History Main / MyLittlePonyFriendshipismagic

[[redirect:WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic]]

[[redirect:WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic]]

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[[quoteright:346:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my-little-ponies_4520.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:346: It's OK, [[PeripheryDemographic lads]]. You're allowed to like the cute ponies.]]-]

->''"When I took the job, I braced myself for criticism, expecting many people -- [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch without even watching the show]] -- to instantly label it girly, stupid, cheap, for babies or an evil corporate commercial. I encourage skeptics like this to watch'' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ''with an open mind. If I'm doing my job right, I think you’ll be surprised."''
-->—'''LaurenFaust'''

''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', the latest show in the [[LongRunner long-running]] ''MyLittlePony'' franchise, is a rare example of how to update a retro cartoon the right way: with clever self-aware humor, a more streamlined art style, and strong characterization.

The show proved an overnight sensation on the internet, and even before the first season was over, it had spawned piles of fanart and countless discussion threads full of speculation and discussion; it also led to [[PeripheryDemographic lots of males]] having existential crises about enjoying a "girl's cartoon" so much. On June 7th 2011, high-profile fansite ''[[http://www.equestriadaily.com Equestria Daily]]'' racked up its ten millionth view, demonstrating the sheer magnitude of the show's internet-savvy fanbase.

The show starts with a two-parter, in which main character Twilight Sparkle, an asocial bookworm pony, comes out of her shell and bonds with five other ponies in order to use ThePowerOfFriendship to overcome a [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight prophecy of doom.]] After saving the world with the [[TitleDrop magic of friendship]], the show is slowed to a more episodic adventure-of-the-week format, where Twilight relays daily reports to her mentor on how friendship helps her and her friends.

The show's first season was helmed by LaurenFaust, a highly accomplished, Emmy Award-nominated animator -- for example, she was the writer and director of ''ThePowerpuffGirls'' and ''FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''. ''Friendship is Magic'' is her attempt to rescue the genre of girls' cartoons by presenting a clever show with a strong and diverse cast of female characters who aren't pre-occupied with fashion and boys. Her goal was to create an intelligent show for girls that boys and grown-ups could also watch (without wanting to shoot themselves). By all accounts, she has done an admirable job of reaching that goal. Following the end of the first season, Faust stepped down as the show's executive producer, but she will continue to work with the show as a [[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/40428056/ consulting producer]] (at least through production of the second season).

All of the first season's episodes can be viewed [[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic on the Hub's official site]] in the US, bought on [=iTunes=], and viewed through [[YouTube other (less official) sources]]. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced On July 4th, the show began airing in the UK on Boomerang]]. The show's second season will premiere in Fall 2011, with [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/26-episodes-clarification-from-daniel.html 26 new episodes]] scheduled for the run.

Not to be confused with MyLittlePonyFriendshipGardens, a Gen 2 PC Game.
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!! Additional pages:
* [[EnsembleDarkhorse/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Ensemble Darkponies]]
* [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Episode Guide]]
* [[Memes/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Memes]]
* [[ShoutOut/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Shout-Outs]]
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!!This series provides examples of these tropes (for more, please also visit the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic episode]] and [[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic character]] guides):

