13 Horrible Life Lessons My Little Pony Tries To Teach Our Kids

The Horrible Life Lesson: If somepony doesn't like you, pester them endlessly until they change their mind.

To give credit where it's due, A Friend In Deed actually does make an attempt to deliver the appropriate moral for its story. This occurs about midway through the episode, when Pinkie Pie laments to Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle that new Ponyville resident Cranky Doodle doesn't want to be her friend. Twilight politely states that some ponies/donkeys simply don't want to be bothered, while Rainbow bluntly informs Pinkie that her over-the-top energy can be a bit too much.

Of course, having Pinkie actually learn this lesson wouldn't make for a very happy ending. So instead of practicing acceptance, Pinkie badgers Cranky with attempts at friendship followed by excessive apologies for the fiery consequences of her antics. After setting Cranky's scrapbook on fire, Pinkie learns that Cranky used to be romantically involved with another donkey who currently resides in Ponyville. She reunites them, and they all become good friends.

It's a sweet ending, but it's also entirely unrealistic. You can't please everypony, and aggressively throwing yourself at somepony who doesn't like you will usually push them further away. Perhaps if you manage to reunite them with their lost love, you might have a shot at turning things around. But how often does that happen? Teaching kids to look past a sour countenance to see the pain underneath may have its real-world benefits, but so does teaching them the value of respecting boundaries.