Putting Your Paw Down

Putting Your Paw Down is the nineteenth episode of the second season of Legends of the Multiverse: Friendship is Universe and the forty-fifth episode overall. Fed up with being pushed around and ignored, Spectra Vondergeist takes a class on assertiveness taught by Bull-E. However, instead of just becoming more assertive, she becomes bossy, pushy and mean, threatening to end her friendship with Rapunzel and Nene Amano.

Production and airing
The storyboard artists had professional wrestler Hulk Hogan in mind when posing Bull-E, who uses hand gestures that mimic Hogan's signature taunts. One of the layout artists for the show added several "easter eggs" to the marketplace scene, which were not storyboarded. These include brief appearances by Piglet, Serena, Sam Simpson, and Lyna.

In early July 2021, the Internet Movie Database temporarily listed season 2, episode 19 of Legends of the Multiverse: Friendship is Universe as "Putting your Hoof Down" with an unspecified 2021 airdate.

Spectra the doormat
The episode opens with Spectra Vondergeist feeding her multitude of animals. All of the pets eat eagerly except for Kiko, who refuses anything Spectra attempts to serve him. When Spectra asks him what he will eat, he presents her with a recipe for an elaborate cherry-topped salad. She protests, but Kiko slaps her and shoves the recipe in her face, and she yields.

In the Multiville market, Spectra tries to buy asparagus from a stall, but other ponies cut in front of her. Meek as she is, Spectra is unable to assert herself. Rapunzel and Nene Amano see her predicament and try to teach her how to stand up for herself. Nene uses her charm and sweet talk to buy the last bundle of asparagus from Cranky Kong, and Rapunzel tricks a tomato stall owner into selling her tomatoes at half the asked price.

Spectra attempts to use these methods to buy the last cherry in the market, but it backfires on her, and she ends up losing the cherry to Honey Lemons.

Spectra returns to her cottage and serves the salad to Kiko, apologizing for the lack of the cherry on top. Upset by this, Kiko tosses both the salad and Spectra out the door, causing Spectra to crash head-first into her postbox. As she laments her being "a doormat", she finds a pamphlet for an assertiveness seminar.

"As Palutena is my witness, I'm never gonna be a pushover again!"

- Spectra Vondergeist

Bull-E
Spectra arrives at the hedge maze where the seminar is being held (tossed to the back of the crowd when she tries to squeeze into the front row). The seminar begins, and a muscular Bull named Bull-E dramatically appears on stage to greet the crowd of animals. He promises that anyone who follows his advice and techniques will no longer be a pushover, even providing a 100% satisfaction guarantee – anyone who isn't fully satisfied with his training will pay nothing for the seminar. Bull-E calls for a volunteer to demonstrate his methods, and his goat assistants pick out Spectra.

When Spectra timidly walks on stage, one of the goat assistants deliberately blocks her path, at which point Bull-E delivers his first lessons (in rhyme form). Spectra hesitantly takes these lessons to heart and gives it a try; Bull-E is impressed and pleased, anticipating a big payday. He announces to the crowd that if his techniques can work for a shy ferret like Spectra Vondergeist, then they can work for anyone. Spectra hears the audience cheering and smiles.

Assertiveness gone wrong
At her cottage, Spectra is ready to "attack the day" with a new, confident attitude. The advice given to her by Iron Will helps her stand up to Stinky Pete when he over-waters her plants and Cheryl, Cherry Jam, and Sam Simpson when they block her path with garbage carts.

She even asserts herself when she's yet again cut in line at Corona Sugarcube Corner, scaring Shannon Westerburg and a handful of other ponies into moving behind her. Nene and Rapunzel remark how impressed they are with "new Spectra". However, when Rapunzel makes a joke and starts laughing, Spectra takes the laughter as an insult and spills punch on her before happily leaving the bakery. She then hails a taxi, but Roberto hops into it before her. She promptly attacks and throws him from the cart, leaving a thoroughly worried Nene and Rapunzel behind.

"Nobody pushes new Spectra around! Nobody!"

- "New" Spectra Vondergeist

Spectra the monster
Spectra leaves her cottage once more with more confidence than ever. Realizing the wrong mail has been left in her postbox, she confronts Angus the mailwalrus and disregards his apologies, citing Bull-E's lessons again. Moments later, the tourist Tourist Austin asks her for directions to the Multiville Tower. As she responds, she ends up dropping her mail in a puddle. Spectra explodes in anger and throws Tourist Autsin across the field and into a bale of hay.