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Tropes A-M]]
* AbridgedSeries: As of mid-July 2011, there are ''four'' different groups lampooning this show, three of which have produced at least two episodes (is this a record?).
* AbsenteeActor: Twilight Sparkle is the ''only'' [[IncrediblyLamePun mane]] character who appears in every single episode, as for everypony else...
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]", Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy only show up in blink-and-you-miss-it cameos while Trixie is performing and do not speak.
** Episode 8, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]", is noteworthy for missing the majority of the cast completely. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are nowhere to be seen, presumably because as pegasi, they are helping with the thunderstorm. Pinkie Pie is also gone. So is Spike, although his absence is at least given an in-story explanation.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]", Rarity and Rainbow Dash don't show up at all, though Rainbow at least gets a mention in a WhatWouldXDo moment.
** Spike doesn't appear in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" either.
** Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike are all absent from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]".
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]" doesn't have Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie appear at all, and Rainbow Dash only gets a cameo at the very end.
** Similarly, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]", Applejack and Rainbow Dash only show up to advertise Fluttershy's newfound fame.
* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: Everypony living at Sweet Apple Acres wears exactly one accessory each: Applejack's cowboy hat, Big Macintosh's horse collar, Apple Bloom's hair bow and Granny Smith's bandanna.
** All ponies occasionally wear some accessories. Most notably in the [[IncrediblyLamePun mane]] six dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala. Other accessories are mostly used for visual gags and tend to be gone in the next scene.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The episode list for season 1 alone gives us "The Mare in the Moon", "Boast Busters", "Call of the Cutie", ""Fall Weather Friends", "Suited for Success", "The Show-Stoppers", "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", and arguably "Owl's Well that Ends Well".
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]," Twilight has this to say to Applejack:
--->'''Twilight:''' Your applebucking hasn't just caused you problems; it's over-propelled a pegasus, practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of brand-new bouncing baby bunnies.
** First mentioned in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]," ''the'' annual event everypony wants to attend is called the Grand Galloping Gala.
*** ...full of pretty party ponies.
*** Although Spike [[BlatantLies doesn't want any part]] of that Girly Gala Gunk.
*** Additionally, a majority of Pinkie's list of things that will be at the Gala.
** During "Griffon the Brush Off" Pinkie Pie thinks she misjudged Gilda and wonders if she's "Just a big jealous judgmental jealous-jealousy-pants."
** The first episode features the Summer Sun Celebration.
** Near the end of "Suited for Success" Pinkie Pie apologizes to Rarity claiming that everyone is "So Super Sorry"
** At the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," Twilight asks Spike to grab her copy of the [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy]].
*** ...which she needs for the meteor shower, a centennial celebration.
*** There're also Ferrets of Fairyland, Two-headed Mythological Mysteries, and Magical Mysteries and Practical Potions.
*** What a fantastical fluffalicious feathery little friend!
**** That or Freaky Feathers.
** Pinkie Pie's "Giggle at the Ghostly" has a bunch of alliterations as well.
** Cutie Mark Crusaders Creature Catchers!
** Precious pony-pedi will be preserved.
* {{Adorkable}}: Twilight Sparkle (especially in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]").
** Applebloom's friend Twist from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]."
* AdultChild: The main characters are mature enough to live independently and have jobs, but frequently act as though they were in their mid to late teens.
** It's interesting though that their "mature" traits mainly concern social relations, while their "childishness" is more present in their immediate behavior. Maybe they're teens (or the pony equivalent of teens) biologically, but their society encourages self-responsible living in society at an earlier age than ours. It [[JustifiedTrope sort of fits]] with the supposed biology: a foal can walk within minutes of birth, unlike a baby human.
* {{Aesop}}: Every episode ends with one, quite literally in the case of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" -- "If you try to please everypony, you oftentimes end up pleasing nopony -- especially yourself" was the moral of an actual Aesop's Fable.
* AesopAmnesia: A bit of a RunningGag with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who ignore any moral about not trying to force their cutie marks to appear.
* AllNaturalGemPolish: Any of the gems Rarity finds.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: While real horses and ponies come in a variety of colors, the ponies of equestria seems to come in color combinations ranging from believeable to flat-out garish.
* AmbidextrousSprite: Since ponies are made of Flash objects, they--or parts of them--often appear mirrored. It's more complicated than a simple flip, though. The ponies seem to have a "good side" that, in nearly every shot, starts out facing the camera. When a pony turns around while visible in a shot, all of her features remain left-right consistent, and the other side shows--unless they turn around very quickly, in which case the Flash object gets flipped, and the "good side" stays to the fore.
** This is especially prominent in the case of Fluttershy and Rarity, whose manes can obscure their faces. They always begin every shot with their bangs out of their faces, whether facing right or left, ''except'' when the shot calls for Fluttershy to look [[PeekABangs extra shy]] or Rarity to look worried or depressed.
** A mild case occurs with Spike, who is usually shown writing letters with his right hand. On occasion, he's shown writing letters with his left hand, and in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]] is shown alternating hands while writing the friendship report.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Averted. Most of the mane cast has a definite goal in life, and this is presented as a good thing. There are times when they have troubles related to those goals, but those are always due to outside circumstances (such as the Diamond Dogs kidnapping Rarity when she was out restocking her gem supply) or their own character flaws (such as Applejack's stubborn pride in not asking for help when Big Macintosh was too hurt to applebuck).
* AnachronicOrder: So very much. One brony [[http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/186/6/9/pony_chronology_by_russelh-d3l2gvp.png tried to order the episodes correctly]], but goodness knows whether he's even close. Some key points stand out:
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]," which takes place at the beginning of fall, aired after "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]," which takes place at the end of winter.
** The dresses Rarity makes in episode 14, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]," appear very briefly in episode 10, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]."
** Pinkie Pie's rant about Rainbow Dash in the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" seems remarkably similar to Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom during [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom the episode of the same name]], an event that happens a full ten episodes later.
*** [[FridgeBrilliance It's possible that she was witnessing Rainbow train for the Young Flyers Competition]].
** As far as anyone can tell, the episodes didn't air out of production order. WordOfGod says their main priority was to make sure young viewers (the ''actual'' target demographic) understood how the world works with the ponies being in charge of changing the seasons, and that little - if any - effort went into ensuring a coherent timeline.
* AndIMustScream: As told in the prologue, Nightmare Moon was banished into the moon by her older sister and was trapped there for one thousand years before being able to escape. The fact that she is well aware of how long she was imprisoned, as well as [[spoiler:her saying that she missed her sister terribly after being transformed back into Princess Luna,]] can only mean that she has been sentient and aware of her fate the whole time, unable to interact with the outside world.
** Most fans believe [[YearOutsideHourInside time passed much faster for her]], or she was asleep for most of it and later found out how long she'd been on the moon.
*** Another possibility is that she's referring less to her time imprisoned, and more to her time estranged from her sister after she turned evil.
*** Actually, if the tale from the start of the first episode is to be believed, she was supposed to be there forever.
*** Gets a lot worse when you find out the main reason she turned evil was because she was lonely and wanted friends.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: The rewards for earning points in ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/mlp-adventures-in-ponyville Adventures in Ponyville]]''.
** Also pops up in the cartoon proper a few times. In ''Winter Wrap Up'', Twilight is rewarded with a special team vest for her efforts (she was left out of the initial planning because she's new in town, so she didn't have a team vest).
* {{Animesque}}: ''Friendship Is Magic'' continues this precedent set by the G3.5 cartoons, with even bigger eyes and smaller snouts (but less humanlike qualities for the ponies, see below). It's particularly noticeable with the MagicalGirl theme of the second episode, the use of QuiveringEyes and SpeedStripes, and the n_n expression the characters often get when they smile.
** The style of this show is very reminiscent of [[ThePowerpuffGirls something]] [[FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends else]] too.
* AnthropomorphicShift: Inverted. In later incarnations, ponies were gradually becoming less horse-like and more human-like, walking on their hind legs, [[FeatherFingers using their front legs as hands]], often wearing human clothes etc. In this series, they are much closer to original form, using mouths to manipulate objects, hauling carriages, eating hay and sugarcubes, and halters and saddles are fashion items.
** However, there are still instances where they take on human poses when it's awkward otherwise or if it's part of a gag (hoof gestures, sitting upright on benches etc.)
* AprilFoolsPlot: While not set on April Fools Day, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" has the elements of the trope.
** New episodes of Season 1 normally aired every Friday. April 1st, 2011 fell on a Friday, but that day a rerun of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]" aired. "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," which cemented Celestia's reputation as "Trollestia" to the [[PeripheryDemographic fans]], aired the following week, on April 8th. Draw your own conclusions.
* PhysicsGoof: Possibly taken in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".]] Everypony mentions hearing the boom caused by the sonic rainboom before seeing the rainbow; in reality, it should be the other way around, since light travels faster than sound. Then again, there's potential for [[HandWave handwaving]]: if Rainbow Dash's supersonic velocity causes the air to condense behind her, and it catches the light just right, the observations would make sense without the thunder-and-lightning comparison. (Then again, the reliability of physics in a world of talking flying ponies who jump on clouds to make it rain may be suspect anyway)
** See also NotTheFallThatKillsYou below. Basically, in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom "Sonic Rainboom"]], Rainbow Dash did about 1670 G's, and everypony involved survived with all of their internal organs intact.
** FridgeBrilliance: In Equestria, rainbows are not made of light, they're made of spicy.
** Also, the rainbow they saw may have been the streak Rainbow Dash left behind her as she continued to fly.
*** There's a video making the rounds on KnowYourMeme with a [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Physics student doing a presentation on the show]], specifically about 3 physical impossibilities he noted. The Sonic Rainboom was one - only on the basis of the Mach Cone that was shown - but the rest involved gravity physics. He noted that Applejack could not have catapulted Rainbow Dash any higher than the point she jumped off of (unless she happened to be made of [[CrowningMomentOfFunny dark matter]]), and that small butterflies could not possibly save Fluttershy from [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou falling to her death]] (unless the butterflies were made of [[RunningGag dark matter]]). He also provided a list of reasons why he watches the show:
-->*[[CrowningMomentOfFunny It's awesome.]]\\
* [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It's awesome.]]\\
* [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It's awesome.]]\\
* [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It's awesome.]]\\
* [[OverlyLongGag It's awesome.]]\\
* [[OverlyLongGag It's awesome.]]\\
* [[OverlyLongGag It's awesome.]]\\
* [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The animation is FANTASTIC.]]
*** I did the math, and according to his values for Fluttershy's size, she has to weigh 0.0004 grams to be able to stand on clouds.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Twilight occasionally shows signs of this: she doesn't believe Pinkie's twitches can predict the future, but she ''did'' believe the prophecy that foretold Nightmare Moon's return. May appear less arbitrary the more we learn about [[MagicAIsMagicA how the ponies' world works]]. Lampshaded in "Feeling Pinkie Keen."
-->'''Pinkie:''' What's not to believe? You do magic, what's the difference?
* AscendedMeme: Several. In episode 1, we see a background pony that was left cock-eyed probably by accident (or by an animator having a laugh), and 4chan's /co/ dubbed her Derpy Hooves. After loads of fanart and fanfics over a single background character that had an unfortunate hiccup in the layout process, she reappeared "derped" again in episode 15 (after dropping a piano on Twilight), and in almost every episode after that she'd have at least one scene where her eyes are derped. It should be noted that this pegasus appeared many times in episodes 2 through 14 as a stock background character, but it seems the directors and animators are now making a deliberate effort to give her cock-eyes.
** {{Fanon}} has deemed her to be the mail carrier for Ponyville. In episode 15, she is seen delivering packages.
** Also, while the pony in question hasn't been referred to by name onscreen, and her canon name is most likely "Ditzy Doo", Lauren Faust has said "she can be Derpy if everyone likes."
*** Note that when Faust [[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/39270057/ drew a sketch of the pony]], [[http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1829/derpy11.jpg the sketch]]'s filename was "'''derpy'''11.jpg."
** As of Season 2, [[http://kreoss.deviantart.com/journal/40422730/ Derpy is an official character]], meaning that her appearances will be fully scripted rather than simply [[ThrowItIn thrown in]] during post.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPqjKk_xCo&feature=player_embedded This promo from the Hub]] uses the FanCommunityNickname[[invoked]] "bronies", and refers to Vinyl Scratch by her [[FanNickname Fan Stage Name]] "[=DJ P0N-3=]".
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50-oWY1pFE This promo]] also name checks "DJ Pon3". One of the apps is called Derp-Zam (a riff on the Shazam app), most likely after fan character Derpy Hooves. There's also a ShoutOut to fan blog Equestria Daily.
* AssKicksYou:
** Rarity does it to Twilight in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom "Sonic Rainboom"]].
** Pinkie Pie does it to [[ButtMonkey Twilight]] and Fluttershy when dancing in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne "Party of One"]].
* AudibleSharpness: The scale Rarity pulled off of the sea serpent.
** Same for Pinkie Pie's brass cymbals during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]."
** And, the wings of Princess Celestia's pegasi guards.
* BadassDamsel: Fluttershy and Rarity can become this if need arises, Fluttershy particularly: she's berated a dragon hundreds of times her size for hurting her friends until it burst into tears, and she once stared down and chewed out a cockatrice (even going so far as to threaten to tell its mother on it) ''as it slowly turned her to stone''. The mares of Appleloosa in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" took this trope and ran to the hills with it: some of them were ''boxing and holding their own'' against Buffalo several times bigger and heavier than them.
* BadassMustache: One of Twilight's powers is to make these grow on people. It doesn't help Spike woo Rarity, but he assumes that if he had a [[BadassBeard beard]], too...
** There are plenty of them in Apple-loosa as well, especially Sheriff Silver Star.
** There was also the tennis playing pony from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]."
** [[FanNickname Steven Magnet]] prides himself on his moustache.
* BadassNormal: Applejack, an earth pony, can compete with Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle for most badass of the mane cast. Pretty impressive considering one can fly at supersonic speeds and the other has near-limitless magical power.
** CharlesAtlasSuperpower at its finest. She's a workhorse and does most of the work at her ranch by herself. She keeps up with everypony else by ''working out'' more than anypony else - except arguably Rainbow Dash.
* BadExportForYou: The McDonalds Happy Meals toys in Malaysia. For whatever brain-dead reason, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Princess Celestia are not available in the country.
* BalloonBelly: Twilight Sparkle gains one in the first episode after meeting Applejack's family and being persuaded to stay for brunch. Interestingly, it's not as temporary as some other examples.
** Also happens to Spike in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]."
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Princess Celestia's response to Twilight Sparkle's first letter sets this up.]]
** And later [[spoiler: Celestia inviting Twilight's friends to the Grand Galloping Gala so they can mess it up]]
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Played with. Rarity is so horrified that the sea serpent's [[CampGay fabulous]] moustache was damaged that she lops off her own tail to replace it. Twilight is taken aback, but Rarity cheerfully replies (with a slightly shaky voice) that it'll grow back. Sure enough, it gets restored later on, much to her glee/relief.
** Of course, this is averted HARD regarding Rarity in other episodes. Especially "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]". One of the favorite gags of the writers is to have something ruin Rarity's carefully maintained look. Her beauty is always restored in the next scene, or at most by the end of the episode.
*** The aversion is actually because of circumstances--she's the Element of Generosity, which is why she was so willing to give up her tail in the pilot. The other times her beauty has been tarnished were against her will or at least [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne reluctantly]].
** The more stressed-out Rarity gets in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess "Suited For Success,"]] the more curly her mane gets.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]," Twilight repeatedly gets more and more abused due to her snooping, culminating in her being covered in bruises and scrapes, confined to a wheelchair with two broken forelegs, and in general, looking very messed up. Two scenes later, and she's fine.
** Rarity also [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne dipped herself into a trash can in order to make an excuse not to attend one of Pinkie's parties]] [[spoiler:in order to keep the fact that she and the others were planning a surprise party for Pinkie a secret.]]
* TheBechdelTest: Passes with flying colors, a brass band and a cannon salute. Nearly everyone is female, and even more so everyone important. [[PlayingWithATrope In fact, the only time a male is discussed in a romantic sense by a female, the other two girls present have no idea who she is talking about.]]
** Further supported by the fact that when the only character ever to mention wanting to find a "handsome prince" (that would be Rarity) finds one, well...[[spoiler: he ends up being a total jerk, and ''she'' dumps ''him'' in utter disgust. She even goes so far as to ''smash'' [[GenreSavvy the glass slipper she's dropped so he can't possibly find her]].]]
* BerserkButton: [[spoiler: Fluttershy has this in "Dragonshy" and "Stare Master." No one messes with her friends!]]
** [[spoiler: [[UpToEleven Cranked up]] when she becomes [[{{FanNickname}} Psychoshy (or Flutterrage)]] near the end of the Grand Galloping Gala. Considering Fluttershy spends more time with forest animals than the [[IncrediblyLamePun mane]] cast, you could say she's not used to the kind of rejection Canterlot's critters gave her, resulting in her surprisingly explicit rage that sent the party into chaos! May also count as a case of BewareTheQuietOnes, especially when we see her EvilLaugh.]]
* BigBallOfViolence: Applejack and Rainbow Dash's fight at the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]."
** Spike versus a chicken in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]." [[spoiler:Spike loses.]]
* BigEater: Spike, Pinkie Pie, Snails, and of course, the Parasprites.
* BiggerOnTheInside: In general, the exterior shapes don't match the interiors of the houses and buildings shown in the cartoon.
** To name two examples: During the pilot, Pinkie Pie stuffed almost the entire population of Ponyville into a single room of Twilight's library, and the size of Sugarcube Corner doesn't match the inside (Pinkie Pie's room being the biggest offender).
* BigFancyCastle: [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust says]] that the city of Canterlot, built into the side of a mountain, is a ShoutOut to [[TheLordOfTheRings Minas Tirith]].
* BigNo: Spike does this twice in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]" -- once just after Rarity is kidnapped and again after he and the other ponies fall into the lair of the Diamond Dogs and realize they have no idea which way to go. Both of them were right before the commercial breaks, too. Maybe he just doesn't like commercials.
** After putting up with lots of "cute" things and conversations, Scootaloo does one at the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]" when her crusader friends give her a group hug and Fluttershy announces she's going to sing another "cute" song.
* BindleStick: Spike carries one after [[spoiler: running away from home]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]."
** Also seen in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," carried by a young Applejack when she goes to meet her relatives in [[BigApplesauce Manehattan]].
* BlindingBangs: The pegasus bullies seen in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" flip between this and PeekABangs; close-up shots reveal the leader's eyes, but most of the time their eyes [[HiddenEyes are obscured]].
** This trope was played quite literally on Rarity in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]."
* {{Blooper}}: [[Trivia/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Can be found here.]]
* BlushSticker: Spike, Twilight and Fluttershy get these.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," Twilight and her friends are suffering the nasty aftereffects of a "curse." Immediately, Spike makes silly nicknames for them, but when it's Twilight's turn, he gets stumped, claiming "I got nothing." Then he turns his eye against the 4th wall and says "'Twilight Sparkle?' I mean, seriously. I can't even work with that."
** At the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," when the ponies are enjoying the bath and laughing as the screen zooms out to the credits, Pinkie Pie stares at the viewer with a curious expression on her face.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]" Spike repeatedly looks at the camera during Pinkie's strange commentary.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]," Rarity appears to grab the camera when she throws a hissy-fit over one of the Diamond Dogs calling her a mule.
** At the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" during the IrisOut, Pinkie Pie grabs the closing border and briefly holds it open as she complains that Twilight's moral was [[HeyThatsMyLine what she was trying to say earlier, during her song.]]
** Also done at the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," with a literal wink at the audience from Owlowicious.
** The second part of the pilot closes off with a scenery shot of Ponyville, at which point Pinkie Pie pops up and repeats her "Are you excited?" rant to the camera as the IrisOut begins. When she gasps, the Iris actually widens again.
** Even Fluttershy does this in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]. When she pours birdseed over a pill she's trying to feed to Philomena, she turns to the camera with a smug look and says "Always Works."
* BrickJoke: During "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]," Apple Bloom tries her hoof at baking cupcakes, but all she gets are some horribly burnt failures that are quickly swept under the rug. Later, during a party, a poor background pony is seen nibbling on some nicely decorated cupcakes, only to make an unpleasant discovery...
** Another example appears in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]." The first instrument Pinkie Pie tries to find, a trombone, doesn't even become [[spoiler:a part of the one-man-band ensemble she uses to drive the swarm away. At the very end, after a shot of the aftermath of the infestation, she pops up in front of the screen with her trombone to deliver the classic [[LosingHorns "Wah-wah-wah-WAAAAAAH"]].]]
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]" opens with Applejack telling Twilight about a bet she made, saying that if she won, Big Macintosh would have to walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny Smith's girdles. This seems like a simple, throwaway joke, until "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]," where Big Macintosh is unable to harvest apples because of a ''mysterious, unexplained injury to his midsection''.
** At the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," Rainbow Dash spends a few minutes trying to get a reaction out of Celestia's guards. Her efforts are futile, as one [[BritishRoyalGuards might expect.]] [[spoiler: At the end of the episode, once Philomena is reborn as a phoenix, Dash convinces her to tickle the guards' noses. It works, they finally break character. Cue [[EverybodyLaughsEnding Everypony Laughs Ending.]]]]
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party Of One]], Pinkie says she'll pass out written invitations next time she decides to invite her friends to a party. The next day, after the birthday party for Gummy ends, she appears with a basket of written invitations to Twilight and friends for Gummy's after birthday party.
** A subtle one is done in both parts of the pilot. When initially looking up information on the Elements of Harmony in Canterlot, Twilight finds some info under 'E' in a book. Once Nightmare Moon has been freed, Twilight then races to the Ponyville library to find more info on the Elements but is having trouble. Pinkie Pie finds a reference guide with ease, and when Twilight asks her about it, Pinkie cheerfully responds "It was under ''''E'''!"
* ButtMonkey: There isn't a dedicated one per se, but Granny Smith and Spike tend to be the butt of a lot of gags. As far as the mane six go, they all have it to some degree, but Rarity tends to get it the worst, followed by Rainbow Dash.
* CaptainsLog: Twilight's letters to Princess Celestia on the {{Aesop}} of the episode. Granted, unlike most examples, this happens at the ''[[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle end]]'' of each episode, but the basic idea is the same.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Did Pinkie Pie mention a ''hot dog'' eating contest in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]"?! That's veggie dogs...riiight?
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," Pinkie Pie's song confirms that they're all vegetarians.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]," they're shown making (and eating) s'mores. Modern day marshmallows contain gelatin, which is derived from animal hides and bones. Historically, however, marshmallows were made from mucilaginous root extracts of the marsh-growing African mallow, ''Althaea officinalis'', AKA the '''marsh mallow''' plant, and modern Vegan marshmallows use fruit pectin to provide protein instead of gelatin.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" Fluttershy is being greeted from the lake by some fishes smiling at her, which means that fishes in Equestria are at least partially sentient (like Angel the bunny) and some of them are apparently friends with Fluttershy. Then in the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]," we see Fluttershy feeding dead fish to her pet ferrets.
