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* During the episode Discord reveals that although he has been immobile for the last 1000 years he was still conscious and able to hear what others were saying around him, it make you wonder what toll it took on his personality.

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* During the episode Discord reveals that although he has been immobile for the last 1000 years he was still conscious and able to hear what others were saying around him, it make you wonder what toll it took on his personality.sanity.
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* During the episode Discord reveals that although he has been immobile for the last 1000 years he was still conscious and able to hear what other people were saying around him, it make you wonder what toll it took on his personality.

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* During the episode Discord reveals that although he has been immobile for the last 1000 years he was still conscious and able to hear what other people others were saying around him, it make you wonder what toll it took on his personality.

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* During the episode Discord reveals that although he has been immobile for the last 1000 years he was still conscious and able to hear what other people were saying around him, it make you wonder what toll it took on his personality.
* In the beginning of the episode Celestia wants to reform Discord because she needs to use his powers. So if Celestia didn't find a use for him he would still be a statue, forever.
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* Fluttershy proves once and for all that she's a MagnificentBitch GuileHero. Do I really need to go into what would happen if she remained mean from Putting Your Hoof Down or The Return of Harmony?
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[[AC:Keep Calm and Flutter On]]
* Apparently Twilight had multiple books containing (or multiple versions) a 'reform' spell. Does anyone else think it's kind of strange that Twilight was willing to essentially enslave/manipulate Discord just so that she doesn't disappoint Celestia?

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* This is actually FridgeHorror about the fandom: I can't help but notice that a lot of the fanon and fanwork that has sprung up around this show assumes the existence of a lot of bullying and other assorted cruelty in Equestria. There are fans that seem to believe that Twilight was bullied as a child, that Derpy was possibly abused and abandoned as a child by one or both parents, or that Derpy was bullied and tormented as a child and as an adult for being different, that Pinkie Pie's differences are the result of past trauma, etc., etc. This is despite the all the overt evidence that Equestria, in Chrysalis' words, is "full of love," that the ponies are, as a rule, kind, generous, and accepting, and that bullying and cruelty are rare exceptions, and not at all the norm. So it seems to me that a lot of fans are projecting their own experiences of life in our world onto Equestria.

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* This is actually FridgeHorror about the fandom: I can't help but notice that a lot of the fanon and fanwork that has sprung up around this show assumes the existence of a lot of bullying and other assorted cruelty in Equestria. There are fans that seem to believe that Twilight was bullied as a child, that Derpy was possibly abused and abandoned as a child by one or both parents, or that Derpy was bullied and tormented as a child and as an adult for being different, that Pinkie Pie's differences are the result of past trauma, etc., etc. This is despite the all the overt evidence that Equestria, in Chrysalis' words, is "full of love," that the ponies are, as a rule, kind, generous, and accepting, and that bullying and cruelty are rare exceptions, and not at all the norm. So it seems That said it's not entirely fair to me that a lot of accuse the fans are of projecting their own life experiences of life in our world onto Equestria.Equestria, given the evidence below of bullying on the show, but it may play a factor.


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**All said, bullying is as canon in Equestria as anything, judging from Babs Seed's episode and just about any scene with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, as well as the teasing that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were seen to have undergone as fillies. Besides - given the kind of things present in Equestria, such as a God of chaos, the Gates of Tartarus within running distance of Ponyville and a sadistic King who enslaved an entire kingdom and traps ponies inside of their worst fear - the occasional foal-bully seems like the least of one's worries. Equestria is a happy place to live, no doubt, but there can be no denying that crap goes down if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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*** You sure you wanna put that kind of faith in [[http://www.deviantart.com/download/210445217/trollbox_by_blackfeathr-d3hakkh.png Ponyville's mail service.]]

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*** You sure you wanna put that kind of faith in [[http://www.[[http://blackfeathr.deviantart.com/download/210445217/trollbox_by_blackfeathr-d3hakkh.png com/art/Trollbox-210445217 Ponyville's mail service.]]
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* Before realizing that the Timberwolves can regenerate after getting destroyed, it actually seems that Applejack had killed them ON SCREEN. And it seems Applejack, before this episode, didn't know that these creatures have that power, as she's quite surprised when they do it after destroying them the second time. In other words, Applejack is more than ready to actually kill anyone threatening her friends without a second thought. You still have any doubts of why she's the TeamMom ? E-Nope.
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** Though it is sad, it has the unintended consequence of him not giving into his inherent greed (as seen in the episode) so, so far the on thing that's stopped there being another fully grown dragon was Twilight's social ineptness.

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** Though it is sad, it has the unintended consequence of him not giving into his inherent greed (as seen in the episode) so, so far the on thing that's stopped there being another fully grown dragon was Twilight's social ineptness. In fact, Celestia herself might have had Twilight do this without telling the latter why, so that Spike would not give in to his inherent greed.
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*** Yes, but he was upset because ''she didn't do anything to try to stop him from leaving.'' He was expecting her to say "No! You don't need to go! You're my little dragon!" or something similar. The fact that she was so accepting of him leaving means that he felt unwanted by her, meaning that his nightmare had pretty much come true.
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**It was her kicking him out. This wasn't what happened. He choose to leave.
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* How much do Elements of Harmony bearers qualifty for their Elements if "New Fluttershy" is technically still the bearer of the Element of Kindness? Is "Old Fluttershy" really that kind or is she actually a BitchInSheepsClothing and the Elements can't distinguish this because they're simply magical inanimate objects?

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* How much do Elements of Harmony bearers qualifty qualify for their Elements if "New Fluttershy" is technically still the bearer of the Element of Kindness? Is "Old Fluttershy" really that kind or is she actually a BitchInSheepsClothing and the Elements can't distinguish this because they're simply magical inanimate objects?
** If a crisis came up and they needed to use the Elements, "New Fluttershy"'s Element might not have worked for her (which is a problem in and of itself). The Elements seem to work based on whether or not the Bearer is worthy at the time of use, otherwise, they could have used them while they were Discorded, or Luna would not have lost hers when she became Nightmare Moon. This seems to allow for an Element Bearer to stumble and make mistakes, while at the same time allowing enough leeway to get them back on track, or be replaced if necessary.
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**** As mentioned above, dragons are inherently greedy assholes, and what we've seen of griffins so far hasn't exactly been rainbows and sunshine either. When compared to other parts of the world, Equestria could verily be the land with the most love.
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* More of a fridge TearJerker, but in this episode, Spike tells Twilight that he's going to go work for Applejack forever, and that she doesn't need him anymore. He's quite upset when he hears her say "Okay", [[spoiler:even though it turns out she was busy reading and not paying attention to him.]] Now, what was Spike's [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E2TheCrystalEmpirePart2 worst nightmare]] again?
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* Let's think this for a moment... When Dash and Dust created the tornado that cleared the skies, Twilight and her friends were almost crushed. Now, what if Dashie was too late? She would have been the ''only'' Element of Harmony that Equestria has, and as this show's to be believed, the Elements are the ''only protection force Equestria has!'' Villains as Discord or Queen Chrysalis will have ''more'' of a cakewalk conquering Equestria as they originally had!
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FridgeHorror for WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.
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* The exterior of Rarity's house is supposed to look like a carousel, complete with artificial horses with rods going through where their ribcages would be. In universe, this should be ''NightmareFuel''

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* The exterior of Rarity's house is supposed to look like a carousel, complete with artificial horses with rods going through where their ribcages would be. In universe, this should be ''NightmareFuel''



* [[TheBigLebowski My Little Lebowski]] becomes NightmareFuel when you realize that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with a number of other young'uns, are in the same bowling alley as a stallion who is likely a foal-mounter. As if there weren't enough AdultFear in the episode already.

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* [[TheBigLebowski My Little Lebowski]] becomes NightmareFuel unsettling when you realize that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with a number of other young'uns, are in the same bowling alley as a stallion who is likely a foal-mounter. As if there weren't enough AdultFear in the episode already.



* On a different tangent. What the hell was that [[AccidentalNightmareFuel horrifying]] [[http://imgur.com/eBd2p balloon Dash]] in the [=CMC=] clubhouse all about?

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* On a different tangent. What the hell was that [[AccidentalNightmareFuel horrifying]] horrifying [[http://imgur.com/eBd2p balloon Dash]] in the [=CMC=] clubhouse all about?



* [[FridgeLogic Some have noticed]] that if the [=CMCs=] wanted to nullify the effects of the poison, they could've just waited for both Big Mac and Cheerilee to fall asleep. However...[[NightmareFuel what if it prevented them from falling asleep?]] There are nasty health-related implications behind this, much like with the Cutie Pox.

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* [[FridgeLogic Some have noticed]] that if the [=CMCs=] wanted to nullify the effects of the poison, they could've just waited for both Big Mac and Cheerilee to fall asleep. However...[[NightmareFuel what if it prevented them from falling asleep?]] asleep? There are nasty health-related implications behind this, much like with the Cutie Pox.



* In 'Putting Your Hoof Down', Fluttershy uses the [[BodyHorror feathers of her wings as if they were fingers to open her saddlebag]]. While this is creepy, FridgeBrilliance steps in with an X-ray from 'Read it and Weep' of Dash's broken wing, which shows that wings have bones where there would normally be just delicate feathers. Knowing that Pegasi have bones in some of their feathers, the FridgeHorror comes when you consider 'Hearts and Hooves Day', where one of Scootaloo's feathers are yanked out without warning to make a potion. [[NightmareFuel What if Sweetie Belle pulled]] [[BodyHorror the wrong feather]]?

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* In 'Putting Your Hoof Down', Fluttershy uses the [[BodyHorror feathers of her wings as if they were fingers to open her saddlebag]]. While this is creepy, FridgeBrilliance steps in with an X-ray from 'Read it and Weep' of Dash's broken wing, which shows that wings have bones where there would normally be just delicate feathers. Knowing that Pegasi have bones in some of their feathers, the FridgeHorror comes when you consider 'Hearts and Hooves Day', where one of Scootaloo's feathers are yanked out without warning to make a potion. [[NightmareFuel What if Sweetie Belle pulled]] pulled [[BodyHorror the wrong feather]]?
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*** It would actually come handy if the Mane Six ever need Spike's sheer power as an adult dragon; age him to adulthood to battle whatever monster or danger they're facing, then de-age him back to normal once the danger is over.
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*** You sure you wanna put that kind of faith in [[http://www.deviantart.com/download/210445217/trollbox_by_blackfeathr-d3hakkh.png Ponyville's mail service.]]
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* Twilight has no ill feelings towards everyone, but [[WhatIf what if]] she did? How she'll react?
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** Isn't this more of a WMG? There is nothing connecting timberwolves to Applejack's parents other than that a long time ago, members of the Apple family encountered them. A creature that lives in the giant forest ''right next to Ponyville.''
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Natter


** "Alicorn" is not a fandom nod. Not EVERYTHING is a fandom nod. Sheesh. Edited for correctness.
** Sweet Celestia! That's a great fan fic idea!
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*** The only consolation is that if you want to take advantage of your victim, you're stuck taking the drug too, being trapped like they are. Though an unscrupulous voyeur could easily abuse this, or heck, just someone with co-conspirators.
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** Not just any date rape drug, '''''the''' perfect date rape drug''. It's dirt cheap (you can find the ingredients by looking out your window), can be made in your living room in less than a minute, instantly brainwashes the victim into ''absolute mind slavery'', lasts exactly as long as the rapist wants it to, leaves no marks, and the victim doesn't remember a single thing...

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** Not just any date rape drug, '''''the''' perfect date rape drug''. It's dirt cheap (you can find the ingredients by looking out your window), can be made in your living room in less than a minute, instantly brainwashes the victim into ''absolute mind slavery'', lasts exactly as long as the rapist wants it to, leaves no marks, and the victim doesn't remember a single thing...thing. Hell, one of the recipe's instructions is to deliberately give it to "ponies who aren't in the know"...



[[AC: MMMystery on the Friendship Express]]

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[[AC: MMMystery [=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express]]
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Broke the \"Please don\'t bother to \"explain\" or \"justify\"\" and \"Don\'t use \"I\", \"me\" or \"this troper\"\" rules


** My theory (to make it all less creepy) is this potion doesn't work onesided. So if it was only Cherilee who drank it she wouldn't fall in love with Big Mac. Wich means you can't give someone Love Poison to make them love you unless you drink it yourself and fall for them as well. Also judging by Cherilee's and Big Mac's behaviour the potion is more about platonic love rather than sexual. Those two couldn't stop looking each other in the eyes but they didn't even kiss.
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* Roid Rage/Snowflake, and his assumed consume of steroids or some analogue; considering his wings have shrunk due to the usage of this substance, it's possible that the only thing that gives them enough power to even move a stallion as huge as himself comes precisely from this assumed drug. So, if Roid Rage ever has to stop taking the substance due to health issues, he'd be unable to fly because his wings, already underdeveloped, wouldn't have any more extra power to even move him, even if he gets to lose some muscle mass from quitting this habit. Of course, all this is assumed, but it's quite sad and tragic if we compare him to RealLife athletes that abuse of illegal substances to gain muscle mass.
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*** Another thing: despite all the things that Twilight's been blessed with, she is also a very modest pony who wouldn't ''dream'' of flaunting the things that make her "special". "Boast Busters" was all about that. She has the knowledge and political power to easily become the town's leader, but is much more comfortable being treated like a normal pony.


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** We've seen her snap, it was called "Lesson Zero".


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** With the way that background characters are very much prone to {{Jerkass}} tendencies, it isn't that difficult to believe that "Equestria has more love then anywhere else" is little more then an InformedAttribute. Also, people are fans of the DarkAndTroubledPast and bullying is the most relatable problems one has in childhood.
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** From this episode on, no matter what happens, for the entire run of the show, there will be a quiet, nagging suspicion in the back of your mind that Pinkie Pie is no longer the real Pinkie Pie.

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** * From this episode on, no matter what happens, for the entire run of the show, there will be a quiet, nagging suspicion in the back of your mind that Pinkie Pie is no longer the real Pinkie Pie.
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** The only not disturbing option is that Timberwolves are viciously territorial, and them "eating" is little more than a means to freak out whatever they're trying to scare away, and no one's willing to get close enough to find out they're not actually digesting their victims.

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%% Please don't bother to "explain" or "justify" any moments because they are subjective opinions and can't be justified.

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\n%% Please don't bother to "explain" or "justify" any moments because they are subjective opinions and can't be justified.



%% Don't use "I", "me" or "this troper" either.

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%% Don't use "I", "me" or "this troper" either.



*** Pinkie Pie having Dissociative Identity Disorder might have already happened, depending on if you view her depressed side [[FanNickname "Pinkamena"]] as a seperate personality or not.

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*** Pinkie Pie having Dissociative Identity Disorder might have already happened, depending on if you view her depressed side [[FanNickname "Pinkamena"]] as a seperate personality or not.



** Pinkie Pie's also a bit of a fridge TearJerker: It's likely that she doesn't constantly throw parties just because she likes them. It's because she knows everyone ''else'' likes them, and it's the only way she knows to be sociable on a normal level. The GenkiGirl randomness that she's known for is too much for most folks, who've probably actively avoided her for it in the past. But if she throws a party, suddenly everyone likes her, and she clings to that. So it's parties forever, and nothing else. Because if she stops, she stops being "That eccentric girl who throws awesome parties all the time" and reverts to "That annoying girl who talks too quickly about things that don't make sense." And then she's all alone. Again.
** In the season 2 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]]", Twilight's [[SanitySlippage behavior]] in the episode becomes all the more horrifying given the fact that the previous episode had them dealing with Discord. Maybe his MoreThanMindControl of the ponies had some lasting effects...

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** Pinkie Pie's also a bit of a fridge TearJerker: It's likely that she doesn't constantly throw parties just because she likes them. It's because she knows everyone ''else'' likes them, and it's the only way she knows to be sociable on a normal level. The GenkiGirl randomness that she's known for is too much for most folks, who've probably actively avoided her for it in the past. But if she throws a party, suddenly everyone likes her, and she clings to that. So it's parties forever, and nothing else. Because if she stops, she stops being "That eccentric girl who throws awesome parties all the time" and reverts to "That annoying girl who talks too quickly about things that don't make sense." And then she's all alone. Again.
** In the season 2 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]]", Twilight's [[SanitySlippage behavior]] in the episode becomes all the more horrifying given the fact that the previous episode had them dealing with Discord. Maybe his MoreThanMindControl of the ponies had some lasting effects...



* In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of my Excess]]", Spike says he's only been given one present each year for his birthday--a gift from Twilight. But in the ''first episode'', he is seen with a present intended for Moon Dancer. So he's been giving all these gifts, but he's never received any for himself. Poor guy.

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* In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of my Excess]]", Spike says he's only been given one present each year for his birthday--a gift from Twilight. But in the ''first episode'', he is seen with a present intended for Moon Dancer. So he's been giving all these gifts, but he's never received any for himself. Poor guy.



* With the way Pinkie Pie eats, had she been a real horse, she should have died several times already. Especially after eating the "baked bads".

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* With the way Pinkie Pie eats, had she been a real horse, she should have died several times already. Especially after eating the "baked bads".



** The creators had Spike eat gems to get around the "eating ponies" problem. [[DoubleSubversion Instead]], they changed "dragons eating everything not tied down" to "dragons ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess stealing]]'' everything tied not tied down (and even most things that are)".

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** The creators had Spike eat gems to get around the "eating ponies" problem. [[DoubleSubversion Instead]], they changed "dragons eating everything not tied down" to "dragons ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess stealing]]'' everything tied not tied down (and even most things that are)".



** "The Cutie Pox" could be counted as 5/6 if you take the whole StoryOfTheBlanks similarities and potential death by exhaustion or dangerous cutie marks into account. But even if you don't count it, you could still say that Season 2 has half as many episodes of Nightmare Fuel so far as Season 1 did, and the Season is only a forth of the way over. As for overthinking everything, we're tropers, it's a natural thing.

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** "The Cutie Pox" could be counted as 5/6 if you take the whole StoryOfTheBlanks similarities and potential death by exhaustion or dangerous cutie marks into account. But even if you don't count it, you could still say that Season 2 has half as many episodes of Nightmare Fuel so far as Season 1 did, and the Season is only a forth of the way over. As for overthinking everything, we're tropers, it's a natural thing.



** Humans feed their pets things we wouldn't eat ourselves all the time, so why should ponies be different in that respect? Just because [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores are supposed to be "friendly"]]?

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** Humans feed their pets things we wouldn't eat ourselves all the time, so why should ponies be different in that respect? Just because [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores are supposed to be "friendly"]]?



* The whole "Spike loves Rarity" subplot is kind of weird, and not just because he's a baby (although seeing how he matures by hoarding, there's probably some funky genetic loophole going on there). There's been griffins on the show, sure, but how exactly would a canon dragon-pony relationship work out? Could they have children? Then it hit me: We've ''seen'' a dragon/equine hybrid already. A dracon-equus: ''Discord''.

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* The whole "Spike loves Rarity" subplot is kind of weird, and not just because he's a baby (although seeing how he matures by hoarding, there's probably some funky genetic loophole going on there). There's been griffins on the show, sure, but how exactly would a canon dragon-pony relationship work out? Could they have children? Then it hit me: We've ''seen'' a dragon/equine hybrid already. A dracon-equus: ''Discord''.



*** I think people put too much emphasis on the words "special talent". Characters have capabilities that aren't purely based on their talents. Twilight, despite having the talent "magic" works as a librarian instead of a court mage, and has a lot of skills in organizing others. Just because something is their "talent" doesn't mean they are irrevocably shackled to said talent.

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*** I think people put too much emphasis on the words "special talent". Characters have capabilities that aren't purely based on their talents. Twilight, despite having the talent "magic" works as a librarian instead of a court mage, and has a lot of skills in organizing others. Just because something is their "talent" doesn't mean they are irrevocably shackled to said talent.



*** Not to mention, she has the support and backing of one of the most influential ponies in Canterlot - Fancy Pants, whom more than likely considers Rarity a good friend. That connection and support alone really boosted her standing in Canterlot society in "Sweet and Elite".

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*** Not to mention, she has the support and backing of one of the most influential ponies in Canterlot - Fancy Pants, whom more than likely considers Rarity a good friend. That connection and support alone really boosted her standing in Canterlot society in "Sweet and Elite".



* This is actually FridgeHorror about the fandom: I can't help but notice that a lot of the fanon and fanwork that has sprung up around this show assumes the existence of a lot of bullying and other assorted cruelty in Equestria. There are fans that seem to believe that Twilight was bullied as a child, that Derpy was possibly abused and abandoned as a child by one or both parents, or that Derpy was bullied and tormented as a child and as an adult for being different, that Pinkie Pie's differences are the result of past trauma, etc., etc. This is despite the all the overt evidence that Equestria, in Chrysalis' words, is "full of love," that the ponies are, as a rule, kind, generous, and accepting, and that bullying and cruelty are rare exceptions, and not at all the norm. So it seems to me that a lot of fans are projecting their own experiences of life in our world onto Equestria.

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* This is actually FridgeHorror about the fandom: I can't help but notice that a lot of the fanon and fanwork that has sprung up around this show assumes the existence of a lot of bullying and other assorted cruelty in Equestria. There are fans that seem to believe that Twilight was bullied as a child, that Derpy was possibly abused and abandoned as a child by one or both parents, or that Derpy was bullied and tormented as a child and as an adult for being different, that Pinkie Pie's differences are the result of past trauma, etc., etc. This is despite the all the overt evidence that Equestria, in Chrysalis' words, is "full of love," that the ponies are, as a rule, kind, generous, and accepting, and that bullying and cruelty are rare exceptions, and not at all the norm. So it seems to me that a lot of fans are projecting their own experiences of life in our world onto Equestria.



[[AC: Mare in the Moon & The Elements of Harmony]]

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[[AC: Mare in the Moon & The Elements of Harmony]]



* When Twi teleports herself and Spike to the library, Spike comes out singed. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but then he mentions in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" that dragons are fireproof. If Twilight's teleport was enough to singe a fireproof dragon, imagine what would have happened if it had been a pony (or any other non-fireproof creature)!

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* When Twi teleports herself and Spike to the library, Spike comes out singed. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but then he mentions in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" that dragons are fireproof. If Twilight's teleport was enough to singe a fireproof dragon, imagine what would have happened if it had been a pony (or any other non-fireproof creature)!



* Throughout the episode, Twilight implores Applejack to accept her friends' help in harvesting the bumper crop that was wearing her out, and when Applejack finally accepts, we see Rainbow and Pinkie working together on one tree, Fluttershy on another, Rarity hauling full bushels, and Twilight...harvesting ''half the orchard by herself in seconds'' with her magic. Clearly, the involvement of the others was just a fig leaf. What Twilight really meant was 'let me use my magical powers to do this for you, effortlessly.' Think about that: what for an earth pony like Applejack is the work of her lifetime is to a powerful unicorn like Twilight nothing more than a minor nuisance. For that matter, is Granny Smith's "saggy old hip" the result of old age alone, or the result of age and a lifetime spent bucking apple trees? Now think about why Applejack was so reluctant to accept Twilight's help, and why Applejack was so upset that Twilight used magic a few months later in "Winter Wrap-Up," or why the earth ponies insist that in an earth-pony town, no magic is to be used to wrap up winter. Now, it has been implied that earth ponies get superior strength and endurance to compensate for not having magic or the ability to fly, but imagine if some people were born with the ability to use magic, some people were born with the ability to fly, but you were born an ordinary human being without any such abilities. Mightn't you have a chip on your shoulder, and always seek to prove that you were just as capable as any other person, even without magic or wings? Don't forget, we're seeing them ''harvesting'' the apples at that point. Who put in the work to ''grow'' them?
** Unicorns and Earth Ponies are a lot more balanced than you might think. In the occurrence it's not ''magic'' itself that is overpowered, it's ''Twilight''. Most unicorns would not have been able to harvest the apples with any less effort than Applejack, but [[StoryBreakerPower Twilight Sparkle is not "most unicorns"]]. There's a reason she's been compared to [[{{Watchmen}} Doctor Manhattan]] at times.

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* Throughout the episode, Twilight implores Applejack to accept her friends' help in harvesting the bumper crop that was wearing her out, and when Applejack finally accepts, we see Rainbow and Pinkie working together on one tree, Fluttershy on another, Rarity hauling full bushels, and Twilight...harvesting ''half the orchard by herself in seconds'' with her magic. Clearly, the involvement of the others was just a fig leaf. What Twilight really meant was 'let me use my magical powers to do this for you, effortlessly.' Think about that: what for an earth pony like Applejack is the work of her lifetime is to a powerful unicorn like Twilight nothing more than a minor nuisance. For that matter, is Granny Smith's "saggy old hip" the result of old age alone, or the result of age and a lifetime spent bucking apple trees? Now think about why Applejack was so reluctant to accept Twilight's help, and why Applejack was so upset that Twilight used magic a few months later in "Winter Wrap-Up," or why the earth ponies insist that in an earth-pony town, no magic is to be used to wrap up winter. Now, it has been implied that earth ponies get superior strength and endurance to compensate for not having magic or the ability to fly, but imagine if some people were born with the ability to use magic, some people were born with the ability to fly, but you were born an ordinary human being without any such abilities. Mightn't you have a chip on your shoulder, and always seek to prove that you were just as capable as any other person, even without magic or wings? Don't forget, we're seeing them ''harvesting'' the apples at that point. Who put in the work to ''grow'' them?
** Unicorns and Earth Ponies are a lot more balanced than you might think. In the occurrence it's not ''magic'' itself that is overpowered, it's ''Twilight''. Most unicorns would not have been able to harvest the apples with any less effort than Applejack, but [[StoryBreakerPower Twilight Sparkle is not "most unicorns"]]. There's a reason she's been compared to [[{{Watchmen}} Doctor Manhattan]] at times.



** FridgeLogic: if gryphons hate ponies, why would Gilda's "mate" be Rainbow Dash?

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** FridgeLogic: if gryphons hate ponies, why would Gilda's "mate" be Rainbow Dash?



** Maybe, but I interpret it like this: laughing only makes the ''fear'' disappear; what happened within the song aside, the "faces" in the tree remained, scary to all except the one who had a trick for dealing with fear. And once she taught it to the others, they could all see the "faces" for what they were: harmless holes in trees.

to:

** Maybe, but I interpret it like this: laughing only makes the ''fear'' disappear; what happened within the song aside, the "faces" in the tree remained, scary to all except the one who had a trick for dealing with fear. And once she taught it to the others, they could all see the "faces" for what they were: harmless holes in trees.



* In "Boast Busters", the Ursa Minor destroys Trixie's stagecoach. This is made even worse by the fact that Trixie is a travelling performer, so that coach was also her home. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Great job, Snips and Snails, you just made your former idol into a beggar.]]

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* In "Boast Busters", the Ursa Minor destroys Trixie's stagecoach. This is made even worse by the fact that Trixie is a travelling performer, so that coach was also her home. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Great job, Snips and Snails, you just made your former idol into a beggar.]]



* In "Bridle Gossip", due to Rainbow Dash's flower-induced inability to fly straight, Spike calls her "Rainbow Crash". Later in the series, we learn that this was the cruel nickname she was saddled with by a group of pegasus bullies when she dropped out of flight school. Nice going, [[JerkAss Spike]].

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* In "Bridle Gossip", due to Rainbow Dash's flower-induced inability to fly straight, Spike calls her "Rainbow Crash". Later in the series, we learn that this was the cruel nickname she was saddled with by a group of pegasus bullies when she dropped out of flight school. Nice going, [[JerkAss Spike]].



* The ending of "Winter Wrap-Up" has Spike left asleep on a chunk of ice floating on the water. The other ponies, instead of HELPING him, just joke about how Spike is "in for a big surprise as soon as that there ice melts" and then ''laugh''. Sure, Spike gets better, but he was ''wearing a towel and shivering'', implying that the ponies let him fall in, continued to laugh as he was (presumably) thrashing around screaming for help, and then said, "Ok, we can help him now." Would if Spike drowned or died of hypothermia?! Would it be so funny then, [[{{Jerkass}} ponies]]?

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* The ending of "Winter Wrap-Up" has Spike left asleep on a chunk of ice floating on the water. The other ponies, instead of HELPING him, just joke about how Spike is "in for a big surprise as soon as that there ice melts" and then ''laugh''. Sure, Spike gets better, but he was ''wearing a towel and shivering'', implying that the ponies let him fall in, continued to laugh as he was (presumably) thrashing around screaming for help, and then said, "Ok, we can help him now." Would if Spike drowned or died of hypothermia?! Would it be so funny then, [[{{Jerkass}} ponies]]?



* Applejack's outfit includes what seems to be a pair of ''leather'' cowboy boots. But in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]", we see that cows in Equestria are also sentient, talking beings. Wonder how ''that'' conversation went over?
---> '''Rarity:''' Excuse me, sir! Might you be Moorice?\\

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* Applejack's outfit includes what seems to be a pair of ''leather'' cowboy boots. But in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]", we see that cows in Equestria are also sentient, talking beings. Wonder how ''that'' conversation went over?
---> '''Rarity:''' Excuse me, sir! Might you be Moorice?\\



'''Rarity:''' Could you do me a teensy tiny, itty bitty favor aaaand..." *STAB*

to:

'''Rarity:''' Could you do me a teensy tiny, itty bitty favor aaaand..." *STAB*



* From the Aesop of "Suited for Success": "In other words, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." So slavery is legal in Equestria?

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* From the Aesop of "Suited for Success": "In other words, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." So slavery is legal in Equestria?



* Rainbow and Rarity have to perform at the same time. Normally you'd think "how do they not have time for everyone in their own competition?" but what would have happened if they had gone at different times? Rarity would have plummeted while Dash was cowering in the lobby, would have knocked out the Wonderbolts and they all would have fallen to their death while [[ApatheticCitizens everyone else would have sat back and watched them die.]]

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* Rainbow and Rarity have to perform at the same time. Normally you'd think "how do they not have time for everyone in their own competition?" but what would have happened if they had gone at different times? Rarity would have plummeted while Dash was cowering in the lobby, would have knocked out the Wonderbolts and they all would have fallen to their death while [[ApatheticCitizens everyone else would have sat back and watched them die.]]



* In "Stare Master", when Fluttershy is chasing the girls chasing her escaped chicken through the Everfree Forest (which most of the ponies generally avoid if they can help it) they run across Twilight Sparkle [[TakenForGranite after her encounter with a cockatrice]]. The FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that Twilight may have been there a very, very long time if Fluttershy's chicken hadn't escaped.

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* In "Stare Master", when Fluttershy is chasing the girls chasing her escaped chicken through the Everfree Forest (which most of the ponies generally avoid if they can help it) they run across Twilight Sparkle [[TakenForGranite after her encounter with a cockatrice]]. The FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that Twilight may have been there a very, very long time if Fluttershy's chicken hadn't escaped.



* FridgeHorror in "The Show Stoppers" episode (and possibly others): The ponies are raising pigs. Why, so that they can eat them? What would a pony want with a pig if not to eat its flesh as humans do.

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* FridgeHorror in "The Show Stoppers" episode (and possibly others): The ponies are raising pigs. Why, so that they can eat them? What would a pony want with a pig if not to eat its flesh as humans do.



