Author's Note: This is a revised review for Sleepless in Ponyville. You can find the original here.

Have you ever told campfire stories? What campfire stories scared you the most? At some point in your life, did you ever get a nightmare so crippling, it affected your every move? Scootaloo knows that feeling, and Sleepless in Ponyville explores this. As Corey Powell's debut episode, she explores Scootaloo's perspective in twenty minutes full great characterization, a lot of humor, a well-done moral, and a world of well-deserved feels.

Strengths:

1. The characterization is extremely well-done. None of them were flanderized, flat, or out of character. Each line dripped with personality that fit everyone. To get it out of the way:
    
   Rarity: This was easily her best role last season in one where full-fledged, good-quality characterization from her was a rarity. As she's exuberant and sassy, her vanity and care for younger Sweetie Belle complimented nicely. On one hand, she played tit for tat with Sweetie Belle by having her temporarily drag her luggage to the camp sites. On the other, the growth from Look Before You Sleep, Suited for Success, Sisterhooves Social, and Sweet & Elite aren't forgotten at all. Despite her vanity, she still really cared for Sweetie Belle and comforted her whenever a story or spark scared the daylights outta her.
    
   In a way, however, her character was a reversal of Look Before You Sleep; albeit growing, it had to happen via childish, gross immaturity at her and Applejack's expense. It took twenty whole minutes for her and Applejack (and Twilight, by extension) to stop being dumbasses and grow some brains.
    
   Speaking of Applejack…
    
   Applejack: The cordial friendship that got them to finally look past their differences and grow closer was recognized previously in Sisterhooves Social and continued on through here. Like most of season three, AJ's characterization shone brightly like polished brass. The calm, cool, and collected of the six, she knew her equipment and was definitely prepared for the camp and journey to Winsome Falls, as she should (i.e., using the bow drill to start the campfire). Just like Rarity with Sweetie Belle, she and Apple Bloom share a beautiful sisterly relationship. Although we saw nothing truly new about it, it was still solid, warm, and funny.
    
   Unlike some other crappy episode that arrived more than a year later…
    
   Most importantly, she's the only one to recognize Scootaloo's jumpiness and fright, and keeps questioning her in response. The others don't.
    
   Apple Bloom: Just like what I said about Applejack, Apple Bloom is the little sister characterized as such, although with plenty of spunk and sass coming from her Southern accent. Again, there's nothing new, but with her conversations and relationship with Applejack, it's reinforces how close they are, meanwhile proving that Apple Bloom's slowly growing up.
    
   Sweetie Belle: The cute, hilarious charm forges on. Like Rarity, she holds that same pizzazz with the ability to persuade others.
    
   Her voice? Funny.
    
   Singing 99 Buckets of Oats — an obvious reference to 99 Bottles — very late in the night? Nothing short of hilarious and surprisingly in character. (If she was fully awake and during the day, then it would've been out of character.)
    
   This?
    
    
    
   
    
   Perfect! NEVER gets old! XD
    
    
    
   Scootaloo: She was in several episodes up to this, but never got an episode in her point of view. SiP is her first, and she was masterful. Prior, she was the least developed of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and SiP changed that instantaneously. Not only was she in character, but the conflict she encountered was very real. While it may not cripple an adult, kids are much more sensitive to scary stories and nightmares. For Scootaloo, who wants to look her best in front of Dash (who she idolizes so much), it's very believable. Even beyond it is her jubilation and love for adventure, as backed up by zipping through Ponyville while riding her scooter (referencing The Show Stoppers).
    
   More about her later.
    
   Rainbow Dash: Up to around The Last Roundup, her characterization between it and Lesson Zero was pretty inconsistent, ranging from mere flanderization to out-of-characterization. Sometimes she became the butt of some mean-spirited jokes (i.e., the cider gag in he Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000). But following TLR, her characterization slowly improved with occasional bumps like in Read It and Weep (suddenly becoming an avid reader, but that's since ironed out) or Act 1 in Dragon Quest (mocking Spike's apron). Hurricane Fluttershy introduced her in easily her best role since Sonic Rainboom, and SiP improved that.
    