** In classic mythology, Griffons ate mostly horses.
** In an apparent inversion, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" Fluttershy delivers a load of vegetables to a couple of wild ferrets. A fan artist on /co/ named "shuffle" came up with [[http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/fvu1d/bad_bunnies/ a rather dark explanation for how this makes sense.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]", after Applejack ties up Rainbow Dash's wings, she says "Trussed up like a turkey!" The only way for her to make that comparison...
** The ponies raise cattle, which vaguely makes sense because they can be milked. They raise chickens, presumably because eggs are a necessary component of many of the apple pastries they bake. But in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]" we see that ponies farm pigs. Pretty sure ponies don't eat bacon... (WordOfGod says that the pigs needed somewhere to live, and ponies ''really'' like truffles.)
** In the scene where Applejack tries to decide what she is supposed to eat first in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," one of things on the table is a ham sandwich. Interestingly, there were no truffles in sight in spite of the fact that the guest of honor was the princess.
** Though in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" Spike noted that owls ''do'' eat mice [[spoiler: and he actually uses that knowledge in attempt to frame Owlowiscious.]]'
* CartoonPhysics: Mostly with Pinkie Pie, who has no problem popping out of places she shouldn't be able to (including ''inside'' a mirror), although some of the other ponies have their moments as well.
* CastHerd: First off, you've got the main six ponies and Spike. The Cutie Mark Crusaders form a PowerTrio with a smaller version of the main group, having an earth pony, pegasus and unicorn, with the latter also falling into TomboyAndGirlyGirl. Big Mac tends to show up mainly around his sisters and the rest of his family; the same goes for Granny Smith. Even the background ponies fall into this, with Rose, Daisy and [[FanNickname Lily]] tending to show up around each other.
* TheCastShowoff: Andrea Libman (Fluttershy) and Ashleigh Ball (Rainbow Dash/Applejack) provide their own singing voices. Ashleigh in particular is the lead singer of the band Hey Ocean. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nhssMi2FtA There's a reason why fans love Rainbow Dash's singing]].
* CentralTheme: Friendship is Magic!
* CharacterBlog: There are several (>50) Twitter accounts starting with mlp (such as [[http://twitter.com/#!/mlp_twilight mlp_twilight]]), but it is yet unclear whether they are canon.
* ChaseScene: Complete with [[BennyHill Benny Hill]]-[[TheJimmyHartVersion esque]] background music. Twice.
* ChasteToons: According to Rarity, princess Celestia has a nephew, which should raise an eyebrow considering that it would either imply that he is Luna's son (even though she spent the last thousand years sealed in the moon) or that there is another divine sibling we don't know about. [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust eventually explained]] by saying that he was a ''very'' distant relative on Celestia's mother's side, "about 52 times removed, roughly speaking."
** Rarity has a confirmed little sister, yet their parents have yet to be seen or even mentioned.
** [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust]] confirmed that this is averted within the universe itself (though not necessarily from what we'll see on the show). Twilight's and Pinkie Pie's parents are also seen in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," [[ParentalAbandonment which is a first]].
* ChekhovsSkill[=/=][[ChekhovsLecture Lecture]][=/=][[ChekhovsHobby Hobby]]: Turns out Fluttershy has a ''surprising'' knowledge of sewing, as evidenced when she was forced to tell Rarity what was "wrong" with her dress in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]." [[spoiler:This skill allowed Fluttershy and the others to finish Rarity's dress at the end of the episode.]]
** Also in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]," where [[spoiler: Twilight used her organization skills to help Ponyville finish on time for the first time in years.]]
** Applejack's herding skills in "Applebuck Season" resurface five eps later in "Swarm of the Century".
* CliffHanger: At the end of the premiere episode. They also sometimes like to set up mini-cliffhangers going to commercial breaks.
* ComesGreatPerks: Magic is mostly used to make life easier. Only Nightmare Moon has been shown so far as using her powers for explicit villainy.
* CompanionCube: Bloomberg from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," an apple tree that Applejack ''reads a bedtime story to''.
** It's contagious; Spike climbs into bed with him (yes, the apple tree has its own bed) and then apologizes in advance in case he starts snoring.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," Pinkie goes crazy when she thinks her friends don't want to come to any more of her parties, and sets up a pile of rocks, a bucket of turnips, a piece of lint, and a sack of flour as her new friends.
* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Averted, the complainer is sometimes wrong and sometimes right. The fact that a character is complaining has no bearing on the complaint's truth or lack thereof.
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: The Cutie Mark Crusaders, if nothing else, are ''really'' talented in this area:
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]", Twilight tries to guide the Cutie Mark Crusaders to see that they're very close to finding their cutie marks if they'd just switch their roles from the talent show, but they just don't get it.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," Scootaloo complains about having to listen to all the "namby-pamby" stories of how the other ponies got their cutie marks because they're not helpful; they're all about "finding who you really are and boring stuff like that."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," Twilight lectures Spike about all the trouble he's been causing because he's jealous of Owlowiscious, telling him "This is not the Spike I know and love!" A dejected Spike interprets this as meaning Twilight doesn't love him anymore, and prompts him to [[spoiler: run away from home.]]
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]], Sweetie Belle sings a lullaby so loudly that it not only fails to put anyone to sleep, it actually wakes up everyone nearby.
* CompositeCharacter: With the sole exception of Applejack, the six main characters are a composite of a Generation 1 pony and a Generation 3 pony. Rainbow Dash, for example, has the wings and personality of the Gen 1 pony Firefly, and the color scheme (more or less) of the Gen 3 pony Rainbow Dash. Faust couldn't use the names of the Gen 1 ponies, due to Hasbro having lost the trademark to all of them but Applejack, so the use of Gen 3 ponies for extra inspiration is her WritingAroundTrademarks. Full explanation [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/_images/02b14f657f8b589243c1279e8a08d8f6/122%20-%20applejack%20chart%20Firefly%20fluttershy%20g1%20lauren_faust%20list%20pinkie_pie%20Posey%20rainbow_dash%20rarity%20Sparkler%20Surprise%20twilight_sparkle.jpg here.]]
* ConflictBall: Shows up in a few episodes. "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]" particularly comes to mind.
* ContinuityNod: Quite a few, which is unexpected for a show where the episodes are supposed to be watchable in any order.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]," Applejack explains to Twilight that her huge family was only in town for the Sun Festival (the pilot episodes), which is why she's the only one left on her farm that's strong enough to harvest the orchard after Big Macintosh hurts his back.
** During "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" Rainbow Dash mentions the ferocious manticore that Fluttershy befriended during the pilot episodes.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]," Rainbow Dash says in a playful and friendly tone, "Pinkie Pie, you are so random!" A few episodes later, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]," Rainbow Dash says the same thing [[IronicEcho in an irritated voice.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" Rarity is creating the dresses that she and her friends will wear for the Grand Galloping Gala announced in episode 3. Some of these dresses can be seen in later episodes (Rarity wears hers at the beginning of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird In The Hoof]]). The Gala itself is the season finale.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]," Fluttershy remembers the jumping advice that Pinkie Pie gave to her during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" and thanks to it, manages to escape from the Hydra chasing her. In the same episode, Twilight Sparkle uses the [[LeeroyJenkins same approach that Rainbow Dash used]] when facing the dragon in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" on said Hydra.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]," Applejack mentions that Rarity won't even touch mud unless it's imported, a nod to the mud masks in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]," Rarity states that she "[[GrandHotel vants to be alone]]" when she is upset over Fluttershy's popularity. She said the same thing in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]," after a failed fashion show made her a laughingstock in Ponyville. While sorting through dresses for Fluttershy to try on, she tosses aside several outfits which appeared in prior episodes.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]," Rainbow Dash gives Apple Bloom a little bit of Karate training. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]," Apple Bloom incorporates Karate into her "dance."
** At the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," the dresses from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" can be seen hanging in Fluttershy's closet. In a later scene, Rarity is wearing hers.
** In the first episode, one of the dresses Rarity has Twilight try is a Statue of Liberty outfit. In "Cutie Mark Chronicles," we learn that a pony version of the Statue of Liberty actually exists in their world.
** The straight-haired version of Pinkie Pie reappears in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]" when Pinkie Pie convinces herself everypony is avoiding her because they no longer like her parties.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" Rainbow Dash mentions that she's broken the rainbow barrier once before, "a long time ago." In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]" we get to see how it happened.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]," the Wonderbolts recognize Rainbow Dash from the events of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]." The entire episode also serves as one giant nod to everypony's {{Imagine Spot}}s about the Gala way back in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]." During her attempts to befriend the animals at the garden, Fluttershy remembers the advice Twilight gave her in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird In The Hoof]].
** And Zecora, debuting in "Bridle Gossip", establishing the context for her cameo one ep later in "Swarm of the Century". She's also mentioned (but not seen) in "The Stare Master"; visiting her for tea is Twilight's reason to go into the Everfree Forest that night.
* CoolHouse: All six ponies live in some sort of Cool House (not surprising given that one of the show's jobs is to sell the playsets those houses are based on).
** Twilight lives in a huge treehouse/library with a small observatory at the top.
** Rarity lives at her business, the Carousel Boutique, a small palace adorned with ribbons and other such things.
** Pinkie Pie lives at Sugarcube Corner, in what looks like a giant, elaborate gingerbread house.
** Fluttershy lives in what looks like a cottage dug into the side of a hill. It's covered with all manner of plant life and is home to loads of critters.
** Rainbow Dash lives in a house literally made of clouds... that looks like a castle... with rainbow waterfalls on either side.
** Applejack lives in a house/barn on the edge of her family's sprawling apple orchard.
* CostumePorn: Almost anything Rarity designs (with some glaring yet justified exceptions), particularly the dresses she and her friends wear to the Grand Galloping Gala.
* CrashIntoHello: How Rainbow Dash first met Twilight. Several other episodes have had her crash through a window or the roof as she enters the scene.
** Which justifies her nickname "Rainbow Crash".
* CreationMyth: The series opens with one of these, which gives us a sense that there might be more to this incarnation than just cutesy frolicking ponies (not that there isn't plenty of that). The myth involves two pony goddesses who are sisters: one rules over day, the other over night. Eventually, one turns evil. [[DarkIsEvil Guess which one?]]
** It doesn't mention anything about the ''creation'' of Equestria, although it does share many elements with typical mythological stories of olden times, like the balance between solar and lunar deities, divine conflict between good and evil etc.
*** Pinkie Pie concludes her cutie mark back story by saying "and that's how Equestria was made." While she's an UnreliableNarrator, she has given us a creation myth... it makes no sense, but it's now officially a creation myth.
*** This actually made so ''little'' sense that Scootaloo slammed the brakes on her scooter-wagon in shock.
* {{Crossover}}: Some of The Hub's promotional materials feature characters from multiple Hub shows, including ''MLP''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKjBViIt-y8 This TV commercial]] notably features Pinkie Pie singing [[{{Meatballs}} "Are You Ready for the Summer"]] with Dan from ''DanVs'' and Megatron from ''TransformersPrime''.
** Also, if you have a HubWorld account, you bring this trope to your room by setting a My Little Pony
* CrowdSong: "Winter Wrap Up" from [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp the episode of the same name]], "At the Gala" from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]."
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]," [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie is the first to recognize the threat that the Parasprites would become, and spends the majority of the rest of the episode gathering random instruments. All the other ponies become frustrated at her characteristic randomness in the face of the threat - until her grand plan is put into motion and she successfully puts an end to the Parasprites' destruction of Ponyville.]]
** Inverted in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," where Pinkie Pie thought her friends where avoiding her because they didn't like her and her parties anymore, but actually [[spoiler:they were just preparing her a surprise Birthday Party]].
* CucumberFacial: First appear as part of the sleepover in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep ''Look Before You Sleep'']], Applejack eats hers of course. Later, Rarity has them in the spa scene of ''Green isn't your color'', and when sleeping on the train in ''Over a Barrel''.
* CutenessProximity: Fluttershy goes into this the first time she sees Spike. Applejack behaves this way around [[CompanionCube Bloomberg the apple tree]].
** It's apparently contagious for Bloomberg as both Fluttershy and Spike start talking to him as if he were sentient too, but they're [[FriendToAllLivingThings Friends to all living things]] so it sort of makes sense.
* DancePartyEnding: These are inevitable when Pinkie Pie is on your team.
* [[DarkHorseVictory Dark Pony Victory]]: Despite being the strongest competitors in the Running of the Leaves, the EscalatingWar between Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat gets them beaten]]... by everyone.
** There's also a subversion to the trope. When Applejack and Rainbow Dash ask who did win, Twilight Sparkle walks up to them wearing a medal... only to announce that she came in fifth place.
* DeadpanSnarker: Twilight Sparkle, of course, making various sarcastic remarks and frequently having the snarker's facial expression. Spike too, though to a less obvious extent.
* DeathGlare: Of all ponies, Fluttershy has one. She's used it to [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome stare down a dragon, a cockatrice]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a few chickens.]]]]
** This helps explain part of her shyness - she can't really control it and doesn't want to be overbearing.
** [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]." She spends a big part of the episode with a Death Glare on, especially when she confronts Applejack at her farm, or by the end of the episode before [[spoiler:the surprise party.]]
* {{Defictionalization}}: Some have actually tried to make muffins with Applejack's "baked bads" recipe. With some tweaking (most notably gummy worms for earthworms) you can produce something "[[http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7096/1294009768004.jpg reasonably palatable]]."
** Derpy's popularity has resulted in many a custom Pony doll made in her image by fans.
** Her popularity within the fandom is so intense that Faust confirmed shortly before announcing leaving the show that Derpy is an official character in season 2.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," Rarity says the ponies have been "[=BFFs=] Forever."
** Also, the Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy
** In episode 10, Fluttershy claims to have "tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely" to control the parasprites.
* {{Descriptiveville}}: The ponies all live in Ponyville, as part of the larger equine population of Equestria.
** Don't forget ''Phillydelphia''. Yuk Yuk.
** And the Pegasus-only city, Cloudsdale.
* DidNotDoTheResearch: Although the show's depiction of animals tends to be very accurate (see ShownTheirWork below), some of the "southern birds" seen in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" aren't migratory species.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Though, they did say that Ditzy Doo did go the wrong way to get the birds...]]
** That episode also shows the ponies giving some ferrets a basket of vegetables to eat. Ferrets are carnivores.
*** A fan artist on /co/ named "shuffle" came up with [[http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/fvu1d/bad_bunnies/ a rather dark explanation for how this makes sense.]]
** Strangely, the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" sees Fluttershy giving ferrets some fish.
** Most of the snowflakes being made at the weather factory in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" have the correct sixfold symmetry, but a few only have fourfold symmetry. Perhaps they weren't finished yet?
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," Applejack was using the caboose of the train as a private passenger bedroom, but cabooses were used by the train crew and conductor as a shelter and mobile office, and any sleeping accommodations (if they had any) would be pretty spartan.
** [[http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/29/my-little-pony-parodies-katy-perry/ "If you're not 7, there's a good chance that you are unaware of the latest 'My Little Pony' re-boot"]].
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Chief Thunder Hooves in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" when he is struck down by an unknown assailant during the war between the Buffalo tribe and the Appleloosians. A taste of the [[PieInTheFace apple pie splattered on his face]] revives him, though.]]
** Princess Celestia's pet bird, Philomena, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath burns to ashes]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," but it turns out [[spoiler: she is a phoenix and she just started a new lifecycle.]]
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Averted with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, but played straight by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Apple Bloom getting her cutie mark is totally not supposed to be a metaphor for puberty. (Any resemblance it may have to the need to find a unique identity or a goal in life is also ''completely'' [[BlatantLies coincidental]].)
* DrunkOnMalts: The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" suggests that salt licks are the equivalent of hard liquor.
** Though we don't know what Twilight thought she was drinking in the pilot.
** Spike acts like he's getting drunk on doughnuts with extra sprinkles in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver "The Best Night Ever"]].
* DysfunctionJunction: A light example. Every mane character has had her turn at going completely around the bend, some more extreme than others. Particularly, it tends to happen when a character finds their special talent, marked by their Cutie Mark, just not working how they'd expect.
* EarlyBirdCameo:
** The Cutie Mark Crusaders - Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle - appear huddled together for a short moment at the end of the first episode (Applebloom had already been introduced earlier, but the other two wouldn't officially meet her until episode 12).
** ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/mlp-adventures-in-ponyville Adventures in Ponyville]]'', a flash game on the Hub's website, revealed a few tidbits about the show during the long gap between the premier and the second episode. Snips, Snails, and Cheerilee were first seen (though unnamed), Rarity's and Pinkie Pie's occupations were made explicit, and Twilight demonstrated the power to temporarily give wings to other ponies, an ability not seen until episode 16.
** ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/game-mylittlepony-discover Discover the Difference]]'', another flash game on the Hub's website, provides glimpses at the beginning of the instrumental version of a ThemeTuneExtended, as well as revealing scenes from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]."
* EdibleAmmunition: The citizens of Appleloosa use apple pies to repel a buffalo stampede. ''It works.''
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]," Applejack demonstrated expert marksmanship with kicked apples. She didn't get to use them against the dragon, but she was ready to.
* EdibleThemeNaming: Applejack. Her entire family qualifies too, given that they're named after brands of, types of, or product made from said fruit.
** Distant relatives seem to be named after different fruits, such as Aunt and Uncle Orange.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," when Applejack is shrunk, Spike dubs her "Appletini." Bonus: Applejack is a type of liquor distilled from apple cider.
* {{Edutainment}}: The show is broadcast with an E/I logo in the upper left corner, but the only real concession it makes to being educational and informative is to have AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle dialogue at the end of every episode. (These days, simply claiming to encourage positive social values is often enough to allow the use of the logo.) Cable channels aren't required to air E/I programming, but there may be conditions to the partnership between Hasbro and Discovery Channel to form the Hub that the audience doesn't know about. Still, a cartoon that manages to be {{Edutainment}}, MerchandiseDriven and genuinely entertaining even for adults all at the same time is a truly astonishing achievement.
** The E/I mark goes back to the Discovery Kids days; the network adds E/I tags in electronic program listings to make it easier for parents to find actual educational children's programming. Since nopony (this includes Nick, Disney and Cartoon Network) except the dreadfully awful E/I shows airing on regular TV and Smile of a Child actually use the E/I flag, it's a really big advantage for The Hub to tag their shows E/I.
** The show could be a TropeCodifier for Stealth Education. The writers are very talented at sneaking in educational tidbits without disrupting the flow of the show -- going all the way back to the pilot, where Twilight explains that being "on the precipice (or threshold, or brink) of disaster" means that "something really bad is about to happen."
** Hasbro has also released guidelines for some episodes for parents that want their kid to learn more.
* EldritchLocation: The Everfree Forest is one to the ponies.
** "That place just isn't natural! The plants grow, animals take care of themselves, and clouds move all on their own!"
* EpunymousTitle: Episodes so far include
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" ([[spoiler: the character who saves the day is Fluttershy]])
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]" (after Pinkie Pie's "pinkie sense")
* [[EverybodyLaughsEnding Everypony Laughs Ending]]: a LOT. "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]" (with only two characters), "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]."
* EverythingsBetterWithBunnies: Angel, as well as the [[HairRaisingHare bunny stampede]] from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]."
* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Ursa minors/majors are large bear-like creatures with starry pelts. And by "large" we mean [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever building-size]].
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Episodes so far include
** [[spoiler: "Friendship Is Magic" ([[MagicAIsMagicA and yes, in this universe it really is]])]]
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]" (which has both dogs and ponies)
* ExactWords: "You simply must stop reading those dusty old books!" is not the same thing as "I don't believe you." [[spoiler: This is all part of the Princess' BatmanGambit, though.]]
** Also done by Applejack, otherwise known for her honesty and integrity, when racing against Rainbow Dash with her [[ItMakesSenseInContext wings tied up]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]," in which she has no problem hitching a ride on a hot air balloon after Rainbow Dash [[RoadsignReversal sent her wildly off track]]. Her justification?
--->'''Rainbow Dash:''' Hey! You said no flying!\\
'''Applejack:''' No, I ''said'' no wings.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Lauren Faust has said that Hasbro's management of the show has generally been fairly easy-going, and she's been allowed a lot more freedom than she expected, with some exceptions:
** The overabundance of pink and hearts, particularly in the design of the toyline (see ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy in the [[YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic YMMV page]]).
** Making Celestia a princess instead of a queen (see PrincessesRule).
** Faust would have preferred to do a series with an overarching storyline, probably keeping the MagicalGirl stylings of the first two episodes, but Hasbro wanted the episodes to be viewable in any order.
** She also originally wanted the show's setting to be called Fillydelphia, since [[AuthorAppeal most of her family live in Philadelphia]], but got {{Executive Veto}}ed, which was probably for the best. The name became a throwaway line in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]" instead.
** Hasbro requested the inclusion of specific characters, though notably not ''how'' to use them -- only that they be in the show in some form. This is why Cheerilee became a teacher and got a Happy Meal toy as part of the [=McDonalds=] promotion.
** Judging by the blog post linked in YMMV under Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch, she would have preferred to add a few more guy ponies for a better-rounded society (and possibly making the PeripheryDemographic[[invoked]] less peripheral).
** After season 2, [[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/40428056/ she has announced that she's only working as a consulting producer]] instead of an executive producer. Inverted in that it sounds like that she had too ''much'' to control as opposed to too little.
* {{Expy}}: Rainbow Dash is a lot like Buttercup from ''ThePowerpuffGirls'', another show that Lauren Faust worked on.
** To be more accurate, she's basically a CaptainErsatz of one of the G1 ponies, Firefly.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Spike can eat fruit, grass, ''gemstones''... and was the only one unaffected by Applejack's toxic muffins. In fact, he liked them so much that he went through the trouble of rescuing the discarded muffins from the trash so he could eat them all.
** Oddly, he rejected an apple in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]" for having a worm. Maybe he wasn't in the mood.
** Pinkie Pie is an Extreme Herbivore at least. The wormy muffins made her sick (she was the only major character to appear in the infirmary, in fact), but she has no problem eating cupcakes that are badly burnt or covered in hot sauce. Also Rainbows are too spicy even for Pinkie Pie.
*** May be a bit of FridgeBrilliance: Horses are vegetarian, so they wouldn't be able to digest meat. And as real-life experiments have proven, the rest of the messed up recipies actually produces something perfectly edible.
** The Parasprites can eat ANYTHING, [[spoiler:especially when Twilight Sparkle tried to magically control their appetites!]]
* [[FacePalm Facehoof]]: Twilight's typical response to the strange happenings around her, though some other ponies get one in now and then too.
** Angel can be seen to face''paw'' at Fluttershy's clueless moments.
* FandomNod: A [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPqjKk_xCo promo video]] referenced not only a FanCommunityNickname ("bronies"), but also a FanNickname for a minor character ([[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/2194 DJ P0N-3]]).
