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Putting Your Hoof Down (March 3rd 2012, 22 minutes)

Summary: Fluttershy takes some training for Assertiveness, and Asserts herself all over Ponyville.

Okay, given the buildings around, that set of tents offset from the Carousel Boutique in the opening credits appears to be a permanent market place.

Pop-up pamphlet. Cute.

Interesting. Why set up the seminar stage in the middle of the hedge maze? Oh, and goats wearing clothing and com headsets.

Okay, Iron Will, a minotaur... The original Minotaur was a singular creature, not a race, but then so was the Pegasi. How the ponies are reacting is... odd, really. They usually panic when they see something unusual, but they accept Iron Will right off the bat. So they must encounter minotaurs relatively regularly.

The seminar started off reasonable, "look them in the eye" indeed. The rest starts to go off the rails pretty quick.

Reference to minotaurs being considered 'monsters'.

Taxi in Ponyville.

Did seasons pass, or are we dealing with the emotional state of ponies affecting the surroundings as well as the pony themselves?

I still don't view Iron Will as a villain here. He's a minotaur of his word. Yeah, his training is ridiculously over-the-top, but when confronted with what he said he accepted it. If any of the ponies had actually tried *talking* to him, this entire scenario may have gone another way.