* When Sweetie Belle says "Break a leg" to the other ponies, Apple Bloom responds with "Sweetie Belle! What a thing to say!" Sweetie Belle knows the phrase means "good luck" and so do we the viewers, but since horses with broken legs are often put down because of how hard it is to rehabilitate and the likelihood of breaking again, Apple Bloom probably thought she was telling the other performers to '''go ahead and die'''.
** In "Read it and Weep", the hospital has facilities for broken limbs. While broken legs might be more serious in Equestria, it's not an automatic cause for euthanasia.

to:

* When Sweetie Belle says "Break a leg" to the other ponies, Apple Bloom responds with "Sweetie Belle! What a thing to say!" Sweetie Belle knows the phrase means "good luck" and so do we the viewers, but since horses with broken legs are often put down because of how hard it is to rehabilitate and the likelihood of breaking again, Apple Bloom probably thought she was telling the other performers to '''go ahead and die'''.
** In "Read it and Weep", the hospital has facilities for broken limbs. While broken legs might be more serious in Equestria, it's not an automatic cause for euthanasia.



* "Over a Barrel" establishes that pies can be used as weapons are are thrown during combat. In the next episode, "A Bird in the Hoof", Pinkie throws a pie at her own head. Did... did Pinkie just shoot herself in the face? [[CrazyAwesome Yes.]]

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* "Over a Barrel" establishes that pies can be used as weapons are are thrown during combat. In the next episode, "A Bird in the Hoof", Pinkie throws a pie at her own head. Did... did Pinkie just shoot herself in the face? [[CrazyAwesome Yes.]]



* Fluttershy mentions that she was at flight camp with Dash in her flashback, despite looking older then the other ponies there, so presumably her parents sent her there as a drastic measure to improve her flying capacity...and instead, Fluttershy plummeted to the earth and discovered her talent for communicating with animals. If she hadn't have fallen to the ground, would she have ''never'' found her cutie-mark, or would she have actually become a good flier? In "Hurricane Fluttershy", she does improve with a little training, but it's still pretty weak compared to the other Pegasi. This has a little FridgeHorror for Scootaloo- Is this going to be Scootaloo's fate as well, bearing in mind that other fillies her age have been shown flying (specifically Thunder Lane's little brother in "Hurricane Fluttershy") Fluttershy almost ''is'' an Earth pony anyway, not being a good flier and having a talent that is very unusual for a pegasus, so it probably doesn't concern her, but Scootaloo is a much more active, energetic character who idolises Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony around. Is Scootaloo doomed to an earthbound existence, and if so, will she never get a cutiemark or be forced to developing a pedestrian skill to make a living in Ponyville?

to:

* Fluttershy mentions that she was at flight camp with Dash in her flashback, despite looking older then the other ponies there, so presumably her parents sent her there as a drastic measure to improve her flying capacity...and instead, Fluttershy plummeted to the earth and discovered her talent for communicating with animals. If she hadn't have fallen to the ground, would she have ''never'' found her cutie-mark, or would she have actually become a good flier? In "Hurricane Fluttershy", she does improve with a little training, but it's still pretty weak compared to the other Pegasi. This has a little FridgeHorror for Scootaloo- Is this going to be Scootaloo's fate as well, bearing in mind that other fillies her age have been shown flying (specifically Thunder Lane's little brother in "Hurricane Fluttershy") Fluttershy almost ''is'' an Earth pony anyway, not being a good flier and having a talent that is very unusual for a pegasus, so it probably doesn't concern her, but Scootaloo is a much more active, energetic character who idolises Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony around. Is Scootaloo doomed to an earthbound existence, and if so, will she never get a cutiemark or be forced to developing a pedestrian skill to make a living in Ponyville?



* As Spike is going around town to find a quill for Twilight, he goes over to Pinkie Pie, who among the list of items that begin with a "Q", tosses him a quince. A quince is a fruit that is poisonous to equines (aka PONIES).

to:

* As Spike is going around town to find a quill for Twilight, he goes over to Pinkie Pie, who among the list of items that begin with a "Q", tosses him a quince. A quince is a fruit that is poisonous to equines (aka PONIES).



** If you look at the attitudes some of the other Mane Five have towards Pinkie, it can leave you with doubts. Twilight in particular is often very condescending to Pinkie Pie and in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" she sounded almost like she was ''relishing'' the idea of Pinkie being humiliated. Applejack frequently brushes her off, and in "Swarm of the Century" dismisses her as being "A few apples short of a bushel." Fluttershy would later tear her to shreds (along with Rarity) in "Putting Your Hoof Down", and it's not unfeasible to think Rarity might be annoyed with how many horrible things seem to happen to her when Pinkie's around ("Return of Harmony Part 2", "The Last Roundup".) Dash is the only one who seems to genuinely bond with Pinkie over being a fellow prankster, and even she is pretty rude towards her on occasion (but then, at least you can't argue that Pinkie is the only one of Dash's friends to get this treatment). If you think as well that Twilight is the "Hero", Applejack is her "second-in-command", Rainbow Dash is TheLancer, Rarity is TheChick, Fluttershy is TheHeart, and Spike is the TagalongKid, where does that leave poor Pinkie Pie? Is she the ''de facto'' Omega of the group who only manages it because of her positive outlook and SarcasmBlind nature? And, as this episode suggests, is she aware of this or is she one hell of a StepfordSmiler?

to:

** If you look at the attitudes some of the other Mane Five have towards Pinkie, it can leave you with doubts. Twilight in particular is often very condescending to Pinkie Pie and in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" she sounded almost like she was ''relishing'' the idea of Pinkie being humiliated. Applejack frequently brushes her off, and in "Swarm of the Century" dismisses her as being "A few apples short of a bushel." Fluttershy would later tear her to shreds (along with Rarity) in "Putting Your Hoof Down", and it's not unfeasible to think Rarity might be annoyed with how many horrible things seem to happen to her when Pinkie's around ("Return of Harmony Part 2", "The Last Roundup".) Dash is the only one who seems to genuinely bond with Pinkie over being a fellow prankster, and even she is pretty rude towards her on occasion (but then, at least you can't argue that Pinkie is the only one of Dash's friends to get this treatment). If you think as well that Twilight is the "Hero", Applejack is her "second-in-command", Rainbow Dash is TheLancer, Rarity is TheChick, Fluttershy is TheHeart, and Spike is the TagalongKid, where does that leave poor Pinkie Pie? Is she the ''de facto'' Omega of the group who only manages it because of her positive outlook and SarcasmBlind nature? And, as this episode suggests, is she aware of this or is she one hell of a StepfordSmiler?



* As someone said on ponibooru, ''Party Of One'' suggests Pinkie's codependent with her friends and needs their love and attention... to the point that her parties are almost like attempts at validation. "People love me! Because they come to my parties! PLEASE, PLEASE come to my parties!"

to:

* As someone said on ponibooru, ''Party Of One'' suggests Pinkie's codependent with her friends and needs their love and attention... to the point that her parties are almost like attempts at validation. "People love me! Because they come to my parties! PLEASE, PLEASE come to my parties!"



** "All you have to do is take a cup of flour, add it to the mix..."
*** She was insane by that point. She uses flour to entertain the babies in "Baby Cakes," though. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIzmYm-28w And]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgF0x-g_xAk&t=0m24s well]]...

to:

** "All you have to do is take a cup of flour, add it to the mix..."
*** She was insane by that point. She uses flour to entertain the babies in "Baby Cakes," though. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIzmYm-28w And]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgF0x-g_xAk&t=0m24s well]]...



** The groundskeeper looked more like a donkey or mule than a pony, similar to Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda from "A Friend in Deed", neither of whom have cutie marks either.

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** The groundskeeper looked more like a donkey or mule than a pony, similar to Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda from "A Friend in Deed", neither of whom have cutie marks either.



*** The point of mentioning the worshiping aspect is to emphasize that she is the ultimate [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem secular authority]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers the ultimate religious authority]], and [[HundredPercentAdorationRating people just plain like her]]. She does not "have to" attend. She could probably have the bloody thing cancelled, or remove herself from any obligation to attend (or at least, having to greet everyone) and ponies would be tripping over themselves to accommodate her. Instead, she lets her friends ruin things for hundreds of ponies who don't know she has a problem because she doesn't mention a damn thing to anyone except her friends. Basically imagine if you found out the ruler of the land, whom you love, respect, and depend upon holds you in complete contempt, will let her friends run roughshod over you, and wouldn't even tell you she had a problem.

to:

*** The point of mentioning the worshiping aspect is to emphasize that she is the ultimate [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem secular authority]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers the ultimate religious authority]], and [[HundredPercentAdorationRating people just plain like her]]. She does not "have to" attend. She could probably have the bloody thing cancelled, or remove herself from any obligation to attend (or at least, having to greet everyone) and ponies would be tripping over themselves to accommodate her. Instead, she lets her friends ruin things for hundreds of ponies who don't know she has a problem because she doesn't mention a damn thing to anyone except her friends. Basically imagine if you found out the ruler of the land, whom you love, respect, and depend upon holds you in complete contempt, will let her friends run roughshod over you, and wouldn't even tell you she had a problem.



[[AC: The Return of Harmony, Parts 1 & 2]]
* The season 2 opener gives a little piece in the form of one of Discord's lines directed at Princess Celestia: "It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that ''because I don't turn ponies into stone!''"

to:

[[AC: The Return of Harmony, Parts 1 & 2]]
* The season 2 opener gives a little piece in the form of one of Discord's lines directed at Princess Celestia: "It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that ''because I don't turn ponies into stone!''"



** Phoenixes have a species name, and we in RealLife (at least where English is spoken) say "phoenixes" these days at least as often as we say "the phoenix", if not far more. Alternately, all that might mean is that Discord is to Draconequii what Hitler was to emo art students who flunked their entrance exam- Much more powerful, and certainly not lumped in with the others, but still technically part of that class.
* Discord created a "game" for the Mane Six to locate the Elements of Harmony, and Twilight Sparkle took it to mean in the Canterlot Hedge maze, which Discord took advantage of to corrupt them. In reality, the Elements were safely at Twilight's home in Ponyville... but suppose she ''had'' figured out the correct answer... how do we know Discord wouldn't have corrupted them there anyway?!

to:

** Phoenixes have a species name, and we in RealLife (at least where English is spoken) say "phoenixes" these days at least as often as we say "the phoenix", if not far more. Alternately, all that might mean is that Discord is to Draconequii what Hitler was to emo art students who flunked their entrance exam- Much more powerful, and certainly not lumped in with the others, but still technically part of that class.
* Discord created a "game" for the Mane Six to locate the Elements of Harmony, and Twilight Sparkle took it to mean in the Canterlot Hedge maze, which Discord took advantage of to corrupt them. In reality, the Elements were safely at Twilight's home in Ponyville... but suppose she ''had'' figured out the correct answer... how do we know Discord wouldn't have corrupted them there anyway?!



** Everyone gives certain "tells" when they're lying from facial expressions to tone of voice. Applejack is just a really bad liar.

to:

** Everyone gives certain "tells" when they're lying from facial expressions to tone of voice. Applejack is just a really bad liar.



* Another example of a Fridge TearJerker: The scene where Twilight is trying to find the book about the Elements of Harmony, but her friends keep interfering her due to their corruption. It is, in a way, a rather accurate portrayal of bullying: what bully victim ''wouldn't'' relate to Twilight, whose own friends are bothering her for absolutely no reason? Who wouldn't be in a completely irritated mood, and on the verge of giving up? And think from the other ponies' perspective, the ''bullies''' perspective. One day, you might be friends, possibly best friends with someone, but out of some internal and/or external force (think peer pressure and insecurity instead of MindRape), you find yourself to be the very person you hated. Then you start bullying your former friends; and it doesn't help that bully victims are often socially awkward "nerds" like Twilight. Fluttershy's reaction after being restored pretty much confirms this.

to:

* Another example of a Fridge TearJerker: The scene where Twilight is trying to find the book about the Elements of Harmony, but her friends keep interfering her due to their corruption. It is, in a way, a rather accurate portrayal of bullying: what bully victim ''wouldn't'' relate to Twilight, whose own friends are bothering her for absolutely no reason? Who wouldn't be in a completely irritated mood, and on the verge of giving up? And think from the other ponies' perspective, the ''bullies''' perspective. One day, you might be friends, possibly best friends with someone, but out of some internal and/or external force (think peer pressure and insecurity instead of MindRape), you find yourself to be the very person you hated. Then you start bullying your former friends; and it doesn't help that bully victims are often socially awkward "nerds" like Twilight. Fluttershy's reaction after being restored pretty much confirms this.



* While a lot of people consider Discord to be "evil" due to his MindRape and BreakTheCutie tendencies, when you think about it, being the "Spirit Of Chaos", he most likely has [[BlueAndOrangeMorality no sense of "good" and "evil" (or at least not one that's the same as ours or the ponies')]]. This actually makes him ''more'' terrifying than if he were straight-up evil. Think about it. To him, causing all this mayhem, destruction, and insanity is a ''good'' thing to him. Rather than being outright malevolent, he's playful (well, as playful as a psychotic reality-warping god can get) towards the ponies much like a prankster child is to the people he tricks. He thinks ''everything'' is a game (hence why he gloats when he thinks he's won) without realizing/caring that he's hurting others. Imagine being an "ant" being at the mercy of a bored child and you'll get why Discord is more terrifying being "chaos" rather than just being "evil".

to:

* While a lot of people consider Discord to be "evil" due to his MindRape and BreakTheCutie tendencies, when you think about it, being the "Spirit Of Chaos", he most likely has [[BlueAndOrangeMorality no sense of "good" and "evil" (or at least not one that's the same as ours or the ponies')]]. This actually makes him ''more'' terrifying than if he were straight-up evil. Think about it. To him, causing all this mayhem, destruction, and insanity is a ''good'' thing to him. Rather than being outright malevolent, he's playful (well, as playful as a psychotic reality-warping god can get) towards the ponies much like a prankster child is to the people he tricks. He thinks ''everything'' is a game (hence why he gloats when he thinks he's won) without realizing/caring that he's hurting others. Imagine being an "ant" being at the mercy of a bored child and you'll get why Discord is more terrifying being "chaos" rather than just being "evil".



* Twilight Sparkle's SanitySlippage fits in context of the episode of "Lesson Zero". [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/186252 Out of context]], however....
* "Want-It Need-It spell, works every time".

to:

* Twilight Sparkle's SanitySlippage fits in context of the episode of "Lesson Zero". [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/186252 Out of context]], however....
* "Want-It Need-It spell, works every time".



* At the end of "Lesson Zero" Princess Celestia declares that the Mane Six must start sending in friendship reports whenever they discover them so that Twilight isn't punished, essentially placing them in an open-ended contract with no specificities, agreements between parties, or terms over what qualifies as a friendship report leaving plenty of room for Celestia to change it as she chooses, such as establishing a report quota, a required length, declaring what the punishment for not sending in friendship reports would be, or just all out declaring the invalidity of lessons learned in friendship reports. And we don't even know what Twilight's punishment was going to be, the Mane Six could have just entered a [[IncrediblyLamePun Faustian]] bargain to prevent a punishment to Twilight that could have been disproportionately better than them spending the rest of their lives filling friendship reports for Celestia.

to:

* At the end of "Lesson Zero" Princess Celestia declares that the Mane Six must start sending in friendship reports whenever they discover them so that Twilight isn't punished, essentially placing them in an open-ended contract with no specificities, agreements between parties, or terms over what qualifies as a friendship report leaving plenty of room for Celestia to change it as she chooses, such as establishing a report quota, a required length, declaring what the punishment for not sending in friendship reports would be, or just all out declaring the invalidity of lessons learned in friendship reports. And we don't even know what Twilight's punishment was going to be, the Mane Six could have just entered a [[IncrediblyLamePun Faustian]] bargain to prevent a punishment to Twilight that could have been disproportionately better than them spending the rest of their lives filling friendship reports for Celestia.



* Twilight's SanitySlippage in "Lesson Zero" ''really'' starts after her friends make light of her problem and even laugh at it a bit. Now remember what their "Discorded" selves did to her in "Return Of Harmony, Part 2" and [[BreakTheCutie what that]] [[DespairEventHorizon did to]] [[HeroicBSOD poor Twilight]]. Imagine how it felt to an already ''very'' frustraited Twilight to have her friends laughing to her again after that and their innocent joking seems a ''lot'' less innocent.

to:

* Twilight's SanitySlippage in "Lesson Zero" ''really'' starts after her friends make light of her problem and even laugh at it a bit. Now remember what their "Discorded" selves did to her in "Return Of Harmony, Part 2" and [[BreakTheCutie what that]] [[DespairEventHorizon did to]] [[HeroicBSOD poor Twilight]]. Imagine how it felt to an already ''very'' frustraited Twilight to have her friends laughing to her again after that and their innocent joking seems a ''lot'' less innocent.



*** In her "BBBFF" song, though, she says outright that she thought friendship was "silly", so maybe she just wasn't even all that interested in friendship? It would explain her line in the pilot, when she says saving Equestria does not revolve around her making friends.

to:

*** In her "BBBFF" song, though, she says outright that she thought friendship was "silly", so maybe she just wasn't even all that interested in friendship? It would explain her line in the pilot, when she says saving Equestria does not revolve around her making friends.



* "Sisterhooves Social", when Apple Bloom covers Applejack in smashed up grapes, Sweetie Belle's reaction is to panic and beg Applejack not to punish her. That almost comes off looking like the reaction of a child in an abusive home.

to:

* "Sisterhooves Social", when Apple Bloom covers Applejack in smashed up grapes, Sweetie Belle's reaction is to panic and beg Applejack not to punish her. That almost comes off looking like the reaction of a child in an abusive home.



* When Twilight looks up the cure, she says that the disease disappears as mysteriously as it arrived. The Cutie Pox creates a random cutie mark and the infected is forced to perform the talent related to it and as Apple Bloom shows us, it can be anything to be able to perform tricks with a "Loopty Hoop" to speaking French to being a proficient fencer and no one is able to stop her. That is already frightening enough that Apple Bloom can't stop, but what happens if a more deadly Cutie Mark shows up? One that involves hurting possibly even killing the ponies around her? ''She'd be forced to perform '''THAT''' talent against her will!'' To add to that, why does the disease disappear as mysteriously as it arrived? If the above FridgeHorror is true, then no pony would be left to tell the tale if it does get that deadly. That or the ponies would be forced to kill the infected before it gets to that point.

to:

* When Twilight looks up the cure, she says that the disease disappears as mysteriously as it arrived. The Cutie Pox creates a random cutie mark and the infected is forced to perform the talent related to it and as Apple Bloom shows us, it can be anything to be able to perform tricks with a "Loopty Hoop" to speaking French to being a proficient fencer and no one is able to stop her. That is already frightening enough that Apple Bloom can't stop, but what happens if a more deadly Cutie Mark shows up? One that involves hurting possibly even killing the ponies around her? ''She'd be forced to perform '''THAT''' talent against her will!'' To add to that, why does the disease disappear as mysteriously as it arrived? If the above FridgeHorror is true, then no pony would be left to tell the tale if it does get that deadly. That or the ponies would be forced to kill the infected before it gets to that point.



** The Cutie Pox is very similar to a disease called "The Dancing Fever". If you think humans can't get infected by a disease that eventually kills you from exhaustion, think again. More information about it can be found on TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Plague_of_1518 here]].

to:

** The Cutie Pox is very similar to a disease called "The Dancing Fever". If you think humans can't get infected by a disease that eventually kills you from exhaustion, think again. More information about it can be found on TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Plague_of_1518 here]].



* Rainbow Dash names her new pet tortoise Tank, because he's "built like a tank." You know, not the container for fluids, the armored vehicle. Although this is a good name, it implies the existence of mechanized warfare in Equestria.

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* Rainbow Dash names her new pet tortoise Tank, because he's "built like a tank." You know, not the container for fluids, the armored vehicle. Although this is a good name, it implies the existence of mechanized warfare in Equestria.



** Her personality isn't based just around being a great flyer, it's about just being generally great. She's highly competitive when it comes to pretty much everything, even board games. As such, she'd probably take quite well to being a CoolOldLady who is looked up to by younger ponies. No doubt she'd have lots of cool stories to tell. Think Granny Smith's presentation in the school, but even more awesome (and with a few embellishments; this ''is'' RD we're talking about). "...and I saved the world from eternal night, and I kicked a dragon in the face, and I saved the Wonderbolts, and I defeated the spirit of chaos, and I fought off an army of changelings..."

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** Her personality isn't based just around being a great flyer, it's about just being generally great. She's highly competitive when it comes to pretty much everything, even board games. As such, she'd probably take quite well to being a CoolOldLady who is looked up to by younger ponies. No doubt she'd have lots of cool stories to tell. Think Granny Smith's presentation in the school, but even more awesome (and with a few embellishments; this ''is'' RD we're talking about). "...and I saved the world from eternal night, and I kicked a dragon in the face, and I saved the Wonderbolts, and I defeated the spirit of chaos, and I fought off an army of changelings..."



* Where the ''[[NoOSHACompliance HELL]]'' was the Pony equivalent of OSHA? Seriously, so many disasters, so many crumbling/damaged structures, why has the town not been condemned yet? Couple this with the obviously crumbling city hall in "The Last Roundup," and Ponyville really starts to look ramshackle and unsafe. How many ponies have been hurt or killed due to structural damage?

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* Where the ''[[NoOSHACompliance HELL]]'' was the Pony equivalent of OSHA? Seriously, so many disasters, so many crumbling/damaged structures, why has the town not been condemned yet? Couple this with the obviously crumbling city hall in "The Last Roundup," and Ponyville really starts to look ramshackle and unsafe. How many ponies have been hurt or killed due to structural damage?



** Coupling these troubled signs with how Sweetie Belle reacts to Applejack and Apple Bloom about to fight and the whole "it doesn't have to be physical to be abuse" mantra...One has to wonder if they're parents are really as nice as they seem. There could be a very good reason why Sweetie is living with her big sister instead of their parents.

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** Coupling these troubled signs with how Sweetie Belle reacts to Applejack and Apple Bloom about to fight and the whole "it doesn't have to be physical to be abuse" mantra...One has to wonder if they're parents are really as nice as they seem. There could be a very good reason why Sweetie is living with her big sister instead of their parents.



** Spike has shown to have different "adult" forms though, one being [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles magically induced]] and the other part of an [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow imagine spot]]. There's no guarantee his natural adult self will be the same as this greedy version. As long as they help quell his hoarding tendencies, one would expect his growth to be more manageable.

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** Spike has shown to have different "adult" forms though, one being [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles magically induced]] and the other part of an [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow imagine spot]]. There's no guarantee his natural adult self will be the same as this greedy version. As long as they help quell his hoarding tendencies, one would expect his growth to be more manageable.



** Ponyville generally falls somewhere between CrazyPrepared and ProperlyParanoid in terms of handling emergencies. But maybe it was installed during the fifties, it would explain the cute lil' hazmat suits from "The Cutie Pox".

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** Ponyville generally falls somewhere between CrazyPrepared and ProperlyParanoid in terms of handling emergencies. But maybe it was installed during the fifties, it would explain the cute lil' hazmat suits from "The Cutie Pox".



** That water tower thing has a hole in the "funnel". When Twilight used it to hold milk to feed to the Ursa Minor, it had no problem sucking out of it like a baby bottle. Presumably, she didn't have to uncap it for this.

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** That water tower thing has a hole in the "funnel". When Twilight used it to hold milk to feed to the Ursa Minor, it had no problem sucking out of it like a baby bottle. Presumably, she didn't have to uncap it for this.



** Although that seems highly unlikely coming from this kind of series, it does bring up some unsettling AdultFear: Since Pumpkin can walk through the basket using her magic, what's going to stop her from getting into something ''dangerous''? Like the Drain-O in the sink cabinet, the deadly sharp silverware in the kitchen drawer, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or the stash of "Equestria After Dark" magazines Mr. Cake hides in his closet?]]

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** Although that seems highly unlikely coming from this kind of series, it does bring up some unsettling AdultFear: Since Pumpkin can walk through the basket using her magic, what's going to stop her from getting into something ''dangerous''? Like the Drain-O in the sink cabinet, the deadly sharp silverware in the kitchen drawer, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or the stash of "Equestria After Dark" magazines Mr. Cake hides in his closet?]]



** Another thing is that Pound Cake is ''one month old'' and he can already fly to the point that he can speed around a house while carrying a pony several times his size and weight. If this is just a fraction of what he'll be able to do, he might be outdoing Rainbow Dash when he's older. If Baby Dashie had to have her wings tied, ask yourself: What's faster than a sonic rainboom? Now apply that to Pound Cake. Now factor in Pound Cake's name. He already likes to "pound" things. Sooner or later, he's going to figure out that faster speeds equal harder pounding on things. Here's to hoping he never thinks to try '''pounding the ground at supersonic speed.'''
* At the end of "Baby Cakes", neither twin has a diaper on before the go to sleep. It's more than likely they'll "make lemonade" [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime or "boom-boom"]] not too long after.
* When Pinkie is looking for Pound Cake about halfway through the episode, the house is dark and the only sound other than Pinkie is Pumpkin Cake with the rubber chicken. The window is also open. Suddenly Pinkie hears a whispered "Pinkie..." followed by laughter. It's frightening because she can't see that Pound Cake is flying above her, and up until that moment neither of the twins had ever spoken before. So to her there's an [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse unknown disembodied voice]] of an intruder in a dark house whispering her name and laughing while she frantically searches for a missing child.

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** Another thing is that Pound Cake is ''one month old'' and he can already fly to the point that he can speed around a house while carrying a pony several times his size and weight. If this is just a fraction of what he'll be able to do, he might be outdoing Rainbow Dash when he's older. If Baby Dashie had to have her wings tied, ask yourself: What's faster than a sonic rainboom? Now apply that to Pound Cake. Now factor in Pound Cake's name. He already likes to "pound" things. Sooner or later, he's going to figure out that faster speeds equal harder pounding on things. Here's to hoping he never thinks to try '''pounding the ground at supersonic speed.'''
* At the end of "Baby Cakes", neither twin has a diaper on before the go to sleep. It's more than likely they'll "make lemonade" [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime or "boom-boom"]] not too long after.
* When Pinkie is looking for Pound Cake about halfway through the episode, the house is dark and the only sound other than Pinkie is Pumpkin Cake with the rubber chicken. The window is also open. Suddenly Pinkie hears a whispered "Pinkie..." followed by laughter. It's frightening because she can't see that Pound Cake is flying above her, and up until that moment neither of the twins had ever spoken before. So to her there's an [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse unknown disembodied voice]] of an intruder in a dark house whispering her name and laughing while she frantically searches for a missing child.



** It's possible the races never, or rarely mixed before then, as they loathed each other. Since Mr. Cake explained that there were unicorns and pegasi in his family tree (or both his and Mrs. Cake's?), thus providing the possibility that the genes needed to be present to allow for it to even happen. Not to mention, any pony not fitting the society may have just been cast out to live in the "proper" society.

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** It's possible the races never, or rarely mixed before then, as they loathed each other. Since Mr. Cake explained that there were unicorns and pegasi in his family tree (or both his and Mrs. Cake's?), thus providing the possibility that the genes needed to be present to allow for it to even happen. Not to mention, any pony not fitting the society may have just been cast out to live in the "proper" society.



** Very doubtful. Perhaps back in the old days before Equestria was founded this could be a problem but in the SugarBowl that is modern Equestria this kind of pony "racism" would be absurd. An earth pony would be able to live among unicorns without any problem (remember that Canterlot - the most high class city shown - has plenty of earth ponies in high positions). For an non-pegasus born in Cloudsdale, there may be creative solutions we haven't seen. Or maybe in such an instance the parents would simply move to a different town - a normal sacrifice loving parents are expected to make in such a situation. [[ThreeHundred That or they just simply chuck the babies down to the earth below]].

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** Very doubtful. Perhaps back in the old days before Equestria was founded this could be a problem but in the SugarBowl that is modern Equestria this kind of pony "racism" would be absurd. An earth pony would be able to live among unicorns without any problem (remember that Canterlot - the most high class city shown - has plenty of earth ponies in high positions). For an non-pegasus born in Cloudsdale, there may be creative solutions we haven't seen. Or maybe in such an instance the parents would simply move to a different town - a normal sacrifice loving parents are expected to make in such a situation. [[ThreeHundred That or they just simply chuck the babies down to the earth below]].



** Since Sweetie Belle can't use magic while Pumpkin Cake clearly can, it's implied Pound Cake is having a "pegasus magic" spurt, and will lose his flight after about a year and then regain it during, say, tail end of puberty. After all, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were admitted to Flight Camp at an age where Fluttershy is clearly having a growth spurt.

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** Since Sweetie Belle can't use magic while Pumpkin Cake clearly can, it's implied Pound Cake is having a "pegasus magic" spurt, and will lose his flight after about a year and then regain it during, say, tail end of puberty. After all, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were admitted to Flight Camp at an age where Fluttershy is clearly having a growth spurt.



* Also in "Hearth's Warming Eve", the main antagonists are Windigos. Traditionally, Windigos are the spirit of Cannibalism from the Native American Algonquian people. It was said that people caught in a blizzard would be possessed by the Windigo, and eat their companions, which would make them into a Windigo themselves. Meaning if the ponies hadn't made peace, they would have ate each other.
* The Hearth's Warming Eve pageant has a happy ending, with the three tribes coming together in harmony. However, at the beginning, it's noted that this took place long before the rule of Celestia and Luna. In "Return of Harmony", Celestia notes that she and Luna began their reign after they deposed Discord. The play may have a happy ending, but they eventually are taken over by Discord after founding their new land. And not all that much later, considering that Luna remembers Star Swirl The Bearded, who was mentioned in the pageant.

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* Also in "Hearth's Warming Eve", the main antagonists are Windigos. Traditionally, Windigos are the spirit of Cannibalism from the Native American Algonquian people. It was said that people caught in a blizzard would be possessed by the Windigo, and eat their companions, which would make them into a Windigo themselves. Meaning if the ponies hadn't made peace, they would have ate each other.
* The Hearth's Warming Eve pageant has a happy ending, with the three tribes coming together in harmony. However, at the beginning, it's noted that this took place long before the rule of Celestia and Luna. In "Return of Harmony", Celestia notes that she and Luna began their reign after they deposed Discord. The play may have a happy ending, but they eventually are taken over by Discord after founding their new land. And not all that much later, considering that Luna remembers Star Swirl The Bearded, who was mentioned in the pageant.



** The disappearance of background ponies coincides with the introduction of Private Pansy, Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie...right before the journey to Equestria. Notice how Spike keeps talking about "the tribes" in his narration. Whoever directed the play probably decided that three anonymous masses in movement could as well be represented by three actors.

to:

** The disappearance of background ponies coincides with the introduction of Private Pansy, Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie...right before the journey to Equestria. Notice how Spike keeps talking about "the tribes" in his narration. Whoever directed the play probably decided that three anonymous masses in movement could as well be represented by three actors.



** She knew him well enough to know that Twilight had "even gotten the bells right". Of course Luna herself might only have seen pictures of him with his bells but I prefer to think that she met him herself.

to:

** She knew him well enough to know that Twilight had "even gotten the bells right". Of course Luna herself might only have seen pictures of him with his bells but I prefer to think that she met him herself.



*** Like I said, "not necessarily". But the claim is not absolute proof either way

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*** Like I said, "not necessarily". But the claim is not absolute proof either way



* We now have a new one. Princess Platinum is described as the "daughter of the Unicorn King." Who's the only unicorn king we know of as of Series 3? '''[[EvilOverlord Sombra.]]''' (Yes, the events depicted in the play take place before Celestia and Luna were in power, but if you take the theory that Discord's rule happened soon after into account...)

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* We now have a new one. Princess Platinum is described as the "daughter of the Unicorn King." Who's the only unicorn king we know of as of Series 3? '''[[EvilOverlord Sombra.]]''' (Yes, the events depicted in the play take place before Celestia and Luna were in power, but if you take the theory that Discord's rule happened soon after into account...)



