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** At the beginning of the episode spike seems more lethargic than usual, this could be attributed to various reasons, until you take into account that spike is a reptile and reptiles get sleepy at a lowered temperatures.
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** At the beginning of the episode spike Spike seems more lethargic than usual, this could be attributed to various reasons, until you take into account that spike is a reptile and reptiles get sleepy at a lowered temperatures.
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**At the beginning of the episode spike seems more lethargic than usual, this could be attributed to various reasons, until you take into account that spike is a reptile and reptiles get sleepy at a lowered temperatures.
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* Applejack's moment of extreme shock at the painted apples in may seem out of context for the sensible pony considering its just colour on apples... until you realize that they look much like zap apples. For a split second, she thinks the farm has missed its oppurtunity for one of its cornerstone harvests, seeing as they disappear so quickly.
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* Applejack's moment of extreme shock at the painted apples in may seem out of context for the sensible pony considering its just colour on apples... until you realize that they look much like zap apples. For a split second, she thinks the farm has missed its oppurtunity opportunity for one of its cornerstone harvests, seeing as they disappear so quickly.
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zap apples need love
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* Applejack's moment of extreme shock at the painted apples in may seem out of context for the sensible pony considering its just colour on apples... until you realize that they look much like zap apples. For a split second, she thinks the farm has missed its oppurtunity for one of its cornerstone harvests, seeing as they disappear so quickly.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonderbolts when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in Equestria? Because speed and skill are different matters all together. Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time. She also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers. Think of it like figure skating; just because someone is the best single skater, that doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonderbolts when She she has proven time and again she is the fastest in Equestria? Because speed and skill are different matters all together. Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time. She also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers. Think of it like figure skating; just because someone is the best single skater, that doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonderbolts when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in Equestria? Because speed and skill are different matters all together. Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time. she also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers. Think of it like figure skating; just because someone is the best single skater, that doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonderbolts when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in Equestria? Because speed and skill are different matters all together. Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time. she She also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers. Think of it like figure skating; just because someone is the best single skater, that doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonder Bolt's ? when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in equestria because speed and skill are different matters all together Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time she also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers think of it like figure skateing just because someone is the best single skater doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonder Bolt's ? Wonderbolts when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in equestria because Equestria? Because speed and skill are different matters all together together. Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time time. she also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers think flyers. Think of it like figure skateing skating; just because someone is the best single skater skater, that doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* The lack of Spike in this season is understandable given the events of "The Secret of my Excess". Poor little guy probably isn't too eager to leave the library any time soon.
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* Why can't Rainbow Dash seem to get into the Wonder Bolt's ? when She has proven time and again she is the fastest in equestria because speed and skill are different matters all together Dash gets distracted and crashes all the time she also has never shown that she is good at working in a team of flyers think of it like figure skateing just because someone is the best single skater doesn't mean they will make a good member of a team.
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* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/253510-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic This]] fan interpretation of those two important-looking ponies alongside the Mayor.
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* At first it may seem that the only reason Equestria is so matriarchal (both rulers are female, as is the mayor of Ponyville, as were the three historical leaders including a commander who ruled over militaristic society) is because the show is targeted at girls, considering how in the real world most leaderships have always been so male-dominated (even today, when women are no longer discriminated) But those who are familiar with horses' herd behavior know that it's always the lead mare who is in charge, having the most authority and deciding where the herd will go, so it makes perfect sense that ponies would instinctively choose females for their leaders.
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* At first it may seem that the only reason Equestria is so matriarchal (both rulers are female, as is the mayor of Ponyville, as were the three historical leaders including a commander who ruled over militaristic society) is because the show is targeted at girls, considering how in the real world most leaderships have always been so male-dominated (even today, when women are no longer discriminated) today) But those who are familiar with horses' herd behavior know that it's always the lead mare who is in charge, having the most authority and deciding where the herd will go, so it makes perfect sense that ponies would instinctively choose females for their leaders.
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* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E18AFriendInDeed A Friend In Deed]] shows how Pinkie really feels the need to be best friends with every pony in Ponyville. But if thats the case, what was with her behaviour with Rainbow Dash in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]? After all, Rainbow Dash was certainly acting like they were not friends at the beginning. And thats why Pinkie was trying to get her to go pranking - to fix just that. Given Pinkies persistence, suddenly Rainbow Dash running off when she hears Pinkie is looking for her makes a bit more sense....
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* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E18AFriendInDeed A Friend In Deed]] shows how Pinkie really feels the need to be best friends with every pony in Ponyville. But if thats the case, what was with her behaviour with Rainbow Dash in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]? After all, Rainbow Dash was certainly acting like they were not friends at the beginning. And thats why Pinkie was trying to get her to go pranking - to fix just that. Given Pinkies Pinkie's persistence, suddenly Rainbow Dash running off when she hears Pinkie is looking for her makes a bit more sense....
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* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E18AFriendInDeed A Friend In Deed]] shows how Pinkie really feels the need to be best friends with every pony in Ponyville. But if thats the case, what was with her behaviour with Rainbow Dash in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]? After all, Rainbow Dash was certainly acting like they were not friends at the beginning. And thats why Pinkie was trying to get her to go pranking - to fix just that. Given Pinkies persistence, suddenly Rainbow Dash running off when she hears Pinkie is looking for her makes a bit more sense....
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** Alternatively, the CMC don't have the same kind of friendly connection to Celestia (a mentor figure, at least for Twilight) as the Mane 6 and are reciting the lesson to their ''equivalent'' of her; their teacher.
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* There's been some conflicted feelings in the fanbase lately, mostly because in the second half of season two [[TheOneGuy Spike]] has gotten less screen time. The one upside is that fan-favorite Big Macintosh has been [[AscendedExtra promoted to a larger role]]. Then it hit me, ''usually'' (but not always) Big Mac has a bigger part in episodes where Spike is missing or has diminished screen time (like in "The Sisterhooves Social" "Family Appreciation Day" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"), they're making TheOneGuy a rotating position. Right now it switches between the two of them but as time goes the possibility of other male characters (like Caramel, Blues, Bluegrass or Doctor Whooves) opens up. This allows them to use more of the male characters without having to take away from the Mane Six.
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* There's been some conflicted feelings in the fanbase lately, mostly because in the second half of season two [[TheOneGuy Spike]] has gotten less screen time. The one upside is that fan-favorite Big Macintosh has been [[AscendedExtra promoted to a larger role]]. Then it hit me, ''usually'' (but not always) Big Mac has a bigger part in episodes where Spike is missing or has diminished screen time (like in "The Sisterhooves Social" "Family Appreciation Day" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"), 6000" and "Hearts and Hooves Day"), they're making TheOneGuy a rotating position. Right now it switches between the two of them but as time goes the possibility of other male characters (like Caramel, Blues, Bluegrass or Doctor Whooves) opens up. This allows them to use more of the male characters without having to take away from the Mane Six.
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* There's been some conflicted feelings in the fanbase lately, mostly because in the second half of season two [[TheOneGuy Spike]] has gotten less screen time. The one upside is that fan-favorite Big Macintosh has been [[AscendedExtra promoted to a larger role]]. Then it hit me, ''usually'' (but not always) Big Mac has a bigger part in episodes where Spike is missing or has diminished screen time (like in "The Sisterhooves Social" "Family Appreciation Day" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"), they're making TheOneGuy a rotating position. Right now it switches between the two of them but as time goes the possibility of other male characters (like Caramel, Blues, Bluegrass or Doctor Whooves) opens up. This allows them to use more of the male characters without having to take away from the Mane Six.
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*** All this touching and her horn goes limp? [[FreudWasRight]].
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*** All this touching and [[FreudWasRight her horn goes limp? [[FreudWasRight]].limp]]?
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**** All this touching and her horn goes limp? [[Freud Was Right]].
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*** All this touching and her horn goes limp? [[FreudWasRight]].
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**** All this touching and her horn goes limp? Freud Was Right.
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**** All this touching and her horn goes limp? Freud [[Freud Was Right.Right]].
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**** All this touching and her horn goes limp? Freud Was Right.
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves. http://i.imgur.com/mxpSL.jpg]], and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves. http://i.[[http://i.imgur.com/mxpSL.jpg]], jpg]]]], and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves.]], and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves.]], http://i.imgur.com/mxpSL.jpg]], and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves.]] in, and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance[[hottip:*: appearance in[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves.]] in, ]], and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in, and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance appearance[[hottip:*: Nope, he also shows up at the very start of the episode in the long shot of Ponyville, look to the bridge on the lower right of the screen and you'll see him talking to his fanon companion, our much-beloved Ms. Derpy Hooves.]] in, and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
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*** Well, a lady does have to always look her best, even when covered in mud.
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** That and she was having fun trashing the barn first.
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FridgeBrilliance for MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic
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FridgeBrilliance for MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic
WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic
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!!'''FridgeBrilliance:'''
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FridgeBrilliance for MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic
[[foldercontrol]]
!!'''FridgeBrilliance:'''
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - General]]
* The conflict of Luna's rebellion and Celestia's 'solution' gains much more credibility and seriousness when you consider the dark tone of Equestria implied a millennium ago. They had over-thrown a sadistic chaos god some-time before, and were just building their world around the ever-free forest (The ancient palace being encroached within it) before taking control of their own 'world'. They had no concept of 'fun' as we know it. Discord even states he forgot how 'grim' Celestia could be. So given the climate, it seems would've been a tough, no non-sense era. Think the Equestrian equivalent of the Dark Ages or the Inquisition, only with world-wide genocide and tyranny at risk via magical/chaotic deities.
** And that would put Equestria somewhere between modern times and the enlightenment/colonial era. They have trains and settlements, but also horses/carriages, and still in land-conflicts with Buffalo. Ignorance towards other cultures (Zecora) was wide-spread throughout a small-town. They have a 'mayor' but still a divine ruler by default. (Similar to how the 13 Colonies had leaders but the monarchy came first) And they seem like a primarily agricultural based society slowly making their headway towards industrialization.
* [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my-little-ponies_4520.jpg This image]], notice how Pinkie Pie is at the same height as Rainbow Dash, higher than the former can stand. Also notice that her front hoof is bend as if holding her over something, either Twilight's bangs have great holding power or Pinkie Pie is [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall hanging on the fourth wall.]]
** Or she's bouncing, because that's what Pinkie Pie does.
* It's stated right up front that Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun. As is pointed out elsewhere on this wiki, the sun continues to rise and set without Celestia actively controlling it. How is she managing it? Well, if you'll go to her Characters listing, you'll notice that the BishieSparkle trope is listed, pointing out that she does have a subtle sparkle about her at all times. '''The only time we ever see these sparkles is when there is magic in effect.'''[[hottip:*:Especially when it's twilight out. *ducks a thrown shoe*]] Celestia is using the latent magic in her body to control the sun passively while she goes about her normal business.
* We might as well put this here: The reason for Twilight Sparkle's Adorkable personality quirks? It's all but explicitly stated in the show's canon that she has mild Asperger's Syndrome. The show won't address this directly because many ''adults'' don't fully understand the disorder. The 15-20mins of total airtime each episode just isn't enough to explain the disorder in any satisfactory terms. So they just leave us with Twilight having an occasional "dork" moment for a chuckle.
** While the show manages to be plenty of things, being [[AVerySpecialEpisode equipped to explain real issues]] wouldn't be one of them. Consider the setting: A SugarBowl populated by magic candy-colored ponies. This wouldn't be the sort of show to explain issues such as mental disorders to children. So if that's what the writers are implying then they're definitely downplaying that aspect of her personality to just an occasional "dork" moment. Which in turn manages to be brilliant in itself since most portrayals of people with Aspergers on T.V tend to be a bit... [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]]. To the point where that's the whole person's personality. Twilight's symptoms wouldn't be too extreme since she's certainly intelligent enough and has received the best possible education of anyone in Equestria, she would have learned at least a few social skills with her time with The Princess.
* Applejack's name still fits the theme naming in the Apple family, despite not being any specific dish or breed of apple: Apple''jack'', as in jack-of-all-trades. She specializes in apples in general, as evidenced in her variety of different dishes she offered to Twilight in ''The Ticket Master''.
** Actually no it fits all to well considering her role as the main cider maker of the apple family in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy". Applejack is actually the name for a strong apple cider made by freeze distillation (the slang term for this type being "to jack something" hence the cider she's been giving to the ponies is actually hard alcoholic cider.
* At first it may seem that the only reason Equestria is so matriarchal (both rulers are female, as is the mayor of Ponyville, as were the three historical leaders including a commander who ruled over militaristic society) is because the show is targeted at girls, considering how in the real world most leaderships have always been so male-dominated (even today, when women are no longer discriminated) But those who are familiar with horses' herd behavior know that it's always the lead mare who is in charge, having the most authority and deciding where the herd will go, so it makes perfect sense that ponies would instinctively choose females for their leaders.
* The Elements of Harmony require a very powerful bond between the users to work at full power - for example, the bond of friendship between the Mane Cast, or the bond of siblings between Luna and Celestia. So, how could it work with Celestia on her own? Celestia used them to protect her little sister until she could be restored to normal. The bond was still there, despite NM's actions. Celestia was essentially saying to Luna, "I am so, ''so'' sorry about this, but I've ''got'' to stop you hurting yourself further. I'm doing this because I love you, and I will ''never'' forgive myself for what you're going to go through from now on." Awwww!
* I used to wonder why Spike's crush had to be Rarity, out of all the Mane Six. Then I realized that Spike's TrademarkFavoriteFood is gemstones, which happen to be Rarity's cutie mark. MrMediaGuy
* Fridge Brilliance regarding Spike's massive crush on Rarity; despite being a dragon, he was hatched and raised by a pony. ''He thinks like a pony.'' And with all the fairy tales in Twilight's collection...why, Rarity's like the princess from all those bedtime stories. Proof with "A Dog and Pony Show" where he pictures himself a brave knight knocking the ruffians into next week to rescue the pretty mare. Realizing that is what put me right in that shipper camp. {{Tropers/Allronix}}
* This troper was thinking about how the Mane Six represent the Elements of Harmony, but in-universe they often exhibit the opposite traits (Rarity coveting gems, Applejack lying to her friends, Rainbow Dash being selfish, etc.). At first this troper thought that this was contradictory, but then I remembered that the purpose of the Elements of Harmony was to maintain balance in Equestria. You can't have yin without yang. Take Rarity for example: she represents the element of Generosity, but at the same time she has a bit of a greedy streak when it comes to the finer things in life. But just as being super-greedy turned her into a crazy paranoid miser in "Return of Harmony", being super-generous would quickly leave Rarity completely out of business and with nothing left to give. With that said, it seems to this troper that Discord didn't completely change their personality- he just brought out their worst possible traits.
* This troper noticed another interesting thing about the Mane Six - when you pair each pony of the same type (unicorn, pegasus and earth pony), their personalities seem to be quite opposite to each other - which fits perfectly with the idea of them being harmonic.
** '''Twilight Sparkle - Rarity''': Twilight doesn't care in the least about her looks (she happily wears an unfinished dress made by Rarity, saying that it's simple and practical, like her, and she even dresses as a male wizard for Nightmare Night), whereas Rarity hates it whenever something messes up her appearance.
** '''Rainbow Dash - Fluttershy''': Rainbow Dash is a tomboy, extrovert and excellent flier, whereas Fluttershy is more girly, shy and more comfortable on the ground.
** '''Pinkie Pie - Applejack''': Pinkie Pie is a CloudCuckooLander, Applejack is sensible and down to earth.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - Season One]]
* The design of Twilight's cutie mark is somewhat vague, and we wouldn't really know it is a representation of magic until we are told about it. However, the mark is five small stars, surrounding a big pink one; the most powerful and important star on the mark. An exact representation of the Elements of Harmony, specifically, Magic, as it has to be unlocked by the other five. This also could be the reason that Celestia knew to take Twilight in, after seeing the mark, she knew what it meant, and she knew Twilight was destined to save Princess Luna.
* "On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid her escape." That prophecy wasn't about Nightmare Moon using the night sky to escape from the moon, it was about the Elements of Harmony, the "stars" of the show helping Luna escape from the Nightmare she'd trapped herself in.
* Twilight's name is the connection between (or even ''unification'' of) day and night. Of ''course'' she'd be the one to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring back Celestia and Luna together again!
* Luna's lack of screentime after her redemption may seem like a cop-out at first, but then one remembers that her descent into madness was caused by a lack of appreciation from other ponies- ''because she wasn't seen very often'' due to her portfolio. [[HereWeGoAgain We could assume the same thing is happening after her recovery]] except that WordOfGod on her S2 appearance means that Celestia will thankfully rectify this issue.
** Another possible explanation: She hasn't been around in a thousand years, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6982210/1/Progress so she probably has to adjust to all the changes.]]
*** Confirmed by Luna herself in "Luna Eclipsed".
** She also may have been waiting until Nightmare Night to make her official re-debut.
** Alternatively, Luna is not seen much because her domain is the night, while the Mane Cast is mostly active during the day.
* No one recognizes Nightmare Moon when she appears in the first episode even though the citizens of Ponyville celebrate Nightmare Night. Then you realize that they didn't recognize Nightmare Moon until Twilight referred to her by name. Holidays and related characters changing over the course of a thousand years isn't new, and they probably had a different idea of what Nightmare Moon looked like.
** It makes even more sense considering Princess Celestia has been ruling for the last thousand years and probably didn't like having her sister viewed as a monster and worked to change the holiday so it didn't involve images of Luna.
** That only works if you assume that the statue of Nightmare Moon was not part of the celebration until after her defeat.
** Or possibly they just didn't put two and two together until Twilight said it out loud. Nightmare Moon was an ancient legend, after all, not someone you'd expect to just suddenly pop up one day and claim rulership of the world.
** The statue is in the Everfree Forest, a place of taboo to ponies, and Zecora leads them to it: you know, the zebra which all the ponies in Ponyville were xenophobic towards until recently. That's probably why they'd never seen the statue before.
* Twilight Sparkle getting a floppy horn in "Bridle Gossip" makes even more sense once you notice that [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash taps Twilight on the horn immediately after flying through the Poison Joke.]]
* The parasprites are apparently native to the Everfree Forest, and they should be able to strip the forest of its entire food supply within a day. So why haven't they destroyed the forest yet? Because the Everfree Forest is home to some of the largest, nastiest predators know to ponykind- the Ursa Major can probably gulp down an entire swarm just by inhaling. This explains why Zecora has never seen one despite living in the same forest. This means, however, that all the parasprites that Applejack and Pinkie Pie sent into the forest are [[FridgeHorror going to die very, very, soon.]]
** However, based on the Princess' comments, it appears that the parasprites are now attacking [[IncrediblyLamePun Fillydelphia]], subtly implying that the 'sprites that they shoved into the forest are now... elsewhere.
** This is an example of TruthInTelevision. Many creatures that are, if not common, present in their native environment, will have population explosions when transplanted to new locales due to lack of predation or some other obstacle. Kudzu is a fantastic example of this. In Hawaii, wild pigs are also highly invasive and destructive.
* So... maybe the reason Pinkie wasn't afraid of the scary trees in the pilot was because her "spidey sense" wasn't indicating danger?
** Doesn't her "Pinkie Sense," only work on future events?
*** Well, I guess that COULD have been a future prediction in itself, but in spite of the weirdly specific nature of many of her Pinkie Senses, I'm not sure "the trees are gonna scare the crud out of my friends in a few moments" would have been amongst them.
*** "When my knee gets pinchy, it means something scary's about to happen!" No pinchy, no scary.
** Or she was the only one who noticed that the trees were completely inanimate.
*** ...Because the only way they could work was to frighten their targets out of their wits, making them incapable of stopping to observe or analyse, and that just didn't work on her.
*** An alternate explanation is TooDumbToFool.
* It's implied repeatedly that earth ponies are stronger and/or have more endurance than pegasi, in general. After the Running of the Leaves, when Twilight mentioned most of the contestants being worn out by the end of the race, the camera cuts to a trio of exhausted ponies... all three are pegasi. For all their mistakes and shameless copypasting, the background pony animators sometimes do something especially clever.
** Also in the Running of the Leaves, Pinkie Pie's announcements of "It's Applejack...it's Rainbow Dash!" seem to be out of sync with who's actually ahead. But, since Applejack and Rainbow Dash have unknowingly fallen behind the others, she's actually announcing who's behind.
* At first the effects of the "curse" in "Bridle Gossip" seemed rather random to me, but then I realized it was targeting each of the ponies' personal strengths: Twilight prides herself on her magical abilities, and her horn goes limp; Rarity takes pride in her appearance, and ends up with long, goofy-looking hair; Rainbow Dash, who enjoys her graceful flying abilities, becomes incredibly clumsy; Applejack prides herself on her physical strength and ability to take charge, and gets shrunk; the highly social Pinkie Pie is rendered unable to talk; and the gentle and soft-spoken Fluttershy is given a deep and somewhat intimidating voice.
** That's quite clever actually. This troper completely missed that.
** Actually-- and you have to look closely to notice it--- Rainbow Dash's wings were on upside down.
** It seemed to me like the effects of the "curse" were more oriented towards karmic revenge for what they had been doing in that episode. Twilight was dismissing the idea of supernaturals besides unicorn magic (even though she was right), Rarity criticized Zeroca's mane, Applejack was constantly dismissing her little sister (using the word "little" a LOT) and Pinkie Pie was implied to be the main source behind the gossip. The curse even prevents her from singing her xenophobic 'evil enchantress' song.
*** Twilight's horn went limp because that's where Rainbow first touched her after touching the flowers herself.
*** That doesn't quite hold up when it comes to Fluttershy however. And the Twilight part also doesn't work, especially since it seems to undermine its own argument.
*** The Fluttershy thing may seem off until you realize that this episode was shortly after "Dragonshy" where Fluttershy stands up to a powerful dragon and tells him to leave his cave. Now keep in mind that "Flutterguy" and the dragon she recently told to leave have the ''same voice'', and you realize that this might be a form of the dragon's revenge considering the fact that Fluttershy used ''her voice'' to make him concede defeat and leave Ponyville.
*** It could be based off of how Fluttershy said "I'll bet she's digging for innocent creatures" while they were hiding from Zecora. As punishment for spreading rumors, she got a loud, scary man-voice.
*** Alternately, it could be punishment for her standing up for her friends, but not for a stranger subjected to injustice.
* In "Suited for Success" one might look at the "second try" dresses and wonder, how can they look at that in a mirror and think it looks good? Then one remembers that they go around naked most of the time! It makes sense that they don't have any taste, since they don't have to exercise it on a daily basis.
* Why is Trixie's magic so useless off the stage? Is she just weak? Maybe, but there's another explanation, one which probably makes more sense. Every unicorn has their own special talent. Trixie's is most likely ''showmanship''
** It's probably more than that when you consider that Trixie is Twilight's ShadowArchetype and while Twilight is nice and has a lot of friends, Trixie is arrogant and has no friends. Now think about what Twilight learned in her battle against Nightmare Moon, and it all makes perfect sense: [[MeaningfulName Friendship Is Magic.]]
** Also, if you observe carefully, you'll notice that all Trixie ever did was turn her hecklers' talents against them. It's not entirely unfeasible that Trixie isn't very good at magic unless she has something to imitate. This is further reinforced when she tries to use the rope-charming trick and the storm-cloud thing against the Ursa Minor.
* Spike's attitude towards the Grand Galloping Gala in "The Ticket Master" is basically a stand-in for all of the peripheral demographic viewers. "I don't want any of that girly, frilly, frou-frou nonsense," he says, and giggles at being invited to the gala too. In other words, Lauren Faust gave all of us a cameo.
** This troper agrees, having encountered so many boys (and girls) who are reluctant to display any inclination towards things like "frilly frou frou" or "rough and tumble boys stuff" because they're afraid of being laughed at or teased, it's nice to see that Spike is both sympathising with this fear, and basically showing us it's okay anyway.
** Though one could say that moral was undercut slightly when, in "The Best Night Ever", Spike spent the entire gala hanging out in a donut shop rather than going to any of the events to which his ticket entitled him (which had both male ''and'' female ponies in attendance).
*** Wasn't he only hanging out there because his friends had abandoned him?
*** Yes. It wasn't that he didn't care for "girly gala" stuff, it was because he had no one to hang out with. Even the best events in the world can be no fun without your friends.
*** Indeed. Remember, while everyone else was thinking of things they could do for themselves, all Spike wanted to do was share his hometown with them like his favorite donut shop.
** The only problem with this theory is that the episode was written LONG before even the premiere aired, so they had no idea yet that the show would be embraced so firmly by a PeripheryDemographic.
*** Even so, one of the chief reasons the show was written in the style it is was so those forced to watch it by young girls who compose the primary demographic would be able to actually enjoy themselves. Spike's perspective on the Gala may not have been for the (yet-to-exist) bronies' sake, but certainly for that of the parents.
* Princess Luna armored herself with her jealousy and bitterness. When the Elements of Harmony broke through that armor, it showed what she really was inside... a lonely little girl who just wanted friends and to be loved as much as her big sister.
** Some FridgeHorror with that; her punishment was to be alone and forgotten for a thousand years, no wonder so many fans think Celestia is evil.
** Considering Nightmare Moon wanted to bring Eternal Night it might be a case of the lesser of 2 evils, but by the same token after the pilot and the entire moral she lets Twilight stay in Ponyville because she made friends but her own sister is never seen again...because she want to make friends...FlatWhat
** Princess Luna is going to be appearing in Season 2. Hopefully her absence from Season 1 will be explained, though some reasonable guesses could be made. It's possible Luna is spending Season 1 getting into the swing of things. 1000 years is a long time for customs, traditions, fashions, and other pieces of culture to change, and Luna is probably out of practice with her royal and mystic duties. That and she could be doing work to build positive PR so she doesn't scare the masses whenever she goes walking outside.
*** Although they tend to be outside of the show's scope, there are a ton of non-Ponyville places in Equestria. She's almost certainly living in the high culture city of Canterlot with her big sister. Celestia probably hangs out in Ponyville so much to oversee Twilight Sparkle's learning, but Luna doesn't have the same motivations.
*** ...should we be expecting to see an [[Fanfic/{{Progress}} abacus]]?
*** Considering that the Mane Six ''and'' to a lesser extent the citizens of Ponyville were about the only ones we know to have had to confront Nightmare Moon in person (possibly excepting Celestia, who we simply don't see at all between her mysterious dis- and later dramatic reappearance), it actually makes a degree of sense that Luna might have been less than eager to visit the place again anytime soon -- after the initial party was over and the realization what she had almost done had time to sink in, anyway. Staging her comeback on Nightmare Night of all the times she could have chosen, and with the ''stated'' purpose of changing the celebration's meaning to something less dark and scary at that, could then be easily read as her trying to make amends to the same ponies her 'evil' self was toying with the last time they met face to face...
* Fluttershy is appropriately named for two reasons. Obviously, she's a very shy pony. Less obviously, shying in equestrian terms (The sport, not the magical land) is the act of a horse jumping in fright, usually at a sudden movement or unfamiliar object, something that Fluttershy does quite often.
** You noticed the jargon-based BilingualBonus, but not the one right in front of everyone, and almost lampshaded by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage) Apple Jack]] being named Apple Teeny (Appletini). perhaps a subtle we got crap past the radar on both Hasbro and The show.
** Ironically, Fluttershy's name is actually a play on "shutterfly", a slang term for someone who likes to take photos. Her G3 persona ''was'' a shutterfly, but Lauren Faust changed her personality while keeping her name for the show.
** Also, "Fluttershy" sounds a suspicious lot like "Butterfly"...Wait, what is her Cutie Mark ? Butterflies.
*** GeniusBonus: According to some sources, the word "butterfly" may have came about as a misprint of the original word, "flutterby." Whatever Studio B's giving their staff to make them this clever, This Troper wants some of it.
* So why was Pinkie Pie announcing the Running Of The Leaves instead of participating in it directly? [[GameBreaker Because she can run faster than Rainbow Dash can fly, and if she was racing, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash wouldn't have stood a chance]] which would have made the rivalry between Applejack and Rainbow Dash completely obsolete.
** Alternatively, it's because Pinkie Pie is powered by RuleOfFunny and her winning would be too predictable to be funny so she can't even try.
* The ruined castle in the forest used to be the Princesses' home. Therefore the forest used to be as tame as Canterlot. All the roads must date to that period, and presumably led somewhere a thousand years ago, like ancient Roman roads today.
* In "Call of the Cutie", the pony the fandom knows as "Doctor Whoof" is an earth pony with the hour glass cutie mark, spiky hair and a mature man's voice. In "Sonic Rainboom", the same pony is featured, but he is now a pegasus and speaks in a much younger boy's voice. Isn't the real Doctor reincarnated over and over? Fridge Brilliance!
** And if we see Dr. Whoof as an Earth Pony again, that's hardly a barrier. He's just been time-traveling and pegasus!Whoof is from the future.
*** Or from the past. It's all a bit [[TimeyWimeyBall Wibbly.]]
** Perhaps when he's wingless, it's because he's recently regenerated and his wings haven't grown back yet.
* In "The Show Stoppers", the Cutie Mark Crusaders are shown ComicallyMissingThePoint about finding their Cutie Marks by sticking to what they know and like already. Instead they keep focusing on trying different things in their search for their talents and ignoring their natural gifts. Why? Because the kids don't consider those things to ''be'' their talents. None of them regard their gifts as anything special or noteworthy because, while they know it's not the case intellectually, they regard their real talents in a "IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat" sense. They don't realize their building / singing / athleticism are their special talents.
* In "The Show Stoppers", Apple Bloom fixes up Applejack's broken-down tree house all by herself, no problem. So where was that talent when she and her friends were fixing Fluttershy's table in "Stare Master"? It makes a little more sense when you consider that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo don't share Apple Bloom's talent (especially not Sweetie Belle), and Scootaloo was apparently working at cross-purposes with the other two ("We were making a table?"), which lead to a classic "too many cooks spoil the broth" situation.
** Moreover, "too many cooks" seems to be tripping them up even worse as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They do EVERYTHING together, and the result is always a disaster.
** They didn't realize that was their special talent. They do it all the time, and are used to it, so they don't realize they're good at it. Just as Peppermint Twist was making candy for the longest time, she didn't realize it was her special talent until a bit later and she got her mark.
** If the other Applejack family members have Apple-based cutie marks, and Apple Bloom's talent is hinted to be craftsmanship, what does that have to do with apples-- oh. ''Wood''.
** Also, look at Apple Bloom's face when her friends say who wants a picture of a hammer on their flank. She looks like a mix between terrified and upset.
*** Yeah, children around that age are very changable in their desires. They can want to be a fireman one week and an artist the next, and enjoy and try a lot of stuff which probably wouldn't have turned out to be my cutie mark had such things applied in real life. Nobody necessarily has just one talent in life, either.
** This makes sense - Twist mentions that she made those peppermint candies a lot, but it was only when she realized it was her special talent that she got her cutie mark.
* In a bit of FridgeBrilliance Pinkie Pie claims that she won't play a prank on Fluttershy because she's too sensitive and might take it the wrong way. However, it's often implied that Pinkie is well aware of the FourthWall, and [[TalkingToHimself she and Fluttershy share a voice actress.]]
* Of course Rarity's "whining" was painful to the Diamond Dogs, with their canine sense of hearing.
* A bit of FridgeBrilliance, I didn't think much about the choice of making Gilda a griffon, until I remembered that in mythology griffons are the mortal enemies of horses.
** There's some FridgeHorror here too, since according to medieval lore, griffins mated for life and would never seek a new mate if the old one died, and may even refuse to eat and simply starve to death. This makes the LoveTriangle interpretation of that episode a lot more tragic.
* Pinkie Pie's insistence on keeping secrets. It actually makes a lot of sense when you realize that not keeping them defeats the purpose of throwing surprise parties.
** I thought it had more to do with [[JustForPun "pinky swears".]]
** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation One interpretation of Pinkie Pie's character]] is that she was around for Discord's reign (which is why she grew up on a rock farm), and the reason she's so strange is because ''Discord made her weird'' to cause distress to her family (making her immortal as well, which is also a terrible fate for a pony like Pinkie Pie). What does all this have to do with her focus on keeping secrets? Well, imagine the reactions of a town if they learn through her friends that she was touched by the imbodiment of chaos.
* Being a fan of Fluttershy, I've felt through the series that she's gotten the short end of the stick, getting comparatively little focus compared to the other main characters. But then, she probably wouldn't ''want'' so much attention anyway.
* As noticed on the YourMilageMayVary page, Spike doesn't seem to react when Rarity talks about meeting her dream man at the ball, but it actually makes perfect sense: Spike planned on being that guy, but not wanting Rarity to know he liked her, he didn't say anything so she(or any of the other ponies) would catch on, especially if he acted upset about Rarity possibly finding someone else.
** An alternative theory: Spike being a member of the highest circles in Canterlot (or at least permanently attached to the flank of one who was), he could easily have known Prince Blueblood. Five minutes in his company would probably be enough to dismiss him as a future rival.
*** Another possibility is that Spike heard about him at the donut bar. Though Spike and Twilight were both there when Rarity fantasized about meeting him, but didn't say anything.
*** Or this could be a case of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, and Spike leaving Rarity to her own affairs.
* Prince Blueblood is by himself such that a newcomer like Rarity was able to easily approach him and accompany him without constantly getting mobbed like with the Wonderbolts. That's because those who already know him ''can't stand being around him.''
* Okay, so we have the five of the six Elements of Harmony: honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty, with the sixth being... magic? Each of the others seems to have a sort of sentimental value to them, but magic seems out of place. Then you remember what the title of the show is: Friendship is Magic. So the sixth element can be interchangeably called either magic or friendship, or even the magic of friendship.
** Well, it could also be an alternate name for chemistry between friends that children would understand, because friendship does require that you get along together as well.
** This especially makes sense with The Return of Harmony Part 2. Twilight doesn't fall to Discord's corruption [[spoiler:until she stops seeing the others as her friends]]. If her Element truly was just magic on its own, she would have fallen the moment Discord took away her horn.
* The siblings Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, from oldest to youngest, are respectively red, orange, and yellow, all three "warm" colors in order. They also have all three possible combinations of those colors--Big Macintosh has a red coat and orange mane, Applejack has an orange coat and yellow mane, and Apple Bloom has a yellow coat and red mane.
** That's just good colour theory on the mane and body colours.
** Also, the colors get darker with their position, Apple Bloom being lightest and Big Macintosh being the darkest.
* In "Green Isn't Your Colour", Rarity seems to keep her cucumbers on her eyes much longer than it would seem required and literally emoted through them. Then you realize that this was foreshadowing her "green eyed monster" feelings that she was going to get later in the episode.
* Why does Applejack come down so hard on Rarity's nitpicking and high-class behavior in "Look Before you Sleep"? Because Rarity reminds Applejack of her snobby relatives in Manehatten and the social exclusion she felt there as revealed in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".
** From the same episode, Applejack came to Mane-hattan to try the city life with her orange themed relatives, only to find that it's just not her and returns to the apple ranch. In a sense, you could say that she was trying to compare [[JustForPun apples and oranges!]]
** In a similar vein, why does Applejack get so nervous about eating dishes in the proper order at Celestia's party in "A Bird in the Hoof"? Because she remembers enough of her Manehattan etiquette to know that there's a correct order, and she remembers the exclusion she felt when she didn't fit into their society properly... but it was so long ago that she can't actually remember what she's meant to do.
* Everyone in Applejack's family has an apple-related name, but I always wondered about Big Macintosh. Then I saw his Cutie Mark, an apple with a piece missing, and it all fell into place. For those of you who are even denser than me, it's a reference to Macintosh computers, which are manufactured by the company Apple, and have an apple with a bite missing as their logo.
** That's true but there is an actual type of apple called [=McIntosh=] Red. Which is why Apple Computers came out with a line called Macintosh.
** A closer look shows you his mark isn't a full apple, but the interior of one. Apple Corps (pronounced as "apple core") was the name of the company founded by The Beatles. Many of the records pressed by Apple Records featured a full apple on the A-side and an open apple on the B-side.
** Also, if any of you were wondering what relation Granny Smith has with the Apple motif, green apples come from a seed type called "Granny Smith", named after its main promoter, Maria Ann Smith.
* Ever notice the colors of Celestia's mane are pink, purple, and blue? Colors frequently associated with the sky at sunrise?
** I've seen some people say that it's supposed to be an aurora borealis, which is associated with ''solar'' wind. This also explains why it's constantly [[DramaticWind flowing like it's being blown.]]
** Also, the particular shade of blue in her mane? It's also called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeste_%28colour%29 Celeste.]] Hello, StealthPun!
* In ''Party of One'', when Pinkie Pie starts to believe her friends have abandoned and she sinks into depression, her mane flattens and her color goes drab, reverting back to her look prior to gaining her Cutie Mark. Without a Party, there is no Pinkie Pie; just Pinkamena Diane Pie.
** Note that when this happens she (particularly her mane and tail) deflates and inflates like a '''balloon''' (complete with sound effects).
* Also in ''Party of One'' Spike admits to using all the hot water in Ponyville to take a long bath. At first this would seem like an over-exaggeration for the sake of a joke (''all'' the hot water for an entire ''town''?) until you remember that Spike is a fire-breathing dragon, and dragons both like and ''need'' a lot of heat.
* If you take your time out of the entire Pinkie pie meltdown, the entire episode is very caricature-like and it's not just Pinkie. Twilight tiptoeing around in broad daylight with accompanying sound effects; Rainbow dash drawing a watch in her leg ''right in front of Pinkie'' and making excuses to leave with a straight face; Applejack closing the barn door in Pinkie face and the poorly done construction noises; Pinkie sitting on Rainbow Dash's head, squishing it flat into the floor ... it seems pretty out of context. Then you realize that in every episode revolving around Pinkie or ones in which she played a large part ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]), the entire universe starts incorporating the laws of the LooneyTunes universe in a very meta way.
** Or, in equally fridge brilliance, we're seeing the world through Pinkie's eyes (in third person... somehow...) and seeing how she interpreted actual events in an UnreliableNarrator sort of way, just painted across the fourth wall. As she began to suspect her friends, she "imagined," for lack of a better word, them acting more and more decietful, and when she held her own party the inanimate objects started off just that until in Pinkie's mind, at least, they became real until Dash turn up and fractured the self-illusion.
* Twilight mentions that Spike's breath ''always'' stinks, but how good ''would'' your breath be if you ate gemstones and breathed fire?
