History HoYay / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

* The ThemeTuneExtended (included as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4By8YHOnILo sing-along]] on the DVD ''The Friendship Express'') has such wonderful character puns, sung from Twilight's perspective, such as ''"Once smitten, twice Fluttershy"'', ''"You are the Applejack of my eye"'', ''"A heart that shines so beautiful, a Rarity to come by"'', and perhaps best of all, ''"As easy as Pinkie Pie."''[[note]]This last one invokes HaveAGayOldTime: "easy as pie" is an old-timey American expression meaning "something that is/will be very easy to do", so the official intention is to make an IncrediblyLamePun mixing the saying with Pinkie's full name. Though some people may mistake the innocent 'do' [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries for another kind of]] [[AccidentalInnuendo 'do']][[/note]]

* "The Cutie Re-Mark" puts emphases on the importance of their interactions at flight camp as fillies, [[ForWantOfANail as the slightest change in their past]] resulted in horrific {{Alternate Timeline}}s. Also, at one point, an alternate version of Applejack mentioned the ship name "[=FlutterDash=]" when talking to Twilight about the whereabouts of their friends.

->''Context: Because without it MLP is a show about 5 lesbian ponies, [[Fanfic/APimpNamedSpikeback a pimp named Spike]] and a [[Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles pink serial killer.]]''
-->-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk9IvPCdxN4 YouTube commenter]] on a certain scene in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero "Lesson Zero"]].

** There's also when Rainbow first asks for Fluttershy's help, leading to this now infamous exchange that sounds like Fluttershy confirming a certain lifestyle choice, and Rainbow being overjoyed to hear it. She's saying "I'm '''game'''," but that's not always how it sounds.

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbEwQZPE0Yc#t=0m14s this clip]] of "Hurricane Fluttershy", [[http://imgur.com/ibQF8 two mares can be seen cuddling each other with big grins on their faces.]] A few seconds later Flitter and Cloudchaser give each other a pretty tender hug.

* Scootaloo has major {{Hero Worship|per}} towards Rainbow Dash, frequently to an obsessive level ([[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll do whatever]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPRB1-t31i0 you want!"]]), with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E6SleeplessInPonyville "Sleepless in Ponyville"]] basically being "Scootaloo stresses out attempting to impress her crush." It's mostly justifiable by Scootaloo wanting Rainbow to be her [[CoolBigSis big sister]], but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle don't display anywhere ''near'' the level of awe and admiration for their sisters that Scootaloo does for Rainbow.
** Since "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", she's literally fangirling over Rainbow Dash whenever she has a chance to be with her. When Dash was wavering a flag as a demonstration in "Flight to the Finish", Scootaloo watched with sparkles in her eyes. And once we see Scoots' house, guess which pony she has multiple posters of?
** "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" begins with a meeting of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, with the first order of business being coming up with a word to properly describe Rainbow Dash's awesomeness ("awesome" just isn't good enough.) Naturally, Scoots is the leader of said fan club.
** And in the S8 episode "The Washouts" when [[spoiler: Lightning Dust returns]] Rainbow Dash acts like a jilted possessive lover when spying on Scootaloo's meeting of said fanclub, and notices after that Scootaloo tears her Rainbow Dash posters down and replace them with Washout posters, and is incredibly scared for Scootaloo's life in admiring dangerous stunt ponies. To the point she gets Spitfire to [[ScareEmStraight yell at Scootaloo]] to prevent her from doing dangerous stunts but to no avail. Because Scootaloo appears to be smitten with the female leader [[spoiler: Lightning Dust]]. By the end of the episode the fanclub goes full-circle and Rainbow Dash starts the Scootaloo fanclub. Aww...

!Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo
While Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash are indeed NotBloodSiblings, they seem to be far closer than most biological sisters.