   How? Despite being oblivious to various social cues, she retains her sense of importance, but is extremely energetic and fun-loving. She's sure of herself and still rather cocky, but it's very tame and she isn't flanderized. Up to this point, she was given the best balance: brash, yet caring and loyal to her friends and morals.
    
   That is until the ending, which I'll get to.
    
   Princess Luna: After Luna Eclipsed, she all but stayed in the background, appearing in A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire. Her appearance in SiP really brought forth some needed expansion of her character, acting as a guide to others who feel lost and hurt if needed. Her role will be dissected into later.
   
2. There was plenty of worldbuilding, expanding Equestria beyond simply Canterlot, Everfree Forest, and Ponyville. The forest near Ponyville is quiet and, once Scootaloo's fears kick in, menacing. Winsome Falls is absolutely beautiful, and the animation allows the graphics to portray the waterfalls plausibly, but with the right colors and atmosphere to create mystique — a sense of purpose for wanting to be there, much less trek.
    
   And this leads to the animation, whichis completely breathtaking. Throughout last season, at least one episode focused on the background animation and effects. Sleepless in Ponyville EXCELLED in this category. The dream sequences are wacky and spooky: Each shape, shade, and color truly made them nightmares for the young filly. In Equestrian life, the forest itself (namely the sharp perspective of the trees and evil yellow eyes) is very graphic and belongs in a family-friendly Nightmare Night.
    
   But the best animation?
    
   This:
    
   
    
   Need I say more?
   
3. In twenty minutes, Scootallo's characterization was thoroughly explored: We witnessed her athleticism, desire to be Rainbow Dash's protégé, overgrowing fear and will to look impressive in Dash's tomcoltish eyes, and development. Obviously, she idolizes Rainbow Dash due to little sprinkles of Dash's core personality: a will to be cool, daring, and proud. But Scoots's pride was also her greatest flaw: As she desired to have Dash take her under her wing, she didn't want to look weak, for her ever growing façade that eventually blew into paranoia for her safety!
   
4. As for the gags, they're very effective in their own unique ways. Some include:
    
   a. Sweetie Belle pulling the cart: A very tit-for-tat moment from Rarity after Sweetie baited her into agreeing to go. It works because it counterbalances with Rarity's care for SB, and Sweetie never truly struggles to the point of feeling pain. To keep it fresh, Sweetie doesn't pull it entirely, as Scootaloo pulls it at one point.
    
   (BTW, Rarity was not flanderized nor out of character for making Sweetie pull. It teeters the line, but because it counterbalances her caring side, it doesn't cross it. To claim she was is just plain hyperbole.)
    
   b. 99 Bottles on the WAAALLLLL! Next! XD
    
   c. Scootaloo telling the scariest story in FIM history:
    
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STLdC0cEvzM
    
   d. Rainbow Dash's snoring gags, as they helped continue the plot and show how calm and relaxed she can be when asleep albeit asking Scoot if she doesn't snore.
    
   e. Rarity's makeshift tent in Act 1: Extravagant and very in character. Hey, she's a character with plenty of style.
   
5. The pace is very well-done. For all of last season, if there was one evident flaw, the quality of the flow was very poor. In The Crystal Empire, it was too slow. Too Many Pinkie Pies, One Bad Apple, Keep Calm and Flutter On, Spike at Your Service, Games Ponies Play, and Magical Mystery Cure were all fast, either a little or so much that it needed to be two parts just to make the flow satisfying. Sleepless in Ponyville had no such problems. Each gag never overstayed its welcome. Every main scene never lasted any more than needed. The climax was bold but never elongated. The resolution was quick enough to satisfyingly conclude it, yet slow enough to make it memorable and have the event stick in the audience's mind.
   
