History Analysis / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

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The episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11FamilyAppreciationDay "Family Appreciation Day"]] can be viewed on [[http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/en_US/media/browse.cfm?type=videos this page]] of Hasbro's official site[[hottip:*:(the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver "The Best Night Ever"]] could formerly be viewed on [[http://www.hasbro.com/play/details.cfm?R=69B52D0A-5056-900B-10B8-D4904CDD7CFC:en_US this page]], but the video has since been removed)]], and recent episodes can be viewed on TheHub's [[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic official site]] in the US. Selected episodes are being released to DVD and/or the {{Leapfrog}} App Center. All of the first season's episodes, as well as all of the second season's episodes that have already aired, can be bought on [=iTunes=] if you're lucky enough to live somewhere in the one-third of the world where they're available, and viewed through [[YouTube other (less official) sources]]. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced On July 4th, the show began airing in the UK on Boomerang]], and premiered on Boomerang worldwide soon after. The show's second season premiered on September 17th, 2011, with [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/26-episodes-clarification-from-daniel.html 26 new episodes]] scheduled for the run.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers and gives them an advantage to handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association with their special talents. For example Rarity, has a magic spell that helps her locate gems. "Hearth's Warming Eve" suggests that prior to the point where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control of the rising of the sun and moon, this duty fell to the unicorns.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve "Hearth's Warming Eve"]] and the [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' explain how the three races came together to form the land (the episode tells less of the story but in more detail, while the app tells more of the story but in less detail). The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

* Other cities/towns/villages seen or mentioned in the show include Fillydelphia, Hoofington, Manehattan and Trottingham.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" and the [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' explain how the three races came together to form the land (the episode tells less of the story but in more detail, while the app tells more of the story but in less detail). The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

* '''Appleloosa''': A western-themed town that was founded a year before the Mane Six first visited it. Buffaloes were the native inhabitants of the place before the ponies built a settlement in their land, which has caused a conflict between the two races. [[spoiler: The conflict ended in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" with an agreement that the ponies would give the buffaloes apple pie every time the buffaloes passed through.]]
* Other cities/towns/villages include Fillydelphia, Hoofington, Manehattan and Trottingham.

Recent episodes can be viewed on TheHub's [[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic official site]] in the US, and selected episodes are being released to DVD and the {{Leapfrog}} App Center. All of the first season's episodes, as well as all of the second season's episodes that have already aired, can be bought on [=iTunes=] if you're lucky enough to live somewhere in the one-third of the world where iTunes sells videos, and viewed through [[YouTube other (less official) sources]]. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced On July 4th, the show began airing in the UK on Boomerang]], and premiered on Boomerang worldwide soon after. The show's second season premiered on September 17th, 2011, with [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/26-episodes-clarification-from-daniel.html 26 new episodes]] scheduled for the run.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" and the [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' explain how the three races came together to form the land (the episode tells less of the story but in more detail, while the app tells more of the story but in less detail). The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

''[[FanNickname MLP: FiM]]'' proved an overnight sensation on the internet, and even before the first season was over, it had spawned {{image macro}}s and countless forum threads full of speculation and discussion; it also led to [[PeripheryDemographic lots of males]] having existential crises about enjoying a "girl's cartoon" so much. It also provides one of the best examples of TroperCriticalMass in action: one season of a show ostensibly for little girls contains hundreds upon hundreds of tropes, a Characters page, fanfics, and legitimate fanbases for every character under the sun.

''[[FanNickname MLP: FiM]]'' has spawned a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t38DPnkDjTM variety]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inlhwCRS4fQ of musical]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf0tYs5U5RI compositions]] and enormous quantities of fan art, enough to flood most of the {{image boards}} on the 'net throughout 2011 (starting with cartoons, but swiftly spreading to message boards devoted to topics as diverse as violent video games, wrestling, and heavy metal, with ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' in particular becoming seen as a fortress of '''''brony'''''-dom.)

