History WebVideo / FriendshipisWitchcraft

Citing reasons like "being genuinely tired of doing the same show for several years" and "we want to do other things too", the creators have put the project on a hiatus. They promised to continue it sometime in the future. Said promise came to fruition in early 2016, when they released part 2 of ''Horse Women.'' However, given that both creators began developing their own solo projects in the interim (Jenny with her YouTube channel, Griffin with his Fandroid persona and associated YouTube channels), the likelihood of the duo returning to the series is getting increasingly dimmer.

'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming I love you!]]]]

** Can be seen as faithfulness to the source material dialed {{up to eleven}}.

** The titles to the OST (which mean nothing) found on the Sherclop Pones YouTube channel.

Citing reasons like "being genuinely tired of doing the same show for several years" and "we want to do other things too", the creators have put the project on a hiatus. They promised to continue it sometime in the future.

Said promise came to fruition in early 2016, when they released part 2 of ''Horse Women.'' Time will tell if updates start to see regular releases as well.

''Friendship is Witchcraft'' is an AbridgedSeries using material from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. It is a joint project headed by Jenny Nicholson and Griffin Lewis under the collective pseudonym Sherclop Pones. Most of the voices are done by Jenny Nicholson while Griffin Lewis does the music, editing, and some of the voices (mostly secondary characters).

The team have an old [[http://www.youtube.com/user/SherclopPones Youtube]] channel, though now updates are done [[http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJI4dS-3rg-VrlN8kfSMQnw here]]. Like most [=MLP=] abridged series, ''Friendship Is Witchcraft'' has run into issues with copyright claims from Creator/{{Hasbro}} (the real one), resulting in their videos on Website/YouTube being blocked to U.S. audiences for an indefinite period of time (remind you of [[Creator/LittleKuriboh anyone?]]). An attempt was made to move the series to Vimeo, but those videos ended up being blocked as well (for those wanting to see the series, mirror sites are available). Despite this, the creators insist that the series is not dead. Both creators have launched side projects, available for viewing on their Youtube channel: Jenny's "Kimi Sparkle" series, a parody of WebVideo/MLPAnalysis videos, and Griffin's "Silver Spoon Escapes from Camp Energy", a LetsPlay of {{VideoGame/Limbo}} done as a series of largely improvised stream-of-consciousness ramblings done in character as Silver Spoon. They have also started a multi-part series based on the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' movie, entitled ''Horse Women''.

* AllJustADream: "Seed No Evil" relegates the event of ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' to a nightmare of Apple Bloom's.

** "Seed No Evil" has one towards ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'', as it was AllJustADream in this universe:

** In "Pinkie's Brew" (see Lyrical Dissonance, above), her parents tell her to "please [not] bake a portal, just accept it and move on". So... [[FridgeLogic how exactly did they anticipate that possibility?]]
*** [[AWizardDidIt Gypsy Magic]].

** Twilight towards Spike. She has raised him but showx no affection towards him and treats him like a slave.

The team have an old [[http://www.youtube.com/user/SherclopPones Youtube]] channel, though now updates are done [[http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJI4dS-3rg-VrlN8kfSMQnw here]]. Like most [=MLP=] abridged series, ''Friendship Is Witchcraft'' has run into issues with copyright claims from Creator/{{Hasbro}} (the real one), resulting in their videos on Website/YouTube being blocked to U.S. audiences for an indefinite period of time (remind you of [[Creator/LittleKuriboh anyone?]]). An attempt was made to move the series to Vimeo, but those videos ended up being blocked as well (for those wanting to see the series, mirror sites are available). Despite this, the creators insist that the series is not dead. Both creators have launched side projects, available for viewing on their Youtube channel: Jenny's "Kimi Sparkle" series, a parody of WebVideo/MLPAnalysis videos, and Griffin's "Silver Spoon Escapes from Camp Energy", a LetsPlay of {{VideoGame/Limbo}} done as a series of largely improvised stream-of-consciousness ramblings done in character as Silver Spoon. They have also started a multi-part series based on the ''WesternAnimation/EquestriaGirls'' movie, entitled ''Horse Women''.

!!This work provides examples of:

** Twilight to Spike.
** Scootaloo claims that [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash]] is her mom. Mom doesn't even acknowledge Scootaloo's existence.
* AdBreakDoubleTake: Parodies the one from "Look Before You Sleep", where lightning strikes a tree near Twilight's house.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Done rather morbidly in "Dragone Baby Gone".

** Francis is oblivious to Twilight's love for him.
*** [[spoiler:Until the end of the episode, where they do get married.]]

