History TearJerker / MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017

* Twilight being returned to Canterlot after the Storm King has conquered it, seeing the majority of Equestria's population enslaved while the few who aren't are imprisoned in cages. The look of hopelessness as she sees everything and everypony in ruins hits home how close she is to hitting the DespairEventHorizon herself.

** Seeing the normally upbeat and cheerful CMC sitting in a cage in despair just like everypony else, especially [[AdultFear if you're an older viewer]].

* Twilight calling out to Spike as she's being captured and pulled into the warship can be painful to watch.

'''Pinkie Pie:''' No, Twilight! ''We'' stuck together! ''We'' were gonna get the help we needed! [[WhatTheHellHero The only thing that stopped us...was]] ''[[WhatTheHellHero you]]''!\\

'''Pinkie Pie:''' 'Cept it wasn't! The Queen was going to say yes! We did what you told us and that's what made her realize we were ponies worth saving! ''(gasp)'' Unless... You didn't really want us to show her the best time ever! You just wanted us to distract her!\\

** Celestia trying to quickly tell Luna where to get help before she fully becomes stone. The scene feels so much like those are Celestia's dying words to her sister! Then, Luna flying off to try to follow, only to be turned to stone before she can get away.

[[quoteright:231:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/why_celestia_why.png]]
[[caption-width-right:231: You have A LOT to think about.]]

** And listen to her first singing lines in the first few seconds of "One Small Thing." "It's okay, just go!" Ouch, Skystar.

[[caption-width-right:231: You have A LOT to think about.

[[caption-width-right:231: It was at that moment that Twilight knew, she ''[[{{Pun}} bucked]]'' up.]]

[[caption-width-right:231:[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 You have a LOT to think about, Twilight.]]]]

** The build-up to Twilight's WhamLine. She finally lets all of her stress from everything get the best of her and turning on the other five, calling them bad friends and losing her faith in friendship all while flaring her horn threateningly at Pinkie just like Tempest. She immediately regrets it, but the damage is already done and the rest of the group (except Spike) leave her be, which is how she winds up captured in the following scene. It is staggeringly, jarringly unnatural for the beloved Princess of Friendship, and shows a side of Twilight no one has ever seen before.

** The others' reactions convey so much of their personalities without even saying a word: Fluttershy looks like she's about to cry, Rarity gapes silently in shock and leaves with an expression of sheer contempt on her face, and Rainbow Dash is briefly in utter disbelief before getting angry. But the worst is Applejack, who looks morose at first, [[DisappointedInYou then stares at Twilight in utter disappointment]] while walking away.
** The next we see of the Mane Five after the falling-out, they're sitting around in sadness, not just because they're heartbroken by what Twilight said, but also [[WasTooHardOnHim wondering if they did the right thing in leaving Twilight alone]].

[[caption-width-right:231:[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 You have a LOT to think about.]]]]

* Twilight abusing her friends' trust by trying to steal the Pearl of Transformation. The other Mane Six, especially Pinkie, look utterly betrayed when they see Twilight tangled up in the Pearl's defenses right after they got Queen Novo's support.

** When Queen Novo gets angry at Twilight trying to steal the artifact out of desperation, she doesn't just punish Twilight - she punishes the rest of the group too thinking they were distracting her, even though they knew nothing of Twilight's intentions and were just as shocked. Just imagine; how painful would it feel if you saw a friend of yours unexpectedly do something bad and then wound up being treated as if you did the same bad thing despite the fact you had no knowledge of it being done?
* Perhaps the biggest tear-jerker in the entire franchise: The ensuing argument between Twilight and Pinkie, resulting in Twilight's RageBreakingPoint. What she says to them is just about the last thing anybody would expect the Princess of Friendship herself to say to her best friends. And it's just as heart wrenching to hear as it is to the other Mane Six.

''(the other four ponies gasp)''\\

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' [[RageBreakingPoint Well, maybe I would've been better off without]] ''[[WhamLine FRIENDS LIKE YOU!]]''

** Pinkie considers Twilight to be one of her absolute best friends, and hearing Twilight say and act this way is like a knife to the heart. The fact that it drives Pinkie not to hysterical weeping, but to quietly hurt tears makes it all the more painful.