The most common type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they nonetheless have their advantages. They tend to have greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them, such as Applejack, becoming farmers. Also, the majority appear to have a superior sense of balance, poising objects with ease on their heads, backs or even noses. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville. WordOfGod states that earth ponies do have a passive magic that ties them to the earth and to caring for it. The pageant in "Hearth's Warming Eve" shows that the Earth ponies were originally a more subservient race to the Unicorns and Pegasi; the latter races had requested tithes of food from the Earth ponies.

The most common type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they nonetheless have their advantages. They tend to have greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them becoming farmers such as Applejack. Also, the majority appear to have a superior sense of balance, balancing objects with ease on their heads, backs or even noses. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville. WordOfGod states that earth ponies do have a passive magic that ties them to the earth and caring for it. The pagaent in "Hearth's Warming Eve" shows that the Earth ponies were originally a more subservient race to the Unicorns and Pegasi; the latter races had requested tithes of food from the Earth ponies.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers as well as having an advantage to handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association of their special talent, for example Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems. "Hearth's Warming Eve" suggests that prior to the point where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control of the rising of the sun and moon, this duty fell to the unicorns.

Most pegasi hail from the majestic city of Cloudsdale, a FloatingContinent made of clouds and rainbows. Pegasi posses passive magic that allows them to walk on clouds and manipulate the weather, which in this setting is very important because [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows ponies actually are responsible for the environment]] in this setting.

The pony civilization's homeland. It's divided into many pony inhabited cities, towns, and villages. Ruled by the two powerful pony princesses Celestia and Luna, it is a magical place where everypony lives in (almost perfect) harmony with nature and the land.
* '''Ponyville''': The show's primary setting where the mane six currently resides. The town was founded by Earth ponies hundreds of years ago but is now inhabited by various types of ponies.
* '''Canterlot''': The capital city of Equestria. A place located on a side of a tall mountain and is mostly inhabited by unicorn ponies. This is also Twilight and Spike's hometown and where the princesses reside.
* '''Cloudsdale''': A large floating Greek-themed city made out of clouds that only pegasus ponies have access to since only they could stand on clouds without falling right through it. Other ponies could visit the city either through flying machines like hot air balloons or magic.
* '''Appleloosa''': A western themed town that was founded a year ago. Buffaloes were the native inhabitants of the place before the ponies built a settlement in their land which has caused a conflict between the two races. [[spoiler: The conflict ended in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" with an agreement that the ponies would give the buffaloes apple pie everytime they pass by.]]
* Other Cities/towns/villages include Fillydelphia, Hoofington, Manehattan and Trottingham.

A dangerous place where everything acts on its own without the ponies' control. Several dangerous flora and fauna reside here like dragons, hydras, the cockatrice, and the poison joke flowers.

''[[FanNickname MLP: FiM]]'' has spawned a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t38DPnkDjTM variety]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inlhwCRS4fQ of music]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf0tYs5U5RI compositions]] and enormous quantities of fan art, enough to flood most of the {{image boards}} on the 'net throughout 2011 (starting with cartoons, but swiftly spreading to message boards devoted to topics as diverse as violent video games, wrestling, and heavy metal, with ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' in particular becoming seen as a fortress of '''''brony'''''-dom.)

It has even spawned an unofficial [[BetterThanItSounds fighting game]] currently in production, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9qtgIi3Rw#t=1m45s My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic]]'', which is [[http://gamerescape.com/2011/10/03/gamer-escape-exclusive-interview-fighting-is-magic-devteam/ making waves in the industry]]. Other game spinoffs produced by the fan community include a [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]]-mod of the AdultSwim game ''RobotUnicornAttack'', which preceded ponies by a few short months, helping to establish the [[MemeticMutation inherent manliness of all things]] [[TastesLikeDiabetes rainbows and unicorns]]. There are also attempts by fans to make an multiplayer massive online game, "Equestria Online", and a spinoff of the ''AceAttorney'' series, "My Little Investigations".