** Hence the term "Dragon Breath".
** I disagree. Gemstones are generally odorless, and, fire, or rather the accompanying smoke, often has a pleasant aroma.
*** But when you burn gems in a fire hot enough to break them down they usually release nasty odors from the various compounds they're composed of. In many myths Dragons must ingest gems in order to fuel their fire, so his breath would always smell like dirty furnace.
* As well in ''Party of One'', this troper spent a good while wondering why Pinkie Pie takes longer to trust Applejack's excuses compared to the other ponies. But then, Applejack is the wielder of the Element of Honesty. She is not just the most likely to get caught first, but it's also hard for her to make excuses.
* How is it that Luna, the younger and presumably weaker sister, was able to easily overpower Celestia not just once, but twice? I though that was strange... until I remembered that [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot the moon can block the sun]].
** But it only blocks it on a tiny portion of the Earth. If the entire energy output of the sun was focused on the moon, it would be enough to disassemble it in a little over five minutes. That's shorter than the time it takes for the light to get to the moon. Granted, it won't be near perfect efficiency, but still.
** Celestia let herself be captured. I'm serious. Celestia knew that Nightmare Moon was about to break free from her banishment, re-banishing her would just start the whole thing over again and would ''not'' heal her sister. Presumably she cannot wield the Elements of Harmony herself since it's shown that you need one representative of each Element to wield them effectively. Standing alone against a threat is a poor way to utilize ThePowerOfFriendship after all. So then her prize pupil finds the prophesy of Nightmare Moon's return. Said pupil has the greatest magical potential, talent and skill of her generation but is very poorly socialized, and is shown to have pretty much alienated everyone in Canterlot but Celestia and Spike. So Celestia ships her off to Ponyville where she can make a fresh start, complete with an official job that will force her to be in contact with other ponies. Celestia knows that Twilight is smart enough to figure out what needs to happen, and she knows the strength of [[FireForgedFriends Fire Forged Friendships]]. All she needs to do is sit back and let Nightmare Moon have her way for a little while, since she can always banish Nightmare Moon back to the moon if the plan fails.
* Read [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ this]], especially the third paragraph about conflict being resolved by sharing. Then watch "Over a Barrel", specifically Pinkie Pie's song. It's basically a giant TakeThat against that idea.
** Except the conflict is, in the end, resolved ''by sharing''. So Pinkie was right all along! She was just a bit annoying about the idea... kinda like the previous MLP cartoons, I suppose.
*** Well that's basically it, isn't it? I mean when you get down to it the childish morals that pop up in most kids cartoons (don't be greedy, don't judge somebody by their looks, don't be ill mannered about generous gifts, etc) are all pretty solid. Even adults know this. The problem most kids shows have is that they're so TastesLikeDiabetes about it, and don't respect the fact that the real world is more complicated than the ideals. Lauren Faust ''knows'' that, can poke fun at it, and respects that characters with flaws are more relatable, and believable than the sugar-sweet expies of characters, whose 'adventures' in no way solve the problems of little girls today. Sharing with the nasty Diamond Tiara-esque people they encounter at school isn't going to necessarily make them nice straight away, and being open minded isn't going to automatically solve the prejudices they encounter around them. Basically, we trusted the ending of Over a Barrell more after Pinkie's song was terrible and everyone missed the point, because it demonstrated that we know it's not as simple as singing a pretty song to fix everyone's problems, but the solution itself is still there IN the song. Essentially, the show doesn't treat small girls like naive idiots.
* So, Applejack thought she would be earning enough at the Gala to pay for Granny Smith's hip replacement. That's probably a lot of money, considering she hadn't been able to save enough to pay for it throughout the months that have passed during the first season. Applejack must have brought a lot of merchandise with her if she thinks she could make that much money. But then it all gets destroyed! She ''lost'' merchandise worth ''that much money'' at the gala! Why does she still describe it as the best night ever? Then I realized she probably didn't bring that much stuff and just jacked the prices up ridiculously high.
** Which makes sense, given the markups at concession stands. A 20-oz bottle of Coke will run you maybe $1.50 at a grocery store, but $4.00 or more at an amusement park. Applejack figured she'd have a captive audience that would need to eat sooner or later; she didn't count on there being a free buffet.
* When Rainbow Dash does her first Sonic Rainboom, it makes the main cast find out who they truly are and define themselves, in ways they possibly might have not found out otherwise. The show's main point is to teach to be who you truly are, with the characters having those specific personalities. So Pinkie Pie's conclusion on that being how Equestria (as we know it) was made [[TheCloudCuckooLanderWasRight is right in an strange half-meta way]].
** That and they saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon.
** Related to this...you know how happy and excited filly Pinkie was when she saw the rainbow? Well, that seemed more excited than she was to see Twilight for the first time in the first episode. So why did she claim she had never been that excited before? Because it was the first episode--making that statement also right in an odd way.
** It is probably more of an expression than the strict truth. You might get into a fight with you boss of girlfriend and state "I have never been so angry" or after a long day "I have never been so tired" It isn't the literal truth, but an exaggeration to highlight the intensity, basically meaning "very Angry" or "very tired", or in Pinkie's case "very excited"
** Another interpretation to Pinkie Pie's bizarre non-sequitur is that she really ''did'' give the Cutie Mark Crusaders her own bizarre version of how Equestria was made but the naration just cut to Pinkie Pie's ''actual'' cutie mark origin story so that audience gets something that makes more sense in context. Then once it's done, cuts back to Pinkie concluding her own very confusing tale.
* In The ''Cutie Mark Chronicles'', Fluttershy is a bit taller than all of the other main ponies at the time of the Sonic Rainboom. Why? As she said to Pinkie Pie in ''Griffon the Brush-Off'', "I'm a year older than you..."
** Also from that episode, for those who've seen ''Feeling Pinkie Keen'', you might've wondered why Pinkie's "Pinkie Sense" didn't kick in prior to the [[spoiler: sonic rainboom]]. Well, consider the fact that Twilight was able to pass her entrance exam the same day [[spoiler: due to the rainboom throwing her magic into high gear]]. In that sense, that ended up working for Twilight in the same vein as [[{{Spiderman}} the radioactive spider for Peter Parker]]. So, maybe that also caused Pinkie's young brain to be all scrambled and give her that "Pinkie Sense" of hers. It would also explain how she ended up with [[CloudCuckooLander her current personality]]...
* Rarity is able to make dozens of ''perfectly tailored'' dresses in a single night, with nothing more than a sewing machine, a few dress forms, and gentle telekinesis for the tricky bits. But she has a big advantage over human dressmakers: almost every pony in Equestria has the same body model!
* In "Boast Busters", Spike tries to attract Rarity by wearing a mustache, and is depressed that it doesn't work at the end of the episode. This makes perfect sense when you remember what happened to Rarity [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony the last time she encountered a purple reptile with a mustache.]]
* Celestia having a phoenix is rather appropriate - considering that they're ''associated with the sun.''
** Not to mention the fact that a phoenix is reborn over and over again, so that would be the perfect companion for someone who's lived for over 1000 years.
* It's been noted that all of the mane cast have had SanitySlippage moments. What isn't noticed is that they all have one thing in common: they occur when a pony's talent with their special skill comes into question. Applejack worked herself to the breaking point because she thought her ability to run Sweet Apple Acres was under fire, Twilight Sparkle started to crack when her magical power backfired, Rarity was depressed when clothes she made were seen as ugly, Rainbow Dash became terrified that she wasn't a good enough flier, Pinkie Pie nearly lost it when she thought her parties didn't make people happy anymore, and Fluttershy flipped out when she encountered animals she couldn't befriend.
** [[http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/h6muu/all_the_ponies_in_this_town_are_crazy/ Reddit]] refers to it as Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome, or CMFIS for short.
** You left out Luna; she turned evil when the night, which she brought, went unappreciated.
** Fluttershy's emotional explosion at the Gala could be seen as a miniature version of what happened to Luna aka Nightmare Moon. To quote the fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6854699/5/Merely_a_Mare "Merely a Mare"]],
-->'"What would you do if you wanted to show your affection for some creatures, to guide them and provide for them, to play with them and enjoy their company, and they shunned you? Fled from your domain and presence? Rejected your gifts and spurned your love? How well would you take it?"'
** There's also a theme in how each pony snaps during those scenes. When a pony cracks, her personality becomes the opposite of her typical demeanor. Applejack changed from dependable to completely unreliable. Twilight Sparkle is usually logical, but came up with a nonsense plan that had no basis in reality. Rarity is normally gregarious, wanting admiration from others, but became reclusive to the point of considering self-imposed exile. Rainbow Dash is brash and determined, but began literally cowering and quivering in doubt. Pinkie Pie personifies pep, but turned gloomy and cantankerous. And Fluttershy, who is normally very reserved, became explosively expressive.
** Rarity also had a more subtle one is Sonic RainBoom. She usually puts helping others above all else, but ended up completely self-centered, ignoring Rainbow Dash in favor of an absurd amount of narcissism. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking She also made an incredible tacky outfit.]]
*** So far Season 2 supports this, with Twilight going bonkers again when she felt she was being a bad student. Remember, she got her cutie mark at the same time Celestia took her on as a student.
*** This suggests Luna's normal personality will be soft-spoken and approachable.
*** Sort of. She's a bit of a royal loudmouth in Luna Eclipsed, and she's hardly "approachable" when she announces everything so loudly that her booming voice can create gusts of wind and she insists upon referring to herself in the plural. But it turns out this only because she has no idea how to deal with the Ponyville residents in modern times.
*** It was the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!
* Celestia knows that Twilight has five new close friends; she met them after they saved Equestria, and told Twilight to stay in Ponyville specifically to study friendship with them. So why does she send Twilight only two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala? Well, given her tendency towards [[BatmanGambit Batman gambits]] elsewhere, perhaps it's to test how loyal Twilight is to her new friends.
** Either that or Celestia is a {{troll}} and just wanted to mess with Twilight. The loyalty test is just a cover in case she's ever caught.
** Perhaps she figured Twilight would bring a date.
*** After reading down below in Fridge Horror (about Celestia being on the same party for 10 centuries), it explained a lot more to me. 1. She didn't invite Twilight Sparkle before because she wasn't old enough to properly enjoy it. Kids get really bored at those kind of parties and Celestia didn't want her star pupil to have a bad time. 2a. She sent only two tickets because, in her mindset, GGG isn't all that big of a deal and it never occurred to her that mortal, young ponies would ever want to go there. 2b. She expected Twilight to take either a date or Spike, since she doubted Twilight could find a suitable date anyway. Common courtesy dictates that you always give two tickets when inviting someone to an event. 3. Notice how glad Celestia was when she saw Twilight? For all we saw, Twilight was the closest person to her (other then Luna, but she's a different story) and her company was the best part of the entire evening. After all, even the most boring party (the one you experienced 10 thousand times already) can be best night ever if shared with a friend.
** Because Celestia just put Twi's name on the list of invitees. The invitation was a form letter. It started "Hear ye, hear ye", not "My most faithful student", and referred to Celestia in the third person.
*** Exactly. From what I'm aware of most fancy-shmancy get-togethers, you generally are allowed to bring yourself and one guest. This also explains why Twilight didn't ask for more tickets, because "me and a guest" is the norm.
** Put yourself in Celestia's Shoes. Would you expect the introverted Fluttershy to want to socialize with several strangers? Would you expect Applejack to do anything that involved wearing a fancy dress? Would you expect Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash to want to go to an event that involves just standing around and talking all night? No. Would you expect Rarity to want to go to a high society event and insinuate herself with some of the most important ponies in Equestria? Oh so very much. So really, you only need to send one extra ticket for Rarity, since the other's don't want to go. - {{Stinkoman87}} (reposted from guess on the WMG page)
* Banishment, and then being imprisoned in the place you were banished to? What a crazy idea! Except that's exactly what happened to Nightmare Moon...
* For those who saw Photo Finish's cutie mark, you might be wondering why it's exactly the same as Twilight Sparkle, who earned hers through a powerful display of magic (while Finish herself has no powers at all.) Remember her occupation? Her job is basically to bring out the magic in her fashion shows. Or, as she puts it....
---> '''Photo Finish:''' ZE MAGICKS!!
** Photo Finish is a fashion ''photographer''. Her cutie mark, while similar to Twilight's, also resembles the flash of a camera bulb.
* In her song to Apple Bloom, Pinkie Pie mentions to add things that are sweet, not sour. Why? Applejack's muffins had lemon juice in them, which is one of the things that made everypony who ate them sick. Given how traumatized Pinkie was about that, it only makes sense that it would be prominently on her mind when Applejack's sister is in her kitchen!
---> '''Pinkie Pie:''' Not baked goods....baked ''BAAAAADS....''
* Why did the animals run from Fluttershy at the gala? It wasn't because they were scared of her, it was because it was night time, and they were trying to get to sleep. Fluttershy forgot that a lot of the animals there weren't nocturnal in her excitement, and the animals ran away upon realising Fluttershy probaly wouldn't let them get to sleep. Likewise, one could make the argument that Fluttershy had never stayed up so late before, and the lack of sleep took it's toll after she exhausted herself chasing after the animals for a couple of hours.
** This would fit with everypony seemingly thinking the GGG was going to be during the day in "The Ticket Master".
** Consider, also, that Fluttershy deals with animals 'in Ponyville' in a regular basis. Consider that animals rely a good deal on scent to identify friend from foe, the animals would not recognize Fluttershy as a friend because they would not recognize her scent. Try getting near a dog or cat, and it will sniff you first before deciding whether or not it likes you.
** She may have been in heat. Anyone who deals with horses/ponies irl knows (or at least probably has heard) that even very sweet mares can get uncharacteristically cranky when they're in heat.
*** Which puts the "You're going to LOVE ME!" in a [[{{Squick}} WHOLE]] new light...
* I thought it was weird that nopony had assigned Twilight a job in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]". I later realized that this was a symptom of Ponyville's poor organization of the event.
** This troper's interpretation of it was that Ponyville's population has very few unicorns (only Rarity?) prior to Twilight coming in town. They probably don't know what she can do to help. And thus don't give her a job. Even then, they probably hold a distaste for using magic to complete a task that can be done with physical labor, seeing as most of them are earth ponies. The Winter Wrap-Up seems like a community task, not meant to be efficient, moreso to bring everypony together so they can bond through working hard and co-operation. Few ponies have magic, so you'd be working alone by using it, and thus not participating in the community bonding. Though back on the main subject, they probably just neglected to give Twilight a task because she's still new to town. Perhaps they don't actually see her as a member of Ponyville yet.
*** I'd have to shoot down the 'rare unicorn' theory. Enough hang around in the background shots (although debatably Lyra moved in from Canterlot later).
** Another little bit. Remember when Twilight's snowplow goes out of control and she ends up cutting off about five or six other plowers? Imagine what would have happened had she not done that. All of those other ponies were heading ''at each other''. Who planned their routes?[[hottip:*:Which is also another example of their lack of organization.]]
*** [[CompletelyMissingThePoint ...Nopony?]]
* Aside from the Aesop of the Week, there is another life lesson for kids in "Winter Wrap-Up:" the pony who ends up in charge is the one who isn't qualified to do any of the actual jobs.
** She's the only pony ever to ''try'' all of the jobs. That's what qualifies her to understand how all the jobs relate to each other.
** It is an ''exact'' demonstration of ScottAdams' ''Dilbert Principle''. Because she failed disastrously at ''every'' job, Twilight eventually landed in the ''one spot'' where she could do the least damage: management.
* In the pilot, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom are seen cowering together from Nightmare Moon, even though they don't meet until much later in the series. Animation goof? Nope: [[ThePowerOfFriendship "Every pony everywhere has a special magical connection with her friends, maybe even before she's met them."]]
* During the pilot's opening and telling of the CreationMyth, you see Luna and Celestia being portrayed as being blue and pink, respectively. But when we actually see Celestia, she's rather rainbow. But of course, it's perfectly possible that, after Luna's banishment, Celestia changed her colors to reflect her new role as sole leader (possibly with a name change as well). So, perhaps the [[{{Chickification}} chickified]] and pink version of her toy is just a glance into the past!
** The toy has a pink body and aurora mane, not a white body and pink mane.
*** It could be a middle point between the timeframe of the CreationMyth and the rest of the series, then.
* When Fluttershy tries to sleep on her living room couch in "Stare Master", we see that its back is higher at one end than the other. It's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_couch fainting couch]], which makes sense because we know Fluttershy is prone to fainting.
** Okay, so how did she GET that couch? As pointed out in examples relating to "Suited For Success," she's best friends with Rarity, who also faints as part of her "Drama Queen" persona. Rarity would understand the value of having a fainting couch, and she ''is'' the Element of Generosity...
* It's hilarious enough that Pinkie Pie is the one singing Equestria Girls, which is a parody of Katy Perry's California Gurls. But when you remember that the original music video takes place in Candyland, you realize that Pinkie Pie was THE PERFECT CHOICE.
** She also seems to be singing to the viewers (even using the word [[FanCommunityNickname "bronies"]]), which makes sense as well since she is known to break the fourth wall.
* There's a number of things that make Twilight Sparkle stand out from her friends in Ponyville. She was [[CityMouse born and raised in the big city of Canterlot]], while most of the other ponies are either native to Ponyville (Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie) or have lived there a while (Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy). More subtly, her coat and mane are darker colors than the brightly-colored Ponyvillers, and her name is [[OddNameOut the only one out of the main six with four syllables instead of three]].
** Rainbow Dash is probably also native to Ponyville. Applejack's and Pinkie's perspectives agree that she flew directly to Ponyville after getting her cutie mark, before she even decelerated below Mach 1... perhaps because she wanted to show her parents?
*** It's stated, by Scootaloo, in Cutie Mark Chronicles that Rainbow Dash is from Cloudsdale. She probably wasn't paying attention to where she was going after the Sonic Rainboom, caught up in the adrenaline rush of flying so fast. Also the show seems to imply that Cloudsdale is somewhere near Ponyville.
*** Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders follow the RuleOfThree in multiple ways. Aside from being a trio of three different types of ponies (an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn), they also all have three syllables in their names. (A-pple Bloom, Scoo-ta-loo, and Swee-tie Belle)
** Additionally, her cutie mark is the only one that does not have a three part pattern (though Rainbow Dash may also seem like an exception at first, the rainbow lighting bolt is comprised of blue, yellow, and red, the three primary colors).
*** [[http://images.wikia.com/mylittleponyhub/images/3/37/Twilightsparkle.jpg Her cutie mark is 3 parts: white star, purple star ontop, surrounded by white stars]]
*** In fact the only other main character with a four syllable name is Ce-les-ti-a, not even Nightmare Moon and Luna have it.
*** Where does that leave Pin-ka-me-na Di-ane Pie?
*** She grew up in an even more rural area (re. "Cutie Mark Chronicles"), we can assume that their custom is ''middle'' names.
* Once you realize that male ponies have angular muzzles while female ponies have rounded ones, it is much easier to tell the genders apart.
** Or, better yet, Male characters, not just ponies, don't have eyelashes whereas, female characters do.
*** What about Owlowiscious?
*** Whoo?
* We're introduced to Cheerilee's g4 counterpart in episode 12 Call of the Cutie. And what is the first thing she does-- tell a story.
** You might want to explain this one a bit... did G-whatever Cheerilee tell stories a lot?
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWtE74LA-U&feature=related "I hope we hear a story from Cherilee!"]]
* It may come off as a bit of MoodWhiplash in "Best Night Ever" when the ponies are forced to go through hours of trouble after singing a cheery collective IWantSong suited for a finale. Unless of course, you recognize the tune of "At the Gala" as being similar to "Ever After" from ''IntoTheWoods'', where the heroes sing of their hopes for a HappilyEverAfter, only to be met with a DarkerAndEdgier second arc. Someone in the writing staff was a musical buff.
** Similarly with "Art of the Dress", the second half/version of the song where Rarity sings about her customers fussiness matches the cynical tone of the song it's based on, "Putting it Together".
* As of Cutie Mark Chronicles, we know what it's supposed to look like when Celestia raises the sun. Now go back to episode 2. Celestia descends from the sun in a ball of light, which is NOT a normal part of the sun-raising. Clearly, Nightmare Moon trapped her in the sun, just as she had been imprisoned in the moon!
* It was Rainbow Dash's ''friendship'' with Fluttershy that caused her to race to defend her honor, leading to her first Sonic Rainboom, leading to Twilight Sparkle being taken in as Celestia's student, leading to Twilight learning about Nightmare Moon and being sent to Ponyville by Celestia, leading to the mane cast saving Equestria.
** This is taken UpToEleven when you realize that Rainbow Dash's friendship causing the Sonic Rainboom also caused Twilight to get her Cutie Mark, and discover her potential and talent for magic, which is proof of what Princess Celestia is trying to teach Twilight in the first place, which is that [[MeaningfulName friendship is magic.]]
* Why is it that the remainder of the mane 6 witnessed the Sonic Rainboom in the same-named episode, but didn't make the connection to themselves until the present-day segment of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"? Because each pony only noticed the sonic boom (Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy) or the rainbow (Pinkie Pie and Applejack) but ''never both at once''. Because ''light travels faster than sound.''
* This troper always felt that Twilight Sparkle simply ''levitating'' the magic school teachers was a bit of a copout after turning her parents into plants and Spike into a full-grown dragon, but then it occured to me - this way, they're still in a condition to ''bear witness to the events and grade her accordingly.'' Otherwise Princess Celestia might have been treading on some thin ice and red tape in trying to get Twilight Sparkle enrolled regardless.
** Also Twilight had no control over her powers in that instant, so her magic school teachers probably just got lucky.
** Keep in mind that these are teachers at a ''school of magic'', most likely pretty powerful magic-users themselves. That they were unable to counter Twilight's magic shows how powerful she is.
*** To build onto the above point: they were employed by '''Princess Celestia's''' School for '''Gifted''' Unicorns. This is a school full of young unicorns with a lot of raw power and/or talent, but not a lot of experience and/or control over it. Attacks of PowerIncontinence happen all the time, so thus the school would have countermeasures in place to protect the school's staff and students. Twilight being able to levitate her proctors at all meant she was ''bypassing some of the most powerful defensive magic available to unicorns, '''as a young filly with next to no experience at all.'''''
* The Mane Cast all earned their cutie marks after various moments of epiphany. However, all these moments had more to do with inner character than one specific talent -- Applejack's love for home and family, Fluttershy's need to nurture and ''be'' needed, Rarity's drive to bring out "spectacular" beauty, Twilight's love for magic and knowledge in general, Pinkie Pie's need to bring happiness to others, and Rainbow Dash's competitiveness. The Cutie Mark Crusaders aren't without marks because they don't recognize their talents; to a certain extent, they probably do. It's just that there's much, much more to it.
** Also, you have to consider the fact that Sweetie Belle already knows she has musical talent, but decides to avoid that path for multiple possible reasons other than her desire to follow in her big sister Rarity's footsteps. The first reason is the fact that she obviously suffers from stage fright, especially around strangers which is completely understandable considering she's so young. The other reason is that since she already is the closest to knowing about their talent, she might think that if she gets her Cutie Mark too much sooner than the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, her friends might ostracize her because she already has her talent, while they're still looking for their own, much like how one person might get into a good college while the rest of their friends aren't so lucky, and might be treated differently as a result.
* One from the WebOriginal folder. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tjb14VoWjg PONIES: The Anthology]] opens with a shot-for-shot remake of KanyeWest's "Power", with Princess Celestia in the center - consider that she had to control both sun and moon after exiling her sister. "No one man should have all that power" indeed.
** [[AffectionateParody No one mare]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VypMb4vpzGU&feature=related should have all that friendship!]]
* It would seem odd that a bunch of ponies could easily pull big carts filled with gems while the diamond dogs struggle to pull them, despite being bigger and muscular. However, horses in RealLife are generally stronger than dogs, and can therefore pull heavier objects easier than dogs.
* Ignoring Pinkie Pie (who was singing the song), the Pony Pokey montage covers the ponies in the same order they were introduced in episode 1. (Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and finally Fluttershy.) It could just be a coincidence, but the chances of that are 1 in 120.
** Actually, Pinkie might fit too. Remember, she was introduced "first," but really made her appearance last. In the Pony Pokey, she sets up the song, but her actual part of the song isn't until the end.
* In Dragonshy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie play tic-tac-toe while waiting for Fluttershy to coax the dragon. Rarity says that's 35 games in a row, and to play best of 71. That means they had just played best of 69.
** It also means that one of them has won all the games.
* Upon defeating Nightmare Moon in the second episode, Applejack says they had the elements of friendship the whole time. That makes sense; a friendship needs generosity, laughter, honesty, loyalty, and kindness, but how does magic-- [[TitleDrop oh...]]
* Some fanworks portray background pony Carrot Top as a rival farmer to Applejack. In RealLife, carrots turn bitter when they're stored with apples.
* This might fall under UnfortunateImplications as well, but whatever. In "Bridle Gossip", Applejack is very noticeably scared of and hostile towards Zecora, even more so than most of her friends. But wait a second - Applejack has a Southern accent, and the Southern part of America is [[AcceptableEthnicTargets stereotyped]] as being prejudiced against African-Americans.
** Subverted in that her little sister Apple Bloom was the only one who was willing to give Zecora a chance in the end.
** Want UnfortunateImplications? Zecora is an African animal who speaks with a Haitian accent, wears lots of gold jewelry, has a hairstyle the Mane Cast find outlandish, lives in a HeartOfDarkness wilderness, and has Zulu-style masks in her house. And, despite being discriminated against, she's more than willing to provide the super-natural cure to the white-folks ponies' problems. This makes her more than a bit of a MagicNegro character.
*** Perhaps... except that her "magic" all comes down to herb-lore (involving magical plants, but, well, this is Equestria...). It's her profession, no more, no less.
*** I don't think the writers were trying to play on the stereotype. It would certainly work against the Aesop of ''not being prejudiced.'' Applejack was more frightened and hostile because she felt she had to protect her sister. She even says this to Twilight.
-->'''Applejack''': "No good reason"?! You call defending your kin "no good reason"?
* I was confused for a fair bit over the title of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Green Isn't Your Color". I kept thinking, "But Fluttershy wears a green dress to the Grand Galloping Gala..." Then it hit me. The episode is about Rarity being jealous... or ''green with envy.'' -fierystage
** Also remember, in her little bout against Trixie in episode 6, she was temporarily given green hair, which clashed greatly with her overall design.
* In "Ticket Master", we see Twilight Sparkle tearing apart and then eating a flower at the little restaurant before Rainbow Dash shows up in the clouds. From a human perspective, the flower would be a centerpiece. But, from a pony perspective, the flowers are like the free bread some restaurants offer while customers read the menu.
* Why was Pinkie Pie the only one who knew about the parasprites? Because she's a BigEater who works in a bakery, and probably would have a lot of experience dealing with pests that have huge appetites that might eat the food there, [[ExtremeOmnivore especially since she's got a huge appetite herself.]]
** Just the parasprites' biology in general. They don't need that much energy to fly, considering their size, so where does all the food they digest go into? MORE PARASPRITES. The fact that they ''upchuck'' to reproduce lends enough credence to this substitute reproductive system.
** Of course Pinkie Pie knows what a Parasprite is! She grew up on a rock ''farm,'' and farmers have to deal with parasites and pests all the time! It makes sense that she not only knows what Parasprites are, but how to get rid of them, too.
*** But then shouldn't AppleJack have also known about them seeing as how her family owns the only apple orchard in ponyville and she's lived there all of her life? Maybe not, since orchards are usually treated against pests. Crop-dusting pegasi. If Twilight hadn't changed the parasprite's diet, maybe they would have avoided Sweet Apple Acres altogether.
** This also raises the question: Was it always a rock farm, or [[FridgeHorror were the rocks all they had left]]?
*** Probably not. Pinkie's parents both have cutie marks related to rock farming. One parent has a pickaxe and the other has a pile of rocks.
*** The song Pinkie used to lure the parasprites out of Ponyville is identical to the music she played at her first party. Given that it attracts parasprites, did Pinkie unintentionally devestate her own farm? (This throry obviously assumes that rock-clearing is a prelude to crop planting, otherwise there would be nothing for the parasprites to devour.)
**** Even if the Pie Family farm was just a farm that grew rocks (or as many fan theories say, grew things inside the rocks), a parasprite infestation would wreak havoc on the family, as the parasprites would eat up all the family's food, making it impossible to live at the farm until the infestation was taken care of.
*** It's entirely possible that she had a brush with them shortly after discovering her party-planning talent, and that she ''happened'' to be a one-pony band when they showed up, discovering that music is the key to solving the problem entirely by sheer luck.
* [[HeroWorshipper Scootaloo's relentless respect of Rainbow Dash]] might seem like the excess zeal of a young fangirl, but she might be right in wanting to ask for Rainbow Dash's help specifically when you consider the fact that Rainbow Dash [[spoiler: performed the Sonic Rainboom and earned not only her own Cutie Mark, but also helped the other mane cast earn theirs in the process.]]
* When Twilight attempts to force Apple Bloom's cutie mark to appear by magic, it keeps on flashing as different things before fading. Why? Because what she wants to do with the rest of her life is still up in the air, and it could be any of those things.
* Why was Twilight so upset when Applejack scolded her for using magic in the episode "Winter Wrap Up", other than the obvious feeling of humiliation? Because Twilight excels in magic, and doesn't really have too many other talents, other than organizing, so when her one of her only talents is considered a burden, she feels like she can't contribute and won't fit in with the others. Considering the fact that Twilight has just made new friends, and doesn't have a lot social experience, it would make perfect sense that she would be heartbroken over the possibility of being thought of a hindrance and that she wouldn't be any use to her friends and wouldn't fit in with them anymore, which would mean that she would be the same lonely girl she was at the beginning of the series, and that probably hurts more than anything.
* I never noticed the significance of Applejack and Rarity having pets until I thought about their constant arguing in the episode "Look Before You Sleep", and then it made perfect sense. It is said that an owner is similar to their pets, so Applejack who has her dog Winona and Rarity who has her cat Opalescence would definitely have a hard time get along initially since it's more likely they would fight just like ''cats and dogs.'' This is even lampshaded with the way they get into bed, as Applejack just jumps into it like a dog would, and Rarity prefers that her bed remain neat and tidy before entering it like a cat would.
* I was wondering why Spike became so insanely jealous of Owlowiscious so quickly, but then I realised that every dragon so far is VERY territorial and Spike probably considers Twilight and the gang 'his' without realizing it! When he thought Owlowiscious was taking their attention from him his natural instincts kicked in and he became furious!
* More Owl-based Brilliance: According to Twilight, Owlowiscious was hired so Twilight would have someone to help her out during night (in itself Brilliance due to an owl's nocturnal status). So why was Owlowiscious so keen to help Twi during the day? Because the other reason he was hired was because Spike was exhausted from overworking... the owl was putting in some extra hours to give Spike a chance to catch up on lost sleep! Shame Spike didn't see it that way, but the road to strife is paved with good intentions...
* Concerning Owlowiscious, and Spike's behavior and attitude toward him. Twilight Sparkle hatched and raised Spike, making her his surrogate mother of sorts. For many years, Spike was her only 'child'. Then Owlowiscious comes along. Spike gets incredibly jealous, and even states that Twilight doesn't love him anymore. His behaviors and beliefs about Owlowiscious are symptoms of something every child gets; he's just jealous of the 'new baby'. Sure, Spike can be smart, level-headed, and even insightful, but he's still just a child, and is vulnerable to all the afflictions of one.
* I was just thinking, Applejack actually can't put together s'mores with the same finesse Rarity and Twilight have. She doesn't have a horn (or opposable fingers, for that matter.)
** Explains why she says "Ya just eat'em" about the marshmallows.
* The astrophysics equations on the chalkboard in a non-college-level school, and, to a lesser extent, Twilight Sparkle writing a detailed essay on meteors, make perfect sense once you realize that the ruler(s) of Equestria are the [[PhysicalGod anthropomorphic]] (hippomorphic?) [[AnthropomorphicEmbodiment embodiments]] of celestial bodies. Not only are such matters of greater intrinsic interest than they would be to humans, but you have someone around who can probably casually answer at least certain types of questions WAY before the technology to answer them actually exists. Gets a [[FridgeLogic little weird]] when you think too hard about the sisters raising the sun and the moon each day, but...
** It's highly likely that Equestria is a geocentric world. The sun and the moon might be placed in celestial spheres, like the ancient Greeks believed.
*** There's actually a much simpler explanation for this: the school in Ponyville is a traditional one-room schoolhouse of the kind that was common in the United States in the nineteenth century. It is likely, therefore, that many other grades meet in the same schoolroom. Those equations were probably left on the blackboard from the previous class, which was probably an AP Physics class, or the Equestrian equivalent. Notice that Cheerilee comes into the room as if this were the first class of the day for her and her students, and that her lesson is on cutie marks, not anything to do with astrophysics.
* Rainbow Dash's gala gown has some distinctly Greek overtones: the grape-bunch broach, the sandals that weave around her ankles, and especially the laurel wreath headpiece. [[GreekMythology And where does the original pegasus myth come from?]]
** Not to mention the Spartan-style helmet her overwrought gown had.
** Also: The Classical Greek/Roman architectural influences throughout Dash's hometown of Cloudsdale.
** The Pegasus armor in Hearth's Warming Eve is clearly modeled after the Roman Centurion.
* The door to Fluttershy's dressing room in Green is Not Your Colour has a small hole in it, for small creatures like mice to enter in. It's a minor, but very nice detail.
* Is it just me, or do the magic spells that we see Twilight Sparkle making an effort to learn after "The Elements of Harmony" seem designed to allow her to do all the things that her friends did on their quest through the Everfree Forest? After all, what's the first spell we see Twilight Sparkle practicing in a subsequent episode? The mustache-growing spell in "Boast Busters". Why a mustache-growing spell? That seems awfully random, except that it would have enabled Twilight to get past the sorrowful serpent without Rarity. Later, she develops a spell to grow wings for a non-pegasus pony. Used on herself, that would have enabled her to deal with the collapsing cliff without Applejack, Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy. Likewise, it would have enabled her to retie the rope bridge leading to the castle herself, or simply fly over the chasm; either way, she wouldn't have needed Rainbow Dash there either. It almost seems as though some part of her subconscious is still afraid to really need anypony else. If the first spell we see her develop in season 2 is designed to dispel illusions or calm rampaging monsters, then that will definitely be too much for coincidence.
** She does get a spell to calm rampaging monsters! Remember the reed lullaby she uses against the Ursa Minor!
** I'd say her failsafe spell at the beginning of the season 2 premiere was close enough to dispelling illusions.
** Or her inner scholar couldn't let it go like the Pinkie Sense and she became obsessed with trying to replicate the effects.
** Technically, she didn't really learn the spells for that reason. In the mustache case, Spike calls it "growing magic", not "mustache-growing magic" or anything like that, so it's probably just a simple growth spell that Twilight tested on Spike's (too small to see) facial hair, likely at his insistence. For the wings, she didn't even learn the spell. Notice she read it from a book? She didn't know it, and just pulled it out because Rarity demanded it.
* Isn't it frustrating that no matter how often they fail, the Cutie Mark Crusaders never understand that you're supposed to just wait for your cutie mark instead of trying and trying to make it happen? Even Apple Bloom, probably the most even-headed of the three fillies, just doesn't get it. Even after Cheerilee explained it to her class in ''Call of the Cutie''! "Discovering what makes you unique isn't something that happens overnight, and no amount of hoping, wishing, or begging will make a cutie mark appear before its time." Too bad Apple Bloom, who had been diligently taking notes, was momentarily distracted by Diamond Tiara's note-passing. She mighta learned something.
* Maybe I'm just slow, but I only recently noticed the foreshadowing when Twilight tries to help Rarity with the birds' nests: after Rarity dumps a basketful of materials in front of her, the first thing she does is organize them OCD-style.
* FridgeBrilliance - Before you renounce Scootaloo or the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders as [[TheScrappy Scrappies]], consider this. Scoot idolizes Rainbow Dash (FYI, I love Rainbow and am not tying to put blame on her) and the older Pegasus doesn't seem to get the whole "discovering who you are" part of gaining a cutie mark either. So Scootaloo isn't gonna get it because Rainbow doesn't get it. and as the de facto leader of the Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are just going to be strung along with Scoot's (innocent) cluelessness until she realizes the right way to get a cutie mark. besides that, Scootaloo is just a KID. We can't really expect her to do the right thing just yet.
** I don't think Scootaloo should be considered the leader of the CMC. As long as we're assuming one exists at all, Apple Bloom is probably a better fit. Scootaloo is too impulsive and Sweetie Belle too timid. Apple Bloom is the group's jack-all-trades in this respect. She's also had more screen time overall, which should count for something. However, as I implied, I don't think the group acknowledges any kind of hierarchy (even informal). Each filly respects the others' opinions, and no one character is shown consistently acting as a driving force for the others in any of their featured episodes.
* Not sure whether this is FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror, but there are three buildings in Ponyville with straw floors. Two of them are barns: the pig pen in The Show Stoppers, and the barn Pinkie's birthday party is held in in Party of One. Straw is used for barn floors because it is absorbent, and makes cleaning up after animals easier. What's the third building with a straw floor? [[spoiler:Cheerilee's schoolhouse.]]
** Neither; that's probably fridge humor.
*** It's a much more logical reason, somepony's gonna bring their new puppy for show and tell. And even ignoring the... first reason we all thought of, think of what happens in little kid classes; arts and crafts. Water and glue is easier to get rid off if it falls on straw as opposed to carpet. And, they might have snack time and/or their lunches in the class, so spills would again be better. It's like giving everypony napkins- but a lot quicker, ecspeccially since most little fillies wouldn't have the ability to pick them up. Even the unicorns probably haven't [[incrediblylamepun grasped]] that ability yet.
* As I watched 'Sonic Rainboom', I started wondering why Rainbow Dash was picked on despite being the only pony to ever do a Sonic Rainboom. Then it hit me: she did it once, by accident. She's never been able to pull it off since. It was a one-off fluke, and an accident isn't going to earn her huge amounts of social standing, especially since: 1, most ponies probably didn't see it; 2, she can't replicate it; and 3, most athletic ponies or fans of such would probably prize a pony who could do tricks repeatedly and flawlessly, rather than someone with a long history of screwing up. To be fair, the Sonic Rainboom is quite hard, but Dash's speed and stamina meant she probably should have been able to do it before.