** Keep all that in mind while watching "Green Isn't Your Color" and note how Pinkie shows up whenever it seems Twilight's gonna break her Pinkie Promise. If she feels inclined to, she can ''follow you anywhere'' to make sure you don't break one, like she did with Twilight. Now think about The Last Roundup, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgVPun6TuQQ let the title of this vid sink in]]...

to:

** Keep all that in mind while watching "Green Isn't Your Color" and note how Pinkie shows up whenever it seems Twilight's gonna break her Pinkie Promise. If she feels inclined to, she can ''follow you anywhere'' to make sure you don't break one, like she did with Twilight. Now think about The Last Roundup, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgVPun6TuQQ let the title of this vid sink in]]...



* "Onto the next town", the Flim Flam brothers say. One: they've presumably done this before. Have they succeeded in driving other Apple families out of business? Two: they're doing it again. Will the next town's citizens be so lucky as Applejack's?

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* "Onto the next town", the Flim Flam brothers say. One: they've presumably done this before. Have they succeeded in driving other Apple families out of business? Two: they're doing it again. Will the next town's citizens be so lucky as Applejack's?



*** That's assuming the other Apple's aren't as prideful as Apple Jack was in Applebucking. "I wasn't the best." seems to be a running theme for AJ and may very well be in the family.

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*** That's assuming the other Apple's aren't as prideful as Apple Jack was in Applebucking. "I wasn't the best." seems to be a running theme for AJ and may very well be in the family.



** There probably are some sort of regular "sky ferries", or magical teleporters, or something like that, which would allow earthbound ponies access Cloudsdale whenever they need to.

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** There probably are some sort of regular "sky ferries", or magical teleporters, or something like that, which would allow earthbound ponies access Cloudsdale whenever they need to.



** It also mentions "something about a dragon". Discord's species is ''Dracon''equus, dragon horse.

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** It also mentions "something about a dragon". Discord's species is ''Dracon''equus, dragon horse.



** My thoughts upon reading this: "That's stupid. If clouds and rainbows accidentally get mixed, they're still not going to be accidentally stirred with a pegasus feather, fast, not slow. For that matter, 'give it to two ponies who are not in the know' implies that it only works if given to two ponies, whereas an accident might well only administer it to one, not to mention that it may imply that it only works if administered as a deliberate deception . . . wait, that's worse."

to:

** My thoughts upon reading this: "That's stupid. If clouds and rainbows accidentally get mixed, they're still not going to be accidentally stirred with a pegasus feather, fast, not slow. For that matter, 'give it to two ponies who are not in the know' implies that it only works if given to two ponies, whereas an accident might well only administer it to one, not to mention that it may imply that it only works if administered as a deliberate deception . . . wait, that's worse."



* Mrs. Cake has a throw-away line about the fact that she "could use the catering business" from the wedding. Perhaps the fact that Sugarcube Corner has taken considerable damage in Season 2, and even in this episode, has left them teetering on the brink of financial ruin from the continuous repairs.

to:

* Mrs. Cake has a throw-away line about the fact that she "could use the catering business" from the wedding. Perhaps the fact that Sugarcube Corner has taken considerable damage in Season 2, and even in this episode, has left them teetering on the brink of financial ruin from the continuous repairs.



* New Fluttershy has no qualms about resorting to violence for minor slights. "Old Fluttershy" kicked a bear's ass and almost snapped his neck. And until [[spoiler: she had her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment]], she seemed to be steadily getting worse. What if she had not HAD that moment?

to:

* New Fluttershy has no qualms about resorting to violence for minor slights. "Old Fluttershy" kicked a bear's ass and almost snapped his neck. And until [[spoiler: she had her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment]], she seemed to be steadily getting worse. What if she had not HAD that moment?



* It might seem like a lot of the ponies in "Putting Your Hoof Down" have taken [[TookALevelInJerkass levels in jerkass]], but how many times have we really seen Fluttershy in Ponyville by herself? It's almost always with her friends, or at least while guiding some animals around town. They might act civil because her friends will stand up for her, or because a pack of wild animals is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason more trouble than it's worth,]] but what if that's how they act when she's alone all the time because they know Fluttershy won't do anything about it?

to:

* It might seem like a lot of the ponies in "Putting Your Hoof Down" have taken [[TookALevelInJerkass levels in jerkass]], but how many times have we really seen Fluttershy in Ponyville by herself? It's almost always with her friends, or at least while guiding some animals around town. They might act civil because her friends will stand up for her, or because a pack of wild animals is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason more trouble than it's worth,]] but what if that's how they act when she's alone all the time because they know Fluttershy won't do anything about it?



* How much do Elements of Harmony bearers qualifty for their Elements if "New Fluttershy" is technically still the bearer of the Element of Kindness? Is "Old Fluttershy" really that kind or is she actually a BitchInSheepsClothing and the Elements can't distinguish this because they're simply magical inanimate objects?

to:

* How much do Elements of Harmony bearers qualifty for their Elements if "New Fluttershy" is technically still the bearer of the Element of Kindness? Is "Old Fluttershy" really that kind or is she actually a BitchInSheepsClothing and the Elements can't distinguish this because they're simply magical inanimate objects?



** "...but that still could be enough to change the course of time radically." Thankfully no. The spell is clearly shown to operate on YouAlreadyChangedThePast principles.

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** "...but that still could be enough to change the course of time radically." Thankfully no. The spell is clearly shown to operate on YouAlreadyChangedThePast principles.



** In the episode Twilight tells Pinkie Pie and Spike, "Time spells are kept in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing, the most secure section of the archives. That's why we're sneaking around!"

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** In the episode Twilight tells Pinkie Pie and Spike, "Time spells are kept in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing, the most secure section of the archives. That's why we're sneaking around!"



** And even if all four of them were no match for those dragons, I think a certain [[http://niban-destikim.deviantart.com/art/The-Namby-Pamby-princess-291325254 "namby pamby princess pony"]] would not take kindly to a group of riff-raff harming her closest student and her companions.

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** And even if all four of them were no match for those dragons, I think a certain [[http://niban-destikim.deviantart.com/art/The-Namby-Pamby-princess-291325254 "namby pamby princess pony"]] would not take kindly to a group of riff-raff harming her closest student and her companions.



** It might just be currently settled Equestria, given that Everfree is so "spooky" because it works on its own like a forest here on Earth, and that we know that Celestia and Luna had at one time called it their home. It's quite likely that the clouds that need managing (for example, the ones RD takes care of in ten second flat in the first episode) come from Everfree and other, similarly wild areas.

to:

** It might just be currently settled Equestria, given that Everfree is so "spooky" because it works on its own like a forest here on Earth, and that we know that Celestia and Luna had at one time called it their home. It's quite likely that the clouds that need managing (for example, the ones RD takes care of in ten second flat in the first episode) come from Everfree and other, similarly wild areas.



[[AC: A Canterlot Wedding, Parts 1 & 2]]

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[[AC: A Canterlot Wedding, Parts 1 & 2]]



* Pay close attention to how Celestia delievers the line "You have a ''lot'' to think about." It is not unlike the way she delievered the line "You won't get away with this, Discord!" back in the first part of The Return of Harmony. Now, before she delievered that line, it was already preestablished that she felt nothing but pure hatred for Discord. I'll let that sink in for a minute.

to:

* Pay close attention to how Celestia delievers the line "You have a ''lot'' to think about." It is not unlike the way she delievered the line "You won't get away with this, Discord!" back in the first part of The Return of Harmony. Now, before she delievered that line, it was already preestablished that she felt nothing but pure hatred for Discord. I'll let that sink in for a minute.



** It gets worse: did anypony else notice that Celestia, after being proven conclusively wrong and almost dooming all of Equestria because she didn't listen to Twilight, ''[[MoralDissonance never apologized]]''? She gave Twilight some vaguely approving line about learning to "trust her instincts", but to quote Applejack, Twilight didn't learn anything! She ''knew'' to trust her instincts; it was Celestia who, despite the fact that Twilight has been right each and every time she's predicted some supernatural disaster, didn't give her desperate warning a second thought, and in fact dismissed her as coldly as she once did ''Discord''.
*** That's softened somewhat when you remember that Twilight ''has'' been slightly "possessive" of her brother all along, and also when you remember that Cadence can hardly help but earn people's love; Twilight was, from Celestia's perspective, attacking a pony who's probably her niece with no evidence and no provocation. Her disappointment probably stemmed mainly from the fact that not only did it seem like Twilight was being childish and freaking out over nothing--like in Lesson Zero--but as an Element Bearer, she should ''know better''.
*** That ''was'' Celestia apologizing to Twilight. She's immortal. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever The longer she lives, the harder it becomes to move past the mistakes she's made.]] Apologizing for them only keeps them fresh on her mind and slows the healing process. Here, we see her using a technique for getting around that problem; Celestia "apologizes" by showering Twilight with praise for going right where Celestia went wrong.

to:

** It gets worse: did anypony else notice that Celestia, after being proven conclusively wrong and almost dooming all of Equestria because she didn't listen to Twilight, ''[[MoralDissonance never apologized]]''? She gave Twilight some vaguely approving line about learning to "trust her instincts", but to quote Applejack, Twilight didn't learn anything! She ''knew'' to trust her instincts; it was Celestia who, despite the fact that Twilight has been right each and every time she's predicted some supernatural disaster, didn't give her desperate warning a second thought, and in fact dismissed her as coldly as she once did ''Discord''.
*** That's softened somewhat when you remember that Twilight ''has'' been slightly "possessive" of her brother all along, and also when you remember that Cadence can hardly help but earn people's love; Twilight was, from Celestia's perspective, attacking a pony who's probably her niece with no evidence and no provocation. Her disappointment probably stemmed mainly from the fact that not only did it seem like Twilight was being childish and freaking out over nothing--like in Lesson Zero--but as an Element Bearer, she should ''know better''.
*** That ''was'' Celestia apologizing to Twilight. She's immortal. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever The longer she lives, the harder it becomes to move past the mistakes she's made.]] Apologizing for them only keeps them fresh on her mind and slows the healing process. Here, we see her using a technique for getting around that problem; Celestia "apologizes" by showering Twilight with praise for going right where Celestia went wrong.



*** The others hardly had time to grovel to Twilight- there were more pressing matters to be dealing with at the time. Also, the attitudes of Shining Armour, Celestia and the Mane Five may have seemed harsh to some, but again, Twilight bursts in with no evidence, accuses "Cadance" of being evil and then is swiftly proved totally wrong. Honestly, they had every right to be annoyed with Twilight, she'd already been shown to be incredibly possessive of Shining Armour. Not to mention, Twilight almost got Ponyville torn apart because of her "Want It, Need It" spell that didn't need casting in the first place and in "It's About Time", she went back in time for a pretty flimsy reason. Are they supposed to believe her every time she's suspicious about something? Sure, she turned out to be right, but she went about proving it really badly.

to:

*** The others hardly had time to grovel to Twilight- there were more pressing matters to be dealing with at the time. Also, the attitudes of Shining Armour, Celestia and the Mane Five may have seemed harsh to some, but again, Twilight bursts in with no evidence, accuses "Cadance" of being evil and then is swiftly proved totally wrong. Honestly, they had every right to be annoyed with Twilight, she'd already been shown to be incredibly possessive of Shining Armour. Not to mention, Twilight almost got Ponyville torn apart because of her "Want It, Need It" spell that didn't need casting in the first place and in "It's About Time", she went back in time for a pretty flimsy reason. Are they supposed to believe her every time she's suspicious about something? Sure, she turned out to be right, but she went about proving it really badly.



**** Even then, a simply "Sorry" won't suffice.

to:

**** Even then, a simply "Sorry" won't suffice.



** Specifically (different troper here), it's entirely possible that the original spell already started to fail around the time of Nightmare Moon's banishment -- and that it then ''still'' took the thousand-odd years since then for it to weaken enough that Discord could finally break free. (Yes, this is straying into {{WMG}} territory a bit, but let's give the Elements of Harmony their due: in the right hooves at the right time, they ''should'' be able to do better than just "turn this villain into stone until the next time somepony has an argument nearby". If ''that'' was the case, Discord would likely have been free again already circa mid-season...)

to:

** Specifically (different troper here), it's entirely possible that the original spell already started to fail around the time of Nightmare Moon's banishment -- and that it then ''still'' took the thousand-odd years since then for it to weaken enough that Discord could finally break free. (Yes, this is straying into {{WMG}} territory a bit, but let's give the Elements of Harmony their due: in the right hooves at the right time, they ''should'' be able to do better than just "turn this villain into stone until the next time somepony has an argument nearby". If ''that'' was the case, Discord would likely have been free again already circa mid-season...)



** ''[[Series/DoctorWho "Humans need water, they can still drown in it!"]]''

to:

** ''[[Series/DoctorWho "Humans need water, they can still drown in it!"]]''



* [[spoiler: In all likelihood, Chrysalis intended Twilight to ''kill'' the real Princess Cadence. I mean, she goaded her into blowing up the very wall Cadence was trapped behind. Sure, she ''said'' Twilight would only have to "[[NeverSayDie catch]]" her, but given how rage-filled Twilight was at that point...]]

to:

* [[spoiler: In all likelihood, Chrysalis intended Twilight to ''kill'' the real Princess Cadence. I mean, she goaded her into blowing up the very wall Cadence was trapped behind. Sure, she ''said'' Twilight would only have to "[[NeverSayDie catch]]" her, but given how rage-filled Twilight was at that point...]]



* The moral from A Canterlot Wedding is pretty lousy. "Trust your instincts". That's fine, since it turned out that Twilight was right and it wasn't the real Cadence, but what if it was just pre-royal wedding nerves? Twilight would have been alienated Princess Celestia and her friends.

to:

* The moral from A Canterlot Wedding is pretty lousy. "Trust your instincts". That's fine, since it turned out that Twilight was right and it wasn't the real Cadence, but what if it was just pre-royal wedding nerves? Twilight would have been alienated Princess Celestia and her friends.



* Chrysalis admires how Equestria has more love than she's ever encounterd. Just how many countries/worlds has she already..."encountered" and what became of them?
* Imagine the sort of tyrant Cadence could be if she used her powers for evil. She has the power to make every pony in Equestria completely devoted to her. [[hottip:*:''More like she has the power to bolster the love one already feels toward another."]]

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* Chrysalis admires how Equestria has more love than she's ever encounterd. Just how many countries/worlds has she already..."encountered" and what became of them?
* Imagine the sort of tyrant Cadence could be if she used her powers for evil. She has the power to make every pony in Equestria completely devoted to her. [[hottip:*:''More like she has the power to bolster the love one already feels toward another."]]



** This creates even more implications if the audience has prior knowledge of [[SwordOfTruthThe Sword Of Truth]] series of books, which have the Confessor. A being who's ability is to suppress a person's ability to feel anything but love for the Confessor and magnifies it tenfold. If a confessor asks a person she has "touched" to die, they are so devoted their heart simply stops. If Cadence became a Tyrant, and Love is implied to be stronger than Celestia (Chrysalis beats Celestia --> Chrysalis is beaten by Love) she could either enslave or kill both Princesses on a whim.
** There is a way that Cadance basically could use her powers for evil, even if her main power is to strengthen love already there - remember the "Want It Need It spell"? It's likely that Twilight learned that from Cadance, and it forced everypony to fall in love with her Smarty Pants doll. A "Want It Need It" spell there, a bit of her love-strengthening magic there, and Cadance could have every stallion in Equestria under her control to be a slave to her love if she really wanted.

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** This creates even more implications if the audience has prior knowledge of [[SwordOfTruthThe Sword Of Truth]] series of books, which have the Confessor. A being who's ability is to suppress a person's ability to feel anything but love for the Confessor and magnifies it tenfold. If a confessor asks a person she has "touched" to die, they are so devoted their heart simply stops. If Cadence became a Tyrant, and Love is implied to be stronger than Celestia (Chrysalis beats Celestia --> Chrysalis is beaten by Love) she could either enslave or kill both Princesses on a whim.
** There is a way that Cadance basically could use her powers for evil, even if her main power is to strengthen love already there - remember the "Want It Need It spell"? It's likely that Twilight learned that from Cadance, and it forced everypony to fall in love with her Smarty Pants doll. A "Want It Need It" spell there, a bit of her love-strengthening magic there, and Cadance could have every stallion in Equestria under her control to be a slave to her love if she really wanted.



* Cadence's powers. Even if they "strengthen what's already there", that's not exactly much better. For instance, it is never really made clear just what qualifies as "love" for her powers? It's almost guaranteed that you feel more "love" towards any random passerby - even one who you absolutely hate - than you do towards that ant that is crawling along your wall. Can she use that? If so, then even if her powers don't "create" love, then the effects would be effectively indistinguishable.
** Depends a lot on one's personal stance on "love" in general. Is love a good thing? Then Cadence's powers are pretty unquestionably positive. Is it an already-questionable breakdown of rationality (or worse) in its own right? ''Then'' they suddenly look a lot more ominous. (Of course, the real reason her powers are going to be limited is somewhat more meta: most of the show is ''driven'' by interpersonal conflict of some kind or other, and if a Princess DeusExMachina could just pop in and resolve everything with a few strategically-placed pink hearts anytime she liked, that would be kind of anticlimactic. So she probably can't actually do that. Watch out if she ever picks up a SuperpoweredEvilSide, though...)
*** Not to mention the UnfortunateImplications of the "Want It, Need It" spell... take that in account with Cadance's power to amplify love, add a SuperpoweredEvilSide into the mix, and, well, you could have the potential for a [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman very]] [[TheVamp sinister]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty alicorn]].
** Not quite too worrisome, but if her Love magic does not distinguish between TheFourLoves, and she misjudges a "couple" that needs the help of her magic, that might result in some [[BrotherSisterIncest unfortunate]] [[KissingCousins accidents]], as FanArt was [[http://fav.me/d4xc25y quick to elaborate upon]].

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* Cadence's powers. Even if they "strengthen what's already there", that's not exactly much better. For instance, it is never really made clear just what qualifies as "love" for her powers? It's almost guaranteed that you feel more "love" towards any random passerby - even one who you absolutely hate - than you do towards that ant that is crawling along your wall. Can she use that? If so, then even if her powers don't "create" love, then the effects would be effectively indistinguishable.
** Depends a lot on one's personal stance on "love" in general. Is love a good thing? Then Cadence's powers are pretty unquestionably positive. Is it an already-questionable breakdown of rationality (or worse) in its own right? ''Then'' they suddenly look a lot more ominous. (Of course, the real reason her powers are going to be limited is somewhat more meta: most of the show is ''driven'' by interpersonal conflict of some kind or other, and if a Princess DeusExMachina could just pop in and resolve everything with a few strategically-placed pink hearts anytime she liked, that would be kind of anticlimactic. So she probably can't actually do that. Watch out if she ever picks up a SuperpoweredEvilSide, though...)
*** Not to mention the UnfortunateImplications of the "Want It, Need It" spell... take that in account with Cadance's power to amplify love, add a SuperpoweredEvilSide into the mix, and, well, you could have the potential for a [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman very]] [[TheVamp sinister]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty alicorn]].
** Not quite too worrisome, but if her Love magic does not distinguish between TheFourLoves, and she misjudges a "couple" that needs the help of her magic, that might result in some [[BrotherSisterIncest unfortunate]] [[KissingCousins accidents]], as FanArt was [[http://fav.me/d4xc25y quick to elaborate upon]].



* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hZnE3RJLM&list=PLDEF92F38FC613C55&index=150&feature=plpp_video In this sneak preview]], [[spoiler: the Crystal Pony Twi talks to is clearly having her memories or mind tampered with by the villain in a manner quite like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4 the SOPS]]. All the other Crystal Ponies exhibit similar symptoms and lack of emotion. whoever the villain is, they are clearly using a SOPS-style system to [[MindControl enslave and control the entire population]]! And you thought having absolute control over soldiers was bad enough.]]

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* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hZnE3RJLM&list=PLDEF92F38FC613C55&index=150&feature=plpp_video In this sneak preview]], [[spoiler: the Crystal Pony Twi talks to is clearly having her memories or mind tampered with by the villain in a manner quite like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4 the SOPS]]. All the other Crystal Ponies exhibit similar symptoms and lack of emotion. whoever the villain is, they are clearly using a SOPS-style system to [[MindControl enslave and control the entire population]]! And you thought having absolute control over soldiers was bad enough.]]



* Why are there no children in the Crystal Empire, though some are clearly shown in Celestia's "hologram"?

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* Why are there no children in the Crystal Empire, though some are clearly shown in Celestia's "hologram"?



* Sombra was imprisoned a thousand years ago. Luna became Nightmare Moon and was sealed away in the moon a thousand years ago. WordOfGod says Luna was corrupted by dark magic when she became Nightmare Moon. ''How do we know Sombra didn't infect her with some of his power as a final "screw you" before he was sealed away''? Considering we don't know exactly ''when'' Luna became Nightmare Moon, it could've been some time after Sombra was defeated, and the "infection" had time to grow and consume her!

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* Sombra was imprisoned a thousand years ago. Luna became Nightmare Moon and was sealed away in the moon a thousand years ago. WordOfGod says Luna was corrupted by dark magic when she became Nightmare Moon. ''How do we know Sombra didn't infect her with some of his power as a final "screw you" before he was sealed away''? Considering we don't know exactly ''when'' Luna became Nightmare Moon, it could've been some time after Sombra was defeated, and the "infection" had time to grow and consume her!



** "More twisted and depraved"? Not necessarily. Perhaps the pond doesn't create a clone with exaggerated qualities, but rather ones with the same essential nature as the original. The difference is that the clones have none of the original's experience. Pinkie Pie, for all her zaniness, still had to develop the skills and self-control necessary to live in polite pony society. This is why she doesn't go around doing anything but benign if she can help it. The clones emerged fully formed from the pond, complete with all of the original's randomness, but without her learned heed for others that checks Pinkie Pie's behavior (for what it's worth). They didn't know what they were doing. [[spoiler: This of course magnifies the Fridge Horror in that Twilight enacted a holocaust against not just sentient beings, but sentient NEWBORNS.]] As for Discord, whether or not his clones would be more vile would hinge on whether his evil is inherent as a chaos being, or was acquired at some point in his past. If the former, they most certainly be more evil because they'd lack even the barest of Discord's self control, whatever that may be. If the latter, the clones might be random but benign, and lay the groundwork for a "good" Discord.

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** "More twisted and depraved"? Not necessarily. Perhaps the pond doesn't create a clone with exaggerated qualities, but rather ones with the same essential nature as the original. The difference is that the clones have none of the original's experience. Pinkie Pie, for all her zaniness, still had to develop the skills and self-control necessary to live in polite pony society. This is why she doesn't go around doing anything but benign if she can help it. The clones emerged fully formed from the pond, complete with all of the original's randomness, but without her learned heed for others that checks Pinkie Pie's behavior (for what it's worth). They didn't know what they were doing. [[spoiler: This of course magnifies the Fridge Horror in that Twilight enacted a holocaust against not just sentient beings, but sentient NEWBORNS.]] As for Discord, whether or not his clones would be more vile would hinge on whether his evil is inherent as a chaos being, or was acquired at some point in his past. If the former, they most certainly be more evil because they'd lack even the barest of Discord's self control, whatever that may be. If the latter, the clones might be random but benign, and lay the groundwork for a "good" Discord.



* Consider what Pinkie Pie had to go through. When all the Pinkies are rounded up to take the test, Twilight simply states that the one who passes "gets to stay" (alive). The real Pinkie has to sit perfectly still and remain quiet while Twilight slaughters the unattentive duplicates, sometimes just for looking at another duplicate. Now, if Pinkie would look away for just a moment (because a duplicate bumps into her by accident, maybe?), she would be disintegrated by Twilight, die and never see her friends again. Basically, she has to suppress her entire personality if she wants to stay alive; even if she manages to do that, she might still die because some random duplicate next to her decides to make a face "crazier than THIS!". Not even Celestia's Royal guards have this much self control. Pinkie has to rely on the small amount of self restraint she has to remain alive during a few hours of crazy duplicates being killed off by an awfully cheery Twilight. How is this not severe psychological torture? Oh, and cue Spike enjoying all this with his trademark bag o' popcorn.

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* Consider what Pinkie Pie had to go through. When all the Pinkies are rounded up to take the test, Twilight simply states that the one who passes "gets to stay" (alive). The real Pinkie has to sit perfectly still and remain quiet while Twilight slaughters the unattentive duplicates, sometimes just for looking at another duplicate. Now, if Pinkie would look away for just a moment (because a duplicate bumps into her by accident, maybe?), she would be disintegrated by Twilight, die and never see her friends again. Basically, she has to suppress her entire personality if she wants to stay alive; even if she manages to do that, she might still die because some random duplicate next to her decides to make a face "crazier than THIS!". Not even Celestia's Royal guards have this much self control. Pinkie has to rely on the small amount of self restraint she has to remain alive during a few hours of crazy duplicates being killed off by an awfully cheery Twilight. How is this not severe psychological torture? Oh, and cue Spike enjoying all this with his trademark bag o' popcorn.



** All foals are supposed to have short tails. Google "foals" and look in the images to see examples.

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** All foals are supposed to have short tails. Google "foals" and look in the images to see examples.



** "Alicorn" is not a fandom nod. Not EVERYTHING is a fandom nod. Sheesh. Edited for correctness.

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** "Alicorn" is not a fandom nod. Not EVERYTHING is a fandom nod. Sheesh. Edited for correctness.



* Trixie's spell on Rainbow Dash that was "Supposed to make you writhe in agony". In other words, there are ''[[AgonyBeam spells for torture]]'' in the world of ponies. Talk about a CrapsaccharineWorld.

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* Trixie's spell on Rainbow Dash that was "Supposed to make you writhe in agony". In other words, there are ''[[AgonyBeam spells for torture]]'' in the world of ponies. Talk about a CrapsaccharineWorld.



** Thankfully, the assorted monsters of the Everfree Forest seem content to stay there unless provoked first; monster attacks seem rare enough that something like an Ursa Minor ambling into Ponyville is genuine cause for panic rather than a case of "ho hum, third critter this month...". If the timber wolves ever change their minds about that and their regeneration ability turns out ''not'' to be tied to the forest itself after all on top of that, now...

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** Thankfully, the assorted monsters of the Everfree Forest seem content to stay there unless provoked first; monster attacks seem rare enough that something like an Ursa Minor ambling into Ponyville is genuine cause for panic rather than a case of "ho hum, third critter this month...". If the timber wolves ever change their minds about that and their regeneration ability turns out ''not'' to be tied to the forest itself after all on top of that, now...
* Another point of FridgeHorror concerning timberwolves - aside from the plan to fool Spike, the only ponies tat we knew to have had contact with timberwolves previously is the Apple family. As of last episode, we know that [[StarsAreSouls Applejack's parents are dead]], but we don't know ''how'' they died... what if they were killed by timberwolves?

