# Trade Ya!

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22nd episode of the 4th season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

"Trade Ya!" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode Episode no. Season 4 Episode 22 Written by Scott Sonneborn Original air date April 19, 2014 (2014-04-19) Running time 22 minutes Episode chronology ← Previous "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" Next → "Inspiration Manifestation" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 4 List of episodes

"**Trade Ya!**" is the twenty-second 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 Scott Sonneborn. It originally aired on [The Hub](/source/Discovery_Family#As_Hub_Network_(2010–2014)) on April 19, 2014. In this episode, the [Mane Six](/source/Mane_Six) attend the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange.[1][2]

## Plot

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

The [Mane Six](/source/Mane_Six) arrive at the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange with various trading goals: [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) seeks a first-edition [Daring Do](/source/Daring_Do) book, [Spike](/source/Spike_(My_Little_Pony)) wants to trade comics, [Fluttershy](/source/Fluttershy) needs a bird whistle, and [Applejack](/source/Applejack_(My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic)) and [Rarity](/source/Rarity_(My_Little_Pony)) hunt for vintage items. Rainbow discovers the book she wants but only has a horseshoe to trade, which the Daring Do collector rejects in favor of an [orthros](/source/Orthrus) from an ancient beast dealer. This sets Rainbow and Fluttershy on a chain of trades involving [Discord](/source/Discord_(My_Little_Pony))-shaped lamps, antique chickens, and crystal [chalices](/source/Chalices), with each trader demanding something different.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Rarity argue over their conflicting vintage purchases—a dented pie tin and an expensive [brooch](/source/Brooch), respectively—with each insisting the other should get what they want to prove who's the better friend. [Pinkie Pie](/source/Pinkie_Pie) prevents [Twilight](/source/Twilight_Sparkle) from trading all her books for a young filly's broken quill, then sets up a promotional booth marketing Twilight's books as "official princess merchandise," drawing huge crowds but making Twilight uncomfortable.

Rainbow and Fluttershy race against the exchange's sunset deadline, including waiting for Stellar Eclipse to finish his lunch break and helping speed up an oat burger line. When they finally reach the orthros dealer, Fluttershy loses her bear call while clearing a crowd, and upon reaching the Daring Do collector, they discover she no longer wants it. The collector agrees to trade only if Fluttershy stays in [Manehattan](/source/Manehattan) for months to train the orthros, and Rainbow eagerly accepts the deal before realizing she has essentially traded away her friend.

Rainbow rushes to Twilight and requests an official ruling on the trade's validity. Rainbow argues that no possession is worth more than a friend, moving the Daring Do collector to tears, and she agrees to cancel the arrangement. The friends return to Ponyville, and Twilight gives Rainbow her old paperback copy of the Daring Do book.

## Reception

Sherilyn Connelly, the author of *Ponyville Confidential*, gave the episode a "B+" rating[3] and used it as an example of an episode that did not feature adventure elements as a rebuttal to the notion that "nearly all" episodes are adventure stories.[4]

In a critical analysis of the episode, author Jen A. Blue described "Trade Ya!" as "one of the more structurally complex episodes of the series" with full A, B, C, and D plots and wrote that while it initially appears to be a farce, it lacks the typical farcical climactic collapse and instead becomes "an examination of [desire](/source/Desire) and [value](/source/Value_(economics))." Blue analyzed how the episode demonstrates that [value is subjective](/source/Subjective_theory_of_value), arbitrary, and changeable through various trading scenarios, from Rainbow Dash's [lucky](/source/Good_luck_charm) [horseshoe](/source/Horseshoe) to Rarity and Applejack's conflict over absurd items. Blue argued that the show depicts how "the objects desired by various ponies don't have value of their own, but have it placed into them by other ponies" and noted that this challenges the show's premise about depicting the value of friendship, but concluded that the episode ultimately argues that "value is intangible, and therefore only intangible phenomena have value," with Rainbow Dash's friendship with Fluttershy being the prime example. Blue wrote that while the episode shows material objects' value as constructed, it does not make the show dishonest about friendship's value because "value is not just individually constructed, but also [socially constructed](/source/Social_construct)".[5]

Daniel Alvarez of *Unleash The Fanboy* gave the episode a rating of 5 out of 10 and called it "the weakest episode of Season 4, and the show in general," criticizing Scott Sonneborn's writing and arguing that most characters were badly written and acted like "parody versions of themselves." He praised the message that friends are worth more than material possessions but felt the episode was "a sea of mediocrity to get to that message."[6] Jamie Kingston of *[WomenWriteAboutComics](/source/WomenWriteAboutComics)* praised the episode's inclusion of ponies with [disabilities](/source/Disabilities).[7]

Ryan Meitzler of *DualShockers* called the [Easter egg](/source/Easter_egg) cameo of [ponified](/source/Ponified) version of [Robert and Rosalind Lutece](/source/Lutece_twins) from *[Bioshock Infinite](/source/Bioshock_Infinite)* as "very special".[8]

## See also

- [List of *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* episodes](/source/List_of_My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_episodes)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Zahn, James (2014-03-29). ["THE HUB NETWORK Announces April Programming Highlights: New Episodes of MLP, RESCUE BOTS, SABRINA and more…"](https://therockfather.com/the-hub-network-announces-april-programming-highlights-new-episodes-of-mlp-rescue-bots-sabrina-and-more/). *The Rock Father*. Retrieved 2025-07-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Snider (2017)](#CITEREFSnider2017), p. 118-119

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 82

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 167

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Blue, Jen A. (2021-12-27). "Like you wanted, remember? (Trade Ya!)". *My Little Po-Mo: Unauthorized Critical Essays on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season Four and Beyond*. pp. 187–192.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Alvarez, Daniel (2014-04-20). ["My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 'Trade Ya!' Review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140421123139/http://www.unleashthefanboy.com:80/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-trade-ya-review/98466). *Unleash The Fanboy*. Archived from [the original](http://www.unleashthefanboy.com:80/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-trade-ya-review/98466) on 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2025-06-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Kingston, Jamie (2014-07-07). ["Throwing Popcorn: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic"](https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2014/07/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic/). *[WomenWriteAboutComics](/source/WomenWriteAboutComics)*. Retrieved 2025-07-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Meitzler, Ryan (2014-04-21). ["This Week's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Included Some Familiar Faces from BioShock Infinite"](https://www.dualshockers.com/this-weeks-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-included-some-familiar-faces-from-bioshock-infinite/). *DualShockers*. Retrieved 2025-07-05.

### 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).

- Snider, Brandon T. (2017). *The Elements of Harmony Volume II: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Official Guidebook Volume II*. New York: Little, Brown and Company. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-316-43197-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-316-43197-2).

## External links

- ["Trade Ya!"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3099882/) 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"

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trade Ya!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_Ya!) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_Ya!?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.