Despite such ironic remarks, the show was cited by Wired as an example of "the new sincerity" in 2010's culture, with adult fans honestly defending the assertion that it took self-confidence to appreciate the show on its own merits as a celebration of innocence, friendship and tolerance. Others [[IReadItForTheArticles watch it for the]] [[UnusualEuphemism plot]].

Friendship Is Magic did not penetrate the mainstream consciousness until Summer 2011 when Fox News issued a series of critiques of the ''"bronies"'' phenomenon, with William Kristol declaring it to be "worse than terrorism!" (the other people on the Fox panel were supportive of the trend), and other commentators comparing it to the adult fanbase of ''SpongebobSquarepants'', another cartoon known for its good writing that appeals to [[ParentalBonus children and adults]]. Of course, America has a long and storied history of [[AnimationAgeGhetto producing and marketing animation exclusively for kids]]. The resulting fan response led to a series of {{Shout Out}}s by other media figures, including StephenColbert (who gave a [[HandshakeSubstitute brohoof]] "to all my bronies!")

Much like ''[[StarTrek Trek]]'' or ''Series/DoctorWho'', the MLP fandom has spawned [[CultClassic its own cult]] with distinctive lingo and code phrases.[[hottip:+:[[Memes/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MAGNETO IS BEST PONY]].]] The writers even [[ShoutOut/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic make references]] to these fandoms and AscendedFanon, such as [[AscendedExtra Derpy Hooves]]. While the phrase "brony" originally referred to the male audience, it has since come to mean any adult fan of the show -- male or female -- to a certain extent.

Ironically, some have cited an [[CriticalDissonance initial wave of harsh criticism]] for the show's kids-commercialization aspect with [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity sparking interest in the show]], starting with CartoonBrew's article "The End of the Creator-Driven Era" which sparked initial interest in the show; and more recently with ''Ms. Magazine'' writing an article[[hottip:*:[[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad "My Racist, Homophobic, Smart-Shaming Pony"]].]] which generated hundreds of responses -- including the show's creator, Lauren Faust, a feminist.

Much like ''[[StarTrek Trek]]'' or ''DoctorWho'', the MLP fandom has spawned [[CultClassic its own cult]] with distinctive lingo and code phrases.[[hottip:+:[[Memes/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MAGNETO IS BEST PONY]].]] The writers even [[ShoutOut/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic make references]] to these fandoms and AscendedFanon, such as [[AscendedExtra Derpy Hooves]]. While the phrase "brony" originally referred to the male audience, it has since come to mean any adult fan of the show -- male or female -- to a certain extent.

Recent episodes can be viewed [[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic on the Hub's official site]] in the US. All of the first season's episodes, as well as all of the second season's episodes that have already aired, can be bought on [=iTunes=] if you're lucky enough to live somewhere in the one-third of the world where iTunes sells videos, and viewed through [[YouTube other (less official) sources]]. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced On July 4th, the show began airing in the UK on Boomerang]], and premiered on Boomerang worldwide soon after. The show's second season premiered on September 17th, 2011, with [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/26-episodes-clarification-from-daniel.html 26 new episodes]] scheduled for the run.

The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" can be viewed [[http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/en_US/play/details.cfm?guid=69B52D0A-5056-900B-10B8-D4904CDD7CFC on Hasbro's official site]], and other episodes can be viewed [[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic on the Hub's official site]] in the US. All of the first season's episodes, as well as all of the second season's episodes that have already aired, can be bought on [=iTunes=] if you're lucky enough to live somewhere in the one-third of the world where iTunes sells videos, and viewed through [[YouTube other (less official) sources]]. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced On July 4th, the show began airing in the UK on Boomerang]], and premiered on Boomerang worldwide soon after. The show's second season premiered on September 17th, 2011, with [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/26-episodes-clarification-from-daniel.html 26 new episodes]] scheduled for the run.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" and the [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' explain how the three races came together to form the land. The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' and the forthcoming episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" explain how the three races came together to form the land. The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

The most common type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they nonetheless have their advantages. They tend to have greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them becoming farmers such as Applejack. Also, the majority appear to have a superior sense of balance, balancing objects with ease on their heads, backs or even noses. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville. WordOfGod states that earth ponies do have a passive magic that ties them to the earth and caring for it.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers as well as having an advantage to handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association of their special talent, for example Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems.