* Rainbow Dash is Fluttershy's foalhood friend, Pinkie Pie's prank partner and Applejack's athletic adversary. In turn, Fluttershy and Rarity are fashionistas. It means that, long after her sonic rainboom, Rainbow Dash continues to be a keystone in the mane 6's friendship! Poor Twilight must still feel isolated, though.
** Not really, since Twilight's quest to stop Nightmare Moon is what really brought the Mane Six together as a whole.
* In "The Cutie-Mark Chronicles", neither Applejack's Aunt and Uncle Orange, nor any of their party guests, have actual New York accents. Instead, they all have affected Mid-Atlantic accents. This might seem like a simple case of DidNotDoTheResearch or of the creators assuming ViewersAreMorons, but it actually makes perfect sense: the Oranges and their guests are nouuveaux riches arrivistes. Of course they'd affect a snobbish accent, just as they've affected a snobbish attitude. In reality, they are probably nowhere near as cultured or sophisticated as they pretend, and are desperately afraid that somepony will see through them.
** This is supported by their reactions when AJ brings up roosters. Look at their reactions: almost like they were horrified someone would bring up something that would even hint that they aren't what they pretend they are. Makes one of the guests asking what a rooster is into a new light as well. Even if they'd never seen a chicken feather in their lives, how can you claim to not even know what a rooster is? Cuz they're in denial like crazy!
* It's interesting to look how gems are treated in the series; to ponies, precious stones are WorthlessYellowRocks useful only as fashion decoration and generally not seen as all that interesting by anyone but Rarity, who incorporates them into clothing designs and Spike, who eats them. Part of this could be related to how common gems appear to be in Equestria, but it also makes sense that ponies would have learned not to get too attached to the primary food of ''dragons''; only the Diamond Dogs appear to hoard gems, and they're in places where the gems are not only easier to get at but relatively safe from dragons. Gems being important to dragons and nothing but baubles to ponies also explains why the red and green dragon get aggressive in their respective episodes beyond simple territorial matters; the Red dragon actually seems fairly even-tempered if stubborn, but he gets rather irate when Rarity makes a move on his hoard in the way someone else might get pissed at a total stranger waltzing into their home and helping themselves to the pantry. The green dragon overreacts worse because not only is his food supply being invaded by a stranger, it's another young dragon doing it.
* When the mane cast was confronted by a monster in Feeling Pinky Keen, it was a Hydra. Since it has four heads, Fluttershy couldn't stare it down. When Discord hypnotized Fluttershy, he did so by touching the top of her head, rather than staring into her eyes. If I remember correctly, when the cranky Ursa Minor attacked, Fluttershy wasn't there. If any of this were different, she would have stared it down.
* One FreezeFrameBonus during Ticket Master subtly implies that of Twilight Sparkle's friends, [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freezeframe1_9810.jpg the ones she was most inclined to give the ticket to were Applejack and Fluttershy.]] Of course, Fluttershy was the most polite about it, and fans tend to agree that Applejack had the best reason.
* Another example from "Cutie Mark Chronicles": Applejack's cousins the Oranges live in Manehattan, the Equestrian equivalent of Manhattan, obviously. Manhattan was originally settled by the Dutch, who at that time were ruled by the House of ''Orange''. Note that the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_York_City flag of New York City]] today has an orange bar for precisely that reason. The pun is complicated by the fact that New York is also known as the "[[BigApplesauce Big Apple]]."
** This actually hits GeniusBonus when you consider the term "Mixing Apples And Oranges".
* Fluttershy and Rarity receive, possibly, the most "[[UnusualEuphemism clopping]]" references on Youtube videos featuring them, among the Mane 6. Why do [=/b/ronies=] like them so much? Fluttershy is obvious; she fits the "{{Moe}}" archetype [[AwesomeMoments almost]] perfectly. Rarity? If this were a harem anime, she'd probably be the ''{{Tsundere}}''.[[hottip:*:Must...not...write AU harem anime fanfic...]]
** Go ahead and write a harem fic if you want. I know ''I'd'' read it.
* In Boast Busters, Spike wanted to grow a mustache to impress Rarity. Perhaps because he knows Rarity is impressed by dragons with mustaches (Steven Magnet)?
* In The Best Night Ever, the Mane 6 are suffering from Elements of Harmony Failure Insanity Syndrome (as opposed to CMFIS).
** Fluttershy is attempting to imprison harmless animals to entertain herself, hardly a kind action.
** Rarity is self-centred (if not to the same level as Blueblood), looking only to charm Blueblood and win her Prince Charming, rather than generous (again, Blueblood ''was'' being a douche to her, but still).
** Rainbow Dash abandons her friends to go hang out with the Wonderbolts, a pretty disloyal things to do. Especially ironic given how she turned down the Shadowbolts in the pilot.
** Pinkie Pie's antics aren't amusing to the ponies at the Gala, which defeats the purpose of being the Element of Laughter.
** Applejack is being dishonest to herself about what the Gala-goers want to eat (Whole apple pies? really?).
** And Twilight Sparkle is ignoring her friends to try and hang out with Princess Celestia instead.
* Applejack's dog is named Winona. "Winona" means "first-born daughter". Who's the first-born daughter in her family? Applejack!
* In "Over A Barrel" Rainbow Dash yells for Pinkie Pie to get away while she holds off the entire herd of buffalo currently surrounding them. At first it sounds like empty bravado, but then we see just how much damage she can do in "Lesson Zero." Those buffalo really were going to get held off. ''Hard.''
* In 'The Best Night Ever', Rarity repeatedly fantasizes about meeting her true love at the Gala- Prince Blueblood. As was pointed out earlier, Twilight, being part of some of the highest social circles in Equestria, probably knew him, but didn't mention his personality to Rarity. Why? Well, I can think of two reasons to start- one, she didn't want to crush her friend's dream, or two, she didn't think Rarity would believe her. Or, hell, maybe she thought he'd be a better pony by then- or that Rarity would manage to redeem him.
** Or it could be that Twilight didn't actually know ''anyone'' other than Celestia all that well.
* In the ''"Owl's Well That Ends Well"'' scene with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOCyj5h2WE#t=3m13s the ponies all looking at Spike at the same time and smiling, Pinkie petting him, etc...]] it's clear that Spike was enjoying the attention. It's interrupted when Twilight says that's enough; but perhaps the reason she said that was because she wouldn't want him to get too used to that much attention from them. When Spike ''does'' get used to it, seeing that attention go to an owl instead makes him [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] enough to temporarily become a villain. [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain (Albeit an ineffectual one.)]] Perhaps that kind of addiction to their attention is what Twilight was trying to prevent...
* At the start of ''Suited For Success'', Applejack is seen walking into Rarity's shop with Twilight. At first, this seems like some sort of way to make Rarity think of making dresses for all her friends, but that role could easily be filled by Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. For that matter, doesn't Rainbow Dash fill that role? So why is Applejack with Twilight? Because we're given hints in other episodes (''Ticket Master'', ''Applebuck Season'') that Twilight hangs out with Applejack more than any other of the mane cast. Applejack is even the one that counsels her on Pinkie Sense during Feeling Pinkie Keen.
** In a similar vein, Rainbow Dash calls out to Pinkie Pie in Over a Barrel and Pinkie Pie is the only one of the mane cast to follow her. Why? Because they decided they liked each other beyond just playing pranks.
** The final pair (Rarity and Fluttershy) have their relationship expressed throughout a lot of Green Isn't Your Color, especially at the beginning when Rarity mentions that she and Fluttershy spend a day together at the spa ''every week''.
*** This adds in even ''more'' Fridge Brilliance in the second episode, where, after the cliff collapse, Fluttershy saves Rarity, Rainbow Dash saves Pinkie Pie, and Applejack saves Twilight. In the ''second episode'', they hinted at who would be the closest of friends within the larger friendship group.
* The reason Twilight's machine failed to analyze Pinkie sense in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]? They were standing in a basement without moving. That meant nothing whatsoever was going to happen, so there was nothing for Pinkie sense to predict!
* Rarity wears her Gala dress to the lunch with Celestia in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird In The Hoof]], and is quite protective of it. Her behavior comes across as being a prissy fashionista, but then you realize her friends made the dress for her as an apology for ruining her reputation and career with their disastrous "dresses" in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]. Not only is she very protective of their dress, she's showing off their work to the Princess herself. Now that's a friend!
* The rabbit stampede in Applebuck Season looks like pure RuleOfFunny at first. But then think about what the rabbits actually do. They start eating the all the flowers in the village. By themselves. With ''nopony telling them what to do.'' That's Everfree levels of mindscrewery right there.
* Fluttershy becoming a model in Green Isn't Your Color might lead to the conclusion that she's the most attractive pony InUniverse. FridgeBrilliance sets in once you find out that InRealLife, as children supermodels were often tall and skinny compared to their peers, just like filly Fluttershy in The Cutie Mark Chronicles flashback.
* Why does Spike claim he came out of a green and purple egg in the first ep when it was just a purple egg in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"? Because he remembers that egg ''from the inside''.
* Speaking of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", anyone else notice the fact that the Mane Six's Cutie Marks correspond almost directly with The Elements of Harmony?
** Applejack: Her cutie mark came when she decided to stop pretending to be something she's not, i.e. she stopped lying to herself (Honesty)
** Fluttershy: She got hers when she comforted the animals who were frightened by the Sonic Rainboom (Kindness)
** Rarity: She could've easily kept all of those gems to herself, but chose to give them to somone who really needed them (Generosity)
** Twilight: She discovered her talent for magic ([[CaptainObvious Magic]])
*** And while her magic was going out of control and everyone was freaking out, only Princess Celestia extended the hoof of ''friendship.''
** Pinkie Pie: She got her cutie mark when she smiled for the very first time and decided to spread happiness and smiles all around her (Laughter)
** Rainbow Dash: She got her cutie mark after competing determinedly to defend the honor of one of her friends (Loyalty)
* In "Owl's Well That Ends Well" Spike meets an adult dragon who tries to kill him. While Spike had just eaten part of his horde, it still seemed excessive that he would start trying to kill Spike after giving him only a token effort to explain himself. And then comes "Secret of My Excess," and we see that if Spike had tried to claim that horde, he would have reached adulthood almost instantly. That makes the adult dragon's attempt to kill Spike a reasonable, if grim, attempt to fend off a competitor before he becomes a problem.
* In ''Dragonshy'', during the preparation montage Big Macintosh is seen loading apple juice into Applejack's saddlebags. He's seen looking winded right afterwards, but this is THE Big Macintosh, who can kick ponies over the horizon. This is also the Big Macintosh who was recovering from a serious rib injury not too long ago.
* In "Feeling Pinkie Keen", When running from the hydra the group has to jump across stone pillars to escape. Fluttershy is the first to go and says to herself "It's just a hop, skip and a jump." Which is something Pinkie told her back in "Dragonshy" Why couldn't she just fly across? The same reason in "Dragonshy": ''her wings lock up when she's scared.'' And why couldn't Twilight teleport across when the pillars collapsed when she does it all the time in "Applebuck Season"? As we've seen throughout the series, when Twilight is stressed (end of Lesson Zero, Cutie Mark Chronicles, The "failsafe spell" in Return of Harmony) she has a harder time controlling magic, and it usually just doesn't work.
* I think this is why the doozy in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" was Twilight believing in Pinkie's pinkie sense instead of the hydra. They were expecting something bad to happen at foggy bottom bog. [[CaptainObvious Hydra's are bad.]] The doozy as said by pinkie that something that you don't expect was going to happen. Nobody (including the fans) expected twilight giving in.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - Season Two]]
* When Twilight is turned grey she becomes very depressed and emo. [[Literature/{{Twilight}} What is she named after as a pop culture reference?]]
** [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Um.. The period of time between day and night where the sun isn't completely gone, but the moon and darkness have fully risen already? Stars in the sky at that point?]]
*** In other words, it also means the DarkestHour. And at this point, there is [[DespairEventHorizon NO uncertainty]] that it isn't.
*** Twilight is also the point where there is complete balance and ''harmony'' between day and night.
* I just noticed there is merit to the spelling of Discord's species name Draconequus, the third to last and second to last letters are both U's, like in "continuum" like [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Q Continuum]]. Also, it contains a Q.
* From the first part of "Return of Harmony" I thought it was a bit much that Fluttershy was such a paragon of IncorruptiblePurePureness that Discord had to cheat to negate her element. But then I realized that Fluttershy's low self esteem meant that if there was tension among the group she'd blame herself rather than everypony else. Discord's tactic of negating the elements relied on exploiting the selfishness or short-sightedness of the group which meant that he had nothing to manipulate in Fluttershy who's both selfless and too scared to act in haste.
** Discord's corruption of Fluttershy becomes even more brilliant when you realize it was basically a role-reversal of [[BewareTheNiceOnes her getting angry and staring down monsters that threatened her friends]].
** That and making someone angry usually isn't a kind thing to do, even if they deserve it.
* At first, Discord forcing Rainbow Dash into [[SadisticChoice choosing between helping her friends and saving her home]] doesn't make much sense going along with Discord's repeated attempts to undermine their Element Of Harmony, after all, it's just forcing her to choose which she'll be loyal to. Then you realize that [[XanatosGambit regardless of which she chooses, she's betraying the other and going against her Element Of Loyality]].
** Expanding on this: Discord's plan to corrupt Rainbow Dash is a XanatosGambit, while the attempts at corrupting the others are not. Why didn't he do that earlier? Because Fluttershy had just proved to him that his usual methods weren't foolproof, so he decided to step up his game.
** Not so much of a XanatosGambit, but just as much FridgeBrilliance, when you realize that Discord never said which choice was the right choice. For all we know, Rainbow Dash just ''doomed'' Cloudsdale, and, if she had just stayed in the maze, it could have been alright.
*** Going even further, Discord never explicitly stated what he meant by "home." Thus, Discord's statement meant that if Rainbow Dash left the maze (making the wrong choice in the process) then she would inadvertently destroy her home (which, for the entirety of the series, has been Ponyville). This means that Discord's prophecy wasn't a lie at all, and that he was merely tricking her with images of Cloudsdale's destruction.
*** Pay close attention and you'll see that he corrupted her even ''before'' she had a chance to choose. And, as it turned out in Part 2, he tricked her into believing that a small patch of cloud was her hometown, just to get her to betray her friends.
*** Pay even closer attention and you'll see that her choice was already made before the corruption started. She just hadn't acted on that choice yet.
** If you think about the whole situation, you realize it's probably just one massive XanatosGambit anyway. Even if they ''found'' the Elements Of Harmony, it's ''very'' likely Discord would've [[BreakTheCutie broken]] one of them before they did, rendering the Elements useless anyway. The only real way he could've lost is if he failed to break or MindRape ''all'' of them and they found the Elements Of Harmony.
* Discord did take Twilights element! When they where about to enter the labyrinth, he took her horn and said himself he took her magic.
** What's more, he separated her from her friends at the very moment her determination convinced them to put their best...hooves forward (cheesy, but awesome). One could say Twilight's not the last to lose her 'element', but it was already taken from her first without brainwashing (because Discord's messing with them all).
* The order of BreakTheCutie in which Discord goes by is actually very smart thinking on the writing staff's part:
** He first goes after Applejack, the TeamMom who'd have noticed if anything fishy was happening to the group and would have united the team (even if they were brainwashed) with her willpower.
** Pinkie Pie second since, despite being an earth pony, she has energy that rivals Rainbow Dash's and is the most optimistic and unpredictable of the group.
** Rarity third because next to Applejack and Twilight, she has the most pluck and common sense to think of a rational way to stop him.
** Fluttershy fourth since while she has a fierce protective side, she is the least assertive of the group.
** Rainbow Dash next since to Discord, she presents the least amount of danger in that she acts before she thinks, and was therefore the easiest target of the Mane Six for him to manipulate.
** And he ultimately succeeds in breaking Twilight by taking away the most important thing in the world to her besides her magic: her first and best friends.
* In the season two premiere, Discord tells Rainbow Dash that Cloudsdale is in trouble, and she'd have to leave her friends to save the town. A lot of people say that either way she's betraying someone, and that's true. However, earlier in the episode, RD says that she'll ALWAYS be loyal to the Princess, to which Discord responds "We'll see". Taking that into account, it really is FridgeBrilliance.
* During "The Return of Harmony", I questioned why Celestia didn't help the Mane Cast search for the elements. Then it hit me: Discord was probably causing troubles all over Equestria before and during the Mane Cast were in the maze. Celestia probably had to fix all those problems before they got out of hand. Just as well, there was probably very little she could do to help the Mane Cast anyway. It's implied that Discord may be as powerful, or perhaps even moreso, that her. Since she no longer wields the elements, she likely couldn't do anything to him anyway, and whatever he did do with the elements, it's not likely that Celestia can do a spell or anything else to help find them.
** And if Discord can remove wings and horns with just a thought, Celestia going in would be risking one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria.
*** When Discord takes over, the sun and moon start rising completely at random, implying that he's able to effectively NEGATE Celestia's powers.
* Just thought it was clever and worth pointing out, whenever Discord tries to lead the ponies into other areas where he can trick them, the first thing they see are their CUTIE MARKS. Notice, Applejack gets to the Orchard by following three apples. What is her cutie mark? A picture of three apples! Rarity is lured by three diamonds, and Pinkie first sees three balloons in the same color and pattern as her cutie mark. Fluttershy sees three butterflies with pink wings, and Rainbow Dash follows a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt. During Pinkie Pie's scene, the camera actually has a close up of her cutie mark right before she sees the first three balloons. Their cutie marks represent their calling in life, and it's what attracts them the most, so it makes sense that Discord would use them to lure them into his trap.
** It's also interesting considering that Discord uses the cutie marks of the mane six talk to most of them character, literally a corrupted form of each of their elements.
** Alternatively/In Addition, the Elemental Harmony Necklaces and Tiara have gemstones that were in the shape of their cutie marks. We only get it spelled out in Rainbow Dash's case, but most or all of them probably thought that Discord had turned their Elements into the things they saw.
*** ...He took the symbol of the one thing in the world that's most sacred to them and used it to betray them? That's just ''[[MoralEventHorizon evil]]''.
** The same thing happens to Twilight! Her CM is one large star and five small ones, like the Elements of Harmony - five small, and then magic/friendship itself. It was when the Elements of Harmony failed that she got Discorded.
* Discord's personality varies sharpely from one moment to the next. He's LaughablyEvil and some of his chaotic creations are simply silly things but at the same time, he's a sadistic, cruel, and cunning ManipulativeBastard who gets a kick out of [[BreakTheCutie breaking spirits for fun]]. One minute he's [[MindRape mind raping]] the mane cast ForTheEvulz, the next he's relaxing on a sofa with popcorn to watch the chaos unfold. He's funny and downright monstrous at the same time. Why? [[AnthropomorphicPersonification He's literally chaos incarnate]]. His personality is just as chaotic as the rest of him, going from silly to sadistic without warning.
* While the Celestia part of this image is a joke, it helped me realize that [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/newsfeed/000/177/648/mlp_discord.jpg?1316820872 Discord's design has cues from several other antagonists/threats in the series]].
* The reason why Applejack is such a BadLiar is because she is partially [[FromACertainPointOfView telling the truth at times]]. For one, "I was talking to nopony", is true because she was talking to a pile of apples.
** That can be a very effective way of lying. She's terrible because she has an incredible obvious tell, and because she doesn't know how to make them sound plausible.
* Twilight decides to save Applejack from TheCorruption first. Why? As noted above, Applejack is the TeamMom, plus Applejack's roping skills would come in handy, as seen when they went to save Fluttershy.
** It could also be that, as noted in the Season One folder of this page, that Applejack is probably Twilight's best friend of the mane six so she would want to save her first.
** Which leads to further FridgeBrilliance as to why they chose Fluttershy to free next. Outside of Applejack, Fluttershy is the ''other'' TeamMom.
** More practically, Applejack was also the most approachable of the Discorded ponies. The others all tried to fight back or run away.
* At first I thought it was disappointing that Rainbow Dash wasn't seen more after she got "Discorded", until I realised that her element, being Loyalty, means "to always be there for her friends". With her Loyalty corrupted, she was literally not there for her friends!
* At first it seemed like Discord was caught holding the IdiotBall in the end of "Return of Harmony Part 2", but then again, when you are surrounded by chaos, it's hard to keep track of what has been changed. When Applejack claimed the friends were back together, he could have easily thought she was still brainwashed (and ''said'' as much) and just trying to call his bluff. When the Elements start to work, you'd think he'd start running, but remember that when they failed the first time, it looked like they were going to work until the last second, meaning by the time he could have been able to tell it was actually working, it was already too late. Even then he only encountered the Elements once before, so he may have also assumed when they failed that he broke the Elements themselves and not just their users. All of this is much harder to keep track of when chocolate milk behaves like nitroglycerin and buffalos dance in tu-tus. His defeat was less IdiotBall and more HoistByHisOwnPetard.
** Given this scenario, it's also likely that Discord didn't consider the possibility that the friendship Twilight and the others have for each other would be strong enough to break his spell, making this a case where EvilCannotComprehendGood.
* People have wondered why Celestia kept Discord's statue in Canterlot's Statue Guarden, but think about it. How often in works have fiction has a SealedEvilInACan been accidentally unleashed no matter ''where'' it's kept? Even if he hadn't moved in over 1000 years, the thought he ''could'' awaken was probably constantly in the back of her mind. So doesn't it make sense she'd like to keep him where she can see him at any time? Like ''right outside her throne room window?'' All it takes to realize he's escaped or if he's still there is walk to the place she likely spends most of her day when at the palace and take a peek out the window. And on top of that, the statue guarden is on royal property, likely protected by guards and can be safeguarded, unlike if she'd left it in a forest or something where some poor pony might stumble upon him and accidentally release him. It's just as well guarded as a secret chamber in the castle, but with the added bonus of being able to just peek out and make sure he's still there anytime she needs to. It actually makes perfect sense!
** Or she just keeps the statue as a monument to one of her greatest triumphs.
** Why not both? She could be keeping him as both a monument and to keep an eye on him. On top of that, she and Luna are probably the only ones who reconize the statue is Discord the Spirit of Disharmony anymore (as they're the only living beings that would have lived since Discord was sealed), everyone else assumes it just represents the WORD Discord.
** Plus, remember how Discord stole the Elements or Harmony ''because'' they were heavily protected? Celestia probably predicted that, if she guarded Discord's statue, it would make no sense for Discord to be able to escape (and that's why he would). It even makes more sense when you remember that she did the same with the Elements of Harmony at first but, after some hundred years, she probably forgot.
** You would think she would want to keep the Elements out and easy to take for that very reason, what with Discord being such a dangerous enemy. But that was 1000 years ago. Celestia had probably made/come across more straight forward and powerful enemies since.
* Spike is Twilight Sparkle's personal assistant and the one who's stuck with her the longest, it makes ''perfect'' sense that he'd inherit the Element of Loyalty. This troper felt there was some missed awesome there.
** He does not hold similar loyalty to the other 5 ponies, except maybe Rarity, but only because of his crush. He's similar but not identical, which is why the substitution failed.
** I for one feel like it was not as much Spike's fault as the cast not being themselves. Even if Discorded Rainbow Dash happened to be there, it's very likely the result would have been the same.
* In "Return of Harmony, Pt. 2", you feel bad for Spike because he has to "receive" all the letters from Princess Celestia and it leaves him in a pretty bad state. However, as mentioned in the FridgeHorror section, Celestia probably only knew that Twilight was corrupted and she could only help by sending the letters. But why did she have to send all of them? Because in her apathetic and depressed state of mind, Twilight probably would have ignored one or two letters. However, a whole pile of them was able to pique Twilight's curiosity even in her apathetic state. Also the large number of letters make a deeper impression on her.
* Why does Discord pretty much completely freeze up when he realizes the Elements Of Harmony have been activated? Because before then he'd ''always'' been in control, [[TheChessmaster everything had gone according to plan]]. The ''one'' time before that that something went ''slightly'' different from his plan, [[VillainousBreakdown he got furious]] ''very'' quickly. When he realized the Mane Cast had restored their friendship and the Elements Of Harmony, his entire plan just ''completely imploded'' all at once before his eyes in ''less than a few seconds!'' It suddenly becomes clear to him that everything he'd done over the past two episodes was in vain. No wonder he froze up!
** Also, think about this. Discord seemed ''truly terrified'' when he realized what was happening. How often in the life of an immortal RealityWarper does FEAR show up? When we see him as a statue the first time, he's laughing. Which makes sense, he probably didn't realize the ''newly discovered'' magic Celestia and Luna used on him was more powerful than he was, so he wasn't afraid of it. Now he ''knows'' what it'll do to him. By all logic, that was probably the first time in his entire life he'd ever ''felt'' fear, let alone reacted to it.
*** In short, he had a ''textbook'' OhCrap moment.
* Why does Discord get so frustrated with Fluttershy? Yes, she's not falling for his mind tricks, but there's a bonus: Fluttershy is in total agreement, total ''harmony'' with Discord's insults, while her other friends (even Pinkie Pie) showed doubt, fear, and other kinds of conflicting emotions. Discord is ''all about'' conflict, so of course he wouldn't like it if somepony had absolutely no problem with what he was saying.
** Not to mention that Discord specializes in beating his opponents in their own game, but Fluttershy wouldn't fight him not only because she hates conflict, but because she's the element of ''kindness'' and naturally wouldn't fight on principle which means that Discord literally couldn't win a fight that had no conflict for him to take advantage of, and resorts to cheating to defeat Fluttershy since she refused to directly challenge him.
* In Return of Harmony, part 1, Discord corrupts everyone but Twilight by stripping them of their elements. Twilight's element is Magic, rather then a virtue, so one wonders how he would corrupt her. In part 2, [[spoiler:wrecking the Mane cast's friendship corrupts her on its own, no brainwashing needed. Because Friendship ''is'' Magic!]]
* Return to Harmony, part 1: [[FanNickname Flutter]][[JerkAss bitch]] asks Twilight "why don't you wave your magic little horn, and make everything alright?" After some (justified) moping, soul searching and letter reading in part 2, [[spoiler:that's exactly what she does.]]
** She also inadvertently gave the correct answer to Discord's riddle [[spoiler:by saying "Can we go home now?" Which is where the Elements are.]]
* When Discord causes a character to turn against their "element", they are noticeably... darker. Many fans have noticed the lack of mention this gets in the show, with only Spike mentioning that they look grey. This makes a great deal more sense when you realize that the color shift is a visual cue for the audience to keep up with who has been effected, and to what extent. Spike is often used as an audience analog, so it makes PERFECT SENSE for him to be the only one to notice it.
** Pinkie Pie also notices, but she's known for BreakingTheFourthWall, so it makes ''perfect'' sense for her to know as well!
* There's an old saying "[[DarkestHour It's always darkest just before the dawn]]," meaning that even in the worst of times, there is hope. When the battle with Discord reaches it's DarkestHour, guess who restores hope? ''Celestia'', the one who ''causes'' the dawn!
* Discord says the ponies have to "go back to where they began" to get the elements back. So, where do they have to go? Back to the book about The Elements Of Harmony, which is where episode one of season one began!
* Fluttershy gets probably the most angry we've ever seen her when Twilight points out [[TheBadGuyWins that Discord might win]] and refers to him by the unusally judgemental phrase "[[ThisIsSparta That BIG. DUMB.]] '''[[ThisIsSparta MEANIE!]]'''". This is pretty much the meanest thing ''normal'' Fluttershy has ever said about anyone. Why? Discord has [[BreakTheCutie broken]] and MindRaped all her friends, mutated her animal friends (including Angel), and worst of all, MindRaped Fluttershy herself into being absolutely cruel to them, something Fluttershy viewed as a nightmare. Remember that Fluttershy is a ''serious'' MamaBear when it comes to her friends and the FriendToAllLivingThings. Discord pretty much just did everything he possibly could to make [[ItsPersonal personal]] when it comes to Fluttershy.
* Think about Discord's personality and methods for a moment. He uses lies, half truths, and ExactWords to decieve his enemies, [[ItsAllAboutMe he cares only for his own amusement]] regardless of who he harms, he takes sick enjoyment out of causing others to suffer and laughs at their misfortune, he's cruel and outright sadistic, he makes deals which he twists and manipulates to his own ends without any semblence of fair play, and gets kicks out of breaking apart friendships. All of the above are twisted inversions or outright opposites of the Elements Of Harmony (remember, Magic means Friendship when it comes to the Elements)! Even at his core, Discord is an EvilCounterpart to them!
** Well, it could be hardly said he was selfish, or likely to betrayal (after all, he had loyalty to himself). However, take his methods and then his motivations. He usues subtle trickery to get his way when he could very well brute force it, but he prefers to use intelligence to get what he wants. However, he cares for nobody but himself, takes delight in hurting others, and rules for his own amusement. He's the EvilCounterpart to Celestia.
*** The ''definition'' of 'selfish' is only caring about one's self. And saying that he had loyalty to himself is pointless, because who the hell doesn't?
* At the climax of the [[BuffySpeak dediscordification]] quest, Rainbow Dash was weighed down by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, plus one rope. Fluttershy was pulling an entire hot air balloon that also included Twilight, Applejack, and ''two'' ropes, ''and still caught Rainbow Dash''. Using simple distributive mathematics, it can actually be concluded that, when they caught her, ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Fluttershy was flying]]'' '''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome faster]]''' ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome than Rainbow Dash!]]''
** Of course. Fluttershy had the PowerOfFriendship, while Rainbow Dash had lost it.
** Also, the balloon was supporting the weight of the two other ponies, which means that the only added force Fluttershy would have to exert would be F = (mass of balloon + Twilight + Applejack) * acceleration forward, while Rainbow Dash would have to fight gravity's effect on Rarity and Pinkie Pie by applying force F = (mass of Pinkie Pie + Rarity) * gravitational acceleration upward, as well as applying extra force F = (mass of Pinkie Pie + Rarity) * acceleration forward. Then again, that balloon has a huge profile and Fluttershy was probably experiencing huge amounts of air resistance. I can't be bothered to work this out. Is anyone taking physics?
* Why did Celestia send back all of Twilight's letters? Partly to remind her of how much her friends had meant to her, but also because, if Twilight was willing to give up on her friends, then those letters hadn't really meant anything in the first place.
* At the end of it all, Discord was ''exactly'' like [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q]] in the regards of no matter how bad his trolling got, there always was a way out if they could find it, and there was a lesson to be learned (albeit cruelly). "If you can't take a little bloody nose, then I suggest you go back home and hide under your bed" indeed. For all we know, Discord was just preparing them for something much worse.
* In the new season two intro we see a train. Since when did Ponyville have a train? Remember that ditch from Feeling Pinkie Keen? Ponyville is expanding!
* This could be disproved in future episodes, but for now it could be worth noting. During Cheerilee's class field trip to the gardens, the class roster is slightly different than it was in Call of the Cutie (4 background students being replaced by other ponies, but still adds up to a total of 9). Was this done just for the sake of having named characters? Doesn't matter. It's a new year for the show, which means a new school year, which means a slightly different class roster.
** It ''could'' have been a special trip, as, as far as we know, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are/were in another class, but more tellingly, Snips and Snails are older... aren't they?
*** Easy to explain. 'Boast Busters' shows that they aren't that bright. ([[TooDumbToLive They thought that luring an URSA MINOR to town to get their show-offy crush to show how strong she was was a brilliant idea.]] If they are older, then they were simply held back a year.
* At first it might seem like Twilight has the first breakdown on the show that isn't related to her cutie mark in "Lesson Zero", but then you have to remember that Twilight's area of expertise is magic, and in this show, [[TitleDrop friendship is magic]]. She didn't have a lesson on friendship to report to Celestia, and when her attempts to fix any problems her friends had were going nowhere fast (as in, they didn't need her to be a "good friend" at the time), she really started to lose it.
** In addition, she mentions ''repeatedly'' that she might have to ''leave Ponyville and all her friends''. When you think about it that way, her breakdown ''really'' makes sense. It's not just her fearing being tardy, it's fearing being taken from her TrueCompanions!
** Twilight is clearly suffering from Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome.
* Twilight's SuperOCD and rapid breakdown in "Lesson Zero" might seem like a case of {{Flanderization}}. However, it makes far more sense if one assumes she's having post-traumatic stress disorder: The previous episode had her and her friends suffer MindRape at the hands of the AnthropomorphicPersonification of chaos, and only re-reading her old friendship reports was able to save her; of ''course'' she's going to value order and her lessons afterward!
* Rainbow Dash is seen crashing, head-butting and karate-kicking Applejack's old farm in ''Lesson Zero'', breaking support beams and generally bringing the whole thing to the brink before finishing it off with a nuclear sonic rainboom. Why did she smash it up so bad before the final divebomb? Any demolitionist will tell you that you need to ''weaken a structure'' before setting the charges or else the building might take the blast and not implode properly, or worse still, remain standing.
* Discord, as an embodiment of ''chaos'', was doomed the second he formed a ''plan''. Had he acted on pure whims, he might have had a better chance.
* So far five out of six mane ponies have suffered complete mental collapses: Twilight from lack of lesson-to-be-learned, Applejack from sleep deprivation, Rainbow Dash's performance anxiety has her curl into a foetal position, Pinkie Pie's party of CompanionCube guests and Fluttershy's "you will love me" outburst at the Grand Galloping Gala. Although Rarity has experienced pressure and extreme stress in ''Suited For Success'', she has yet to undergo a complete mental breakdown like her friends. Why is that? Because in ''Lesson Zero'' she shows that she has a powerful coping mechanism: her drama queen outbursts act as a safety valve, releasing her excess stress as occurs and preventing it from building up to dangerous levels.
** What about when she locked herself in her room in "Suited for success?"
*** Freaking out and locking herself in her room is part of her drama queen behavior.
** Any psychiatrist worth their salt will tell you that such things are not healthy and make a person more prone to similar stressors in the future.
** Additionally: by letting her friends know she's upset, she makes sure they'll do whatever it takes to make her feel better. Compare that to Rainbow Dash, who always hides it when she's upset, making it hard for her to get the reassurance she needs.
* In "Lesson Zero", you see Twilight's friends laughing off Twilight's worries about turning her letter on time. Despite being a bit insensitive, you can sort of understand their reaction if you consider they had just seen Rarity flip out over not bringing plates for the picnic.
* Why would Celestia appear to fix the problem at the end of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]], when she had not done so with more serious threats in the past? Surely a rampaging Ursa Minor would warrant a visit if an, albeit potentially [[TheVirus catastrophic]], spell does. Consider; however, the position she has been in for 1,000 years. Raising the sun ''and'' moon, while probably sleeping any chance she could when not otherwise obligated. If Luna is only now in condition to raise the moon again, as is the implication in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]] (especially considering [[WordofGod Word of]] [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/2245236163 Faust]]), Celestia would have a very large slate of time now open ''after the sun sets''.
** Well, that, and [[OnlySaneMan Spike]] [[MundaneSolution asked for her help]]. Twilight handled the Ursa Minor on her own, and asking Celestia for help would have taken too much time. Twilight also wants to impress Celestia, which means that she considers asking for her help to be strictly a last resort. Especially since Celestia has tasked her with handling crises before.
** Celestia is also the only one (other than Luna) who can solve the problem. In magical crises it's usually Twilight who solves the problems, but in this instance she can't cancel out the spell she cast because it was much more powerful than she planned. Background unicorns were all caught up in the want-it-need-it spell and Rarity is better at details than huge magical overhauls. So of course it has to be Celestia.
* Fluttershy isn't seen dressed up for Nightmare Night, she just stays in her home. On a night of scares and frights, it would be much worse for a pony that already gets frightened pretty easily as it is.
* Read the page quote on the NightmareFuel page. Now remember what Pinkie Pie says to Twilight that helps her realize how to help Luna.
* In "Return of Harmony, Part 1", Discord says he "forgot how grim [Celestia] can be". Seems a little odd, considering Celestia is normally a more relaxed, lighthearted ruler. Now, granted, he could just be talking about how serious she gets when he's around causing trouble, but the statement also makes much more sense once you watch "Luna Eclipsed"; If Celestia's sister, Luna, after being gone for 1000 years, was overdramatic and serious to the point of having to have ''fun'' explained to her, imagine what Celestia must have been like all those years ago. (Might also explain why the Grand Galloping Gala is such a boring affair...)
** This also goes a long way towards explaining why Celestia is the rather mischievous TricksterMentor that she is. In Discord's time, she was as serious and stern as Luna by necessity, but by the present day, she's mellowed from having seen and done so much, and is very much older and wiser mentally, if not physically. By contrast, Luna hasn't changed, and still has a lot of "growing up" to do on account of being essentially flung 1000 years in to the future with hardly any development.
* Rarity isn't seen at all during "Luna Eclipsed", but then you realize that, as a fashion designer, she's probably passed out on the couch after making so many costumes.
* The entire characterization of Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" gives a lot more context for what went down before the series started. If you notice she obviously wants to be loved and adored, but is rejected due to coming off as too forceful. She shouts and demands citizens' attention as the first thing she does when arriving into Ponyville. What's more, she has no concept of 'fun', and doesn't seem like the understanding type. It literally takes less than a full-night for her to lose her calm and start buckling into her vengeful 'Nightmare Moon'-esque persona (And cancel an adored holiday tradition, with atmospheric theatrics to boot). If this mere trivial holiday was an accurate representation to what she was like 1000 years ago, imagine how this would have transferred over to her having to rise the moon and stars (her job, talent, and life purpose essentially) every night with no acknowledgment.
** It also shows how each sister is different from one another. Luna wants respect, but clearly respect out of admiration of her powers rather than her kindness. She also seems the type to fight if needed, serving possibly as the 'muscle' of the Alicorn sisters.
*** This might be part of their yin-and-yang relationship. Celestia's a very capable diplomat, but has trouble with issues involving direct conflict. Hence, her emphasis on harmony and friendship. Luna excels in resolving direct conflict, but very much sucks in the art of negotiation. Hence, the plot of ''Luna Eclipsed.''
** Also, think about it. Celestia (and Luna after Twilight helps her out) wanted a truly caring relationship with her subjects and to be more like friends. If Luna's behavior was royal custom 1000 years ago, Celestia probably realized it was part of the reason for Luna's alienation from her subjects.
** How about the fact that while she came to make Nightmare Night a joyous occasion but doesn't know what the word 'fun' means. Sounds odd right? Until you learn that the word 'fun' is only 300 years old and Luna has been gone for over a 1000.