Nene and Rapunzel confront Spectra, worried about her recent behavior. Taking their concern as an affront, Spectra belittles and insults the two – Rapunzel for her "simple little brain" and Nene's pettiness – causing them to run away in tears. When Spectra calms down and sees her reflection in a puddle. Realizing how violent and unkind she's been acting, she breaks down, remorseful.

Standing up to Iron Will
Some time later, Nene and Rapunzel come to Spectra's cottage and find the doors and windows boarded up. They knock on the door and call out to Spectra, but Spectra tells them to go away before she hurts them again. Inside, as Kiko ties her to a chair, Spectra vows to never come out of her house again to avoid causing any more misery to her friends. Rapunzel and Nene try to talk to her, placing blame for her actions on Bull-E's advice, and tell her she can stand up for herself without being mean, but Spectra thinks she's gone too far with her assertiveness.

Before they can talk further, Iron Will arrives to collect payment from Spectra after hearing news of her transformation. Nene and Rapunzel attempt to charm and trick him into leaving, using the same methods they demonstrated in the marketplace, but Bull-E won't be turned away. When he knocks at Spectra's door and she answers, he demands his payment, but she flatly and calmly refuses, surprising Nene and Rapunzel. This angers the Bull, but Spectra reminds him of his 100% satisfaction guarantee; informing him that she isn't satisfied because his teachings caused her to be mean to everybody and drive her friends away, and therefore she won't pay. Surprised by this, Bull-E tries to cut her a deal, but she firmly declines, saying "no means no". Unable to persuade her at all, and proving to be a minotaur of his word, Bull-E honors his agreement and leaves, remarking that he may use "no means no" in his next seminar.

Nene and Rapunzel congratulate Spectra for standing up to Iron Will. The three friends reconcile and hug, happy that "old Spectra" has returned and that "new Spectra" is no more.

Epilogue
In her letter to Princess Palutena, Spectra explains that she's learned it's possible to stand up for yourself without changing who you are. When she feeds her pets, she's finally able to get the spoiled Kiko to eat a regular salad, with a little help from 'The Stare'.

Quotes

 * Nene Amano: You've got to stop being such a doormat.
 * Spectra Vondergeist: A doormat?
 * Nene Amano: A pushover, darling. You've got to stand up for yourself.


 * Bull-E: Woah! He’s blocking your path. What are you gonna do about it?
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Um, politely walk around him?
 * Bull-E: No.
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Gingerly tip-toe around him?
 * Bull-E: No!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Go back home, and try again tomorrow?
 * Bull-E: No! When somebody tries to block, show them that you rock!


 * Rapunzel: Old Rapunzel's not so sure new Spectra is such a good idea after all.
 * Nene Amano: Old Nene agrees.


 * Spectra Vondergeist: You make me lose, I blow my fuse!


 * Nene Amano: What happened to nice Spectra? We want that Spectra back.
 * Spectra Vondergeist: No, you want wimp Spectra. You want pushover Spectra. You want do-anything-to-her-and-she-won't-complain Spectra!
 * Rapunzel: Nyaaaaah! Too many Spectras to keep track of! Make it stop!


 * Spectra Vondergeist: I can't believe that the two most frivolous animals in Multiville are trying to tell new Spectra how to live her life when they are throwing their own lives away on pointless pursuits that nobody else gives a flying feather about!
 * Rapunzel: [starts crying] Looks like nasty Spectra is here to stay!
 * Nene Amano: [starts crying] I cannot believe what that monster Bull-E has done to you!


 * Bull-E: Bull-E's my name, training animals is my game!


 * Nene Amano: Oh, sweetie, we all said things that we regret.
 * Rapunzel: We did?
 * Nene Amano: Shh.


 * Bull-E: What do you mean you're not satisfied?! Everybody has always been satisfied!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Well I guess I'm the first then. But since I'm not satisfied, I refuse to pay. It's as simple as that.
 * [goats bleating]
 * Bull-E: Ohh, are you... sure you're not just a little bit satisfied? B-because maybe... we could, cut a deal, I-I mean, we're both reasonable creatures, aren't we?
 * Spectra Vondergeist: I'm sorry, but no means no.
 * Bull-E: No means no, huh? Nobody's ever said that to me before. Huh... I gotta remember that one. That's a good catchphrase for my next workshop.