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Diamond Tiara, not because of surname nor mannerisms, but because of her "mark mitzvah" celebration upon getting a cutie mark. It's only really ambiguous because the finer points of pony religions are unaddressed. Human Diamond Tiara from ''Silver Spoon Escapes from Camp Energy'' is confirmed to be Jewish.
** There's also Applejack's remark on the subject.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: From "Lunar Slander":

** Twilight and Francis (Shining Armor), in the romantic way. Well, for Francis at least. Twilight has been his number one fan for his entire career, and she's even been in love with him from the very day she found him on their doorstep. After [[spoiler:Twilight disrupts his and Cadence's wedding, chases Cadence to the crystal caves beneath Canterlot and either kills her or leaves her for dead,]] they get married.
*** [[OverlyLongGag It's okay!]] [[NotBloodSiblings They're not]] [[BrotherSisterIncest biologically related!]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Mommity and Daddity, Dragonshy, Granny Smith, and a bird, all brought back by Pinkie's portal]]. When one comes back, a number appears that counts how many have been revived.

*** Rarity takes acting classes. Sweetie Belle accuses her of being a robot because she has difficulty expressing real emotions.

* BaitAndSwitchComparison: In "Cute From The Hip":

* {{Beat}}: In "Cute From the Hip", one lasts long enough for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to blink in time with the music several times.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The entire "buy some apples" RunningGag was a punch intentionally made on ridiculous censorship.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Twilight and her brother Francis, who [[spoiler:get married in the finale of "Foaly Matripony"]]. However, it seems like Twilight is a [[AllLoveIsUnrequited little bit more affectionate]].
** [[RunningGag It's okay!]] [[NotBloodSiblings They're not biologically related!]]

* BusCrash: Implied with [[spoiler:Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents]]; after leaving, the sounds of an offscreen crash are heard.

* ButtMonkey: ''Everypony'' hates Spike. They always think of mean things to say about/to him and give him the hardest tasks such as holding a lightning rod on top of Twilight's library during a thunderstorm. In the montage in Episode 3, the Element, Skills, Item and Dislikes of every pony in Team D.E.S.U. are displayed. Every pony has "Spike" in their dislikes, and Fluttershy has "clubbing Spike" listed in her skills.
** In "Foaly Matripony", the forcefield around Canterlot seems to exist for the sole purpose of keeping Spike out of the city during the wedding (and it does).
* CallBack: "Seed No Evil" has Sweetie Belle declaring "[[AC:Look how far I can electric slide!]]"

* TheCameo: Defied. Doctor Whooves in this series is instead named Doctor American.

* ChekhovsGun: The line "They say a kitch-en time save nine" from "Pinkie's Brew" seems like a throwaway rhyme. However, when various parents start coming BackFromTheDead in subsequent episodes, a counter appears on screen, ticking up toward nine.

* ComedicSociopathy: Most of the Mane Six seem to suffer from it to some extent.

* CompanionCube: Diamond Tiara gets a gift box, and declares it her new best friend. While Silver Spoon is right next to her.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Let's see... all dragons are slaves when they aren't second class citizens, an unknown but no doubt sizable proportion of the population are actually robots who apparently go on murderous rampages if they learn their true natures, there was a massive World War One-esque conflict not long ago, a cult is openly seeking to destroy the world...
** Lampshaded by a paragraph from one of Episode 8's ending spinning newspapers: ''Citizens hope to set a trap that will lure the panther into the smoking crater left by last week's moon crash, where it will be eaten by the spiders. The Ponyville Rescue Squad assures citizens that they have a Plan B, which involves herding the panther close enough to come within reach of the downtown Tentacle Monster.''

* DealWithTheDevil: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Molestia offering her title to Twilight for assistance making friends.

* DoAndroidsDream: Even though everypony accepts that robots have no souls, the robot Sweetie Belle is one of the few characters to demonstrate love or empathy, or to call the others out on their ComedicSociopathy.

* DominantSpeciesGenes: It plays this for laughs.

* DumbIsGood: Parodied: Ponyville's citizens are proud of their ignorance, to the point that when they receive a letter from Applejack in "Cherry Bomb", they think she's been 'corrupted by knowledge' and believes she's too good for their friendship now that she knows how to write.
** By the end, Applejack agrees, reporting that it's better to not know anything at all.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Some of the running gags established in later episodes are so pervasive that their absence early on can be striking, particularly with regard to the first episode, "The Perfect Swarm".

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Fluttershy seems to be honestly trying to talk Rarity ''out'' of donating Sweetie Belle's college fund to her cult.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Along with Princesses Celestia and Molestia/Luna, in "Dragone Baby Gone" Twilight claims Celestia has named ''her'' a princess along with being the leader of Team D.E.S.U.

