May the Best Pet Win!

May the Best Pet Win! is the seventh episode of the second season of Legends of the Multiverse: Friendship is Magic and the thirty-third episode overall. The episode title is a play on the idiom "may the best man win", which is said in the spirit of sportsmanship.

In this episode, Sally Acorn decides to hold a competition to determine which is the best pet for her after realizing that she's the only one of her friends without one.

Production and reuse of assets
The episode was conceived of and written almost a year prior to its November 19, 2011 premiere. On April 21, 2013, Lauren Faust stated regarding Tank, "Hasbro paired RD with a tortoise [sic] for the first batch of toys & I liked it and rolled with it. I think Rob came up with the name." Charlotte Fullerton stated in 2015 that Hasbro had "wanted each of the ponies to have their own pet"; pets owned by the rest of the Mane 6 had been introduced in the first season.

The sunglasses worn look similar to the same sunglasses that Sally wore in Lesson Zero while the pink scarf is the same one worn by Nene in You've Got a Friend In Need and Kairi in Winter Wrap Up.

This episode marks the first appearance of Jumpa since Kangaroo's Well That Ends Well, and the first appearance of Doodles since Mulan's Buckaroo Season, as well as being Pascal's first appearance in season two. This is the first episode for Sally Acorn to have a pet.

The episode was #5 in the We Heart Animals Fan Favorite Mare-a-thon, in the leadup to Hearts and Paws Day.

Dream sequence
The episode starts with Sally Acorn in a dream flying around in the sky, when suddenly Jumpa comes up and starts jumping high with her. Strangely, Jumpa's head turns into Doodles's head. Then, the body turns into Pascal's body and the head turns into Kiko's head. Suddenly, Figaro pops out of Angel's mouth, scaring Sally into falling, which wakes her up.

Animal Pet Playdate
When Sally wakes up, she is met by Nene Amano, Spectra Vondergeist, Rapunzel, Sheriff Mulan and Kairi Sparkle, all of whom are in the park with their pets. They tell her that they always come down to the park at the same time every week with their pets to play with them. The animals try to make Sally understand why they don't invite her, but Sally, who is the only pony without a pet, exclaims that she understands and sees no reason for them to invite her if she doesn't even have a pet.

"Hey, now wait a minute! Just because I don't have a pet now doesn't mean I never want a pet!"

- Sally Acorn

However, after hearing the noise from the animals playing with their pets, Sally flies back down from her tree to them and says that she would like a pet at some point. Thrilled, Spectra brings her to her home to show off her collection of animals. Spectra and Sally break into song as Spectra shows Sally her wonderful choices of pets. Sally insists she wants a "cool pet that will be able to keep up with her," and selects a group of flying animals but is unable to decide. To make a firm decision, she holds a series of contests to determine which pet will be hers. As she prepares to begin, Spectra brings in a triceratops who she says wants to compete. Sally reluctantly agrees.

Let the games begin
"Listen Up Everyone! So! You all think you've got what it takes to be my pet, do ya? Well, we'll just see about that! If any of you don't think you can handle it, bow out now before you humiliate yourself in front of your peers. This competition isn't for the weak. You'd better be prepared to step up your game!"

- Sally Acorn

The first test is that of speed, a race around a track which a falcon wins. The second test is a test of agility across an obstacle course in which a hummingbird wins. The third test is of guts, where the pets have to get Figaro's favorite mouse toy away from her. The butterfly easily achieves this by mesmerizing Figaro into a daze, then stealing her toy. The fourth test is of style, which is done by having Sally pose in a snapshot with each of the animals. It is not revealed which animal passes this test. The fifth test is of coolness, where Sally judges the animals by their calls, of which the eagle wins. The sixth test is of awesomeness, which the owl wins because of his ability to rotate his head. The seventh test is of radicalness, in which the bat plays the Legends of the Multiverse theme song on a glass harmonica, among feats by the other contestants. At this point, the triceratop has come out last on every test and Sally urges him to go home.

Ghastly Gorge
Still unable to choose, Sally decides to hold a race in Ghastly Gorge, pitting the last four contestants, the eagle, the falcon, the owl, and the bat against her, with the tortoise tagging along with the other contestants. Sally tells them that whichever contestant crosses the finish line with her has proven that it can keep up with her, and is worthy of being her pet. The flying pets remain very close during the race, while the triceratop is last, sweating as he tries to catch up with Sally. The falcon gets stuck in bramble bushes, but the bat, eagle, and owl make it through. The falcon catches up later with his wing curled up. Near the caves with the quarray eels, the bat is almost devoured but manages to get away. While distracted, Sally hits a wall, and there is a rock slide. The racers suddenly get ahead of Sally while she falls behind with her tail stuck underneath a giant rock.