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%% Please don't bother to "explain" or "justify" any moments because they are subjective opinions and can't be justified.
%%
%% Don't use "I", "me" or "this troper" either.
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%% If something's blatantly wrong, just fix it.
%%
FridgeHorror for WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: General]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.
** The land of Equestria is idyllic and innocent, right? Sure, unless you count Applejack's unhealthy obsession with work, Rainbow Dash's performance anxiety, Fluttershy's (albeit generally well-managed) [[BewareTheNiceOnes anger issues]], and Rarity's manipulative tendencies. And don't even get started on Pinkie Pie, who has a phobia of rejection and bipolar disorder so severe it could arguably turn into dissociative identity disorder if she [[AxCrazy snapped harder than she already has]].
*** Pinkie Pie having Dissociative Identity Disorder might have already happened, depending on if you view her depressed side [[FanNickname "Pinkamena"]] as a seperate personality or not.
* Twilight wasn't joking: all the ponies in that town really ''are'' crazy, including Twilight herself.
** Pinkie Pie's also a bit of a fridge TearJerker: It's likely that she doesn't constantly throw parties just because she likes them. It's because she knows everyone ''else'' likes them, and it's the only way she knows to be sociable on a normal level. The GenkiGirl randomness that she's known for is too much for most folks, who've probably actively avoided her for it in the past. But if she throws a party, suddenly everyone likes her, and she clings to that. So it's parties forever, and nothing else. Because if she stops, she stops being "That eccentric girl who throws awesome parties all the time" and reverts to "That annoying girl who talks too quickly about things that don't make sense." And then she's all alone. Again.
** In the season 2 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]]", Twilight's [[SanitySlippage behavior]] in the episode becomes all the more horrifying given the fact that the previous episode had them dealing with Discord. Maybe his MoreThanMindControl of the ponies had some lasting effects...
** There are characters in Creator/HPLovecraft stories with more mental stability than the Mane 6. In particular, the common trigger seems to be a fear of not being appreciated. This puts Nightmare Moon in a new light. SanitySlippage is the rule rather than the exception, and even a goddess isn't immune. What's to stop something like the Nightmare Moon disaster from happening again?
* After Luna was transformed into Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia used the elements of harmony to seal her away in the moon for a full millennium. Now, despite all the sad fanart depicting Luna stranded on a rock in the sky, it was Nightmare Moon that was stuck up there. However, [[WordOfGod Word of Faust]] says that Luna and Nightmare Moon were entirely separate entities. It could be interpreted that it was simply [[PuppeteerParasite using Luna's form and powers as a host for its own intent]]. Think about that. Celestia locked away a monster, sure, but somewhere inside that monster was her baby sister. Confused, frightened, being leeched from and likely abused by [[EldritchAbomination a manifestation of pure emotional entropy]]. And she was left like this for a thousand years [[AndIMustScream with absolutely nothing she could do about it.]] Even worse, she probably thinks all of it was punishment for what she did. And what she did was feel a little jealous. There's no way that girl doesn't wind up with a major GuiltComplex.
** Wait wait hang on.. is there a source for a claim that they're seperate entities? I know the fandom loves to think that, but then again the fandom loves to assume a lot of things are go wholely unsupported by canon, so that doesn't really mean much unless she actually said something.
*** [[http://www.derpyhoovesnews.com/lauren-faust-on-lunas-banishment/ Here's a screenshot]] of that particular [[WordOfGod word of Faust]]. But be warned though as this WordOfGod may change due to the fact that she's no longer in charge of the show. The people now in charge of the show may have different things in mind and take a different path.
*** The entire case is pretty hard to give a satisfactory answer to. On the one hand, NMM was brought on by Luna's own anger and jealousy, and it's hard to not sympathize with her reasons considering all the hard work she must put into her nights. Even so, it's clear she fell so deep into her negativity that her powers were corrupted and she became the polar-opposite of Celestia. On the other hand, after the Elements of Harmony remove the corruption from her, it's clear Luna shows a great deal of remorse and regret for her actions and quickly jumps back into Celestia's embrace. Come Luna Eclipse, she even admits herself that NMM should be feared and that she was more than happy she was returned to normal, making this whole debate pretty difficult to put at ease.
* The fact that Spike has a crush on Rarity, and is great friends with all of the other ponies is wonderful, until you realize that dragons have a much longer lifespan than the average pony. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are basically {{Physical God}}desses so they're exceptions, but eventually [[SoleSurvivor Spike will probably outlive all of his friends.]] The fact that he's already younger than them supports this theory even more. There's a story called ''Fanfic/GrowingUp'' [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7441479/1/Growing_Up seen here]] that explains this perfectly. It's beautifully written, but be warned, as it's a massive TearJerker.
* In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of my Excess]]", Spike says he's only been given one present each year for his birthday--a gift from Twilight. But in the ''first episode'', he is seen with a present intended for Moon Dancer. So he's been giving all these gifts, but he's never received any for himself. Poor guy.
** Though it is sad, it has the unintended consequence of him not giving into his inherent greed (as seen in the episode) so, so far the on thing that's stopped there being another fully grown dragon was Twilight's social ineptness.
* With the way Pinkie Pie eats, had she been a real horse, she should have died several times already. Especially after eating the "baked bads".
* We can see several times that Rarity uses glue in the construction of her dresses. Glue is made from horse hooves.
** Stereotypically. Humans have several sources of glue, one we humans use with fabrics being polymer-based (which, if DJ [=P0N-3=] is any indication, the ponies definitely have access to). Others, however, come from fish, cows (another [=FiM=]-sentient species), and... ''rabbit'' (used in ''bookbinding'', a fact Fluttershy would certainly find horrifying).
** The Spa ponies might recycle the clippings from pony pedicures and boil that up to make glue.
** There's also a small possibility that ponies may harvest the hooves from dead ponies.
*** Though that would still be the mark of a sociopathic society, given that respect for one's dead tends to be a big deal, so fridge horror still applies if that's true.
* Why the hell is Spike (a dragon) being raised by ponies? What happened to his parents? Don't dragons ''eat'' ponies (and almost anything else not tied down)?
** The creators had Spike eat gems to get around the "eating ponies" problem. [[DoubleSubversion Instead]], they changed "dragons eating everything not tied down" to "dragons ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess stealing]]'' everything tied not tied down (and even most things that are)".
* The whole cast having {{Sanity Slippage}}s throughout the series giving fridge horror as limitless possibilities.
* The stars themselves assisted in the escape of the most powerful villain of the series to date. This means that by either the will of the stars, or some other terrible will, a creature capable of plunging the world in eternal darkness was released. The stars, or something controlling, representing, or within the stars override the power of Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. The stars are alive, capable of judgement, more powerful than anything in Equestria. If Luna and Celestia are the gods of this world, the stars are the elder gods, and they do not want to be our friends.
** Unless, of course, the one freed by the stars wasn't Nightmare Moon, but Luna. After all, she was freed (from Nightmare Moon) by Twilight Sparkle, who has stars for a cutie mark.
* Luna's rebellion was driven by bitterness that the ponies of Equestria did not appreciate the night she brought and more generally ignored her and took her for granted. Her complaint was with her subjects, ''not'' her sister. Celestia probably understood why her sister was upset and sympathized with her complaint; she probably agreed that their subjects were taking Luna for granted. And yet, Celestia still had her duty: she had to make war upon her own sister on behalf of their subjects, their ungrateful, selfish subjects. Is it any wonder that Celestia become [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask The Mare Wearing The Princessly Mask]] afterward?
* You know, the mortal antagonists have done less to endanger people and property than the heroes and their neighbors. Trixie basically was trying to silence the only people dissatisfied with her performance, Gilda was a bitch and shouted at Fluttershy loud enough to make her cry (amongst other things), Prince Blueblood treated Rarity either like crap, and the Diamond Dogs kidnapped a pony and tried to force her into slavery (yes, this is a horrible thing), and Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara picked on the Blank Flanks. But compare to the Ponyvillians and Cloudsdaleans: Snips and Snails brought in a giant star bear which almost destroyed the town and in fact did destroy Trixie's home, Rainbow Dash almost ''killed'' Fluttershy, Twilight enslaved the minds of most of the town over her doll, Rarity was having her own expectations of her date thrown into her face, Fluttershy and Twilight ''did'' destroy the town by harboring the Parasprites and magically altering them, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie helped exacerbate an already tense situation into an all-out war in Appleloosa, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders released the most powerful danger to the realm.
** There's some controversy regarding whether the Crusaders truly released Discord or whether they were actually the first victims of his corruption. In either case, Discord's prison was already weakening and was bound to break in a matter of days or months, Crusaders or no Crusaders. Fluttershy had no way of knowing the Parasprite she initially found was a dangerous pest (though it doesn't excuse the second one she kept), and Twilight was trying to ''stop'' the Parasprites, not to turn them into killing machines. Same for Pinkie, who was trying to explain in song ''exactly'' what the ponies and buffalo end up understanding by the end of the episode. Point is, all the mortal antagonists are jerks and proud of it, any havoc wreaked by the Mane 6 and friends was accidental.
*** Except maybe the Want It Need It thing. *shudders*
**** Twilight clearly intended that spell to only affect the Crusaders and be easily reversible, so the extent of that crisis can be filed under accident just like the Parasprite alteration.
* The creators seem to take innocent looking plots (Lesson Zero, Cutie Pox) and turn them into tales of horror stories...
** Speaking of, further Fridge Horror can go into the amount of NightmareFuel entries - how many for Season 1? 8/26. How many for Season 2 so far? 6/6. ''Every single Season 2'' episode so far as had quite a bit of NightmareFuel already, far surpassing that of Season 1. ''How far is it going to go?!''
** Wish granted: The Sisterhooves Social, a cute, friendly story about siblings fighting, then making up, as well as further proof that Sweetie Belle is a little...slow...
** "The Cutie Pox" could be counted as 5/6 if you take the whole StoryOfTheBlanks similarities and potential death by exhaustion or dangerous cutie marks into account. But even if you don't count it, you could still say that Season 2 has half as many episodes of Nightmare Fuel so far as Season 1 did, and the Season is only a forth of the way over. As for overthinking everything, we're tropers, it's a natural thing.
** If you take the time to notice, you can see that season 2 is much more intended for a wider audience (Possibly due to the Bronies). Comparing Pinkie's breakdown with Twilight's is a good example. Pinkie's was slightly tamer and a bit more comical than Twilight's, who looked to be '''trying''' to do more harm than good. The storylines (And the friendship lessons themselves) are becoming a tad more developed and complex. For example, compare Applebuck Season with The Last Roundup.
* Some viewers may remember episodes such as ''Party Of One'' and ''Lesson Zero'' where Pinkie Pie and Twilight respectively went rather insane. Rainbow Dash seemed just on the verge of that kind of craziness while trying to get attention in ''The Mysterious Mare Do Well''. Who knows what could've happened if that went any further? We've seen the kind of destruction she's capable of, and an insane Dash would make the constant problems around Ponyville this episode pale in comparison.
* Um, where does Rarity get her ''cat food''?! Ponies are vegetarian, they should have no business making cat food. And AJ with dog food, for that matter. And Pinkie Pie for Gummy? Although, Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, so questioning that is probably a bad idea. But for the others - Vegan pet foods exist.
** [[FridgeBrilliance No wonder that cat hates Rarity.]]
*** We see Fluttershy feeding fish to weasels and worms to birds. [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute Apparently some animals don't get the preferential treatment.]]
*** This is interestingly explored in the FanFic/PonyPOVSeries where [[spoiler:Fluttershy [[HeroicBSOD breaks down]] and [[StartOfDarkness turns into a]] WellIntentionedExtremist EldritchAbomination when she realizes how cruel the cycle of nature truly is.]]
** Humans feed their pets things we wouldn't eat ourselves all the time, so why should ponies be different in that respect? Just because [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores are supposed to be "friendly"]]?
* What about a parchment? Which is produced mainly from a calfskin. Cows in this show are sapient. And if parchment there is fabricated from reeds, or another plant, why call it 'a parchment' then?
** Parchment is also a type of high quality paper similar in colour and texture to old-style calfskin parchment.
* The whole "Spike loves Rarity" subplot is kind of weird, and not just because he's a baby (although seeing how he matures by hoarding, there's probably some funky genetic loophole going on there). There's been griffins on the show, sure, but how exactly would a canon dragon-pony relationship work out? Could they have children? Then it hit me: We've ''seen'' a dragon/equine hybrid already. A dracon-equus: ''Discord''.
** Actually, there's already a mythological dragon-horse hybrid--it's called a kirin/qilin in Chinese and a longma/ryoma in Japanese. This species has been used as the dragon-pony lovechild (usually of those two) in many fan works. Plus, Discord is a reality-warping god, meaning either he's some exception to the genetics involved, or his kin (even if they look just like him) wouldn't be as dangerous as he.
* In Season 1, Spike does not hesitate to mock and poke fun at the misfortune of the Mane 6 while they're under the influence of the Poison Joke. He laughs openly and berates Twilight in her failures to help out in the Winter Wrap Up. Now, in Season 2, Apple Bloom's suffering through the effects of the Cutie Pox disease, running the risk of death by exhaustion or obtaining a cutie mark that could spell instant death for her and the people around her. '''And Spike is watching with a bag of popcorn, watching nonchalantly.'''
** He's rather young, so my belief is that he might just not even be aware of the mortal danger Applebloom is in.
** It is shown later in ''Dragon Quest'' that dragons are extreme Jerkasses in general. Spike may have just had his tendencies muted to ComedicSociopathy thanks to his living with ponies.
* MLP: FIM's target demographic are young girls. So surely many innocent little girls would have looked up Pinkie Pie Cupcakes on youtube, just looking for the cupcake song from Call of the Cutie, only to find a horribly gory fanfic. And that would be the day their childhood ended.
** Consider something else. There is [[RuleThirtyFour Rule 34]] of this. The target demographic is young girls...so imagine what will happen when they look for this only to find pornographic images of ponies. IF that's not bad enough, consider the fact that somewhere out there...there is ''demand'' for this. Someone saw this and thought they wanted to sexualize it. There are people out there who are sick enough to see this show and have sexual fantasies about it.
*** Goodness gracious, how dare they draw rule 34 of a popular show when there are still parents [[ParentalObliviousness who think it's a good idea to let their little kids use Internet]] [[ParentalNeglect without any parental control]]?
**** This isn't new, there's [[RuleThirtyFour Rule 34]] of all sorts of things, including Dora the Explorer and Seasme Street, as sad as those two are. At least the art generally involves adult characters.
**** Google's default settings filter those sort of images, [[AIIsACrapshoot no idea how it would judge that though]]
***** Search images with SafeSearch. Flag. Repeat.
* The exterior of Rarity's house is supposed to look like a carousel, complete with artificial horses with rods going through where their ribcages would be. In universe, this should be ''NightmareFuel''
** Maybe, but we have a game that portrays ''rows and rows of humans impaled horizontally''. What is this horrific game? ''Foosball''. It would be on the same order as garden gnomes are to us.
* After reading about the plot of {{Graceling}}, I cannot but apply it to MLP universe. What if a pony discovers that her/his talent is to kill, or to steal, or to manipulate minds, or to lie? And what are the authorities are supposed to do with said pony after such discovery?
** And in relation to that; what if you don't like your talent in general? Rarity's talent is finding gems even though she dreams of being a fashion maker and hates dirt and getting sweaty (which is normal when digging gems up) and it was pretty much 'forced' on her with a spurt of unicorn magic. Sure, she puts her talent to good use, but still...
*** I think people put too much emphasis on the words "special talent". Characters have capabilities that aren't purely based on their talents. Twilight, despite having the talent "magic" works as a librarian instead of a court mage, and has a lot of skills in organizing others. Just because something is their "talent" doesn't mean they are irrevocably shackled to said talent.
** Ponies get their cutie mark when they find something that they are good at, and that '''they like doing''', which means that even if this hypothetical murder pony is good at killing,[[hottip:*:which is a skill set that would have more than one application]] it isn't going to be their life's purpose unless like doing it. Which is a whole different piece of horror.
* A bit of dynamic between Rarity and Twilight Sparkle is really horrid when you think about it. We've seen in several episodes that Rarity dreams of, and it some cases actively pursues, acceptance by the Canterlot nobility. However, take what we know about Twilight. Her brother is captain of the Canterlot guards, her parents were able to get her a chance to get into the best unicorn school in Canterlot, and Twilight is pretty chummy with Celestia. Twilight's family is pretty up there, socially, even moreso following Shining Armor's wedding to Cadence. Twilight is already Canterlot nobility. Status-wise, she's everything Rarity wishes she could be. Unfortunately for Rarity, being born and raised in Ponyville makes Rarity roughly equal to a nouveau-riche southern belle, which weren't looked at kindly by the English aristocracy. It really makes Rarity's wish to be accepted in Canterlot a lot like a TragicDream she can never see come true.
** She may not have the inborn status, but Rarity clearly has the skills and talent to be accepted in Canterlot. There was a whole episode about it.
*** Not to mention, she has the support and backing of one of the most influential ponies in Canterlot - Fancy Pants, whom more than likely considers Rarity a good friend. That connection and support alone really boosted her standing in Canterlot society in "Sweet and Elite".
* Twilight Sparkle is never a mare who holds a grudge even after all the crap happening to her. But what happens if it's just bottling it all up until she snaps?
* This is actually FridgeHorror about the fandom: I can't help but notice that a lot of the fanon and fanwork that has sprung up around this show assumes the existence of a lot of bullying and other assorted cruelty in Equestria. There are fans that seem to believe that Twilight was bullied as a child, that Derpy was possibly abused and abandoned as a child by one or both parents, or that Derpy was bullied and tormented as a child and as an adult for being different, that Pinkie Pie's differences are the result of past trauma, etc., etc. This is despite the all the overt evidence that Equestria, in Chrysalis' words, is "full of love," that the ponies are, as a rule, kind, generous, and accepting, and that bullying and cruelty are rare exceptions, and not at all the norm. So it seems to me that a lot of fans are projecting their own experiences of life in our world onto Equestria.
** Not surprising, when one thinks about it. I'm sure it happens often enough in other fandoms that involve worlds that generally happy and peaceful.
** Perhaps only Equestria is peaceful, and the rest of the world is a horrible place. Chrysalis did say that in all the places they had traveled too, they hadn't found nearly as much love.
*** Which is disturbing in of itself, when one considers the possibility that Equestria is possibly the only inhabited land on their planet.
*** Possibly disproven with the 2012 SDCC Map of Equestria where there seems to be far off lands for Griffins, dragons and presumebly other species. Possibly though that Equestria happens to be the most love filled or simple hyperbole.
** Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were/are all picked on as fillies, which is a form of bullying.
* More FridgeHorror regarding fandom. There are numerous cases where people ask why the heroes do something nice or not do something mean, only to claim FridgeBrilliance because it ties into their Element. What's horrifying is that this means that the viewers see the good that they do is not because they're good people, but rather out of some sense of obligation to fulfill their duties as representative of a cosmic imperative. What's worse is that our heroes fail to live up to their cosmic imperative not infrequently.
** Or they simply are good people, and that's why they got the elements in the first place.
*** Yeah, but if Cherilee does something nice instead of something mean, no one asks why she did X only to claim FridgeBrilliance, because it ties to her Element. She does nice things because she's a nice person. But the way some tropers act, you'd think if people weren't tied to some magical cosmic artifact, they'd act like jerks all the time.
* Here's something to point out about Fluttershy. Every episode starring her has consistently shown her bonding with animals like they're ponies, and having a difficult time bonding with any pony outside of her circle of friends. It has been made canon that she was bullied and picked on as a foal, due to being a weak flyer (which may be a result of low confidence), and the fact that she's the only pegasus pony to be connected to the earth rather than the sky. Maybe she is a mis-pony-pe (like a misanthrope) who considers animals better friends than ponies. She equated foals with animals, only to find out that it's not as simple as that. That's why she had that FreakOut at the Grand Galloping Gala, because she needs the love and attention that she can't get from other ponies, and when the animals there wouldn't bond with her, it just meant that she would be the lonely and loveless foal she was back then!
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Season 1]]

[[AC: Mare in the Moon & The Elements of Harmony]]
* Nightmare Moon wanting to bring eternal night doesn't seem to bad at first, until you realise that plants can't live without sunlight, and ponies are herbivores. Also, no plants = no oxygen. Everypony would be unable to eat or breathe, and so would eventually DIE. Nightmare Moon herself might not be affected, though, considering she was able to survive on the moon. Also, remember when she vaporises those guards with lightning? JUST WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET HIT WITH LIGHTNING? Thinking about her for a few minutes makes her a lot more menacing.
* She also had the main cast attacked by a manticore and caused a landslide that might have killed at least one - not to mention, she presumably destroyed the bridge leading to her [[HauntedCastle castle]]. Nightmare Moon does not seem to care for others' lives much.
* Pinkie laughed while she was inside an evil tree's mouth. What if it had disappeared in a *puff* like the others?
** Or more importantly... [[RealAfterAll why didn't it!]]
*** [[RealityWarper Because Pinkie.]]
* Nightmare Moon conjures up three pegasi who are essentially [[EvilCounterpart dark versions]] of Rainbow Dash's heroes, the Wonderbolts. They offer to let her join them, and ''is'' tempted, but refuses. Now, one has to wonder...since they were merely conjurings by Nightmare Moon, ''what would have become of Rainbow Dash had she accepted?''
** Most likely they would have flown off together to keep her distracted while Nightmare Moon neutralised the elements and/or the remaining five protagonists, which she could have done safely with an essential part of the equation (Dash) dealt with. Once the elements were rendered a non-threat, she could have cancelled the Shadowbolts (who were just magic constructs) much to Dash's surprise and disappointment.
** Rainbow Dash may also have been [[TheCorruption assimilated]], or Nightmare Moon could've simply [[PsychElectro zapped her]] like she did with the guards a few hours ago.

[[AC: The Ticket Master]]
* When Twi teleports herself and Spike to the library, Spike comes out singed. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but then he mentions in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" that dragons are fireproof. If Twilight's teleport was enough to singe a fireproof dragon, imagine what would have happened if it had been a pony (or any other non-fireproof creature)!
** Probably just as much - the scorching may simply have been [[PureEnergy Arcane]] damage, [[ElementalRockPaperScissors bypassing Spike's fire resistance]].
** It might be more user error, or Twilight still working out the spell's kinks. She teleports Spike more times, Rainbow twice, and Rarity once in season 2 (namely, in 'Secret of My Excess' and 'Dragon Quest').
** Also she was under considerable stress when she teleported, which could contribute to the mishap.

[[AC: Applebuck Season]]
* Throughout the episode, Twilight implores Applejack to accept her friends' help in harvesting the bumper crop that was wearing her out, and when Applejack finally accepts, we see Rainbow and Pinkie working together on one tree, Fluttershy on another, Rarity hauling full bushels, and Twilight...harvesting ''half the orchard by herself in seconds'' with her magic. Clearly, the involvement of the others was just a fig leaf. What Twilight really meant was 'let me use my magical powers to do this for you, effortlessly.' Think about that: what for an earth pony like Applejack is the work of her lifetime is to a powerful unicorn like Twilight nothing more than a minor nuisance. For that matter, is Granny Smith's "saggy old hip" the result of old age alone, or the result of age and a lifetime spent bucking apple trees? Now think about why Applejack was so reluctant to accept Twilight's help, and why Applejack was so upset that Twilight used magic a few months later in "Winter Wrap-Up," or why the earth ponies insist that in an earth-pony town, no magic is to be used to wrap up winter. Now, it has been implied that earth ponies get superior strength and endurance to compensate for not having magic or the ability to fly, but imagine if some people were born with the ability to use magic, some people were born with the ability to fly, but you were born an ordinary human being without any such abilities. Mightn't you have a chip on your shoulder, and always seek to prove that you were just as capable as any other person, even without magic or wings? Don't forget, we're seeing them ''harvesting'' the apples at that point. Who put in the work to ''grow'' them?
** Unicorns and Earth Ponies are a lot more balanced than you might think. In the occurrence it's not ''magic'' itself that is overpowered, it's ''Twilight''. Most unicorns would not have been able to harvest the apples with any less effort than Applejack, but [[StoryBreakerPower Twilight Sparkle is not "most unicorns"]]. There's a reason she's been compared to [[{{Watchmen}} Doctor Manhattan]] at times.
* Only earth ponies have the talent to grow delicious apples and their talent is very much appreciated by society (cuz the way to everyponies' heart is through their stomach). They have a special connection to the earth that pegasi or unicorns just don't have (Fluttershy being an exception). So while they might have a chip on their shoulders because they can't fly or do magic, they have a talent that makes up for it. Besides, putting in the work to grow the apples is considered more important (and less demoralizing) than the labor it takes to harvest them. T'aint so bad bein' an earth pony.

[[AC: Griffon the Brush-Off]]
* You will find several pieces of medieval mythology that describe gryphons as highly aggressive and territorial, building treasure hoards and jealously guarding them much like dragons. They absolutely ''hate'' horses in particular, having grown to associate them with knights coming to raid their nests for gold and emeralds, and will devour one if they have the oppurtunity. They also mate for life, and if they lose their mate, they quickly waste away from longing. Now lets consider Gilda; deep-seated and irrational aminosity of ponies? Check. Rainbow Dash being the only one who she sees as a companion and exempt from her meanness? Check. Her presence in the show and how she and Dash interact being the closest thing to evidence the shippers have to RD being a lesbian? Hoo boy, double check. Holed up in a cave somewhere seething at the loss of Rainbow's affections as the lights leave her eyes? Likely. Way to go, Dash and Pie, way to go.
** FridgeLogic: if gryphons hate ponies, why would Gilda's "mate" be Rainbow Dash?
*** IfItsYouItsOkay?
* 'Giggle at the Ghostie'. Firstly, 'Just laugh and make them disappear'. Think about it as two separate actions. Think of her dealing with Gilda, she laughed it off in public, if Gilda hadn't left, would Pinkie have 'made her disappear'? Could just be {{Cupcakes}} paranoia. And also, if laughing works to make her fears disappear works, her fears are hallucinated. More insanity!
** Maybe, but I interpret it like this: laughing only makes the ''fear'' disappear; what happened within the song aside, the "faces" in the tree remained, scary to all except the one who had a trick for dealing with fear. And once she taught it to the others, they could all see the "faces" for what they were: harmless holes in trees.

[[AC: Boast Busters]]
* Why does Trixie end her magic show when all possible hecklers disappear? Wouldn't it be more sensible to continue the show? Unless, of course, Trixie's entire act depends on having hecklers to humilate, and has no feats of magic that aren't centered around humilating neigh-sayers...
** Wouldn't be without precedent, and makes as much sense given that unicorns doing magic would be relatively common. The show itself gets interest (and maybe some income), and then you leave town with a wowed audience and some ego-bruised hecklers.
** Some have theorized that her special talent is temporarily copying anypony's special talent, hence why she invites the hecklers onstage to show them up at their own forte.
* Look carefully at the Ursa Major and Minor. They're made of stars. This is clearly a little [[GeniusBonus astronomy joke]], given both are actual constellations, but they're ''[[EldritchAbomination made of stars]]''.
* In "Boast Busters", the Ursa Minor destroys Trixie's stagecoach. This is made even worse by the fact that Trixie is a travelling performer, so that coach was also her home. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Great job, Snips and Snails, you just made your former idol into a beggar.]]

[[AC: Dragonshy]]

[[AC: Look Before You Sleep]]

[[AC: Bridle Gossip]]
* In "Bridle Gossip", due to Rainbow Dash's flower-induced inability to fly straight, Spike calls her "Rainbow Crash". Later in the series, we learn that this was the cruel nickname she was saddled with by a group of pegasus bullies when she dropped out of flight school. Nice going, [[JerkAss Spike]].
* FridgeHorror Horror (one I thought of while fiddling with the FridgeHorror page): Poison Joke is meant to be a 'joke'. Haha, I guess. Fluttershy's voice is funny, Rarity's style being ruined is allright, Twilight seemed to not suffer any actual magic loss from her flopple time. Then the other three..all three are completely rendered unable to do their jobs. Applejack couldn't knock over an apple in her state, and Pinkie being in the kitchen would get Sugarcube Corner shut down by Pony OSHA or something. And Rainbow? Her 'joke' puts her at risk for serious injury! Ha ha, I guess?
** Sounds like [[MadGod Discord's]] idea of a joke... [[EpilepticTrees Maybe he created it?]]

[[AC: Swarm of the Century]]
* After Twilight alters parasprites' behavior with her magic, they quit eating food and start eating everything else - they even go after Rainbow Dash. Of course she got away unharmed, but if parasprites tried attacking this one particular pony, it is obvious they would hunt other ponies as well even if we didn't see it onscreen, and we can't tell if everyone was as lucky as Rainbow. Who knows what the death toll in Ponyville was after invasion...
** They only go after her prior to the spell being cast. They do seem to be 'good' about not eating food or ponies after the spell, too.
** What if it's the contrary? What if to Parasprites, ponies too are potentially food? They don't seem all that picky...
* Twilight's spell accidentally made the parasprites start eating all the non-food inanimate objects in town. ''All'' of them. Clothing, tools, books (and the library probably had a fair few books that were very old and rare, or even irreplaceable; imagine how badly Twilight would have cracked if the parasprites had gotten into them), art (including Rarity's dresses), homes and buildings, infrastructure, family heirlooms, ''everything'' that makes up their civilization, including a number of truly irreplaceable sentimental items. If Pinkie hadn't been able to lure them back into the Everfree Forest, the parasprites would have ''eradicated the town completely'' and left the ponies with nothing but the barest of essentials. If you've ever lived through a massive natural disaster or met people who have, the prospect of a town or city you've grown attached to and everything in it being utterly destroyed is even more dreadful.
* This may be unintentional, but Zecora seemed to recognize the parasprites straight away. Now that may seem innocent enough since she as a good understanding of flora and fauna, but consider that she's from a place hinted to very Africa-like (so more than likely very dry most of the time.) [[InferredHolocaust Now consider thousands of creatures eating at crops, and fields in a already arid environment.]] [[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0107_050107_tv_locust_plague.html If]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_locust_outbreak history]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_locust_plague is anything to go by.]]
* And then there's the obvious question hanging over the whole episode: Where did all the Parasprites go when Pinkie led them away? There's nothing we were shown that stops their geometric reproduction, and we know that there's an outbreak in Fillydelphia, implied to have been caused by the previous effort to lead them away somewhere else. What stops them from devouring everything in Equestria in a few more weeks?
** To counter FridgeHorror with more FridgeHorror, parasprites are the ''least'' powerful creature we've seen come from the Everfree Forest thus far, implying they can only explosively breed outside the Forest. Of the hundreds and hundreds of parasprites Pinkie led back to the Forest, at least 90% of them are about to get chomped.

[[AC: Winter Wrap-Up]]
* Applejack wants the snow melted fast, but Fluttershy wants it melted slow so that the animals' homes don't get flooded (and presumably the animals that haven't been woken up yet would die a horrible drowning death). Now just think about what happened in years prior when they had no organization; the animals' fate rested on ''Fluttershy'' winning a shouting match against ''Applejack.''
** Fluttershy is meek and reluctant to stand up for ''herself''. She's not shy about standing up for those she cares for. In years past Applejack almost certainly lost the argument.
* The ending of "Winter Wrap-Up" has Spike left asleep on a chunk of ice floating on the water. The other ponies, instead of HELPING him, just joke about how Spike is "in for a big surprise as soon as that there ice melts" and then ''laugh''. Sure, Spike gets better, but he was ''wearing a towel and shivering'', implying that the ponies let him fall in, continued to laugh as he was (presumably) thrashing around screaming for help, and then said, "Ok, we can help him now." Would if Spike drowned or died of hypothermia?! Would it be so funny then, [[{{Jerkass}} ponies]]?
** Spike probably has some resistance to cold and is probably also able to swim, he's a dragon after all. So I doubt he would have drowned or died of hypothermia. Still a pretty mean practical joke, though.

[[AC: Call of the Cutie]]

[[AC: Fall Weather Friends]]
* Pony sporting events seem to lack certain features we take for granted. Things like, say, officials. Granted, it's a common trope, but still, shouldn't somepony have noticed when the commentary team starts talking about it? (Either that, or they get their judges from WWE..)
* Applejack knocking down a beehive and causing Rainbow Dash to be chased by a swarm of bees wasn't just mean, it was dangerous. It had been established that allergies exist, and it's not a stretch to believe that some ponies are allergic to bees. What if Rainbow Dash is allergic to bees and got stung by a swarm of them? She could have died!

[[AC: Suited for Success]]
* Applejack's outfit includes what seems to be a pair of ''leather'' cowboy boots. But in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]", we see that cows in Equestria are also sentient, talking beings. Wonder how ''that'' conversation went over?
---> '''Rarity:''' Excuse me, sir! Might you be Moorice?\\
'''Moorice:''' Why certainly, little miss. What can I dooooo for you?\\
'''Rarity:''' Could you do me a teensy tiny, itty bitty favor aaaand..." *STAB*
** Likely she used fake leather for the boots.
*** Or pig leather
* From the Aesop of "Suited for Success": "In other words, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." So slavery is legal in Equestria?
** Or was. After all, the gift horse saying has lasted long since most people gave away horses. And maybe staring down the throat of someone who's giving you a present is considered to be rude anyway?

[[AC: Feeling Pinkie Keen]]
* At the beginning, one of the frogs Fluttershy's carrying falls and lands on Twilight's face, barely avoiding landing on her horn. Twilight's horn likely isn't sharp enough for the frog to have been ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, but it at least would've been hurt.
** That horn's gone through a book. Frog would've been [[MortalKombat finished]].
** not to mention we didn't see from how far up the frog fell. High enough up he'd have been impaled purely from the acceleration regardless of how dull her horn is.

[[AC: Sonic Rainboom]]
* Remember that scene where Pinkie Pie [[CrowningMomentOfFunny tastes]] [[StealthPun the]] [[ShoutOut rainbow]]? Well, in the very first episode, we saw Pinkie eat a cupcake covered in hot sauce, and it had no affect on her, so what would've happened if a [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath normal pony besides Pinkie tried some rainbow?]]
** Assuming anypony else would have even thought of it...
** Or even worse: fell in. [[NoOSHACompliance No guard rails, right next to a public walkway, probably looks from the side like nothing more than a hole in the cloud that could well be an exit...]]
** The implication was that it was really, really spicy, considering that in ''Hearts and Hooves Day'', the CMC were able to handle vacuuming the rainbow without too much trouble. It would probably be like that scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' when Marge became an officer and Homer used her pepper spray to spice up his meal, except more. Though they probably could use it in police actions as a non-lethal weapon.
*** Pinkie found it to be too spicy. Most pepper spray is diluted to about 200,000 SHU (which is less spicy than a great many human-edible peppers), so perhaps it wouldn't be lethal if used as a diluted spray, but falling into that stuff would be excruciating if you have even the smallest opening in your skin. Which you do.
**** Horsehair would protect them. Also, the ponies who mostly go around those pools have ''wings.'' Falling isn't as much of a danger to them.
* Rainbow and Rarity have to perform at the same time. Normally you'd think "how do they not have time for everyone in their own competition?" but what would have happened if they had gone at different times? Rarity would have plummeted while Dash was cowering in the lobby, would have knocked out the Wonderbolts and they all would have fallen to their death while [[ApatheticCitizens everyone else would have sat back and watched them die.]]
** See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect the Other Wiki]] for that one.
** Also, they don't have time for everyone in their own competition because Rarity was an unplanned addition.
* Speaking of, what the fuck was [[PhysicalGod Celestia]] doing just sitting there? The three Wonderbolts and Rarity were just about at the ground before RD swooped in!
** People sometimes overestimate the abilities of Celestia. She's not omnipotent nor omniscient. She was probably frozen in horror at what happened, like mostly everypony else.

[[AC: Stare Master]]
* In "Stare Master", when Fluttershy is chasing the girls chasing her escaped chicken through the Everfree Forest (which most of the ponies generally avoid if they can help it) they run across Twilight Sparkle [[TakenForGranite after her encounter with a cockatrice]]. The FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that Twilight may have been there a very, very long time if Fluttershy's chicken hadn't escaped.
** One would hope that, at the very least, Zecora would have happened upon her during one of her trips to Ponyville, given that Twilight was on her way to visit Zecora herself and thus should have been on the path between the two places, but who knows how often or regularly Zecora makes those trips, or if she takes detours along the way to look for herbs or something? So, yeah, it still could have been quite a while before Twilight was found. If nothing else, at least Twilight didn't seem to have been conscious during the time she was turned to stone. If she had been ''aware'' during the whole experience, however... [[AndIMustScream *ugh*shiver*]]
** Also, Celestia would have noticed that something was awry when Twilight's report did not arrive on time.
** Also, Fluttershy seemed perfectly willing to just leave her there.
*** Less 'willing' and more 'fleeing'. Fluttershy isn't normally one of the stronger ponies, and the Crusaders are probably not to be trusted in statue transportation. Her plan was likely 'get foals to safety', 'find better ponies', 'rescue Twilight'.