** "Oh, I wish Spike hadn't spilled glitter everywhere. He can be [[ButtMonkey such a disappointment]]."
* ExactWords: Applejack is okay with Pinkie singing, as long as it's not a sad song with a deceptively happy tune. [[spoiler:It's a bittersweet song.]]

* ExtremeOmnivore: Applejack has eaten mud (pretending it's chocolate) and an old sandwich on the floor ("It's still good!").

* EyeScream: Half the time a character says "Talk about eye candy" it's because something is in or on their eyes.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Conjugated]] in "Lunar Slander".

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: Lampshaded in "Seed No Evil":

* FlatCharacter: Rainbow Dash, proudly so.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Gypsy? I'm not a gypsy! I'm a pastry chef! Those aren't even similar! ...Or are they?"

* FreezeFrameBonus: Many that double as call backs and shout outs.

* FunWithAcronyms: Team D.E.S.U.: "Dragon Euthanization Specialty Unit".

* GilliganCut: Applejack in "Dragone Baby Gone". Apparently rattle snakes just aren't that fast in July.

* GreatOffScreenWar: "Read It and Sleep" and "Neigh, Soul Sister" contain numerous references to "the war" and what happened in it. Despite this, all we know is that Applejack considers Rarity a deserter, and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo has done things she wouldn't otherwise do]], including at least one war crime. Meanwhile, Rarity [[ShellShockedVeteran was traumatized by her time in the trenches]].

* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Fluttershy. There are no words.

* LeastRhymableWord: Even [[RhymesOnADime Zecora]] has trouble with the word "circle".
** That said, she also had trouble with "sad"...

* LostAesop: The original episode lesson always gets shoved aside by things that distract Twilight.

* LuckyTranslation: Although the Russian translation sadly loses some of the glorious puns that this show has, the joke about Twilight (not) speaking Applenese (по-яблонски) is made even better than in the original.

* MerchandiseDriven: Parodied in "Cherry Bomb":

* NiceHat: While she's still a designer, giant hats are Rarity's specialty. She also has a "hat scarf" that has a matching hat.
** One could [[IncrediblyLamePun go so far as to say]] giant hats ''are'' her [[PlanetOfHats giant hat]].
* TheNicknamer: Cheerilee doesn't know any of her students' names, and so calls them things like "[[HeyYou you]]" and "girl with the bow".

* NoFourthWall: In "Foaly Matripony", the characters try to think of titles for the episode.
** They also laugh off Spike's claims of the status quo being changed. [[ButtMonkey And his hopes of playing a major role in an episode]].

* NoodleIncident: Twilight maintains that her attempt to make waffles in a bounce house would've worked if not for Spike's [[RunningGag weak grip]], but Celestia forbidding Twilight to enter a bounce house ever again says otherwise.

* NotBloodSiblings: [[AllLoveIsUnrequited One-sided]]. Twilight is ''very'' affectionate towards her adopted brother Francis Sparkle, who only sees her as a sister. The others think it's creepy. [[spoiler:They get married.]]
** Doubles as a RunningGag. "We're not biologically related, so it's technically okay."

* OffscreenInertia: As of "Foaly Matripony", that pony with the watering can from the first episode is ''still'' watering those flowers.
** According to the newspapers at the end, she's been at it for two months.

** Oddly enough, Pinkie, despite her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} canon personality]]. Her friends ''still'' insist on treating her as an evil gypsy witch.
** [[spoiler:By "Cute from the Hip", she's actually learned gypsy magic from Zecora.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: Parodied in "The Perfect Swarm"; Pinkie Pie repeatedly tells the others ''exactly'' what she's doing and asks for help, only to get completely ignored.

* ProductPlacement: Parodied. The credits ask viewers to "Please buy lots of toys" out of gratitude to Hasbro, Dole's goodwill is won back with flattering comments about its CEO, and the conductor of the Friendship Express openly advertises it ''[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Cheat Commandos]]''-style.

* RhymesOnADime: Subverted with Zecora, who is introduced as "the whimsical rhyming zebra" and proceeds to screw up her first chance:

* [[RobotGirl Robot Filly]]: Unknowingly, Sweetie Belle. It's a hilariously PaperThinDisguise.

* StepfordSmiler. Pinkie. Oh, dear God, Pinkie. She learned to pretend to be happy while growing up in an orphanage, and her skills are listed as baking, smiling, and ''facades''.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: While teasing Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon abruptly insists "Diamond Tiara would ''never'' fall in love with someone as clumsy as ''you!''"