''[[FanNickname MLP: FiM]]'' has spawned a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t38DPnkDjTM variety]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inlhwCRS4fQ of music]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf0tYs5U5RI compositions]] and enormous quantities of fan art, enough to flood most of the {{image boards}} on the 'net throughout 2011 (starting with cartoons, but swiftly spreading to message boards devoted to topics as diverse as violent video games, wrestling, and heavy metal, with ''TeamFortress'' in particular becoming seen as a fortress of '''''brony'''''-dom.)

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. The [[IOSGames iOS app]] ''[[http://hasb.ro/pCPZcsFBK103 Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day]]'' and the forthcoming episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" explain how the three races came together to form the land. The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

The most common type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they no less have their advantages. They tend to have a greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them becoming farmers such as Applejack. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville. WordOfGod states that earth ponies do have a passive magic that ties them to the earth and caring for it.

Most pegasi hail from the majestic city of Cloudsdale, a FloatingContinent made of clouds and rainbows. Pegasi posses passive magic that allows them to walk on clouds and manipulate the weather, which in this setting is very important because [[IDyeGrass ponies actually are responsible for the environment]] in this setting.

There are three distinct races of ponies in Equestria, as opposed to a common misconception that pegasus and unicorns are special variants from the basic pony. A forthcoming episode, "Hearth's Warming Eve", is to explain how the three races came together to form the land. The exceptions to this are the alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna, who possess traits of all three races.

The most common type of pony in Equestria. While being the "normals" among the races, lacking the magic of unicorns and the flight of pegasi, they no less have their advantages. They tend to have a greater endurance than other ponies and have a special connection to the earth, resulting in many of them becoming farmers such as Applejack. Earth ponies are the founders of the show's main setting, the town of Ponyville.

The race of our main heroine, Twilight Sparkle, and the founders of the capital city of Canterlot. All unicorns have telekinesis, which makes them great multi-taskers as well as having an advantage to handling things that would normally require hands. Most unicorns learn additional magic in association of their special talent, for example Rarity has a magic spell that helps her locate gems.

Despite such ironic remarks, the show was cited by Wired as an example of "the new sincerity" in 2010's culture, with adult fans honestly defending the assertion that it took self-confidence to appreciate the show on its own merits as a celebration of innocence, friendship and tolerance. Others [[IReadItForTheArticles watch it for the plot]].

It has even spawned an unofficial [[BetterThanItSounds fighting game]] currently in production, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9qtgIi3Rw#t=1m45s My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic]]'', which is [[http://gamerescape.com/2011/10/03/gamer-escape-exclusive-interview-fighting-is-magic-devteam/ making waves in the industry]].

Other spinoffs produced by the fan community include a [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]]-mod of the AdultSwim game ''RobotUnicornAttack'', which preceded ponies by a few short months, helping to establish the [[MemeticMutation inherent manliness of all things]] [[TastesLikeDiabetes rainbows and unicorns]].

Ironically, some have cited an [[CriticalDissonance initial wave of harsh criticism]] for the show's kids-commercialization aspect with [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity sparking interest in the show]], starting with CartoonBrew's article "The End of the Creator-Driven Era" which sparked initial interest in the show; and more recently with ''Ms. Magazine'' writing an article[[hottip:*:[[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad "My Racist, Homophobic, Smart-Shaming Pony"]].]] which generated hundreds of responses -- including the show's creator, Lauren Faust, a feminist.

!!Bronies
The older audience of the show.

[[AC:Earth Ponies]]

[[AC:Unicorn Ponies]]

[[AC:Pegasus Ponies]]

!Pop Culture impact