[[AC: The Show Stoppers]]
* FridgeHorror in "The Show Stoppers" episode (and possibly others): The ponies are raising pigs. Why, so that they can eat them? What would a pony want with a pig if not to eat its flesh as humans do.
** [[WordOfGod Word of Faust]] says they can be used to find truffles (which ponies really enjoy), and actually need a place to stay as much as any other animal. However, the existence of pigs also explains the appearance of footballs and possibly other leather in different episodes.
* When Sweetie Belle says "Break a leg" to the other ponies, Apple Bloom responds with "Sweetie Belle! What a thing to say!" Sweetie Belle knows the phrase means "good luck" and so do we the viewers, but since horses with broken legs are often put down because of how hard it is to rehabilitate and the likelihood of breaking again, Apple Bloom probably thought she was telling the other performers to '''go ahead and die'''.
** In "Read it and Weep", the hospital has facilities for broken limbs. While broken legs might be more serious in Equestria, it's not an automatic cause for euthanasia.

[[AC: A Dog and Pony Show]]
* Why do the Diamond Dogs have so many pony-sized harnesses for their carts lying around?
** They were probably stolen from ponies in the first place.

[[AC: Green Isn't Your Color]]
* Does anyone else find it slightly menacing that in ''Green Isn't Your Color'', Twilight Sparkle can '''[[VideoGame/MassEffect2 ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL]]''' over Fluttershy, including her speech? I mean, sure Fluttershy was willing and all, but what if Twilight suffered a psychological breakdown and another pony wasn't as willing?
** Maybe it only works ''if'' the pony is willing.

[[AC: Over a Barrel]]
* A bit of meta-FridgeHorror: There is an episode where [[NobleSavage bison]] don't want to share their land with the ponies. Cue FantasticRacism on the part of both. Except when one considers the obvious interpretation of the BrokenAesop, this almost sounds like a HannibalLecture.
* When Applejack mentions that the trees are on the only flat land around, the view cuts to a scene of the desert, complete with a staple of any cartoon desert scene: the buffalo skull in the foreground. Of course, in Equestria the buffalo are intelligent beings....
* In the scene where the buffalo are preparing to trample Apploosa, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cut to a buffalo ''sharpening his horn on an axe grinder.'' Which means that [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice they were really going to skewer anypony unlucky enough to get in their way]]. Anypony else disturbed about the possibility for ponies to die gruesome deaths?
** Oh it gets worse, watch closely as the ponies build their makeshift barricades: they hammer in the nails ''facing outward''! Yes, the buffalo are running headlong into improvised SpikesOfDoom. It's pretty clear both sides were ''out for blood'' here.

[[AC: A Bird in the Hoof]]
* "Over a Barrel" establishes that pies can be used as weapons are are thrown during combat. In the next episode, "A Bird in the Hoof", Pinkie throws a pie at her own head. Did... did Pinkie just shoot herself in the face? [[CrazyAwesome Yes.]]

[[AC: The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]
* Fluttershy falls out of the sky in full view of a large crowd and no one tries to save her. Does Cloudsdale have some kind of Sparta-like eugenics policy for pegasi who are weak fliers?
** Presumably, she was recovered sometime after; she's shown with her cutie mark in 'Hurricane Fluttershy' back in flight school (and wishing she was NOT there). Then again, pegasi are also shown as having martial traditions similar to our Greek ... huh.
* The Sonic Rainboom's shockwave easily shattered the massive rock in front of Rarity. Now imagine what would have happened had said massive rock ''not'' been there to shield Rarity from the shockwave... By extension, imagine how many ponies are at risk of dying every damn time Rainbow Dash pulls a Sonic Rainboom so close to the ground.
** To be fair, the rock was probably already cracked or at least very weak, since the other rocks were more or less fine, though that still doesn't mean that nearby clouds (from which all of Cloudsdale is apparently constructed) went unharmed.
* Twilight's magical outburst during her entrance exam. Not only did she overwhelm three of the Academy's instructors (presumably, anyway), but she ''[[AndIMustScream turned her parents into potted plants]]''. Oh, and managed to hatch a dragon egg and accelerate its growth to the point where its head broke through the roof. Think for a moment about what would have happened had the Princess had not been there.
** Or what a similar outburst would cause with Twilight's current power.
* In some ways, Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom seems to be comparable to an atomic bomb and the radiation it unleashes for miles. Pinkie Pie was essentially at ground zero and unprotected when she got hit by the Sonic Rainboom. It messed up her hair, and dramatically changed her personality. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Thanks to Rainbow Dash]], Pinkie Pie is now insane, brain-damaged (possibly) and mentally unhinged!
** Or Rainbow Dash's rainboom showed Pinkie Pie The Power Of Happiness.
** Super-fast travel does generate ionization radiation, so it is disturbingly plausible...
* Fluttershy mentions that she was at flight camp with Dash in her flashback, despite looking older then the other ponies there, so presumably her parents sent her there as a drastic measure to improve her flying capacity...and instead, Fluttershy plummeted to the earth and discovered her talent for communicating with animals. If she hadn't have fallen to the ground, would she have ''never'' found her cutie-mark, or would she have actually become a good flier? In "Hurricane Fluttershy", she does improve with a little training, but it's still pretty weak compared to the other Pegasi. This has a little FridgeHorror for Scootaloo- Is this going to be Scootaloo's fate as well, bearing in mind that other fillies her age have been shown flying (specifically Thunder Lane's little brother in "Hurricane Fluttershy") Fluttershy almost ''is'' an Earth pony anyway, not being a good flier and having a talent that is very unusual for a pegasus, so it probably doesn't concern her, but Scootaloo is a much more active, energetic character who idolises Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony around. Is Scootaloo doomed to an earthbound existence, and if so, will she never get a cutiemark or be forced to developing a pedestrian skill to make a living in Ponyville?

[[AC: Owl's Well That Ends Well]]
* As Spike is going around town to find a quill for Twilight, he goes over to Pinkie Pie, who among the list of items that begin with a "Q", tosses him a quince. A quince is a fruit that is poisonous to equines (aka PONIES).
** But not to dragons.
*** She had it....readily available and this is a Pony that they trust implicitly to bake for them
** Ponies in the show don't seem to have a problem with chocolate, chili pepper, and tomato, which are toxic to real equines.
* In the 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...

[[AC: Party of One]]
* When Pinkie interrogates Spike, it's implied that [[spoiler:he only told Pinkie that her friends don't like her parties and that they don't want to be her friends anymore because she told him to say so]]--''implied'', but never actually stated. Meaning that '''he could've been correct.'''
** If you look at the attitudes some of the other Mane Five have towards Pinkie, it can leave you with doubts. Twilight in particular is often very condescending to Pinkie Pie and in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" she sounded almost like she was ''relishing'' the idea of Pinkie being humiliated. Applejack frequently brushes her off, and in "Swarm of the Century" dismisses her as being "A few apples short of a bushel." Fluttershy would later tear her to shreds (along with Rarity) in "Putting Your Hoof Down", and it's not unfeasible to think Rarity might be annoyed with how many horrible things seem to happen to her when Pinkie's around ("Return of Harmony Part 2", "The Last Roundup".) Dash is the only one who seems to genuinely bond with Pinkie over being a fellow prankster, and even she is pretty rude towards her on occasion (but then, at least you can't argue that Pinkie is the only one of Dash's friends to get this treatment). If you think as well that Twilight is the "Hero", Applejack is her "second-in-command", Rainbow Dash is TheLancer, Rarity is TheChick, Fluttershy is TheHeart, and Spike is the TagalongKid, where does that leave poor Pinkie Pie? Is she the ''de facto'' Omega of the group who only manages it because of her positive outlook and SarcasmBlind nature? And, as this episode suggests, is she aware of this or is she one hell of a StepfordSmiler?
** Furthermore, what's going to happen the next time Pinkie Pie decides she wants two parties in a row, maybe even more? What if her friends really ''did'' make excuses, and with good reason? Is she going to go completely out of her mind again?
*** The evidence in the episode suggests she would be okay with them not attending a party if they had legitimate excuses, considering she's okay with everypony not coming due to believing their individual excuses. It's only once she starts to suspect that they're intentionally avoiding her and her parties that she becomes upset.
* As someone said on ponibooru, ''Party Of One'' suggests Pinkie's codependent with her friends and needs their love and attention... to the point that her parties are almost like attempts at validation. "People love me! Because they come to my parties! PLEASE, PLEASE come to my parties!"
* The infamous fanfic Cupcakes is about Pinkie Pie using her friends as baking ingredients. Of course, it's ridiculous that Pinkie could confuse a friend with baking ingredients - except in this episode, Pinkie is friends with a bag of flour.
** "All you have to do is take a cup of flour, add it to the mix..."
*** She was insane by that point. She uses flour to entertain the babies in "Baby Cakes," though. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIzmYm-28w And]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgF0x-g_xAk&t=0m24s well]]...

[[AC: The Best Night Ever]]
* Another Fridge TearJerker: At The Gala is a CrowdSong, right? But the way the other ponies are singing, it implies that most of them were ''also'' hoping to have the best night ever. And most of them seemed to be succeeding a lot better than the Mane Cast before the party got ruined. That means hundreds of ponies also had their dreams destroyed in a space of about five minutes.
* Fluttershy runs into the gardener pony twice. Two things pop into mind when you see him: he's the oldest pony we've seen since Applejack's grandma, and he has no cutie mark. So the Cutie Mark Crusaders DO have a reason to be concerned, this pony's existence has confirmed that it is possible to go your entire life without finding your lot in life. That is kind of sad.
** The groundskeeper looked more like a donkey or mule than a pony, similar to Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda from "A Friend in Deed", neither of whom have cutie marks either.
* For anyone denouncing Princess Celestia as a thoughtless {{Troll}} for setting the mane cast loose on the Grand Galloping Gala, consider that she has had to attend the same boring, stuffy, dreadful ball gala with the same breed of arrogant, supercilious aristocrats... '''[[WhoWantsToLiveForever FOR TEN CENTURIES]]'''.
** ''One night a year''. In a nation where she is the ''[[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem uncontested ruler and divinity]]''. Where the population ''[[HundredPercentAdorationRating worships the ground and clouds she walks on]]''. The fact that she opted to screw with hundreds of relatively innocent ponies instead of bearing with it or, say, ''[[TakeAThirdOption simply asking the party planners to spice things up]]'' tells us that Princess Celestia suffers from pretty severe passive-aggressive tendencies, which is FridgeHorror in and of itself. One wonders if she had the Mane Cast do the wedding plans for Princess Cadance because [[WhatTheHellHero someone called her out on this crap]].
*** Implying that beings who can live for tens of thousands of years have the same perception of time as we do. One night a year to Celestia may be much more often than it would be to us. Also, implying Celestia even wants to be [[StopWorshippingMe worshipped]].
*** The point of mentioning the worshiping aspect is to emphasize that she is the ultimate [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem secular authority]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers the ultimate religious authority]], and [[HundredPercentAdorationRating people just plain like her]]. She does not "have to" attend. She could probably have the bloody thing cancelled, or remove herself from any obligation to attend (or at least, having to greet everyone) and ponies would be tripping over themselves to accommodate her. Instead, she lets her friends ruin things for hundreds of ponies who don't know she has a problem because she doesn't mention a damn thing to anyone except her friends. Basically imagine if you found out the ruler of the land, whom you love, respect, and depend upon holds you in complete contempt, will let her friends run roughshod over you, and wouldn't even tell you she had a problem.
*** Also, this is assuming she knew that the Mane 6 were going to end up destroying the place in the first place. She probably just thought that their presence would liven up the Gala, and had no idea of the extent to which they would take their behaviour. After all, she looks just as shocked as Twilight when she walks in on the scene of destruction in the main hall.
*** However, she does let them get away with it with her approval. It might have inspired them to think trashing the Canterlot Garden Party was also fine.
* Baked goods are sometimes used as weapons by ponies. In this light, Prince Blueblood's using Rarity as a [[HumanShield equine shield]] against a flying cake takes a grimmer overtone.
** Doesn't that also mean Applejack smuggled in a large number of weapons into a formal event?
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Season 2 (1 of 2)]]
[[AC: The Return of Harmony, Parts 1 & 2]]
* The season 2 opener gives a little piece in the form of one of Discord's lines directed at Princess Celestia: "It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that ''because I don't turn ponies into stone!''"
** At first, it seems like he's merely talking about his own fate at Celestia's hooves. A moment's thought casts a more sinister light on the princess: Just how many of those statues in the Canterlot sculpture garden are actually ponies who were TakenForGranite?
*** Alternatively, that ''could'' mean that there are a number of ponies who actually merited that action against them... which isn't much more comforting...
** It also means that Discord was conscious the entire time he was turned to stone, [[AndIMustScream a horrifying concept in itself]].
* Discord has a Species name, think about the implications of that.
** Phoenixes have a species name, and we in RealLife (at least where English is spoken) say "phoenixes" these days at least as often as we say "the phoenix", if not far more. Alternately, all that might mean is that Discord is to Draconequii what Hitler was to emo art students who flunked their entrance exam- Much more powerful, and certainly not lumped in with the others, but still technically part of that class.
* Discord created a "game" for the Mane Six to locate the Elements of Harmony, and Twilight Sparkle took it to mean in the Canterlot Hedge maze, which Discord took advantage of to corrupt them. In reality, the Elements were safely at Twilight's home in Ponyville... but suppose she ''had'' figured out the correct answer... how do we know Discord wouldn't have corrupted them there anyway?!
* Look closely at how Applejack behaves after her initial Discording. Once she starts talking to Twilight, she starts pulling odd pained or uncomfortable expressions. It's entirely likely that she is at that point completely aware of what is happening to her, but can't warn the others due to her uncontrollable compulsion to lie. Think about that for a moment: she just saw a vision of her best friends falling apart while Equestria is destroyed, and when Twilight asks her whats wrong, she finds herself unable to warn her, and can only insist that everything is fine while she watches everyone else get Discorded.
** Everyone gives certain "tells" when they're lying from facial expressions to tone of voice. Applejack is just a really bad liar.
* Discord had so much power when he took over that the sun and moon were rising ''on their own accord''. So, that being said...what did he do to Celestia and Luna?
* Discord's reign over Equestria. All we get it was never-ending chaos and suffering for everypony but him. And we see stained glass pictures of him controling ponies and ''holding them over a pit of fire!'' On top of that, during that scene, you can here the suffering cries of ponies in the background (likely Celestia's memories). And we've seen [[BreakTheCutie what his idea]] [[MindRape of fun is already.]] No wonder Celestia is so afraid of him!
* Discord's reign of chaos seems pretty silly...then you realize that ''everyone'' is acting completely insane! On top of that, most of Ponyvile's population is Earth Ponies...and most a lot of Ponyvile was floating at the time.
* Discord's chaotic reign was getting progressively worse throughout the episode. What would it have ended up as if he hadn't been beaten?!
* More fridge TearJerker than FridgeHorror, but when Twilight got all of her old notes back from Princess Celestia, and they just kept coming, there is a scenario that most likely have played out for Celestia herself. If she has to send the notes one by one, something she must know would be harsh on Spike, then that means she couldn't just deliver the notes herself. That likely means Discord has her confined, probably in the castle, so she can't interfere. The fact that she keeps sending them means she doesn't know if they are getting to twilight, or if they would help matters any. For the first time in eons, she is helpless, clueless, and has no idea how things will turn out. But if she is so cut off from communication, how does she know twilight is in need of the notes? Discord likely stopped by to show his old rival the exact moment twilight's heart, Celestia's last hope, finally broke. So the most likely situation is Celestia, feeling powerless and blind, knowing only that Twilight's spirit is broken, desperately sending letter after letter with no clue if it will change anything. Those may very well have been some of the most stressful and heartbreaking hours she has experienced in her long life.
* Another example of a Fridge TearJerker: The scene where Twilight is trying to find the book about the Elements of Harmony, but her friends keep interfering her due to their corruption. It is, in a way, a rather accurate portrayal of bullying: what bully victim ''wouldn't'' relate to Twilight, whose own friends are bothering her for absolutely no reason? Who wouldn't be in a completely irritated mood, and on the verge of giving up? And think from the other ponies' perspective, the ''bullies''' perspective. One day, you might be friends, possibly best friends with someone, but out of some internal and/or external force (think peer pressure and insecurity instead of MindRape), you find yourself to be the very person you hated. Then you start bullying your former friends; and it doesn't help that bully victims are often socially awkward "nerds" like Twilight. Fluttershy's reaction after being restored pretty much confirms this.
* In the second part of Return to Harmony, one of the things that Discord did was cause Granny Smith to start dancing and leaping around like a young filly. Remember one of the reasons Applejack was hoping to raise money at the Grand Galloping Gala? Wonder how Granny felt after the WorldHealingWave hit?
** Alternatively, and no less nightmarish, what if her hip had NOT been fixed by Discord? She was dancing ''through terrifying pain'', unable to stop herself.
* ...is anyone else concerned as to whether or not Screwball/Topsy-Turvy was ''wiped out of existence'' when the WorldHealingWave hit?
** Maybe Screwball was the Discorded version of Mayor Mare or something.
* Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but Discord drove several ponies insane (i.e. Screw Ball). My question is, did they magically get better afterwards?
** It appears so; Granny Smith and Big Macintosh were affected, and both are back to normal in later episodes.
** Here's a thought. Big Mac was basically made to act like a dog under Discord's influence. In a later episode, we see an apparently insane pony who acts like a dog. Is he just naturally nuts, or is he one of Discord's victims who didn't recover for whatever reason?
* Discord's prison weakens whenever the Elements change hands- er, hooves, to the point that anyone can walk up to him and break him free on accident. This previously wasn't a problem, since they were still partially attuned to Celestia the immortal sun god. But now they're attuned to ordinary mortals who will die one day...
** It's possible that just being a holder of the Elements of Harmony makes one immortal, or changes one's fate such that something will happen that will make them immortal. It's already rumoured that [[spoiler:Twilight will become an Alicorn in Season 3]].
* If Discord could forget how 'grim' Celestia could be, he must have experienced the passage of time. While turned into an [[AndIMustScream unmoving stone statue]].
** He might be lying, though.
* The Mane Cast members were turning grayer when Discord corrupted them. Was Discord slowly turning them into stone?
** Unlikely as he specifically mentioned that he never turned ponies into stone. Of course, stone ponies can't be tormented.
* While a lot of people consider Discord to be "evil" due to his MindRape and BreakTheCutie tendencies, when you think about it, being the "Spirit Of Chaos", he most likely has [[BlueAndOrangeMorality no sense of "good" and "evil" (or at least not one that's the same as ours or the ponies')]]. This actually makes him ''more'' terrifying than if he were straight-up evil. Think about it. To him, causing all this mayhem, destruction, and insanity is a ''good'' thing to him. Rather than being outright malevolent, he's playful (well, as playful as a psychotic reality-warping god can get) towards the ponies much like a prankster child is to the people he tricks. He thinks ''everything'' is a game (hence why he gloats when he thinks he's won) without realizing/caring that he's hurting others. Imagine being an "ant" being at the mercy of a bored child and you'll get why Discord is more terrifying being "chaos" rather than just being "evil".
** Want to make it even more horrific? Try keeping in mind that Discord is based off of [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q.]] And, what did Q do when he was bored? Why, wipe out entire planets of course! Who's to say Discord wouldn't of caused a mass-extinction out of boredom as well? We don't see many other Alicorns, right?
** There is a problem with this idea however. Discord is not just the Spirit of Chaos...he is also the Spirit of Disharmony. Remove that, and this idea works, as Chaos in and of itself is not good or evil. Disharmony however, is.
* How about the fact that Discord is essentially chaos incarnate? You could (hypothetically) destroy the likes of Chrysalis or even Luna and Celestia (since one could hypothetically destroy the sun and/or moon, horror in-and-of itself). Discord, on the other hand, is essentially immortal. He can't be killed. All you can do is imprison him until he's set free once again...and there's ''always'' a chance he'll be set free again.

[[AC: Lesson Zero]]
* Twilight Sparkle's SanitySlippage fits in context of the episode of "Lesson Zero". [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/186252 Out of context]], however....
* "Want-It Need-It spell, works every time".
** Who on earth would Twilight use such a thing on? Her fear of the kindergarten clearly indicates some very painful LonersAreFreaks memories, but that was before she learned her magic. So, it would have to be while under the Princess' care in Canterlot... suddenly it seems very wise of the Princess to get her to find some friends...
** Made even more scary when you realize that social rejection and constant need for approval are common traits displayed by rape victims. Could it be that Celestia used that spell on Twilight? Would explain her questionable behavior around the [=CMC=] and telling Pinkie not to scream. To Twilight, it's perfectly normal behavior.
* At the end of "Lesson Zero" Princess Celestia declares that the Mane Six must start sending in friendship reports whenever they discover them so that Twilight isn't punished, essentially placing them in an open-ended contract with no specificities, agreements between parties, or terms over what qualifies as a friendship report leaving plenty of room for Celestia to change it as she chooses, such as establishing a report quota, a required length, declaring what the punishment for not sending in friendship reports would be, or just all out declaring the invalidity of lessons learned in friendship reports. And we don't even know what Twilight's punishment was going to be, the Mane Six could have just entered a [[IncrediblyLamePun Faustian]] bargain to prevent a punishment to Twilight that could have been disproportionately better than them spending the rest of their lives filling friendship reports for Celestia.
** I believe the phrasing was 'can', not 'must', so in effect she was giving her subjects permission to write to her if they felt they had something to say.
* Twilight's SanitySlippage in "Lesson Zero" ''really'' starts after her friends make light of her problem and even laugh at it a bit. Now remember what their "Discorded" selves did to her in "Return Of Harmony, Part 2" and [[BreakTheCutie what that]] [[DespairEventHorizon did to]] [[HeroicBSOD poor Twilight]]. Imagine how it felt to an already ''very'' frustraited Twilight to have her friends laughing to her again after that and their innocent joking seems a ''lot'' less innocent.
* This is more of a fridge TearJerker than fridge horror, but think about Twilight's doll, Smarty Pants. When you consider that Twilight has such little knowledge of friendship, combined with the scenes in Lesson Zero of fillies laughing at her, it's quite possible that ''Smarty Pants was the closest thing Twilight had to a friend growing up.''
** Outside of her [[spoiler:B.B.B.F.F.]], of course[[hottip:*:now that we're on the other side of season 2's finale]].
*** In her "BBBFF" song, though, she says outright that she thought friendship was "silly", so maybe she just wasn't even all that interested in friendship? It would explain her line in the pilot, when she says saving Equestria does not revolve around her making friends.
* Twilight saw Fluttershy [[NeckSnap snap a bear's neck]]. And wasn't aware she was only giving it a massage. Uhh...
** Come to think of it, I don't recall it ever being cleared up for Twilight just WHAT was happening. WE saw the whole thing, but it's possible that, ever since then, Twilight thinks she witnessed one of her sweetest, most kindly friends [[DisproportionateRetribution brutally murdering a bear for roaring in her face]].
* Think about this. When's the first time we see Twilight ready to snap? When she's buying cupcakes for the party. Her report to Princess Celestia is nowhere near her conscious thought. Watch Cup Cake's reactions. And remember ... this is just buying ordinary baked goods.
* When Twilight flips, she starts using her magic for more or less everything, her random teleporting being the most notable. Imagine if, one day, she flips long-term. Twilight is one of the more powerful unicorns we've seen. All that power, totally out of control...
* The ability to TeleFrag is canon. An unblockable, nearly-instantly-fatal magical attack. What if Twilight isn't the only one who can use it? Sweet dreams...
* Close to the beginning, Twilight uses her telekinesis to take a spatula off the wall and bring it over to fiddle with the cupcakes. The way the scene was done, it looked like she was telekinetically pulling a knife off the wall and trying to stab Mrs. Cake in the back of the head with it! Clearly, telekinesis and the right object can make a deadly combination.
* When we see the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing with the ball, there's a bush nearby that has a bird in its nest, chirping happily. When Twilight's head pops up, grinning manically, the bird is frozen in the nest, with a look of shock on its face. [[ImpaledWIthExtremePrejudice That bird does not move nor make a sound for the rest of the scene]], and it WAS placed right where Twilight's horn would've been...

[[AC: Luna Eclipsed]]
* Twilight's reaction to Spike when Rainbow Dash pranks them with the lightning. We had just previously seen Spike scoffing down candy like there's no tomorrow, and he looks very much like he's choking to death on some of it. He even ends up unconscious and twitching. Twilight's only response is to put Spike on her back and walk on. This is pretty careless behavior given that she is supposed to be looking after him. He does turn out to be fine, but what if he had actually been choking? He might have died without Twilight even noticing.
** Maybe dragon physiology doesn't allow them to actually choke?
*** Except that a later episode tells us that almost nothing is known about dragons, let alone their physiology, so even Twilight could easily assume that he's built similarly to ponies.
* While Nightmare Moon may have been stronger than Celestia, Luna is still a walking storm of magic AND has been officially reinstated as the equestrian princess of the night. Now, remember how everyone was behaving around Celestia in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]. To some ponies, Luna must be scarier than ever!
* Luna being rejected by society and being afraid of her was what caused her to become Nightmare Moon in the first place. Kind of makes the scene where she snaps all the more frightening because she would be ''this'' close to relapsing into Nightmare Moon.

[[AC: Sisterhooves Social]]
* "Sisterhooves Social", when Apple Bloom covers Applejack in smashed up grapes, Sweetie Belle's reaction is to panic and beg Applejack not to punish her. That almost comes off looking like the reaction of a child in an abusive home.
* Or Rarity's reaction when she sees her parents eating the 'breakfast' that Sweetie had baked. Rather than a normal 'Mom! Dad!', she screams 'Father! Mother!' in an scared reaction. Okay, given the DramaQueen status of Rarity, you could say that this was a reaction that's normal when she sees her parents, but she said that in a very unsettling way. Just if she has been [[DarkAndTroubledPast mistreated by them....]]
* Rarity finding Sweetie Belle has elements of this. There's a blink and you miss it moment before she sees her were she looks truly worried and concerned, then is overjoyed to see her. She also said she'd been looking ''everywhere'' for her and started looking during the day and doesn't find her till later that night. This means Rarity spent a part of the day [[AdultFear looking high and low for her baby sister with absolutely no idea where she is]] and knowing if anything happened to her, it'd be her fault for treating her as badly as she did.

[[AC: The Cutie Pox]]
* When Twilight looks up the cure, she says that the disease disappears as mysteriously as it arrived. The Cutie Pox creates a random cutie mark and the infected is forced to perform the talent related to it and as Apple Bloom shows us, it can be anything to be able to perform tricks with a "Loopty Hoop" to speaking French to being a proficient fencer and no one is able to stop her. That is already frightening enough that Apple Bloom can't stop, but what happens if a more deadly Cutie Mark shows up? One that involves hurting possibly even killing the ponies around her? ''She'd be forced to perform '''THAT''' talent against her will!'' To add to that, why does the disease disappear as mysteriously as it arrived? If the above FridgeHorror is true, then no pony would be left to tell the tale if it does get that deadly. That or the ponies would be forced to kill the infected before it gets to that point.
** Another thing: aren't you all forgetting how Apple Bloom was compelled to do everything the cutie marks represented? What if a sufferer of [[TheVirus the Cutie Pox]] were to become tired from doing all those things simultaneously? [[WildMassGuessing What if the pox continued forcing the victim to carry on?]] If that's the case, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath then Apple Bloom]] ''[[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath was facing death by exhaustion!]]'' This is a frighteningly common way for horses to die if they are not taken care of properly (see AutomatonHorses for more details).
** Anyone who has heard the story of TheRedShoes probably had to pick their jaws off the floor when they saw Apple Bloom begging for help while dancing uncontrollably. And she was ''already becoming exhausted'' by the time Zecora showed up with the necessary herb to negate the Heart's Desire flower. If it had gone on for too much longer...
*** I thought that was obviously the reason why everyone was getting worried, not Fridge Horror.
* The Cutie Pox, which gives the infected great skill with whatever action the obtained cutie marks describe, also results in a loss of control. Before this episode, there was no known cure. Way back when the strain was discovered, ''infected ponies must have ultimately died of exhaustion.'' [[FridgeBrilliance With this in mind, all the citizens in Ponyville were completely justified in trying to avoid Apple Bloom, lest they were to catch it themselves.]]
** The book says that the cutie pox disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared.
** Per the book saying they vanished as mysteriously as they appeared, then maybe the Heart's Desire had a bumper crop bloom that year and they dug them all up for Green Apple Acres or some other construction project, so there hasn't been enough of the flower to cause the problem again.
*** The reason the Heart's Desire flower gave Apple Bloom cutie pox symptoms was because she really ''really'' wanted her cutie mark. The original outbreak would have only been caused by that if every pony had eaten that flower and their heart's deepest desire was to get a cutie mark, which seems unlikely. Therefore, while the flower was the cause of Apple Bloom's case, ''true cutie pox still has no known cure''.
** StoryOfTheBlanks suddenly has an easily applicable backstory; maybe the other ponies even considered what they did to Ruby a MercyKill.
*** Even better, considering what Apple Bloom went through with the blanks, her desire for a cutie mark might be stronger just to -not- be like those ponies in Sunnytown. And also, the story of Cutie Pox might have a much deeper impact on her than say Applejack or Twilight, because she encountered a relic possibly from the days of Cutie Pox. And so would understand why ponies of Sunnytown did what they did.
** The Cutie Pox is very similar to a disease called "The Dancing Fever". If you think humans can't get infected by a disease that eventually kills you from exhaustion, think again. More information about it can be found on TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Plague_of_1518 here]].
* In Cutie Pox, after Apple Bloom starts getting more depressed over not getting her cutie mark, she wanders into Everfree Forest...why would she go in there? Considering how dangerous the place is considered and how sad she was, it's possible she was [[DrivenToSuicide giving up on life.]]
* Some of the ponies in Ponyville have hazmat suits. Why exactly would they need those?
** CrazyPrepared. And it's Ponyville.
* [[TheBigLebowski My Little Lebowski]] becomes NightmareFuel when you realize that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with a number of other young'uns, are in the same bowling alley as a stallion who is likely a foal-mounter. As if there weren't enough AdultFear in the episode already.