* Scootaloo has major {{Hero Worship|per}} towards Rainbow Dash, frequently to an obsessive level ([[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll do whatever]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPRB1-t31i0 you want!"]]), with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E6SleeplessInPonyville "Sleepless in Ponyville"]] basically being "Scootaloo stresses out attempting to impress her crush." It's mostly justifiable by Scootaloo wanting Rainbow to be her [[CoolBigSis big sister]], but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle don't display anywhere ''near'' the level of awe and admiration for their sisters that Scootaloo does for Rainbow.
** Since "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", she's literally fangirling over Rainbow Dash whenever she has a chance to be with her. When Dash was wavering a flag as a demonstration in "Flight to the Finish", Scootaloo watched with sparkles in her eyes. And once we see Scoots' house, guess which pony she has multiple posters of?
** "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" begins with a meeting of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, with the first order of business being coming up with a word to properly describe Rainbow Dash's awesomeness ("awesome" just isn't good enough.) Naturally, Scoots is the leader of said fan club.
** And in the S8 episode "The Washouts" when [[spoiler: Lightning Dust returns]] Rainbow Dash acts like a jilted possessive lover when spying on Scootaloo's meeting of said fanclub, and notices after that Scootaloo tears her Rainbow Dash posters down and replace them with Washout posters, and is incredibly scared for Scootaloo's life in admiring dangerous stunt ponies. To the point she gets Spitfire to [[ScareEmStraight yell at Scootaloo]] to prevent her from doing dangerous stunts but to no avail. Because Scootaloo appears to be smitten with the female leader [[spoiler: Lightning Dust]]. By the end of the episode the fanclub goes full-circle and Rainbow Dash starts the Scootaloo fanclub. Aww...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Twilight Sparkle]]
Our heroine, in her unending quest for friendship, can get ''very close'' to the ponies around her.
----

* The ThemeTuneExtended (included as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4By8YHOnILo sing-along]] on the DVD ''The Friendship Express'') has such wonderful character puns, sung from Twilight's perspective, such as ''"Once smitten, twice Fluttershy"'', ''"You are the Applejack of my eye"'', ''"A heart that shines so beautiful, a Rarity to come by"'', and perhaps best of all, ''"[[AnythingThatMoves As easy as Pinkie Pie]]."''[[note]]This last one invokes HaveAGayOldTime: "easy as pie" is an old-timey American expression meaning "something that is/will be very easy to do", so the official intention is to make an IncrediblyLamePun mixing the saying with Pinkie's full name. Though some people may mistake the innocent 'do' [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries for another kind of]] [[AccidentalInnuendo 'do']][[/note]]

''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has an ImprobablyFemaleCast and is based around close relationships. It was almost inevitable to have at least some HoYay, with or without ShippingGoggles.

Note that this page is for likely ''unintentional'' examples of HomoeroticSubtext. Intentional moments of romance between canon couples (like later moments between [[spoiler:Lyra and Bon Bon]] from Season 5 onward) are not this trope. They may fall under ShipTease instead.

* In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E24MysteryOnTheFriendshipExpress "MMMMystery on the Friendship Express"]], Pinkie and Twilight take turns to roleplay as Sherlock Holmes and Watson ([[HoYay/SherlockHolmes famous for their own Ho Yay]]), and even [[IndirectKiss share the]] BubblePipe! (Though [[NeatFreak Twilight]] [[SuperOCD makes sure to clean said pipe before using it]], so that specific moment may be deliberately subverted.)

* Using "AreYouPonderingWhatImPondering" (a meme from [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain another show]] packed with as much HoYay as the Holmes/Watson example above) with [[NamesTheSame Pinkie]] Pie is, unsurprisingly, a popular trend in fan art and fan comics. 75% of the time, Twilight is the one cast in Brain's role. "The End of the End" actually puts it in canon.

->''Context: Because without it MLP is a show about 5 lesbian ponies, a pimp named Spike and a [[Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles pink serial killer.]]''

->''Context: Because without it MLP is a show about 5 lesbian ponies, a pimp named Spike and a [[Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}} pink serial killer.]]''

* In "On the Road to Friendship," their song "We're Friendship Bound" could ''very'' easily be taken for a romantic duet, including Starlight pondering them getting into a ChainedHeat situation. [[note]]It should be noted this song is a direct parody of a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby song called 'We're off On the road to Morocco' featuring the two leads sharing a camel, instead of Trixie's caravan. [[/note]]

* In "On the Road to Friendship," their song "We're Friendship Bound" could ''very'' easily be taken for a romantic duet, including Starlight pondering them getting into a ChainedHeat situation. Plus, Cadence (a.k.a. the Princess of Love herself) notes they have "great chemistry."

* Trixie and Twilight have amazing FoeYay in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel "Magic Duel"]], and by the end of the episode they manage to become friends.

