Last year, I praised Once Upon a Zeppelin as Fame & Misfortune written correctly for three reasons: writing an actual story than a hodgepodge of "jokes" disguised, the princesses' fans not written disparagingly, and writing Twilight well while simultaneous treating the multi-sided conflict with respect. Princess Twilight is the most developed of the Mane Eight; initially focused on her studies over friends, now it's reverses: she loves to read and study, but emphasizes friendship first. Becoming a princess and then the Princess of Friendship meant an increase of both her duties and role as an international advisor.

So how much involvement is too much? When does acting like a princess feel like a honor and more of a chore? A Flurry of Emotions hinted that question, but was mostly surrounded by tying in her schedule to sudden babysitting duties. Once Upon a Zeppelin tackles that question directly and becomes her most important episode since Twilight's Kingdom.

No vacations allowed?

The cold open shies away nothing from the downsides of Equestrian royal duty.

Twilight's bored expression as she rests her muzzle on her hoof demonstrates how mundane princeesshood is sometimes. Given previous continuity, she loves being a princess, but also wants to show how being the Princess of Friendship allows her to spread her knowledge far and wide. But here, she signs because she feels like she has to instead of want. Accidentally snapping the head of her quill further adds to the frustration. Excellent visual storytelling initiates the conflict, further accentuated by this line:

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Twilight Sparkle: [mutters] It's from my parents! Spike, they won a zeppelin cruise and get to take the whole family! [sighs disappointedly] I wish I had time to go with them, but there's just too many princess duties I have to take care of.

Pay attention to the line and action underlined. She wants to go, but believes she'll betray her princess duties if she stops or dillydallies. Royalty for her devolved into a bad habit, and sometimes interference is required to break it.

Hence Spike's role, which is small but very, very important. His involvement and Twilight emphasizing how much she means to him as a family shows their bond, but that's still rather understated. Spike knows her better than anyone and comprehends when Twilight isn't feeling cheerful or excited. When it starts to become a chore, he doesn't want her to be swamped under it all and dread life as a princess permanently. His insistence of accepting the zeppelin vacation and promptly taking over her roles demonstrates the proper guidance she needs.

Does it end things, though? Knowing this show, far from it.

A return to duty.

Iron Will announcing not just random bullshit about Twilight exploring Cloudesdale's Weather Factory caught her attention, but the BS that Iron Will made up just to excite the crowd, too. Knowing that Twilight, Cadance, and their family would set the zeppelin abuzz, he took advantage.

But that's not why Twilight accepted the invitation in the first place. She accepted it to get away from royal duties for once, but Iron Will putting her at the center of attention forces her to return to them. While in the royal lounge, Twilight was stuck with a massive dilemma: cancel the cruise, make everyone miserable, and miss the Northern Stars (her most sought-out event of the cruise) or continue the cruise and hope she won't be driven crazy and miss the Northern Stars.

When Night Light suggested to cancel it, Twilight stepped in:

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Twilight Sparkle: *looks at her family* Wait! Iron Will, what if I offered you a deal? *approaches him* If I agree to do whatever princess activities you want, will you promise that my family gets to do the activities they want?

Why does she do this? Negotiating with others and sometimes compromising in order to get things done is crucial to anyone being part of a governing body. Twilight wants to do what she wants with her family, but also wants to disappoint no one. With this deal, she hops she can help create a satisfactory and memorable cruise. This means adjusting to her schedule, but hopes she can balance them.

Secondly, pay attention to what she said after SA expressed concern (which I'll get to in a bit):

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Twilight Sparkle: I don't want the vacation to end now or let down all these ponies who were looking forward to seeing us.

Nowadays, her duty as Princess of Friendship is instinctual. If she feels canceling the cruise will disappoint everyone, she believes she's betraying her goals as princess. Everything she suggests in her deal offer to Iron Will is centered on selflessness. A will to sacrifice her own happiness for others' happiness.

But that doesn't mean her family doesn't get concerned for her own well-being and her own happiness. After Twilight creates her deal on the fly, Shining said this:

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Shining Armor: Sis, you don't have to do that. We want you to enjoy yourself, too.

Recall why Spike jumped into her duties despite her objections. He wants her to be a happy pony rather than just a princess and let her hair run down. Spike's instincts foreshadowed SA's mild objection above, which in turn foreshadows future events.

A break-free day.

Despite making the deal, Twilight maintains hope she'll spend quality time with her family, but no matter where she goes, something always gets in the way, starting with the sudden raffle.

Star Tracker becomes Twilight's honorary family member, and right away, there's friction between them. Star Tracker is very quick to go around, all to the point of her not noticing him unless by surprise. He's incredibly nervous around her, because she's a princess and doesn't want to do anything to harm or embarrass her. But his difficulty to communicate results in sometimes breaching simple etiquette, such as whispering into her ear without warning and standing too close to her. All this creates cringe comedy without crossing the line into secondhand embarrassment.

So why doesn't Twilight tell him to give her some space? Two reasons:

1. Unfamiliarity with this type and degree of discomfort. This is the first time we see anyone approach Twilight in this manner, and she doesn't know what to do.
2. Despite the discomfort, he has no ulterior motive. She understands he doesn't do it to be creepy or uncomfortable, and she doesn't want to add to the embarrassment and discomfort he already feels.

To her, swallowing her own pride and hoping he realizes what he's doing was her best solution.