[[AC: May the Best Pet Win!]]
* Rainbow Dash names her new pet tortoise Tank, because he's "built like a tank." You know, not the container for fluids, the armored vehicle. Although this is a good name, it implies the existence of mechanized warfare in Equestria.
* At the end of the song, Derpy peers out from the chicken coop. While it's meant to be an EasterEgg for the fans, it does looks suspiciously like Derpy's stalking either Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. Or she enjoys lurking in chicken coops. Either way pretty creepy when you think about it.
* Rainbow Dash, pretty much alone among the mane six, will lose her special talent as she ages. Applejack, in her old age, will not be able to work very much on Sweet Apple Acres herself, but, because it is a family business, and because she is part of an extended clan of apple farmers, she will probably end her days much like Granny Smith is now: as a respected matriarch surrounded by ponies who love and respect her. Fluttershy will in all likelihood be able to maintain her special connection with animals as she ages; she'll probably need more physical help caring for them, but she'll still be surrounded by the woodland creatures she loves and who love her, and she'll still have her special connection to them. Pinkie Pie will probably lose some of her youthful exuberance as she ages, but even in her old age, she'll still be able to make other ponies happy by throwing celebrations for them, even if she needs more help putting up decorations, sending out invitations, and other physical aspects of what she does. Rarity will still be able to find and bring out the beauty in things, even if she can't work at the pace she does now; she probably won't be able to make multiple dresses in a single night, but she'll still be able to create beautiful things from common objects. At the very least, her talent for finding gems in rocks will at least help ensure that she will be well-provided for. Twilight Sparkle will remain a brilliant scholar and powerful wizard; in fact, her knowledge and thus power are likely only to grow as she learns more over time. But Rainbow Dash, well, Rainbow Dash is going to lose her speed as she grows old; there's really no avoiding that. Unlike the other five, her special talent is almost purely physical; granted, her great speed itself is at least to some extent a product of her competitive drive and ambition, but that will probably make the diminution of her physical prowess that much harder to bear. Now consider this: tortoises usually live very long lives, meaning that Tank will likely still be around when Rainbow is old. In fact, the day may come when Tank is faster than Rainbow. In a way, it's somewhat comforting, although still melancholic, to imagine Tank once again carrying Dash on his back.
** Not necessarily true. There's still the possibility Rainbow will die young in a daredevil stunt gone wrong.
*** Gee, that's ''so'' much better. I'll take 'dies peacefully in sleep surrounded by love of family and friends', thanks.
*** Just saying. Already been hospitalized once. There's pretty good chance.
** Perhaps not, though. While Rainbow's talent is never ''exactly'' defined, it could well be more than just flying really fast. While Rainbow will probably lose her speed as she ages, she still has other options, such as being a flight coach or similar.
** Her personality isn't based just around being a great flyer, it's about just being generally great. She's highly competitive when it comes to pretty much everything, even board games. As such, she'd probably take quite well to being a CoolOldLady who is looked up to by younger ponies. No doubt she'd have lots of cool stories to tell. Think Granny Smith's presentation in the school, but even more awesome (and with a few embellishments; this ''is'' RD we're talking about). "...and I saved the world from eternal night, and I kicked a dragon in the face, and I saved the Wonderbolts, and I defeated the spirit of chaos, and I fought off an army of changelings..."

[[AC: The Mysterious Mare Do Well]]
* The sheer number of accidents happening around Ponyville in a brief period of time. Is this normal? Does this sort of thing happen every day just off-screen? And why the hell does Ponyville even ''need'' a steep downhill road leading to a sheer cliff?
** FridgeBrilliance: it's for the Pegasi carriages to land on and take off.
* What happened to the driver of the runaway bus? Somepony had to have been pulling it.
** [[NightmareRetardant Went inside a shop to get coffee, and forgot to put the parking brake on?]]
* On a different tangent. What the hell was that [[AccidentalNightmareFuel horrifying]] [[http://imgur.com/eBd2p balloon Dash]] in the [=CMC=] clubhouse all about?
* Rainbow Dash had every opportunity to make trouble so she could play the hero. But she didn't. So this just proves how unstable Twilight truly is.
** She dragged Granny Smith across a street against her will. Rainbow Dash wouldn't knowingly make trouble for somepony, but between her arrogance and disinclination to think things through, she could still make quite a nuisance out of herself. Heck, if she'd gone to tell somepony about the crack in the dam, it could have been fixed without breaking in the first place (though this is a debatable example because the dam was a scant ten seconds from failing).
* The various ponies around Ponyville find themselves in some pretty tense situations throughout the episode, luckily Rainbow Dash and later the Mare Do Well are there to save them. Speaking of that, ''why does nopony else help?!'' There are several pegasi in the crowds just ''watching'' and doing nothing to help the ponies that are in danger! What gives?
** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect bystander effect]]
* If you think about it, Rainbow Dash could kinda be considered a sadist in this episode. She saves people JUST so she can brag. If she couldn't brag about it, would she just let them die/get injured? And speaking of that little filly, it seems that the well was very deep, since it took several seconds for Rainbow Dash to get to her even when flying very quickly. How did the little filly get down there in the first place? Granted, she didn't seem hurt, amazingly from such a depth, but still...
** I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash would NOT have let them just die because she wasn't getting attention from it. She's a show-off, but she's still a good pony at heart, not to mention the ''Element of Loyalty''. The episode implies that Dash has saved ponies a couple of times before, and the first filly she saved, she wasn't looking for attention, she just did it because it's the right thing to do.
* Even though some people think the mane cast overreacted to Rainbow's bragging, if you pay attention, you realize that most of the ponies the Mare-Do-Well saves in all likelyhood [[NiceJobBreakingItHero would've died thanks to her showboating]] if she hadn't. Worse: the Mare Do Well appearances were clearly producing the ''opposite'' of their intended reaction. Rainbow Dash was getting more and more desperate for people's admiration. We see her start looking for the most trivial of problems to solve. And as we've seen before, the line between looking for problems and ''making'' problems seems pretty thin for ponies.
** Rainbow does relatively little showboating at the construction site. She does try to say her catchphrase a few times and keeps getting interrupted by falling debris, but she'd kind of have to be dodging that anyway. Nothing at the construction site was her fault, though for some reason the scene's shot as if she were to blame for, among other things, the building collapsing.
* One fan comic pointed out that there may be more than a few brokenhearted little ponies who'd started to hero-worship Mare Do Well only to find out the hero was just a trick some ponies were playing on their boastful friend. Mare Do Well is shown to be even more popular than Dash at the height of her popularity, this ''had'' to have happened in at least a couple of cases.
* And that's assuming they ''do'' reveal themselves. Just imagine how much trouble Rainbow Dash is going to be in when it looks like she chased off Ponyville's greatest hero...
* Where the ''[[NoOSHACompliance HELL]]'' was the Pony equivalent of OSHA? Seriously, so many disasters, so many crumbling/damaged structures, why has the town not been condemned yet? Couple this with the obviously crumbling city hall in "The Last Roundup," and Ponyville really starts to look ramshackle and unsafe. How many ponies have been hurt or killed due to structural damage?

[[AC: Sweet and Elite]]
* It has Rarity lying to her friends about her cat being sick, and [[KickTheDog drenching the cat in hot water to maintain that lie]]. What does it suggest about her priorities when she would rather drench her own cat than be honest with her own friends?
** Not anything that being on the verge of tears when two ponies insulted her social status didn't already. This begets more Fridge Horror, though: It implies that Rarity's sense of self-worth is so deeply tied to her social standing she's willing to hurt herself and her friends so she doesn't lose face. Does that mean that her personality is an [[StepfordSmiler an elaborate mask to hide how worthless she feels?]] And what's more, [[DarkAndTroubledPast how did she get like this?]]
** Coupling these troubled signs with how Sweetie Belle reacts to Applejack and Apple Bloom about to fight and the whole "it doesn't have to be physical to be abuse" mantra...One has to wonder if they're parents are really as nice as they seem. There could be a very good reason why Sweetie is living with her big sister instead of their parents.
*** She doesn't live with her sister. Sisterhooves Special had her bring in a lot of luggage for the week stay, which would have been redundant if she lived with her sister.

[[AC: Secret of My Excess]]
* Spike is going to have to grow up eventually.
** Spike has shown to have different "adult" forms though, one being [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles magically induced]] and the other part of an [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow imagine spot]]. There's no guarantee his natural adult self will be the same as this greedy version. As long as they help quell his hoarding tendencies, one would expect his growth to be more manageable.
* After watching this episodes, it makes one wonder if the two dragons from previous episodes might have been nice dragons just like Spike but were consumed by their greed, having nopony to help them with it.
** Except they don't go as far as Spike did in this episode. He loses the ability to speak coherently or be reasoned with. The adult dragons we see - while possessive and potentially dangerous - can be reasoned with and the one in Owl's Well that Ends Well actually says quite a bit to Spike before concluding he wants to attack the baby for trespassing on his lair. And there's not much wrong with the serpent one in the pilot episodes (making it the second time generosity and beauty (the ruby, the serpent liking Rarity's replacement moustache) has calmed a dragon).
*** Spike was actually more reasonable than either of them. The Main Six only managed to talk the red dragon down after Fluttershy stared him into submission, and while his actions can be mostly explained by him just wanting to sleep and protect his horde, he started trying to kill them after a very minor injury. The green dragon gave a Spike a chance to talk, but he still went to using firebreath over the theft of a tiny amount of jewels and some empty talk. By contrast, Spike never went on the offensive, and even after the Wonderbolts managed to injure him, he still used non-lethal force to disable them. And while he never spoke in his adult form, his reactions to Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity showed that he could understand them just fine. Finally, Rarity did talk him down, without using any form of coercion beyond her words.
*** Dragons can live for thousands of years. Maybe Twilight is working from the assumption that he won't grow up in her lifetime, so he'll be SomeoneElsesProblem.
* Ponyville has an air raid siren. [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere Why in Equestria would they need one of those?]]
** Ponyville generally falls somewhere between CrazyPrepared and ProperlyParanoid in terms of handling emergencies. But maybe it was installed during the fifties, it would explain the cute lil' hazmat suits from "The Cutie Pox".
*** It could also be used for heavy weather, if something happened with it that Cloudsdale couldn't handle.
*** Genius Bonus below suggests it's what summons the Wonderbolts.
*** The town is built on the border of the Everfree forest, one of, if not the, most dangerous places in all of Equestria. It makes sense for such a town to have some way of alerting the population to trouble coming.
*** There's also the fact that they've suffered attacks from two {{Mad God}}s, the Parasprites, and an Ursa Minor. It makes sense they'd have a warning system of some type in place.
*** It might actually be for the specific purpose of dragon attacks. We know that at least one lives in the Everfree Forest, after all.
* Two ponies bump into each other in panic. They're stunned for a second and then just barely dodge a stomp from Spike's giant claw. It frightens this troper to think that there was a second's difference between two ponies being alive, or killed by a character who we know and love.
* Sugar Cube Corner has been destroyed and Pinkie's bed room launched over the horizon while Pinkie sits in shocked silence... So where's Gummy and Mr. and Mrs. Cake?
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E12BabyCakes At the hospital]].
* The episode is based around Spike growing through greed. But what stops him from reverting to his greedy ways once all his friends are gone?
** Memories of his friends? There's one very sad comic showing just this somewhere.
* If Twilight and Ponyville were ignorant of just what might come of giving their baby dragon a nice birthday party, what else are they unaware of? Having a rampaging monster is bad enough, but if/once Spike goes through dragon puberty properly (as opposed to the accelerated, warped one we see in 'Secret of My Excess') they'll likely end up with a whole host of other issues. Not to mention that flame breath of his turning from 'cute' to 'major fire hazard'.
* Spike can either grow up instantly and be a gigantic, vicious, rampaging monster, or he can grow up naturally and see his pony friends die while he's still going through puberty. Considering how long the average pony lives, Twilight won't be able to see Spike as a fully mature adult dragon.
** Another thought, it is shown Greed makes dragons age rapidly, but never states to what point it stops or if it even does. How old may Spike have grown if they hadn't been able to stop him in time? Heck even without the concern of age, just how gigantic and feral could a dragon potentially evolve in that manner?
* Consider how much force Spike used when he trapped the Wonderbolts in the water tower on the mountain. Even assuming that the Wonderbolts were not injured by crashing into the tower at such speeds, that water tower probably made an airtight seal against the mountain. With three ponies in it - pegasi, who have been shown to generally have higher metabolisms than other types of ponies, no less - [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that air could well have run out before they were freed]].
** That water tower thing has a hole in the "funnel". When Twilight used it to hold milk to feed to the Ursa Minor, it had no problem sucking out of it like a baby bottle. Presumably, she didn't have to uncap it for this.
* The episode ends with the conclusion Spike will not age during his friends life as he'll become hard to handle. This is despite the fact that is a dragons natural behavior and is suppose dto happen. The whole thing comes off similar to a human trying to tame a wild animal at the cost of its own well-being.

[[AC: Family Appreciation Day]]
* A lot of the jokes surrounding Granny Smith go from being sorta kooky more to some form of dementia. When you realize just how incredibly old this episode makes her[[hottip:*:assuming this episode does not RetCon ''Winter Wrap Up'' in any way, Granny Smith is about three to four hundred years old, as opposed to the thirty-year RealLife horse lifespan Faust had originally envisioned the series with]], you have to wonder if some of her behavior really ''is'' senility. And how many more years she has.
** Although it's probably a lot better than the alternative. If Granny really is a few centuries old, then she's had a ''damn'' good innings, and who's to say she hasn't got decades more in her? The horrifying thing would be if ponies ''didn't'' live a lot longer than their real world counterparts; if Granny were that aged and decrepit at only 30, it would be tragic.

[[AC: Baby Cakes]]
* At one point we see Pumpkin Cake using her magic to easily walk through the basket that Pinkie Pie had trapped her and Pound under. What if Pumpkin decides to take up a life of crime later? Or becomes a serial killer?!
** Although that seems highly unlikely coming from this kind of series, it does bring up some unsettling AdultFear: Since Pumpkin can walk through the basket using her magic, what's going to stop her from getting into something ''dangerous''? Like the Drain-O in the sink cabinet, the deadly sharp silverware in the kitchen drawer, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or the stash of "Equestria After Dark" magazines Mr. Cake hides in his closet?]]
* As mentioned above, we learn that infant unicorns sometimes have powerful magic surges that fade as they grow up. So that probably means that the difficulties that Pinkie had with Pumpkin Cake in this episode are not uncommon for the caregivers of infant unicorns, especially those caregivers who are not unicorns themselves. But now consider the altogether likely possibility that the strength and frequency of an infant unicorn's magic surges are a function of that unicorn's full magical potential as an adult, that is, that a unicorn with very strong natural magical aptitude is likely to have many and powerful surges as an infant. ''Now'' imagine what Twilight Sparkle must have been like as an infant. Imagine how difficult it must have been for her parents to care for her while also preventing her from destroying them, herself, or [[PersonOfMassDestruction the surrounding city block]]. Do you think the kind of upbringing Twilight must have had as an infant might have anything to do with her neuroses today?
** This brings up some FridgeBrilliance when the Season 2 finale rolls around: if Twilight was uberpowerful as an infant it makes a lot more sense that she's have an alicorn for a babysitter. It also helps that her brother's special talent is [[BarrierWarrior large magical shields]].
** Also, Twilight's not the only victim, here. Rainbow Dash is also VERY sensitive about her aerobatics, and does everything she can to prove them to herself and the world every chance she gets. She can also fly fast enough to ''shatter the light spectrum'', producing an explosion powerful enough to break rocks and demolish buildings. '''Her parents may have had to strap Baby Dashie's wings down to keep her from Rainbooming the house apart.''' (HOWEVER! They never say in the episode if pegasi have bursts of flight, similar to unicorns and magic, or not.)
*** Though it is shown multiple times that Scootaloo, who is much older than Pound Cake, cannot yet fly, so it is entirely possible that Pound Cake will lose the ability to fly once he starts gaining weight, to only regain it when he gets older.
*** Unless Scootaloo is such a weak pegasus that she will never be able to fly normally. Maybe a result of genetic instability? We've only ever seen her hovering for a couple of seconds, and she spends all her time in Ponyville with no family in sight...
** Another thing is that Pound Cake is ''one month old'' and he can already fly to the point that he can speed around a house while carrying a pony several times his size and weight. If this is just a fraction of what he'll be able to do, he might be outdoing Rainbow Dash when he's older. If Baby Dashie had to have her wings tied, ask yourself: What's faster than a sonic rainboom? Now apply that to Pound Cake. Now factor in Pound Cake's name. He already likes to "pound" things. Sooner or later, he's going to figure out that faster speeds equal harder pounding on things. Here's to hoping he never thinks to try '''pounding the ground at supersonic speed.'''
* At the end of "Baby Cakes", neither twin has a diaper on before the go to sleep. It's more than likely they'll "make lemonade" [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime or "boom-boom"]] not too long after.
* When Pinkie is looking for Pound Cake about halfway through the episode, the house is dark and the only sound other than Pinkie is Pumpkin Cake with the rubber chicken. The window is also open. Suddenly Pinkie hears a whispered "Pinkie..." followed by laughter. It's frightening because she can't see that Pound Cake is flying above her, and up until that moment neither of the twins had ever spoken before. So to her there's an [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse unknown disembodied voice]] of an intruder in a dark house whispering her name and laughing while she frantically searches for a missing child.
* Another thing with Baby Cakes, the Cakes, Earth Ponies, have Unicorn and Pegasus children. in Hearth's Warming Eve, we see that the Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns where all hostile towards each other. what happened when, say, a Unicorn gave birth to a Pegasus? they would either be killed or banished, which would be VERY bad for the young pony in question. Or, the whole thing was just a case of mistaken identity with the the little ponies. Which is not a whole lot better.
** It's possible the races never, or rarely mixed before then, as they loathed each other. Since Mr. Cake explained that there were unicorns and pegasi in his family tree (or both his and Mrs. Cake's?), thus providing the possibility that the genes needed to be present to allow for it to even happen. Not to mention, any pony not fitting the society may have just been cast out to live in the "proper" society.
* If recessive genes can cause Earth pony parents to have a pegasus or unicorn foal, can a pegasus or unicorn have an Earth pony foal? What happens to such a baby born in [[FloatingContinent Cloudsdale]]? Alternatively, is a non-unicorn going to be mocked and considered a genetic throwback in a unicorn society?
** Very doubtful. Perhaps back in the old days before Equestria was founded this could be a problem but in the SugarBowl that is modern Equestria this kind of pony "racism" would be absurd. An earth pony would be able to live among unicorns without any problem (remember that Canterlot - the most high class city shown - has plenty of earth ponies in high positions). For an non-pegasus born in Cloudsdale, there may be creative solutions we haven't seen. Or maybe in such an instance the parents would simply move to a different town - a normal sacrifice loving parents are expected to make in such a situation. [[ThreeHundred That or they just simply chuck the babies down to the earth below]].
** Which brings up a bit of FridgeBrilliance when you think of Hearths Warming Eve. The tribes before Equestria were pretty much, trade with, but don't mingle, or marry anyone from the other tribes.
* Imagine what will happen in the twins' minds when Mr. or Mrs. Cake discusses baking a pound or pumpkin cake in front of Pound or Pumpkin Cake. Those kids will probably be given nicknames as a workaround...
** It's not as though this episode invented the concept of food names. I've never heard of a real child being traumatized by this kind of thing.
** The Cakes deal in baked goods, such as cupcakes and - possibly - carrot cakes. Considering their NAMES are Cup Cake and Carrot Cake, it's probably no big deal. Nothing they can't explain to their own kids. Besides, consider how awkward it would be for half the Apple family...
** {{Rugrats}} had an episode about this. It'd likely cause more awkward humor mixed with mild fear than trauma. The twins would learn quickly.
* The general theory about Scootaloo not being able to fly is that she's simply not old enough yet, which fits with the whole still-growing-up concept of the [=CMCs=]. Except Pound Cakes is a flight-capable newborn, which suggests flight is something Scootaloo should be able to do by now, but can't. This makes her scooting look more like wheelchair basketball. This also makes her friends teasing her about her flightlessness look a lot more cruel.
** Since Sweetie Belle can't use magic while Pumpkin Cake clearly can, it's implied Pound Cake is having a "pegasus magic" spurt, and will lose his flight after about a year and then regain it during, say, tail end of puberty. After all, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were admitted to Flight Camp at an age where Fluttershy is clearly having a growth spurt.

[[AC: Hearth's Warming Eve]]
* What happened to all the other ponies that were left behind by the tribal leaders? Worst case scenario: They continued bickering while the leaders were gone, and suffered from the same HarmlessFreezing that they (briefly) did.
* We see that the leaders of the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies had personalities similar - if not completely identical - to Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie respectively. The ''leaders'' of ''entire races''. Imagine if your entire race depended on someone like [[CloudCuckooLander Pinkie]]. Or [[TheFashionista Rarity]]. Or [[LeeroyJenkins Rainbow]] [[AttentionWhore Dash]]. We see how the races eventually get better, but what about before that? How do you think life went for ponies who had to live under that kind of rule?
* Also in "Hearth's Warming Eve", the main antagonists are Windigos. Traditionally, Windigos are the spirit of Cannibalism from the Native American Algonquian people. It was said that people caught in a blizzard would be possessed by the Windigo, and eat their companions, which would make them into a Windigo themselves. Meaning if the ponies hadn't made peace, they would have ate each other.
* The Hearth's Warming Eve pageant has a happy ending, with the three tribes coming together in harmony. However, at the beginning, it's noted that this took place long before the rule of Celestia and Luna. In "Return of Harmony", Celestia notes that she and Luna began their reign after they deposed Discord. The play may have a happy ending, but they eventually are taken over by Discord after founding their new land. And not all that much later, considering that Luna remembers Star Swirl The Bearded, who was mentioned in the pageant.
* Living in harmony gives Wendigos nothing to eat; presumably they starve to death in times of peace.
** Not really true as the end implies they are still around. Which is a new FridgeHorror.
** Given that they're spirits feeding probably isn't a matter of survival to them.
** The winter that the Wendigos cause was so strong that it cause a famine. If the ponies would be so desperate for food they might be force to eat each other. This hold some weight as {{Wendigo}}s in myths represents cannibalism.
** There's also the fact their winter got worse and worse as the hatred between the ponies grew. What would've happened if they ''hadn't'' be stopped?!
*** They all become a big block o' ice as demonstrated.
* Okay; so what about the villages of ponies we saw earlier? They're suddenly forgotten about. Maybe they're just seen as a minor plot point but did the rest of the inhabitants of the land starve?
** Presumably the defeat of the Wendigos freed them from the winter and the leaders went back to fetch the rest of their respective races so as to bring them to the newly formed Equestria.
** The disappearance of background ponies coincides with the introduction of Private Pansy, Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie...right before the journey to Equestria. Notice how Spike keeps talking about "the tribes" in his narration. Whoever directed the play probably decided that three anonymous masses in movement could as well be represented by three actors.
*** Thematically the leader and adviser of each tribe each represents each of the two forces at play in the conflict. There are the ponies that wallow in hate and distrust, and there are the ponies that are tired of fighting and just want to live their lives. Hence two ponies are all you need from each tribe in order to effectively outline the conflict.
* The ending heavily implies that if the races ever began fighting again, the Wendigo would return. Between them, discord and negative emotions apparently capable of transforming people into [[EvilOverlord Evil Overlords (i.e Nightmare Moon) ]], it seems that in the world of ponies, friendship isn't so much a voluntary virtue as it is a survival mechanism.
** Since the ending is very much played for laughs, it may be just that [[FridgeBrilliance someone accidentally used whatever made the Wendigo roar sounds during the play]].
* The events of the play take place before the rule of Celestia and Luna. Celestia and Luna came into power when they defeated Discord. And Luna knew Star Swirl the Bearded who was Clover the Clever's mentor. Which means that some time not too long after their happy ending, the newly-christened Equestria was set upon by Discord and plunged it into an unending nightmare of chaos and suffering.
** Luna Eclipsed showed Luna knew ''of'' Star Swirl...not necessarily that she ''knew'' him.
** She knew him well enough to know that Twilight had "even gotten the bells right". Of course Luna herself might only have seen pictures of him with his bells but I prefer to think that she met him herself.
** Maybe Star Swirl's robe is preserved somewhere in Canterlot...perhaps in a museum or the palace.
*** Like I said, "not necessarily". But the claim is not absolute proof either way
* If you think about it, Chancellor Puddinghead is not unlike TheCaligula. She is very much insane (that wasn't good-natured Pinkie's wackiness we've seen in the play), but also convinced she's the smartest person around and won't let anyone tell her otherwise. It's also she that escalates the final argument that makes the Wendigos freeze the cave. None of the pony leaders were exactly nice people, but Puddinghead's rule might have been quite nightmarish for the earth ponies.
** Gets even worse when you remember that [[EvilChancellor Chancellor]] Puddinghead in contrast with the other two leaders was ''[[DemocracyIsBad elected]]''.
** Which may mean the other candidates were ''even worse!''
** Well...guy wanted his horse in charge and this is what happens.
* Related to the FridgeBrilliance on Wendigos: it's also said of the mythical Wendigo that if one were to indulge in cannibalism, they'd become a Wendigo. What would've happened to those hateful ponies had they continued to indulge in animosity...?
* So assuming that making friends is a survival tactic in the Equestria of yore, what happens to the social misfits who don't fit in?
** They wander the land until they find a place they ''do'' fit in. [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie Perhaps even as]] {{Wendigo}}s themselves.
* We now have a new one. Princess Platinum is described as the "daughter of the Unicorn King." Who's the only unicorn king we know of as of Series 3? '''[[EvilOverlord Sombra.]]''' (Yes, the events depicted in the play take place before Celestia and Luna were in power, but if you take the theory that Discord's rule happened soon after into account...)
** Considering the 6 look so similar to the Mane 6 and perhaps ancestors (not saying they are, perhaps even in the flashback its still all a play and it's simply coincidental) and if Platinum's father was Sombra... Does this mean Rarity would be the ancestor of SOMBRA!?!?
*** This is paranoid. The timelines make no sense. We'd have to found Equestria, have Discord take over, subject the population to an eternity of chaos, have the Princesses find and use the EOH, and either in the meantime or the aftermath have the King of the Unicorns take over the Crystal Empire. The only way this makes any sense would be if the King of the Unicorns could cast Age Magic. Though... if he had the Alicorn Amulet, we might have something that could work.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Season 2 (2 of 2)]]

[[AC: The Last Roundup]]
* When Pinkie Pie thinks that Applejack has broken a Pinkie Promise, she turns nearly...demonic. She has a second voice layered under her own and her attitude goes from happy to furious in literally Ten Seconds Flat. Yes, she's happy again when she Applejack tells her that she didn't lie, just found a way out of the promise, but ''what's happened in the past to ponies who really broke their Pinkie Promises''? Is that why everyone takes them so seriously?
** Moreover, Pinkie's cartoony nature gives her some incredible abilities. She can move at [[SuperSpeed incredible speeds]], [[OffscreenTeleportation teleport]], [[SelfDuplication be in multiple places at once]], appear anywhere (including ''inside mirrors''), [[BreakingTheFourthWall break the fourth wall]][[hottip:*:WordOfGod denies this ability, but fans have pointed out that [[GodDoesNotOwnThisWorld Pinkie has already done so in canon anyway]], whip up complex gadgets in a short span of time, [[SuperpowerLottery etc]]. If you break a Pinkie Promise, [[ParanoiaFuel it's impossible to run from, hide from, or stop her wrath.]]
** Keep all that in mind while watching "Green Isn't Your Color" and note how Pinkie shows up whenever it seems Twilight's gonna break her Pinkie Promise. If she feels inclined to, she can ''follow you anywhere'' to make sure you don't break one, like she did with Twilight. Now think about The Last Roundup, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgVPun6TuQQ let the title of this vid sink in]]...
* Spike wasn't at Applejack's welcome home Party. Which is okay, he was probably busy at the time. But then you realize, Twilight had left for about two days, with the others to go look for Applejack, and we never see her stop by the library to pack, or tell Spike, her number one assistant, and friend, any of this. Which means, she may have just left him there for two days straight worrying about where they are, and they're too preoccupied with bringing Applejack home to even worry about it. You can only imagine how worried he must be at the library.
* Applejack treated her friends very coldly when they came looking for her, and it's not hard to imagine why: [[spoiler:She did not win any prize money at the rodeo, and she had promised her prize money to fix the town hall. We aren't shown how the rodeo went, but are shown that she won a lot of second, third, and runner-up medals. Now, imagine Applejack's mental state as she comes close to winning each event, but falls short each time: she feels the disappointment of her friends and the mayor building up as she keeps failing to win the prize money she promised. The stress and guilt are building and building in her mind as each event goes by, and the perceived source of all this stress is her friends and their disappointment. It's no wonder she's cold to them: to her---subconsciously---her friends are the reason she feels terrible about not winning any prize money. So when an opportunity presents itself for her to work someplace far from Ponyville to earn the money, she takes the offer: it gives her a chance to make good on her perceived commitments---and puts a lot of distance between her and the source of her stress: her friends.]]

[[AC: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000]]
* The Flim-Flam Brothers machine sucking up [[spoiler:the entire apple tree, roots and all. Sucking up entire trees that could of have house squirrels and bird nested that might have baby bird eggs. And the thought of those poor animals getting crush to make cider is a [[NauseaFuel sickening thought]]]].
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E7MayTheBestPetWin Good thing Pegasi never sleep in trees]].
* By the end of the episode, Sweet Apple Acres has let a huge amount of its raw materials be consumed to produce a product that will never be sold. Not only have countless apples been wasted, but ''entire apple trees'' have been destroyed, resulting in the loss of ability to produce materials (known as capital, in economics). How much this will set the family back is uncertain, but Sweet Apple Acres has definitely taken a hit this episode.
** They'd recoup their losses soon enough. Losing the rights to selling cider indefinitely would be much more devastating.
** Granny Smith said it was worth it to get one over them, so she at least clearly didn't mind.
** And besides, there was about [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess one time]] where the Apple Farm were stripped of both their apples, ''and'' their leaves, and yet they still manage to grow.
* "Onto the next town", the Flim Flam brothers say. One: they've presumably done this before. Have they succeeded in driving other Apple families out of business? Two: they're doing it again. Will the next town's citizens be so lucky as Applejack's?
** That's assuming that there ''were'' Apple families in the towns they've tried. In concurrence to the Fridge Brilliance above, if they'd driven an Apple Family out of town, their reputation would ''already'' be ruined, considering how tightly knit the family is.
*** That's assuming the other Apple's aren't as prideful as Apple Jack was in Applebucking. "I wasn't the best." seems to be a running theme for AJ and may very well be in the family.
*** It also relies on their being in frequent and regular contact with each other. Apart from the pilot episode of the first series, we rarely see any Apple family members beyond the main four, and they are stated by Applejack to be busy working on their own farms.
** A reverse one for the brothers themselves akin to MuggingTheMonster: the fact they tried to run the matriarch of the large, widespread, and tight knit Apple family out of her farm will not sit well with any other Apple in Equestria.
** They've probably hit a bunch of other farms where the conditions weren't as dire, never stayed to exploit their cider monopoly (since they never bargained for long-term apple supplies), and may have even 'lost' previous challenges (but still gotten a huge amount of nearly free apple cider). Most of Equestria's farms couldn't have as many near-disasters or be so close to going bankrupt as Apple Acres.
** Judging from the brothers' behaviours throughout the episode, they seem quietly confident in their run-the-ponies-out-of-business scheme, which suggests that any experience they've had has been successful. The only time they both lose their cool is when the mane six starts beating them at the contest, which they clearly didn't expect. Possibly the main thing that helps them keep out of trouble is their constant travelling.
* You don't have to be a libertarian to be bothered by the winner of the contest obtaining a government sponsored monopoly on cider in Ponyville.
** No, you need to be an anarchist instead to be bothered by the government enforcing contracts. That or in favor of a nanny state that ensures that everybody gets to have a successful business, whether they want to or not.