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: To some extent. The aesthetics of pegasus society and Canterlot - especially architecture - seem to be based on Ancient Greece, with Disney's ''[[Disney/{{Hercules}} Hercules]]'' being a particular source of inspiration. Of course, the Pegasus is a creature from Greek mythology to begin with.
** This also explains Rarity's inspiration for Rainbow Dash's custom dress.
** The Appleloosan settler-ponies and the buffalo herd are [[FantasyCounterpartCulture quite obvious analogues]] to Wild West settlers and Native Americans, respectively.
* FashionShopFashionShow: Twilight and Fluttershy go through this, courtesy of Rarity. Though Twilight doesn't buy anything and Fluttershy was just modeling.
* TheFashionista: Not only is Rarity the proprietor of the Carousel Boutique, but there's an entire fashion industry in Equestria including designer Hoity Toity, photographer Photo Finish, print advertising campaigns, and trend-following audiences at fashion shows who can't seem to form opinions of their own.
* FireBreathingDiner: Twilight Sparkle suffered this after accidentally drinking some hot sauce. ''Even her tail and mane were on fire.''
** Gilda suffers this, too, during her HumiliationConga. Pinkie Pie used the fire to roast some marshmallows.
** Pinkie Pie discovers that rainbows don't really taste like Skittles, or vice versa, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]."
* [[FiveManBand Five Pony Band]]: The Mane cast (while they don't map precisely to the standard Five Man Band, one can be discerned from the roles they present to the audience):
** [[TheHero The Heroine]]: Twilight Sparkle (by virtue of being the main character; she is more naturally TheSmartGuy)
** TheLancer: Rainbow Dash (at least the flying-off-half-cocked aspects of the trope)
** [[TheBigGuy The Big Pony]]: Applejack (Type 2, with a side-helping of the second-in-command traits frequently exhibited by TheLancer)
** [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Pony]]: Rarity, Pinkie Pie (Rarity for her intelligence and Pinkie Pie for her intuition)
** TheChick: Fluttershy (perhaps the only main cast member to map perfectly to their role in the band)
** TagalongKid / TheSixthRanger: Spike
** TheMentor: Princess Celestia
* FlatCharacter: Diamond Tiara. Lampshaded; her cutie mark matches her crown. This also applies to her BFF Silver Spoon.
* FoodAsBribe: Twilight is faced with this several times throughout "Ticket Master" by her friends in attempts to gain an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, but Twilight manages to turn away the bribes each time despite stating several times how hungry she is. Pinkie Pie also uses this against Spike in "Party of One" as part of her PerpSweating sequence.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** As the camera follows Twilight Sparkle when she's dictating her letter to Celestia in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon the pilot episode]], the hourglass distorts everything behind it like you'd expect, but ''replaces'' the unicorn head sculpture outside with Nightmare Moon's head.
** In the same episode, Rarity is choosing decorative ribbons. Upon selecting a particularly glittery one, she declares "Sparkle always does the trick!".
** Listen closely to the music playing at Pinkie's surprise party in episode one. It's almost identical to the tune of her song in episode 2.
** When Nightmare Moon shows up at the festival, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are briefly shown cowering in fear next to each other, despite the fact that this episode was '''before''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]."
** The camera also pans across each of Twilight's friends as she lists each of the Elements of Harmony as they correspond to each pony.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]," Rainbow Dash tells Apple Bloom that she got her cutie mark after her first race. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]," she says that she's only done a sonic rainboom once before, when she was "just a filly." These are, in fact, the same event, which is shown in detail in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]."
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]" hinted what each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' special talents are. [[spoiler:Apple Bloom's is designing, Sweetie Belle's is singing and Scootaloo's is dancing.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," [[spoiler:what happens at Gummy's birthday party is mostly {{Fauxshadow}}ing, but one of Pinkie Pie's lines is true {{Foreshadowing}}.]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Pinkie:''' I can't tell you that, silly -- then it wouldn't be a surprise!]]
** In the first episode, Twilight proclaims that "all the ponies in this town are CRAZY!". By the time the first season ended, all the main characters have a mental breakdown at least once.
*** Some fans have noticed this and made [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/11732 these]] [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/11389 pics.]]
* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The ponies' Elements of Harmony powers and jewelry never appear again after episode two (since Hasbro wanted a slice-of-life series that could be shown in any order rather than the arc-based [[MagicalGirl Magical Filly]] show Faust had wanted to do).
* FreezeFrameBonus: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50-oWY1pFE This promo]] from the Hub riffs on the 'There's an App for That' adds from Apple. Every pony app shown has an appropriately punny name and a matching icon (e.g. Wikiponia, Hooftube etc), proper use of pony terminology for various app functions, and even the 'PNN' news article with tiny text which flashes by at the end is fully coherent and readable. Someone at [[HasbrosTheHub The Hub]] obviously knew that that the PeripheryDemographic would examine every frame for details like that, going so far as to give a ShoutOut to popular Pony Blog Equestria Daily.
* FurryConfusion: On top of the usual ponies, this world also boasts talking cows and mules, along with non-talking birds, bunnies, dogs and cats.
** Applejack mentions a zoo in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]." What could they possibly be keeping there? [[PoisonOakEpilepticTrees (Humans?)]]
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in both the pilot and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," where we see ponies that are clearly sentient pulling carriages for other ponies.
---> '''Pony 1:''' ''(Looking back at the carriage he's pulling)'' Okay, you pull now.\\
'''Pony 2:''' ''(Leaning out the carriage window)'' Aww, we just switched!
*** This one is expanded into incredible weirdness when Twilight [[{{Cinderella}} magically transforms a bunch of mice into horses]] to pull their carriage to the Gala. And then, when Opal scares them off, Rarity just asks some of her neighbours to do it instead.
---->'''Twilight:''' Oh...right.
** Fluttershy's [[CutenessProximity initial reaction to Spike]] suggests that in their world he's seen more like an animal.
* GentleGiant: Turns out both the manticore and the sea serpent in episode 2 are actually friendly and easy-going beings.
** Big Macintosh also qualifies for this, given his huge build, calm personality and how he patiently puts up with Applejack's stubborn nature.
* GilliganCut: Done ''without a cut'' in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]", when Apple Bloom declares that she won't go to Diamond Tiara's cuteceañera, which, thanks to the RuleOfPerception, turns out to have already started BehindTheBlack.
** Used more conventionally to omit any explanation for how the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran into Twilight in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]":
--->'''Scootaloo:''' Come on, girls! We need action! We need Rainbow Dash!\\
''(cut)''\\
'''Twilight:''' As a young filly in Canterlot, I always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration....
* GoalInLife: Discovering your purpose in life creates your cutie mark on your flank. Given how permanent those things seem to be, one has to hope there's no pony equivalent to a mid-life crisis.
** GeniusBonus: Silver Spoon, one of the ponies that makes fun of Apple Bloom for not having one yet, has a...well, silver spoon as hers. She's discovered that her purpose in life is to be rich and useless ("born with a silver spoon in her mouth"). Similarly, fellow bully Diamond Tiara has a diamond tiara on her flank and on her head, as if that's all there is to her.
* GoshHornet: Twilight Sparkle has disturbed a bee's nest and been covered with stings ''[[ButtMonkey twice]]'': in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]." Rainbow Dash was chased by a swarm of bees in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]," but managed to get away from them. Interestingly, there's a beehive hanging from one of the upper branches of Twilight's treehouse.
* GoYeHeroesGoAndDie: Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" --
-->'''Fluttershy:''' But Rainbow Dash, just because you failed the Sonic Rainboom ''a hundred thousand times'' in practice doesn't mean you won't be able to do it in front of an ''entire'' stadium full of impatient, super-critical sports fan ponies!
** Played with in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]." Photo Finish really wasn't trying to be reassuring.
---> '''Photo Finish:''' Nervous? Don't be ridiculous. You're only facing a large crowd of ponies who will be watching your every moves and silently judging you.
** Also see entry for IronicEcho, below
* GrossUpCloseUp: A few relatively tame ones.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]" features a close-up of one Diamond Dog's dirty claws.
** Rarity's pruney hoof in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]."
** Philomena's bloodshot eyes in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]."
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Specifically the male ponies; most of them wear vests. As stated above, female ponies generally just wear some form of accessory.
* HeroicBSOD: Examples include
** Pinkie Pie ''flips her lid big-time'' when she thinks her friends don't like her parties anymore. She starts holding parties with a group of inanimate objects and gives them all voices, so convincingly that she actually gets Rainbow Dash arguing with a pile of rocks.
** Also Twilight in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]" when the Parasprites start eating Ponyville.
* HiddenObjectGame: ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/game-mylittlepony-discover Discover the Difference]]''.
* HoldYourHippogriffs: Too many examples to list. Spread all over this article.
** Replacing "body" with "pony" such as "everypony" and "somepony."
*** Sometimes they slip and say stuff like "anybody," though, even in contexts where they aren't addressing non-ponies.
** Longer phrases like "on the other hoof" and "stand back you foals."
** [[CaptainObvious There's a pony theme going on.]]
** Oddly averted with "look a gift horse in the mouth", "hungry as a horse", &c..
** What Twilight says to Applejack in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" also counts as a LastSecondWordSwap to viewers.
-->'''Twilight Sparkle''': AJ, I think you're beating a dead... ''(camera zooms out to reveal Applejack's been trying to buck apples off a dead tree)'' ...tree.
* HumiliationConga: Gilda at the party in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]," who angrily blames Pinkie Pie for a string of pranks pulled on her. [[spoiler:Turns out Gilda's friend ''Rainbow Dash'' was the one behind the pranks, and it was just a coincidence that Gilda set them all off.]]
** What happens to poor Twilight when she tries to help Fluttershy wake the animals in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]."
** Twilight again in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]," throughout pretty much the whole episode.
** Almost the entire cast [[spoiler: save for Spike who wasn't there and Twilight Sparkle who was just standing around]] gets pounded with this trope in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]
* HypocriticalHumor: A couple of examples thoughout the series. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]."..
-->'''Rarity:''' ''You talk about it [Her tree, Bloomberg] as if it's your baby or something.''\\
'''Apple Jack:''' ''Who're you calling a baby?! Bloomberg's no baby! *Nuzzles her tree* [[BabyTalk Don't let widdle Warity make you all saddy-waddy! Bloomberg's a big and strong apple tree. Yes he is!]]''//
** Also, in ''Green Isn't Your Color'' Spike gets mad at Twilight, for telling someone about his crush on Rarity...while he's wearing a fanboyish t-shirt with her picture on.
* IDyeGrass: In Equestria, ponies are responsible for the rising of the sun and moon, the weather, the changing of the seasons and the survival of animals.
** This has evidently been going on for so long that the reason the Ponies are so freaked out by Everfree Forest is because nature is getting on along fine by itself there.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]," it's shown that clouds, snow and rainbows are all made in a factory.
* IWantSong: Played straight with Twilight's verses in "Winter Wrap-Up"; played with in "At the Gala" in an [[ThePrincessAndTheFrog Almost There-ish]] way in that the ponies are singing about what they want with the anticipation that it's going to happen soon, not in some distant future.
* ImagineSpot:
** They happen several times in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]," where Twilight's friends fantasize about going to the Grand Galloping Gala.
** Twilight imagines the Parasprites carrying away Princess Celestia in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]," the ponies worry about Rarity in the clutches of the Diamond Dogs, and Spike imagines himself [[IndulgentFantasySegue charging in and saving her single-handedly]].
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: "I think I hear my laundry calling."
** In another situation, "I'm powerful late for...something."
** Applejack "looking" at the time when her wrist is completely empty.
*** Rainbow Dash ''drawing'' a wristwatch onto her foreleg to look at the time. (Her and Fluttershys' excuse for avoiding Pinkie Pie's party, which was the most ridiculous, was the one that Pinkie Pie chose to believe.)
* InNameOnly: Most of the main characters have names taken from the previous ''MyLittlePony'' cartoon, but that's just out of convenience. Lauren Faust had no interest in any of the old cartoons, and based the characters' personalities on how she used to play with her own My Little Pony toys as a kid -- toys that weren't even of the same characters except for Applejack.
** Not exactly; see "Composite Character" above for proof that Faust ''was'' aware of older characters, but couldn't actually use them because trademarks from TheEighties had expired.
** Spike is referred to as a baby dragon mainly because there was a baby dragon named Spike in previous incarnations of the show - even though he's [[WiseBeyondTheirYears much smarter than you would expect from a baby dragon]] and has a serious crush on ([[VagueAge apparently]]) much older Rarity. It gets especially weird in Hasbro's recent SpinoffBabies coloring pages like "Young Fluttershy," "Young Applejack" etc. where Spike has his own "Young Spike" design, even though [[FridgeLogic he's already supposed to be a baby]]. Granted, it wouldn't be too interesting for kids to color a picture of a dragon egg.
*** Then again, even if Spike is around 10 years old, that's still quite young by dragon standards -- in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]," the adult dragon's nap is expected to take a hundred years.
*** In ''The Cutie Mark Chronicles'', Twilight used magic to hatch Spike when she herself was very young. Assuming the main six ponies are roughly the same age (yes, realising that Fluttershy is a year older than Pinkie Pie), Spike might not be that much younger than Rarity after all.
*** Spike needs more sleep at night than the other characters as a result of being a baby dragon. This is brought up in both "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Elements Of Harmony]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]".
* InterspeciesRomance: "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" shows us that they have mules in Equestria, which leads to conclusion that ponies can have babies with (yet unmentioned) donkeys.
** Also, Spike's (one-sided) crush on Rarity (dragon/unicorn).
* InnocentCohabitation: Twilight and Spike live in the same house and even share the same bedroom. Of course, nothing is even remotely implied, since Spike is just a baby dragon and he is only interested on Rarity to begin.
* IronicEcho: Played with. During "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]," Fluttershy says to Rainbow Dash (who's suffering a bad case of scenic panic) that there's nothing to feel nervous about facing a crowd of ponies who will watch, criticize and judge each and every of her moves. Later, during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]" Photo Finish gives Fluttershy a similar speech when the nervous pegasus is about to begin her first modeling pass.
** "Pinkie Pie, you are so ''random''" has a very different connotation between "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," Pinkie says "Okie dokey, Loki" with great enthusiasm. The next time she says it, however, it's with great skepticism.
* IstanbulNotConstantinople: Strangely averted by characters making references to our Earth -- Twilight calling Spike "{{Casanova}}" and "[[RomeoAndJuliet Romeo]]"; Spike wanting a "FuManchu beard" in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]"; and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" with French ''haute couture'', Dutch apple pie, and constellations as seen from Earth including [[FurryConfusion Sagittarius]].
** What's strange about Sagittarius? It has the body of a pony and the head of a mythical creature.
*** The strange thing is that in order for the stars to form the same constellations we see on Earth, the planet Equestria is on would have to be in the same general region. It's not a big deal if you imagine the planet is like an alternate Earth, but it does seem kinda strange. TheLegendOfZelda does the same thing.
**** Not necessarily true, if the solar system is close enough, astronomically speaking. Space is vast enough that the view of constellations from nearby stars will remain mostly the same (only the nearest stars would significantly shift in perspective, including our Sun). See [[http://earthsky.org/space/night-sky-appearance here]]
***** You could also consider the idea that Equestria is a parallel magical world to Earth, which brings new meaning to the term 'Earth Pony'.
* JerkJock: The three male pegasi who bully Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. Their cutie marks are a dumbbell, three basketballs, and three American footballs.
** Rainbow Dash herself and Applejack are milder examples of Jerk Jocks when they laugh at Twilight for entering the Running of the Leaves.
* TheJimmyHartVersion[=/=]StandardSnippet: Used frequently.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" features takes on the ''{{Bonanza}}'' theme and AaronCopland's ''Rodeo'' in quick succession.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]" features a stand-in for [[BennyHill "Yakety Sax"]].
*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]" reuses it, with some slight differences.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" has the equivalent of a LockAndLoadMontage set to what sounds like the ''{{A-Team}}'' theme.
** "Call to the Post," the standard fanfare opening a horse race, is used in the Running of the Leaves in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]," while TheJimmyHartVersion of the Notre Dame Victory March shows up during the Iron Pony Competition.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]," Rarity performs to the JimmyHartVersion of ''Swan Lake'', and the song that plays over the view of the colosseum sounds a lot like the theme from {{Gradius}}.
** "Art of the Dress" is based on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-836TtoF_5I "Putting it Together."]]
** "At the Gala" is based on another Sondheim musical number, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpM4KDxUg_0 "Ever After"]] from ''IntoTheWoods'' -- which, if you know the context, fits perfectly with the "subverted Cinderella" theme.
* JustifiedTrope: Revealing the source of a seemingly hard-to-justify trope is often used as a punchline.
* KafkaKomedy: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a LighterAndSofter variation of this.
* {{Kaiju}}: A few. A sea monster, two dragons, two giant bears, a hydra. Fortunately, TalkingTheMonsterToDeath is sometimes an option.
* KillerRabbit: Angel is a light-hearted take on one. The Parasprites too -- especially when [[spoiler:they start trying to eat ''Ponyville''.]]
* LadiesAndGerms: The brilliant line "Fillies and gentlecolts."
* LargeHam: Rarity, especially when she starts wallowing in "whatever ponies are supposed to wallow in" in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]."
** THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!
** Philomena [[spoiler: playing up her death scene before bursting into flames]].
--> '''Celestia:''' Rather melodramatic, if you ask me.
* LetsMockTheMonsters: Pinkie Pie sings a song about it in part 2 of the pilot.
** Rarity also pulls this on the Diamond Dogs in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]."
-->'''Rarity:''' What '''is''' that smell?\\
'''Diamond Dog:''' Smell?\\
'''Rarity:''' Ah. Mystery solved. It's your breath.
* LethalChef: Applejack, who is otherwise one of the best cooks in town, becomes one in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" when under the effects of overworking and (heavily implied) sleep deprivation.
** It's entirely possible that Pinkie Pie is one, what with Mr. and Mrs. Cake being uncertain about leaving the shop in her hands without an experienced baker to help her, the fact that she's a poor judge of taste (she has no problem eating cupcakes that are badly burnt or covered in hot sauce), and the wrapped candies and bestickèd lollipops she tosses into Apple Bloom's cupcakes.
* TheLibby: One of the most important lessons Lauren Faust seems to want to teach girls is how to deal with bitches without becoming one yourself. Examples include:
** Gilda
** Trixie
** Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the two fillies who bully Apple Bloom in school.
* LightningCanDoAnything: It topples trees and it strikes down royal guardsponies. It also gives Spike the hiccups.
* TheLostWoods: Everfree Forest.
* LongingForFictionland: Fairly common within the fandom, as seen in many [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/17905 fanarts]] and [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/story-conversion-bureau.html stories]], as well as in typical reactions to them.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Spike falls in love with Rarity the moment he sees her. However his crush seems to be only shown occasionally, probably due to the preference of certain writers. For example, in "Ticket Master," he doesn't seem to feel anything for her at all and doesn't react when Rarity talks about her love-destiny "Him." In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]," he wants to impress her with a mustache (and beard, for some reason), in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]," he fantasizes about rescuing her from the Diamond Dogs, and he's practically all over her in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]."
* LowerDeckEpisode: "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]" is all about Apple Bloom, Applejack's little sister who had previously only been a minor character, as well as her young friends, who are fleshed out in this ep after only getting background roles in the past.
** In fact, the Cutie Mark Crusaders appear to exist specifically for this purpose.
* MadLibsDialogue: ''[[http://promos.treehousetv.com/mlp-friendship/make_a_story.aspx Magical Moments Storybook]]'', a flash game on Treehouse TV's website, has this.
* MagicAIsMagicA: Curses, hexes, and visions of the future indicated by physical symptoms are superstitious nonsense, says the magical talking unicorn.
** Though she's right about curses and hexes, so far as we know.
** Also, said magical talking unicorn lives in a world '''''full''''' of other magical talking unicorns, magical talking ponies, and magical [[ShapedLikeItself flying pegasi.]]
* MasculineLinesFeminineCurves: This shows up in the ponies' facial structure.
* MeaningfulName: Many of the characters are named after their talents and behaviors.
** The mane cast in particular:
*** Fluttershy for being able to fly[[hottip:*:[[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/39270057/ Although not originally--in G3, she was originally a ''shutterfly'' and came with a camera]]]] and for being... well... [[ShrinkingViolet shy]].
*** This new Rainbow Dash, who has rainbow hair but can also fly really fast.
*** Applejack [[ThemeNaming and family]], all named after apple-related stuff. Plus, she gathers apples and makes apple "accessories."..
*** Pinkie Pie, [[CaptainObvious who is pink]] and has an affinity for sweets and desserts.
*** Rarity has an affinity for precious gems and jewelry.
*** ''Twilight'' Sparkle solved the conflict between the Sun/Day and Moon/Night deities.
*** [[CaptainObvious Spike has spikes.]]
** Trixie uses her magic to do tricks.
** Photo Finish is a photographer.
** Applejack's sophisticated, city-dwelling aunt and uncle, seen in "Cutie Mark Chronicles," are named "Orange," as in the phrase "apples and oranges" (which is used to explain how completely different two given things are).
** Silver Spoon is a RichBitch who doesn't appear to be much good for anything.
** Scootaloo, who is a demon on her scooter.
** Princess Celestia, who controls the sun, and her sister Luna, who oversees the moon.
** Spitfire and [[WorldwidePunomenon Soarin]], two members of stunt-flying team the Wonderbolts.
** Hoity Toity, who ... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is.]]
** Snips and Snails, two immature young colts who are named after the "what are little boys made of?" rhyme.
** Cheerilee even [[LampShading lampshades]] this when explaining to her students how she got her cutie mark, by explaining that she aims to bring cheer and smiles to the little fillies and colts in her care.
** Derpy's official name, Ditzy Doo, comes from a known piloting maneuver called the dipsy-doodle. Bear in mind she ''can fly''.
** Equestria, the name of the land, is derived from "Equus," the genus of the Animal Kingdom containing horses.
* MerchandiseDriven: Naturally, but this show deserves special mention for showing how this can have an upside (assuming tons of merchandise for fans to buy doesn't already count as one): The Hub has been really lax about keeping episodes off [=YouTube=] and public download sites, since the show itself isn't where the real money is anyway. The full episodes are also posted to their own site six days after airing, though they don't stay up very long.
* MickeyMousing: Notably, every episode has a score composed mostly from scratch rather than relying on library music, although a few cues from previous episodes are sometimes reused. (There's also a specific arrangement of the traditional ''MyLittlePony'' theme that plays at the end of most, but not all, episodes when [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle Twilight writes her letter to Princess Celestia.]]) For the use of {{Standard Snippet}}s, see above under TheJimmyHartVersion.
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is a standard ability for all unicorns; also see MundaneUtility.
** Pegasi seem to have some kind of [[{{Superman}} "tactile telekinesis"]], because the vehicles they pull behind them hover instead of dangling straight down from the harness.
* MoodWhiplash: Near the end of episode 17, we go from the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing around in the woods to [[spoiler:Fluttershy finding Twilight turned to stone. It gets even more horrifying a few moments later when we see a snail crawling slimily across the surface of Twilight's ''petrified eyeball''.]]
** In episode one, [[spoiler: Nightmare Moon returns and makes it eternally night, aaaaaaaand cue the happy ending tune!]]
* MotorMouth: Pinkie Pie, full stop. She even needs to stop for air before continuing with her verbal tsunami.
** Applebloom as well, during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]." She inhaled before releasing her own verbal tsunamis, though.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" showed that ''Fluttershy'', of all ponies, can also turn into a MotorMouth when she's pressed enough.
* {{Muggles}}: Earth ponies; they neither have the magical ability of unicorns, nor the flying ability of pegasi. They are said to be stronger and tougher than other ponies, though, and WordOfGod says they have a "special connection" to the land.
* MundaneUtility: The unicorns use their magic horns for picking up books, straightening papers, and eating sandwiches. Basically, unicorn magic counts as having an extra pair of "hands", which is particularly useful when you don't ''have'' hands in the first place.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tropes N-Z]]
* NeverSayDie: Pinkie Pie's swear from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]" starts with "Cross my heart and hope to ''fly''..." It's worth noting, though, that death isn't a completely taboo subject for the show - in another episode, Twilight vows to find a way to help with the Winter Wrap-Up "even if it kills me."
%% Which, if you think it through, is such an incredibly stupid vow that it may not even count since it's obviously not said with having in mind ''actual'' death.