* The fact that Twilight is the first pony to befriend Luna makes perfect sense when you think about it. Luna is a powerful magician who Celestia cares for and has trouble fitting in and making new friends, just like Twilight was initially. Watching Luna's plight really shows you why Celestia wanted Twilight to make some friends, and not have to possibly endure the same pain as Luna.
* About Luna's new hairdo representing how she's just regaining her powers. There's a couple of things she does in "Luna Eclipse" - moving things with her magic, which is standard ability for unicorns, and manipulating clouds physically, which is standard ability for pegasus ponies. She's literally practicing the basic techniques.
* Why didn't Celestia simply tell Luna her royal behavior was outdated? If she just ''told'' her, then odds are she'd just be going through the motions. She'd just see it as a different style of behavior and not learned anything at all. By having her go to Ponyville, Luna has to learn first hand proper behavior and actually ''make friends with her subjects''.
** Alternatively, Celestia ''did'' tell her, but Luna, in true "little sister" fashion, didn't listen.
** Or that, unlike Celestia, who slowly changed her manner over time, Luna was more or less flung 1000 years into the future. Old habits are hard to break after all.
** Another alternative is that Celestia simply didn't because she didn't have the available time/resources to devote to prepping up her sister's mannerisms, being a divine monarch and all. That although they're sisters and Celestia loves Luna, they don't have that much time to devote to each other in general. In this regard their relationship would be closer to an ancient prince/princess, where although they're related by blood cannot (meaning aren't allowed to) bond beyond their royal duties (childhood excluded). Meaning if Luna needed or wanted attention, Celestia couldn't simply put the entire kingdom on hold just on Luna's whims. She would be expected as a princess to handle it independently and prove her own sovereignty.
** Does nobody else think that it's possible that Celestia just didn't know that Luna had headed to Ponyville?
* The way Pinkie constantly screams and runs away from Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" seems to directly contradict her "giggle at the ghostly" attitude from the pilot. Until the end of the episode that is, when she tells Twilight that [[spoiler: she's basically just been pretending the whole time because "Sometimes it's fun to be scared!"]]
** Also, her costume now makes perfect sense. It is a tradition to be afraid on Nightmare Night - [[spoiler: and she isn't... so she pretends to be a chicken!]]
* Rainbow Dash comes across as a bit of a JerkAss during "Luna Eclipsed", [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal pranking ponies prolifically]] throughout the night, and nearly ruining Luna and Pinkie's reconciliation. But think about it- she was never around when Luna was terrifying the general populace that night. She had no idea what was going on!
** She was also dressed as one of the Shadowbolts that Luna, as Nightmare Moon, tried to trick her as in the pilot episodes.
* Some people have been asking "If they didn't know Nightmare/Luna existed until the last Summer Sun Celebration, how could they have had a holiday about her for the last however many centuries?" But that's just it: they didn't know she actually existed. Most of them thought she was, as the pilot episode called it, "an old pony's tale," hence the rumor that she eats people and the candy sacrifices.
** Plus, the statue they make the candy sacrifices to is in the Everfree Forest, a place where nopony in Ponyville went until after they'd befriended Zecora.
* Why did nopony manage to recognise Twilight's Star Swirl the Bearded costume, but Luna could instantly? It's not necessarily because Luna is learned. Luna had been banished for a thousand years - she probably knew Star Swirl firsthand near the time she was banished. Twilight's costume is likely one of the few things she can recognise. Meanwhile, in a thousand years he became less well known.
* Consider this: Luna keeps using old-fashioned, "formal" versions of the second-person personal pronoun: thou, thee, thy, thine, etc., even though she supposedly wants (much like her sister, in a way) a closer, warmer relationship with her subjects. But remember, thou, thee, thy, and so forth are actually the informal, personal versions of the second-person personal pronoun, much like "tu" in French or Spanish, or "du" in German. You, your, and so forth are the formal, impersonal forms. When Luna addresses the other ponies as "thou," she's basically saying that she considers them to be close friends.
** And here's some FridgeBrilliance on why she didn't speak that way in the second episode: she was speaking with her older sister, the only pony, and possibly the other being period, she didn't have to be overly formal with because Celestia is her only family. She spoke formally with her subjects because she outranks them.
*** And even ''then'', there was some formality, such as calling her "Big Sister." In a Japanese dub that could easily be converted to OneeSama.
* In "Luna Eclipsed" why don't the citizens of Ponyville treat Luna as the same pony they threw a party for at the end of "Elements of Harmony"? Simply because Luna looks and acts more like Nightmare Moon (in mannerisms, not evilness) now than she did in episode 2. Rather than being the ''relatively'' small, soft-spoken pony with a solid-colored mane that the town met, her appearance changed into a larger, starry-maned pony with a darker coat. In this state, she looks much closer to Nightmare Moon (which all of Ponyville saw for a short time) than the Luna they knew (also seen for a short time). Luna speaking in a booming voice does not help. Keeping this in mind, it is easy to see how they can mistake Luna's return as the return of Nightmare Moon. Also, since Nightmare Night is a holiday ''dedicated'' to Nightmare Moon, everypony has the image of NMM fresh in their minds.
** Alternative explanation: Celestia was right there beside her the whole time. It wouldn't look very good to show disprovable of the god-ruler of Equestria's own kin right in front of her, would it? Especially when the living proof of her power and authority is the thing you'd normally be fearing. (Luna, who'd been banished and is now returning)
* In "Luna Eclipsed", Zecora, the African pony, is wearing spiders as she tells a story. In African lore, stories are the dominion of Anansi the Spider.
* A lot of people seemed to have a problem with Pinkies behavior in Luna Eclipsed, saying it goes against her taking peoples feelings into consideration when she 'pranks' them. But look at it this way (or that way, I have two explanations): she's never there to see Luna saying she wants to be loved not feared, except for when she made her big entrance when she was talking in her big booming voice, which to be honest was kinda hard to understand. So, what reason could she have to think that the princess wasn't in on the whole scaring everypony thing? It's ''her'' holiday, named after her, in honor of her, and is about frightening people! Of course she would think Luna was ''trying'' to scare everyone and Pinkie was just playing along!
** Alternatively, Pinkie was always in the group of kids. She was the only consistent older pony with them, so it's easy to assume she took over chaperoning them for Granny, who as we are keen to remember, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny was supposed to be asleep five hours ago.]] And as any older sibling who has supervised a group of young trick or treaters will tell you, half the job is making things fun, and on Halloween fun equals scarey. Pinkie was over playing the whole being scared of Luna thing for the kids sake, so her being 'insensative' to Luna was just a combination of ignorance and trying to be a good chaperone! (and of course, [[CloudCuckooLander just being Pinkie]])
* The introduction of the '''ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE'''. While the "BE ''STILL''!" was genuinely frightening, it's mainly played for laughs, and seems like an old-fashioned, slightly random addition...until you realize, ''we've already seen it''. When? Just in the previous episode!
---> '''Princess Celestia:''' TWILIGHT SPARKLE!
** Whoa, Nelly...
* The order in which Twilight Sparkle befriended the other ponies cannot have been an accident. Applejack is first. She is forthright, down to earth, and hard working; in other words, she's the pony who is most like Twilight. Fluttershy is second. She's awfully timid, but her compassion and gentle nature make for someone who is almost universally beloved. Pinkie Pie is third. Pinkie is... shall we say... [[CloudCuckooLander unique]] but her cheerful nature lets her laugh at the unknown when it is most terrifying. Rarity is fourth. She is very socially conscious and seems to focus on appearances, which mean nothing to Twilight, but in the right circumstances [[HiddenDepths her generosity rises to the fore]]. Rainbow Dash is fifth, and last. Her relationship to Twilight had been the most negative, and even briefly antagonistic, but she sacrificed a shot at her heart's desire without a single regret, and that allowed Twilight to see a very different side to her personality.
* It might be confusing to some as to why Rainbow Dash has so much trouble pulling a Sonic Rainboom off in ''Sonic Rainboom'' but can do it without a problem in ''Lesson Zero'' [[hottip:*: You know, the [[FanNickname Sonic Rainnuke]]?]]. Taking a look at the three times it's been successfully used, Dash was using it to help a friend - saving Rarity in ''Sonic Rainboom'', standing up for Fluttershy in ''The Cutie Mark Chronicles'', and to destroy Applejack's old barn for her in ''Lesson Zero''. She couldn't pull it off unless she was doing it for a friend. The whole idea of the show is promoting friendship, so this was likely another subtle way to get the message across.
** Or maybe she's just gotten better at pulling it off?
*** [[ThePowerOfFriendship Hush, you.]]
* Anyone else notice how Ponyville's reaction to Princess Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" mirrors many peoples' (especially children) reaction to nighttime itself? At first night can be terrifying and possibly filled with unknown dangers. However, many of these dangers are imaginary, and once one gets used to nighttime, it can become enjoyable and comforting rather than frightening.
* You'd think Rainbow Dash would dress as the Wonderbolts for Nightmare Night, considering they're her heroes. But Nightmare Night is about ''scares'', why would she dress as her ''heroes''? So she dressed as villains instead.
* Sisterhooves Social shows us another example of SchizoTech in Equestria: smoke detectors and feedback-inducing megaphones, but Rarity has an old-fashioned scrub-tub in her laundry room and a clothesline out back. SchizoTech? Maybe, but then remember she's also a seamstress, and a mechanical washer and dryer are no good for all the delicate fabrics she has to wash after piecing a new outfit together.
* Notice how pony bowling balls have no finger holes? That's paying attention right there!
** Except, oddly enough, in one filly's ImagineSpot. Well, 2 of the 3, anyways. Course, that could just be representative of the Crusaders themselves, but it's still a bit odd since the ponies have no reason for finger holes...
*** There's more than just ponies in Equestria, remember. How would Spike, the Diamond Dogs, Gilda, or other clawed/taloned species be able to bowl without any way of holding/throwing the ball properly? The manufacturers probably make at least ''some'' with a means of digit-assisted grip. (This would also explain why teacups have handles.)
* Twilight says there's no known cure for the Cutie Pox because nopony knows where it came from in the first place. How is it Zecora knows the cure? Simple, she knew Apple Bloom stole some Heart's Desire from her and had implored her to make a potion to give her a Cutie Mark. She may have actually had no idea what Cutie Pox were, but she knew it was likely the Heart's Desire which caused Apple Bloom's case of it. She clearly knows all her herbs very well and would know full well how to neutralize the Heart's Desire and thus cure Apple Bloom.
** This gets into FridgeHorror when you realize that Zecora was ''only'' able to cure Apple Bloom because she got the Cutie Pox due to eating the Heart's Desire flower. The seeds only worked for the flower's effects. If the true Cutie Pox showed up, with no Heart's Desire flower involved,''nopony could do anything about it!''
*** Apple B+loom mentions when she first sees the Heart's Desire that she's seen the flower around Ponyville. It's entirely possible that the flowers were still related to the original outbreak.
*** Though, the book did say "a group of ponies", not Ponyville specifically - it could have been from anywhere in Equestria, perhaps some place where the Heart's Desire wasn't around.
*** They also mention there's no known cure because you basically have to let it run its course to go away naturally. Putting aside creepy mind rape implications of being forced to do all that crazy stuff because of the next random cutie mark, it really doesn't seem any worse then having to deal with the chicken pox.
* Who had to learn a lesson about/have a cure based on honesty? APPLEJACK'S sister.
** In fairness to Apple Bloom, she did tell the truth in the end and it cured her, in a way...
* While most likely introduced to play with the show's usual format, having others besides Twilight Sparkle write Friendship Reports is a very significant moment in-universe. She was so busy freaking out about missing her report that the once socially awkward Twilight failed to realize that the reason she hadn't learning something new about Friendship that week was simply because she'd learned so much in her time in Ponyville that she didn't have as much ''to'' learn as she did at the start. Now that others are involved in the Friendship Reports, though, lessons that Twilight herself might not have encountered for some time, if at all, are now also brought to the forefront.
* So, I’m thinking to myself, the first words in the description for the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]] are as follows: “Spike gets greedy on his birthday…” Now, at first glance, this seems like severe OutOfCharacter, even for Spike, when all of a sudden, it hit me. Dragons, by nature, are natural hoarders ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy as has been]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell demonstrated before]]). Being greedy is, in turn, a sign of Spike growing up, a (presumably) central theme in this episode. You never know what you’ll come up with if you just think about it.
* The entire episode of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]] had multiple scenes of Spike receiving affection from Rarity after he gives her his treasured Fire Ruby that he was saving for months to be eaten as his birthday dinner. Rarity was obviously moved by his gesture, because she's the element of generosity, but there's more to it than that when you remember that Spike occasionally breaks the fourth wall, and that the one thing Spike has wanted more than anything is for Rarity to notice him, which happened a lot on an episode about ''his birthday''. The whole episode was a tribute to Spike and Rarity, as well as an actual gift from the writers to him on his birthday as sort of a fourth wall inversion.
* When Spike burst through the roof of Sugarcube Corner, out of all the ponies watching, only Pinkie Pie was truly shocked. She wasn't the only one seeing Spike growing for the first time, and it wasn't because she had just been fighting with him. It was because she rents a room in the attic of Sugarcube Corner, and Spike's head had just gone right through it.
* Rainbow Dash picking the tortoise as her pet in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin May the Best Pet Win]] may confuse people. But then you remember Rainbow Dash's element of Harmony is Loyalty, so of course she would pick the pet that was the most loyal to her.
* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess " . . . Rainbow won't look like a Tank."]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin But her pet sure will.]]
* Why does Fluttershy insist on including a tortoise in Dash's pet contest? It's another classic Literature/AesopsFables, much like the AndroclesLion -- or, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony in her case, the manticore]].
* It only makes sense for Rainbow Dash to pick the tortoise because she's the element of loyalty, and the tortoise was the one who stood by her and lifted the rock when all the other pets abandoned her.
* In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin May the Best Pet Win!]]'' Applejack's dog Winona pops up at random and licks Twilight in the face. Hmmm. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 Where have we seen that before...]] Would this prove that Big Mac and Winona switched minds when Discord took over?
* After rewatching "Sisterhooves Social," I realized that there was an ulterior motive for the scene where Apple Bloom accidentally covers Applejack with grape mush: it is not jusy a very sweet sister scene between Apple Bloom and Applejack, it allows the audience to see Applejack covered with something messy before the race later on. If you pause that scene and then look at a mud-covered Rarity at the race, they look exactly the same (except for the eyes, of course). The animators wanted to be absolutely sure that both Sweetie Belle and the audience would be completely fooled as to who was actually running the race by showing us what a messy Applejack looks like beforehand!
** I think it had more to do with the fact that nobody would suspect Rarity of going along with the race, ''especially'' covered head-to-hoof with mud. Also, many forget that Rarity is actually in really good shape.
* In "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", after the Mare Do Well constantly shows up Rainbow Dash and she utterly fails at looking like a hero again, she is shown lying on a black cloud rather than a white one while seeming rather depressed. She's on top of her PersonalRaincloud.
* In one scene, we have Rainbow Dash saying her middle name was "Danger." In the G1 opening, guess what Firefly says when she tries a stunt! [[CaptainObvious Then again...]]
* In "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" Twilight mentions that an autobiography should be written by the person it's about. But that means Spike is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 perfectly qualified]] to write Rainbow Dash's autobiography!
** MemeticMutation ShoutOut?
* A lot of people are calling out [[spoiler: the Mane Six (Well, Mane five, anyway)]] for what they did to Rainbow Dash in "''The Mysterious Mare Do Well''", effectively embarrassing her in front of the whole town. But remember at the beginning of the episode? RD had her own fan club even before all those accidents started happening. Chances are she will have somehow saved the town again by the next episode and be a hero again.
** Better yet, nopony aside from Rainbow Dash is really acting like she's been embarrassed. A few ponies grumble at her over the incidents, but nopony's making fun of her or anything. Rainbow Dash is just imagining the situation being worse than it is, just like all the other ponies during their respective freakouts.
** If anything, Rainbow was embarrassing ''herself'' with her constant bragging (the townsponies ''were'' going to get tired of it, just like her friends were), so [[spoiler:the Mane Five]] essentially ''saved'' her from ruining her own reputation. [[spoiler:Which is worse: hurting your friend a little to point out an error in her ways before it gets out of control, or to do nothing and let the town turn against her anyway, despite her efforts to be a hero?]]
* [[spoiler: The Mane Five's]] actions against Rainbow Dash in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" can seem particularly harsh before you realize: Rainbow Dash freaking out and then feeling all depressed probably wasn't part of their plan at all!
** [[spoiler:Probably? I'm sure they had no idea how much it was affecting Rainbow Dash. It's just that Rainbow is not up front with her feelings (for example, in "Sonic Rainboom" they all knew that Dash was nervous, but none of them ever learned just how bad she was).]]
* Given how much "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" was about teaching Rainbow Dash humility, let's hope she never realizes it took [[spoiler:four ponies (not including Rarity) to be a match for her.]]
** Technically, [[spoiler:Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight each outclassed her badly at whatever task they did. Fluttershy didn't, but she just did a quick fly by. The point was that any of them could match her for heroics, without being a jerk about it.]]
*** Whether or not [[spoiler: they]] could outclass her, Rainbow was perfectly capable of saving the balloon pony, the runaway bus passengers and the construction workers. The fact that her reaction to her failure to do so is "Mare Do Well is better than me" instead of "I messed up" is a big part of her problem for this episode.
** Also, [[spoiler:her friends were more successful because they were playing to their strengths. They didn't really hammer it home, but a secondary point in that episode was that a group is stronger when all its members use their talents, something that Rainbow Dash could really stand to learn. If that episode had had more time, it is likely that Fluttershy and Rarity would have gotten a turn to shine, and that a crisis that Dash's strengths were suited to deal with would have appeared.]]
* One thing that occurs to me regarding "Mysterious Mare Do Well", as noted above [[spoiler: the Mane Cast]] acting preemptively to keep Dash from ruining her own reputation. [[spoiler: They]] saw Rainbow was getting full of herself, recognized potential danger signs, and acted as quickly as possible to prevent the worst possible outcome. In essence, [[spoiler: they remembered the Aesop from "Lesson Zero" about recognizing your friends problems even if they don't appear to be all too serious]].
** And when Rainbow finally finds out [[spoiler: they were behind the whole thing]] you'd expect her to be ''furious'' given the way she was acting just a minute ago. Instead she's just confused and asks for an explanation. Why? [[spoiler: Because ''she'' remembered the Aesop from "Party Of One" and expected the best from her friends, even though their actions seemed weird]].
* People often wonder what's going on with Discord posing so dramatically when he was first a statue. However, if you look at how Discord poses when he says "I'm missing some excellent chaos here!" It's nearly the exact same pose as when he was first turned into stone. Conclusion? He was possibly giving that same line to Celestia and Luna before being stoned.
** Also take into account the Elements were ''newly discovered'' and Discord has an ego as big as Equestria. How would he react to two (likely young) ponies walking up and saying "we've got something we bet will beat you!" or the like? Probably exactly how he reacted in the present when he though the Elements wouldn't work.
* "Sweet and Elite": One would think that the others would know better than to crash a big, fancy party in Canterlot and make a huge mess of it. Then again, they ''had'' "livened up" a [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver boring, stuffy Canterlot party in a similar fashion before]], ''and'' with Celestia's seal of approval, at that.
* In "Sweet and Elite", part of the reason Rarity gets caught up with the Canterlot elite is the ponies inviting her actually say things like "it'll be a disaster without you" or how much they ''need'' her there. It wasn't just her wanting to be part of the elite crowd, but trying to ''help'' them.
** So not only is it appealing to her personal interest in high society, but also to the Element of Generosity.
* One may think that Rarity's friends were carrying IdiotBall when they decided to crash the garden party in "Sweet and Elite", considering how they thought it's a good idea to act stupid on a formal meeting in front of upper class ponies that their friend was trying to make good impression with. But then you realize that they were having Twilight's birthday party, which means they probably had a lot of [[HardDrinkingTropes certain substances]], and suddenly their behavior makes much more sense... (especially Twilight doing her crazy dance--didn't look too sober)
* Remember in "Winter Wrap-Up" when we learned that unicorns aren't native from Ponyville? Sure, the pegasi are from Cloudsdale, which seems to be pretty close of Ponyville, but when did Ponyville got unicorns to live there? Well, in "Sweet and Elite", if you pay attention to Canterlot's background ponies, you'll notice that the ''huge'' majority of them are unicorns. Hinted on the same episode is the fact that Canterlot is quite far from Ponyville. It all makes perfect sense!
* In season one, we saw Twilight's parents enrolled her in Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, followed by the point that Spike was hatched as part of her entrance exam. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E9SweetAndElite Sweet and Elite]]", part of the plot revolves around Twilight's upcoming birthday. Then, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess in S02E10,]] we have Spike's birthday! Why so close? Because Twilight's parents enrolled her in the school as her birthday present. Which, when you think about it, is the perfect gift for Twilight.
** I like this idea. It must be remembered, however, that the writers play fast and loose with continuity in this series (in favor of having each episode be able to stand alone), so their birthdays may not necessarily be, chronologically speaking, that close.
* It's highly likely that Hayseed Turnip Truck could tell what Jet Set and Upper Crust were really like, and was in fact scrabbling for something nice to say about them before settling on "they ''seemed'' real nice", because we already know ''he's correct about Rarity by befriending her.''
* In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess "Secret of my Excess"]] Spike gives Rarity his prized fire gem, which is shaped like a heart. [[spoiler:When Spike is an evil giant dragon, Rarity moves to protect her fire gem, saying her good friend spike gave it to her. This reverts Spike back to normal size]]. Essentially the aesop can be ThePowerOfLove [[CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming can curb someone's greed.]]
* Fluttershy had no problem subduing a rampaging adult dragon before when it was threatening her friends. So why can't she handle Spike while he's threatening her friends? Because Spike is her friend and she doesn't want to hurt ''him!''
* Why is Rarity so quick to comfort Spike after he reverts to normal? Because thanks to Discord, she knows exactly how it feels to become a greedy monster (though figuratively, not literally) because of something outside of your control and hurt those you care about because of it!
** Even without Discord's influence, Rarity is constantly struggling to control her more self-centered impulses. And she doesn't always succeed. Remember how little effort it took Discord to corrupt her, not even bothering to say anything to her. Out of the Mane Six, she's the only one that knows what it's like to let her greed take control. And unlike Spike, her greed is present all the time.
* Before Secret of my Excess, we've almost never seen Pinkie in a state of abject, pure ''shock'' before. But then, with her Pinkie Sense, how many things have really been able to surprise her? She might have a sense for "a dragon is about to destroy my home/place of employment", but would she have ''ever'' felt it before then?
* Spike's fast growing and aggressive behaviour might seem like an odd way for a dragon to grow up. But then it hit me, it IS odd. Spike is not living the way his species would, he has no siblings to compete with and no older dragon to watch him over and put him down if he misbehaves. It's possible Twilight knew enough about dragons to limit his gifts to manageable amount. It was when Spike got more gifts outside, that his natural hoarding instincts grew.
** Actually, that's probably exactly how they grow up. Exercising their greed would give them a stock of resources useful for eating, bartering, and whatnot, while increasing their physical power and making it easier for them to increase their horde, and therefore grow more. An older dragon might be able to keep a younger one in line, but to them it might seem natural to grow up like that.
** We can also surmise that "Steven Magnet" turned out the way he did because his obsession was ''vanity'' instead. Life as a dragon is a freaking knife's edge.
* You know how that black goop in Sisterhooves Social that was supposed to be toast? ''It's burnt bread batter!'' Yeah, now it's not as big an EpicFail as before, ''[[EpicFail but still.]]''
** Except bread is made from dough, not batter. Dough tends to have a more stable structure. That said, maybe Sweetie forgot to add the flour before cooking.
* In ''Hearth's Warming Eve'', there's an in-universe CastingGag in the fact that the mane six end up all with roles that are almost completely identical to their regular personalities, which seems amazingly coincidental. Then we remember that Princess Celestia, who has already had her fair share of interactions with the mane cast, gave them the roles in the first place. Of ''course'' she'd have them play characters with similar personalities to their own!
** It's also possible that Twilight researched the story proper, then reduced it to a basic plotline while writing the roles as similar to the mane 6 anyways, ''because none of them are professional actors.''
** It's ALSO possible that the actual characters were nothing like they were portrayed, as--again--none of the Mane Six are professional actors!
** Even Spike is perfectly cast as the Narrator, while he is important to the show's dynamic he's often outside the action of the story proper and occasionally provides commentary to the goings on.
* ''Hearth's Warming Eve'' provides some in regards to Discord, depending on how you place the founding of Equestria in the timeline. If Discord's reign of chaos came before it, then it makes perfect sense for the ponies to distrust one another, considering all they probably knew for a ''long'' time beforehand was disharmony and chaos. Under Discord, it was likely "everypony for themselves", which would carry on for a bit after his downfall. If Discord's arrival and reign over the land happened ''after'' that, he had a long history of FantasticRacism to exploit and manipulate. Heck, perhaps the reason he came was because they suddenly began becoming harmonic and he couldn't stand it.
* In ''Hearth's Warming Eve'', we see each pony race found their own nation, which would later become Equestria. However, these groups still inhabit their original claims. Unicorns took the mountains, and the majority of the mountainous Canterlot is unicorns. The pegasai founded a nation in the clouds, which presumably became Cloudsdale. The earth ponies took the lowlands, which became places like Ponyville, consisting mostly of Earth ponies. The legacy of their ancestors still exists in the lands they claimed.
* In Luna Eclipsed, Princess Luna states she knew Star Swirl the Bearded. Clover the Clever's mentor was Star Swirl the Bearded. The historical unicorns raised the sun and moon--perhaps they learned the technique from the alicorns who would become their princesses?
** She didn't actually say she knew Star Swirl, merely that she recognized who Twilight was dressed as. While her comment about the bells could be taken like that, it could also mean she was sufficiently well read on the subject and have met those who missed the bells.
** After all, Twilight knew about the outfit from her book on Obscure Unicorn History. Perhaps Luna is a big reader as well, like fandm seems to think.
* While the parts of the play in "Hearth's Warming Eve'' that appear to be "real" as opposed to a stage production could just be for viewer benefit, a good InUniverse explanation was provided by "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]". If Rarity can do amazing special effects for a fashion show through magic, whose to say the same wasn't done by Rarity, or another pony knowing the same spell, for the play in this episode?
* Though none of the episodes really follow a continuity with one another , at the end of "Hearth's Warming Eve" during the Heart Carol you can see the stained glass windows from "The Return of Harmony" meaning that they are in that same hall, and it includes the one window of Discord being defeated.
* ''Hearth's Warming Eve'' also gives a pretty good reason why alicorns are the royal, ruling class: they are the physical embodiment of the complete and harmonious union of the 3 pony races that Equestria was founded on.
* "Hearth's Warming Eve" also confirms part of Pinkie Pie's claim that "that's how Equestria was made" back in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". In the beginning of the play there's just narration and no dialogue, hence "no talking", and certainly no laughing either - and towards the end, there is indeed a rock.
* Rainbow Dash could've resorted to making trouble so she could keep playing the hero in "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well." But she didn't. Why? Because that would be disloyal to everypony else!
** Also, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver she already tried that]]. It didn't work.
* In "Hearth's Warming Eve", I always thought it was a little odd that Commander Hurricane demands "Well? Aren't you going to ask how it went?" She doesn't seem to care what Private Pansy thinks, really, and as she only ever speaks when asked a question, there was no reason to expect her to ask anything upon arrival--and anyway, there were other pegasi around. Then I realized--Fluttershy forgot her lines!
** That also explains why ANY pegasus raised in such a martial society ("Do they not realize we are a mighty tribe of warriors?") would be as incredibly skittish as Private Pansy--Fluttershy has terrible stage fright, and it's shooting her nerves to hell.
* Back in "Lesson Zero", the Cutie Mark Crusaders, usually the epitome of EpicFail, remain remarkably composed and tactful when approached by Twilight with Ms Smartypants... because they've already seen Twilight wigging out in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".
* The Timber wolves in FamilyAppreciationDay are easily scared off by Granny Smith's banging of pots and pans. But these wolves live in the Everfree forest - home to dragons, Cockatrice, the UrsaMajor, killer pony cults.....who knows what. They've learned long ago that if something is making that much noise, it is something that poses a very, very serious danger to them.
* ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11FamilyAppreciationDay Family Appreciation Day]]'' is one of the few episodes to end without a letter to Celestia. Which is odd, considering there is an ample lesson to be learned here. There are two bits of brilliance here - one, it was a lesson about family, not friendship - ''Sisterhooves Social'' was about sisters being friends, whereas this was about respecting ones elders and realising they've probably done some amazing things in their life. The second bit, is that said letter would be written to Celestia - an immortal being who has lived for eons. How would you go about writing a letter about learning to respect your elders to the oldest living being on the planet?
** Also, the episode was about Apple Bloom, not Applejack and Apple Bloom, as she is not one of the Mane Six, doesn't write letters regularly to Princess Celestia any more than a human would write "Dear Mr. President, today I learned..." The CMCs don't write friendship reports--they're just friends.
*** Actually, Apple Bloom wrote the letter in "The Cutie Pox", and Sweetie Belle co-wrote the one in Sisterhooves, not to mention Spike himself has written too, so basically, anyone who learns anything about friendship (or barely related to friendship) can write to Celestia.
* Back to ''Sweet and Elite''. Rarity ends up doing two dresses for Twilight's birthday. Twilight adores the ''second'', simple, I-didn't-really-finish-it dress as the best reflection on her, while Rarity had intended to go for something hyper-elaborate; Twilight's horn would disappear in the hat, and the dress would probably attract all peacocks within fifty kilometres. Why would it go that way? When she's making the gaudy dress, she ''isn't thinking of Twilight''. She's designing it not to match her, but to ''show up Canterlot ponies''; she's basically designing it in anger. Subconsciously, though, she did have as a basis something plain and practical ... which is what Twilight ends up with when Rarity's not able to actually ''complete'' the design.
* The flashbacks in ''Family Appreciation Day'' have served to elevated the earth ponies' place in the status quo. No, they don't have magic, but they have something better - the ability to ''exact control'' over apparently magical forces, or at least hammering it into a shape that fits them, with little more than trial and error. It's not Appleoosa, but the obvious Western settlers theme has never been more appropriate.
* In the first classroom scene in ''Family Appreciation Day'' Apple Bloom tries to come up with an excuse to prevent Granny Smith from giving a talk, and for a split second she pulls a face remarkably similar to Applejack's Discorded Liar face from ''The Return of Harmony''. It seems having a terrible poker face is an Apple family trait.
* In ''Baby Cakes'', Rarity doesn't even provide an excuse as to why she won't babysit the twins. Though it's easy to figure out what reason exactly: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E5SisterhoovesSocial she knows her shop isn't child-safe]].
** More like she knows that ''she'' isn't child-safe. Rarity knows that she is highly temperamental, especially when she's at work. She also knows that she only ''barely'' has enough restraint to resist strangling her own baby sister when she visits. So the prospect of babysitting two one-month-old infants in her shop during business hours? It's not even a question. '''NO.'''
** Another reason for this: Rarity mentioned early on about the "magic surges" that come and go with baby unicorns. Since she was probably still living with her parents when Sweetie Belle was born, she had firsthand experience about having to deal with said surges and thus is not yet able to handle that again.
* Although it's never explicitly stated, Pumpkin's constant oral fixation in ''Baby Cakes'' could be because she's teething.
** Not likely: ponies' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_teeth baby teeth tend to come in either before or after the one month mark]]. It's more likely just because babies like to put all sorts of stuff in their mouths, and this is likely to be even more pronounced among babies who have no hands. Remember that we frequently see ponies using their mouths to do things, like writing, that we would do with our hands.
* Pinkie's absolute failure at Stand-up. She was using StevenWright material, which generally requires a more flat, dry delivery - which is a polar opposite to Pinkie at any time.
* Pinkie, the element of laughter is [[TearJerker seriously crying and feeling helpless while babysitting the twins mainly]] [[TruthInTelevision due to the stress of taking care of multiple children.]], which is bad enough, but this is made even worse when you realize that nopony else, including the Cakes, or even Pinkie herself thought she could handle the job of babysitting the twins, and she was at the breaking point and was probably subconsciously admitting to herself that they might all be right about her being incapable of doing the job and making her feel like a completely incompetent failure as a result which is probably the real reason for her tears.
** Weirdly enough, it sort of breaks the aesop of Applebuck Season of "Don't be proud and ask for help if you need it"
*** Though, unlike Applejack, Pinkie Pie would gladly have accepted help had Twilight not said she ''knew'' Pinkie wouldn't be up to the job. That jump-started her pride and made her determined to do it herself. Though in terms of Pinkie's CharacterDevelopment that was probably for the better.
* There has been a lot of speculation about how Pumpkin Cake was able to levitate herself when Twilight, the ''Element of Magic'', couldn't do that in "Sonic Rainboom". Well...she probably ''could''. It seems to be a simple variation of the levitation spell that ALL unicorns use to move things; Pumpkin simply applied it to herself. Twilight could have levitated herself to Cloudsdale, she just didn't think of it!
** Adding to the above: Twilight was looking for ''flight'' spells; she didn't think of just levitating.
** And why didn't she think of something so simple? Because the levitation spell isn't ''supposed'' to be used on yourself. She's too logical to use a spell for anything but its intended purpose. And, of course, it wouldn't have solved the problem of how to get everypony else to Cloudsdale.
*** I wouldn't say she's "too logical" to use a spell like that. It's more because she knows how much power she has, and how easy it is for her to lose control of it. She'd rather take the time to do things the RIGHT way than try to light a cigarette with a flamethrower.
** There's also the simple fact that Pumpkin probably only weighs a fraction of what a full grown pony does. Levitating a full-grown pony for any amount of time would require much more effort, possibly pushing it into AwesomeButImpractical territory for Twilight and downright impossible for a lesser unicorn. In mechanical terms, Pumpkin's 'Power to Weight Ratio' is better than Twilight's, and that's why she can self levitate.
* This cold start of this episode explains how unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies are all able to bear children that are from one of the other races by having them somewhere in their family history (I think Mr. Cake mentions something about [[SixDegreesOfKevinBacon being separated by six steps]]) This helps explain what Scootaloo is doing in the classroom in "Family Appreciation Day," and why she's in Ponyville at all instead of Cloudsdale. One or both of her parents can't fly so she has to live [[IJustWantToBeNormal on the ground.]]
** It would also explain why she seems to be unable to fly.
*** And we ''might'' just have a canon explaination to pegasus Derpy's fanon daughter, unicorn Dinky.
* Another example from "Family Appreciation Day," and also a call-back to "Cutie-Mark Chronicles": Of course Applejack would have felt called home by a rainbow: it reminded her of the rainbow-colored zap-apple jam that is the trademark of Sweet Apple Acres.
* [[http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/234/809/7e2.jpg A somewhat senseful explanation of Pony Genetics]] that would ''not'' [[TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND give Psycho Mantis a concussion]]
* I was rewatching "Sisterhooves Social" and something occurred to me: it actually makes a lot of sense that Applejack and Apple Bloom would get along much better, and much more easily, than would Rarity and Sweetie Belle. It seems that Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big [=McIntosh=]'s parents have been out of the picture, presumably deceased, for most of Apple Bloom's life. Apple Bloom, therefore, has presumably largely been [[PromotionToParent raised by her siblings]]. Rarity and Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, were both raised by their parents, who are both very much alive. So with AJ and AB, their relationship is really more that of mother-daughter than sisters, whereas Rarity and Sweetie Belle have a more typical sibling relationship, with all the ordinary sibling rivalry that that entails.
** Another thing you have to consider when discussing these sibling relationships is the location. Yes, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were raised by both parents whereas Applejack and Big Macintosh basically raised Apple Bloom, but Apple Bloom also lives at Sweet Apple Acres with them and Sweetie Belle does not live with Rarity at the Carousel Boutique. Give or take a few years, it's very possible that Rarity has lived at the Boutique (NOT at her parent's house) since Sweetie Belle was still very small. Rarity didn't really have the same kind of constant interaction with Sweetie Belle that AJ had with AB because for most of Sweetie Belle's life Rarity did not live at the same house as her, and therefore not only did Rarity not really have the same chance AJ did to fully integrate Sweetie Belle as a "normal" part of her life before she left home, but AJ never left AB's home in the first place.
** As a counterpoint, however, anyone that's ever actually been a mother knows from experience that mother-daughter relationships have no greater guarantee of harmony than do sibling relationships.
* Fans have wanted Big Macintosh to have a larger role in the show pretty much since the beginning and in season two he starts getting a little more attention, but here's the thing: most of the stuff he gets to do is showing off his softer side, such as his love of Twilight's old Smarty Pants doll, helping his granny with the Sisterhooves Social, or crying ManlyTears when he finds out his sister won't be returning to Ponyville (and then tears of ''joy'' when she comes home) it's all well and good until you find out [[spoiler: a future episode will revolve around the CMC attempting to set him up with Cheerilee. They're showing us that he's just as sweet and sensitive as he is big and tough, pretty much the perfect boyfriend!]]
* The Last Round Up finally [[spoiler: has Derpy Hooves as a canon character with her own voice lines]] and if it weren't for her constant appearances, such as in Luna Eclipsed when she [[spoiler: bobs for apples and drains the tub, or has a costume of paper bags]] or any of her other similar appearances, there would be nothing to base her on. It would be like they introduced a character for very little reason, but in reality they brought a background pony to the front that everyone had known all along.
* Why is Derpy so clumsy? She has no depth perception due to her eyes facing different directions!
** That can't explain it. Predatory species, like lions, wolves, and, yes, human beings, have their (our) eyes close together at the front of their (our) faces, to give them (us) good depth perception, although this narrows our field of vision in exchange. Ponies, on the other hand, are herbivorous herd animals. As such, they have their eyes on opposite sides of their faces, to give them nearly a nearly 360 degree field of vision, so as to detect predators approaching from any direction, with the drawback that they have little or no depth perception. As such, Derpy's askew eyes cannot have cost her her depth perception, because she wouldn't have depth perception anyway.
*** Except that ''the ponies of this universe'' have somehow evolved that their eyes now fall ''between'' predator and herbivore angles, as the few UncannyValley head-on shots have shown. Being the dominant species may have had something to do with it.