[[AC: Read It and Weep]]
* Rainbow Dash hides under the bed of a pony with a shaved head, implying that this pony is either recovering from brain surgery... or chemotherapy.
** The ward Rainbow Dash was on looked more like a broken bone ward. It's more likely that he was doing a series of dares and ended up breaking something. And since his head isn't bandaged, the baldness could just be a fashion statement.
** Could be a concussion bad enough that they had to shave his head for stitches or what have you.
** Or maybe the baldness was just from the earlier parts of the escalating series of dares.
** Given the quavery voice when the pony accuses Rainbow Dash of trying to steal his slippers, it's also possible he's just old.
* The mental patient pony that barks like a dog.
** Somebody pointed out that this is exactly what happened to Big Macintosh in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 episode 2]]. Discord literally drove Big Mac insane.
** She's got a [[VisualPun screw]] cutie mark. Considering how pony's cutie marks are destined to what the pony's special talent is, this pony's cutie mark story must be ''extremely'' interesting.
** Or she's a carpenter or something...
* Rainbow's roommate heard her narrating the entire book -- was ''he'' driven to desperation by a need to know how it ended? He couldn't exactly say so...
** After days of listening to Rainbow endlessly bounce a ball off the walls, strobe the light switch on and off, and tell horrible jokes, he may well need to move to the mental ward himself. Worst Roommate Ever.
* Rainbow Dash lives in a house in the clouds. The doctors kick her out of the hospital in a wheelchair, all alone.. after telling her to not fly for a week and not arranging any sort of transportation.
** There probably are some sort of regular "sky ferries", or magical teleporters, or something like that, which would allow earthbound ponies access Cloudsdale whenever they need to.
** Why would Spike not be at the hospital, visiting Rainbow Dash? Based on the doctors in The Secret of My Excess, the Hospital could have seen Spike as a pet and [[Main/TearJerker not let him in.]]

[[AC: Hearts and Hooves Day]]
* The Cutie Mark Crusaders crash ''a funeral''. Death and funerals in the ponyverse are now canon.
** With the showing order of the episodes, some fans noticed an unintentional link between the funeral and the hospitalised, supposedly 'cancer pony' from the previous episode.
* When [[spoiler: the love potion causes the prince and princess to become too distracted and neglect their responsibilities]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 chaos reigns]].
** It also mentions "something about a dragon". Discord's species is ''Dracon''equus, dragon horse.
** ...It also could mean regular Dragons, which, after seeing [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Spike]] in ''Secret of My Excess'', would definitely not be any better.
* The ingredients of the love potion involve only a cloud, a rainbow, and a pegasus feather. The terrifying thing is, those things are ''constantly'' next to each other. For instance, the Cloudsdale weather factory is perpetually one small accident away from accidentally creating a batch of the potion.
** My thoughts upon reading this: "That's stupid. If clouds and rainbows accidentally get mixed, they're still not going to be accidentally stirred with a pegasus feather, fast, not slow. For that matter, 'give it to two ponies who are not in the know' implies that it only works if given to two ponies, whereas an accident might well only administer it to one, not to mention that it may imply that it only works if administered as a deliberate deception . . . wait, that's worse."
** It's not a rainbow, it's the rainbow's glow, which (in the episode) had to be mechanically extracted from the greyscale part of the rainbow, ''and'' there's a potion base to which the three ingredients (well, two ingredients and stirrer) were added, so it's possible that it only works when the ingredients are added to a Blank Potion that serves as the base of many simple potions. It's quite possible that the potion could easily be made by someone messing around with potion testing, or by getting the recipe wrong for a very similar potion, but could otherwise pretty much only be made intentionally.
** If anypony made a batch by accident, nobody would use the batch. If a worker makes a poison by accident, everypony else would have noticed the weird cloud batch.
* Cherilee seems pretty calm about the fact that her students slipped her, essentially, a date rape drug.
** Not just any date rape drug, '''''the''' perfect date rape drug''. It's dirt cheap (you can find the ingredients by looking out your window), can be made in your living room in less than a minute, instantly brainwashes the victim into ''absolute mind slavery'', lasts exactly as long as the rapist wants it to, leaves no marks, and the victim doesn't remember a single thing...
** My theory (to make it all less creepy) is this potion doesn't work onesided. So if it was only Cherilee who drank it she wouldn't fall in love with Big Mac. Wich means you can't give someone Love Poison to make them love you unless you drink it yourself and fall for them as well. Also judging by Cherilee's and Big Mac's behaviour the potion is more about platonic love rather than sexual. Those two couldn't stop looking each other in the eyes but they didn't even kiss.
* Applebloom's vision of a hungry pony is anorexic. Holy crap, that was scary.
* The existence of Love Potions and Love Poisons are {{FridgeHorror}}s in and of themselves, given the implications of both. Not made much better by just how easy it was to get the recipe.
* Cherilee thought nothing of knocking three of her favorite students out of the way in her pursuit to see Big Macintosh. What if it had somehow come down to fighting? She probably wouldn't be in the right state of mind not to hurt them... Or kill them, if she felt she had no choice.
* Mrs. Cake has a throw-away line about the fact that she "could use the catering business" from the wedding. Perhaps the fact that Sugarcube Corner has taken considerable damage in Season 2, and even in this episode, has left them teetering on the brink of financial ruin from the continuous repairs.
** Not to mention the new babies.
* [[FridgeLogic Some have noticed]] that if the [=CMCs=] wanted to nullify the effects of the poison, they could've just waited for both Big Mac and Cheerilee to fall asleep. However...[[NightmareFuel what if it prevented them from falling asleep?]] There are nasty health-related implications behind this, much like with the Cutie Pox.
** Considering the historical love poison wouldn't have been that big a disaster if simple sleep had cured it (a mere day of infatuation shouldn't cause a kingdom to slide into ruin), I'd say either time asleep doesn't count, the poison prevents sleep... or it becomes permanent after a certain time.
* What the hell was Twilight doing, giving the CMC a book like that? Wasn't their unusual interest in making a ''love potion'' kind of suspicious? They're kids, why on earth would they need that?
[[AC: A Friend In Deed]]
* Cranky only meets Matilda again after moving to Ponyville. If he had moved anywhere else, he may have ended up dying without ever seeing her again.
** What would have happened if Matilda didn't live in Ponyville? Wouldn't that mean Pinkie would have destroyed Cranky's beloved memories for nothing?
** He's also been searching his ENTIRE LIFE for her, when she's been in Ponyville the whole time. He's wasted his ENTIRE LIFE.

[[AC: Putting Your Hoof Down]]
* New Fluttershy has no qualms about resorting to violence for minor slights. "Old Fluttershy" kicked a bear's ass and almost snapped his neck. And until [[spoiler: she had her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment]], she seemed to be steadily getting worse. What if she had not HAD that moment?
** [[http://niban-destikim.deviantart.com/art/Flutterbitch-is-Back-288703791 This]] [[http://niban-destikim.deviantart.com/art/Angel-First-289053316 and perhaps this]] with an [[FriendshipIsWitchcraft evil cult]], [[WebAnimation/PonyDotMov a chainsaw and shed]]?
** Worst thing? She wasn't even under Discord's influence this time. All she needed was some well-intentioned but overapplied advice to push her in the wrong direction. Just what sort of darkness lurks in the heart of this timid pony?
* It's kinda easy to understand why some ponies keep calling Iron Will a monster: Who else is depicted as a bipedal figure with horns and hoofed feet who is associated with goats? Oh right, {{Satan}}.
* Iron Will himself ''is'' FridgeHorror. Two wit: he's a Minotaur...who held his seminar in a hedge maze...[[GreekMythology What happened the last time someone was trapped in a maze with a]] [[ExtremeOmnivore minotuar]] [[GreekMythology again?]]
** Yea, Theseus was able to kill the minotaur why? Oh wait that's still fridge horror, all they need is a warrior pony with a spool of thread.
* It might seem like a lot of the ponies in "Putting Your Hoof Down" have taken [[TookALevelInJerkass levels in jerkass]], but how many times have we really seen Fluttershy in Ponyville by herself? It's almost always with her friends, or at least while guiding some animals around town. They might act civil because her friends will stand up for her, or because a pack of wild animals is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason more trouble than it's worth,]] but what if that's how they act when she's alone all the time because they know Fluttershy won't do anything about it?
* Another reason is because ''[[TheMessiah Fluttershy]]'' was the one telling them off. Seeing their formerly sweet and gentle friend expel so much bile must have been very hard for them. The most horrifying thing about the argument is that Fluttershy actually thought about how meaningless her friends passions are, and ''she wasn't being manipulated into it''.
* In 'Putting Your Hoof Down', Fluttershy uses the [[BodyHorror feathers of her wings as if they were fingers to open her saddlebag]]. While this is creepy, FridgeBrilliance steps in with an X-ray from 'Read it and Weep' of Dash's broken wing, which shows that wings have bones where there would normally be just delicate feathers. Knowing that Pegasi have bones in some of their feathers, the FridgeHorror comes when you consider 'Hearts and Hooves Day', where one of Scootaloo's feathers are yanked out without warning to make a potion. [[NightmareFuel What if Sweetie Belle pulled]] [[BodyHorror the wrong feather]]?
** Pulling bones out by hand isn't exactly an easy, painless, or particularly fast process; I doubt Scootaloo would've been both oblivious and powerless. But still, the possibility remains... [[http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/336/499/845.png *shudder*]]
* How much do Elements of Harmony bearers qualifty for their Elements if "New Fluttershy" is technically still the bearer of the Element of Kindness? Is "Old Fluttershy" really that kind or is she actually a BitchInSheepsClothing and the Elements can't distinguish this because they're simply magical inanimate objects?

[[AC: It's About Time]]
* '''Why the heck are time traveling spells so readily available to anypony!''' True, the spell only lets one travel back in time momentarily, but that still could be enough to change the course of time radically. Plus, it's implied that there are other time based spells including a '''time stopping spell.'''
** "...but that still could be enough to change the course of time radically." Thankfully no. The spell is clearly shown to operate on YouAlreadyChangedThePast principles.
** And Twilight was ''fully willing to '''use''' said time-stopping spell''! She was willing to trap everypony, including ''herself'', in one moment in time, forever. Never moving, never going toward the future or the past. Everything would just be still for eternity, all because of one pony going mad.
** The door to it being locked could mean that the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing is ''not'' accessible to anypony. It's made clear the guard knows who Twilight is, so possibly this is why he let her in.
** In the episode Twilight tells Pinkie Pie and Spike, "Time spells are kept in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing, the most secure section of the archives. That's why we're sneaking around!"
** It's also highly unlikely that just anyone could cast such a spell, even if they did have access to it. Twilight is pretty much the most talented mage in the entire world after the Princesses. Most unicorns know a single trick.
* How about the fact that there a gateway to Tartarus near Ponyville. Tartarus aka HELL in Greek/Roman myths. What the fuck is in there that Celestia didn't send [[TakenForGranite Discord]] in?
** Maybe Celestia thought that Discord would somehow use his powers of chaos and break out of Tartarus, with the other demonic creatures helping him out of his state? If Celestia sent Discord there, the legion might of banded together and freed him, allowing for the potential release of not only Discord if they broke past Ceberus's dimensional border, but ''all the legions of pony hell itself!'' And if Tartarus ''is'' pony hell, then that could include any manner of terrible ponies from the past!
** Also, think about this: what allowed Discord to become free anyway? A disharmonious act being performed right in front of his statue (I am of the personal opinion that it wasn't the ONLY act that caused it, and that others had done so in the past so that the spell gradually became weaker, but I digress). So why would Celestia want to send statue Discord to Tartaurus with a bunch of evil creatures that would likely allow him to break free very, very quickly?
* Pinkie Pie [[CrazyPrepared keeps balls and eyepatches around Ponyville in case of emergency]] so that she could produce a ball and eyepatch for Twilight. Now what if Twilight had asked for a bone or meat instead of a ball for Cerberus...
** Then Pinkamena would be considered a lot closer to canon.
** The ball is inside a tree, but the eyepatch was hidden inside Twilight's house. Apparently Pinkie has been sneaking into friends' homes to hide things. This also makes Pinkie look like a hoarder.

[[AC: Dragon Quest]]
* Twilight mentions that even she doesn't know where Spike's egg came from. Which raises the question, where did his egg come from, and how did Celestia obtain it?
** This question is never answered. Which does raise the question, [[FridgeHorror What happened to his parents?!]]
* Teenage dragons [[spoiler: steal phoenix eggs, and smash them. Imagine being the [[AdultFear parents of those dead eggs]].]]
** If Spike had smashed the egg, it wouldn't have been ''just'' an egg, but also a baby phoenix which was due to hatch at any moment. If he smashed it to the ground really, really hard...
* Phoenixes cannot die from old age but still lay eggs. Unless there are species that can prey on them, a population explosion is the only result.
** Namely, dragons? Surely everypony noticed that.
* Spike is now a kidnapper, and Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity are his accomplices.
* Who knows what the teen dragons would've done if they [[spoiler:captured the phoenix chicks?]]
* What do we know about dragons now? Well, let's see: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy While dragons can be reasoned with and have a variety of emotions, it takes some doing to get through to them]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell they are quick-tempered and more than ready to become bloodthirsty killing machines]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess they are very prone to greed, which itself is almost a natural part of the growing process]], and, after this episode, we know that they either don't give a flying feather about other dragons being [[JerkAss jerks]] (if it's not to them), or they're complete [[JerkAss jerks]] themselves. And let's not forget lazy, dimwitted, cruel, uncultured, disrespectful, and selfish. Sure, Spike's fine with living like a pony, but now that he knows all this, imagine the different thoughts he's gotta have running through his head...[[hottip:*:''Are all dragons seriously like them? Am I really a member of such a horrible species? Am I going to end up mean someday? Am I supposed to be a jerk so I can grow up? Will I be little forever because I'm nice? What'll everyone think of me when ponykind eventually finds out enough about dragons? Will they shun me? Will they try to kick me out of Ponyville? '''Do I have ''any'' reason to be proud I'm a dragon?!''' Should I just...I dunno...ask Celestia or someone to transform me into a pony or something?...Wait, that could send some mixed messages...'']]
* The teenaged dragons are ''very'' lucky Spike decided to have the group run for it and, Celestia forbid, they didn't actually ''hurt'' Spike. Imagine what [[SuperpowerLottery Twilight]] could've done to them if she ''really'' tried, or [[FantasticNuke Rainbow Dash]] for that matter.
** And even if all four of them were no match for those dragons, I think a certain [[http://niban-destikim.deviantart.com/art/The-Namby-Pamby-princess-291325254 "namby pamby princess pony"]] would not take kindly to a group of riff-raff harming her closest student and her companions.
* If the teenaged dragons were willing to smash unhatched eggs and, presumably, kill the chicks ForTheEvulz, what would they have done to Spike if the girls hadn't shown up?!
* [[CurbStompBattle The teen dragons would have regretted calling Spike]] puny and peewee if [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess he had gone on a collection spree.]]
** We have no idea what would have happened if it went into an all out fight while Spike was in hording heat, but if it is a natural occurance, the Dragons would have probably had a method to lay down the law without taking the entire mountain with them. I hope.
** There are three issues that make it unlikely that Spike could have pulled off a greed growth spurt. The first is that it required a specific state of mind to activate, with he is unlikely to be able to achieve on command. The second issue is that he needed to take a lot of stuff to reach adulthood, more than was lying around the gathering area. The third is that while the ponies were unable or unwilling to stop Spike, the same can't be said for the teen dragons. Actually, the dragons (adolescent and adult) would probably consider the attempt normal playing, like the king of the horde game, so they might not even notice what he was trying to do.
*** Plus, they're also dragons, who have been raised in a dragon environment. They probably know how to counter such things, since that's a normal part of draconic upbringing.
* So ... now living in the library, we have Twilight, Owlowiscious, Spike, and Peewee. Pony wizard who can light fires (she lit up candles in one episode), owl, fire-breathing dragon, and fire-being phoenix. That library is SO toast.
* Nothing is known about dragons due to fear? Well, Ponyville has easy access to a friendly, trusting, and relatively harmless neighborhood dragon. Odds are, there's a pony with a low moral compass who wishes to pioneer dragon studies...

[[AC: Hurricane Fluttershy]]
* Equestria lacks a water cycle. Water does not evaporate on it's own.... Even with the other things ponies apparently control, that is disturbing.
** It might just be currently settled Equestria, given that Everfree is so "spooky" because it works on its own like a forest here on Earth, and that we know that Celestia and Luna had at one time called it their home. It's quite likely that the clouds that need managing (for example, the ones RD takes care of in ten second flat in the first episode) come from Everfree and other, similarly wild areas.
** Pre-pony Equestria definitely had a functional water cycle, as do places without pegasi. Unless the presence of pegasi outright eliminates it, which seems unlikely, Equestria should have one, it's just that they don't rely on it.
* Spitfire was present for both tornado attempts when they were failing to reach the proper wingpower. ''She did nothing.'' If Fluttershy hadn't managed to pull through, there would have been no rainfall all year, ''anywhere in Equestria''. What the hell, Spitfire?
** Seeing as how they could just bring in a few dozen pegasi from Cloudsdale to make up the gap and try again, it's not really that big a deal. The only thing on the line is town pride.

[[AC: Ponyville Confidential]]
* Sure, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were responsible for humiliating everyone in Ponyville. But what exactly did Ponyville do in retaliation? They basically exiled them - a young group of fillies, mind you - from their society, even if it was for a short while. Even their ''relatives'' turn their backs on them! Well, with the exception of Rarity, possibly...
* It's easy to blame the Mane Cast for being insensitive to the CMC for the Gabby Gums stories, but remember, those three are their ''friends and younger siblings'', Scootaloo being Rainbow Dash's, the Element of ''Loyalty's'', number one fan. Just imagine how much it hurt the mane cast to have their loved ones humiliate them like that, and we see that towards the end the stories just get more and more hurtful, turning from partial truths to outright lies. Anyone that's had a loved one betray them will tell you just how much that hurts.
* Rarity asks Sweetie Belle if she really wants hurting other ponies' feelings as her destiny, and Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom don't want that. Diamond Tiara not only declared that she doesn't care about feelings, but she doesn't seem to mind having other ponies' feelings hurt as her destiny. That is one cold, screwed-up filly!
** Diamond Tiara already has her cutiemark, her destiny's already set, so she probably takes that as meaning she can do whatever she wants because she's in rich and charge.


[[AC: MMMystery on the Friendship Express]]

[[AC: A Canterlot Wedding, Parts 1 & 2]]
* So did Lyra, Twinkleshine and Colgate get out of the caves?
** Yep, only to get [[CrowningMomentOfFunny shoved out of the way by Rarity]] during the bouquet toss. Not a good day for those three.
* Pay close attention to how Celestia delievers the line "You have a ''lot'' to think about." It is not unlike the way she delievered the line "You won't get away with this, Discord!" back in the first part of The Return of Harmony. Now, before she delievered that line, it was already preestablished that she felt nothing but pure hatred for Discord. I'll let that sink in for a minute.
** Twilight picked up on this. Note she was tearing up when Celestia said that line, and isn't her biggest insecurity an inability to handle the Princess being disappointed in her?
** It gets worse: did anypony else notice that Celestia, after being proven conclusively wrong and almost dooming all of Equestria because she didn't listen to Twilight, ''[[MoralDissonance never apologized]]''? She gave Twilight some vaguely approving line about learning to "trust her instincts", but to quote Applejack, Twilight didn't learn anything! She ''knew'' to trust her instincts; it was Celestia who, despite the fact that Twilight has been right each and every time she's predicted some supernatural disaster, didn't give her desperate warning a second thought, and in fact dismissed her as coldly as she once did ''Discord''.
*** That's softened somewhat when you remember that Twilight ''has'' been slightly "possessive" of her brother all along, and also when you remember that Cadence can hardly help but earn people's love; Twilight was, from Celestia's perspective, attacking a pony who's probably her niece with no evidence and no provocation. Her disappointment probably stemmed mainly from the fact that not only did it seem like Twilight was being childish and freaking out over nothing--like in Lesson Zero--but as an Element Bearer, she should ''know better''.
*** That ''was'' Celestia apologizing to Twilight. She's immortal. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever The longer she lives, the harder it becomes to move past the mistakes she's made.]] Apologizing for them only keeps them fresh on her mind and slows the healing process. Here, we see her using a technique for getting around that problem; Celestia "apologizes" by showering Twilight with praise for going right where Celestia went wrong.
*** She may also have motivation for the above from having ''no idea'' what all the Changeling queen did to her before putting her in that chrysalis. With a room full of Celestia's subjects watching. Another problem with immortality: ''there's never enough brain bleach.''
*** Never mind ''Celestia''; how about the fact that, aside from Applejack, ''none'' of Twilight's friends apologised for not believing her? Unless Applejack was apologizing to Twilight on the others' behalf....
*** The others hardly had time to grovel to Twilight- there were more pressing matters to be dealing with at the time. Also, the attitudes of Shining Armour, Celestia and the Mane Five may have seemed harsh to some, but again, Twilight bursts in with no evidence, accuses "Cadance" of being evil and then is swiftly proved totally wrong. Honestly, they had every right to be annoyed with Twilight, she'd already been shown to be incredibly possessive of Shining Armour. Not to mention, Twilight almost got Ponyville torn apart because of her "Want It, Need It" spell that didn't need casting in the first place and in "It's About Time", she went back in time for a pretty flimsy reason. Are they supposed to believe her every time she's suspicious about something? Sure, she turned out to be right, but she went about proving it really badly.
**** Even so, it would've taken - what? - ''five seconds'' to say sorry.
**** Even then, a simply "Sorry" won't suffice.
*** Just to add, when Fake!Cadance said that no one will ever look for her in the Canterlot Caves. It could just mean that no one will know that there are caves underneath but does anyone think that they'll never even start to worry about her?b
* Just what, one wonders, would the real Cadence's fate have been if Twilight ''hadn't'' conveniently ended up in the same caves? Would the Changelings even have cared to retrieve her once she'd [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived her usefulness]]? (Granted, as nasty as they are the Changelings don't seem to be big on killing as such -- [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou they need the love of living beings to feed on, after all]].)
** On that note, just how long have they been keeping Cadence in those caves? You'd think it had to be, at bare minimum, a week or other fairly lengthy amount of time in order for Queen Chrysalis to pull off this scheme.
** [[spoiler:And what if Chrysalis ''hadn't'' [[NiceJobFixingItVillain sent Twilight to the very same caves so she could find her]]? Cadence could have easily died down there with nopony any wiser...]]
** [[spoiler: And there was no sign of any sort of food or water. By the time Twilight came she was probably already on the brink of starvation.]]
** The good news is, [[spoiler:Cadence's ability to bring out or create love would make her the one pony that couldn't [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlive her usefulness,]] so the Queen would have been making sure she was still alive, if weak. The bad news is, she would have been forced to MindRape ponies for the rest of her life. Being forced to cast spells like the Want-It-Need-it spell or the love poison on hapless ponies would quickly become a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* So, [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis had Shining Armor under her control for quite some time, while she was disguised as his fiancee. [[RapeAsDrama Who's to say she didn't take advantage of that to force him to have sex with her]]?]]
* [[spoiler: Did the Love Spell kill any of the changelings at the end, or are they now simply all over Equestria?]]
** More importantly, [[spoiler:Chrysalis wasn't [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned]] or otherwise permanently defeated, she's ''still out there somewhere!'']]
** [[spoiler:Potentially still ''with'' her changeling army (they can fly, so simply getting spontaneously kicked out of Canterlot isn't likely to kill them), who can still impersonate anypony at a moment's notice and who are likely ''still'' hungry...]]
* [[spoiler: Now that we know about the Changelings, think back to the many times you've seen duplicate character models in the same seen at once? Were the animators just being lazy? Or were the Changelings planning their takeover for a very, ''very'' long time?]]
* If a [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 scuffle between friends]] was all it took to release [[TakenForGranite Discord]] in the season opener, [[spoiler:what would this ''military invasion'' do? Hopefully his petrified self was stored where such conflict couldn't affect him.]]
** Specifically (different troper here), it's entirely possible that the original spell already started to fail around the time of Nightmare Moon's banishment -- and that it then ''still'' took the thousand-odd years since then for it to weaken enough that Discord could finally break free. (Yes, this is straying into {{WMG}} territory a bit, but let's give the Elements of Harmony their due: in the right hooves at the right time, they ''should'' be able to do better than just "turn this villain into stone until the next time somepony has an argument nearby". If ''that'' was the case, Discord would likely have been free again already circa mid-season...)
* [[spoiler: Changelings feed on love, and Shining Armor's love for Cadence already put Chrysalis past Celestia-tier. What if Cadence and Shining Armor's combined PowerOfLove had supercharged Chrysalis? Seems like a hell of a gamble on Cadence and Shining Armor's part.]]
** For that matter, if [[spoiler:just the love between ''two'' ponies was enough to make Chrysalis more powerful than Celestia, how powerful would she and her armies have gotten by feeding on the love of ''every pony in Equestria?'']]
** [[spoiler:That's assuming she can absorb an infinite amount. It's entirely possible she got blasted into the distance for the simple fact that she blasted was ''too much'' at once for her to absorb.]]
** ''[[Series/DoctorWho "Humans need water, they can still drown in it!"]]''
* What if the Changelings found out about Spike's crush on Rarity? One of them would just have to take her place and...
* Celestia was [[spoiler:held captive in a chrysalis; i.e. the cocoon in which an animal goes to metamorphize into something else. And didn't Chrysalis look a ''lot'' like a standard Princess pony, albeit corrupted...?]]
** [[spoiler:Except that Chrysalis said that she dreamt of doing this since she was little. Of course her father might have been a pony.]]
* [[spoiler: In all likelihood, Chrysalis intended Twilight to ''kill'' the real Princess Cadence. I mean, she goaded her into blowing up the very wall Cadence was trapped behind. Sure, she ''said'' Twilight would only have to "[[NeverSayDie catch]]" her, but given how rage-filled Twilight was at that point...]]
** More to the point, Twilight is now confirmed as being capable of [[spoiler:shooting magic bolts from her horn that can put hoof-sized pockmarks in rock and blow up boulders the size of a pair of sofas stacked atop one another]] when [[ChargedAttack fully charged up]], [[spoiler:much resembling the effect of a 120mm gun like the kind you'd find on a modern main battle tank.]] Now, when she finally goes off the deep end, there really ''isn't'' anywhere you can hide.
* A Chrysallis is used to incubate an entity to bring it into the world in its mature form. What if Chrysalis herself was incubating another entity, and if so, what was it?
* Chrysalis and her Changelings [[spoiler:were last seen being blasted into the horizon at what was likely super sonic speeds. If Rainbow Dash crashing into the ground during a normal stunt training session put her in the hospital, it's a ''very'' likely possibility at least some of them were heavily wounded, if not killed on impact. That's assuming the impact alone didn't do the job. Not to say [[CompleteMonster Chrysalis doesn't deserve it.]]]]
** What about the changelings who were [[spoiler:inside buildings at the time the spell was cast?]] There's probably some ponies in Canterlot who got their cutie marks in stain removal the next day.
* FridgeHorror that strikes even after the happy ending - Cadence is an alicorn, like Celestia and Luna, who have both lived for at least a millenia and probably more. All canon so far shows that the lifetime of normal ponies is limited much like humans - suggesting that Cadence has just entered into a marriage which [[MayflyDecemberRomance will last a few decades]], while she'll live for centuries.
** We might have a different reason for Celestia and Luna's immortality: age spells, which only the most skilled and powerful magic users can cast. Celestia and Luna are supposed to be extremely powerful and have centuries of experience. Of course, this may mean they've been holding out on the fountain of youth from the populace (though it may just be that age spells are only permanently work if they're self-cast).
* The moral from A Canterlot Wedding is pretty lousy. "Trust your instincts". That's fine, since it turned out that Twilight was right and it wasn't the real Cadence, but what if it was just pre-royal wedding nerves? Twilight would have been alienated Princess Celestia and her friends.
** The secondary moral is that you need to have some ''freaking tact'', along with showing evidence for your accusations.
* What if the Mane Six had managed to get the Elements of Harmony? Considering the fact that changelings feed on love, would the elements have made them more powerful?
** Or how about even if they've managed to get the Elements of Harmony but failing since they've practically abandoned her. Twilight may not be a mare who holds a grudge but what if she was just bottling it up?
* Chrysalis admires how Equestria has more love than she's ever encounterd. Just how many countries/worlds has she already..."encountered" and what became of them?
* Imagine the sort of tyrant Cadence could be if she used her powers for evil. She has the power to make every pony in Equestria completely devoted to her. [[hottip:*:''More like she has the power to bolster the love one already feels toward another."]]
** [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. They had won the victory over themselves. They loved Queen Chrysalis.]]
** This creates even more implications if the audience has prior knowledge of [[SwordOfTruthThe Sword Of Truth]] series of books, which have the Confessor. A being who's ability is to suppress a person's ability to feel anything but love for the Confessor and magnifies it tenfold. If a confessor asks a person she has "touched" to die, they are so devoted their heart simply stops. If Cadence became a Tyrant, and Love is implied to be stronger than Celestia (Chrysalis beats Celestia --> Chrysalis is beaten by Love) she could either enslave or kill both Princesses on a whim.
** There is a way that Cadance basically could use her powers for evil, even if her main power is to strengthen love already there - remember the "Want It Need It spell"? It's likely that Twilight learned that from Cadance, and it forced everypony to fall in love with her Smarty Pants doll. A "Want It Need It" spell there, a bit of her love-strengthening magic there, and Cadance could have every stallion in Equestria under her control to be a slave to her love if she really wanted.
* This little piece of FridgeHorror also contains some AccidentalInnuendo or maybe even GettingCrapPastTheRadar. The Changelings are based on insects on design, and have a queen, so it's probably safe to assume they act a lot like bees. Of course Chrysalis is female, but the same can probably be said for the [[SamusIsAGirl rest of her subjects,]] considering on how they acted they're the workers. But that leaves the question on reproduction, which leaves us to the drone, the sole male member of the colony. For those who don't know what his purpose is [[spoiler: it's to fertilize a receptive queen.]] Now consider Shining Armor who Chrysalis had him under her control the entire time...let that sink in for a moment.
* At the wedding, Pinkie Pie was at least at one time planning to play music known to attract parasprites.
** It's likely that you have to be in proximity to paraspites to attract them with music. I doubt very much whether they can hear it all the way from the Everfree forest. And even if worst case scenario, the parasprites were attracted, they'd come very slowly (i.e. walking in a straight line) and they could easily be lured out, since the music would still be keeping them docile.
* Twilight facing the three brainwashed bridesmaids becomes way creepier when you realize that those three, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lyra, may have been the closest thing to friends Twilight had when she was living in Canterlot. In Mare in the Moon Minuette and Twinkleshine invite her to a party, and Lyra is seen attempting to be friendly as Twilight charges past.
* In the wedding photo montage, Rarity is seen to be hanging out with Fancy Pants and making flirtatious looks at him. Perfectly fine, but one realizes that next season will likely have an episode about letting someone with a puppy dog crush (Spike) down gently as she never really said that she feels the same way about him and just likes him as a friend.
** Which would be an uncomfortable situation for both parties, but you'd have to be incredibly sensitive for it to qualify as actual HORROR. Most viewers will have at least one similar conversation at some point in their lives, and it's likely they'll have live it from all sides.
** Yes, but the point was that its an uncomfortable subject that will be brought up and in the back of the minds of people. Its more fridge saddness than anything.
* Just WhatIf Twilight DIDN'T believe that Candence wasn't the fake?
** [[http://crimsonbugeye.deviantart.com/art/Canterlot-Wedding-BAD-END-309211910 Oh, probably something like this.]]
* Cadence's powers. Even if they "strengthen what's already there", that's not exactly much better. For instance, it is never really made clear just what qualifies as "love" for her powers? It's almost guaranteed that you feel more "love" towards any random passerby - even one who you absolutely hate - than you do towards that ant that is crawling along your wall. Can she use that? If so, then even if her powers don't "create" love, then the effects would be effectively indistinguishable.
** Depends a lot on one's personal stance on "love" in general. Is love a good thing? Then Cadence's powers are pretty unquestionably positive. Is it an already-questionable breakdown of rationality (or worse) in its own right? ''Then'' they suddenly look a lot more ominous. (Of course, the real reason her powers are going to be limited is somewhat more meta: most of the show is ''driven'' by interpersonal conflict of some kind or other, and if a Princess DeusExMachina could just pop in and resolve everything with a few strategically-placed pink hearts anytime she liked, that would be kind of anticlimactic. So she probably can't actually do that. Watch out if she ever picks up a SuperpoweredEvilSide, though...)
*** Not to mention the UnfortunateImplications of the "Want It, Need It" spell... take that in account with Cadance's power to amplify love, add a SuperpoweredEvilSide into the mix, and, well, you could have the potential for a [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman very]] [[TheVamp sinister]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty alicorn]].
** Not quite too worrisome, but if her Love magic does not distinguish between TheFourLoves, and she misjudges a "couple" that needs the help of her magic, that might result in some [[BrotherSisterIncest unfortunate]] [[KissingCousins accidents]], as FanArt was [[http://fav.me/d4xc25y quick to elaborate upon]].
*** Actually, even if it doesn't identify TheFourLoves as four distinct, seperate things, they are. Strengthening what's already there would ''not'' change the type of love. ''Replacing'' it, however...
* The beginning of part 2 was a downright scary HopeSpot from Cadance's POV. Consider it for a moment; stuck in a cell, hungry, thirsty[[note]]even assuming Crysalis wanted her alive comfortable and happy would not be worth the bother[[/note]], no idea what the impostor is doing to your betrothed... then the cell wall is shattered by a bolt of familiar power. Twilight's here! You're saved! Aunt Cellie was right about how her powers were growing! Twilight looks... equicidal. That [[WitchWithACapitalB witch]] is still wearing your face! ''Aunt Cellie was right about how her powers were growing!'' '''[[OhCrap OhbuckohbuckOHBUCK]]!'''
* Crossing over into TearJerker territory: Cadance is an alicorn, Shining Armor is a unicorn. An average horse's lifespan is about thirty years, and even if by being a unicorn his lifespan is extended, alicorns from what we see from Celestia and Luna, live for ''thousands'' of years.
** As mentioned above, there's actually a strong suggestion in-series that the Earth Pony known as Granny Smith is over 3-4 centuries old. So it's possible that the difference between Shining Armor and Cadance's lifespans isn't that great -- not to mention, Celestia and Luna's long lifespans may come from whatever it was that endowed them the power/authority to control the sun and the moon rather than their race.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Season 3]]
[[AC: The Crystal Empire, part 1]]
* The prologue ends with Twilight suffering a minor freakout, which culminates with her uprooting the library. Let that sink in for a moment. Imagine living in a village with a SuperOCD wizard whose equivalent of TantrumThrowing can launch a building 50 feet into the air.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hZnE3RJLM&list=PLDEF92F38FC613C55&index=150&feature=plpp_video In this sneak preview]], [[spoiler: the Crystal Pony Twi talks to is clearly having her memories or mind tampered with by the villain in a manner quite like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4 the SOPS]]. All the other Crystal Ponies exhibit similar symptoms and lack of emotion. whoever the villain is, they are clearly using a SOPS-style system to [[MindControl enslave and control the entire population]]! And you thought having absolute control over soldiers was bad enough.]]
* Just what did King Sombra do one thousand years ago that was bad enough for Celestia and Luna to be more thorough disposing of the guy than ''Discord''?
** Well, he enslaved an entire country's worth of ponies for one.
** Technically, they seemed to be less thorough. He didn't merit a shot of the Elements of Harmony, after all. He was also left to rot in Pony Canada instead of being placed on the front lawn where they could keep an eye on him.
** We see the ponies in chains but nothing there that would warrant this kind of slave labour. However, the Empire is a source of great magic, good or evil. It is quite probable that Sombra chained his subjects with no other reason than to traumatize them and power up from their despair.
* Why are there no children in the Crystal Empire, though some are clearly shown in Celestia's "hologram"?
** Considering the treatment the crystal ponies received under King Sombra, they may not have survived.
* The only thing that stopped King Sombra from getting into the Empire was Cadence's love magic. This means they must've arrived before Sombra did. Imagine if he'd reached it before they did.
* Did the Crystal Empire have any armed forces? The only 'soldier' we see during these episodes is Shining Armor, the captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard....
** Any Crystal Empire soldiers would have been missing their memories, and working for Sombra when they had them. Not useful in this situation.
* Where the hell were all the colts and fillies? [[WouldHurtAChild Did Sombra kill them all?]]
** Either that or he pulled a ''Half-Life 2'' and there wasn't any breeding allowed while he was in charge.
* There are no Pegasus or Unicorn ponies in the Crystal Empire. Sombra's already been shown to be a devious tactician with many layers to his plans regarding the Heart's safety. Magic and flight would have made reaching the Heart or escaping simpler, if not possible. Discord had the power to cause wings and horns to disappear and turn Pegasi/Unicorns into Earth Ponies...
** What he did to Shining's horn might be part of his process for making earth ponies. [[BodyHorror Crystalizing Shining's horn]], might've turned off his unicorn genes [[AWizardDidIt somehow]]. A similar process was probably used on wings.