** After losing her last feather, Philomena gasps, collapses limply, [[LargeHam gasps once more]], drops for seven seconds off a tall statue, ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill spontaneously combusts]]'' and ends up as a heap of dust in Fluttershy's hooves. Twilight's summary? "There's been a terrible accident." [[spoiler: Philomena's a {{Phoenix}}, of course, so she's fine in the end, but even Princess Celestia avoids mentioning the classic death-and-rebirth thing. Apparently a Pony phoenix renews itself by "shedding all of its feathers and bursting into flame." Which is totally not dying.]]
*** Princess Celestia even calls it "playing a trick," implying the bird is doing it on her own free will.
* NewGamePlus: Completing ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/mlp-adventures-in-ponyville Adventures in Ponyville]]'' once lets you play as a pegasus. Completing it twice lets you play as a unicorn.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Twilight Sparkle uses her magic to stop the Parasprites from eating all the food in Ponyville. It works, except that the spell makes the Parasprites ignore the food and start eating the TOWN instead.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" Rarity's mission to provide moral support for Rainbow Dash suddenly turns into Rarity's [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism runaway ego trip]] that only hastens Dash's collapse into a [[TroubledFetalPosition quivering nervous wreck.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," Pinkie Pie tries to settle a territory dispute between settlers and the native buffalo herd by singing about sharing. The sheriff and the buffalo chief finally come to an agreement...that it was the worst performance they'd ever seen. When the buffalo are on the verge of backing down from their threat of a stampede, Pinkie Pie's ill-timed reprisal of the song triggers the chief's BerserkButton.
** The main ponies' efforts to have the reality of the Gala meet their expectations in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" end up wreaking havoc at the Gala itself. [[spoiler:[[BatmanGambit It turns out Princess Celestia had hoped this would happen]] in order to bring some life to the event.]]
* [[NobodyPoops Nopony Poops]]: Partly averted -- excretion itself isn't mentioned, but Spike compares [[EpicFail Twilight's bird nest]] to an outhouse.
** Rainbow Dash did use the term "horse apples" in the same sense that primates would use comparable terms.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** The super manly tennis player pony seen during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]" seems to be based on former Tennis player Andre Kirk Agassi during his prime.
** Fashion designer Hoity Toity in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" is based on Karl Lagerfeld. (The same episode also references Greta Garbo's [[GrandHotel "I vant to be alone."]])
** The Best Young Flyer Competition's backstage manager in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" resembles Lucille Ball.
** On the same episode, the contest's announcer is a pegasus version of John Madden.
** Photo Finish from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]" kinda looks like a pony version of ''Vogue'' magazine editor Anna Wintour.
* NoExportForYou:
** Of the worst kind. The episodes are only released on the iTunes Store, Which does not sell videos to those living in the remaining two thirds of the world. Those who can't get Boomerang, which airs the show in these areas, are screwed. And rubbing salt on the wound, all the videos on The Hub's website are region locked, even the short clips.
** Also, Panini Group publishes a German ''MLP'' magazine that featured exclusive content, including at least four comics and at least one story.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Some ponies in the show have distinct character designs such as Princesses Celestia and Luna, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and Snips and Snails. Extras with unique designs have also appeared such as the bartender from "Over the Barrel."
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Twilight Sparkle falls for quite a while before Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy grab her in mid-air, without any damage, in part II of the pilot.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" Rarity falls for 50 seconds, which in Earth's gravity and air resistance would be at least a mile. Rainbow Dash accelerates to Mach 1, straight down, before catching her and making an instant 90-degree turn.
*** [[http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3/7349t.jpg Somepony did the math.]] The short version? ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Rainbow Dash was pulling approximately 1670 Gs.]]"
*** That math is only accounting for the speed of sound. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muVfidujxRg Some other pony did the math.]] She wasn't going at the speed of sound. She hit Mach 4.7 and was going 11Gs before the turn.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," after falling from a cloud high in the sky, a young Fluttershy is saved by a swarm of butterflies, just a couple feet above the ground.
* OffModel: While the mane focus of most scenes is animated well, backgrounds and particularly background ponies tend to exhibit a surprising lot of [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/list/animation_error/1 cut corners]].
* OffscreenTeleportation: Usually done by Pinkie Pie, but some of the others have used this ability.
** During her cupcakes song, Pinkie even popped into the foreground while she was still in the background two times.
* TheOneGuy: Spike
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Pony]]: This is how Twilight Sparkle feels when she first comes to Ponyville. It doesn't help that the first pony she meets there is [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]].
** Averted for Twilight with "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]." She goes a bit obsessive to check the list to the point where she thinks that ''a big tree crashing in her home'' is part of a sleepover.
** Apple Bloom also qualifies as this in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," as she was the only one who didn't jump to conclusions about Zecora after the "curses" occured.
** One of the great things about the show is that the characters are multi-faceted enough that many of them can take up the Only Sane Mare role depending on the situation. Even ''Pinkie'' flirts with this role in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]."
** For example, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]" where [[spoiler:the girls discover that [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight Pinkie Pie was right all along]] about the true nature of the Parasprites and the correct way to get rid of them.]]
** Averted in a larger sense in that while Twilight is typically the sanest cast member, she does not go around complaining about the quirks of the others. Instead, she tries to fit in.
* OnlySixFaces: Most of the ponies look like any other pony of their sex and age group, with some swapping around of hair and manes, custom eyes for some of the main characters (Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rarity) and adding horns or wings if necessary. The major exceptions to this are Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Big Macintosh, and Snips and Snails, of all ponies.
** Lauren Faust has said that she wanted to include a wider variety of body types, even among the main cast, but decided against it because most of the animators were working overtime as it was, and she didn't want to add to that unnecessarily.
* OpenTheIris[=/=]WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Done a ''lot''. Eyes in this show are impossibly expressive, and changes in both iris and pupil size carry meaning.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Obviously there's Spike, but "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" feature more typical Western dragons. Though he's called a serpent, it's obvious [[FanNickname Steven Magnet]] from the pilot is based off Eastern dragons.
* PaletteSwap: The show makes use of it throughout the series. The most prominent are the male and female pony templates and various stock mane and tail designs that are reused, mixed and matched together then recolored to create the background ponies (you can see some that look exactly alike but are different in color schemes). Surprisingly, duplicate cutie marks within the background ponies are rare.
** The mane cast and other significant characters also use the body type templates. Their unique designs are what makes them stand out above the rest of the population.
** The white nurse pony from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" has a palette swap background pony from the same scene.
** The two spa owners from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]" have the same character design but with inverted color schemes.
** The green dragon that appeared in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" is a palette swap of the red dragon in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]."
* PaperThinDisguise: Fluttershy was able to avoid all her fans in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]" just by hiding her face behind glasses and a fancy hat. Of course, once Twilight accidently knocked the disguise away, everypony instantly recognized Fluttershy.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," Philomena avoids Twilight and Fluttershy by wearing an obviously fake moustache. Keep in mind that Philomena looks like a plucked chicken in a town populated entirely by ponies.
** Subverted: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]", Pinkie Pie compounds disguises to include Groucho glasses, a square hay bale, and a coat and hat. While this is not a strict paper thin disguise, as you can not see any of Pinkie Pie, it is obviously her to the audience as she would be the only character to wear stuff like that. The disguise seems to work initially when Fluttershy sees her and runs away scared, but the trope becomes subverted when Rainbow Dash doesn't notice the disguise as she says 'hi' in passing.
* ParentalAbandonment: As with all MLP franchises, nopony has a visible parent and the issue of where little ponies come from is ignored altogether. This is [[FridgeLogic a bit strange]], though, given that there are at least ''two'' grandparents mentioned -- Granny Smith of the Apple clan, and Granny Pie, who was mentioned by Pinkie in "Giggle at the Ghostly." Notably, Granny Pie seems to take the normally maternal role of comforting Pinkie after a night fright.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," we meet Twilight and Pinkie's respective parents, but only in flashbacks. And even then, [[UnreliableNarrator we can't really be sure that those were really Pinkie's parents.]]
*** Said episode seems to make the point that the mane cast members have parents but are old enough to live on their own. Strangely enough, Applejack and Rarity both have younger sisters, but no visible parents, which plays this straight.
*** Likewise, sisters Celestia and Luna; particularly noticeable because Celestia is the ruling monarch of Equestria, but still goes by the title of "Princess".
**** Which, technically speaking, merely means that Equestria is a Principality (a nation ruled by a prince or princess). (And also a theocracy if Celestia and Luna really are to be considered deities.)
* ParentalBonus:
** More like an Older-Fandom Bonus, a brilliant move given that G1 collectors are now old enough to watch the show with their children. There are dozens upon dozens of references to the G1 cartoon throughout.
*** Additionally, some fans have already argued that the core cast of Ponies are rough {{Expy}}s of the core cast from the G1 cartoon. To wit, Twilight Sparkle is like a combination of Magic Star and Paradise, Applejack is similar to Gusty with Wind Whistler's TeamMom tendencies, Rainbow Dash could be Firefly's daughter, Pinkie Pie reminds us an awful lot of Fizzie and Surprise, Rarity is essentially a toned-down Heart-throb, and Fluttershy is almost sweeter than Sweet Stuff.
**** Also, [[http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/File:History-concept.jpg this helpful chart]] explains G1 & G4 correlations for both their looks and personalities. A lot of it had to do with Copywrite issues, but there's more info on the chart.
*** Twilight's mom looks a lot like G1 Twilight.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," Spike nicknames a shrunken Applejack "Appletini."
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" references the stereotype of construction workers making catcalls at female passersby when a group of construction worker pegasi gawk at Rarity's temporary gossamer butterfly wings.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" had a scene where an old, worn out (and blatantly alcoholic) pony is kicked out from Appleloosa's equivalent of a canteen.
** "Over a Barrel" also featured one from Fluttershy on the train:
--->'''Twilight:''' [''After Spike walks off in a huff''] Well that was kinda huffy...\\
'''Fluttershy:''' [[PuffTheMagicDragon Huffy the Magic Dragon]]!\\
''(Everypony laughs)''
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird In The Hoof]]" there is a chase scene that mimics the style of chase scene in the British comedy show [[Main/TheBennyHillShow "The Benny Hill Show"]]. It even uses similar music to make is a true reference.
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell "Owl's Well That Ends Well"]], Spike falls asleep inside of a punch bowl, which makes Pinkie Pie quip the punch had been... "Spiked."
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver "The Best Night Ever"]] has Rarity stop the others from letting Spike inside the room where they are getting dressed. She's promptly reminded they don't usually wear clothes.
** Fluttershy's hummingbird friend, [[ErnestHemingway Hummingway]].
** This even extends to advertising for the show: one billboard ad for the series is [[http://mylittleponycollecting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/265953_244821235535321_118429394841173_1152959_1731848_o.jpg done as a parody of]] ''{{Bridesmaids}}'', a movie aimed at opposite end of the age spectrum.
** There's also a commercial from The Hub that parodies Apple's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYFWwOeJCo0 There's An App For That]] ad for the [=iPhone=], with tons of {{Freeze Frame Bonus}}es, including a nod to [[http://www.equestriadaily.com Equestria Daily]].
* PeekABangs: The bully boys at [[FloatingContinent Cloudsdale]] to some degree and young Fluttershy to the max. Even grown up Fluttershy still does it from time to time when she is especially shy.
* PieInTheFace: Chief Thunder Hooves of the Buffalo herd received one, and it was treated as if he received a gunshot wound. Then he found out it was delicious.
** Pinkie Pie does it to herself in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof "A Bird in the Hoof"]].
* PlotRelevantAgeUp: Luna to Nightmare Moon, and possibly implied with her sister Celestia as they share similar powers and origins.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Pinkie Pie knows the Parasprites are going to cause trouble from the very beginning, but doesn't even try to warn anyone. She just says "Now I need to find a trombone!" and runs off.
** Averted in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]," since the plot is driven by deliberate secret-keeping rather than a character's inability to articulate.
** The entire plot of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]" could have been avoided entirely if Princess Celestia had simply [[spoiler:mentioned that Philomena was a phoenix]].
* ThePowerOfFriendship: That whole 'Friendship is Magic' thing? They're not just speaking metaphorically. Although they are ''also'' speaking metaphorically. [[AnAesop Repeatedly, and at length.]]
** It's taken literally in the pilot. In the other episodes, it's mostly metaphorically.
* PrehensileHair: Nightmare Moon [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty strokes Rarity's cheek]] with her mane.
** Applejack can use her tail to twirl a lasso.
** Say hello to Princess Celestia and her [[http://www.moondancerdreaming.com/images/random/PrincessCelestia2.jpg gravity defying hairdo.]]
** It is apparently in the SeriesBible that [[FeatherFingers the Ponies cannot manipulate things with their hooves]], so this is occasionally used to work around that.
*** Pinkie Pie has been seen eating an apple while holding it in her hoof, and when a non-unicorn in the background needs to use a two-handed instrument, the hooves apparently become fair game. So "never" might not be appropriate.
* [[PinkBishoujoGhetto Pretty Pink Pony Ghetto]]: Not in the literal sense (Ponyville seems to have just as many male ponies as female), but as far as the central cast is concerned (discounting Spike, who is both younger and a different species). This may be one of the reasons that LesYay ships have become so popular among the show's older fans.
* {{Pride}}: Seems to be a common [[MrViceGuy not-so-]]FatalFlaw in Equestria: Twilight Sparkle takes a lot of pride in being Princess Celestia's apprentice, which may factor into her initial "I don't need friends" attitude; Rainbow Dash is a massive braggart; Applejack refuses to accept anyone's offers of help with the "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" because she's too stubborn to admit she needs it...
** The episode with Trixie is mainly about how Twilight Sparkle doesn't want to come off as having this sin by showing off her powers since that's what Trixie is doing.
* [[PromotedFanboy Promoted Fangirl]]: Lauren Faust played with the G1 toys as a child. (She even named her {{deviantART}} handle, fyre-flye, after her favorite MLP character.) On the other hand, she was not a fan of the original show, and probably would have hated most of the older animated incarnations anyway.
* PunBasedTitle: Episodes so far include
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]" ("a bird in the hand")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]" (after ''{{Ghostbusters}}'')
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]" ("idle gossip")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" ("dragonfly" and "gun-shy." also see EpunymousTitle entry, above)
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]" ("fair weather friends")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon the Brush Off]]" ("given the brush-off")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]" ("look before you leap")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" ("all's well that ends well")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]" (includes TitleDrop, after the exercise equipment [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairmaster Stairmaster]] )
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]" ("storm of the century")
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]" (after the entertainment company [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticketmaster Ticketmaster]])
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" (mashup of "winter wrap" and "wrap up")
* PunnyName: Fashion photographer Photo Finish (named after a term used in horse racing), Nightmare Moon (see Stealth Pun entry, below), and all of the Apple-loosans (see EdibleThemeNaming entry, above).
** The town of Appleloosa is a play on "Appaloosa," a breed of horse.
** Likewise, the sky-city of Cloudsdale is a play on the "Clydesdale" breed.
** Canterlot = Camelot + "Canter"
** Hoofington = Huffington + "Hoof"
** Fillydelphia = Philadelphia + "Filly"
** Manehattan = Manhattan + "Mane"
** Twilight's new owl friend in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" is named Owlowiscious (a play on the name "Aloysius").
** Fluttershy has a hummingbird friend named [[ErnestHemingway Hummingway]].
* QuirkyTown: Ponyville is a textbook example of this. Appleloosa fits the bill too; they even have [[VisualPun horse drawn horse-drawn carriages.]]
* QuiveringEyes: Mainly used by the cuter characters.
* RedOniBlueOni: Each type of pony has two representatives, and each duo provides a clear contrast between them:
** Earth pony Applejack is [[CloserToEarth down to earth]], straightforward, and much calmer than the [[CloudCuckoolander bouncy and bubbly]] Pinkie Pie.
** Of the unicorns, Twilight's serious and [[GrumpyBear somewhat grumpy nature]] highlights Rarity's nature as a [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel hopeless romantic]] and dreamer.
** Pegasus Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, is an extremely confident {{Tomboy}} to Fluttershy's [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl shyer and uncertain Girly Girl]].
** Other relationships show signs of this; for instance, Applejack is a BlueOni to the more [[LeeroyJenkins gung-ho and impulsive]] Dash, but a RedOni compared to the [[NeatFreak prim]] Rarity.
*** It's safe to say that all of the Mane Cast act as {{Foil}}s to one another in some respect. Whenever we see any two ponies paired, the aspects of their personalities that stand out the most for that episode are highlighted because of their contrast.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Pinkie's pet alligator Gummy may be an aversion. It does appear to be trying to bite Pinkie repeatedly, but that could just be how it shows affection.
** And let's not forget Spike who is one of the more adorable characters on the show.
*** Played with the other dragons seen so far: Both the red dragon and the green dragon were jerks, but then the ponies and Spike themselves gave them a good reason to become ''aggressive jerks.''
* RevealShot: This show is all about camera dynamics. For example, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]," the camera is zoomed into Twilight Sparkle's face as she wakes up to hide the fact that her horn is [[spoiler:"cursed" by Poison Joke.]]
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The latest incarnation of Spike is a rather AffectionateParody of his traditional portrayal.
** The ponies themselves qualify in this incarnation, thanks to Lauren Faust's distillation of their designs.
*** Even moreso in "Cutie Mark Chronicles," where the mane cast has flashbacks to the days when they were just little fillies. It also shows Spike just after he was born.
** Pretty much anything in the series that isn't supposed to be scary falls under this, especially Applejack's dog, Winona, and the bunnies that Fluttershy takes care of. [[KillerRabbit Even if Angel wants to kill you]].
** The Parasprites even qualify in-universe. Fluttershy can't resist keeping one, because they're so ''cute.''
* RomanceGenreHeroines: According to Lauren Faust, the main girls are based around these.
** [[TheHero Twilight]] [[TheSmartGuy Sparkle]] is The Librarian
** [[GenkiGirl Pinkie]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pie]] is The Free Spirit
** [[BadassNormal Applejack]] is The Boss
** [[BewareTheNiceOnes Fluttershy]] is The Nurturer
** [[{{Tomboy}} Rainbow]] [[ActionGirl Dash]] is The Crusader
** [[TheOjou Rarity]] is The Waif
* RuleOfCool:
** Birds have to keep flapping their wings in order to stay airborne, and hitting anything will cause them to fall -- unless you are giving a mid-air high-five to the princess's awesome pet, Philomena.
** Crossing the sound barrier doesn't create a spectacular light show, it's just extremely noisy -- also, any light would reach any witnesses before the audible shockwave, instead of the other way around... unless caused by a rainbow-haired pegasus.
* RuleOfCute:
** An adorable, ''baby'' fire-breathing dragon is permitted to live in a library full of paper books and scrolls.
*** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Spike's fire breath serves as a magical mail service. If he were to start a fire in the library it would probably be more inconvenient than disastrous. Inconvenient and [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]]. (re. "Griffon the Brush-off")
*** Averted in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" when [[spoiler:Spike accidentally sneezes into an important book, with predictable results. Twilight is less than pleased.]] And he's able to bake cakes with his fire in "A Bird in the Hoof".
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," when visiting Manehattan, a young Applejack is shown carrying a BindleStick -- without actually holding on to it, but somehow effortlessly balancing it across her back despite the high end being heavier than the lower end.
** Also in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," after falling from a cloud high in the sky, a young Fluttershy is saved by a swarm of butterflies, just a couple feet above the ground.
*** YMMV: Fluttershy, like all Pegasus Ponies, can walk on clouds. Taking into account that a swarm of blutterflies can have more consistency than a mass of vaporized water, I think that's entirely possible, as she wouldn't have crushed the butterflies, but rather landed on them, like she did.
**** So in effect, it's [[AWizardDidIt pegasus magic]].
***** Or they were made of Dark Matter
* RuleOfDrama:
** When settler ponies raising apple trees are offered a chance to find out why a buffalo tribe doesn't want them around, while at the same time the buffalo could find out why the ponies planted trees on their land, the main characters get in the way and accidentally push both sides into an actual battle.
** When a visiting stage magician brags about how great her powers are and starts humiliating some of the main characters, the character who knows magic like the back of her hoof refuses to do anything because she's afraid of also appearing to be a show-off.
* RuleOfFunny:
** A pony-drawn locomotive (that is, a train with a working steam engine being pulled along by horses).
** In the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" we see one of the ponies who ate bad muffins throwing up into a bucket. Real horses can't vomit, but cartoon animals do.
** Pretty much ''anything'' Pinkie Pie does.
*** In particular, Pinkie Pie once appeared in a mirror to chastise Twilight for telling Spike's not-so-secret secret.
* RuleOfPerception: Played with in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]": when Apple Bloom is trying to hide, she chooses several spots that would be in plain sight to anyone actually at the party, but hide her from the ''viewers''.
** At the beginning of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]], when Rarity walks in front of Rainbow Dash, she randomly starts hovering in order to remain visible to the camera.
* RuleOfThree: Each of the main ponies' cutie marks except Twilight's has something to do with the number three. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie have three apples, gems, butterflies and balloons as their cutie marks respectively. The lightning bolt on Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is composed of three colors.
** Also, all of the lead characters bar Twilight Sparkle have exactly three syllables in their names.
** Also applies to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. There are three of them, and all three have names that consist of three syllables.
** There are three types of ponies (Earth ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi), and both the mane cast and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are made up of an even balance between these types.
* RunningGag: Pinkie Pie's random musical numbers. Usually [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]].
** Applejack biting Rainbow Dash's tail to stop her when she tries to dash away or charge against a much stronger foe.
** Three earth ponies called Rose, Daisy and (fan-nicknamed) Lily going hysterical and overblowing things out of proportion at the slightest hint of danger. ("The horror... THE HORROR!")
** Rainbow Dash has a tendency to... drop in unannounced. Onto your head. Hey, she's not called "Rainbow Crash" for nothing.
** Twilight becoming slightly neurotic whenever Princess Celestia comes to Ponyville, insisting everything be perfect for whenever Celestia comes to visit even if it's unofficial.
* SanitySlippage: Briefly occurs to Twilight during the climax of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]."
** She came dangerously close to returning here throughout "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]." Trust us, trying to figure out a pony like Pinkie Pie can make you crazy...
** She tried to work a tree falling through the window into the concept of a slumber party in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]."
** Also in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]," thanks again to Pinkie Pie convincing her "Losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend ''forever''!"
** Pinkie Pie herself experiences this in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," and it's an even more extreme example than the ones above.
** Even [[spoiler:Fluttershy]] suffers this during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" after repeated failures in [[spoiler:getting to spend time with the animals at the gardens of the Gala]], and even caps it off with an EvilLaugh.
* SchizoTech: So far we've seen --
** Anvils and horseshoes, but not one single blacksmith, and the characters don't even ''wear'' horseshoes (they have boots and shoes that fit over hooves, instead).
** Thatched-roof cottages in Ponyville, but a more CrystalSpiresAndTogas style of architecture in Canterlot.
*** ...and even ''skyscrapers'' in [[AWorldwidePunomenon Manehattan]].
** Streetlights that seem to contain fireflies (or [[TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi]]?), but also lanterns containing candles, and flashlights and spotlights as well as light switches.
** Hand-cranked Victrolas and DJ turntables.
** Hot air balloons.
** Horse-drawn plows and chariots.
** Horse-drawn ''[[ThrowItIn locomotives]].''[[hottip:*:WordOfGod [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/1926116751 provides an explanation]].]]
** Horse-drawn carriages -- leading to [[OverlyLongGag Horse drawn, horse-drawn carriages]] (see VisualPun entry, below).
** Hourglasses, cuckoo clocks, pocket watches and stopwatches.
** Photo booths, and old-fashioned daguerrotype cameras that can take color photos.
** Quill pens, corrective tooth braces, implied crimping irons, walkers with tennis balls on the feet, helium tanks with pressure gauges, credit, hip replacement surgery, microphones, megaphones, telescopes, sewing machines, jackhammers, ice boxes...
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]" brought confirmed electricity and added a myriad of tech that seems taken from a Frankenstein movie (for when Twilight Sparkle tries to understand Pinkie Pie's ability to predict the future [[ForScience with SCIENCE!]]).