**** Not so. You can look at a [[http://www.horse-diseases.com/_images/horsediseases.jpg real-life horse's face head-on, and see both of its eyes.]] The horse itself, however, still has little or no depth perception.
* Why didn't the town just raise the revenue through ordinary means, i.e., a new tax levy or a bond issue, to renovate the town hall? Because who would want to pay for such a needless extravagance when the town is [[JustTheFirstCitizen really governed from the library anyway]]?
* This is most likely to be unintentional but it's still brilliant: Derpy's formal introduction in an Applejack-centered episode is actually perfect because you know who else was a complete klutz and a silly pony? ''The original Applejack''.
* A possible indication of an OutOfOrder ep. How would Rainbow Dash know about Wild Bull Hickock and Calamity Mane? They're clearly not with the Wonderbolts - [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E16ReadItAndWeep did she read about them?]]
** Alternatively, they could just be celebrities on par with the Wonderbolts, since Applejack claimed she'd seen them during the rodeo.
* From Last Roundup: Of ''course'' Applejack didn't win any blue ribbons--look at how many events she competed in! Most of the ponies she went up against were probably only competing in one or two, so they were fresh--but Applejack competed in probably ''every event''--she would wear herself out just trying to get to them all in time, never mind the constant exertion!
** Add to that: This is a national competition. Most of the other ponies were professionals or else amateurs that do rodeo as a hobby, meaning they practice their events specifically and a lot. Applejack's athleticism comes from being a working pony, she doesn't practice regularly for specific rodeo events. Combined with running herself into the ground all day, coming in second and third for so many events is ''pretty damn impressive''.
*** One more thing - she entered into every single event, while others likely only went into one - their speciality, meaning that while she was the best overall, they were able to beat her in their specific events. Applejack is a Jack of all trades.
* One new little tidbit for "Luna Eclipsed" (yes, I know that's going back quite a ways here, but bear with me): Pipsqueak's accent. It's not that his VA was slipping up; Pipsqueak himself was slipping up, because the Britinsh accent was to go along with his pirate costume!
** It's also possible that his accent is changing because he's still really young and is slowly adopting a ponyville accent.
* It is absolutely amazing that Tabitha St.Germain thought that Derpy was male and gave her that particular voice. The whole character of Derpy was born from an "accident" of sorts, and that kind of detail makes it a perfect fit.
* The moral of the story in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" seems to be more directed towards the citizens of Ponyville, as they are at first ungrateful towards the Apple family for not having enough cider for everyone but finally realize the value of quality over quantity in the end.
* The fan-dubbed Dr.Whooves (Named for his David Tennant-esque hairstyle and hourglass cutie-mark) Is the official ''time''-keeper of the competition in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000." At a small stretch you could say that it's being acknowledged that the rules of time are his to control.
** ''And they WILL OBEY HIM!''
* Some fans have questioned why the Apple Family says they need to apple cider sales to get through the winter, when their Zap Apple jam is an amazingly big seller. Simple - the money from the zap apple jam went towards rebuilding the barn, after AppleJack asked Rainbow Dash to destroy it in Lesson Zero. Since the family didn't get the money they expected from AppleJacks cart at the Grand Galloping Gala, they had to put the money from the jam up for the rebuilding, meaning they'd need the Cider money to get by on.
** Another reason why Applejack was afraid she'd lose her farm was due to all the losses and damages accrued over the last season and recently. Between the parasprites eating the farm infrastructure, the failed attempt at making profits from the Gala, the building of another new side-barn, Spike stealing her crops, and the money they're clearly saving to get Granny Smith a new hip, they were desparate to get the profits from Cider Season to tide them over until the next major season.
* "Read it and Weep". Why would the first "DaringDo" book be the third on the shelf? Anachronic order. It's a little-known fact even today that ''IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' is placed chronologically ''before'' ''RaidersOfTheLostArk''.
* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in, and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
** That and the whole "I've always been a runner" or something like that.
* In a bit of a meta example, the CMC clearly learned and recited the lesson they learned at the end of "Hearts and Hooves Day," even though a letter was never actually written. That doesn't mean that Princess Celestia never heard it, however: after all, the CMC are telling their lesson to Cheerilee, who shares a voice actress with the Princess.
[[/folder]]
[[foldercontrol]]
!!'''FridgeBrilliance:'''
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - General]]
* The conflict of Luna's rebellion and Celestia's 'solution' gains much more credibility and seriousness when you consider the dark tone of Equestria implied a millennium ago. They had over-thrown a sadistic chaos god some-time before, and were just building their world around the ever-free forest (The ancient palace being encroached within it) before taking control of their own 'world'. They had no concept of 'fun' as we know it. Discord even states he forgot how 'grim' Celestia could be. So given the climate, it seems would've been a tough, no non-sense era. Think the Equestrian equivalent of the Dark Ages or the Inquisition, only with world-wide genocide and tyranny at risk via magical/chaotic deities.
** And that would put Equestria somewhere between modern times and the enlightenment/colonial era. They have trains and settlements, but also horses/carriages, and still in land-conflicts with Buffalo. Ignorance towards other cultures (Zecora) was wide-spread throughout a small-town. They have a 'mayor' but still a divine ruler by default. (Similar to how the 13 Colonies had leaders but the monarchy came first) And they seem like a primarily agricultural based society slowly making their headway towards industrialization.
* [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my-little-ponies_4520.jpg This image]], notice how Pinkie Pie is at the same height as Rainbow Dash, higher than the former can stand. Also notice that her front hoof is bend as if holding her over something, either Twilight's bangs have great holding power or Pinkie Pie is [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall hanging on the fourth wall.]]
** Or she's bouncing, because that's what Pinkie Pie does.
* It's stated right up front that Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun. As is pointed out elsewhere on this wiki, the sun continues to rise and set without Celestia actively controlling it. How is she managing it? Well, if you'll go to her Characters listing, you'll notice that the BishieSparkle trope is listed, pointing out that she does have a subtle sparkle about her at all times. '''The only time we ever see these sparkles is when there is magic in effect.'''[[hottip:*:Especially when it's twilight out. *ducks a thrown shoe*]] Celestia is using the latent magic in her body to control the sun passively while she goes about her normal business.
* We might as well put this here: The reason for Twilight Sparkle's Adorkable personality quirks? It's all but explicitly stated in the show's canon that she has mild Asperger's Syndrome. The show won't address this directly because many ''adults'' don't fully understand the disorder. The 15-20mins of total airtime each episode just isn't enough to explain the disorder in any satisfactory terms. So they just leave us with Twilight having an occasional "dork" moment for a chuckle.
** While the show manages to be plenty of things, being [[AVerySpecialEpisode equipped to explain real issues]] wouldn't be one of them. Consider the setting: A SugarBowl populated by magic candy-colored ponies. This wouldn't be the sort of show to explain issues such as mental disorders to children. So if that's what the writers are implying then they're definitely downplaying that aspect of her personality to just an occasional "dork" moment. Which in turn manages to be brilliant in itself since most portrayals of people with Aspergers on T.V tend to be a bit... [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]]. To the point where that's the whole person's personality. Twilight's symptoms wouldn't be too extreme since she's certainly intelligent enough and has received the best possible education of anyone in Equestria, she would have learned at least a few social skills with her time with The Princess.
* Applejack's name still fits the theme naming in the Apple family, despite not being any specific dish or breed of apple: Apple''jack'', as in jack-of-all-trades. She specializes in apples in general, as evidenced in her variety of different dishes she offered to Twilight in ''The Ticket Master''.
** Actually no it fits all to well considering her role as the main cider maker of the apple family in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy". Applejack is actually the name for a strong apple cider made by freeze distillation (the slang term for this type being "to jack something" hence the cider she's been giving to the ponies is actually hard alcoholic cider.
* At first it may seem that the only reason Equestria is so matriarchal (both rulers are female, as is the mayor of Ponyville, as were the three historical leaders including a commander who ruled over militaristic society) is because the show is targeted at girls, considering how in the real world most leaderships have always been so male-dominated (even today, when women are no longer discriminated) But those who are familiar with horses' herd behavior know that it's always the lead mare who is in charge, having the most authority and deciding where the herd will go, so it makes perfect sense that ponies would instinctively choose females for their leaders.
* The Elements of Harmony require a very powerful bond between the users to work at full power - for example, the bond of friendship between the Mane Cast, or the bond of siblings between Luna and Celestia. So, how could it work with Celestia on her own? Celestia used them to protect her little sister until she could be restored to normal. The bond was still there, despite NM's actions. Celestia was essentially saying to Luna, "I am so, ''so'' sorry about this, but I've ''got'' to stop you hurting yourself further. I'm doing this because I love you, and I will ''never'' forgive myself for what you're going to go through from now on." Awwww!
* I used to wonder why Spike's crush had to be Rarity, out of all the Mane Six. Then I realized that Spike's TrademarkFavoriteFood is gemstones, which happen to be Rarity's cutie mark. MrMediaGuy
* Fridge Brilliance regarding Spike's massive crush on Rarity; despite being a dragon, he was hatched and raised by a pony. ''He thinks like a pony.'' And with all the fairy tales in Twilight's collection...why, Rarity's like the princess from all those bedtime stories. Proof with "A Dog and Pony Show" where he pictures himself a brave knight knocking the ruffians into next week to rescue the pretty mare. Realizing that is what put me right in that shipper camp. {{Tropers/Allronix}}
* This troper was thinking about how the Mane Six represent the Elements of Harmony, but in-universe they often exhibit the opposite traits (Rarity coveting gems, Applejack lying to her friends, Rainbow Dash being selfish, etc.). At first this troper thought that this was contradictory, but then I remembered that the purpose of the Elements of Harmony was to maintain balance in Equestria. You can't have yin without yang. Take Rarity for example: she represents the element of Generosity, but at the same time she has a bit of a greedy streak when it comes to the finer things in life. But just as being super-greedy turned her into a crazy paranoid miser in "Return of Harmony", being super-generous would quickly leave Rarity completely out of business and with nothing left to give. With that said, it seems to this troper that Discord didn't completely change their personality- he just brought out their worst possible traits.
* This troper noticed another interesting thing about the Mane Six - when you pair each pony of the same type (unicorn, pegasus and earth pony), their personalities seem to be quite opposite to each other - which fits perfectly with the idea of them being harmonic.
** '''Twilight Sparkle - Rarity''': Twilight doesn't care in the least about her looks (she happily wears an unfinished dress made by Rarity, saying that it's simple and practical, like her, and she even dresses as a male wizard for Nightmare Night), whereas Rarity hates it whenever something messes up her appearance.
** '''Rainbow Dash - Fluttershy''': Rainbow Dash is a tomboy, extrovert and excellent flier, whereas Fluttershy is more girly, shy and more comfortable on the ground.
** '''Pinkie Pie - Applejack''': Pinkie Pie is a CloudCuckooLander, Applejack is sensible and down to earth.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - Season One]]
* The design of Twilight's cutie mark is somewhat vague, and we wouldn't really know it is a representation of magic until we are told about it. However, the mark is five small stars, surrounding a big pink one; the most powerful and important star on the mark. An exact representation of the Elements of Harmony, specifically, Magic, as it has to be unlocked by the other five. This also could be the reason that Celestia knew to take Twilight in, after seeing the mark, she knew what it meant, and she knew Twilight was destined to save Princess Luna.
* "On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid her escape." That prophecy wasn't about Nightmare Moon using the night sky to escape from the moon, it was about the Elements of Harmony, the "stars" of the show helping Luna escape from the Nightmare she'd trapped herself in.
* Twilight's name is the connection between (or even ''unification'' of) day and night. Of ''course'' she'd be the one to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring back Celestia and Luna together again!
* Luna's lack of screentime after her redemption may seem like a cop-out at first, but then one remembers that her descent into madness was caused by a lack of appreciation from other ponies- ''because she wasn't seen very often'' due to her portfolio. [[HereWeGoAgain We could assume the same thing is happening after her recovery]] except that WordOfGod on her S2 appearance means that Celestia will thankfully rectify this issue.
** Another possible explanation: She hasn't been around in a thousand years, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6982210/1/Progress so she probably has to adjust to all the changes.]]
*** Confirmed by Luna herself in "Luna Eclipsed".
** She also may have been waiting until Nightmare Night to make her official re-debut.
** Alternatively, Luna is not seen much because her domain is the night, while the Mane Cast is mostly active during the day.
* No one recognizes Nightmare Moon when she appears in the first episode even though the citizens of Ponyville celebrate Nightmare Night. Then you realize that they didn't recognize Nightmare Moon until Twilight referred to her by name. Holidays and related characters changing over the course of a thousand years isn't new, and they probably had a different idea of what Nightmare Moon looked like.
** It makes even more sense considering Princess Celestia has been ruling for the last thousand years and probably didn't like having her sister viewed as a monster and worked to change the holiday so it didn't involve images of Luna.
** That only works if you assume that the statue of Nightmare Moon was not part of the celebration until after her defeat.
** Or possibly they just didn't put two and two together until Twilight said it out loud. Nightmare Moon was an ancient legend, after all, not someone you'd expect to just suddenly pop up one day and claim rulership of the world.
** The statue is in the Everfree Forest, a place of taboo to ponies, and Zecora leads them to it: you know, the zebra which all the ponies in Ponyville were xenophobic towards until recently. That's probably why they'd never seen the statue before.
* Twilight Sparkle getting a floppy horn in "Bridle Gossip" makes even more sense once you notice that [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash taps Twilight on the horn immediately after flying through the Poison Joke.]]
* The parasprites are apparently native to the Everfree Forest, and they should be able to strip the forest of its entire food supply within a day. So why haven't they destroyed the forest yet? Because the Everfree Forest is home to some of the largest, nastiest predators know to ponykind- the Ursa Major can probably gulp down an entire swarm just by inhaling. This explains why Zecora has never seen one despite living in the same forest. This means, however, that all the parasprites that Applejack and Pinkie Pie sent into the forest are [[FridgeHorror going to die very, very, soon.]]
** However, based on the Princess' comments, it appears that the parasprites are now attacking [[IncrediblyLamePun Fillydelphia]], subtly implying that the 'sprites that they shoved into the forest are now... elsewhere.
** This is an example of TruthInTelevision. Many creatures that are, if not common, present in their native environment, will have population explosions when transplanted to new locales due to lack of predation or some other obstacle. Kudzu is a fantastic example of this. In Hawaii, wild pigs are also highly invasive and destructive.
* So... maybe the reason Pinkie wasn't afraid of the scary trees in the pilot was because her "spidey sense" wasn't indicating danger?
** Doesn't her "Pinkie Sense," only work on future events?
*** Well, I guess that COULD have been a future prediction in itself, but in spite of the weirdly specific nature of many of her Pinkie Senses, I'm not sure "the trees are gonna scare the crud out of my friends in a few moments" would have been amongst them.
*** "When my knee gets pinchy, it means something scary's about to happen!" No pinchy, no scary.
** Or she was the only one who noticed that the trees were completely inanimate.
*** ...Because the only way they could work was to frighten their targets out of their wits, making them incapable of stopping to observe or analyse, and that just didn't work on her.
*** An alternate explanation is TooDumbToFool.
* It's implied repeatedly that earth ponies are stronger and/or have more endurance than pegasi, in general. After the Running of the Leaves, when Twilight mentioned most of the contestants being worn out by the end of the race, the camera cuts to a trio of exhausted ponies... all three are pegasi. For all their mistakes and shameless copypasting, the background pony animators sometimes do something especially clever.
** Also in the Running of the Leaves, Pinkie Pie's announcements of "It's Applejack...it's Rainbow Dash!" seem to be out of sync with who's actually ahead. But, since Applejack and Rainbow Dash have unknowingly fallen behind the others, she's actually announcing who's behind.
* At first the effects of the "curse" in "Bridle Gossip" seemed rather random to me, but then I realized it was targeting each of the ponies' personal strengths: Twilight prides herself on her magical abilities, and her horn goes limp; Rarity takes pride in her appearance, and ends up with long, goofy-looking hair; Rainbow Dash, who enjoys her graceful flying abilities, becomes incredibly clumsy; Applejack prides herself on her physical strength and ability to take charge, and gets shrunk; the highly social Pinkie Pie is rendered unable to talk; and the gentle and soft-spoken Fluttershy is given a deep and somewhat intimidating voice.
** That's quite clever actually. This troper completely missed that.
** Actually-- and you have to look closely to notice it--- Rainbow Dash's wings were on upside down.
** It seemed to me like the effects of the "curse" were more oriented towards karmic revenge for what they had been doing in that episode. Twilight was dismissing the idea of supernaturals besides unicorn magic (even though she was right), Rarity criticized Zeroca's mane, Applejack was constantly dismissing her little sister (using the word "little" a LOT) and Pinkie Pie was implied to be the main source behind the gossip. The curse even prevents her from singing her xenophobic 'evil enchantress' song.
*** Twilight's horn went limp because that's where Rainbow first touched her after touching the flowers herself.
*** That doesn't quite hold up when it comes to Fluttershy however. And the Twilight part also doesn't work, especially since it seems to undermine its own argument.
*** The Fluttershy thing may seem off until you realize that this episode was shortly after "Dragonshy" where Fluttershy stands up to a powerful dragon and tells him to leave his cave. Now keep in mind that "Flutterguy" and the dragon she recently told to leave have the ''same voice'', and you realize that this might be a form of the dragon's revenge considering the fact that Fluttershy used ''her voice'' to make him concede defeat and leave Ponyville.
*** It could be based off of how Fluttershy said "I'll bet she's digging for innocent creatures" while they were hiding from Zecora. As punishment for spreading rumors, she got a loud, scary man-voice.
*** Alternately, it could be punishment for her standing up for her friends, but not for a stranger subjected to injustice.
* In "Suited for Success" one might look at the "second try" dresses and wonder, how can they look at that in a mirror and think it looks good? Then one remembers that they go around naked most of the time! It makes sense that they don't have any taste, since they don't have to exercise it on a daily basis.
* Why is Trixie's magic so useless off the stage? Is she just weak? Maybe, but there's another explanation, one which probably makes more sense. Every unicorn has their own special talent. Trixie's is most likely ''showmanship''
** It's probably more than that when you consider that Trixie is Twilight's ShadowArchetype and while Twilight is nice and has a lot of friends, Trixie is arrogant and has no friends. Now think about what Twilight learned in her battle against Nightmare Moon, and it all makes perfect sense: [[MeaningfulName Friendship Is Magic.]]
** Also, if you observe carefully, you'll notice that all Trixie ever did was turn her hecklers' talents against them. It's not entirely unfeasible that Trixie isn't very good at magic unless she has something to imitate. This is further reinforced when she tries to use the rope-charming trick and the storm-cloud thing against the Ursa Minor.
* Spike's attitude towards the Grand Galloping Gala in "The Ticket Master" is basically a stand-in for all of the peripheral demographic viewers. "I don't want any of that girly, frilly, frou-frou nonsense," he says, and giggles at being invited to the gala too. In other words, Lauren Faust gave all of us a cameo.
** This troper agrees, having encountered so many boys (and girls) who are reluctant to display any inclination towards things like "frilly frou frou" or "rough and tumble boys stuff" because they're afraid of being laughed at or teased, it's nice to see that Spike is both sympathising with this fear, and basically showing us it's okay anyway.
** Though one could say that moral was undercut slightly when, in "The Best Night Ever", Spike spent the entire gala hanging out in a donut shop rather than going to any of the events to which his ticket entitled him (which had both male ''and'' female ponies in attendance).
*** Wasn't he only hanging out there because his friends had abandoned him?
*** Yes. It wasn't that he didn't care for "girly gala" stuff, it was because he had no one to hang out with. Even the best events in the world can be no fun without your friends.
*** Indeed. Remember, while everyone else was thinking of things they could do for themselves, all Spike wanted to do was share his hometown with them like his favorite donut shop.
** The only problem with this theory is that the episode was written LONG before even the premiere aired, so they had no idea yet that the show would be embraced so firmly by a PeripheryDemographic.
*** Even so, one of the chief reasons the show was written in the style it is was so those forced to watch it by young girls who compose the primary demographic would be able to actually enjoy themselves. Spike's perspective on the Gala may not have been for the (yet-to-exist) bronies' sake, but certainly for that of the parents.
* Princess Luna armored herself with her jealousy and bitterness. When the Elements of Harmony broke through that armor, it showed what she really was inside... a lonely little girl who just wanted friends and to be loved as much as her big sister.
** Some FridgeHorror with that; her punishment was to be alone and forgotten for a thousand years, no wonder so many fans think Celestia is evil.
** Considering Nightmare Moon wanted to bring Eternal Night it might be a case of the lesser of 2 evils, but by the same token after the pilot and the entire moral she lets Twilight stay in Ponyville because she made friends but her own sister is never seen again...because she want to make friends...FlatWhat
** Princess Luna is going to be appearing in Season 2. Hopefully her absence from Season 1 will be explained, though some reasonable guesses could be made. It's possible Luna is spending Season 1 getting into the swing of things. 1000 years is a long time for customs, traditions, fashions, and other pieces of culture to change, and Luna is probably out of practice with her royal and mystic duties. That and she could be doing work to build positive PR so she doesn't scare the masses whenever she goes walking outside.
*** Although they tend to be outside of the show's scope, there are a ton of non-Ponyville places in Equestria. She's almost certainly living in the high culture city of Canterlot with her big sister. Celestia probably hangs out in Ponyville so much to oversee Twilight Sparkle's learning, but Luna doesn't have the same motivations.
*** ...should we be expecting to see an [[Fanfic/{{Progress}} abacus]]?
*** Considering that the Mane Six ''and'' to a lesser extent the citizens of Ponyville were about the only ones we know to have had to confront Nightmare Moon in person (possibly excepting Celestia, who we simply don't see at all between her mysterious dis- and later dramatic reappearance), it actually makes a degree of sense that Luna might have been less than eager to visit the place again anytime soon -- after the initial party was over and the realization what she had almost done had time to sink in, anyway. Staging her comeback on Nightmare Night of all the times she could have chosen, and with the ''stated'' purpose of changing the celebration's meaning to something less dark and scary at that, could then be easily read as her trying to make amends to the same ponies her 'evil' self was toying with the last time they met face to face...
* Fluttershy is appropriately named for two reasons. Obviously, she's a very shy pony. Less obviously, shying in equestrian terms (The sport, not the magical land) is the act of a horse jumping in fright, usually at a sudden movement or unfamiliar object, something that Fluttershy does quite often.
** You noticed the jargon-based BilingualBonus, but not the one right in front of everyone, and almost lampshaded by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage) Apple Jack]] being named Apple Teeny (Appletini). perhaps a subtle we got crap past the radar on both Hasbro and The show.
** Ironically, Fluttershy's name is actually a play on "shutterfly", a slang term for someone who likes to take photos. Her G3 persona ''was'' a shutterfly, but Lauren Faust changed her personality while keeping her name for the show.
** Also, "Fluttershy" sounds a suspicious lot like "Butterfly"...Wait, what is her Cutie Mark ? Butterflies.
*** GeniusBonus: According to some sources, the word "butterfly" may have came about as a misprint of the original word, "flutterby." Whatever Studio B's giving their staff to make them this clever, This Troper wants some of it.
* So why was Pinkie Pie announcing the Running Of The Leaves instead of participating in it directly? [[GameBreaker Because she can run faster than Rainbow Dash can fly, and if she was racing, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash wouldn't have stood a chance]] which would have made the rivalry between Applejack and Rainbow Dash completely obsolete.
** Alternatively, it's because Pinkie Pie is powered by RuleOfFunny and her winning would be too predictable to be funny so she can't even try.
* The ruined castle in the forest used to be the Princesses' home. Therefore the forest used to be as tame as Canterlot. All the roads must date to that period, and presumably led somewhere a thousand years ago, like ancient Roman roads today.
* In "Call of the Cutie", the pony the fandom knows as "Doctor Whoof" is an earth pony with the hour glass cutie mark, spiky hair and a mature man's voice. In "Sonic Rainboom", the same pony is featured, but he is now a pegasus and speaks in a much younger boy's voice. Isn't the real Doctor reincarnated over and over? Fridge Brilliance!
** And if we see Dr. Whoof as an Earth Pony again, that's hardly a barrier. He's just been time-traveling and pegasus!Whoof is from the future.
*** Or from the past. It's all a bit [[TimeyWimeyBall Wibbly.]]
** Perhaps when he's wingless, it's because he's recently regenerated and his wings haven't grown back yet.
* In "The Show Stoppers", the Cutie Mark Crusaders are shown ComicallyMissingThePoint about finding their Cutie Marks by sticking to what they know and like already. Instead they keep focusing on trying different things in their search for their talents and ignoring their natural gifts. Why? Because the kids don't consider those things to ''be'' their talents. None of them regard their gifts as anything special or noteworthy because, while they know it's not the case intellectually, they regard their real talents in a "IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat" sense. They don't realize their building / singing / athleticism are their special talents.
* In "The Show Stoppers", Apple Bloom fixes up Applejack's broken-down tree house all by herself, no problem. So where was that talent when she and her friends were fixing Fluttershy's table in "Stare Master"? It makes a little more sense when you consider that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo don't share Apple Bloom's talent (especially not Sweetie Belle), and Scootaloo was apparently working at cross-purposes with the other two ("We were making a table?"), which lead to a classic "too many cooks spoil the broth" situation.
** Moreover, "too many cooks" seems to be tripping them up even worse as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They do EVERYTHING together, and the result is always a disaster.
** They didn't realize that was their special talent. They do it all the time, and are used to it, so they don't realize they're good at it. Just as Peppermint Twist was making candy for the longest time, she didn't realize it was her special talent until a bit later and she got her mark.
** If the other Applejack family members have Apple-based cutie marks, and Apple Bloom's talent is hinted to be craftsmanship, what does that have to do with apples-- oh. ''Wood''.
** Also, look at Apple Bloom's face when her friends say who wants a picture of a hammer on their flank. She looks like a mix between terrified and upset.
*** Yeah, children around that age are very changable in their desires. They can want to be a fireman one week and an artist the next, and enjoy and try a lot of stuff which probably wouldn't have turned out to be my cutie mark had such things applied in real life. Nobody necessarily has just one talent in life, either.
** This makes sense - Twist mentions that she made those peppermint candies a lot, but it was only when she realized it was her special talent that she got her cutie mark.
* In a bit of FridgeBrilliance Pinkie Pie claims that she won't play a prank on Fluttershy because she's too sensitive and might take it the wrong way. However, it's often implied that Pinkie is well aware of the FourthWall, and [[TalkingToHimself she and Fluttershy share a voice actress.]]
* Of course Rarity's "whining" was painful to the Diamond Dogs, with their canine sense of hearing.
* A bit of FridgeBrilliance, I didn't think much about the choice of making Gilda a griffon, until I remembered that in mythology griffons are the mortal enemies of horses.
** There's some FridgeHorror here too, since according to medieval lore, griffins mated for life and would never seek a new mate if the old one died, and may even refuse to eat and simply starve to death. This makes the LoveTriangle interpretation of that episode a lot more tragic.
* Pinkie Pie's insistence on keeping secrets. It actually makes a lot of sense when you realize that not keeping them defeats the purpose of throwing surprise parties.
** I thought it had more to do with [[JustForPun "pinky swears".]]
** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation One interpretation of Pinkie Pie's character]] is that she was around for Discord's reign (which is why she grew up on a rock farm), and the reason she's so strange is because ''Discord made her weird'' to cause distress to her family (making her immortal as well, which is also a terrible fate for a pony like Pinkie Pie). What does all this have to do with her focus on keeping secrets? Well, imagine the reactions of a town if they learn through her friends that she was touched by the imbodiment of chaos.
* Being a fan of Fluttershy, I've felt through the series that she's gotten the short end of the stick, getting comparatively little focus compared to the other main characters. But then, she probably wouldn't ''want'' so much attention anyway.
* As noticed on the YourMilageMayVary page, Spike doesn't seem to react when Rarity talks about meeting her dream man at the ball, but it actually makes perfect sense: Spike planned on being that guy, but not wanting Rarity to know he liked her, he didn't say anything so she(or any of the other ponies) would catch on, especially if he acted upset about Rarity possibly finding someone else.
** An alternative theory: Spike being a member of the highest circles in Canterlot (or at least permanently attached to the flank of one who was), he could easily have known Prince Blueblood. Five minutes in his company would probably be enough to dismiss him as a future rival.
*** Another possibility is that Spike heard about him at the donut bar. Though Spike and Twilight were both there when Rarity fantasized about meeting him, but didn't say anything.
*** Or this could be a case of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, and Spike leaving Rarity to her own affairs.
* Prince Blueblood is by himself such that a newcomer like Rarity was able to easily approach him and accompany him without constantly getting mobbed like with the Wonderbolts. That's because those who already know him ''can't stand being around him.''
* Okay, so we have the five of the six Elements of Harmony: honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty, with the sixth being... magic? Each of the others seems to have a sort of sentimental value to them, but magic seems out of place. Then you remember what the title of the show is: Friendship is Magic. So the sixth element can be interchangeably called either magic or friendship, or even the magic of friendship.
** Well, it could also be an alternate name for chemistry between friends that children would understand, because friendship does require that you get along together as well.
** This especially makes sense with The Return of Harmony Part 2. Twilight doesn't fall to Discord's corruption [[spoiler:until she stops seeing the others as her friends]]. If her Element truly was just magic on its own, she would have fallen the moment Discord took away her horn.
* The siblings Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, from oldest to youngest, are respectively red, orange, and yellow, all three "warm" colors in order. They also have all three possible combinations of those colors--Big Macintosh has a red coat and orange mane, Applejack has an orange coat and yellow mane, and Apple Bloom has a yellow coat and red mane.
** That's just good colour theory on the mane and body colours.
** Also, the colors get darker with their position, Apple Bloom being lightest and Big Macintosh being the darkest.
* In "Green Isn't Your Colour", Rarity seems to keep her cucumbers on her eyes much longer than it would seem required and literally emoted through them. Then you realize that this was foreshadowing her "green eyed monster" feelings that she was going to get later in the episode.
* Why does Applejack come down so hard on Rarity's nitpicking and high-class behavior in "Look Before you Sleep"? Because Rarity reminds Applejack of her snobby relatives in Manehatten and the social exclusion she felt there as revealed in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".
** From the same episode, Applejack came to Mane-hattan to try the city life with her orange themed relatives, only to find that it's just not her and returns to the apple ranch. In a sense, you could say that she was trying to compare [[JustForPun apples and oranges!]]
** In a similar vein, why does Applejack get so nervous about eating dishes in the proper order at Celestia's party in "A Bird in the Hoof"? Because she remembers enough of her Manehattan etiquette to know that there's a correct order, and she remembers the exclusion she felt when she didn't fit into their society properly... but it was so long ago that she can't actually remember what she's meant to do.
* Everyone in Applejack's family has an apple-related name, but I always wondered about Big Macintosh. Then I saw his Cutie Mark, an apple with a piece missing, and it all fell into place. For those of you who are even denser than me, it's a reference to Macintosh computers, which are manufactured by the company Apple, and have an apple with a bite missing as their logo.
** That's true but there is an actual type of apple called [=McIntosh=] Red. Which is why Apple Computers came out with a line called Macintosh.
** A closer look shows you his mark isn't a full apple, but the interior of one. Apple Corps (pronounced as "apple core") was the name of the company founded by The Beatles. Many of the records pressed by Apple Records featured a full apple on the A-side and an open apple on the B-side.
** Also, if any of you were wondering what relation Granny Smith has with the Apple motif, green apples come from a seed type called "Granny Smith", named after its main promoter, Maria Ann Smith.
* Ever notice the colors of Celestia's mane are pink, purple, and blue? Colors frequently associated with the sky at sunrise?
** I've seen some people say that it's supposed to be an aurora borealis, which is associated with ''solar'' wind. This also explains why it's constantly [[DramaticWind flowing like it's being blown.]]
** Also, the particular shade of blue in her mane? It's also called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeste_%28colour%29 Celeste.]] Hello, StealthPun!
* In ''Party of One'', when Pinkie Pie starts to believe her friends have abandoned and she sinks into depression, her mane flattens and her color goes drab, reverting back to her look prior to gaining her Cutie Mark. Without a Party, there is no Pinkie Pie; just Pinkamena Diane Pie.
** Note that when this happens she (particularly her mane and tail) deflates and inflates like a '''balloon''' (complete with sound effects).
* Also in ''Party of One'' Spike admits to using all the hot water in Ponyville to take a long bath. At first this would seem like an over-exaggeration for the sake of a joke (''all'' the hot water for an entire ''town''?) until you remember that Spike is a fire-breathing dragon, and dragons both like and ''need'' a lot of heat.
* If you take your time out of the entire Pinkie pie meltdown, the entire episode is very caricature-like and it's not just Pinkie. Twilight tiptoeing around in broad daylight with accompanying sound effects; Rainbow dash drawing a watch in her leg ''right in front of Pinkie'' and making excuses to leave with a straight face; Applejack closing the barn door in Pinkie face and the poorly done construction noises; Pinkie sitting on Rainbow Dash's head, squishing it flat into the floor ... it seems pretty out of context. Then you realize that in every episode revolving around Pinkie or ones in which she played a large part ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]), the entire universe starts incorporating the laws of the LooneyTunes universe in a very meta way.
** Or, in equally fridge brilliance, we're seeing the world through Pinkie's eyes (in third person... somehow...) and seeing how she interpreted actual events in an UnreliableNarrator sort of way, just painted across the fourth wall. As she began to suspect her friends, she "imagined," for lack of a better word, them acting more and more decietful, and when she held her own party the inanimate objects started off just that until in Pinkie's mind, at least, they became real until Dash turn up and fractured the self-illusion.
* Twilight mentions that Spike's breath ''always'' stinks, but how good ''would'' your breath be if you ate gemstones and breathed fire?
** Hence the term "Dragon Breath".
** I disagree. Gemstones are generally odorless, and, fire, or rather the accompanying smoke, often has a pleasant aroma.
*** But when you burn gems in a fire hot enough to break them down they usually release nasty odors from the various compounds they're composed of. In many myths Dragons must ingest gems in order to fuel their fire, so his breath would always smell like dirty furnace.
* As well in ''Party of One'', this troper spent a good while wondering why Pinkie Pie takes longer to trust Applejack's excuses compared to the other ponies. But then, Applejack is the wielder of the Element of Honesty. She is not just the most likely to get caught first, but it's also hard for her to make excuses.
* How is it that Luna, the younger and presumably weaker sister, was able to easily overpower Celestia not just once, but twice? I though that was strange... until I remembered that [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot the moon can block the sun]].
** But it only blocks it on a tiny portion of the Earth. If the entire energy output of the sun was focused on the moon, it would be enough to disassemble it in a little over five minutes. That's shorter than the time it takes for the light to get to the moon. Granted, it won't be near perfect efficiency, but still.
** Celestia let herself be captured. I'm serious. Celestia knew that Nightmare Moon was about to break free from her banishment, re-banishing her would just start the whole thing over again and would ''not'' heal her sister. Presumably she cannot wield the Elements of Harmony herself since it's shown that you need one representative of each Element to wield them effectively. Standing alone against a threat is a poor way to utilize ThePowerOfFriendship after all. So then her prize pupil finds the prophesy of Nightmare Moon's return. Said pupil has the greatest magical potential, talent and skill of her generation but is very poorly socialized, and is shown to have pretty much alienated everyone in Canterlot but Celestia and Spike. So Celestia ships her off to Ponyville where she can make a fresh start, complete with an official job that will force her to be in contact with other ponies. Celestia knows that Twilight is smart enough to figure out what needs to happen, and she knows the strength of [[FireForgedFriends Fire Forged Friendships]]. All she needs to do is sit back and let Nightmare Moon have her way for a little while, since she can always banish Nightmare Moon back to the moon if the plan fails.
* Read [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ this]], especially the third paragraph about conflict being resolved by sharing. Then watch "Over a Barrel", specifically Pinkie Pie's song. It's basically a giant TakeThat against that idea.
** Except the conflict is, in the end, resolved ''by sharing''. So Pinkie was right all along! She was just a bit annoying about the idea... kinda like the previous MLP cartoons, I suppose.
*** Well that's basically it, isn't it? I mean when you get down to it the childish morals that pop up in most kids cartoons (don't be greedy, don't judge somebody by their looks, don't be ill mannered about generous gifts, etc) are all pretty solid. Even adults know this. The problem most kids shows have is that they're so TastesLikeDiabetes about it, and don't respect the fact that the real world is more complicated than the ideals. Lauren Faust ''knows'' that, can poke fun at it, and respects that characters with flaws are more relatable, and believable than the sugar-sweet expies of characters, whose 'adventures' in no way solve the problems of little girls today. Sharing with the nasty Diamond Tiara-esque people they encounter at school isn't going to necessarily make them nice straight away, and being open minded isn't going to automatically solve the prejudices they encounter around them. Basically, we trusted the ending of Over a Barrell more after Pinkie's song was terrible and everyone missed the point, because it demonstrated that we know it's not as simple as singing a pretty song to fix everyone's problems, but the solution itself is still there IN the song. Essentially, the show doesn't treat small girls like naive idiots.
* So, Applejack thought she would be earning enough at the Gala to pay for Granny Smith's hip replacement. That's probably a lot of money, considering she hadn't been able to save enough to pay for it throughout the months that have passed during the first season. Applejack must have brought a lot of merchandise with her if she thinks she could make that much money. But then it all gets destroyed! She ''lost'' merchandise worth ''that much money'' at the gala! Why does she still describe it as the best night ever? Then I realized she probably didn't bring that much stuff and just jacked the prices up ridiculously high.
** Which makes sense, given the markups at concession stands. A 20-oz bottle of Coke will run you maybe $1.50 at a grocery store, but $4.00 or more at an amusement park. Applejack figured she'd have a captive audience that would need to eat sooner or later; she didn't count on there being a free buffet.
* When Rainbow Dash does her first Sonic Rainboom, it makes the main cast find out who they truly are and define themselves, in ways they possibly might have not found out otherwise. The show's main point is to teach to be who you truly are, with the characters having those specific personalities. So Pinkie Pie's conclusion on that being how Equestria (as we know it) was made [[TheCloudCuckooLanderWasRight is right in an strange half-meta way]].
** That and they saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon.
** Related to this...you know how happy and excited filly Pinkie was when she saw the rainbow? Well, that seemed more excited than she was to see Twilight for the first time in the first episode. So why did she claim she had never been that excited before? Because it was the first episode--making that statement also right in an odd way.
