{{Infobox television episode | series = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | season = 5 | episode = 16 | writer = Noelle Benvenuti | story = Denny Lu | director = | music = | editor = | airdate = {{Start date|2015|09|26}} | length = 22 minutes | prev = [[Rarity Investigates!]] | next = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5#ep108|Brotherhooves Social]] | season_article = My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5 | episode_list = List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes }} {{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic sidebar}} "'''Made in Manehattan'''" is the sixteenth episode of the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5|fifth season]] of the [[Animated series|animated television series]] ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]''. The episode was written by Noelle Benvenuti from a story by Denny Lu. It originally aired on [[Discovery Family]] on September 26, 2015. In this episode, [[Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Applejack]] and [[Rarity (My Little Pony)|Rarity]] are sent by the [[Cutie Map]] to [[Manehattan]] to help their friend [[Coco Pommel]] revive her neighborhood's community theater.<ref>{{cite book|last=Snider|first=Brandon T.|date=2017|title=The Elements of Harmony Volume II: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Official Guidebook Volume II|location=New York|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0-316-43197-2|pages=160–161}}</ref>
== Plot == The [[Cutie Map]] summons [[Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Applejack]] and [[Rarity (My Little Pony)|Rarity]] to [[Manehattan]], where they reunite with [[Coco Pommel]] and discover that she is struggling to organize the Midsummer Theatre Revival, a community tradition that died out when its original founder Charity Kindheart moved away. Coco faces overwhelming challenges like a dilapidated park venue, no volunteers willing to help, and the impending arrival of the Method Mares [[theater troupe]] for a [[dress rehearsal]]. The three fail to recruit community support and can only restore the neglected park to mediocre condition and the stage collapses completely when the performers arrive for their rehearsal.
Feeling defeated and questioning why the map chose them over more qualified ponies like [[Twilight Sparkle|Twilight]], Applejack suggests scaling down their ambitions and focusing on what they can accomplish rather than what they cannot. They organize a modest performance in the neighborhood square, where the Method Mares present a play dedicated to Charity Kindheart that gradually attracts passersby and rekindles the community spirit that had been lost. This proves far more successful than the grand revival would have been and inspires neighborhood ponies to volunteer for future restoration projects. Rarity remarks that even small contributions can create a big difference.
== Reception == Sherilyn Connelly, the author of ''Ponyville Confidential'', gave the episode a "B" rating<ref>{{cite book |last=Connelly |first=Sherilyn |date=2017 |title=Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981–2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476662091 |page=85}}</ref> and described the episode as having an unusually heavy emphasis on [[cutie mark]]s.<ref>{{harvp|Connelly|2017|p=175}}</ref> Daniel Alvarez of ''Unleash The Fanboy'' gave the episode a rating of 8 out of 10 and called it "for sure solid," praising the return of Coco Pommel and the episode's message about making a difference through small actions. He criticized some strange dialogue for Applejack and wrote that her failure to adapt to city life did not make sense since she had been to Manehattan before.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-made-in-manehattan-review/137857#|title=My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic "Made in Manehattan" Review|website=Unleash The Fanboy|first=Daniel|last=Alvarez|date=2015-09-26|access-date=2025-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904203857/http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-made-in-manehattan-review/137857#|archive-date=2017-09-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kieran Hair, writing in ''[[WhatCulture]]'', criticized the episode's moral lesson and wrote that while the episode tries to teach that small acts can make a real impact, it contradictively uses Applejack building an entire stage by herself as an example of a "small act." Hair wrote that if ponies in Manehattan need to witness "an amazing feat of last-minute carpentry" before being inspired to pull weeds or plant flowers, the park's maintenance prospects are poor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/tv/13-horrible-life-lessons-my-little-pony-tries-to-teach-our-kids?page=9|title=13 Horrible Life Lessons My Little Pony Tries To Teach Our Kids|website=[[WhatCulture]]|date=2019-03-23|access-date=2025-07-08|first=Kieran|last=Hair}}</ref>
== See also == * [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes|List of ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' episodes]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb episode|4534332}}
{{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes|5|state=expanded}}
[[Category:My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes]] [[Category:2015 American television episodes]] [[Category:2015 Canadian television episodes]]