting Rarity's act of generosity to him back in his first appearance. With everypony else arrived, the ceremony begins as Derpy closes the door and inadvertently locks the mane six out, forcing them to watch through a window. Mayor Mare officiates and delivers a wonderful monologue about the importance of every character who plays a part in each others lives, major and minor. And so she pronounces them Jack and Jenny (Is that donkey terminology? I wouldn't know). Their first kiss as a married couple sets off Time Turner's flameless fireworks, and he's overjoyed by it (and just happens to be sitting next to Roseluck).
We then cut to outside. The sun is setting and the Town Hall interior has flashes of color erupt from the inside. As Twilight and her friends look on, she turns towards Ponyville and says how lucky they are to live there, giving them all a group hug.
This episode is fantastic. It's nice to see all the background ponies get some time in the spotlight, and return to characters we haven't seen in a long time. The mayor's monlogue is particulary poignant, and leans on the fourth wall a bit. The Doctor Who references via Time Turner (often referred to as Doctor Whooves by fans) are a real treat, since it seemed like something they got about as close as they could to making him the Doctor without actually doing so. I also loved the spotlight on Derpy. She hasn't been called by name since the second season, but she also hasn't spoken since then either. For now, I'm assuming her real name is still Derpy and Muffins is just something that others call her, because she likes Muffins (it's also her first line in the episode).
While I got a kick out of seeing Time Turner's labratory and his interaction with Derpy, my favorite scene is probably the one at Vinyl and Octavia's household. Their home is split down the middle, colored normally on Octavia's side, with purple and blue on Vinyl's side. I'm still a bit disappointed that Vinyl doesn't have a voice yet. She didn't speak in Rainbow Rocks either, so she could very well be a mute. It's still great seeing her and Octavia actually interact and make music together in canon.
The mane six, of course, got the back seat during this episode. I'm kind of curious how they finally defeated the bugbear and how it got to Ponyville in the first place. I don't think they'd be able to fill a whole episode with the battle, although they have done that kind of device before back in the third season.
At the end, Slice Of Life is a 22-minute love letter to the show's audience and fanbase for helping to make My Little Pony the powerhouse (or perhaps powerhorse) that it is today, and an episode you do not want to miss.