** It is probably more of an expression than the strict truth. You might get into a fight with you boss of girlfriend and state "I have never been so angry" or after a long day "I have never been so tired" It isn't the literal truth, but an exaggeration to highlight the intensity, basically meaning "very Angry" or "very tired", or in Pinkie's case "very excited"
** Another interpretation to Pinkie Pie's bizarre non-sequitur is that she really ''did'' give the Cutie Mark Crusaders her own bizarre version of how Equestria was made but the naration just cut to Pinkie Pie's ''actual'' cutie mark origin story so that audience gets something that makes more sense in context. Then once it's done, cuts back to Pinkie concluding her own very confusing tale.
* In The ''Cutie Mark Chronicles'', Fluttershy is a bit taller than all of the other main ponies at the time of the Sonic Rainboom. Why? As she said to Pinkie Pie in ''Griffon the Brush-Off'', "I'm a year older than you..."
** Also from that episode, for those who've seen ''Feeling Pinkie Keen'', you might've wondered why Pinkie's "Pinkie Sense" didn't kick in prior to the [[spoiler: sonic rainboom]]. Well, consider the fact that Twilight was able to pass her entrance exam the same day [[spoiler: due to the rainboom throwing her magic into high gear]]. In that sense, that ended up working for Twilight in the same vein as [[{{Spiderman}} the radioactive spider for Peter Parker]]. So, maybe that also caused Pinkie's young brain to be all scrambled and give her that "Pinkie Sense" of hers. It would also explain how she ended up with [[CloudCuckooLander her current personality]]...
* Rarity is able to make dozens of ''perfectly tailored'' dresses in a single night, with nothing more than a sewing machine, a few dress forms, and gentle telekinesis for the tricky bits. But she has a big advantage over human dressmakers: almost every pony in Equestria has the same body model!
* In "Boast Busters", Spike tries to attract Rarity by wearing a mustache, and is depressed that it doesn't work at the end of the episode. This makes perfect sense when you remember what happened to Rarity [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony the last time she encountered a purple reptile with a mustache.]]
* Celestia having a phoenix is rather appropriate - considering that they're ''associated with the sun.''
** Not to mention the fact that a phoenix is reborn over and over again, so that would be the perfect companion for someone who's lived for over 1000 years.
* It's been noted that all of the mane cast have had SanitySlippage moments. What isn't noticed is that they all have one thing in common: they occur when a pony's talent with their special skill comes into question. Applejack worked herself to the breaking point because she thought her ability to run Sweet Apple Acres was under fire, Twilight Sparkle started to crack when her magical power backfired, Rarity was depressed when clothes she made were seen as ugly, Rainbow Dash became terrified that she wasn't a good enough flier, Pinkie Pie nearly lost it when she thought her parties didn't make people happy anymore, and Fluttershy flipped out when she encountered animals she couldn't befriend.
** [[http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/h6muu/all_the_ponies_in_this_town_are_crazy/ Reddit]] refers to it as Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome, or CMFIS for short.
** You left out Luna; she turned evil when the night, which she brought, went unappreciated.
** Fluttershy's emotional explosion at the Gala could be seen as a miniature version of what happened to Luna aka Nightmare Moon. To quote the fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6854699/5/Merely_a_Mare "Merely a Mare"]],
-->'"What would you do if you wanted to show your affection for some creatures, to guide them and provide for them, to play with them and enjoy their company, and they shunned you? Fled from your domain and presence? Rejected your gifts and spurned your love? How well would you take it?"'
** There's also a theme in how each pony snaps during those scenes. When a pony cracks, her personality becomes the opposite of her typical demeanor. Applejack changed from dependable to completely unreliable. Twilight Sparkle is usually logical, but came up with a nonsense plan that had no basis in reality. Rarity is normally gregarious, wanting admiration from others, but became reclusive to the point of considering self-imposed exile. Rainbow Dash is brash and determined, but began literally cowering and quivering in doubt. Pinkie Pie personifies pep, but turned gloomy and cantankerous. And Fluttershy, who is normally very reserved, became explosively expressive.
** Rarity also had a more subtle one is Sonic RainBoom. She usually puts helping others above all else, but ended up completely self-centered, ignoring Rainbow Dash in favor of an absurd amount of narcissism. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking She also made an incredible tacky outfit.]]
*** So far Season 2 supports this, with Twilight going bonkers again when she felt she was being a bad student. Remember, she got her cutie mark at the same time Celestia took her on as a student.
*** This suggests Luna's normal personality will be soft-spoken and approachable.
*** Sort of. She's a bit of a royal loudmouth in Luna Eclipsed, and she's hardly "approachable" when she announces everything so loudly that her booming voice can create gusts of wind and she insists upon referring to herself in the plural. But it turns out this only because she has no idea how to deal with the Ponyville residents in modern times.
*** It was the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!
* Celestia knows that Twilight has five new close friends; she met them after they saved Equestria, and told Twilight to stay in Ponyville specifically to study friendship with them. So why does she send Twilight only two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala? Well, given her tendency towards [[BatmanGambit Batman gambits]] elsewhere, perhaps it's to test how loyal Twilight is to her new friends.
** Either that or Celestia is a {{troll}} and just wanted to mess with Twilight. The loyalty test is just a cover in case she's ever caught.
** Perhaps she figured Twilight would bring a date.
*** After reading down below in Fridge Horror (about Celestia being on the same party for 10 centuries), it explained a lot more to me. 1. She didn't invite Twilight Sparkle before because she wasn't old enough to properly enjoy it. Kids get really bored at those kind of parties and Celestia didn't want her star pupil to have a bad time. 2a. She sent only two tickets because, in her mindset, GGG isn't all that big of a deal and it never occurred to her that mortal, young ponies would ever want to go there. 2b. She expected Twilight to take either a date or Spike, since she doubted Twilight could find a suitable date anyway. Common courtesy dictates that you always give two tickets when inviting someone to an event. 3. Notice how glad Celestia was when she saw Twilight? For all we saw, Twilight was the closest person to her (other then Luna, but she's a different story) and her company was the best part of the entire evening. After all, even the most boring party (the one you experienced 10 thousand times already) can be best night ever if shared with a friend.
** Because Celestia just put Twi's name on the list of invitees. The invitation was a form letter. It started "Hear ye, hear ye", not "My most faithful student", and referred to Celestia in the third person.
*** Exactly. From what I'm aware of most fancy-shmancy get-togethers, you generally are allowed to bring yourself and one guest. This also explains why Twilight didn't ask for more tickets, because "me and a guest" is the norm.
** Put yourself in Celestia's Shoes. Would you expect the introverted Fluttershy to want to socialize with several strangers? Would you expect Applejack to do anything that involved wearing a fancy dress? Would you expect Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash to want to go to an event that involves just standing around and talking all night? No. Would you expect Rarity to want to go to a high society event and insinuate herself with some of the most important ponies in Equestria? Oh so very much. So really, you only need to send one extra ticket for Rarity, since the other's don't want to go. - {{Stinkoman87}} (reposted from guess on the WMG page)
* Banishment, and then being imprisoned in the place you were banished to? What a crazy idea! Except that's exactly what happened to Nightmare Moon...
* For those who saw Photo Finish's cutie mark, you might be wondering why it's exactly the same as Twilight Sparkle, who earned hers through a powerful display of magic (while Finish herself has no powers at all.) Remember her occupation? Her job is basically to bring out the magic in her fashion shows. Or, as she puts it....
---> '''Photo Finish:''' ZE MAGICKS!!
** Photo Finish is a fashion ''photographer''. Her cutie mark, while similar to Twilight's, also resembles the flash of a camera bulb.
* In her song to Apple Bloom, Pinkie Pie mentions to add things that are sweet, not sour. Why? Applejack's muffins had lemon juice in them, which is one of the things that made everypony who ate them sick. Given how traumatized Pinkie was about that, it only makes sense that it would be prominently on her mind when Applejack's sister is in her kitchen!
---> '''Pinkie Pie:''' Not baked goods....baked ''BAAAAADS....''
* Why did the animals run from Fluttershy at the gala? It wasn't because they were scared of her, it was because it was night time, and they were trying to get to sleep. Fluttershy forgot that a lot of the animals there weren't nocturnal in her excitement, and the animals ran away upon realising Fluttershy probaly wouldn't let them get to sleep. Likewise, one could make the argument that Fluttershy had never stayed up so late before, and the lack of sleep took it's toll after she exhausted herself chasing after the animals for a couple of hours.
** This would fit with everypony seemingly thinking the GGG was going to be during the day in "The Ticket Master".
** Consider, also, that Fluttershy deals with animals 'in Ponyville' in a regular basis. Consider that animals rely a good deal on scent to identify friend from foe, the animals would not recognize Fluttershy as a friend because they would not recognize her scent. Try getting near a dog or cat, and it will sniff you first before deciding whether or not it likes you.
** She may have been in heat. Anyone who deals with horses/ponies irl knows (or at least probably has heard) that even very sweet mares can get uncharacteristically cranky when they're in heat.
*** Which puts the "You're going to LOVE ME!" in a [[{{Squick}} WHOLE]] new light...
* I thought it was weird that nopony had assigned Twilight a job in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]". I later realized that this was a symptom of Ponyville's poor organization of the event.
** This troper's interpretation of it was that Ponyville's population has very few unicorns (only Rarity?) prior to Twilight coming in town. They probably don't know what she can do to help. And thus don't give her a job. Even then, they probably hold a distaste for using magic to complete a task that can be done with physical labor, seeing as most of them are earth ponies. The Winter Wrap-Up seems like a community task, not meant to be efficient, moreso to bring everypony together so they can bond through working hard and co-operation. Few ponies have magic, so you'd be working alone by using it, and thus not participating in the community bonding. Though back on the main subject, they probably just neglected to give Twilight a task because she's still new to town. Perhaps they don't actually see her as a member of Ponyville yet.
*** I'd have to shoot down the 'rare unicorn' theory. Enough hang around in the background shots (although debatably Lyra moved in from Canterlot later).
** Another little bit. Remember when Twilight's snowplow goes out of control and she ends up cutting off about five or six other plowers? Imagine what would have happened had she not done that. All of those other ponies were heading ''at each other''. Who planned their routes?[[hottip:*:Which is also another example of their lack of organization.]]
*** [[CompletelyMissingThePoint ...Nopony?]]
* Aside from the Aesop of the Week, there is another life lesson for kids in "Winter Wrap-Up:" the pony who ends up in charge is the one who isn't qualified to do any of the actual jobs.
** She's the only pony ever to ''try'' all of the jobs. That's what qualifies her to understand how all the jobs relate to each other.
** It is an ''exact'' demonstration of ScottAdams' ''Dilbert Principle''. Because she failed disastrously at ''every'' job, Twilight eventually landed in the ''one spot'' where she could do the least damage: management.
* In the pilot, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom are seen cowering together from Nightmare Moon, even though they don't meet until much later in the series. Animation goof? Nope: [[ThePowerOfFriendship "Every pony everywhere has a special magical connection with her friends, maybe even before she's met them."]]
* During the pilot's opening and telling of the CreationMyth, you see Luna and Celestia being portrayed as being blue and pink, respectively. But when we actually see Celestia, she's rather rainbow. But of course, it's perfectly possible that, after Luna's banishment, Celestia changed her colors to reflect her new role as sole leader (possibly with a name change as well). So, perhaps the [[{{Chickification}} chickified]] and pink version of her toy is just a glance into the past!
** The toy has a pink body and aurora mane, not a white body and pink mane.
*** It could be a middle point between the timeframe of the CreationMyth and the rest of the series, then.
* When Fluttershy tries to sleep on her living room couch in "Stare Master", we see that its back is higher at one end than the other. It's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_couch fainting couch]], which makes sense because we know Fluttershy is prone to fainting.
** Okay, so how did she GET that couch? As pointed out in examples relating to "Suited For Success," she's best friends with Rarity, who also faints as part of her "Drama Queen" persona. Rarity would understand the value of having a fainting couch, and she ''is'' the Element of Generosity...
* It's hilarious enough that Pinkie Pie is the one singing Equestria Girls, which is a parody of Katy Perry's California Gurls. But when you remember that the original music video takes place in Candyland, you realize that Pinkie Pie was THE PERFECT CHOICE.
** She also seems to be singing to the viewers (even using the word [[FanCommunityNickname "bronies"]]), which makes sense as well since she is known to break the fourth wall.
* There's a number of things that make Twilight Sparkle stand out from her friends in Ponyville. She was [[CityMouse born and raised in the big city of Canterlot]], while most of the other ponies are either native to Ponyville (Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie) or have lived there a while (Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy). More subtly, her coat and mane are darker colors than the brightly-colored Ponyvillers, and her name is [[OddNameOut the only one out of the main six with four syllables instead of three]].
** Rainbow Dash is probably also native to Ponyville. Applejack's and Pinkie's perspectives agree that she flew directly to Ponyville after getting her cutie mark, before she even decelerated below Mach 1... perhaps because she wanted to show her parents?
*** It's stated, by Scootaloo, in Cutie Mark Chronicles that Rainbow Dash is from Cloudsdale. She probably wasn't paying attention to where she was going after the Sonic Rainboom, caught up in the adrenaline rush of flying so fast. Also the show seems to imply that Cloudsdale is somewhere near Ponyville.
*** Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders follow the RuleOfThree in multiple ways. Aside from being a trio of three different types of ponies (an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn), they also all have three syllables in their names. (A-pple Bloom, Scoo-ta-loo, and Swee-tie Belle)
** Additionally, her cutie mark is the only one that does not have a three part pattern (though Rainbow Dash may also seem like an exception at first, the rainbow lighting bolt is comprised of blue, yellow, and red, the three primary colors).
*** [[http://images.wikia.com/mylittleponyhub/images/3/37/Twilightsparkle.jpg Her cutie mark is 3 parts: white star, purple star ontop, surrounded by white stars]]
*** In fact the only other main character with a four syllable name is Ce-les-ti-a, not even Nightmare Moon and Luna have it.
*** Where does that leave Pin-ka-me-na Di-ane Pie?
*** She grew up in an even more rural area (re. "Cutie Mark Chronicles"), we can assume that their custom is ''middle'' names.
* Once you realize that male ponies have angular muzzles while female ponies have rounded ones, it is much easier to tell the genders apart.
** Or, better yet, Male characters, not just ponies, don't have eyelashes whereas, female characters do.
*** What about Owlowiscious?
*** Whoo?
* We're introduced to Cheerilee's g4 counterpart in episode 12 Call of the Cutie. And what is the first thing she does-- tell a story.
** You might want to explain this one a bit... did G-whatever Cheerilee tell stories a lot?
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWtE74LA-U&feature=related "I hope we hear a story from Cherilee!"]]
* It may come off as a bit of MoodWhiplash in "Best Night Ever" when the ponies are forced to go through hours of trouble after singing a cheery collective IWantSong suited for a finale. Unless of course, you recognize the tune of "At the Gala" as being similar to "Ever After" from ''IntoTheWoods'', where the heroes sing of their hopes for a HappilyEverAfter, only to be met with a DarkerAndEdgier second arc. Someone in the writing staff was a musical buff.
** Similarly with "Art of the Dress", the second half/version of the song where Rarity sings about her customers fussiness matches the cynical tone of the song it's based on, "Putting it Together".
* As of Cutie Mark Chronicles, we know what it's supposed to look like when Celestia raises the sun. Now go back to episode 2. Celestia descends from the sun in a ball of light, which is NOT a normal part of the sun-raising. Clearly, Nightmare Moon trapped her in the sun, just as she had been imprisoned in the moon!
* It was Rainbow Dash's ''friendship'' with Fluttershy that caused her to race to defend her honor, leading to her first Sonic Rainboom, leading to Twilight Sparkle being taken in as Celestia's student, leading to Twilight learning about Nightmare Moon and being sent to Ponyville by Celestia, leading to the mane cast saving Equestria.
** This is taken UpToEleven when you realize that Rainbow Dash's friendship causing the Sonic Rainboom also caused Twilight to get her Cutie Mark, and discover her potential and talent for magic, which is proof of what Princess Celestia is trying to teach Twilight in the first place, which is that [[MeaningfulName friendship is magic.]]
* Why is it that the remainder of the mane 6 witnessed the Sonic Rainboom in the same-named episode, but didn't make the connection to themselves until the present-day segment of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"? Because each pony only noticed the sonic boom (Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy) or the rainbow (Pinkie Pie and Applejack) but ''never both at once''. Because ''light travels faster than sound.''
* This troper always felt that Twilight Sparkle simply ''levitating'' the magic school teachers was a bit of a copout after turning her parents into plants and Spike into a full-grown dragon, but then it occured to me - this way, they're still in a condition to ''bear witness to the events and grade her accordingly.'' Otherwise Princess Celestia might have been treading on some thin ice and red tape in trying to get Twilight Sparkle enrolled regardless.
** Also Twilight had no control over her powers in that instant, so her magic school teachers probably just got lucky.
** Keep in mind that these are teachers at a ''school of magic'', most likely pretty powerful magic-users themselves. That they were unable to counter Twilight's magic shows how powerful she is.
*** To build onto the above point: they were employed by '''Princess Celestia's''' School for '''Gifted''' Unicorns. This is a school full of young unicorns with a lot of raw power and/or talent, but not a lot of experience and/or control over it. Attacks of PowerIncontinence happen all the time, so thus the school would have countermeasures in place to protect the school's staff and students. Twilight being able to levitate her proctors at all meant she was ''bypassing some of the most powerful defensive magic available to unicorns, '''as a young filly with next to no experience at all.'''''
* The Mane Cast all earned their cutie marks after various moments of epiphany. However, all these moments had more to do with inner character than one specific talent -- Applejack's love for home and family, Fluttershy's need to nurture and ''be'' needed, Rarity's drive to bring out "spectacular" beauty, Twilight's love for magic and knowledge in general, Pinkie Pie's need to bring happiness to others, and Rainbow Dash's competitiveness. The Cutie Mark Crusaders aren't without marks because they don't recognize their talents; to a certain extent, they probably do. It's just that there's much, much more to it.
** Also, you have to consider the fact that Sweetie Belle already knows she has musical talent, but decides to avoid that path for multiple possible reasons other than her desire to follow in her big sister Rarity's footsteps. The first reason is the fact that she obviously suffers from stage fright, especially around strangers which is completely understandable considering she's so young. The other reason is that since she already is the closest to knowing about their talent, she might think that if she gets her Cutie Mark too much sooner than the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, her friends might ostracize her because she already has her talent, while they're still looking for their own, much like how one person might get into a good college while the rest of their friends aren't so lucky, and might be treated differently as a result.
* One from the WebOriginal folder. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tjb14VoWjg PONIES: The Anthology]] opens with a shot-for-shot remake of KanyeWest's "Power", with Princess Celestia in the center - consider that she had to control both sun and moon after exiling her sister. "No one man should have all that power" indeed.
** [[AffectionateParody No one mare]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VypMb4vpzGU&feature=related should have all that friendship!]]
* It would seem odd that a bunch of ponies could easily pull big carts filled with gems while the diamond dogs struggle to pull them, despite being bigger and muscular. However, horses in RealLife are generally stronger than dogs, and can therefore pull heavier objects easier than dogs.
* Ignoring Pinkie Pie (who was singing the song), the Pony Pokey montage covers the ponies in the same order they were introduced in episode 1. (Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and finally Fluttershy.) It could just be a coincidence, but the chances of that are 1 in 120.
** Actually, Pinkie might fit too. Remember, she was introduced "first," but really made her appearance last. In the Pony Pokey, she sets up the song, but her actual part of the song isn't until the end.
* In Dragonshy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie play tic-tac-toe while waiting for Fluttershy to coax the dragon. Rarity says that's 35 games in a row, and to play best of 71. That means they had just played best of 69.
** It also means that one of them has won all the games.
* Upon defeating Nightmare Moon in the second episode, Applejack says they had the elements of friendship the whole time. That makes sense; a friendship needs generosity, laughter, honesty, loyalty, and kindness, but how does magic-- [[TitleDrop oh...]]
* Some fanworks portray background pony Carrot Top as a rival farmer to Applejack. In RealLife, carrots turn bitter when they're stored with apples.
* This might fall under UnfortunateImplications as well, but whatever. In "Bridle Gossip", Applejack is very noticeably scared of and hostile towards Zecora, even more so than most of her friends. But wait a second - Applejack has a Southern accent, and the Southern part of America is [[AcceptableEthnicTargets stereotyped]] as being prejudiced against African-Americans.
** Subverted in that her little sister Apple Bloom was the only one who was willing to give Zecora a chance in the end.
** Want UnfortunateImplications? Zecora is an African animal who speaks with a Haitian accent, wears lots of gold jewelry, has a hairstyle the Mane Cast find outlandish, lives in a HeartOfDarkness wilderness, and has Zulu-style masks in her house. And, despite being discriminated against, she's more than willing to provide the super-natural cure to the white-folks ponies' problems. This makes her more than a bit of a MagicNegro character.
*** Perhaps... except that her "magic" all comes down to herb-lore (involving magical plants, but, well, this is Equestria...). It's her profession, no more, no less.
*** I don't think the writers were trying to play on the stereotype. It would certainly work against the Aesop of ''not being prejudiced.'' Applejack was more frightened and hostile because she felt she had to protect her sister. She even says this to Twilight.
-->'''Applejack''': "No good reason"?! You call defending your kin "no good reason"?
* I was confused for a fair bit over the title of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Green Isn't Your Color". I kept thinking, "But Fluttershy wears a green dress to the Grand Galloping Gala..." Then it hit me. The episode is about Rarity being jealous... or ''green with envy.'' -fierystage
** Also remember, in her little bout against Trixie in episode 6, she was temporarily given green hair, which clashed greatly with her overall design.
* In "Ticket Master", we see Twilight Sparkle tearing apart and then eating a flower at the little restaurant before Rainbow Dash shows up in the clouds. From a human perspective, the flower would be a centerpiece. But, from a pony perspective, the flowers are like the free bread some restaurants offer while customers read the menu.
* Why was Pinkie Pie the only one who knew about the parasprites? Because she's a BigEater who works in a bakery, and probably would have a lot of experience dealing with pests that have huge appetites that might eat the food there, [[ExtremeOmnivore especially since she's got a huge appetite herself.]]
** Just the parasprites' biology in general. They don't need that much energy to fly, considering their size, so where does all the food they digest go into? MORE PARASPRITES. The fact that they ''upchuck'' to reproduce lends enough credence to this substitute reproductive system.
** Of course Pinkie Pie knows what a Parasprite is! She grew up on a rock ''farm,'' and farmers have to deal with parasites and pests all the time! It makes sense that she not only knows what Parasprites are, but how to get rid of them, too.
*** But then shouldn't AppleJack have also known about them seeing as how her family owns the only apple orchard in ponyville and she's lived there all of her life? Maybe not, since orchards are usually treated against pests. Crop-dusting pegasi. If Twilight hadn't changed the parasprite's diet, maybe they would have avoided Sweet Apple Acres altogether.
** This also raises the question: Was it always a rock farm, or [[FridgeHorror were the rocks all they had left]]?
*** Probably not. Pinkie's parents both have cutie marks related to rock farming. One parent has a pickaxe and the other has a pile of rocks.
*** The song Pinkie used to lure the parasprites out of Ponyville is identical to the music she played at her first party. Given that it attracts parasprites, did Pinkie unintentionally devestate her own farm? (This throry obviously assumes that rock-clearing is a prelude to crop planting, otherwise there would be nothing for the parasprites to devour.)
**** Even if the Pie Family farm was just a farm that grew rocks (or as many fan theories say, grew things inside the rocks), a parasprite infestation would wreak havoc on the family, as the parasprites would eat up all the family's food, making it impossible to live at the farm until the infestation was taken care of.
*** It's entirely possible that she had a brush with them shortly after discovering her party-planning talent, and that she ''happened'' to be a one-pony band when they showed up, discovering that music is the key to solving the problem entirely by sheer luck.
* [[HeroWorshipper Scootaloo's relentless respect of Rainbow Dash]] might seem like the excess zeal of a young fangirl, but she might be right in wanting to ask for Rainbow Dash's help specifically when you consider the fact that Rainbow Dash [[spoiler: performed the Sonic Rainboom and earned not only her own Cutie Mark, but also helped the other mane cast earn theirs in the process.]]
* When Twilight attempts to force Apple Bloom's cutie mark to appear by magic, it keeps on flashing as different things before fading. Why? Because what she wants to do with the rest of her life is still up in the air, and it could be any of those things.
* Why was Twilight so upset when Applejack scolded her for using magic in the episode "Winter Wrap Up", other than the obvious feeling of humiliation? Because Twilight excels in magic, and doesn't really have too many other talents, other than organizing, so when her one of her only talents is considered a burden, she feels like she can't contribute and won't fit in with the others. Considering the fact that Twilight has just made new friends, and doesn't have a lot social experience, it would make perfect sense that she would be heartbroken over the possibility of being thought of a hindrance and that she wouldn't be any use to her friends and wouldn't fit in with them anymore, which would mean that she would be the same lonely girl she was at the beginning of the series, and that probably hurts more than anything.
* I never noticed the significance of Applejack and Rarity having pets until I thought about their constant arguing in the episode "Look Before You Sleep", and then it made perfect sense. It is said that an owner is similar to their pets, so Applejack who has her dog Winona and Rarity who has her cat Opalescence would definitely have a hard time get along initially since it's more likely they would fight just like ''cats and dogs.'' This is even lampshaded with the way they get into bed, as Applejack just jumps into it like a dog would, and Rarity prefers that her bed remain neat and tidy before entering it like a cat would.
* I was wondering why Spike became so insanely jealous of Owlowiscious so quickly, but then I realised that every dragon so far is VERY territorial and Spike probably considers Twilight and the gang 'his' without realizing it! When he thought Owlowiscious was taking their attention from him his natural instincts kicked in and he became furious!
* More Owl-based Brilliance: According to Twilight, Owlowiscious was hired so Twilight would have someone to help her out during night (in itself Brilliance due to an owl's nocturnal status). So why was Owlowiscious so keen to help Twi during the day? Because the other reason he was hired was because Spike was exhausted from overworking... the owl was putting in some extra hours to give Spike a chance to catch up on lost sleep! Shame Spike didn't see it that way, but the road to strife is paved with good intentions...
* Concerning Owlowiscious, and Spike's behavior and attitude toward him. Twilight Sparkle hatched and raised Spike, making her his surrogate mother of sorts. For many years, Spike was her only 'child'. Then Owlowiscious comes along. Spike gets incredibly jealous, and even states that Twilight doesn't love him anymore. His behaviors and beliefs about Owlowiscious are symptoms of something every child gets; he's just jealous of the 'new baby'. Sure, Spike can be smart, level-headed, and even insightful, but he's still just a child, and is vulnerable to all the afflictions of one.
* I was just thinking, Applejack actually can't put together s'mores with the same finesse Rarity and Twilight have. She doesn't have a horn (or opposable fingers, for that matter.)
** Explains why she says "Ya just eat'em" about the marshmallows.
* The astrophysics equations on the chalkboard in a non-college-level school, and, to a lesser extent, Twilight Sparkle writing a detailed essay on meteors, make perfect sense once you realize that the ruler(s) of Equestria are the [[PhysicalGod anthropomorphic]] (hippomorphic?) [[AnthropomorphicEmbodiment embodiments]] of celestial bodies. Not only are such matters of greater intrinsic interest than they would be to humans, but you have someone around who can probably casually answer at least certain types of questions WAY before the technology to answer them actually exists. Gets a [[FridgeLogic little weird]] when you think too hard about the sisters raising the sun and the moon each day, but...
** It's highly likely that Equestria is a geocentric world. The sun and the moon might be placed in celestial spheres, like the ancient Greeks believed.
*** There's actually a much simpler explanation for this: the school in Ponyville is a traditional one-room schoolhouse of the kind that was common in the United States in the nineteenth century. It is likely, therefore, that many other grades meet in the same schoolroom. Those equations were probably left on the blackboard from the previous class, which was probably an AP Physics class, or the Equestrian equivalent. Notice that Cheerilee comes into the room as if this were the first class of the day for her and her students, and that her lesson is on cutie marks, not anything to do with astrophysics.
* Rainbow Dash's gala gown has some distinctly Greek overtones: the grape-bunch broach, the sandals that weave around her ankles, and especially the laurel wreath headpiece. [[GreekMythology And where does the original pegasus myth come from?]]
** Not to mention the Spartan-style helmet her overwrought gown had.
** Also: The Classical Greek/Roman architectural influences throughout Dash's hometown of Cloudsdale.
** The Pegasus armor in Hearth's Warming Eve is clearly modeled after the Roman Centurion.
* The door to Fluttershy's dressing room in Green is Not Your Colour has a small hole in it, for small creatures like mice to enter in. It's a minor, but very nice detail.
* Is it just me, or do the magic spells that we see Twilight Sparkle making an effort to learn after "The Elements of Harmony" seem designed to allow her to do all the things that her friends did on their quest through the Everfree Forest? After all, what's the first spell we see Twilight Sparkle practicing in a subsequent episode? The mustache-growing spell in "Boast Busters". Why a mustache-growing spell? That seems awfully random, except that it would have enabled Twilight to get past the sorrowful serpent without Rarity. Later, she develops a spell to grow wings for a non-pegasus pony. Used on herself, that would have enabled her to deal with the collapsing cliff without Applejack, Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy. Likewise, it would have enabled her to retie the rope bridge leading to the castle herself, or simply fly over the chasm; either way, she wouldn't have needed Rainbow Dash there either. It almost seems as though some part of her subconscious is still afraid to really need anypony else. If the first spell we see her develop in season 2 is designed to dispel illusions or calm rampaging monsters, then that will definitely be too much for coincidence.
** She does get a spell to calm rampaging monsters! Remember the reed lullaby she uses against the Ursa Minor!
** I'd say her failsafe spell at the beginning of the season 2 premiere was close enough to dispelling illusions.
** Or her inner scholar couldn't let it go like the Pinkie Sense and she became obsessed with trying to replicate the effects.
** Technically, she didn't really learn the spells for that reason. In the mustache case, Spike calls it "growing magic", not "mustache-growing magic" or anything like that, so it's probably just a simple growth spell that Twilight tested on Spike's (too small to see) facial hair, likely at his insistence. For the wings, she didn't even learn the spell. Notice she read it from a book? She didn't know it, and just pulled it out because Rarity demanded it.
* Isn't it frustrating that no matter how often they fail, the Cutie Mark Crusaders never understand that you're supposed to just wait for your cutie mark instead of trying and trying to make it happen? Even Apple Bloom, probably the most even-headed of the three fillies, just doesn't get it. Even after Cheerilee explained it to her class in ''Call of the Cutie''! "Discovering what makes you unique isn't something that happens overnight, and no amount of hoping, wishing, or begging will make a cutie mark appear before its time." Too bad Apple Bloom, who had been diligently taking notes, was momentarily distracted by Diamond Tiara's note-passing. She mighta learned something.
* Maybe I'm just slow, but I only recently noticed the foreshadowing when Twilight tries to help Rarity with the birds' nests: after Rarity dumps a basketful of materials in front of her, the first thing she does is organize them OCD-style.
* FridgeBrilliance - Before you renounce Scootaloo or the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders as [[TheScrappy Scrappies]], consider this. Scoot idolizes Rainbow Dash (FYI, I love Rainbow and am not tying to put blame on her) and the older Pegasus doesn't seem to get the whole "discovering who you are" part of gaining a cutie mark either. So Scootaloo isn't gonna get it because Rainbow doesn't get it. and as the de facto leader of the Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are just going to be strung along with Scoot's (innocent) cluelessness until she realizes the right way to get a cutie mark. besides that, Scootaloo is just a KID. We can't really expect her to do the right thing just yet.
** I don't think Scootaloo should be considered the leader of the CMC. As long as we're assuming one exists at all, Apple Bloom is probably a better fit. Scootaloo is too impulsive and Sweetie Belle too timid. Apple Bloom is the group's jack-all-trades in this respect. She's also had more screen time overall, which should count for something. However, as I implied, I don't think the group acknowledges any kind of hierarchy (even informal). Each filly respects the others' opinions, and no one character is shown consistently acting as a driving force for the others in any of their featured episodes.
* Not sure whether this is FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror, but there are three buildings in Ponyville with straw floors. Two of them are barns: the pig pen in The Show Stoppers, and the barn Pinkie's birthday party is held in in Party of One. Straw is used for barn floors because it is absorbent, and makes cleaning up after animals easier. What's the third building with a straw floor? [[spoiler:Cheerilee's schoolhouse.]]
** Neither; that's probably fridge humor.
*** It's a much more logical reason, somepony's gonna bring their new puppy for show and tell. And even ignoring the... first reason we all thought of, think of what happens in little kid classes; arts and crafts. Water and glue is easier to get rid off if it falls on straw as opposed to carpet. And, they might have snack time and/or their lunches in the class, so spills would again be better. It's like giving everypony napkins- but a lot quicker, ecspeccially since most little fillies wouldn't have the ability to pick them up. Even the unicorns probably haven't [[incrediblylamepun grasped]] that ability yet.
* As I watched 'Sonic Rainboom', I started wondering why Rainbow Dash was picked on despite being the only pony to ever do a Sonic Rainboom. Then it hit me: she did it once, by accident. She's never been able to pull it off since. It was a one-off fluke, and an accident isn't going to earn her huge amounts of social standing, especially since: 1, most ponies probably didn't see it; 2, she can't replicate it; and 3, most athletic ponies or fans of such would probably prize a pony who could do tricks repeatedly and flawlessly, rather than someone with a long history of screwing up. To be fair, the Sonic Rainboom is quite hard, but Dash's speed and stamina meant she probably should have been able to do it before.
* Rainbow Dash is Fluttershy's foalhood friend, Pinkie Pie's prank partner and Applejack's athletic adversary. In turn, Fluttershy and Rarity are fashionistas. It means that, long after her sonic rainboom, Rainbow Dash continues to be a keystone in the mane 6's friendship! Poor Twilight must still feel isolated, though.
** Not really, since Twilight's quest to stop Nightmare Moon is what really brought the Mane Six together as a whole.
* In "The Cutie-Mark Chronicles", neither Applejack's Aunt and Uncle Orange, nor any of their party guests, have actual New York accents. Instead, they all have affected Mid-Atlantic accents. This might seem like a simple case of DidNotDoTheResearch or of the creators assuming ViewersAreMorons, but it actually makes perfect sense: the Oranges and their guests are nouuveaux riches arrivistes. Of course they'd affect a snobbish accent, just as they've affected a snobbish attitude. In reality, they are probably nowhere near as cultured or sophisticated as they pretend, and are desperately afraid that somepony will see through them.
** This is supported by their reactions when AJ brings up roosters. Look at their reactions: almost like they were horrified someone would bring up something that would even hint that they aren't what they pretend they are. Makes one of the guests asking what a rooster is into a new light as well. Even if they'd never seen a chicken feather in their lives, how can you claim to not even know what a rooster is? Cuz they're in denial like crazy!
* It's interesting to look how gems are treated in the series; to ponies, precious stones are WorthlessYellowRocks useful only as fashion decoration and generally not seen as all that interesting by anyone but Rarity, who incorporates them into clothing designs and Spike, who eats them. Part of this could be related to how common gems appear to be in Equestria, but it also makes sense that ponies would have learned not to get too attached to the primary food of ''dragons''; only the Diamond Dogs appear to hoard gems, and they're in places where the gems are not only easier to get at but relatively safe from dragons. Gems being important to dragons and nothing but baubles to ponies also explains why the red and green dragon get aggressive in their respective episodes beyond simple territorial matters; the Red dragon actually seems fairly even-tempered if stubborn, but he gets rather irate when Rarity makes a move on his hoard in the way someone else might get pissed at a total stranger waltzing into their home and helping themselves to the pantry. The green dragon overreacts worse because not only is his food supply being invaded by a stranger, it's another young dragon doing it.
* When the mane cast was confronted by a monster in Feeling Pinky Keen, it was a Hydra. Since it has four heads, Fluttershy couldn't stare it down. When Discord hypnotized Fluttershy, he did so by touching the top of her head, rather than staring into her eyes. If I remember correctly, when the cranky Ursa Minor attacked, Fluttershy wasn't there. If any of this were different, she would have stared it down.
* One FreezeFrameBonus during Ticket Master subtly implies that of Twilight Sparkle's friends, [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freezeframe1_9810.jpg the ones she was most inclined to give the ticket to were Applejack and Fluttershy.]] Of course, Fluttershy was the most polite about it, and fans tend to agree that Applejack had the best reason.
* Another example from "Cutie Mark Chronicles": Applejack's cousins the Oranges live in Manehattan, the Equestrian equivalent of Manhattan, obviously. Manhattan was originally settled by the Dutch, who at that time were ruled by the House of ''Orange''. Note that the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_York_City flag of New York City]] today has an orange bar for precisely that reason. The pun is complicated by the fact that New York is also known as the "[[BigApplesauce Big Apple]]."
** This actually hits GeniusBonus when you consider the term "Mixing Apples And Oranges".
* Fluttershy and Rarity receive, possibly, the most "[[UnusualEuphemism clopping]]" references on Youtube videos featuring them, among the Mane 6. Why do [=/b/ronies=] like them so much? Fluttershy is obvious; she fits the "{{Moe}}" archetype [[AwesomeMoments almost]] perfectly. Rarity? If this were a harem anime, she'd probably be the ''{{Tsundere}}''.[[hottip:*:Must...not...write AU harem anime fanfic...]]
** Go ahead and write a harem fic if you want. I know ''I'd'' read it.
* In Boast Busters, Spike wanted to grow a mustache to impress Rarity. Perhaps because he knows Rarity is impressed by dragons with mustaches (Steven Magnet)?
* In The Best Night Ever, the Mane 6 are suffering from Elements of Harmony Failure Insanity Syndrome (as opposed to CMFIS).
** Fluttershy is attempting to imprison harmless animals to entertain herself, hardly a kind action.
** Rarity is self-centred (if not to the same level as Blueblood), looking only to charm Blueblood and win her Prince Charming, rather than generous (again, Blueblood ''was'' being a douche to her, but still).
** Rainbow Dash abandons her friends to go hang out with the Wonderbolts, a pretty disloyal things to do. Especially ironic given how she turned down the Shadowbolts in the pilot.