** Fluttershy has a steam radiator heating system and dehumidifier in her sod-roof cottage.
** Magic, sentient fax machines that look like tiny, adorable dragons.
** Knowledge of comets that seems just a ''little'' too advanced for the displayed technology/society so far in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]."
** The entire town has centralized plumbing, complete with only one shared source for heating water for everypony (Spike managed to use all of it by taking a seven hour bubble bath).
* ScoobyDoobyDoors: Briefly done with a rocking train car's beds in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" and done between Philomena, Twilight and Fluttershy in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]."
** Interestingly enough, the aforementioned scene in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]" doesn't bend physics to the degree that most examples of the trope do. If you watch carefully, the characters always come out of a door that's set in the same house (or adjoining house) as they door they went in.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: During the first season, new episodes were scheduled when its theoretical target audience was at school. The status of the network itself compounds the problem; unlike its [[CartoonNetwork basic-cable]] [[{{Nickelodeon}} competitors]], the Hub is only available as part of an optional package or with satellite.
** NetworkToTheRescue: Then again, recent episodes were shown on the Hub website for free, [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/friendship-is-magic-finally-gets-real.html the show is now being shown three times a day on the Hub network, itself, during the summer when it's younger audience will be off from school]], and every episode can still be found in one form or another on {{YouTube}} since no effort has been made to remove them by the corporations who own the copyrights and trademarks.
* SeriesContinuityError:
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Mare in the Moon]]," the Cutie Mark Crusaders are seen huddling together in fear of Nightmare Moon. The problem? They supposedly first meet in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]," eleven episodes later.
*** FridgeBrilliance, in ''The Cutie Mark Chronicles'' it is said that friends share a special connection, even before they meet.
** In Twilight's {{flashback}} in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," the egg Spike hatched from is shown to have been purple with darker purple spots. But in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Mare in the Moon]]," Spike said that he "started out as a cute little purple-and-green egg." (He could've been wrong, though.)
*** Is it ever stated that that is him? Spike can't be the only dragon with those colors.
*** Also, in various flashbacks where the moon is visible, Nightmare Moon's silhouette is no longer cratered on the surface... did she escape early?
** At the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]", when everypony is given a ticket to the gala, they each appear to pick up their tickets via levitation, when the rest of the series shows that this is a talent which only unicorn ponies have.
*** Note however that the tickets do not possess the purple aura typically indicating unicorn magic. Which means this is either a double SCE, or the tickets are themselves magical, and float to their owners.
* SeriousBusiness: "FOREVER!"
** Twilight Sparkle describes the Winter Wrap Up as this.
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muVfidujxRg&feature=player_embedded This physics analysis of "Sonic Rainboom".]] [[RealMenWearPink Bonus points for sheer balls for presenting it in public.]]
* ShownTheirWork: Someone on staff knows their animals:
** Horses will sometimes raise one of their front legs in a kicking motion when nervous, which is what Fluttershy does when she encounters Twilight Sparkle in the first episode.
** The way the ponies move in general is very well done with the joints bending at the right places and in the right directions.
** Fluttershy also greeted the manticore cat-style, leaning forward with her nose for a moment.
** Sexual dimorphism is accurately depicted in Fluttershy's mallard friends.
** The loon in Fluttershy's fantasy has a red outline on its eye. Red eyes are a distinguishing characteristic of loons.
** Zecora's digging goes unexplained, but real zebras dig for water in the same fashion.
** It could just be a coincidence, but it [[http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7096/1294009768004.jpg would appear]] that potato chips and soda can indeed produce something that could be mistaken for a muffin. (The main problem in that picture seems to be the effects of the melted gummy worms.)
** Ponies move their ears back when angry or frightened, just like real horses do.
** While [[CloudCuckoolander Pinkie]] may be a little strange, in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen," she is shown rolling around in the grass. That's not her being strange, real horses and ponies will roll around in the grass like that.
** In the song "The Art of the Dress" many references are made to actual equine anatomy...and then appropriate parts of the dress are shown being designed and constructed for them, [[ShownTheirWork making it clear]] the writers didn't just grab random words from a "Parts of the Horse" chart.
** Dragons are routinely shown hoarding treasure and eating gemstones. In many myths dragons ingest precious stones in order to fuel their fire.
** In the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]," Fluttershy is shown falling over stiff-leggedly with fear on several occassions... accompanied by the sound of a goat bleating. This may be a reference to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat fainting goats]], a breed of goat which stiffens and falls over when startled.
** Pinkie Pie removing wet pie filling from her face by covering it with molten chocolate, letting it dry and chipping it off is how some animals remove wet residues from their face using mud. The problem is, usually animals that do this are [[CarnivoreConfusion carnivores removing blood.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," filly Fluttershy is drawn differently from most other fillies, having proportionally longer legs than her adult self. This is the correct body proportion for young equines. It also applies to other quadrupeds like deers and antelopes too. Other fillies were drawn in what would be more "human" baby proportions.
*** Although it may have just been a ContinuityNod to "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]" when Fluttershy told Pinkie Pie that she was one year older.
*** It also makes her look like an awkward teenager.
** Unrelated to animals, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Twilight's description of comets in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" (also see SchizoTech above).
** Unrelated to animals as well, but in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]," when the rock Rarity is looking at is broken by the effect of [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom]]. In real life [[spoiler:sound waves]] can break rocks, and they've actually been used to break kidney stones. Also, the writers have shown their geology. Large rocks that are covered in gems when split open? They're called geodes.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: The ponies see their share of AmusingInjuries, particularly Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
** Two Words: Rainbow Crash.
** Most notably, Twilight Sparkle during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]." Ouch.
** Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's rivalry escalates to Tom-and-Jerry levels in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]."
** Philomena vomiting on Fluttershy's face in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]."
* SlidingScaleOfAnimalCommunication: Level 5 - all hoofed animals seem to be able to converse freely with the ponies. Pets, monsters and other creatures reach various levels of IntellectualAnimal, but generally can't communicate beyond their species.
** Fluttershy breaks this occasionally, but she's explicitly stated to be able to understand animals "on a higher level". Probably part of being a FriendToAllLivingThings.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]", where the mane cast take it in turns to try to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath convince a dragon to leave]], only to be roared out of the cave each time in a cloud of smoke. The dragon clearly can't speak, so when Fluttershy begins scolding it [[spoiler:it comes as something of a surprise to hear an ashamed bassy voice reply "But that rainbow one kicked me!"]]
* SlidingScaleOfBeauty: While not made explicit, it is shown that both Rarity and Fluttershy are world class. Rarity was easily able to charm male ponies into drawing their carriage to the Grand Galloping Gala, while Fluttershy became a very popular model in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor "Green Isn't Your Color"]], with Twilight saying that she would never be able to do anything unattractive. This last is up to debate, though, since explicitly a large part of it is indeed [[{{Moe}} the way she behaves]].
* SoapboxSadie: Lampshaded and gently parodied in "Feeling Pinkie Keen", when Twilight steps onto an ''actual soapbox'' to make her speech about magic vs. superstition.
* SpiritualSuccessor: to 1995's WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop in both are zany, witty cartoons based off of otherwise ballyhooed girls toys.
* [[SpoilerOpening Spoiler Ending]]: The credits list the names of [[spoiler:Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle]] as main characters right from the debut episode. Less of a spoiler given that half the season goes by before they appear, and viewers wouldn't know who they are until that point.
* SquashedFlat: Twlight Sparkle in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]." A door slams into her twice in the episode, resulting in this trope. (Sort of)
** Also Applejack in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]," when she hit the ground after missing the mark jumping down onto Rainbow Dash's catapult.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Every other episode each of the main cast needs to re-learn how to be a good friend.
** This might be a meta-Aesop, though - that building and maintaining strong friendships takes constant work.
* StealthPun: When Nightmare Moon is imprisoned in the moon, she appears as a large dark spot on the moon's surface, and is referred to as The Mare in the Moon. A dark spot on the moon is known as a sea, or in Latin, ''mare.''[[hottip:*:Yes, everypony knows it's pronounced differently, but still.]]
** There's also the more obvious pun behind her name where she's a mare who controls the night, making her literally a Nightmare.
** The Wonderbolts are heavily based off of the Blue Angels (and other aerobatics teams),and utilize a winged thunderbolt as their logo. Their dark-mirror Shadowbolts used, as their uniform Cutie Mark, a winged ''skull''. A winged skull logo was also used, at one time, by the ''Hell's'' Angels. Subtle, but very clever.
** The two male ponies, Snips and Snails, are a pun based on the old adage that girls are made of "sugar and spice and everything nice," while boys are made of "snips and snails and puppy dog tails." Given this show's status as a kids' show, it's probably unlikely that we'll see a boy pony named "Puppy Dog Tails," but the other two can work as names in a fictitious environment.
*** It is worth noting that Lauren Faust also wrote Powerpuff Girls, meaning that Snips and Snails might be an allusion to the Rowdyrough Boys.
** The civic leader of Ponyville is an old, grey Mayor.
*** I'm guessing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Gray_Mare she's not what she used to be]]?
** Not very stealthy, but Twilight Sparkle really hopes the legend of Nightmare Moon is just an old 'pony tale'.
** In the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]," Twilight's magic abilities are referred to as "tricks," and Spike mentions that most unicorns can only do a small amount of magic related to their profession. Which, one might say, makes them "one-trick ponies."
*** And the other magically skilled pony in the episode is named Trixie. Tricks-y.
** "You're like the queen of stares!" "You're the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairmaster Stare Master!]]"
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]," [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie eventually leads the parasprites out of Ponyville by luring them out with music. One might almost call her... the Pinkie Pied Piper?]]
** Applejack's story in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]" details her attempt to move to the city to live with her Aunt and Uncle Orange. The CityMouse[=/=]CountryMouse plot is played completely straight, revealing to Applejack that she's nothing like the cityfolk. It's like comparing Apples and Oranges.
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom "Sonic Rainboom"]], Pinkie Pie decides to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skittles_(confectionery) "taste the rainbow"]] but finds it not to her liking.
** "The book said when the five are present, a ''Sparkle'' will cause the sixth element to be revealed."
* StockFootage: There's a lot of detail going into the animation for this show, so the animators sometimes reuse objects in different episodes, sometimes leading to a continuity error. For example, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]", Fluttershy imagines herself befriending Canterlot's wildlife, including various colored jays. Those jays can be seen in a birdhouse near Fluttershy's home in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]", when she and Rainbow Dash are StereoFibbing to Pinkie Pie. Also, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie's gala dresses are in Fluttershy's closet at the beginning of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]".
** Sometimes done for laughs, like Rarity's Hollywood-fainting twice in a row in "Bridle Gossip".
* StockSoundEffect: I ''know'' I've heard the loop used for Pinkie's flying contraption somewhere before.
** There's also the squeeky rubber duck noise whenever anypony smiles really cutely.
*** Spike will make a similar sound when he's physically abused.
** And the crowdwide ''gasp'' that can be heard when Twilight manipulates Fluttershy. Can be heard just before Photo Finish falls backwards.
** Pinkie Pie's gasp when she first sees Twilight in the first episode gets used again throughout the show whenever a gasp is needed.
** One of the roars that the Ursa Minor makes is a stock sound effect that was also used for the Mini Battlelord in ''DukeNukem3D''.
* StoryArc: Although the episodes besides the two-part pilot are self-contained, as Hasbro wanted, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E3TheTicketMaster The Ticket Master]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" form a three-part story arc about the Grand Galloping Gala. The writers were also able to slip in some {{Continuity Nod}}s throughout the first season.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Spike's nickname for Rainbow Dash in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]" was Rainbow Crash. [[spoiler:It turns out to also be her nickname while she was in pegasus flight school.]]
** Also, Spike and Princess Celestia have remarkably similar thought patterns, such as trying to get Twilight to lighten up and make some friends in the pilot, and encouraging the mane cast to hang out together as a group at the Grand Galloping Gala rather than splitting off to do their own things (since the Gala itself is kind of a boring party anyway).
* SugarBowl: Lampshaded in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip Bridle Gossip]]." Zecora lives in the creepy Everfree Forest -- the plants grow, animals care for themselves, and the clouds move -- ''on their own!'' For context, in other parts of Equestria the [[IDyeGrass pegasi schedule the rain, and the other races of equine creatures (ponies and unicorns, primarily) help make the leaves fall, change the seasons, and even control animal migrations.]]
** Equestria sure has some interesting monsters for a Sugar Bowl. Half of the old [[DungeonsAndDragons D&D Monster Manual]] seems to be in that forest.
* SuperStrength: ''All'' the ponies seems to posses strength far beyond their size and figure. From earth ponies pulling a 5 compartment train at full speed; pegasus floating a moving car full of anvils, carts and pianos; to unicorns levitating water towers with ease. Remember that in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogandPonyShow A Dog and a Pony Show]] [[TheFashionista Rarity]] could pull a cart full of diamonds with ease while 3 Diamon dogs could barely move it.
* SureWhyNot: Lauren Faust, as a [[PromotedFanboy Promoted Fangirl]], has listened to the fans very hard, to the point of canonizing [[OriginalCharacter unicorn pegasi]]. (On the other hand, since the only winged unicorns we've seen thus far are [[CharacterTiers God-Tier]], a ''lot'' of Pony-sonas just got a whole lot more [[SpecialSnowflakeSyndrome Sue-y]].)
** She also listens to the fanbase when it comes to which background characters become [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ensemble Darkponies]], and we're gradually seeing this bear fruit. For instance, it's looking more and more likely that Derpy Hooves will be canonized as Ditzy Doo.
** The idea that the pink-haired blue pony who works in the spa (with the FanNickname Lotus) has a twin sister named Aloe originated in FanFiction. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor Green Isn't Your Color]]," we see her {{Palette Swap}}ped twin for the first time.
* TeamMom: Applejack is quickly shaping into this.
** And you may have huge teeth and sharp scales and snore smoke and breathe fire, but [[ThisIsSparta you. Do. NOT.]] Hurt Fluttershy's friends.
* TemptingFate:
** Twilight refuses to believe any of Pinkie Pie's predictions in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]," and ends up on [[HumiliationConga the receiving end of every one of them.]]
** Then in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]" as Twilight finally loses her patience with Applejack and Rarity's constant bickering at her slumber party, she shouts something along the lines of, "Can this night get any worse?" Cue lightning striking a nearby tree, endangering Twilight and her home.
--->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Sorry I asked.
** After Spike [[spoiler:runs away from home]] in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," he trudges through the Everfree Forest and asks himself "Can it get any worse?" It promptly starts raining.
** Twilight does this in "Best Night Ever," too. When she sees [[spoiler: the chaos caused by Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity]], she says "Well, it can't get any worse..." Then, [[spoiler: a horde of animals bursts in, pursued by [[{{Yandere}} a VERY pissed off Fluttershy]].]]
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: The male ponies' manes are less inclined to be particularly frilly or oddly-colored, but that probably has to do with personal grooming.
** As far as secondary characteristics go, males lack eyelashes and have more angular muzzles and narrower ears than females. That's about it, unless the animators [[BadassMustache really want you to be sure.]]
* ThemeTuneCameo: Spike and Fluttershy have both hummed or sang the theme song.
* TheFourLoves: The need of phileos love is a main theme of this series
* ThemeTuneExtended: ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/game-mylittlepony-discover Discover the Difference]]'''s intro features an instrumental version of the theme song with an extended beginning.
* ThickLineAnimation: Though unlike the recent glut of cartoons that use this style, this show has a unique way of going about it, using colored outlines instead of plain black.
* ThirdPersonPerson: [[TheMagnificent The Great and Powerful]] Trixie.
** Rarity, when she's "in the zone, as 'twere."
** I, Photo Finish, am this trope!
* ThisIsSPARTA: Rarity declaring that "IT. IS. ON!" in both "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]."
** As well as Rainbow Dash's repeated claims that the ending of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" was the "BEST. DAY. '''EVER!'''"
** "The NIGHT! Will LAST! FOREVER! [[EvilLaugh Mwuahahahaahahahaaa!]]"
** "You do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!"
* TitleDrop:
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Elements of Harmony]]," [[spoiler:TheReveal of the sixth element shows that friendship is indeed Magic]].
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]," the teacher refers to her students as "my little ponies."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends Fall Weather Friends]]" during the Running of the Leaves.
---> '''Pinkie:''' You know, Spike, despite the name, the leaves don't do any of the actual running. That's left to my little ponies.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]," the Cutie Mark Crusaders drop the episode title.
--->'''Scootaloo:''' You're like the queen of Stares!\\
'''Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle:''' You're the "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]"!
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers The Show Stoppers]]," Twilight addresses the Cutie Mark Crusaders twice as "my little ponies."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," Princess Celestia refers to Fluttershy as "my little pony."
** Title drops occur frequently during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]."
* TitleThemeTune: ''My Little Pony'', anyway. The theme begins with the traditional "My Little Pony" theme and transitions into a zippier, fast-paced theme.
* TookALevelInBadass: Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, after seeing Gilda [[KickTheDog bullying]] poor Fluttershy. Of course, this being Pinkie Pie, her leveling-up is... [[PlayingWithATrope different]].
** Fluttershy takes a few herself in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]" after seeing the dragon threaten her friends. It shows up again in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E17StareMaster Stare Master]]," when Fluttershy [[spoiler: stares down a cockatrice, and makes it back down ''while it's actively turning her into stone'']].
** Rainbow Dash was upgraded from earth pony in the previous toy line to pegasus for this series, and revels in every second of it.
* ToonPhysics: Pinkie Pie seems to be able to play around with this trope at will, at different times floating in mid-air, interrupting fadeouts, and appearing in a mirror while not being inside the room.
* TreehouseOfFun:
** Twilight and Spike live in Ponyville's library, a four-story structure built inside a tree.
*** MadScientistLaboratory: Located in the basement of the library, for some reason.
*** NoOSHACompliance: The upstairs loft that serves as Twilight's bedroom doesn't have a guardrail around it.
** The Cutie Mark Crusaders get their own treehouse in "The Show Stoppers".
* TroperCriticalMass: Mostly due to the surprisingly large PeripheryDemographic.
* TroublingUnchildhoodBehavior: The Cutie Mark Crusaders engage in some relatively dangerous activities without any adult supervision for the sake of finding their cutie marks. "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]" has Applejack travel all the way to [[BigApplesauce Manehattan]] and back to the Apple family farm in Ponyville all by herself.
* UtilityMagic: Rarity's magic is mostly useful for things like sewing, and Twilight Sparkle, although she can do more impressive magic, mostly uses hers for things like turning pages and writing. In fact, it's implied that most unicorn magic works for things like this.
* VisualPun:
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E12CallOfTheCutie Call of the Cutie]]" has a scene with a close-up of Apple Bloom, who is feeling depressed, when Rainbow Dash sticks her head into the audience's view:
--->'''Rainbow Dash:''' Woah. Looks like ''some''pony's got a dark cloud hanging over her head! Let me do something about that... [''The camera pulls back, revealing the dark cloud that was hovering just a couple feet above Apple Bloom'']
** During Rarity's first fashion show in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]," Hoity Toity says Rarity's designs were "a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink." Cut to Rarity kicking a kitchen sink away behind the curtain.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]," Twilight stops to give a speech about the difference between magic and the Pinkie Sense -- after literally stepping up onto a soapbox that happens to be nearby.
** During Braeburn's tour of Apple-loosa in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]," he points out the horse-drawn carriages, then immediately mentions "horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages" as the camera cuts to several artists sketching out the horse-drawn carriages.
* TheVodkaIsGoodButTheMeatIsRotten: Voice transcribing on {{YouTube}}[=/=]Google can be [[http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/list/Youtube_caption/1 hilariously inaccurate]]; the dapper serpent was nicknamed [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/story-steven-magnet-in-crimes-against.html "Steven Magnet"]] after a particularly apposite one.
* {{Vomit Discretion Shot}}: ''Applebuck Season'' features a scene with a bunch of ponies who got sick from some poorly prepared baked goods. Pinkie Pie has just enough time to declare them "baked bads" before she begins throwing up. The camera cuts away just before it happens.
* VomitIndiscretionShot:
** Philomena in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]."
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]," Rarity discovers that this is how the parasprites reproduce.
* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof A Bird in the Hoof]]," Fluttershy puts herself (and Twilight, by extension) in a world of trouble by trying to heal Princess Celestia's sickly-looking pet bird without permission. We can thank her [[FriendToAllLivingThings relentlessly caring nature for that.]] Celestia waits until the end of the episode to tell her that Philomena was [[spoiler: a phoenix close to its death and rebirth.]] The Princess then almost quotes the trope by name, stating that Fluttershy could've simply asked her ahead of time and saved all the trouble.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: The brief but insanely epic pillow fight during "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E8LookBeforeYouSleep Look Before You Sleep]]."
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous: Only Rarity understands what a "crime against fabulosity" ruining the water serpent's mustache was.
** Pinkie Pie's extreme attitude towards keeping secrets, which leads her to stalk Twilight all over town reminding her that she risks losing Rarity's and Fluttershy's friendship '''''FOREVER!''''' In a bizarre attempt to drive the point home, [[DeathNote she takes an apple... and EATS IT.]]
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel "Over a Barrel"]], everypony (and buffalo, and dragon) reacts to Chief Thunder Hooves getting a PieInTheFace as if he'd been mortally wounded.
* WheelOFeet: Granny Smith, Photo Finish's helpers and a few background Ponies do this now and then.
* WhiteAndGrayMorality
* TheWikiRule: [[http://mlp.wikia.com/ My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Wiki]].
* TheWorfEffect: Rainbow Dash appears to be the lovechild of Scrappy Doo (though, and this is important, she is not TheScrappy) and Commander Worf, never tiring of recklessly charging straight at big scary monsters and getting swatted out of the sky. Applejack and Rarity often find themselves on the wrong end of this too; all three were soundly thrashed by the Manticore ''and'' Trixie in just the first few episodes.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" had a hilariously straight playing of this, when new character Little Strong Heart shows up. How is she introduced? By instantly running rings around Rainbow Dash and tricking her into plowing into a railway sign. The poor girl can't get a break.
* WorthlessYellowRocks: Stick a shovel in the ground in Equestria and you'll likely come up with a spadeful of gemstones. At least they're pretty on dresses.
** Gems are common enough, in fact, that nopony thinks twice about letting Spike ''eat'' them (Of course, as mentioned under ShownTheirWork Dragons might have to ingest precious stones in order to breathe fire anyway).
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Twilight Sparkle says this after Spike asks [[spoiler: what an Ursa Major is like after an Ursa ''Minor'' rampages through Ponyville.]] The audience, however, is given the information that Spike is denied.
** Rainbow Dash also says this when she inadvertently refers to Pinkie Pie's mental breakdown.
[[/folder]]
----
->''Dear Princess Celestia: Teamwork is one of the finest values of friendship, especially when it comes to gathering these tropes...''