Unfortunately, it isn't the best solution. By saying nothing, she accidentally lets the bingo game last too long, nearly missing the boat race (and having to wave the checkered flag rather than race against her older bro). Then, she missed time to be with Cadance and Flurry Heart in Peewee Princess Playtime and had to hastily depart for a Q&A while the zeppelin is stationed at Neighagra Falls. Despite the cluttered and buy schedule, she hopes she accomplishes her objective of making others happy, fulfilling her end of the bargain, and anticipating watching the Northern Stars.

Yet, making others happy results in missing even more valuable time with Velvet. Because she spent a long time answering the Q&A, she missed watching Velvet take part in the barrel ride over Neighagra Falls. There, despite having the time of her life, Velvet's motherly instincts kick in after seeing disappointment on her face:

As any good mom would do, she sees how overwhelmed she is with the princess duties, but Twilight fibs to her and tells her it's all peachy. So why does she lie to Velvet and Night Light? Because she doesn't want to let them down. She wants them to celebrate and have a good time. Admitting to being unhappy and disappointed in not participating with her family is, to repeat from before, admitting to unfulfilling her royal duties.

Once more, it's not like she doesn't want to take a break. She feels like she can't. Like being a princess is a part of her identity and must stick true to what she's assigned to do, whether she's on duty or not.

This disappointment and crowded schedule culminated to one final thing: signing autographs.

From a composition and storytelling standpoint. it mirrors almost everything she went through previously.

Star Tracker with the quills: Spike with the quills.

The stack of papers: The princess mail she had to sign away.

Twilight's disappointment on the cruise: Twilight's boredom over signing the mail and forms.

The fans and autographs: Twilight's fan mail from the castle.

Iron Will: The offscreen person who delivered Twilight the mail prior to the open.

Twilight's in the center; everything and everyone surrounding her is tightly enclosed around her, perfectly capturing the same claustrophobic atmosphere to debut the open. What happened in the open and what led her to escape the castle for a breather returned in full force, culminating to her boiling point in Act 3.

Purple minus the blue.

Her boiling point? Missing her most important event of the whole cruise.

At this point, the toll she put up with filled up. The façade, that forced happy face, she kept in order to keep everyone else happy crumbled. For the first time in a long time, Twilight couldn't hide her vulnerability. Here, it's impossible not to feel bad for her. For several years, she maintained her duties as a princess while keeping her composure. Beneath the fun and smiles, stress slowly accumulated within, accentuating as OUaZ increased the tension.

What makes her crying hurt to watch is threefold:

1. Compared to the others, she doesn't cry often, both in the past and future, so for longtime bronies, when she starts to cry, they'll notice.
2. The crying felt real. Twilight not only showed to be upset. She sounded upset, too. Her family, Iron Will, and almost every other cruise pony being able to watch it makes this scene sting even more.
3. Flores's tender care for the scene. This event was incredibly important to her, and missing it by having to fulfill her duties as a princess while trying to temporarily escape her duties for a few days is a big problem. By playing this scene straight, we connect to her on a deeper level, extending our sympathies from within to her as we watch.

After this, Twilight Sparkle turns into Rainbow Rage, yelling at her family — from her parents to Cadance to Flurry Heart — emphasized by the brilliant red-to-orange gradient background as her temper exploded, and then feigned an apology to Star Tracker after accidentally stepping on his hoof. Was she right to be upset? Absolutely. I she right to take her frustrations out on them and ST? Absolutely not. Like Glideance, Flores's careful writing and hard effort come into play. Despite sympathizing with her, Zeppelin knows what to tolerate, what not to simultaneously, and maintain that delicate balance.

Immediately, Cadance's motherly wisdom comes into play. She, and the episode itself, comprehends how scolding her would be detrimental to her growth as a princess. FIM's at its best when it proactively resolves the conflict, and this is no exception. She understands what Twilight's feeling and retains that soothing voice throughout, while remaining firm in her morale. A princess she'll forever be, she has her own needs and wants, and must set up boundaries so they don't get crossed. When mothers hogged their babies around a nervous FH, she immediately stepped in, separated her from them, and used her experience as an example to help Twilight further understand how being happy and wanting to do the things she wants is as noble as helping others.

Zeppelin earns a lot of credit for having the guts to teach that message. Is it noble to help make others happy? But you're also obligated to make yourself happy, too, and that obligation isn't selfish or entitled at all. Twilight's whole conflict fits the moral's frame, which is executed with excellent class. And how does she approach it? By apologizing to Star Tracker for lashing out on him and letting him, her family, and everyone else on the cruise eat ice cream on the deck.

This…

…isn't all that bad, either. <3

Conclusion.

Once Upon a Zeppelin is one of the best episodes of the show for a variety of reasons. One of them is how Twilight experiences and resolves the conflict. The Princess of Friendship's turmoil was great, and little by little, the story chips away her self-confidence and the façade she self-painted on her face in order to maintain her reputation. Every time she tries to make others happy, she becomes more and more miserable, and it becomes more and more difficult to maintain that image she created. Missing out on the Northern Stars brought her to her breaking point, leading the way to a valuable lesson she needed to learn ever since she ascended. Through Flores's careful respect to continuity, it methodically recreates Twilight's image as not simply a princess, but an Equestrian being overall. Altogether, Zeppelin's an excellent study of growth and maturation within an evolving show.