Twilight Sparkle – Tara Strong, 

Applejack/Rainbow Dash – Ashleigh Ball, 

Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy – Andrea Libman,

Rarity/Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna – Tabitha St. Germain,

Spike/Mayor Mare – Cathy Weseluck,

Princess Celestia – Nicolve Oliver.

This is a TV series, with multiple spin-off movies which together provide the background for toys called “My Little Pony” produced by Habro; a similar phenomenon of cross-promotion occurs also in case of Monster High (toys are accompanied by a TV series which reinforces popularity and sales of the toys).

The previous episode: Putting Your Hoof Down.

The next episode: Dragon Quest .

Summary of the series (see here)

Summary of the episode: 

In this episode Twilight panics because of her tight schedule – it appears she does not have the time to finish all her books and go to all the meetings she planned. Suddenly, something strange happens – Twilight from the future visits the present. She warns the stunned pony of a disaster that is coming to Ponyville – unfortunately, she vanishes before giving any specifics. Twilight panics even more. To prevent the future catastrophe, the pony tries to prepare for any possible disaster. At the end she learns her anxiety was to blame: the disaster was her constant worry about the future, when she should have instead enjoyed the present. 

Equestria is inhabited by various mythical and legendary creatures. One of these introduced in the episode is Cerberus. He appears before Twilight solved the case of the coming "disaster" – the pony assumes the three-headed dog is the foretold catastrophe. We learn that he usually guards Tartarus preventing monsters leaving the Underworld. Without his protection, monsters can attack Ponyville. However, as it turned out, Cerberus himself is not dangerous at all: he loves to chew on toys, play fetch and receive belly rubs. Walked back to Tartarus by Twilight, he is not a threat to ponies anymore. 

Cerberus’ depiction as a kind and gentle dog is not unknown in children’s culture. Another case is the three-headed dog from Say Cheese, Medusa!, a book by Kate Mcmullan. In this book, Cerberus is a house dog of Hades and his best friend. Another example comes from web comic books: Good Dog, Cerberus! by Moha Arimura, or from Instagram account with comic strips: Goofy Gods Comics – in both cases Cerberus is an adorable puppy, that loves to cuddle with Hades no so dark and evil himself. The transformation of a monster into a pet is also very well-known from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. Rowling’s Cerberus named Fluffy is still a monster to almost all the characters, except for Hagrid and whoever puts it to sleep by playing music. It appears as if it is not the creature that defines itself as a monster or a pet, but the owner or anybody interacting with it –they determine whether Cerberus is actually dangerous or not. 

In It’s About Time it is Fluttershy who calms Cerberus and interacts with him. This pony is known for her exceptional approach to magical creatures – at the beginning of the series she was the one that saved the pack from the Manticore (see here). The episode teaches children that kindness and caring are important in relationships with animals. When treated right, even the evil Cerberus turns into an adorable puppy. 

“Cerberus”, Theoi.com, (accessed: August 10, 2020). 

Marrone, Gianfranc and Dario Mangano, Semiotics of Animals in Culture: Zoosemiotics 2.0, Cham: Springer, 2018. 

Slany, Katarzyna, Groza w literaturze dziecięcej. Od Grimmów do Gaimana [“Horror in Children’s Literature. From Grimms to Gaiman”], Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego, 2014. 

Warner, Marina, Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear, Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998.

The series proved to be very popular among teenagers and adults as well: fans call themselves: “bronies”; because of this popularity, it could be considered as having reached a crossover audience.

Translations: Multi-language soundtrack