* TricksterMentor Princess Celestia so often sets up the episode's whole source of conflict, runs away when anything dangerous happens, or chooses not to be a DeusExMachina even when she could easily solve everything on her own that fans have dubbed her "Princess {{Troll}}estia" Of course the incidents are always a valuable learning experience.
** She knows full well about the prophecy predicting that her sister which she [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned]] is about to escape and wreak havok, and rather than explain things, or even do anything herself, she just tells the protagonist to "stop reading those dusty old books" and make friends, and is absent for the rest of the episode. Incidentally this is exactly what needs to be done, and as she notes later, she never explicitly said that the prophecies were wrong.
** She knows that Twilight has six friends, but gives her only two tickets to the Gala, forcing her to agonize over who to give the extra ticket to.
** She sits back and watches as Rarity plummets to her doom, letting Rainbow Dash have a BigDamnHeroes moment. The fact that Rarity was put in this situation due to the heat of the sun, and the fact that Celestia controls the sun leads some to suspect that she caused the whole incident to begin with.
** She invites the main characters to a snooty boring rich-people party in the ''hopes'' that they'll cause a disaster and liven up the event.
** In spite of being over 1,000 years old, she acts as though she's never heard of [[ExplosiveBreeder Parasprites]] when she finally visits the ruined town at the end of the episode.
** She intentionally tricks overzealous waiters into filling her teacup to overflowing.