6. Like Polsky's For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils this year, Sleepless in Ponyville doesn't attempt to hide the graphic nature of the nightmares (and for this episode, the climax). Because Scootaloo is experiencing nightmares that psychologically damn him, it's Powell's job to make sure the nightmares hit her in the gut and scare the royal shit out of her. This is completely unlike Toils, where Luna uses Sweetie's selfishness against her and makes Rarity's supposed future graphic to teach her an important lesson in not being jumping to conclusions so selfishly.
    
   Also, Scootaloo continually punishes herself during the course of the episode. All of the little bits of animation, sound, and frightened response to the dark forest scare her, as her mind plays tricks on her throughout.
   
7. The climax is extremely exciting and full of marvelous tension with a great twist. Typically, characters who hold on over the ledge just hang on to there until the hero comes along to save him or her. Instead, Powell and crew push the boundaries further by having Scoots fall into the raging river and going over the fall.
    
   (And if you pay attention to the scene after where Luna tells Scootaloo to face her real fears, notice how the moon is behind Dash. This should give you a clue how Dash was able to realize Scoots was in trouble.)
   
8. Without a shadow of a doubt, the resolution itself is easily the best moment of the season and solidifies the episode from top to bottom. The emotion and chemistry brewing in the night scene is raw, and it makes the viewer want to cheer them on and embrace their newly created chemistry.
    
   Until this point, Dash's characterization was easily on the upswing, just approaching a moment just like this. When she admitted the campfire stories once scared her as a filly, it illustrated raw characterization and growth that breaks through the tomcolt façade she's built over the course of the series as well as her lifetime. While that's obviously never going away (or not completely anytime soon), that scene proves her growth since the pilot.
    
   (Of course, one episode later, Dash is featured in Wonderbolts Academy, quite possibly her best episode yet.)
    
   Meanwhile, it also completes one of Scootaloo's biggest missions: to be Rainbow Dash's protégé. Since the beginning, she has the competitive edge and tomcoltish characterization along with the desire to be like Dash. It took nearly two full seasons (including one crappy episode early in season two ), but the ending brings her first journey full circle, as it should be.
   

Weaknesses:

1. Two key areas in this episode lack clarity.
    
   a. The extent of Luna's powers of exploring in ponies' dreams. In the very beginning, there was no such discussion of her even having the idea of such powers. Then, in SiP, she uses it seamlessly, as if she always had them. There's no explanation where she got them, how she got them, and how far she can use them. Even with For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils granting her a larger extent of her powers, the questions offered weren't answered here and haven't since. There's a very good chance the questions will be ignored, and her powers will be used as a trump card for the writers.
    
   b. How Rainbow Dash knew Scootaloo was in danger. Sure, the animation hints this, and you can suggest this as a possibility, but it's way too subtle. In a way, it behaves like a deus ex machina. If the relationship here was given more clarity, then it'd be more believable.
   
2. The usage of the bow drill was used incorrectly. In both scenes, Applejack used the drill over a small pile of sticks to immediately start a fire. In real life, the sticks wouldn't be sufficient enough to start a campfire.
    
   Here is a step-by-step vlog on how to start a fire with the bow drill:
    
   
   
   
3. I don't camp, but I know one thing. Applejack, sleeping in an unsupervised cave for the night in the wild is normally a REALLY stupid idea!
   

On December 8, 2012, Sleepless in Ponyville airs for the first time and introduces Corey Powell into the world of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. In the first episode without Twilight since Putting Your Hoof Down (One Bad Apple included her as a cameo), only seven characters (minus The Olden Pony in Scoot's first nightmare and final dream) spoke, and Powell used their slots wisely. Every character was in character with extra dimension. Combined with some nice comedic moments and fantastic animation, the pace flowed smoothly with little to no obvious hiccups (along with a tense action scene). Albeit a couple of questionable logic choices and lack of clarity in specific scenes, Sleepless in Ponyville is unquestionably one of the best episodes in the series and easily the BEST season-three episode.