** The others' reactions convey so much of their personalities without even saying anything. Fluttershy looks she's about to cry, Rarity gapes silently in shock and leaves with an expression of sheer contempt on her face, and Rainbow Dash is briefly in utter disbelief before getting angry. But the worst is Applejack, who looks morose at first, [[DisappointedInYou then stares at Twilight in disappointment]] while walking away.
** The next we see of the Mane Five after the falling-out they're sitting around in sadness, not just because they're heartbroken by what Twilight said, but also [[WasTooHardOnHim wondering if they did the right thing in leaving Twilight be]].

** Pay attention to Twilight's face during this scene. At the beginning of it, she is angry and defiant, refusing to cave to Tempest. However, after Tempest's backstory is shown and Twilight learns of her terrible past, the scene immediately fades to Twilight's horrified expression. Who she once saw as an evil, psychotic henchmare of a tyrannical conquerer, she now sees as a broken and jaded unicorn who believed she had lost everything.

** Seeing the normally upbeat and cheerful CMC sitting in a cage in despair just like everypony else.

* For the most part, the ''Adventure Awaits'' "journal" is a lighthearted affair where the Mane Six and a few of their new friends look back on their journey, sharing laughs and getting wacky commentary from Pinkie now and then. But when they get to the part where Twilight used her friends as a distraction to steal Queen Novo's pearl, the fun and silly atmosphere temporarily vanishes. As Twilight recounts the event, she makes it plain that [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she is still completely devastated by what she'd done]]. She can just barely muster the will to talk about the "terrible fight" she and her friends had after that, and she says that when she returned to a destroyed Canterlot in a cage, she'd never felt like a bigger failure in her life. Considering the other times Twilight messed up horribly before this, that's saying a lot.

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' [[RageBreakingPoint Well, maybe I would've been better off without]] ''[[WhamLine FRIENDS LIKE YOU]]''!

* Perhaps the biggest tear-jerker in the entire franchise: The ensuing argument between Twilight and Pinkie, resulting in Twilight's RageBreakingPoint. They are just about the last words anybody would expect the Princess of Friendship herself to say to her best friends. And it's just as heart wrenching to hear as it is to the other Mane Six.

[[caption-width-right:231:[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 You have a LOT to think about...]]]]

* [[UpToEleven Perhaps the biggest tear-jerker in the entire franchise]], The ensuing argument between Twilight and Pinkie, resulting in Twilight's WhamLine. They are just about the last words anybody would expect the Princess of Friendship herself to say to her best friends. And it's just as heart wrenching to hear as it is to the other Mane Six.

[[caption-width-right:231:[[Disney/TheLionKing Twilight... what have you done?]]]]

*** Put yourself in the horseshoes of any of the Derpy-like foals we've seen on the show. That's Mama[=/=]Auntie[=/=]Big Sis trapped in stone!

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' [[IDidWhatIHadToDo I never would have]] ''[[IDidWhatIHadToDo done]]'' [[IDidWhatIHadToDo it, but this isn't Equestria!]] [[WhatTheHellHero We can't just dance around with con artists, make rainbooms in the sky and expect everything to work out!]] It's not enough! ''We'' are not enough!\\

'''Twilight:''' "[[DespairEventHorizon No. I can't. I ruined everything. There's no chance to save Equestria now.]] [[ItsAllMyFault It's all my fault]]."

* For the most part, the ''Adventure Awaits'' "journal" is a lighthearted affair where the Mane Six and a few of their new friends look back on their journey, sharing laughs and getting wacky commentary from Pinkie now and then. But when they get to the part where Twilight used her friends as a distraction to steal Queen Novo's pearl, the fun and silly atmosphere temporarily vanishes. As Twilight recounts the event, she makes it plain that [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she is still completely devastated by what she'd done]]. She can just barely muster the will to talk about the "terrible fight" she and her friends had after that, and she says that when she returned to a destroyed Canterlot in a cage, she'd never felt like a bigger failure in her life. Considering [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero the]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 other]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure times]] Twilight messed up horribly before this, that's saying a lot.
** True to the film, this scene and the moment where she and the others thought they lost Twilight in the tornado are the only two times in the journal where [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Pinkie doesn't even try to joke about it]]. The first because she, too, felt awful for the things she and Twilight said to each other; and the second because the mere thought of losing Twilight forever made her more scared than she could bear.

