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{{Infobox television episode | title = | series = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] | image = Main_Six_determined_to_have_the_Best_Night_Ever_S1E26.png | image_size = 280 | image_alt = | caption = Clockwise from the top: [[Rarity (My Little Pony)|Rarity]], [[Fluttershy]], [[Pinkie Pie]], [[Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Applejack]], [[Rainbow Dash]], and [[Twilight Sparkle]]. | season = 1 | episode = 26 | director = [[Jayson Thiessen]] | writer = [[Amy Keating Rogers]] | music = * Songs by [[Daniel Ingram (composer)|Daniel Ingram]] and William Anderson: * "At the Gala" (Ingram) * "I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala" (traditional/Anderson) * "Pony Pokey" (Ingram/Anderson) | editor = [[Rob Renzetti]] (story) | airdate = {{Start date|2011|05|06}} | length = 22 minutes | guests = * [[Vincent Tong (voice actor)|Vincent Tong]] as Prince Blueblood<ref>{{cite tweet|number=270976711196303360|title=Ok Bronies, time to clear this up once and for all: Prince Blueblood was played by Vincent Tong, not by me. I KNEW that wasn't my voice...|date=November 21, 2012|first=Trevor|last=Devall|author-link=Trevor Devall|user=TrevorDevall|access-date=November 6, 2021}}</ref> (uncredited) | prev = [[Party of One (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Party of One]] | next = [[The Return of Harmony]] | season_article = My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 1 | episode_list = List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes }} "'''The Best Night Ever'''" is [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 1|the first season]] finale of the animated television series ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]''. The episode follows [[Twilight Sparkle]] and her friends, who try to enjoy the Grand Galloping Gala separately. Each of them finds their expectations disappointed and inadvertently cause chaos through all their attempts to satisfy their wants. The episode aired on May 6, 2011, and was positively received.

== Plot == {{External media |headerimage=[[File:YouTube 2024.svg|alt=YouTube logo|x20px|center]] |video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSztdh8G7Wo The Best Night Ever (full episode)] — Official upload of the episode onto [[YouTube]] | float= left| }} {{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic sidebar}} On the day of the Grand Galloping Gala, [[Pinkie Pie]], [[Rarity (My Little Pony)|Rarity]], [[Fluttershy]], [[Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Applejack]], and [[Rainbow Dash]] gather outside the Carousel Boutique and watch as [[Twilight Sparkle]] performs a new magic spell to transform an apple into a fancy carriage. Turning to a group of four mice that Fluttershy brought with her, Twilight uses her magic to transform them into large horse-mouse hybrids. As her friends offer tepid reactions, Opalescence appears and attacks the horses, causing them to flee. Twilight wonders how they'll get to the gala without them, but Rarity manages to charm a pair of nearby stallions to pull the carriage.

That night, at the Gala, although [[Spike (My Little Pony)|Spike]] hopes to enjoy the Gala together, Twilight and her friends quickly separate to enjoy it in their ways, but each of them soon finds their experience falls well short of their expectations. Twilight intends to talk privately with [[Princess Celestia]], but the latter is repeatedly interrupted by having to welcome other guests to the Gala. Rainbow Dash attempts to impress [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#The Wonderbolts|the Wonderbolts]], but their time is continually taken up by other attendees. Rarity spends time with Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood, hoping to fall in love with him, only to discover that he is self-absorbed and obnoxious. Applejack opens a stand to sell her family's apple products but makes minimal sales. Fluttershy ends up scaring away the animals she wishes to see in the castle gardens, and tries to set up traps. Pinkie Pie tries to become the life of the Gala but learns that the Gala is a different kind of party than what she dreamed it would be.

As events mount, the friends' actions lead to a mass of chaos in the grand ballroom when Pinkie attempts a stage dive that causes a cake to fly towards Blueblood, who uses Rarity as a shield against the splatter. Rainbow Dash then tries to impress the Wonderbolts by catching a large, wobbling statue before it hits the ground, but loses control of it and causes it to smash several nearby pillars. Finally, several animals from the garden burst inside while fleeing Fluttershy. Twilight and her friends flee the gala, regroup with Spike at a donut shop, and express their disappointment with the night's events. However, they are soon joined by Princess Celestia, who explains that she had invited Twilight and her friends to liven up the normally boring Gala, and is happy with what happened. Everyone agrees the night to be the "best night ever."