She desperately calls for help, stuck under the boulder with no one to help her. She spots the triceratop slowly approaching her, and laments about how she'll have to spend the rest of her life with the triceratop as well as being trapped by a rock. The tricera digs a small hole under the rock and sticks his head in it. Weeping, Sally completely gives up hope. The triceratop, however, lifts the rock with his head, freeing Sally's tail.

At the finish line, Sally's friends await her arrival. Noticing that only the four racers finish the race, they begin to worry about Sally. Mulan spots a rock slide through Kairi's binoculars, but also spots Sally riding on the triceratop with her squirrel's tail bandaged. Sally and the triceratop finish the race, and the other animals tell Sally to meet her new pet, the falcon.

However, Sally doesn't feel right with the falcon as her pet, even if it is everything she wanted. She says that her pet would be the one that finished the race with her, and the triceratop is the only one who did so. With this in mind, she accepts the triceratop as her new pet, thanking him for saving her. The sad falcon shakes hands (so to speak) with the triceratop and leaves. Sally then asks Olaf and Navi to take a note for Princess Palutena, telling her that she learned the most important quality in a pet, or in any friend is not how cool they are or how much they can do, but is a kind of spirit that will stand by her.

"You just can't stop that little guy. He's like a... like a... Chomp!"

- Sally Acorn

Epilogue
At the end of the episode, Sally now joins the rest of her friends in their pet playdate. Sally's triceratop is then shown wearing a helicopter hat, flying to the park after Spectra points out that Sally wanted a pet that can keep up with her, and she names him Chomp.

Quotes

 * Sally Acorn: Um, is this weird, or is it just me?


 * Sally Acorn: Okay, this is officially beyond weird now and moved right on down to freaky town.


 * Kairi Sparkle: Well we had initially planned on inviting Sally, of course, except–
 * Rapunzel: We were totally gonna invite you, Sally, then Kairi remembered that you don't even have a pet, and Nene remembered that you really like to take naps in the afternoon, so Sheriff Mulan figured you wouldn't be missing out on anything anyway, and Spectra and I nodded our heads in agreement like this.
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Oh Sally, please don't be mad at us.
 * Sally Acorn: Oh Spectra, I'm not mad. You all are right. Not much point of a animal-pet playdate for me if I'm a flying squirrel without a pet, right?
 * Sheriff Mulan: Exactly.


 * Sally Acorn: This competition isn't for the weak. You'd better be prepared to step up your game!


 * Sally Acorn: Any questions?
 * Sheriff Mulan: I got one. Does she understand what a pet really needs?
 * Kairi Sparkle: Yeah, like care and attention, love and affection- ugh! And breath mints!


 * Sally Acorn: Alright, now these games will determine which one of you has the most important qualities I'm looking for in a pet. Speed, agility, guts, style. Coolness. Awesomeness. And radicalness.
 * Kairi Sparkle: Aren't those all the same thing?
 * Sally Acorn: You would think that, Kairi. And that's why you would never qualify to be my pet.


 * Sally Acorn: That's just sad.


 * Sally Acorn: Wanna know the opposite of agility? That.


 * Sally Acorn: Listen, dinosaur...
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Triceratop.
 * Sally Acorn: Whatever! Of course!


 * Sally Acorn: Pause for dramatic effect...


 * Sally Acorn: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
 * [eagle cries]
 * Sally Acorn: Gesundheit.


 * Sally Acorn: Wahoo! My prayers have been answered! Oh, thankyouthankyoutha- You?! Oh no! Now I'm not only going to be stuck here forever, oh my gosh, I'm gonna be stuck here with the most annoying dinosaur in the world! Why god why! Gyh, I'm doomed. DOOMED, I tell you!


 * Rapunzel: Wait! Look
 * Spectra Vondergeist: It's the little dinosaur!
 * All: TRICERATOP!
 * Spectra Vondegeist: Oh whatever... of course...


 * Spectra Vonedergeist: Yay?


 * Kairi Sparkle: Tenacity!
 * Sally Acorn: Gesundheit.