*** One person even made this video, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXt06C4kfYM&app=desktop the similarities are quite chilling]].
*** Fridge-TearJerker: Not even Pinkie Pie's [[CallBack Pinkie senses]] foresaw Twilight ''ever'' saying anything along those lines.
*** Really now, just the fact that ''[[GenkiGirl Pinkie]]'' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness is the one who calls Twilight out on her actions]]. It's so jarring to see a normally upbeat and cheerful character sound so angry.

** Recall the song "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E14FameAndMisfortune We're Not Flawless]]" with this scene and you'll realize that arguments and fights and the potential pain that they cause are an inevitable risk that comes with Friendships.
** It becomes a Fridge Tear Jerker when you realize this came between seasons 7 and 8. That means the events of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E25ShadowPlayPart1 Shadow]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E26ShadowPlayPart2 Play]]" canonically happened right before this. From that viewpoint, arguably one of Twilight's ''highest'' points in her characterization (helping the Pillars of Olde Equestria realize the errors of their ways and redeeming Stygian, a pony thought by the Pillars to be irredeemable) is immediately followed by her ''lowest'' point in the entire series. One can only imagine how a conversation between Twilight and Star Swirl would go after this, let alone Celestia...
** In the heat of the argument, it's possible Twilight Sparkle was reverting back to her pre-show FriendlessBackground mentality.
*** It's worse: back in the pilot episode, you could see that Twilight had always thought those very words about her future friends before they became friends, but was too polite to ever say it to their faces. Well now, for the first time, they are hearing what she was meaning to say back in episode one...

-->''And as you take that first step''
-->''upon a path that's all your own,''
-->''you see it all so clearly:''
-->'''''[[BrokenBird the best way to survive is all alone.]]'''''

** It's possible, considering how easily and quickly the ponies managed to befriend them, that the Storm King's minions [[PunchClockVillain are only working for him because he has subdued and forced them to]]. [[GoKartingWithBowser They seem happy enough to join in on the celebrations]], so it's possible they were in a similar position to Captain Celaeno and her pirates. So if you're a lone minion among many having someone kindly ask if you're alright, tears aren't that big a surprise.
** Doesn't sound like they were forced to. The Prequel Comics show him to be a BenevolentBoss as part of his PragmaticVillainy. That said, it could still be a Tearjerker since the Storm King is only being benevolent for his own selfish ends and, if his ImpliedDeathThreat to Tempest is any indication, may drop the act any time he might feel in the mood to. Also I think the Storm King's minions reformed more because of his betrayal (of Tempest AND the mooks) and realizing the tyrannical monster he really is.

* After being reverted from stone, the first thing Celestia cries out is "Twilight!" Knowing that the pony she thought about the most within her stone prison was her own student is just gut-wrenching, especially if you take the way their relationship was portrayed in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E1CelestialAdvice Celestial Advice]]'' into account; [[LikeADaughterToMe that's the pony she's looked after since youth that she's thinking about...]]

** Likewise, true to the film, this scene and the moment where she and the others thought they lost Twilight in the tornado are the only two times in the journal where [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Pinkie doesn't even try to joke about it]]. The first because she, too, felt awful for the things she and Twilight said to each other; and the second because the mere thought of losing Twilight forever made her more scared than she could bear.
** The very journal itself emphasizes the FridgeHorror of the movie's events. Pinkie's first entry is simply her gushing about her excitement for the Friendship Festival and what a wonderful time she, Twilight, and all their friends will have. In the next, the Mane Six begin recounting a harrowing adventure that nearly tore their friendship with Twilight apart. Yet again, the fact that they're all able to look back at everything they went through with smiles and laughter can only assure the reader that the ordeal only served to make their bond stronger than ever.

[[caption-width-right:231:[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Twilight messed up badly]], [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse for her...]]]]

[[caption-width-right:231:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero Twilight]] [[PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure messed]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone up]] [[DarkestHour badly]], [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse for her...]]]]

[[caption-width-right:231:[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Twilight messed up badly]], [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse for her...]]]]

* How about we start off with the fact that within the first 10 or so minutes of the film, Tempest Shadow [[TakenForGranite turns three of the four princesses to stone]]? [[SarcasmMode That seems like a great place to start off.]]

* The ensuing argument between Twilight and Pinkie, resulting in Twilight's WhamLine. They are just about the last words anybody would expect the Princess of Friendship herself to say to her best friends. And it's just as heart wrenching to hear as it is to the other Mane Six.

