# Castle Mane-ia > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castle_Mane-ia > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castle_Mane-ia.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mane-ia > Source revision: 1345695531 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 3rd episode of the 4th season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic "Castle Mane-ia" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode The abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters. Episode no. Season 4 Episode 3 Written by Josh Haber Original air date November 30, 2013 (2013-11-30) Running time 22 minutes Episode chronology ← Previous "Princess Twilight Sparkle" Next → "Daring Don't" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 4 List of episodes "**Castle Mane-ia**" is the third episode of the [fourth season](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_season_4) of the [animated television series](/source/Animated_series) *[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic)*. The episode was written by Josh Haber. It is the 68th episode of the series overall, and aired on [The Hub](/source/Discovery_Family#As_Hub_Network_(2010–2014)) on November 30, 2013. In this episode, the [Mane Six](/source/Mane_Six) separately visit [Princess Celestia](/source/Princess_Celestia) and [Princess Luna](/source/Princess_Luna)'s old castle for different reasons. The title of the episode is a reference to the *[Castlevania](/source/Castlevania)* video game series.[1] ## Plot External videos Castle Mane-ia (full episode) — Official upload of the episode onto YouTube My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Equestria Toyline Cutie mark Elements of Harmony Pony Spin-offs My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013–2020)(List of animations) My Little Pony: Pony Life (2020–2021)(List of episodes) Characters Mane Six Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie Applejack Fluttershy Rarity Supporting Spike Princess Celestia Princess Luna Princess Cadance Shining Armor Discord Starlight Glimmer Trixie Zecora Antagonists Queen Chrysalis Lord Tirek Cozy Glow Minor Derpy Hooves Background Six Cheese Sandwich Quibble Pants The Wonderbolts Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer Seasons & episodes Season 1 (2010–2011) "Friendship Is Magic" "The Ticket Master" "Applebuck Season" "Griffon the Brush Off" "Boast Busters" "Dragonshy" "Look Before You Sleep" "Bridle Gossip" "Swarm of the Century" "Winter Wrap Up" "Call of the Cutie" "Fall Weather Friends" "Suited for Success" "Feeling Pinkie Keen" "Sonic Rainboom" "Stare Master" "The Show Stoppers" "A Dog and Pony Show" "Green Isn't Your Color" "Over a Barrel" "A Bird in the Hoof" "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" "Owl's Well That Ends Well" "Party of One" "The Best Night Ever" Season 2 (2011–2012) "The Return of Harmony" "Lesson Zero" "Luna Eclipsed" "Sisterhooves Social" "The Cutie Pox" "May the Best Pet Win!" "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" "Sweet and Elite" "Secret of My Excess" "Hearth's Warming Eve" "Family Appreciation Day" "Baby Cakes" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" "Read It and Weep" "Hearts and Hooves Day" "A Friend in Deed" "Putting Your Hoof Down" "It's About Time" "Dragon Quest" "Hurricane Fluttershy" "Ponyville Confidential" "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" "A Canterlot Wedding" Season 3 (2012–2013) "The Crystal Empire" "Too Many Pinkie Pies" "One Bad Apple" "Magic Duel" "Sleepless in Ponyville" "Wonderbolts Academy" "Apple Family Reunion" "Spike at Your Service" "Keep Calm and Flutter On" "Just for Sidekicks" "Games Ponies Play" "Magical Mystery Cure" Season 4 (2013–2014) "Princess Twilight Sparkle" "Castle Mane-ia" "Daring Don't" "Flight to the Finish" "Power Ponies" "Bats!" "Rarity Takes Manehattan" "Pinkie Apple Pie" "Rainbow Falls" "Three's a Crowd" "Pinkie Pride" "Simple Ways" "Filli Vanilli" "Twilight Time" "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" "Somepony to Watch Over Me" "Maud Pie" "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" "Leap of Faith" "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" "Trade Ya!" "Inspiration Manifestation" "Equestria Games" "Twilight's Kingdom" Season 5 (2015) "The Cutie Map" "Castle Sweet Castle" "Tanks for the Memories" "Slice of Life" "Amending Fences" "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" "Made in Manehattan" "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" "The Hooffields and McColts" "The Cutie Re-Mark" Season 6 (2016) "A Hearth's Warming Tail" "The Times They Are a Changeling" Season 7 (2017) "The Perfect Pear" Season 8 (2018) "Grannies Gone Wild" Season 9 (2019) "The Last Crusade" Series finale Media Films & specials My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever (2018) My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip (2019) Music Theme song "This Day Aria" Movie Soundtrack "Rainbow" "Off to See the World" Games My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day Gameloft video game Collectible card game Other media Home video releases IDW comics Issues My Little Pony/Transformers Brony fandom Fan works (list) 15.ai Voiceverse NFT plagiarism scandal A Brony Tale Bronies (documentary) Derpibooru Equestria Daily Fimfiction Fallout: Equestria Friendship Is Witchcraft Legends of Equestria Love & Ponystep Ponysona PONY.MOV Them's Fightin' Herds Fandom people 15 hotdiggedydemon Jenny Nicholson Odyssey Eurobeat Sethisto The Living Tombstone Vylet Pony Fan culture Analysis Brony music Bronyspeak Charity Criticism Fan art Clop Ponysona Fan fiction Military bronies /mlp/ Online communities My Little Pony conventions BABSCon BronyCAN BronyCon Czequestria Everfree Northwest GalaCon Ponyville Ciderfest RuBronyCon TrotCon UK PonyCon Vanhoover Pony Expo v t e [Twilight Sparkle](/source/Twilight_Sparkle) travels to the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters on [Princess Celestia](/source/Princess_Celestia)'s suggestion to research the mysterious chest from the Tree of Harmony. She discovers an intact library where she and Spike settle in for a night of study. Meanwhile, [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) and [Applejack](/source/Applejack_(My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic)) decide to prove who is the braver of the two by spending the night in the supposedly haunted castle. Separately, [Rarity](/source/Rarity_(My_Little_Pony)) convinces [Fluttershy](/source/Fluttershy) to help her collect old tapestries from the ruins for restoration, while [Pinkie Pie](/source/Pinkie_Pie) abandons her bell-ringing duties at the school to gather flowers in the [Everfree Forest](/source/Everfree_Forest). The castle's ancient mechanisms begin separating the ponies as they explore different areas of the crumbling structure. Fluttershy accidentally triggers a rotating wall that temporarily traps her and Rarity in a hidden room, causing Fluttershy's pet bunny Angel to panic and run off into the castle depths. Rainbow Dash and Applejack encounter moving tapestries and disembodied hooves emerging from walls, convinced that they are witnessing supernatural phenomena related to Granny Smith's stories about the "Pony of Shadows" that supposedly haunts the ruins after dark. As night falls, mysterious [organ music](/source/Organ_music) begins echoing through the corridors, triggering various trap doors and further scattering the frightened ponies throughout the castle. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack unknowingly bump into each other in the darkness and assume they're encountering ghosts or monsters, leading to them becoming absolutely hysterical and panicking. Twilight hears the commotion and uses her magic to freeze everyone in place, finally reuniting the group and calming their fears when they realize they've been scaring each other all night. Following the organ music to its source, the ponies discover that the mysterious cloaked figure playing the instrument is actually Pinkie Pie, who followed them into the castle thinking that they were having a group party. Back in the library, Twilight shares how reading "The Journal of the Two Sisters" helped her understand the castle's history and made the experience less frightening. She suggests they keep their own friendship journal to help each other learn and cope with future challenges. The other ponies agree. However, now Pinkie’s Pie discarded cloak has been picked up by something else lurking in the dark. Its glowing yellow eyes appear, then stare menacingly at the viewer, ending the episode. ## Reception Sherilyn Connelly, the author of *Ponyville Confidential*, gave the episode a "B+" rating.[2] Daniel Alvarez of *Unleash The Fanboy* gave the episode a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and described it as "definitely fun" but noted it "won't be making classic status anytime soon," comparing it to a *[Scooby-Doo](/source/Scooby-Doo)* episode with its plot twist regarding the Pony of Shadows. Alvarez praised the unique concept of having the ponies in the castle without knowing others were there, commended the writing for Rarity and Twilight, and noted that while there was "a lot of running and yelling," the episode featured great writing and established an interesting new status quo change.[3] Brian Truitt of *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)* called the episode "chilling" in a "kid-friendly way".