== Background == "The Best Night Ever" was directed by [[Jayson Thiessen]] (supervising) and [[James Wootton (animator)|James Wootton]], and written by [[Amy Keating Rogers]]. The initial draft of the episode was thirty-nine pages long, six more than a typical ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' script;<ref>{{cite tweet|number=238332094508593152|first=Amy Keating|last=Rogers|author-link=Amy Keating Rogers|user=KeatingRogers|title=#MLP:FiM Tidbit: Scripts are generally 33 pages long. But my first draft of 'The Best Night Ever' was 39 pages! Talk about too many words!|date=August 23, 2012|access-date=November 6, 2021}}</ref> it included more extensive version of the "Piggy Dance", which was removed and instead appears in [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 2|season two]] episode "Baby Cakes". Prince Blueblood, Rarity's selfish love interest, was originally meant to be a duke, but a member of the approval process believed the target demographic would be unfamiliar with the term.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Faust |first1=Lauren |author1-link=Lauren Faust |title=He's the great great great great great great great great great great great (and probably even more greats) nephew on Celestia's and Luna's mother's side, about 52 times removed, roughly speaking. I would have preferred to call him a Duke, but someone in the approval process thought kids wouldn't know what a Duke is. Luna and Celestia have no siblings and no children. Also that's a fan name, he has no official name on the show. |url=https://www.deviantart.com/comments/4/1603670/1932962564 |publisher=[[DeviantArt]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |language=en |date=March 31, 2011 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106075736/https://www.deviantart.com/comments/4/1603670/1932962564 |url-status=live }}</ref> "The Best Night Ever" features three songs written by [[Daniel Ingram (composer)|Daniel Ingram]]: "At the Gala", "I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala" and "Pony Pokey". Several songs were cut due to being too lengthy.<ref>{{cite tweet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330001736/https://twitter.com/KeatingRogers/status/215148827370467329|archive-date=March 30, 2016|number=215148827370467329|first=Amy|last=Keating Rogers|author-link=Amy Keating Rogers|user=KeatingRogers|date=June 19, 2012|title=@OsakaJack27 @umandsf @dannyimusic I have versions of all my songs including some that were cut from The Best Night Ever! (too long)|access-date=November 6, 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref> "At the Gala", recorded at [[Bryan Adams]]'s studio in [[Vancouver]], includes a choir of twenty people with each main character singing a solo part.<ref name="Ingram">{{cite interview |last1=Ingram |first1=Daniel |interviewer=Sethisto |author1-link=Daniel Ingram (composer) |title=Daniel Ingram Interview has arrived! |url=https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/daniel-ingram-interview-has-arrived.html |publisher=[[Equestria Daily]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |language=en |date=March 23, 2011 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105035433/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/daniel-ingram-interview-has-arrived.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The song is also based on [[Stephen Sondheim]]'s ''[[Into the Woods]]''.<ref name="wired uk">{{cite magazine|magazine = [[Wired UK]]|date = August 15, 2011|first = Daniel Nye|last = Griffiths|title = Colt Success|url = https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/play/colt-success|access-date = October 10, 2011|archive-date = November 21, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111121111102/http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/play/colt-success|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.macleans.ca/2011/09/07/ponies-do-sondheim/|title = Ponies Do Sondheim|first = Jaime|last = Weinman|date = September 7, 2011|access-date = September 8, 2011|work = [[Maclean's]]|archive-date = September 9, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110909125555/http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/09/07/ponies-do-sondheim/|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="rollingstone ingram">{{Cite magazine|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/behind-the-music-of-pop-culture-smash-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-20120420|title = Behind the Music of Pop Culture Smash ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''|date = April 20, 2012|access-date = April 20, 2012|first = Kevin|last = Rutherford|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|url-access = limited|archive-date = April 29, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180429203929/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/behind-the-music-of-pop-culture-smash-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-20120420|url-status = live}}</ref> Through this episode, ponies wear dresses, much of which was designed "almost like" four-legged humans.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Begin |first1=Mary Jane |title=My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria |date=October 13, 2015 |publisher=[[Abrams Books]] |isbn=978-1-419-71577-8 |page=40}}</ref>

== Broadcast and reception == The episode aired on May 6, 2011, on [[Discovery Family|The Hub]]. Sherilyn Connelly of ''[[SF Weekly]]'' called the it "the best ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' season finale ever". She praised the songs, particularly "At the Gala" and "Pony Pokey", finding the former showstopping, and the latter surprisingly deep and "saddest, most poignant song [Pinkie Pie will] ever sing".<ref name="Connelly">{{cite web |last1=Connelly |first1=Sherilyn |title=My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Season 1 Finale and Wrap Up |url=https://archives.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2012/05/09/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-1-finale-and-wrap-up |website=[[SF Weekly]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |language=en |date=May 9, 2012 |archive-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005045741/https://archives.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2012/05/09/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-1-finale-and-wrap-up |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Screen Rant]]'' ranked the episode the fourth-best season finale according to [[IMDb]].<ref name="Olsen">{{cite web |last1=Olsen |first1=Carly |title=My Little Pony: Every Season Finale, Ranked According to IMDb |url=https://screenrant.com/my-little-pony-season-finale-best-worst-imdb |website=[[Screen Rant]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |date=November 21, 2019 |archive-date=June 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610124913/https://screenrant.com/my-little-pony-season-finale-best-worst-imdb/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Home media == "The Best Night Ever", along with four other episodes, was released in August 2012 by [[Shout! Factory]] as part of the "Royal Pony Wedding" [[DVD]].<ref>{{cite web |title=My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Royal Pony Wedding |url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-royal-pony-wedding?product_id=2038 |publisher=[[Shout! Factory]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526023919/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-royal-pony-wedding?product_id=2038 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also included in the company's complete [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 1|season one]] collection and [[Madman Entertainment]]'s season one boxset.<ref>{{cite web |title=My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Season One |url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-one?product_id=3198 |publisher=[[Shout! Factory]] |access-date=November 6, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526023917/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-one?product_id=3198 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic Season 1 Boxset |url=http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/19756/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-1-boxset |publisher=[[Madman Entertainment]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510094233/http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/19756/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-1-boxset |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb episode|1880665}}

{{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes|1|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Night Ever, The}} [[Category:My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes]] [[Category:2011 American television episodes]] [[Category:2011 Canadian television episodes]]