** After the song, Tempest states she learned how meaningless friendship truly was that day, all while barely managing to hide the hurt in her voice. The way she speaks to Twilight almost sounds like she's lucky she ''only'' lost her friends. Twilight's response, while tacky on paper, is too genuine to be anything less than heartwrenching.

* Twilight yelling to Spike as she's being captured and pulled into the warship can be painful to watch.

* When Grubber makes an InnocentlyInsensitive remark about her broken horn, Tempest has something close to a VillainousBreakdown. It may look [[NightmareFuel scary]], but it's much more tragic in context when you remember the Storm King promised to restore it if she had all 4 princesses. This isn't about earning just any reward. From her perspective, this is about as important as reviving a loved one from the grave. You can just ''feel'' her [[NotSoStoic desperation]] seep through the cracks of her heartless exterior.

* While to some degree she deserved it, the look on Tempest's face when the Storm King betrayed her is kind of sad, as is the way she asks Twilight why she's saving her. One can get the impression that Tempest might have finally realized all the evil things she did for Storm King were AllForNothing as he never had any intention of keeping his end of the bargain at all.

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' [[RageBreakingPoint Well maybe I would've been better off without]] ''[[WhamLine FRIENDS LIKE YOU]]''!

** It becomes a Fridge Tear Jerker when you realize this came between seasons 7 and 8. That means the events of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E25ShadowPlayPart1 Shadow]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E26ShadowPlayPart2 Play]]" canonically happened right before this. From that viewpoint, arguably one of Twilight's ''highest'' points in her characterization (helping the Pillars of Olde Equestria realize the errors of their ways and redeeming Stygian, a pony thought by the Pillars to be irredeemable) is immediately followed by her ''lowest'' point in the entire series. One can only imagine how a conversation between Twilight and Star Swirl would go after this...

* One of the Storm King's minions tries to fight Fluttershy, but she [[SincerityMode sweetly asks if there's anything troubling him]]. Moments later, we see the said-minion in ''tears'' about [[NoodleIncident something]]. If it's any indication, he really ''was'' having a bad day. It's beautifully poignant to see [[WhatMeasureIsAMook a minion show a tender side]].
** It's possible, considering how easily and quickly the ponies managed to befriend them, that the Storm King's minions are only working for him because he has subdued and forced them to. They seem happy enough to join in on the celebrations, so it's possible they were in a similar position to Captain Celaeno and her pirates. So if you're a lone minion among many having someone kindly ask if you're alright, tears aren't that big a surprise.

** The build-up to Twilight's WhamLine. She finally lets all of her stress from everything get the best of her and turning on the other five, calling them bad friends and losing her faith in friendship. She immediately regrets it, but the damage is already done and the rest of the group, except Spike, leave her be, which is how she winds up captured in the following scene. It is staggeringly, jarringly unnatural for the beloved Princess of Friendship, and shows a side of Twilight no one has ever seen before.

** During their argument, Twilight yells at Pinkie that they shouldn't have been friends while threateningly flaring her horn just like Tempest. Pinkie considers Twilight to be one of her absolute best friends, and hearing Twilight say and act this way like a knife to the heart. The fact that it drives Pinkie not to hysterical weeping, but to quietly hurt tears makes it all the more painful.

*** That line becomes [[FridgeBrilliance sobering]] when it dawns on you: Tempest reflects how hurt the Mane 5 must've felt when Twilight not only tried to steal the pearl without their consent, but insulted them. Instead of being a reflection of Twilight at her darkest like Starlight Glimmer or Sunset Shimmer, she's ''the Mane 5's'' ShadowArchetype of who they'd be if they lost faith in friendship.

** I wouldn't say they were forced to. The Prequel Comics show him to be a BenevolentBoss as part of his PragmaticVillainy. That said, it could still be a Tearjerker since the Storm King is only being benevolent for his own selfish ends and, if his ImpliedDeathThreat to Tempest is any indication, may drop the act any time he might feel in the mood to. Also I think the Storm King's minions reformed more because of his betrayal (of Tempest AND the mooks) and realizing the tyrannical monster he really is.

** Pay attention to Twilight's face during this scene. At the beginning of it, she is angry and defiant, refusing to cave to Tempest. However, after Tempest's backstory is shown and Twilight learns of her terrible past, the scene immediately fades to Twilight's horrified expression. Who she one saw as an evil, psychotic henchmare of a tyrannical conquerer, she now sees as a broken and jaded unicorn who believed she had lost everything.