[[AllThereInTheScript Sweetie Drops]]/[[AllThereInTheScript Bon Bon]] and [[AllThereInTheScript Lyra Heartstrings]], two background mares who appear together in many episodes, were widely assumed to be either best friends or a couple. Bon Bon's eyes are emerald and Lyra's eyes are golden, more intense hues of the other's coat, as if to hint each only has eyes for each other. Season 5 is when this becomes AscendedFanon, with a RunningGag of them acting very romantic while [[InsistentTerminology going on about what great friends they are]]. They become an OfficialCouple near the end of the series.

* As mentioned below, the first act of "Dungeons and Discords" has a ton of suggestiveness around Spike and Big Mac's RPG playing. And at episode's end, Rainbow and Pinkie join them in a game.

* Twilight is intensely reverent of Princess Celestia, well beyond even the usual level of grovelling obedience most ponies display towards her, and is utterly terrified of disappointing her or seeming "unworthy" in any way (as shown in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury "Swarm of the Century"]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof "Bird in the Hoof"]], and ''especially'' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero "Lesson Zero"]]).
** In her flashback in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"]], Twilight says that Celestia raising the sun was "the most amazing, most wonderful thing [she's] ever seen," and was the inspiration for her to pursue both magic ''and'' research as passions.
** Twilight says she wants to go to the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyfriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver Grand Galloping Gala]] to talk magic with Celestia, but she has already been regularly doing this by sending friendship lessons by [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130130221052/mlp/images/5/5b/Spike_Sending_Scroll_S1E1.png Spikemail]]. Their wording for each other can be interpreted as [[http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/The_Best_Night_Ever/Gallery#Meeting_expectations more]] than professional:
--->'''Princess Celestia:''' Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening, so we'll have plenty of time together.\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' That's just what I was hoping you'd say.
*** They later get their chance for a dance together at the end of ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E7MakeNewFriendsButKeepDiscord Make New Friends but keep Discord]]'', as Celestia cheekily pushes Twilight onto the dance floor after all the trouble with Discord was resolved.

* Predictably, "The Times They Are A Changeling" managed to put in quite a bit of HoYay between Spike and Thorax (the new [[TokenHeroicOrc Token Heroic Changeling]] whom Spike becomes friends with). While it's more subtle than most of the examples on this list, there are still moments, especially during Spike's slow song about how he wants everyone to accept that a Changeling can be good--at one point, Spike gently touches Thorax's face and at another he catches a snowflake with a picture of Thorax on it.
** More fuel was added to the fire in "To Where and Back Again", when Thorax comments that he "hasn't been [[EmotionEater hungry for love]] ever since meeting Spike", never seems to clarify what he means by "love", specifically mentions Spike when talking about the friendships he's made and is primarily motivated to enter the Changeling kingdom despite his fear of the Queen for the sake of rescuing Spike, similar to how Discord is mostly motivated by wanting to save Fluttershy. After all the captives are freed, Thorax immediately goes to help Spike out of his cocoon.
* The whole first act of "Dungeons and Discord" goes to some lengths to keep the surprise that Spike and Big Macintosh are heavily into a Tabletop RPG. The result is several characters dropping oblique hints about how there's ''something'' those two get up to whenever the others are away, which they think is a big secret when actually the whole town knows, coming off very much like they're talking about a TransparentCloset.

Note that this page is for likely ''unintentional'' examples of HomoeroticSubtext. Intentional moments of romance between canon couples (like later moments between [[spoiler:Lyra and Bon Bon]] from Season 5 onward) are not this trope.

* Even her VA, Tara Strong, is getting in on it. Claiming that Twilight's "deep dark secret" is her crush on Pinkie Pie when asked at the MLP Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2018.

* At the 2015 San Diego Comic Con panel, the actors and creators asked what their favourite fan ships were. Most of them claimed not to have any, but Ashleigh Ball claimed to really like Appledash.
** Also she and Andrea Libman did a [[https://youtu.be/JDfo6TUFFyk?t=4m9s brief improv session]] as their various characters, ending as Lyra and Bon Bon talking about how important their [[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow "friendship"]] was. Also Bon Bon was apparently upset at Lyra constantly staring at Applejack...

* For World Pride Day, Ashleigh Ball [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/06/ashleigh-ball-posts-appledash-for-world.html posted some Appledash fanart that she had signed personally.]]
** One comment joked that Ball, who voices both characters, was shipping [[ScrewYourself herself with herself]].

'''Rainbow Dash:''' You're [[{{Mondegreen}} gay]]!? \\