[[AC: The Crystal Empire, Part 2]]

* [[spoiler:Spike fell from the top of the tower and King Sombra is heading straight for him. If you look closely, you see that Spike is falling ''right at the point of Sombra's crystal pillar'']]. Given Sombra's character, it's most certainly possible this was intentional on his part. If not that, just what ''was'' he going to do to [[spoiler:Spike]] if he'd reached him first?
** It is worse than that. Sombra licks his lips and then opens his mouth wide...
* Twilight was trapped in [[YourWorstNightmare her worst fear]] by Sombra's spell. That alone is horrible, but then you remember what kind of psycho King Sombra is. If that's the kind of magic he's capable of, just imagine what the poor Crystal Ponies were put through under his reign.
* While Twilight is trapped in her worst fear by King Sombra's spell, she sees a stained glass window depicting herself being hurled into a pit of flames engulfing crystal spikes. Remember that this was ''Sombra's'' spell and there's no reason Twilight herself would imagine such a thing. Given what we're told about Sombra, it's quite probably he actually intended to do that to her!
* The area around the Crystal kingdom is a frozen wasteland. The Crystal kingdom itself is not frozen, and is protected by Cadance's love spell. The Hearth's Warming Eve episode gave us Windigos, a creature that creates cold weather and is repelled by love. Maybe Sombra isn't the only thing the shield is keeping out...
* [[spoiler:King Sombra, unlike other villains, was destroyed, instead of being [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away.]] Now think about this; it took the love of an ENTIRE EMPIRE to completely obliterate him. Discord and Luna were defeated by the Elements of Harmony, and Chrysalis was blown away by Cadance and Shining Armor. Now instead of that, what would happen if that much love was used against them? Hm...]]
** It didn't necessarily take that much love to beat him, that was simply the amount of love that was used. Just because someone is taken out with a [[NoKillLikeOverkill cruise missile]] doesn't necessarily mean only a cruise missile would do.
* Sombra was imprisoned a thousand years ago. Luna became Nightmare Moon and was sealed away in the moon a thousand years ago. WordOfGod says Luna was corrupted by dark magic when she became Nightmare Moon. ''How do we know Sombra didn't infect her with some of his power as a final "screw you" before he was sealed away''? Considering we don't know exactly ''when'' Luna became Nightmare Moon, it could've been some time after Sombra was defeated, and the "infection" had time to grow and consume her!
* This troper offers a similar but different theory: It was DISCORD'S magic that corrupted Luna. Discord's corruption takes fears/worries of the mane six and amplifies them. Sombra shows no ability to corrupt ponies in that way. It could be that Luna always was envious of Celestia's day and a bit of residual magic from Discord caught hold. Also, consider how some of the mane six reacted upon being freed from Discord's power. It's very similar, if not identical, to Luna's instantaneous guilt and apologies upon reverting to her original form.

[[AC: Too Many Pinkie Pies]]
* The solution of the Episode: [[spoiler:The Pinkies showed signs of intelligence and sentience, even if the had very simplified character traits. We have no indication that they existed before Pinkie created them and we have no indication that they continued to exist after they were send back. Did Twilight just casually kill a number of innocent ponies?]]
** [[spoiler: The first clone zapped was clearly reduced to energy and sent back to the pond, there is no reason the spell would have different effects on the others.]]
*** [[spoiler: Reducing them to energy is still destroying their sentience, so unless there's a sort of other world where manifested clones go beyond the Mirror Pool, well...]]
*** [[spoiler: Wonder what happens to the real pony if she gets zapped?]]
*** That's just the thing - [[spoiler: the spell works on real people just as well as clones, apparently.]] So let's say I'm a serial-killer Unicorn and I invent [[spoiler: a spell that kills my victim and then instantly transports the body to the bottom of a nearby lake. How, precisely, was Twilight's clone-destroying spell any different from this, except for the choice of lake?]]
**** Not unless we assume the lake is some sort of conscious entity and the clones were simply re-assimilated.
* The book Twilight finds talking about the mirror pool says that she can accidentally send back the real Pinkie. Why would the book even have that information unless it's actually happened?
* This episode shows that unicorn horns can overheat from intense spell casting. How many ponies have set their own heads on fire? Has Twilight done that?
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Yes.]]
* So, would if an ''evil'' character like [[MadGod Discord]] discovered the pond? Especially since, if we assume that the personalities of anypony who gets cloned get more exaggerated, (like how the Pinkie clones seemed to be even more loopy than the real Pinkie) would the Discord clones be ''even more twisted and depraved?''
** That would be a pretty cool plot for a future episode.
** "More twisted and depraved"? Not necessarily. Perhaps the pond doesn't create a clone with exaggerated qualities, but rather ones with the same essential nature as the original. The difference is that the clones have none of the original's experience. Pinkie Pie, for all her zaniness, still had to develop the skills and self-control necessary to live in polite pony society. This is why she doesn't go around doing anything but benign if she can help it. The clones emerged fully formed from the pond, complete with all of the original's randomness, but without her learned heed for others that checks Pinkie Pie's behavior (for what it's worth). They didn't know what they were doing. [[spoiler: This of course magnifies the Fridge Horror in that Twilight enacted a holocaust against not just sentient beings, but sentient NEWBORNS.]] As for Discord, whether or not his clones would be more vile would hinge on whether his evil is inherent as a chaos being, or was acquired at some point in his past. If the former, they most certainly be more evil because they'd lack even the barest of Discord's self control, whatever that may be. If the latter, the clones might be random but benign, and lay the groundwork for a "good" Discord.
* We're ''sure'' that [[AmbiguousCloneEnding Twilight got the right one, right?]]
** The other Pinkie's were essentially reflections of the original. They had a less complex personality and seemingly no memory of Pinkie's from before they were created (Even messing up the name's of the mane six, something the real pinkie would never do.) Unless Pinkie Pie is shown to have amnesia in later episodes, then we can be certain that she got the right one. My simple solution: Ask her how Equestria was made! ^^
* An army of Pinkie Pies sound great, right? What if they were smart enough to know that everyone in town loathes them for being so manic and uncontrollable? [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne What if they get depressed from not being wanted, each one getting more and more anti-social, paranoid and delusional?]] [[OhCrap Oh boy...]]
** This gets less horrifying when one remembers that the depressed Pinkie was ''less'' dangerous than the normal Pinkie. Waiting for them all to get depressed actually would have made it easier to round them up.
*** Remember, this may not ever happen if the Pinkie Pies simply hang out with each other constatantly. Pinkie didn't have an army of clones to do whatever she wanted in A Party of One.
* The one Pinkie clone sprouting fingers gets more disturbing when you remember that horse hoofs are basically one giant nail. So imagine ''[[BodyHorror fingers growing out of your fingernails...]]''
** From this episode on, no matter what happens, for the entire run of the show, there will be a quiet, nagging suspicion in the back of your mind that Pinkie Pie is no longer the real Pinkie Pie.
* Here's a particularly disturbing one: Imagine a bunch of clones running around out there, ruining your reputation with one-dimensional, shallow, idiotic behavior. They're running around like a bunch of two-year-olds on a non-stop sugar rush, making everyone miserable with their annoying behavior, ''and no one can tell the difference between them and the real you.'' '''Not even your best friends.''' Worse, despite being an outgoing friendly pony who is supposed to be ''friends'' with every pony in Ponyville, ''no one actually really knows Pinkie Pie well enough to tell the difference between her and a bunch of hyperactive amoral clones.'' And the only way they can get rid of the clones is by using a spell that risks sending her to the same place, and '''no one raises any serious complaints about the risks.''' Now, read all of that again, and ask yourself this: ''[[ArmorPiercingQuestion Does Pinkie Pie have any real friends in Ponyville?]]''
** Yes she does. In defense of the mane cast, Pinkie Pie herself wasn’t sure she was the real Pinkie. There’s also a precedent in the series for Pinkie not taking dire situations seriously. In the season 2 finale when she was fighting an army of changelings bent on overthrowing Celestia’s government and basically raping the entire population for food, Pinkie eagerly jumped up and down saying “Do me! Do me!”. In the season 2 premier, she seriously considered not opposing Discord so that she could have chocolate rain. Based on her past behaviour, it wasn’t inconceivable that Pinkie Pie would be happily bouncing around with her clone army, innocently oblivious to the havoc they were causing, and it doesn’t speak ill of her friends that they would think that. Pinkie Pie is by her nature erratic and unpredictable, thus even her best friends could not be expected to predict how Pinkie Pie would react to such an unusual and confusing situation, which is why Twilight didn’t automatically assume the one Pinkie who was acting odd was the real one. Pinkie is also a very empathetic and forgiving soul, and would not hold her friend’s inability to differentiate her from her clones against them (again, especially since she herself wasn’t even sure who she was, and even explicitly stated that she couldn’t expect her friends to tell her apart). Granted, the plot is a bit of an idiot ball on Pinkie’s part, since she knows the clones don’t share her personal memories and could therefore prove who she was with a simple personal trivia contest (This is also how we know for sure that the real Pinkie wasn’t banished to the mirror pool). One would also think that Twilight would have wanted to confirm the real Pinkie’s identity before she started zapping them back to the mirror pool ( based on how the spell was depicted in the episode, I think she was simply sending the clones back to where they came from, not killing them). On this page, there are tropers who object to Twilight’s test, since if the real Pinkie became distracted even once she would have failed. First of all, it was the real Pinkie herself who proposed the test (not specificially the watching paint dry part, but doing something boring). She proposed and accepted the terms 'winner stays, losers go back to the pond'. More importantly, remember that at the end of the test Twilight said “I knew you’d be up to the challenge,” . I think that speaks volumes about what her friends really think of her. They may not always understand her, or be able to tell her apart from forty other physically identical and behaviourally similar (if flanderized) clones, but they know that there is nothing that she wouldn’t do for her friends. An army of Dragons could have invaded Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie wouldn’t have looked away from that wall. After all, Pinkie’s special talent is making her friends happy, and her friends wouldn’t have been very happy if they accidentally sent her to the mirror pool. The magic of friendship ensured that only the real Pinkie could pass the test, and Twilight knew that.

* What if the problems with the Pinkie Clones wasn't that they were one-dimensional reflections of Pinkie Pie, but rather that they ''ReallyWasBornYesterday''. As obnoxious and annoying as they were, they didn't have a lifetime of socialization to fall back on, nor were they given the chance.
* Consider what Pinkie Pie had to go through. When all the Pinkies are rounded up to take the test, Twilight simply states that the one who passes "gets to stay" (alive). The real Pinkie has to sit perfectly still and remain quiet while Twilight slaughters the unattentive duplicates, sometimes just for looking at another duplicate. Now, if Pinkie would look away for just a moment (because a duplicate bumps into her by accident, maybe?), she would be disintegrated by Twilight, die and never see her friends again. Basically, she has to suppress her entire personality if she wants to stay alive; even if she manages to do that, she might still die because some random duplicate next to her decides to make a face "crazier than THIS!". Not even Celestia's Royal guards have this much self control. Pinkie has to rely on the small amount of self restraint she has to remain alive during a few hours of crazy duplicates being killed off by an awfully cheery Twilight. How is this not severe psychological torture? Oh, and cue Spike enjoying all this with his trademark bag o' popcorn.
** What's more horrifying is how quickly Twilight decided to do that test. All she knows about the duplicates comes from a book that's who knows how old. Twilight used extensive scientific methods when she tried to prevent a future disaster, why doesn't she try to determine the real Pinkie with science? Scientifically, it's quite likely that the mirror pool doesn't go as far as duplicating the exact (very complex) DNA. It might even be as simple as looking at their hair under a microscope. With a bit of investigation she'd know that Pinkie only taught them three names (Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie), so a quick pop quiz on the names of the ponies could fix the problem too. But no, Twilight just jumps to psychological trauma to solve the problem. Since it's also reasonable to assume Twilight has read at least one book on pony psychology (if anypony has, it's her), we could say Twilight is subjecting a pony she knows to be unstable to a experience she knows is traumatizing. Smiling all the while.
[[AC:One Bad Apple]]
* Given how Babs is a walking embodiment of a bullied girl's tendency to [[PeerPressureMakesYouEvil become a bully to avoid it]], one wonders just how bad Babs got it that her standard for bullying is ''severely traumatizing'' the CMC, and how surprised she was when they created a trapped cart just to get back at her. A hint; unlike the CMC, Babs actually ''covers her flank'' and ''looks like she's on the verge of tears'' when the CMC bring it up.
* Babs' tail is ''short'' compared even to other fillies's tails. There are some unfortunate implications of tail abuse being part of her bullying back in Manehatten.
** Her mane is short too. It might just be a style - sort of a tomboy look, maybe?
*** Two counterpoints: Earth Ponies have very prehensile tails, and Scootaloo and many other short-maned ponies have full-length tails. In fact, Babs so far is the only pony seen with a docked tail.
*** Actually Big Mac has a docked tail. Babs is the only ''foal'' with a docked tail...[[FridgeHorror And I just realized that makes this theory WORSE!]]
*** Didn't Rarity cut off most of her tail in the second half of the pilot without much problem?
*** Yes, but Rarity has Telekinesis and her tail does not seem to have as much prehensility as an Earth Pony's.
** All foals are supposed to have short tails. Google "foals" and look in the images to see examples.
* Assuming that the [=CMCs=] knew the parade route (Being an annual event, it would be the same most years) they'd know when and where the Trap would go off, and would send Babs over The cliff....I'm pretty sure the [=CMCs=] planned to straight up MURDER Babs.
** The three of them came out of the trap without even being bruised. [[MadeOfIron It takes more than that to hurt a pony.]]
*** Actually on the episode's YMMV page, it was pointed out there are a ''lot'' of ways the plan could have gone [[GoneHorriblyWrong VERY wrong]]. Like what if Babs had gotten stuck underwater and help was slow...

[[AC:Magic Duel]]
* Trixie spent the entire episode doing all sorts of terrible things under the influence of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]]. We don't know how long she wore it, but it IS possible to see her gradually become worse and worse as the episode progresses. If it did that to HER, who's default magic is average (though impressive for her special talent), imagine what would happen if someone TRULY evil got their hooves on the thing? Or if someone like ''Twilight'' had.
** "Alicorn" is not a fandom nod. Not EVERYTHING is a fandom nod. Sheesh. Edited for correctness.
** Sweet Celestia! That's a great fan fic idea!
* Spells exist with the explicit purpose of making ponies old. ''Why on earth would you need a spell that does that?''
** It was invented by an underage unicorn who wanted to be grown-up for a bit?
** The same spell made one pony old and the other young, and Twilight later tries to use it to make a flower un-bloom. It can do more than one thing.
* An ordinary unicorn who [[LevelGrinding Level Grinds]] [[TookALevelInBadass in Badass]] and enslaves a population of ponies. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 Sound]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E2TheCrystalEmpirePart2 familiar]]? Did King Sombra have a similar StartOfDarkness? Furthermore, Trixie was growing stronger and worse by the hour--it can't have been very long, as Pinkie still had the strength to use {{Hammerspace}} and to break the fourth wall. If something had gone wrong with Twilight's rematch, and the Element bearers were incapacitated or even KilledOffForReal, would even Celestia and Luna have even been able to stop Queen Trixie?
** Trixie with the amulet maxed out at well below King Sombra's demonstrated power level. Questions of how evil she would have gotten aside, she was only a single magician, slightly more powerful than Twilight. Given King Sombra's usage of corrupted crystals for everything, it is reasonable to assume that he was using the magical properties Crystal Empire's crystals to increase his own powers, similarly to her. Maybe the amulet was made from experiments with his corrupted crystals?
*** Trixie wasn't ''slightly'' more powerful than Twilight with the amulet, she was ''infinitely'' more powerful. As Twilight said, age spells are something only the most powerful unicorns can do. Twilight herself is powerful, but her magic hasn't gotten her into the history books yet. We know that there are several famous unicorn magicians and it's likely that Starswirl the Bearded was far more powerful than Twilight when he got famous.
*** Slightly may be understating Trixie's advantage, but so is infinitely. And while Twilight couldn't use the age modification magic yet, she is still very inexperienced, still just starting her studies. Her powers are likely to grow vastly in the future, while Trixie's actions implied that she'd hit her peak.
* Sweet Sombra, the Alicorn Amulet is absolutely shrouded with this. Who made it? Who imbued it with such power? And as pointed out by another Troper, is there a much darker and eviller alicorn out there? The possibilities are endless...
** [[HilariousInHindsight Perhaps it was used by a mysterious,]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask ancient tribe in its hexing rituals?]]
* The old definition of alicorn refers to the material in which unicorn horns are composed of. So it's possible that the amulet was named that because it was [[MadeFromRealGirlScouts literally forged out of]] [[HumanResources severed unicorn horns]].
* Trixie goes from getting payback on Twilight to enslaving the entire town to finally wanting to conquer Equestria due to the Alicorn Amulet gradually corrupting her. On top of this, after being freed from it, she's shown to be relatively nice. Now, keep in mind the entire episode lasted a ''single day'', two tops. In that time it turned a reasonably bitter, somewhat decent pony into a borderline CompleteMonster. It's quite possible that, at the speed it was corrupting her, her original intention for getting it and coming to Ponyville weren't remotely close to what she actually did when she arrived.
** This raises two other bits of FridgeHorror. What would Trixie have ended up becoming if the Amulet hadn't been removed? In the entire episode she still doesn't seriously hurt anyone, but how long would that have lasted at the rate it was corrupting her? The other bit is what would've happened if someone who was ''already'' genuinely evil had gotten their hooves on it? Like say King Sombra for instance.
*** Or alternative Fridge Horror - what if King Sombra used to be decent, and then he got hold of something similar to the amulet?
* Trixie [[WipeThatSmileOffYourFace removing Pinkie's mouth and nose]]. For the whole episode. The RuleOfFunny ''alone'' saves Pinkie Pie from ''suffocating to death!''
** Pinkie Pie lives by RuleOfFunny. I think she would have been alright.
* Even assuming that the amulet's magic still allowed Pinkie to breathe, Pinkie's big concern was that she was unable to eat. What was to keep her from ''starving'' to death if Trixie's reign took place over a longer period of time?
* The existence of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]] in general, considering what it turned Trixie into.
* Trixie's motivations gradually got worse and worse as the episode drew on and the Amulet corrupted her mind further. She went from getting payback to enslaving the town to finally deciding to conquer Equestria. Now remember the ''entire'' episode took place in the course of a ''day''. If it corrupted her that quickly, just what would it have done to her if it hadn't been removed? Heck, it's entirely possible her original intention for buying the Amulet and coming to Ponyville was completely different than what it was when she got there judging by how fast she was being corrupted!
** The amulet was quite clearly causing Trixie to lose her mind throughout the episode. Her mistrust of wheels was fairly benign, but the implication that she was getting steadily worse was very present. Given the amount of power that she was able to call upon with the amulet, it seems like a very real possibility that she was eventually going to lose control and kill herself and everything in the immediate vicinity, (i.e. Ponyville).
* Snips and Snails were never turned back. Considering that only the most powerful ponies can cast these spells, they only have three hopes: the effect is temporary, it's easier to use a Dispel Magic-type spell to counter the Age spell than it is to use the Age spell again, or they had Celestia/Luna do it offscreen.
* Trixie's spell on Rainbow Dash that was "Supposed to make you writhe in agony". In other words, there are ''[[AgonyBeam spells for torture]]'' in the world of ponies. Talk about a CrapsaccharineWorld.
** Either that or Evil!Trixie had gotten corrupted to the point she was ''creating'' them.
** Tasers and pepper spray both have the effect of making their targets writhe in agony, but they're (in theory) used as an alternative to killing people. It's possible that spell was invented by the Royal Guard as a safer way to subdue ponies who go crazy.
** Both have also been cited by human rights groups as having been twisted into forms of torture before, it's really solely the intent that separates legitimate use and abuse. The point stands that there are spell whose sole purpose is causing extreme pain, and there really isn't any reason for such to exist that doesn't automatically make the entire setting seem a fair bit darker.
** Well, for all the cute ponies and often cheerfully cartoonish art style, the setting itself has never been presented as all that much of a SugarBowl. And the spell may not initially have been invented for use on ''ponies'' at all -- it's not like potentially dangerous monsters were exactly in short supply within easy walking distance of for example Ponyville even in modern times...
* The Alicorn Amulet is said by the salespony to be one of the most powerful artifacts in the world (paraphrasing). Here's the key part: one of. That means there are other artifacts that have that kind of power, and some might even be MORE powerful.
** Like, say, the god-binding/banishing/purifying Elements of Harmony? Or the Empire-saving Crystal Heart? Just because they're more powerful doesn't mean they're inherently dangerous or evil.

[[AC:Sleepless in Ponyville]]
* Three things I noticed:
** One: Scootaloo explicitly mentioned her hopes of Rainbow Dash taking her under her wing. Typically, it means to help protect someone younger than you, especially if they're less experienced, in some cases taking them in when they're down on their luck. In short, ''we were right! Scootaloo really was an orphan!''
*** No we're not! At no point does Scootaloo say or imply that she is an orphan! She just sees Rainbow Dash in the same light that Sweetie Belle sees Rarity and Apple Bloom sees Applejack. She just wants to hang out with Rainbow and act like they're sisters. It still leaves the orphan idea open, but this episode neither confirms nor denies it.
*** Yeah, all this confirms is that Scootaloo doesn't have a big sister figure. If anything she just wanted a mentor-type figure, which doesn't necessarily imply anything about her family other than that they don't fit that particular role.
** Two: Both stories involved ponies going after other ponies. If both of these stories scare Scootaloo so much and if the above is true, than what could have happened between her and her parents?
*** I'm not entirely sure why this would imply anything about her home life. Being chased by a monster or whatnot can still be scary even if your parents are perfectly nice. It's like saying that people wouldn't be creeped out by a story about a serial killer unless they'd been abused.
** Three: As usual, Scootaloo was only saved from that waterfall due to sheer connivence of Rainbow Dash waking up and noticing she was gone. And as usual, what would've happened had Rainbow Dash not woken up?
*** This is a bit of a leap, but it seems to be implied that Luna was monitoring the situation in the waking world as well. Given how soundly Dash was seen to be sleeping, it may have even been Luna's intervention that woke her up.
* Luna can ''[[ParanoiaFuel enter pony's dreams.]]'' Now think of the ways somepony could [[MindRape abuse that power]].
** It's clearly the reason behind her Fallen Princess title of [[MeaningfulName Nightmare Moon]].
*** To elaborate on one potential double meaning of the name Nightmare Moon: since Nightmare Moon is a twisted MadGod version of Princess Luna, do you think, perhaps, that one of Nightmare Moon's powers was to plant in ponies' minds nightmares so terrifying that they would literally wake on the spot shrieking, so that they would not ''miss a single moment of Nightmare Moon's perpetual night''? So, in addition to food shortages due to lack of sunlight, we're also looking at sleep deprivation and [[SarcasmMode all the wonderful things that that brings]].
** [[FanFic/GettingBackOnYourHooves Someone has.]]

[[AC:Wonderbolt Academy]]
* How much farther would Lightning Dust have gone if she hadn't [[spoiler:almost killed Rainbow Dash's friends]]?
* ''Spitfire was encouraging Lightning Dust.'' All of those tiny little signs that she was dangerously reckless? Spitfire, who's supposed to be monitoring the situation, either didn't see them or (as is more likely) saw them but didn't say anything, preferring to let her learn her own lessons. But the point is that she ''rewarded'' recklessness and disregard for the rules--even right in the beginning, when Lightning's blatantly disrespectful response to Spitfire's [[DrillSergeantNasty Drill Sergeant Nasty]] routine was rewarded with an immediate opportunity to show off. Lightning had ''every'' reason to believe she was doing nothing wrong.
* Until Rainbow told her about it, Spitfire didn't even realize that a pair of inexperienced cadets had ''summoned an uncontrollable tornado right outside her window and nearly killed six civilians''. What The Hell, Spitfire?
* A minor one, perhaps, but still: It's a damn good thing Spitfire managed to catch Rainbow Dash before she ''left for good''. If Spitfire had been just a few minutes slower in figuring out what had happened and tracking down her wayward cadet, Rainbow Dash might very well have spent the rest of her life falsely disillusioned, believing that her childhood heroes put more value on looking cool than on the lives of innocents. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming And nothing could be further from the truth.]]
** Spitfire knows Rainbow Dash lives in Ponyville and how to reach her by mail. It would have been fine.

[[AC:Apple Family Reunion]]
* We don't see Applejack's parents being mentioned, and the whole family was supposed to have made it. Where are they, or are they really dead?
** RuleOfSymbolism: At two major scenes (Applejack at the window, before she tucks in Applebloom, and at the very end of the episode, right after Applejack talks about how ''everypony'' showed up for the reunion), a matched pair of shooting stars can be seen. If Lauren's original intended backstory was meant to be, then these shooting stars are ''her parents''.
*** [[WordOfGod Sibsy]] [[https://twitter.com/TheRealSibsy/status/282581589479792641 confirms]] the shooting stars were meant to be a reference to her parents.
** Alternatively, they could of abandon them.
*** Actually, Faust also came up with an alternate backstory, that they were traveling salesponies, and traveled all around the world. But were too busy to take care of their kids. So it could be that sadly, their parents are more interested in their work, and too busy to stop by to see their kids, and see all the other Apples, at the reunions. So it's a possibility that their too busy to see their family again. For those interested, both backstories appear in [[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/FAQ-276161988 this FAQ]].
** That Applejack's parents didn't even rate a brief mention during the whole early RSVP scene rather suggests that nopony thought to invite ''them'' or otherwise expected them to show up -- otherwise one should think ''something'' would have been made of the fact that they of all ponies didn't reply or couldn't come. There aren't all that many non-depressing reasons for why that might be the case...
*** Depressing reason confirmed - Sibsy has confirmed that [[KilledOffForReal they are indeed dead]].

[[AC:Spike at your Service]]
* There's a ''massive'' amount of FridgeHorror regarding Timberwolves and how they operate. There are several refferences to being carnivorous, but then you realise they're just wood and plant growth magically animated. Why would they even ''need'' to eat? In fact, it's likely they don't even have stomachs or digestive fluids at all. Which means they must kill either [[ForTheEvulz simply because they enjoy it]], or because [[BiggerBad something else is magically commanding them to.]] Both options don't really bear thinking about.
* There's also the fact they can reform themselves when shattered, endlessly. Who's to say that giant one won't just come back, or become a bunch of smaller ones, right outside ponyville... (Unless, like vampires, there's a way to dispose of the remains that ensures they won't come back)
** Thankfully, the assorted monsters of the Everfree Forest seem content to stay there unless provoked first; monster attacks seem rare enough that something like an Ursa Minor ambling into Ponyville is genuine cause for panic rather than a case of "ho hum, third critter this month...". If the timber wolves ever change their minds about that and their regeneration ability turns out ''not'' to be tied to the forest itself after all on top of that, now...
[[/folder]]

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