** Pinkie Pie's antics aren't amusing to the ponies at the Gala, which defeats the purpose of being the Element of Laughter.
** Applejack is being dishonest to herself about what the Gala-goers want to eat (Whole apple pies? really?).
** And Twilight Sparkle is ignoring her friends to try and hang out with Princess Celestia instead.
* Applejack's dog is named Winona. "Winona" means "first-born daughter". Who's the first-born daughter in her family? Applejack!
* In "Over A Barrel" Rainbow Dash yells for Pinkie Pie to get away while she holds off the entire herd of buffalo currently surrounding them. At first it sounds like empty bravado, but then we see just how much damage she can do in "Lesson Zero." Those buffalo really were going to get held off. ''Hard.''
* In 'The Best Night Ever', Rarity repeatedly fantasizes about meeting her true love at the Gala- Prince Blueblood. As was pointed out earlier, Twilight, being part of some of the highest social circles in Equestria, probably knew him, but didn't mention his personality to Rarity. Why? Well, I can think of two reasons to start- one, she didn't want to crush her friend's dream, or two, she didn't think Rarity would believe her. Or, hell, maybe she thought he'd be a better pony by then- or that Rarity would manage to redeem him.
** Or it could be that Twilight didn't actually know ''anyone'' other than Celestia all that well.
* In the ''"Owl's Well That Ends Well"'' scene with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOCyj5h2WE#t=3m13s the ponies all looking at Spike at the same time and smiling, Pinkie petting him, etc...]] it's clear that Spike was enjoying the attention. It's interrupted when Twilight says that's enough; but perhaps the reason she said that was because she wouldn't want him to get too used to that much attention from them. When Spike ''does'' get used to it, seeing that attention go to an owl instead makes him [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] enough to temporarily become a villain. [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain (Albeit an ineffectual one.)]] Perhaps that kind of addiction to their attention is what Twilight was trying to prevent...
* At the start of ''Suited For Success'', Applejack is seen walking into Rarity's shop with Twilight. At first, this seems like some sort of way to make Rarity think of making dresses for all her friends, but that role could easily be filled by Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. For that matter, doesn't Rainbow Dash fill that role? So why is Applejack with Twilight? Because we're given hints in other episodes (''Ticket Master'', ''Applebuck Season'') that Twilight hangs out with Applejack more than any other of the mane cast. Applejack is even the one that counsels her on Pinkie Sense during Feeling Pinkie Keen.
** In a similar vein, Rainbow Dash calls out to Pinkie Pie in Over a Barrel and Pinkie Pie is the only one of the mane cast to follow her. Why? Because they decided they liked each other beyond just playing pranks.
** The final pair (Rarity and Fluttershy) have their relationship expressed throughout a lot of Green Isn't Your Color, especially at the beginning when Rarity mentions that she and Fluttershy spend a day together at the spa ''every week''.
*** This adds in even ''more'' Fridge Brilliance in the second episode, where, after the cliff collapse, Fluttershy saves Rarity, Rainbow Dash saves Pinkie Pie, and Applejack saves Twilight. In the ''second episode'', they hinted at who would be the closest of friends within the larger friendship group.
* The reason Twilight's machine failed to analyze Pinkie sense in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]? They were standing in a basement without moving. That meant nothing whatsoever was going to happen, so there was nothing for Pinkie sense to predict!
* Rarity wears her Gala dress to the lunch with Celestia in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird In The Hoof]], and is quite protective of it. Her behavior comes across as being a prissy fashionista, but then you realize her friends made the dress for her as an apology for ruining her reputation and career with their disastrous "dresses" in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]. Not only is she very protective of their dress, she's showing off their work to the Princess herself. Now that's a friend!
* The rabbit stampede in Applebuck Season looks like pure RuleOfFunny at first. But then think about what the rabbits actually do. They start eating the all the flowers in the village. By themselves. With ''nopony telling them what to do.'' That's Everfree levels of mindscrewery right there.
* Fluttershy becoming a model in Green Isn't Your Color might lead to the conclusion that she's the most attractive pony InUniverse. FridgeBrilliance sets in once you find out that InRealLife, as children supermodels were often tall and skinny compared to their peers, just like filly Fluttershy in The Cutie Mark Chronicles flashback.
* Why does Spike claim he came out of a green and purple egg in the first ep when it was just a purple egg in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"? Because he remembers that egg ''from the inside''.
* Speaking of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", anyone else notice the fact that the Mane Six's Cutie Marks correspond almost directly with The Elements of Harmony?
** Applejack: Her cutie mark came when she decided to stop pretending to be something she's not, i.e. she stopped lying to herself (Honesty)
** Fluttershy: She got hers when she comforted the animals who were frightened by the Sonic Rainboom (Kindness)
** Rarity: She could've easily kept all of those gems to herself, but chose to give them to somone who really needed them (Generosity)
** Twilight: She discovered her talent for magic ([[CaptainObvious Magic]])
*** And while her magic was going out of control and everyone was freaking out, only Princess Celestia extended the hoof of ''friendship.''
** Pinkie Pie: She got her cutie mark when she smiled for the very first time and decided to spread happiness and smiles all around her (Laughter)
** Rainbow Dash: She got her cutie mark after competing determinedly to defend the honor of one of her friends (Loyalty)
* In "Owl's Well That Ends Well" Spike meets an adult dragon who tries to kill him. While Spike had just eaten part of his horde, it still seemed excessive that he would start trying to kill Spike after giving him only a token effort to explain himself. And then comes "Secret of My Excess," and we see that if Spike had tried to claim that horde, he would have reached adulthood almost instantly. That makes the adult dragon's attempt to kill Spike a reasonable, if grim, attempt to fend off a competitor before he becomes a problem.
* In ''Dragonshy'', during the preparation montage Big Macintosh is seen loading apple juice into Applejack's saddlebags. He's seen looking winded right afterwards, but this is THE Big Macintosh, who can kick ponies over the horizon. This is also the Big Macintosh who was recovering from a serious rib injury not too long ago.
* In "Feeling Pinkie Keen", When running from the hydra the group has to jump across stone pillars to escape. Fluttershy is the first to go and says to herself "It's just a hop, skip and a jump." Which is something Pinkie told her back in "Dragonshy" Why couldn't she just fly across? The same reason in "Dragonshy": ''her wings lock up when she's scared.'' And why couldn't Twilight teleport across when the pillars collapsed when she does it all the time in "Applebuck Season"? As we've seen throughout the series, when Twilight is stressed (end of Lesson Zero, Cutie Mark Chronicles, The "failsafe spell" in Return of Harmony) she has a harder time controlling magic, and it usually just doesn't work.
* I think this is why the doozy in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" was Twilight believing in Pinkie's pinkie sense instead of the hydra. They were expecting something bad to happen at foggy bottom bog. [[CaptainObvious Hydra's are bad.]] The doozy as said by pinkie that something that you don't expect was going to happen. Nobody (including the fans) expected twilight giving in.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fridge Brilliance - Season Two]]
* When Twilight is turned grey she becomes very depressed and emo. [[Literature/{{Twilight}} What is she named after as a pop culture reference?]]
** [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Um.. The period of time between day and night where the sun isn't completely gone, but the moon and darkness have fully risen already? Stars in the sky at that point?]]
*** In other words, it also means the DarkestHour. And at this point, there is [[DespairEventHorizon NO uncertainty]] that it isn't.
*** Twilight is also the point where there is complete balance and ''harmony'' between day and night.
* I just noticed there is merit to the spelling of Discord's species name Draconequus, the third to last and second to last letters are both U's, like in "continuum" like [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Q Continuum]]. Also, it contains a Q.
* From the first part of "Return of Harmony" I thought it was a bit much that Fluttershy was such a paragon of IncorruptiblePurePureness that Discord had to cheat to negate her element. But then I realized that Fluttershy's low self esteem meant that if there was tension among the group she'd blame herself rather than everypony else. Discord's tactic of negating the elements relied on exploiting the selfishness or short-sightedness of the group which meant that he had nothing to manipulate in Fluttershy who's both selfless and too scared to act in haste.
** Discord's corruption of Fluttershy becomes even more brilliant when you realize it was basically a role-reversal of [[BewareTheNiceOnes her getting angry and staring down monsters that threatened her friends]].
** That and making someone angry usually isn't a kind thing to do, even if they deserve it.
* At first, Discord forcing Rainbow Dash into [[SadisticChoice choosing between helping her friends and saving her home]] doesn't make much sense going along with Discord's repeated attempts to undermine their Element Of Harmony, after all, it's just forcing her to choose which she'll be loyal to. Then you realize that [[XanatosGambit regardless of which she chooses, she's betraying the other and going against her Element Of Loyality]].
** Expanding on this: Discord's plan to corrupt Rainbow Dash is a XanatosGambit, while the attempts at corrupting the others are not. Why didn't he do that earlier? Because Fluttershy had just proved to him that his usual methods weren't foolproof, so he decided to step up his game.
** Not so much of a XanatosGambit, but just as much FridgeBrilliance, when you realize that Discord never said which choice was the right choice. For all we know, Rainbow Dash just ''doomed'' Cloudsdale, and, if she had just stayed in the maze, it could have been alright.
*** Going even further, Discord never explicitly stated what he meant by "home." Thus, Discord's statement meant that if Rainbow Dash left the maze (making the wrong choice in the process) then she would inadvertently destroy her home (which, for the entirety of the series, has been Ponyville). This means that Discord's prophecy wasn't a lie at all, and that he was merely tricking her with images of Cloudsdale's destruction.
*** Pay close attention and you'll see that he corrupted her even ''before'' she had a chance to choose. And, as it turned out in Part 2, he tricked her into believing that a small patch of cloud was her hometown, just to get her to betray her friends.
*** Pay even closer attention and you'll see that her choice was already made before the corruption started. She just hadn't acted on that choice yet.
** If you think about the whole situation, you realize it's probably just one massive XanatosGambit anyway. Even if they ''found'' the Elements Of Harmony, it's ''very'' likely Discord would've [[BreakTheCutie broken]] one of them before they did, rendering the Elements useless anyway. The only real way he could've lost is if he failed to break or MindRape ''all'' of them and they found the Elements Of Harmony.
* Discord did take Twilights element! When they where about to enter the labyrinth, he took her horn and said himself he took her magic.
** What's more, he separated her from her friends at the very moment her determination convinced them to put their best...hooves forward (cheesy, but awesome). One could say Twilight's not the last to lose her 'element', but it was already taken from her first without brainwashing (because Discord's messing with them all).
* The order of BreakTheCutie in which Discord goes by is actually very smart thinking on the writing staff's part:
** He first goes after Applejack, the TeamMom who'd have noticed if anything fishy was happening to the group and would have united the team (even if they were brainwashed) with her willpower.
** Pinkie Pie second since, despite being an earth pony, she has energy that rivals Rainbow Dash's and is the most optimistic and unpredictable of the group.
** Rarity third because next to Applejack and Twilight, she has the most pluck and common sense to think of a rational way to stop him.
** Fluttershy fourth since while she has a fierce protective side, she is the least assertive of the group.
** Rainbow Dash next since to Discord, she presents the least amount of danger in that she acts before she thinks, and was therefore the easiest target of the Mane Six for him to manipulate.
** And he ultimately succeeds in breaking Twilight by taking away the most important thing in the world to her besides her magic: her first and best friends.
* In the season two premiere, Discord tells Rainbow Dash that Cloudsdale is in trouble, and she'd have to leave her friends to save the town. A lot of people say that either way she's betraying someone, and that's true. However, earlier in the episode, RD says that she'll ALWAYS be loyal to the Princess, to which Discord responds "We'll see". Taking that into account, it really is FridgeBrilliance.
* During "The Return of Harmony", I questioned why Celestia didn't help the Mane Cast search for the elements. Then it hit me: Discord was probably causing troubles all over Equestria before and during the Mane Cast were in the maze. Celestia probably had to fix all those problems before they got out of hand. Just as well, there was probably very little she could do to help the Mane Cast anyway. It's implied that Discord may be as powerful, or perhaps even moreso, that her. Since she no longer wields the elements, she likely couldn't do anything to him anyway, and whatever he did do with the elements, it's not likely that Celestia can do a spell or anything else to help find them.
** And if Discord can remove wings and horns with just a thought, Celestia going in would be risking one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria.
*** When Discord takes over, the sun and moon start rising completely at random, implying that he's able to effectively NEGATE Celestia's powers.
* Just thought it was clever and worth pointing out, whenever Discord tries to lead the ponies into other areas where he can trick them, the first thing they see are their CUTIE MARKS. Notice, Applejack gets to the Orchard by following three apples. What is her cutie mark? A picture of three apples! Rarity is lured by three diamonds, and Pinkie first sees three balloons in the same color and pattern as her cutie mark. Fluttershy sees three butterflies with pink wings, and Rainbow Dash follows a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt. During Pinkie Pie's scene, the camera actually has a close up of her cutie mark right before she sees the first three balloons. Their cutie marks represent their calling in life, and it's what attracts them the most, so it makes sense that Discord would use them to lure them into his trap.
** It's also interesting considering that Discord uses the cutie marks of the mane six talk to most of them character, literally a corrupted form of each of their elements.
** Alternatively/In Addition, the Elemental Harmony Necklaces and Tiara have gemstones that were in the shape of their cutie marks. We only get it spelled out in Rainbow Dash's case, but most or all of them probably thought that Discord had turned their Elements into the things they saw.
*** ...He took the symbol of the one thing in the world that's most sacred to them and used it to betray them? That's just ''[[MoralEventHorizon evil]]''.
** The same thing happens to Twilight! Her CM is one large star and five small ones, like the Elements of Harmony - five small, and then magic/friendship itself. It was when the Elements of Harmony failed that she got Discorded.
* Discord's personality varies sharpely from one moment to the next. He's LaughablyEvil and some of his chaotic creations are simply silly things but at the same time, he's a sadistic, cruel, and cunning ManipulativeBastard who gets a kick out of [[BreakTheCutie breaking spirits for fun]]. One minute he's [[MindRape mind raping]] the mane cast ForTheEvulz, the next he's relaxing on a sofa with popcorn to watch the chaos unfold. He's funny and downright monstrous at the same time. Why? [[AnthropomorphicPersonification He's literally chaos incarnate]]. His personality is just as chaotic as the rest of him, going from silly to sadistic without warning.
* While the Celestia part of this image is a joke, it helped me realize that [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/newsfeed/000/177/648/mlp_discord.jpg?1316820872 Discord's design has cues from several other antagonists/threats in the series]].
* The reason why Applejack is such a BadLiar is because she is partially [[FromACertainPointOfView telling the truth at times]]. For one, "I was talking to nopony", is true because she was talking to a pile of apples.
** That can be a very effective way of lying. She's terrible because she has an incredible obvious tell, and because she doesn't know how to make them sound plausible.
* Twilight decides to save Applejack from TheCorruption first. Why? As noted above, Applejack is the TeamMom, plus Applejack's roping skills would come in handy, as seen when they went to save Fluttershy.
** It could also be that, as noted in the Season One folder of this page, that Applejack is probably Twilight's best friend of the mane six so she would want to save her first.
** Which leads to further FridgeBrilliance as to why they chose Fluttershy to free next. Outside of Applejack, Fluttershy is the ''other'' TeamMom.
** More practically, Applejack was also the most approachable of the Discorded ponies. The others all tried to fight back or run away.
* At first I thought it was disappointing that Rainbow Dash wasn't seen more after she got "Discorded", until I realised that her element, being Loyalty, means "to always be there for her friends". With her Loyalty corrupted, she was literally not there for her friends!
* At first it seemed like Discord was caught holding the IdiotBall in the end of "Return of Harmony Part 2", but then again, when you are surrounded by chaos, it's hard to keep track of what has been changed. When Applejack claimed the friends were back together, he could have easily thought she was still brainwashed (and ''said'' as much) and just trying to call his bluff. When the Elements start to work, you'd think he'd start running, but remember that when they failed the first time, it looked like they were going to work until the last second, meaning by the time he could have been able to tell it was actually working, it was already too late. Even then he only encountered the Elements once before, so he may have also assumed when they failed that he broke the Elements themselves and not just their users. All of this is much harder to keep track of when chocolate milk behaves like nitroglycerin and buffalos dance in tu-tus. His defeat was less IdiotBall and more HoistByHisOwnPetard.
** Given this scenario, it's also likely that Discord didn't consider the possibility that the friendship Twilight and the others have for each other would be strong enough to break his spell, making this a case where EvilCannotComprehendGood.
* People have wondered why Celestia kept Discord's statue in Canterlot's Statue Guarden, but think about it. How often in works have fiction has a SealedEvilInACan been accidentally unleashed no matter ''where'' it's kept? Even if he hadn't moved in over 1000 years, the thought he ''could'' awaken was probably constantly in the back of her mind. So doesn't it make sense she'd like to keep him where she can see him at any time? Like ''right outside her throne room window?'' All it takes to realize he's escaped or if he's still there is walk to the place she likely spends most of her day when at the palace and take a peek out the window. And on top of that, the statue guarden is on royal property, likely protected by guards and can be safeguarded, unlike if she'd left it in a forest or something where some poor pony might stumble upon him and accidentally release him. It's just as well guarded as a secret chamber in the castle, but with the added bonus of being able to just peek out and make sure he's still there anytime she needs to. It actually makes perfect sense!
** Or she just keeps the statue as a monument to one of her greatest triumphs.
** Why not both? She could be keeping him as both a monument and to keep an eye on him. On top of that, she and Luna are probably the only ones who reconize the statue is Discord the Spirit of Disharmony anymore (as they're the only living beings that would have lived since Discord was sealed), everyone else assumes it just represents the WORD Discord.
** Plus, remember how Discord stole the Elements or Harmony ''because'' they were heavily protected? Celestia probably predicted that, if she guarded Discord's statue, it would make no sense for Discord to be able to escape (and that's why he would). It even makes more sense when you remember that she did the same with the Elements of Harmony at first but, after some hundred years, she probably forgot.
** You would think she would want to keep the Elements out and easy to take for that very reason, what with Discord being such a dangerous enemy. But that was 1000 years ago. Celestia had probably made/come across more straight forward and powerful enemies since.
* Spike is Twilight Sparkle's personal assistant and the one who's stuck with her the longest, it makes ''perfect'' sense that he'd inherit the Element of Loyalty. This troper felt there was some missed awesome there.
** He does not hold similar loyalty to the other 5 ponies, except maybe Rarity, but only because of his crush. He's similar but not identical, which is why the substitution failed.
** I for one feel like it was not as much Spike's fault as the cast not being themselves. Even if Discorded Rainbow Dash happened to be there, it's very likely the result would have been the same.
* In "Return of Harmony, Pt. 2", you feel bad for Spike because he has to "receive" all the letters from Princess Celestia and it leaves him in a pretty bad state. However, as mentioned in the FridgeHorror section, Celestia probably only knew that Twilight was corrupted and she could only help by sending the letters. But why did she have to send all of them? Because in her apathetic and depressed state of mind, Twilight probably would have ignored one or two letters. However, a whole pile of them was able to pique Twilight's curiosity even in her apathetic state. Also the large number of letters make a deeper impression on her.
* Why does Discord pretty much completely freeze up when he realizes the Elements Of Harmony have been activated? Because before then he'd ''always'' been in control, [[TheChessmaster everything had gone according to plan]]. The ''one'' time before that that something went ''slightly'' different from his plan, [[VillainousBreakdown he got furious]] ''very'' quickly. When he realized the Mane Cast had restored their friendship and the Elements Of Harmony, his entire plan just ''completely imploded'' all at once before his eyes in ''less than a few seconds!'' It suddenly becomes clear to him that everything he'd done over the past two episodes was in vain. No wonder he froze up!
** Also, think about this. Discord seemed ''truly terrified'' when he realized what was happening. How often in the life of an immortal RealityWarper does FEAR show up? When we see him as a statue the first time, he's laughing. Which makes sense, he probably didn't realize the ''newly discovered'' magic Celestia and Luna used on him was more powerful than he was, so he wasn't afraid of it. Now he ''knows'' what it'll do to him. By all logic, that was probably the first time in his entire life he'd ever ''felt'' fear, let alone reacted to it.
*** In short, he had a ''textbook'' OhCrap moment.
* Why does Discord get so frustrated with Fluttershy? Yes, she's not falling for his mind tricks, but there's a bonus: Fluttershy is in total agreement, total ''harmony'' with Discord's insults, while her other friends (even Pinkie Pie) showed doubt, fear, and other kinds of conflicting emotions. Discord is ''all about'' conflict, so of course he wouldn't like it if somepony had absolutely no problem with what he was saying.
** Not to mention that Discord specializes in beating his opponents in their own game, but Fluttershy wouldn't fight him not only because she hates conflict, but because she's the element of ''kindness'' and naturally wouldn't fight on principle which means that Discord literally couldn't win a fight that had no conflict for him to take advantage of, and resorts to cheating to defeat Fluttershy since she refused to directly challenge him.
* In Return of Harmony, part 1, Discord corrupts everyone but Twilight by stripping them of their elements. Twilight's element is Magic, rather then a virtue, so one wonders how he would corrupt her. In part 2, [[spoiler:wrecking the Mane cast's friendship corrupts her on its own, no brainwashing needed. Because Friendship ''is'' Magic!]]
* Return to Harmony, part 1: [[FanNickname Flutter]][[JerkAss bitch]] asks Twilight "why don't you wave your magic little horn, and make everything alright?" After some (justified) moping, soul searching and letter reading in part 2, [[spoiler:that's exactly what she does.]]
** She also inadvertently gave the correct answer to Discord's riddle [[spoiler:by saying "Can we go home now?" Which is where the Elements are.]]
* When Discord causes a character to turn against their "element", they are noticeably... darker. Many fans have noticed the lack of mention this gets in the show, with only Spike mentioning that they look grey. This makes a great deal more sense when you realize that the color shift is a visual cue for the audience to keep up with who has been effected, and to what extent. Spike is often used as an audience analog, so it makes PERFECT SENSE for him to be the only one to notice it.
** Pinkie Pie also notices, but she's known for BreakingTheFourthWall, so it makes ''perfect'' sense for her to know as well!
* There's an old saying "[[DarkestHour It's always darkest just before the dawn]]," meaning that even in the worst of times, there is hope. When the battle with Discord reaches it's DarkestHour, guess who restores hope? ''Celestia'', the one who ''causes'' the dawn!
* Discord says the ponies have to "go back to where they began" to get the elements back. So, where do they have to go? Back to the book about The Elements Of Harmony, which is where episode one of season one began!
* Fluttershy gets probably the most angry we've ever seen her when Twilight points out [[TheBadGuyWins that Discord might win]] and refers to him by the unusally judgemental phrase "[[ThisIsSparta That BIG. DUMB.]] '''[[ThisIsSparta MEANIE!]]'''". This is pretty much the meanest thing ''normal'' Fluttershy has ever said about anyone. Why? Discord has [[BreakTheCutie broken]] and MindRaped all her friends, mutated her animal friends (including Angel), and worst of all, MindRaped Fluttershy herself into being absolutely cruel to them, something Fluttershy viewed as a nightmare. Remember that Fluttershy is a ''serious'' MamaBear when it comes to her friends and the FriendToAllLivingThings. Discord pretty much just did everything he possibly could to make [[ItsPersonal personal]] when it comes to Fluttershy.
* Think about Discord's personality and methods for a moment. He uses lies, half truths, and ExactWords to decieve his enemies, [[ItsAllAboutMe he cares only for his own amusement]] regardless of who he harms, he takes sick enjoyment out of causing others to suffer and laughs at their misfortune, he's cruel and outright sadistic, he makes deals which he twists and manipulates to his own ends without any semblence of fair play, and gets kicks out of breaking apart friendships. All of the above are twisted inversions or outright opposites of the Elements Of Harmony (remember, Magic means Friendship when it comes to the Elements)! Even at his core, Discord is an EvilCounterpart to them!
** Well, it could be hardly said he was selfish, or likely to betrayal (after all, he had loyalty to himself). However, take his methods and then his motivations. He usues subtle trickery to get his way when he could very well brute force it, but he prefers to use intelligence to get what he wants. However, he cares for nobody but himself, takes delight in hurting others, and rules for his own amusement. He's the EvilCounterpart to Celestia.
*** The ''definition'' of 'selfish' is only caring about one's self. And saying that he had loyalty to himself is pointless, because who the hell doesn't?
* At the climax of the [[BuffySpeak dediscordification]] quest, Rainbow Dash was weighed down by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, plus one rope. Fluttershy was pulling an entire hot air balloon that also included Twilight, Applejack, and ''two'' ropes, ''and still caught Rainbow Dash''. Using simple distributive mathematics, it can actually be concluded that, when they caught her, ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Fluttershy was flying]]'' '''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome faster]]''' ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome than Rainbow Dash!]]''
** Of course. Fluttershy had the PowerOfFriendship, while Rainbow Dash had lost it.
** Also, the balloon was supporting the weight of the two other ponies, which means that the only added force Fluttershy would have to exert would be F = (mass of balloon + Twilight + Applejack) * acceleration forward, while Rainbow Dash would have to fight gravity's effect on Rarity and Pinkie Pie by applying force F = (mass of Pinkie Pie + Rarity) * gravitational acceleration upward, as well as applying extra force F = (mass of Pinkie Pie + Rarity) * acceleration forward. Then again, that balloon has a huge profile and Fluttershy was probably experiencing huge amounts of air resistance. I can't be bothered to work this out. Is anyone taking physics?
* Why did Celestia send back all of Twilight's letters? Partly to remind her of how much her friends had meant to her, but also because, if Twilight was willing to give up on her friends, then those letters hadn't really meant anything in the first place.
* At the end of it all, Discord was ''exactly'' like [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q]] in the regards of no matter how bad his trolling got, there always was a way out if they could find it, and there was a lesson to be learned (albeit cruelly). "If you can't take a little bloody nose, then I suggest you go back home and hide under your bed" indeed. For all we know, Discord was just preparing them for something much worse.
* In the new season two intro we see a train. Since when did Ponyville have a train? Remember that ditch from Feeling Pinkie Keen? Ponyville is expanding!
* This could be disproved in future episodes, but for now it could be worth noting. During Cheerilee's class field trip to the gardens, the class roster is slightly different than it was in Call of the Cutie (4 background students being replaced by other ponies, but still adds up to a total of 9). Was this done just for the sake of having named characters? Doesn't matter. It's a new year for the show, which means a new school year, which means a slightly different class roster.
** It ''could'' have been a special trip, as, as far as we know, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are/were in another class, but more tellingly, Snips and Snails are older... aren't they?
*** Easy to explain. 'Boast Busters' shows that they aren't that bright. ([[TooDumbToLive They thought that luring an URSA MINOR to town to get their show-offy crush to show how strong she was was a brilliant idea.]] If they are older, then they were simply held back a year.
* At first it might seem like Twilight has the first breakdown on the show that isn't related to her cutie mark in "Lesson Zero", but then you have to remember that Twilight's area of expertise is magic, and in this show, [[TitleDrop friendship is magic]]. She didn't have a lesson on friendship to report to Celestia, and when her attempts to fix any problems her friends had were going nowhere fast (as in, they didn't need her to be a "good friend" at the time), she really started to lose it.
** In addition, she mentions ''repeatedly'' that she might have to ''leave Ponyville and all her friends''. When you think about it that way, her breakdown ''really'' makes sense. It's not just her fearing being tardy, it's fearing being taken from her TrueCompanions!
** Twilight is clearly suffering from Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome.
* Twilight's SuperOCD and rapid breakdown in "Lesson Zero" might seem like a case of {{Flanderization}}. However, it makes far more sense if one assumes she's having post-traumatic stress disorder: The previous episode had her and her friends suffer MindRape at the hands of the AnthropomorphicPersonification of chaos, and only re-reading her old friendship reports was able to save her; of ''course'' she's going to value order and her lessons afterward!
* Rainbow Dash is seen crashing, head-butting and karate-kicking Applejack's old farm in ''Lesson Zero'', breaking support beams and generally bringing the whole thing to the brink before finishing it off with a nuclear sonic rainboom. Why did she smash it up so bad before the final divebomb? Any demolitionist will tell you that you need to ''weaken a structure'' before setting the charges or else the building might take the blast and not implode properly, or worse still, remain standing.
* Discord, as an embodiment of ''chaos'', was doomed the second he formed a ''plan''. Had he acted on pure whims, he might have had a better chance.
* So far five out of six mane ponies have suffered complete mental collapses: Twilight from lack of lesson-to-be-learned, Applejack from sleep deprivation, Rainbow Dash's performance anxiety has her curl into a foetal position, Pinkie Pie's party of CompanionCube guests and Fluttershy's "you will love me" outburst at the Grand Galloping Gala. Although Rarity has experienced pressure and extreme stress in ''Suited For Success'', she has yet to undergo a complete mental breakdown like her friends. Why is that? Because in ''Lesson Zero'' she shows that she has a powerful coping mechanism: her drama queen outbursts act as a safety valve, releasing her excess stress as occurs and preventing it from building up to dangerous levels.
** What about when she locked herself in her room in "Suited for success?"
*** Freaking out and locking herself in her room is part of her drama queen behavior.
** Any psychiatrist worth their salt will tell you that such things are not healthy and make a person more prone to similar stressors in the future.
** Additionally: by letting her friends know she's upset, she makes sure they'll do whatever it takes to make her feel better. Compare that to Rainbow Dash, who always hides it when she's upset, making it hard for her to get the reassurance she needs.
* In "Lesson Zero", you see Twilight's friends laughing off Twilight's worries about turning her letter on time. Despite being a bit insensitive, you can sort of understand their reaction if you consider they had just seen Rarity flip out over not bringing plates for the picnic.
* Why would Celestia appear to fix the problem at the end of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]], when she had not done so with more serious threats in the past? Surely a rampaging Ursa Minor would warrant a visit if an, albeit potentially [[TheVirus catastrophic]], spell does. Consider; however, the position she has been in for 1,000 years. Raising the sun ''and'' moon, while probably sleeping any chance she could when not otherwise obligated. If Luna is only now in condition to raise the moon again, as is the implication in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]] (especially considering [[WordofGod Word of]] [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/2245236163 Faust]]), Celestia would have a very large slate of time now open ''after the sun sets''.
** Well, that, and [[OnlySaneMan Spike]] [[MundaneSolution asked for her help]]. Twilight handled the Ursa Minor on her own, and asking Celestia for help would have taken too much time. Twilight also wants to impress Celestia, which means that she considers asking for her help to be strictly a last resort. Especially since Celestia has tasked her with handling crises before.
** Celestia is also the only one (other than Luna) who can solve the problem. In magical crises it's usually Twilight who solves the problems, but in this instance she can't cancel out the spell she cast because it was much more powerful than she planned. Background unicorns were all caught up in the want-it-need-it spell and Rarity is better at details than huge magical overhauls. So of course it has to be Celestia.
* Fluttershy isn't seen dressed up for Nightmare Night, she just stays in her home. On a night of scares and frights, it would be much worse for a pony that already gets frightened pretty easily as it is.
* Read the page quote on the NightmareFuel page. Now remember what Pinkie Pie says to Twilight that helps her realize how to help Luna.
* In "Return of Harmony, Part 1", Discord says he "forgot how grim [Celestia] can be". Seems a little odd, considering Celestia is normally a more relaxed, lighthearted ruler. Now, granted, he could just be talking about how serious she gets when he's around causing trouble, but the statement also makes much more sense once you watch "Luna Eclipsed"; If Celestia's sister, Luna, after being gone for 1000 years, was overdramatic and serious to the point of having to have ''fun'' explained to her, imagine what Celestia must have been like all those years ago. (Might also explain why the Grand Galloping Gala is such a boring affair...)
** This also goes a long way towards explaining why Celestia is the rather mischievous TricksterMentor that she is. In Discord's time, she was as serious and stern as Luna by necessity, but by the present day, she's mellowed from having seen and done so much, and is very much older and wiser mentally, if not physically. By contrast, Luna hasn't changed, and still has a lot of "growing up" to do on account of being essentially flung 1000 years in to the future with hardly any development.
* Rarity isn't seen at all during "Luna Eclipsed", but then you realize that, as a fashion designer, she's probably passed out on the couch after making so many costumes.
* The entire characterization of Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" gives a lot more context for what went down before the series started. If you notice she obviously wants to be loved and adored, but is rejected due to coming off as too forceful. She shouts and demands citizens' attention as the first thing she does when arriving into Ponyville. What's more, she has no concept of 'fun', and doesn't seem like the understanding type. It literally takes less than a full-night for her to lose her calm and start buckling into her vengeful 'Nightmare Moon'-esque persona (And cancel an adored holiday tradition, with atmospheric theatrics to boot). If this mere trivial holiday was an accurate representation to what she was like 1000 years ago, imagine how this would have transferred over to her having to rise the moon and stars (her job, talent, and life purpose essentially) every night with no acknowledgment.
** It also shows how each sister is different from one another. Luna wants respect, but clearly respect out of admiration of her powers rather than her kindness. She also seems the type to fight if needed, serving possibly as the 'muscle' of the Alicorn sisters.
*** This might be part of their yin-and-yang relationship. Celestia's a very capable diplomat, but has trouble with issues involving direct conflict. Hence, her emphasis on harmony and friendship. Luna excels in resolving direct conflict, but very much sucks in the art of negotiation. Hence, the plot of ''Luna Eclipsed.''
** Also, think about it. Celestia (and Luna after Twilight helps her out) wanted a truly caring relationship with her subjects and to be more like friends. If Luna's behavior was royal custom 1000 years ago, Celestia probably realized it was part of the reason for Luna's alienation from her subjects.
** How about the fact that while she came to make Nightmare Night a joyous occasion but doesn't know what the word 'fun' means. Sounds odd right? Until you learn that the word 'fun' is only 300 years old and Luna has been gone for over a 1000.
* The fact that Twilight is the first pony to befriend Luna makes perfect sense when you think about it. Luna is a powerful magician who Celestia cares for and has trouble fitting in and making new friends, just like Twilight was initially. Watching Luna's plight really shows you why Celestia wanted Twilight to make some friends, and not have to possibly endure the same pain as Luna.
* About Luna's new hairdo representing how she's just regaining her powers. There's a couple of things she does in "Luna Eclipse" - moving things with her magic, which is standard ability for unicorns, and manipulating clouds physically, which is standard ability for pegasus ponies. She's literally practicing the basic techniques.
* Why didn't Celestia simply tell Luna her royal behavior was outdated? If she just ''told'' her, then odds are she'd just be going through the motions. She'd just see it as a different style of behavior and not learned anything at all. By having her go to Ponyville, Luna has to learn first hand proper behavior and actually ''make friends with her subjects''.
** Alternatively, Celestia ''did'' tell her, but Luna, in true "little sister" fashion, didn't listen.
** Or that, unlike Celestia, who slowly changed her manner over time, Luna was more or less flung 1000 years into the future. Old habits are hard to break after all.
** Another alternative is that Celestia simply didn't because she didn't have the available time/resources to devote to prepping up her sister's mannerisms, being a divine monarch and all. That although they're sisters and Celestia loves Luna, they don't have that much time to devote to each other in general. In this regard their relationship would be closer to an ancient prince/princess, where although they're related by blood cannot (meaning aren't allowed to) bond beyond their royal duties (childhood excluded). Meaning if Luna needed or wanted attention, Celestia couldn't simply put the entire kingdom on hold just on Luna's whims. She would be expected as a princess to handle it independently and prove her own sovereignty.
** Does nobody else think that it's possible that Celestia just didn't know that Luna had headed to Ponyville?
* The way Pinkie constantly screams and runs away from Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" seems to directly contradict her "giggle at the ghostly" attitude from the pilot. Until the end of the episode that is, when she tells Twilight that [[spoiler: she's basically just been pretending the whole time because "Sometimes it's fun to be scared!"]]
** Also, her costume now makes perfect sense. It is a tradition to be afraid on Nightmare Night - [[spoiler: and she isn't... so she pretends to be a chicken!]]
* Rainbow Dash comes across as a bit of a JerkAss during "Luna Eclipsed", [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal pranking ponies prolifically]] throughout the night, and nearly ruining Luna and Pinkie's reconciliation. But think about it- she was never around when Luna was terrifying the general populace that night. She had no idea what was going on!
** She was also dressed as one of the Shadowbolts that Luna, as Nightmare Moon, tried to trick her as in the pilot episodes.
* Some people have been asking "If they didn't know Nightmare/Luna existed until the last Summer Sun Celebration, how could they have had a holiday about her for the last however many centuries?" But that's just it: they didn't know she actually existed. Most of them thought she was, as the pilot episode called it, "an old pony's tale," hence the rumor that she eats people and the candy sacrifices.
** Plus, the statue they make the candy sacrifices to is in the Everfree Forest, a place where nopony in Ponyville went until after they'd befriended Zecora.
* Why did nopony manage to recognise Twilight's Star Swirl the Bearded costume, but Luna could instantly? It's not necessarily because Luna is learned. Luna had been banished for a thousand years - she probably knew Star Swirl firsthand near the time she was banished. Twilight's costume is likely one of the few things she can recognise. Meanwhile, in a thousand years he became less well known.
* Consider this: Luna keeps using old-fashioned, "formal" versions of the second-person personal pronoun: thou, thee, thy, thine, etc., even though she supposedly wants (much like her sister, in a way) a closer, warmer relationship with her subjects. But remember, thou, thee, thy, and so forth are actually the informal, personal versions of the second-person personal pronoun, much like "tu" in French or Spanish, or "du" in German. You, your, and so forth are the formal, impersonal forms. When Luna addresses the other ponies as "thou," she's basically saying that she considers them to be close friends.
** And here's some FridgeBrilliance on why she didn't speak that way in the second episode: she was speaking with her older sister, the only pony, and possibly the other being period, she didn't have to be overly formal with because Celestia is her only family. She spoke formally with her subjects because she outranks them.
*** And even ''then'', there was some formality, such as calling her "Big Sister." In a Japanese dub that could easily be converted to OneeSama.
* In "Luna Eclipsed" why don't the citizens of Ponyville treat Luna as the same pony they threw a party for at the end of "Elements of Harmony"? Simply because Luna looks and acts more like Nightmare Moon (in mannerisms, not evilness) now than she did in episode 2. Rather than being the ''relatively'' small, soft-spoken pony with a solid-colored mane that the town met, her appearance changed into a larger, starry-maned pony with a darker coat. In this state, she looks much closer to Nightmare Moon (which all of Ponyville saw for a short time) than the Luna they knew (also seen for a short time). Luna speaking in a booming voice does not help. Keeping this in mind, it is easy to see how they can mistake Luna's return as the return of Nightmare Moon. Also, since Nightmare Night is a holiday ''dedicated'' to Nightmare Moon, everypony has the image of NMM fresh in their minds.