[1] In a critical analysis of the episode, author Jen A. Blue described "Castle Mane-ia" as "more interesting than entertaining" and praised its complex structure with three intertwining stories that interact physically rather than simply sharing a common origin like previous multi-story episodes. Blue analyzed the episode's place within the fourth season's unified arc, noting how it immediately picks up from "[Princess Twilight Sparkle](/source/Princess_Twilight_Sparkle_(My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_episodes))" with the mystery box and introduces the Journal of the Two Sisters as a replacement for letters to Princess Celestia. Blue interpreted the title of the episode as a dual pun referencing both "mania" and the *[Castlevania](/source/Castlevania)* video game series, arguing that the castle's aesthetic evokes elements of [Hammer Horror](/source/Hammer_Horror) and that the shadowy cloaked figure foreshadows the later appearance of [Tirek](/source/Lord_Tirek). Blue wrote that the fourth season was a more unified season closer to show creator [Lauren Faust](/source/Lauren_Faust)'s original vision: "the idealized form of the series intended by its creator, but assembled by others."[4] Film and television critic Callie Petch gave the episode an "A" grade and called it "a freakin' clinic in comedy, being utterly hysterical from start to finish," praising first-time series writer Josh Haber for creating a script that felt like it came from someone who had been with the show since day one. Petch described it as "one of the best episodes in the show's entire run" and commended the voice work, particularly [Ashleigh Ball](/source/Ashleigh_Ball)'s performance, as well as the storyboarding by Emmett Hall and Tony Cliff.[5] Megan Crouse of *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)* used the episode as an example of how *Friendship Is Magic* is a [high fantasy](/source/High_fantasy): the episode shows the ruins of the sisters' old castle, conjuring up a [medieval](/source/Medieval) setting and a sense of loss like [Théoden](/source/Th%C3%A9oden)'s in *[The Lord of the Rings](/source/The_Lord_of_the_Rings)*.[6] ## See also - [List of *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* episodes](/source/List_of_My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_episodes) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Truitt-2014_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Truitt-2014_1-1) Truitt, Brian (2014-09-10). ["DVD helps 'Pony' fans get into a 'Spooktacular' mood"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/09/10/my-little-pony-spooktacular-tales-exclusive-clip/15356947/). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*. Retrieved 2025-07-02. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 80 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Alvarez, Daniel (2013-11-30). ["My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 'Castle Mane-ia' Review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131203164844/http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-castle-mania-review/80095). *Unleash The Fanboy*. Archived from [the original](http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-castle-mania-review/80095) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2025-06-30. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Blue-S4-CM_4-0)** Blue, Jen A. (2021-12-27). "You turned into a vampire pony! (Castle Mane-ia)". *My Little Po-Mo: Unauthorized Critical Essays on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season Four and Beyond*. pp. 26–30. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Petch, Callie (2013-11-30). ["About Last Night: My Little Pony – Friendship is Magic "Castle Mane-ia""](https://calliepetch.com/2013/11/30/my-little-pony-castle-mane-ia/). *Callie Petch*. Retrieved 2025-07-02. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Crouse, Megan (2014-12-21). ["Why My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is "Serious" Fantasy"](https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/why-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-is-serious-fantasy/). *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)*. Retrieved 2025-07-07. ### Bibliography - Connelly, Sherilyn (2017-04-01). [*Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ponyville_Confidential/E3VPDgAAQBAJ). McFarland. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4766-6209-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4766-6209-1). ## External links - ["Castle Mane-ia"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3099920/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Season 4 "Princess Twilight Sparkle" "Castle Mane-ia" "Daring Don't" "Flight to the Finish" "Power Ponies" "Bats!" "Rarity Takes Manehattan" "Pinkie Apple Pie" "Rainbow Falls" "Three's a Crowd" "Pinkie Pride" "Simple Ways" "Filli Vanilli" "Twilight Time" "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" "Somepony to Watch Over Me" "Maud Pie" "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" "Leap of Faith" "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" "Trade Ya!" "Inspiration Manifestation" "Equestria Games" "Twilight's Kingdom" --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Castle Mane-ia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mane-ia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mane-ia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.