Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind; The Tiara of Truth

Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind and The Tiara of Truth are the third episode of the second season of My Little Pony: Pony Life and the twenty-ninth episode overall. The title of Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind is a reference to the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
In Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind, a mysterious, giant balloon appears over Ponyville, and the Mane Six speculate what it could be.
In The Tiara of Truth, when Pinkie Pie's friends are late to a special cupcake taste-tasting, she learns the truth about where they were with a magical tiara.
==Production==
Pop on-demand leaked this episode via content delivery network on or before April 2, 2021. The episode aired on April 6, 2021, on Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom, and on April 14, 2021, on MiniMini+ in Poland.
==Summary==
===Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind===
As the Mane Six enjoy desserts made with the comet crystals Pinkie Pie obtained in The Crystal Capturing Contraption, a giant mysterious balloon suddenly appears in the sky over Ponyville. The ponies' imaginations run wild with ideas of what could be inside it: Pinkie believes it contains rare baking ingredients like the comet crystals, Rarity believes it conceals a giant performing stage, Twilight Sparkle believes it houses a giant library of books, Rainbow Dash believes it is a monster, and Applejack believes there are apples inside.
Twilight believe the balloon's appearance is related to the Cotton Candy Comet. As dozens of smaller balloons appear, the ponies start to succumb to crippling fear, but Fluttershy assures them that the unknown is nothing to be scared of and that they will figure out what the balloons are together. The episode ends on a cliffhanger.
===The Tiara of Truth===
Pinkie Pie organizes a special cupcake taste test for her friends, using a recipe with a large amount of sugar. However, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack are late; only Rarity is present to do the taste test, and though she is inwardly disgusted by Pinkie's cupcakes, she says they are delicious. When the rest of the ponies finally arrive, they give different excuses: Twilight says she was conducting science experiments, Rainbow says she was competing in an athletic competition, Fluttershy says she was hosting a brunch for Angel and his friends, and Applejack says she simply forgot.
To make up for their lateness, Fluttershy gives Pinkie Pie one of the balloons from the previous episode, which contains a magical tiara. When the ponies try it on, they discover it compels them to tell the truth. One by one, they reveal the real reasons they were late to Pinkie's taste test: Twilight was painting lawn gnome ponies, Rainbow was reading the new Daring Do book, and Fluttershy was trying to make lunch for a very picky Angel. Only Applejack's excuse for being late was truthful.
When Rarity puts the tiara on, she reveals that she hates Pinkie's new cupcake recipe for being too sweet. When a devastated Pinkie retreats to her bedroom, the ponies follow, and Rarity says she only lied to spare Pinkie's feelings. Pinkie forgives Rarity and suggests they all be more honest with each other from now on. The ponies still want to try Pinkie's new cupcakes, and when Pinkie uses less sugar in her recipe, it is received much more positively.
==Quotes==
===Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind===
:Pinkie Pie: New glittery treats featuring cosmic cotton candy crystals! Straight from the oven and...
:Rest of Mane Six: [laughing]
:[whoosh!]
:Pinkie Pie: ...into your mouth.
:Rainbow Dash: S-Should we... follow that squirrel?
:Applejack: Why would we do that?
:Rainbow Dash: I-I don't know! I panicked!
:Rarity: Maybe the balloon will transform into a stage! Ponies will gather from far and wide to watch me perform my one-pony show Lamilton! I play a little lamb who transforms the world through song and i-lamb-ic pentameter!
:Twilight Sparkle: The balloon could be a giant library containing all the information in the universe! What I would give to be inside with all those books!
:Rainbow Dash: Maybe it's a balloon monster! Maybe it's Balloonga the Destroyer!
:Balloonga: Behold! I am Balloonga! All ponies bow before— Wait. "Balloonga"? My name's "Balloonga"?
:Rainbow Dash: Uh, I'm not good with names.
:Applejack: End montage! End montage!
:Fluttershy: The unknown is not scary.
:Applejack: [chuckles] Cliffhanger.
===The Tiara of Truth===
:Pinkie Pie: A dessert like my splendiferous cupcakes deserves double the sweetness, triple the decorations, and quadruple the taste-testers!
:Applejack: Honestly, I just plumb forgot it was Thursday.
:Pinkie Pie: All of a sudden, I feel a strong urge to tell you ponies that... I love Brussels sprouts!
:Twilight Sparkle: I wasn't late because I was conducting an experiment. [gasps] I was... painting lawn gnome ponies! It's my secret hobby!
:Twilight Sparkle: This tiara makes the pony who wears it tell the truth!
:Rainbow Dash: Cool! My turn!
:[mystical music]
:Rainbow Dash: I am the most awesome pony I know. [laughs] Hey, it works.
:Applejack: I plumb forgot it was Thursday.
:Pinkie Pie: Huh.
:Applejack: Told ya. I cannot tell a lie.
:Rarity: The truthiest truth is... I'm sorry, Pinkie.
:Fluttershy: We all are.
:Rarity: And, well, I only lied because I don't want to hurt anypony's feelings. Especially those of my best friends.
:Pinkie Pie: It's okay. But in the future, we should all take a lesson from Applejack and be a little more honest with each other.
id:Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind; The Tiara of Truth