** Alternative explanation: Celestia was right there beside her the whole time. It wouldn't look very good to show disprovable of the god-ruler of Equestria's own kin right in front of her, would it? Especially when the living proof of her power and authority is the thing you'd normally be fearing. (Luna, who'd been banished and is now returning)
* In "Luna Eclipsed", Zecora, the African pony, is wearing spiders as she tells a story. In African lore, stories are the dominion of Anansi the Spider.
* A lot of people seemed to have a problem with Pinkies behavior in Luna Eclipsed, saying it goes against her taking peoples feelings into consideration when she 'pranks' them. But look at it this way (or that way, I have two explanations): she's never there to see Luna saying she wants to be loved not feared, except for when she made her big entrance when she was talking in her big booming voice, which to be honest was kinda hard to understand. So, what reason could she have to think that the princess wasn't in on the whole scaring everypony thing? It's ''her'' holiday, named after her, in honor of her, and is about frightening people! Of course she would think Luna was ''trying'' to scare everyone and Pinkie was just playing along!
** Alternatively, Pinkie was always in the group of kids. She was the only consistent older pony with them, so it's easy to assume she took over chaperoning them for Granny, who as we are keen to remember, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny was supposed to be asleep five hours ago.]] And as any older sibling who has supervised a group of young trick or treaters will tell you, half the job is making things fun, and on Halloween fun equals scarey. Pinkie was over playing the whole being scared of Luna thing for the kids sake, so her being 'insensative' to Luna was just a combination of ignorance and trying to be a good chaperone! (and of course, [[CloudCuckooLander just being Pinkie]])
* The introduction of the '''ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE'''. While the "BE ''STILL''!" was genuinely frightening, it's mainly played for laughs, and seems like an old-fashioned, slightly random addition...until you realize, ''we've already seen it''. When? Just in the previous episode!
---> '''Princess Celestia:''' TWILIGHT SPARKLE!
** Whoa, Nelly...
* The order in which Twilight Sparkle befriended the other ponies cannot have been an accident. Applejack is first. She is forthright, down to earth, and hard working; in other words, she's the pony who is most like Twilight. Fluttershy is second. She's awfully timid, but her compassion and gentle nature make for someone who is almost universally beloved. Pinkie Pie is third. Pinkie is... shall we say... [[CloudCuckooLander unique]] but her cheerful nature lets her laugh at the unknown when it is most terrifying. Rarity is fourth. She is very socially conscious and seems to focus on appearances, which mean nothing to Twilight, but in the right circumstances [[HiddenDepths her generosity rises to the fore]]. Rainbow Dash is fifth, and last. Her relationship to Twilight had been the most negative, and even briefly antagonistic, but she sacrificed a shot at her heart's desire without a single regret, and that allowed Twilight to see a very different side to her personality.
* It might be confusing to some as to why Rainbow Dash has so much trouble pulling a Sonic Rainboom off in ''Sonic Rainboom'' but can do it without a problem in ''Lesson Zero'' [[hottip:*: You know, the [[FanNickname Sonic Rainnuke]]?]]. Taking a look at the three times it's been successfully used, Dash was using it to help a friend - saving Rarity in ''Sonic Rainboom'', standing up for Fluttershy in ''The Cutie Mark Chronicles'', and to destroy Applejack's old barn for her in ''Lesson Zero''. She couldn't pull it off unless she was doing it for a friend. The whole idea of the show is promoting friendship, so this was likely another subtle way to get the message across.
** Or maybe she's just gotten better at pulling it off?
*** [[ThePowerOfFriendship Hush, you.]]
* Anyone else notice how Ponyville's reaction to Princess Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" mirrors many peoples' (especially children) reaction to nighttime itself? At first night can be terrifying and possibly filled with unknown dangers. However, many of these dangers are imaginary, and once one gets used to nighttime, it can become enjoyable and comforting rather than frightening.
* You'd think Rainbow Dash would dress as the Wonderbolts for Nightmare Night, considering they're her heroes. But Nightmare Night is about ''scares'', why would she dress as her ''heroes''? So she dressed as villains instead.
* Sisterhooves Social shows us another example of SchizoTech in Equestria: smoke detectors and feedback-inducing megaphones, but Rarity has an old-fashioned scrub-tub in her laundry room and a clothesline out back. SchizoTech? Maybe, but then remember she's also a seamstress, and a mechanical washer and dryer are no good for all the delicate fabrics she has to wash after piecing a new outfit together.
* Notice how pony bowling balls have no finger holes? That's paying attention right there!
** Except, oddly enough, in one filly's ImagineSpot. Well, 2 of the 3, anyways. Course, that could just be representative of the Crusaders themselves, but it's still a bit odd since the ponies have no reason for finger holes...
*** There's more than just ponies in Equestria, remember. How would Spike, the Diamond Dogs, Gilda, or other clawed/taloned species be able to bowl without any way of holding/throwing the ball properly? The manufacturers probably make at least ''some'' with a means of digit-assisted grip. (This would also explain why teacups have handles.)
* Twilight says there's no known cure for the Cutie Pox because nopony knows where it came from in the first place. How is it Zecora knows the cure? Simple, she knew Apple Bloom stole some Heart's Desire from her and had implored her to make a potion to give her a Cutie Mark. She may have actually had no idea what Cutie Pox were, but she knew it was likely the Heart's Desire which caused Apple Bloom's case of it. She clearly knows all her herbs very well and would know full well how to neutralize the Heart's Desire and thus cure Apple Bloom.
** This gets into FridgeHorror when you realize that Zecora was ''only'' able to cure Apple Bloom because she got the Cutie Pox due to eating the Heart's Desire flower. The seeds only worked for the flower's effects. If the true Cutie Pox showed up, with no Heart's Desire flower involved,''nopony could do anything about it!''
*** Apple B+loom mentions when she first sees the Heart's Desire that she's seen the flower around Ponyville. It's entirely possible that the flowers were still related to the original outbreak.
*** Though, the book did say "a group of ponies", not Ponyville specifically - it could have been from anywhere in Equestria, perhaps some place where the Heart's Desire wasn't around.
*** They also mention there's no known cure because you basically have to let it run its course to go away naturally. Putting aside creepy mind rape implications of being forced to do all that crazy stuff because of the next random cutie mark, it really doesn't seem any worse then having to deal with the chicken pox.
* Who had to learn a lesson about/have a cure based on honesty? APPLEJACK'S sister.
** In fairness to Apple Bloom, she did tell the truth in the end and it cured her, in a way...
* While most likely introduced to play with the show's usual format, having others besides Twilight Sparkle write Friendship Reports is a very significant moment in-universe. She was so busy freaking out about missing her report that the once socially awkward Twilight failed to realize that the reason she hadn't learning something new about Friendship that week was simply because she'd learned so much in her time in Ponyville that she didn't have as much ''to'' learn as she did at the start. Now that others are involved in the Friendship Reports, though, lessons that Twilight herself might not have encountered for some time, if at all, are now also brought to the forefront.
* So, I’m thinking to myself, the first words in the description for the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]] are as follows: “Spike gets greedy on his birthday…” Now, at first glance, this seems like severe OutOfCharacter, even for Spike, when all of a sudden, it hit me. Dragons, by nature, are natural hoarders ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy as has been]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell demonstrated before]]). Being greedy is, in turn, a sign of Spike growing up, a (presumably) central theme in this episode. You never know what you’ll come up with if you just think about it.
* The entire episode of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]] had multiple scenes of Spike receiving affection from Rarity after he gives her his treasured Fire Ruby that he was saving for months to be eaten as his birthday dinner. Rarity was obviously moved by his gesture, because she's the element of generosity, but there's more to it than that when you remember that Spike occasionally breaks the fourth wall, and that the one thing Spike has wanted more than anything is for Rarity to notice him, which happened a lot on an episode about ''his birthday''. The whole episode was a tribute to Spike and Rarity, as well as an actual gift from the writers to him on his birthday as sort of a fourth wall inversion.
* When Spike burst through the roof of Sugarcube Corner, out of all the ponies watching, only Pinkie Pie was truly shocked. She wasn't the only one seeing Spike growing for the first time, and it wasn't because she had just been fighting with him. It was because she rents a room in the attic of Sugarcube Corner, and Spike's head had just gone right through it.
* Rainbow Dash picking the tortoise as her pet in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin May the Best Pet Win]] may confuse people. But then you remember Rainbow Dash's element of Harmony is Loyalty, so of course she would pick the pet that was the most loyal to her.
* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess " . . . Rainbow won't look like a Tank."]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin But her pet sure will.]]
* Why does Fluttershy insist on including a tortoise in Dash's pet contest? It's another classic Literature/AesopsFables, much like the AndroclesLion -- or, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony in her case, the manticore]].
* It only makes sense for Rainbow Dash to pick the tortoise because she's the element of loyalty, and the tortoise was the one who stood by her and lifted the rock when all the other pets abandoned her.
* In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin May the Best Pet Win!]]'' Applejack's dog Winona pops up at random and licks Twilight in the face. Hmmm. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 Where have we seen that before...]] Would this prove that Big Mac and Winona switched minds when Discord took over?
* After rewatching "Sisterhooves Social," I realized that there was an ulterior motive for the scene where Apple Bloom accidentally covers Applejack with grape mush: it is not jusy a very sweet sister scene between Apple Bloom and Applejack, it allows the audience to see Applejack covered with something messy before the race later on. If you pause that scene and then look at a mud-covered Rarity at the race, they look exactly the same (except for the eyes, of course). The animators wanted to be absolutely sure that both Sweetie Belle and the audience would be completely fooled as to who was actually running the race by showing us what a messy Applejack looks like beforehand!
** I think it had more to do with the fact that nobody would suspect Rarity of going along with the race, ''especially'' covered head-to-hoof with mud. Also, many forget that Rarity is actually in really good shape.
* In "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", after the Mare Do Well constantly shows up Rainbow Dash and she utterly fails at looking like a hero again, she is shown lying on a black cloud rather than a white one while seeming rather depressed. She's on top of her PersonalRaincloud.
* In one scene, we have Rainbow Dash saying her middle name was "Danger." In the G1 opening, guess what Firefly says when she tries a stunt! [[CaptainObvious Then again...]]
* In "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" Twilight mentions that an autobiography should be written by the person it's about. But that means Spike is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 perfectly qualified]] to write Rainbow Dash's autobiography!
** MemeticMutation ShoutOut?
* A lot of people are calling out [[spoiler: the Mane Six (Well, Mane five, anyway)]] for what they did to Rainbow Dash in "''The Mysterious Mare Do Well''", effectively embarrassing her in front of the whole town. But remember at the beginning of the episode? RD had her own fan club even before all those accidents started happening. Chances are she will have somehow saved the town again by the next episode and be a hero again.
** Better yet, nopony aside from Rainbow Dash is really acting like she's been embarrassed. A few ponies grumble at her over the incidents, but nopony's making fun of her or anything. Rainbow Dash is just imagining the situation being worse than it is, just like all the other ponies during their respective freakouts.
** If anything, Rainbow was embarrassing ''herself'' with her constant bragging (the townsponies ''were'' going to get tired of it, just like her friends were), so [[spoiler:the Mane Five]] essentially ''saved'' her from ruining her own reputation. [[spoiler:Which is worse: hurting your friend a little to point out an error in her ways before it gets out of control, or to do nothing and let the town turn against her anyway, despite her efforts to be a hero?]]
* [[spoiler: The Mane Five's]] actions against Rainbow Dash in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" can seem particularly harsh before you realize: Rainbow Dash freaking out and then feeling all depressed probably wasn't part of their plan at all!
** [[spoiler:Probably? I'm sure they had no idea how much it was affecting Rainbow Dash. It's just that Rainbow is not up front with her feelings (for example, in "Sonic Rainboom" they all knew that Dash was nervous, but none of them ever learned just how bad she was).]]
* Given how much "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" was about teaching Rainbow Dash humility, let's hope she never realizes it took [[spoiler:four ponies (not including Rarity) to be a match for her.]]
** Technically, [[spoiler:Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight each outclassed her badly at whatever task they did. Fluttershy didn't, but she just did a quick fly by. The point was that any of them could match her for heroics, without being a jerk about it.]]
*** Whether or not [[spoiler: they]] could outclass her, Rainbow was perfectly capable of saving the balloon pony, the runaway bus passengers and the construction workers. The fact that her reaction to her failure to do so is "Mare Do Well is better than me" instead of "I messed up" is a big part of her problem for this episode.
** Also, [[spoiler:her friends were more successful because they were playing to their strengths. They didn't really hammer it home, but a secondary point in that episode was that a group is stronger when all its members use their talents, something that Rainbow Dash could really stand to learn. If that episode had had more time, it is likely that Fluttershy and Rarity would have gotten a turn to shine, and that a crisis that Dash's strengths were suited to deal with would have appeared.]]
* One thing that occurs to me regarding "Mysterious Mare Do Well", as noted above [[spoiler: the Mane Cast]] acting preemptively to keep Dash from ruining her own reputation. [[spoiler: They]] saw Rainbow was getting full of herself, recognized potential danger signs, and acted as quickly as possible to prevent the worst possible outcome. In essence, [[spoiler: they remembered the Aesop from "Lesson Zero" about recognizing your friends problems even if they don't appear to be all too serious]].
** And when Rainbow finally finds out [[spoiler: they were behind the whole thing]] you'd expect her to be ''furious'' given the way she was acting just a minute ago. Instead she's just confused and asks for an explanation. Why? [[spoiler: Because ''she'' remembered the Aesop from "Party Of One" and expected the best from her friends, even though their actions seemed weird]].
* People often wonder what's going on with Discord posing so dramatically when he was first a statue. However, if you look at how Discord poses when he says "I'm missing some excellent chaos here!" It's nearly the exact same pose as when he was first turned into stone. Conclusion? He was possibly giving that same line to Celestia and Luna before being stoned.
** Also take into account the Elements were ''newly discovered'' and Discord has an ego as big as Equestria. How would he react to two (likely young) ponies walking up and saying "we've got something we bet will beat you!" or the like? Probably exactly how he reacted in the present when he though the Elements wouldn't work.
* "Sweet and Elite": One would think that the others would know better than to crash a big, fancy party in Canterlot and make a huge mess of it. Then again, they ''had'' "livened up" a [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver boring, stuffy Canterlot party in a similar fashion before]], ''and'' with Celestia's seal of approval, at that.
* In "Sweet and Elite", part of the reason Rarity gets caught up with the Canterlot elite is the ponies inviting her actually say things like "it'll be a disaster without you" or how much they ''need'' her there. It wasn't just her wanting to be part of the elite crowd, but trying to ''help'' them.
** So not only is it appealing to her personal interest in high society, but also to the Element of Generosity.
* One may think that Rarity's friends were carrying IdiotBall when they decided to crash the garden party in "Sweet and Elite", considering how they thought it's a good idea to act stupid on a formal meeting in front of upper class ponies that their friend was trying to make good impression with. But then you realize that they were having Twilight's birthday party, which means they probably had a lot of [[HardDrinkingTropes certain substances]], and suddenly their behavior makes much more sense... (especially Twilight doing her crazy dance--didn't look too sober)
* Remember in "Winter Wrap-Up" when we learned that unicorns aren't native from Ponyville? Sure, the pegasi are from Cloudsdale, which seems to be pretty close of Ponyville, but when did Ponyville got unicorns to live there? Well, in "Sweet and Elite", if you pay attention to Canterlot's background ponies, you'll notice that the ''huge'' majority of them are unicorns. Hinted on the same episode is the fact that Canterlot is quite far from Ponyville. It all makes perfect sense!
* In season one, we saw Twilight's parents enrolled her in Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, followed by the point that Spike was hatched as part of her entrance exam. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E9SweetAndElite Sweet and Elite]]", part of the plot revolves around Twilight's upcoming birthday. Then, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess in S02E10,]] we have Spike's birthday! Why so close? Because Twilight's parents enrolled her in the school as her birthday present. Which, when you think about it, is the perfect gift for Twilight.
** I like this idea. It must be remembered, however, that the writers play fast and loose with continuity in this series (in favor of having each episode be able to stand alone), so their birthdays may not necessarily be, chronologically speaking, that close.
* It's highly likely that Hayseed Turnip Truck could tell what Jet Set and Upper Crust were really like, and was in fact scrabbling for something nice to say about them before settling on "they ''seemed'' real nice", because we already know ''he's correct about Rarity by befriending her.''
* In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess "Secret of my Excess"]] Spike gives Rarity his prized fire gem, which is shaped like a heart. [[spoiler:When Spike is an evil giant dragon, Rarity moves to protect her fire gem, saying her good friend spike gave it to her. This reverts Spike back to normal size]]. Essentially the aesop can be ThePowerOfLove [[CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming can curb someone's greed.]]
* Fluttershy had no problem subduing a rampaging adult dragon before when it was threatening her friends. So why can't she handle Spike while he's threatening her friends? Because Spike is her friend and she doesn't want to hurt ''him!''
* Why is Rarity so quick to comfort Spike after he reverts to normal? Because thanks to Discord, she knows exactly how it feels to become a greedy monster (though figuratively, not literally) because of something outside of your control and hurt those you care about because of it!
** Even without Discord's influence, Rarity is constantly struggling to control her more self-centered impulses. And she doesn't always succeed. Remember how little effort it took Discord to corrupt her, not even bothering to say anything to her. Out of the Mane Six, she's the only one that knows what it's like to let her greed take control. And unlike Spike, her greed is present all the time.
* Before Secret of my Excess, we've almost never seen Pinkie in a state of abject, pure ''shock'' before. But then, with her Pinkie Sense, how many things have really been able to surprise her? She might have a sense for "a dragon is about to destroy my home/place of employment", but would she have ''ever'' felt it before then?
* Spike's fast growing and aggressive behaviour might seem like an odd way for a dragon to grow up. But then it hit me, it IS odd. Spike is not living the way his species would, he has no siblings to compete with and no older dragon to watch him over and put him down if he misbehaves. It's possible Twilight knew enough about dragons to limit his gifts to manageable amount. It was when Spike got more gifts outside, that his natural hoarding instincts grew.
** Actually, that's probably exactly how they grow up. Exercising their greed would give them a stock of resources useful for eating, bartering, and whatnot, while increasing their physical power and making it easier for them to increase their horde, and therefore grow more. An older dragon might be able to keep a younger one in line, but to them it might seem natural to grow up like that.
** We can also surmise that "Steven Magnet" turned out the way he did because his obsession was ''vanity'' instead. Life as a dragon is a freaking knife's edge.
* You know how that black goop in Sisterhooves Social that was supposed to be toast? ''It's burnt bread batter!'' Yeah, now it's not as big an EpicFail as before, ''[[EpicFail but still.]]''
** Except bread is made from dough, not batter. Dough tends to have a more stable structure. That said, maybe Sweetie forgot to add the flour before cooking.
* In ''Hearth's Warming Eve'', there's an in-universe CastingGag in the fact that the mane six end up all with roles that are almost completely identical to their regular personalities, which seems amazingly coincidental. Then we remember that Princess Celestia, who has already had her fair share of interactions with the mane cast, gave them the roles in the first place. Of ''course'' she'd have them play characters with similar personalities to their own!
** It's also possible that Twilight researched the story proper, then reduced it to a basic plotline while writing the roles as similar to the mane 6 anyways, ''because none of them are professional actors.''
** It's ALSO possible that the actual characters were nothing like they were portrayed, as--again--none of the Mane Six are professional actors!
** Even Spike is perfectly cast as the Narrator, while he is important to the show's dynamic he's often outside the action of the story proper and occasionally provides commentary to the goings on.
* ''Hearth's Warming Eve'' provides some in regards to Discord, depending on how you place the founding of Equestria in the timeline. If Discord's reign of chaos came before it, then it makes perfect sense for the ponies to distrust one another, considering all they probably knew for a ''long'' time beforehand was disharmony and chaos. Under Discord, it was likely "everypony for themselves", which would carry on for a bit after his downfall. If Discord's arrival and reign over the land happened ''after'' that, he had a long history of FantasticRacism to exploit and manipulate. Heck, perhaps the reason he came was because they suddenly began becoming harmonic and he couldn't stand it.
* In ''Hearth's Warming Eve'', we see each pony race found their own nation, which would later become Equestria. However, these groups still inhabit their original claims. Unicorns took the mountains, and the majority of the mountainous Canterlot is unicorns. The pegasai founded a nation in the clouds, which presumably became Cloudsdale. The earth ponies took the lowlands, which became places like Ponyville, consisting mostly of Earth ponies. The legacy of their ancestors still exists in the lands they claimed.
* In Luna Eclipsed, Princess Luna states she knew Star Swirl the Bearded. Clover the Clever's mentor was Star Swirl the Bearded. The historical unicorns raised the sun and moon--perhaps they learned the technique from the alicorns who would become their princesses?
** She didn't actually say she knew Star Swirl, merely that she recognized who Twilight was dressed as. While her comment about the bells could be taken like that, it could also mean she was sufficiently well read on the subject and have met those who missed the bells.
** After all, Twilight knew about the outfit from her book on Obscure Unicorn History. Perhaps Luna is a big reader as well, like fandm seems to think.
* While the parts of the play in "Hearth's Warming Eve'' that appear to be "real" as opposed to a stage production could just be for viewer benefit, a good InUniverse explanation was provided by "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]". If Rarity can do amazing special effects for a fashion show through magic, whose to say the same wasn't done by Rarity, or another pony knowing the same spell, for the play in this episode?
* Though none of the episodes really follow a continuity with one another , at the end of "Hearth's Warming Eve" during the Heart Carol you can see the stained glass windows from "The Return of Harmony" meaning that they are in that same hall, and it includes the one window of Discord being defeated.
* ''Hearth's Warming Eve'' also gives a pretty good reason why alicorns are the royal, ruling class: they are the physical embodiment of the complete and harmonious union of the 3 pony races that Equestria was founded on.
* "Hearth's Warming Eve" also confirms part of Pinkie Pie's claim that "that's how Equestria was made" back in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". In the beginning of the play there's just narration and no dialogue, hence "no talking", and certainly no laughing either - and towards the end, there is indeed a rock.
* Rainbow Dash could've resorted to making trouble so she could keep playing the hero in "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well." But she didn't. Why? Because that would be disloyal to everypony else!
** Also, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver she already tried that]]. It didn't work.
* In "Hearth's Warming Eve", I always thought it was a little odd that Commander Hurricane demands "Well? Aren't you going to ask how it went?" She doesn't seem to care what Private Pansy thinks, really, and as she only ever speaks when asked a question, there was no reason to expect her to ask anything upon arrival--and anyway, there were other pegasi around. Then I realized--Fluttershy forgot her lines!
** That also explains why ANY pegasus raised in such a martial society ("Do they not realize we are a mighty tribe of warriors?") would be as incredibly skittish as Private Pansy--Fluttershy has terrible stage fright, and it's shooting her nerves to hell.
* Back in "Lesson Zero", the Cutie Mark Crusaders, usually the epitome of EpicFail, remain remarkably composed and tactful when approached by Twilight with Ms Smartypants... because they've already seen Twilight wigging out in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".
* The Timber wolves in FamilyAppreciationDay are easily scared off by Granny Smith's banging of pots and pans. But these wolves live in the Everfree forest - home to dragons, Cockatrice, the UrsaMajor, killer pony cults.....who knows what. They've learned long ago that if something is making that much noise, it is something that poses a very, very serious danger to them.
* ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11FamilyAppreciationDay Family Appreciation Day]]'' is one of the few episodes to end without a letter to Celestia. Which is odd, considering there is an ample lesson to be learned here. There are two bits of brilliance here - one, it was a lesson about family, not friendship - ''Sisterhooves Social'' was about sisters being friends, whereas this was about respecting ones elders and realising they've probably done some amazing things in their life. The second bit, is that said letter would be written to Celestia - an immortal being who has lived for eons. How would you go about writing a letter about learning to respect your elders to the oldest living being on the planet?
** Also, the episode was about Apple Bloom, not Applejack and Apple Bloom, as she is not one of the Mane Six, doesn't write letters regularly to Princess Celestia any more than a human would write "Dear Mr. President, today I learned..." The CMCs don't write friendship reports--they're just friends.
*** Actually, Apple Bloom wrote the letter in "The Cutie Pox", and Sweetie Belle co-wrote the one in Sisterhooves, not to mention Spike himself has written too, so basically, anyone who learns anything about friendship (or barely related to friendship) can write to Celestia.
* Back to ''Sweet and Elite''. Rarity ends up doing two dresses for Twilight's birthday. Twilight adores the ''second'', simple, I-didn't-really-finish-it dress as the best reflection on her, while Rarity had intended to go for something hyper-elaborate; Twilight's horn would disappear in the hat, and the dress would probably attract all peacocks within fifty kilometres. Why would it go that way? When she's making the gaudy dress, she ''isn't thinking of Twilight''. She's designing it not to match her, but to ''show up Canterlot ponies''; she's basically designing it in anger. Subconsciously, though, she did have as a basis something plain and practical ... which is what Twilight ends up with when Rarity's not able to actually ''complete'' the design.
* The flashbacks in ''Family Appreciation Day'' have served to elevated the earth ponies' place in the status quo. No, they don't have magic, but they have something better - the ability to ''exact control'' over apparently magical forces, or at least hammering it into a shape that fits them, with little more than trial and error. It's not Appleoosa, but the obvious Western settlers theme has never been more appropriate.
* In the first classroom scene in ''Family Appreciation Day'' Apple Bloom tries to come up with an excuse to prevent Granny Smith from giving a talk, and for a split second she pulls a face remarkably similar to Applejack's Discorded Liar face from ''The Return of Harmony''. It seems having a terrible poker face is an Apple family trait.
* In ''Baby Cakes'', Rarity doesn't even provide an excuse as to why she won't babysit the twins. Though it's easy to figure out what reason exactly: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E5SisterhoovesSocial she knows her shop isn't child-safe]].
** More like she knows that ''she'' isn't child-safe. Rarity knows that she is highly temperamental, especially when she's at work. She also knows that she only ''barely'' has enough restraint to resist strangling her own baby sister when she visits. So the prospect of babysitting two one-month-old infants in her shop during business hours? It's not even a question. '''NO.'''
** Another reason for this: Rarity mentioned early on about the "magic surges" that come and go with baby unicorns. Since she was probably still living with her parents when Sweetie Belle was born, she had firsthand experience about having to deal with said surges and thus is not yet able to handle that again.
* Although it's never explicitly stated, Pumpkin's constant oral fixation in ''Baby Cakes'' could be because she's teething.
** Not likely: ponies' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_teeth baby teeth tend to come in either before or after the one month mark]]. It's more likely just because babies like to put all sorts of stuff in their mouths, and this is likely to be even more pronounced among babies who have no hands. Remember that we frequently see ponies using their mouths to do things, like writing, that we would do with our hands.
* Pinkie's absolute failure at Stand-up. She was using StevenWright material, which generally requires a more flat, dry delivery - which is a polar opposite to Pinkie at any time.
* Pinkie, the element of laughter is [[TearJerker seriously crying and feeling helpless while babysitting the twins mainly]] [[TruthInTelevision due to the stress of taking care of multiple children.]], which is bad enough, but this is made even worse when you realize that nopony else, including the Cakes, or even Pinkie herself thought she could handle the job of babysitting the twins, and she was at the breaking point and was probably subconsciously admitting to herself that they might all be right about her being incapable of doing the job and making her feel like a completely incompetent failure as a result which is probably the real reason for her tears.
** Weirdly enough, it sort of breaks the aesop of Applebuck Season of "Don't be proud and ask for help if you need it"
*** Though, unlike Applejack, Pinkie Pie would gladly have accepted help had Twilight not said she ''knew'' Pinkie wouldn't be up to the job. That jump-started her pride and made her determined to do it herself. Though in terms of Pinkie's CharacterDevelopment that was probably for the better.
* There has been a lot of speculation about how Pumpkin Cake was able to levitate herself when Twilight, the ''Element of Magic'', couldn't do that in "Sonic Rainboom". Well...she probably ''could''. It seems to be a simple variation of the levitation spell that ALL unicorns use to move things; Pumpkin simply applied it to herself. Twilight could have levitated herself to Cloudsdale, she just didn't think of it!
** Adding to the above: Twilight was looking for ''flight'' spells; she didn't think of just levitating.
** And why didn't she think of something so simple? Because the levitation spell isn't ''supposed'' to be used on yourself. She's too logical to use a spell for anything but its intended purpose. And, of course, it wouldn't have solved the problem of how to get everypony else to Cloudsdale.
*** I wouldn't say she's "too logical" to use a spell like that. It's more because she knows how much power she has, and how easy it is for her to lose control of it. She'd rather take the time to do things the RIGHT way than try to light a cigarette with a flamethrower.
** There's also the simple fact that Pumpkin probably only weighs a fraction of what a full grown pony does. Levitating a full-grown pony for any amount of time would require much more effort, possibly pushing it into AwesomeButImpractical territory for Twilight and downright impossible for a lesser unicorn. In mechanical terms, Pumpkin's 'Power to Weight Ratio' is better than Twilight's, and that's why she can self levitate.
* This cold start of this episode explains how unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies are all able to bear children that are from one of the other races by having them somewhere in their family history (I think Mr. Cake mentions something about [[SixDegreesOfKevinBacon being separated by six steps]]) This helps explain what Scootaloo is doing in the classroom in "Family Appreciation Day," and why she's in Ponyville at all instead of Cloudsdale. One or both of her parents can't fly so she has to live [[IJustWantToBeNormal on the ground.]]
** It would also explain why she seems to be unable to fly.
*** And we ''might'' just have a canon explaination to pegasus Derpy's fanon daughter, unicorn Dinky.
* Another example from "Family Appreciation Day," and also a call-back to "Cutie-Mark Chronicles": Of course Applejack would have felt called home by a rainbow: it reminded her of the rainbow-colored zap-apple jam that is the trademark of Sweet Apple Acres.
* [[http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/234/809/7e2.jpg A somewhat senseful explanation of Pony Genetics]] that would ''not'' [[TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND give Psycho Mantis a concussion]]
* I was rewatching "Sisterhooves Social" and something occurred to me: it actually makes a lot of sense that Applejack and Apple Bloom would get along much better, and much more easily, than would Rarity and Sweetie Belle. It seems that Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big [=McIntosh=]'s parents have been out of the picture, presumably deceased, for most of Apple Bloom's life. Apple Bloom, therefore, has presumably largely been [[PromotionToParent raised by her siblings]]. Rarity and Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, were both raised by their parents, who are both very much alive. So with AJ and AB, their relationship is really more that of mother-daughter than sisters, whereas Rarity and Sweetie Belle have a more typical sibling relationship, with all the ordinary sibling rivalry that that entails.
** Another thing you have to consider when discussing these sibling relationships is the location. Yes, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were raised by both parents whereas Applejack and Big Macintosh basically raised Apple Bloom, but Apple Bloom also lives at Sweet Apple Acres with them and Sweetie Belle does not live with Rarity at the Carousel Boutique. Give or take a few years, it's very possible that Rarity has lived at the Boutique (NOT at her parent's house) since Sweetie Belle was still very small. Rarity didn't really have the same kind of constant interaction with Sweetie Belle that AJ had with AB because for most of Sweetie Belle's life Rarity did not live at the same house as her, and therefore not only did Rarity not really have the same chance AJ did to fully integrate Sweetie Belle as a "normal" part of her life before she left home, but AJ never left AB's home in the first place.
** As a counterpoint, however, anyone that's ever actually been a mother knows from experience that mother-daughter relationships have no greater guarantee of harmony than do sibling relationships.
* Fans have wanted Big Macintosh to have a larger role in the show pretty much since the beginning and in season two he starts getting a little more attention, but here's the thing: most of the stuff he gets to do is showing off his softer side, such as his love of Twilight's old Smarty Pants doll, helping his granny with the Sisterhooves Social, or crying ManlyTears when he finds out his sister won't be returning to Ponyville (and then tears of ''joy'' when she comes home) it's all well and good until you find out [[spoiler: a future episode will revolve around the CMC attempting to set him up with Cheerilee. They're showing us that he's just as sweet and sensitive as he is big and tough, pretty much the perfect boyfriend!]]
* The Last Round Up finally [[spoiler: has Derpy Hooves as a canon character with her own voice lines]] and if it weren't for her constant appearances, such as in Luna Eclipsed when she [[spoiler: bobs for apples and drains the tub, or has a costume of paper bags]] or any of her other similar appearances, there would be nothing to base her on. It would be like they introduced a character for very little reason, but in reality they brought a background pony to the front that everyone had known all along.
* Why is Derpy so clumsy? She has no depth perception due to her eyes facing different directions!
** That can't explain it. Predatory species, like lions, wolves, and, yes, human beings, have their (our) eyes close together at the front of their (our) faces, to give them (us) good depth perception, although this narrows our field of vision in exchange. Ponies, on the other hand, are herbivorous herd animals. As such, they have their eyes on opposite sides of their faces, to give them nearly a nearly 360 degree field of vision, so as to detect predators approaching from any direction, with the drawback that they have little or no depth perception. As such, Derpy's askew eyes cannot have cost her her depth perception, because she wouldn't have depth perception anyway.
*** Except that ''the ponies of this universe'' have somehow evolved that their eyes now fall ''between'' predator and herbivore angles, as the few UncannyValley head-on shots have shown. Being the dominant species may have had something to do with it.
**** Not so. You can look at a [[http://www.horse-diseases.com/_images/horsediseases.jpg real-life horse's face head-on, and see both of its eyes.]] The horse itself, however, still has little or no depth perception.
* Why didn't the town just raise the revenue through ordinary means, i.e., a new tax levy or a bond issue, to renovate the town hall? Because who would want to pay for such a needless extravagance when the town is [[JustTheFirstCitizen really governed from the library anyway]]?
* This is most likely to be unintentional but it's still brilliant: Derpy's formal introduction in an Applejack-centered episode is actually perfect because you know who else was a complete klutz and a silly pony? ''The original Applejack''.
* A possible indication of an OutOfOrder ep. How would Rainbow Dash know about Wild Bull Hickock and Calamity Mane? They're clearly not with the Wonderbolts - [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E16ReadItAndWeep did she read about them?]]
** Alternatively, they could just be celebrities on par with the Wonderbolts, since Applejack claimed she'd seen them during the rodeo.
* From Last Roundup: Of ''course'' Applejack didn't win any blue ribbons--look at how many events she competed in! Most of the ponies she went up against were probably only competing in one or two, so they were fresh--but Applejack competed in probably ''every event''--she would wear herself out just trying to get to them all in time, never mind the constant exertion!
** Add to that: This is a national competition. Most of the other ponies were professionals or else amateurs that do rodeo as a hobby, meaning they practice their events specifically and a lot. Applejack's athleticism comes from being a working pony, she doesn't practice regularly for specific rodeo events. Combined with running herself into the ground all day, coming in second and third for so many events is ''pretty damn impressive''.
*** One more thing - she entered into every single event, while others likely only went into one - their speciality, meaning that while she was the best overall, they were able to beat her in their specific events. Applejack is a Jack of all trades.
* One new little tidbit for "Luna Eclipsed" (yes, I know that's going back quite a ways here, but bear with me): Pipsqueak's accent. It's not that his VA was slipping up; Pipsqueak himself was slipping up, because the Britinsh accent was to go along with his pirate costume!
** It's also possible that his accent is changing because he's still really young and is slowly adopting a ponyville accent.
* It is absolutely amazing that Tabitha St.Germain thought that Derpy was male and gave her that particular voice. The whole character of Derpy was born from an "accident" of sorts, and that kind of detail makes it a perfect fit.
* The moral of the story in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" seems to be more directed towards the citizens of Ponyville, as they are at first ungrateful towards the Apple family for not having enough cider for everyone but finally realize the value of quality over quantity in the end.
* The fan-dubbed Dr.Whooves (Named for his David Tennant-esque hairstyle and hourglass cutie-mark) Is the official ''time''-keeper of the competition in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000." At a small stretch you could say that it's being acknowledged that the rules of time are his to control.
** ''And they WILL OBEY HIM!''
* Some fans have questioned why the Apple Family says they need to apple cider sales to get through the winter, when their Zap Apple jam is an amazingly big seller. Simple - the money from the zap apple jam went towards rebuilding the barn, after AppleJack asked Rainbow Dash to destroy it in Lesson Zero. Since the family didn't get the money they expected from AppleJacks cart at the Grand Galloping Gala, they had to put the money from the jam up for the rebuilding, meaning they'd need the Cider money to get by on.
** Another reason why Applejack was afraid she'd lose her farm was due to all the losses and damages accrued over the last season and recently. Between the parasprites eating the farm infrastructure, the failed attempt at making profits from the Gala, the building of another new side-barn, Spike stealing her crops, and the money they're clearly saving to get Granny Smith a new hip, they were desparate to get the profits from Cider Season to tide them over until the next major season.
* "Read it and Weep". Why would the first "DaringDo" book be the third on the shelf? Anachronic order. It's a little-known fact even today that ''IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' is placed chronologically ''before'' ''RaidersOfTheLostArk''.
* "Hearts and Hooves Day" Doctor Whooves gets one appearance in, and he's shown ''running'' - if you're at all familiar with the 9th-Doctor-and-onwards ''DoctorWho'', you'll know why the simple word 'Run' became ArcWords for three Doctors in succession.[[hottip:*:[[InfoDump As briefly as possible:]] the 9th Doctor (ChristopherEccleston) met his companion Rose while fleeing, so the first thing he said to her was "Run", which was [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay how he identified himself to her]] after regenerating into the 10th (DavidTennant). Down the line, the 11th (MattSmith)'s BadassBoast to his enemy basically boiled down to telling them to ''run.'']]
** That and the whole "I've always been a runner" or something like that.
* In a bit of a meta example, the CMC clearly learned and recited the lesson they learned at the end of "Hearts and Hooves Day," even though a letter was never actually written. That doesn't mean that Princess Celestia never heard it, however: after all, the CMC are telling their lesson to Cheerilee, who shares a voice actress with the Princess.
[[/folder]]