* TricksterMentor PrincessCelestia so often sets up the episode's whole source of conflict, runs away when anything dangerous happens, or chooses not to be a DeusExMachina even when she could easily solve everything on her own that fans have dubbed her "Princess {{Troll}}estia" Of course the incidents are always a valuable learning experience.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The episode list for season 1 alone gives us "The Mare in the Moon", "Boast Busters", "Winter Wrap-Up", "Call of the Cutie", ""Fall Weather Friends", "Suited for Success", "The Show-Stoppers", "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", and arguably "Owl's Well that Ends Well".

** "The book said when the five are present, a ''Spark'll'' cause the sixth element to be revealed."
** During one of The Hub's summer commercials, Pinkie Pie appears singing "Get ready for the birds and the bees".

** To name two examples: During the pilot, Pinkie Pie stuffed almost the entire town of Ponyville into a single room of Twilight's library, and the size of Sugarcube Corner doesn't match the inside (Pinkie Pie's room being the biggest offender).

->''"The new show is, well, sort of addictive. Even I watch it – out of the corner of my eye – while doing something manly like, uh, sculpting blocks of iron with my fists."''
-->—'''[[{{Catena}} DeBray Bailey]]'''

** And Zecora, debuting in "Bridle Gossip", establishing the context for her cameo one ep later in "Swarm of the Century".

* BrokenAesop: Suited for Sucess has the morals don't look a gift horse in the mouth and (don't be overly critical of a gift generously given) and if you try to please everybody you will not please anybody especially not yourself. The problem is although they were expecting something else likely a result of them having a different taste they only voice there feelings when Rarity insists, and when Rarity tried to please everybody she pleased herself when she tried to please her friends when her first attempt to please them failed she pleased her friends.

** CharlesAtlasSuperpower at its finest. She's a workhorse and does most of the work at her ranch by herself. She keeps up with everypony else by ''working out'' more than anypony else - except arguably Rainbow Dash.

** Of the worst kind. The episodes are only released on the iTunes Store, Which does not sell videos to those living in Greater Asia. Those who can't get Boomerang, which airs the show in Asia, are screwed. Even the clips on The Hub's website are region locked, and they're not even full episodes.

** ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/mlp-adventures-in-ponyville Adventures in Ponyville]]," a flash game on the Hub's website, revealed a few tidbits about the show during the long gap between the premier and the second episode. Snips, Snails, and Cheerilee were first seen (though unnamed), Rarity's and Pinkie Pie's occupations were made explicit, and Twilight demonstrated the power to temporarily give wings to other ponies, an ability not seen until episode 16.
** ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/game-mylittlepony-discover Discover the Difference]]," another flash game on the Hub's website, provides glimpses at the beginning of the instrumental version of a ThemeTuneExtended, as well as revealing scenes from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]," "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]," and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]."

* ThemeTuneExtended: ''[[http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic/games/game-mylittlepony-discover Discover the Difference]]"'s intro features an instrumental version of the theme song with an extended beginning.

** One of the rawr's that the Ersa Minor makes is a stock sound effect that was also used for the Mini Battlelord in Duke Nukem 3d.

** The rawr that the Ersa Minor makes is a stock sound effect that was also used for the Mini Battlelord in Duke Nukem 3d.

*** There's a bit of fridge/fanbase discussion over this. Sure the switched roles would show what their GOOD at but they switched because they didn't ENJOY those roles, can you get a cutie mark, and more importantly should you, in something your skilled at but don't enjoy?