* TalkingToHerself: Pretty much the entire thing as the majority of the cast are voiced by the series' two writers.

*** And again from Twilight to Francis.

* [[spoiler: VillainousIncest: Well, if it follows that Twilight's the BigBad, then this counts.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Twilight Sparkle as of "Foaly Matripony".]]
* VillainSong: Played with - "Princess of the Night" was [[http://spiderjewel.tumblr.com/post/19436654825/was-it-intentional-on-your-part-to-make-it-seem-like written to sound like a Disney villain song]], but the role of the manipulative "villain" in this situation is filled by Twilight.

* DominantSpeciesGenes: Parodied when Fluttershy says the dragon is her father. "Dragonness is recessive."

** Celestia earns sanity points for not only being the only one besides Cadence who not only notices Twilight's darker side, but actually ''does something'' about it (for example, exiling her from Canterlot and more or less ordering her to do ''nothing'' when she's allowed back in).

* NiceHat: While she's still a designer, giant hats are Rarity's specialty. She also has a "hat scarf".

** Subverted in "Lunar Slander".

-->"My father left me to fend for myself in the frozen tundra with nothing but a hatchet and a length of rope. I would have died if a pack of wolves hadn't taken me in as one of their own. But I wasn't safe, the wolves were robots built by my father to lull me into a false sense of security. I awoke one morning to find that he had slaughtered them all and left a message in the snow reading "I dare you to love again." But the message was actually written in ant pheromone. I was suddenly engulfed by thousands of rabid african ants, each trying to borough its way inside me to get to the queen larva my father had put in my Cheerios."

* ButtMonkey: ''Everypony'' hates Spike. They always think of mean things to say about/to him and give him the hardest tasks such as holding a lightning rod on top of Twilight's library during a thunderstorm. In the montage in Episode 3, the Element, Skills, Item and Dislikes of every pony in Team D.E.S.U. are displayed. Every pony has "Spike" in their dislikes, and Fluttershy has "clubbing Spike" listed in her likes.

* AmericanAccents: Babs Seed has a Brooklyn accent, as in canon.

** ''(BlankStare)''

* {{Yuri Fan}}girl: Twilight Sparkle.

Nine episodes have been released to date:

* AscendedFanon: Many plot points introduced in the series have since appeared in canon, including [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime Pinkie Pie being a gypsy]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 Twilight having a brother]], and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E7MakeNewFriendsButKeepDiscord Smooze's return]].

* 10. "You Shmooze, You Lose" ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkyUdCNmTFc in script form only at the moment]])

''Friendship is Witchcraft'' is an AbridgedSeries using material from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. It is a joint project headed by Jenny Nicholson and Griffin Lewis under the collective pseudonym Sherclop Pones. Most of the voices are done by Jenny Nicholson while Griffin Lewis does the music, editing, and some of the voices (mostly secondary characters).

Rather than directly parodying the show, it presents a version of the MLP universe where each character is just a bit... different. Twilight Sparkle is an ADD-addled narcissistic sociopath with aspirations of royalty, Spike is a universally scorned target of abuse, Fluttershy is the insane leader of an apocalyptic cult, Rarity is a PTSD-affected war veteran devoted to said cult, Applejack a war criminal and a Southern stereotype (as written by a space alien), Rainbow Dash is self-absorbed to the point of sometimes speaking [[PokemonSpeak using her name alone]], and Pinkie Pie is an orphan who just wants to be loved. Oh, and Sweetie Belle is a robot, but no one seems to have noticed. The resulting show almost feels like a pony version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}''.

The series features original background music and even original musical numbers. Via use of clever editing and special effects, it even seems to be developing its own story arc, revolving around Pinkie's attempts to use gypsy magic to go back in time and save her dead parents. All the while, Fluttershy is attempting to prevent her from meddling with time magic as she leads a cult dedicated to the revival of Smooze and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt bring about the world's ending]], and their goals apparently are in direct opposition to each other.

The team have an old [[http://www.youtube.com/user/SherclopPones Youtube]] channel, though now updates are done [[http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJI4dS-3rg-VrlN8kfSMQnw here]]. Like most [=MLP=] abridged series, ''Friendship Is Witchcraft'' has run into issues with copyright claims from Creator/{{Hasbro}} (the real one), resulting in their videos on Website/YouTube being blocked to U.S. audiences for an indefinite period of time (remind you of [[Creator/LittleKuriboh anyone?]]). An attempt was made to move the series to Vimeo, but those videos ended up being blocked as well (for those wanting to see the series, mirror sites are available). Despite this, the creators insist that the series is not dead. Both creators have launched side projects, available for viewing on their Youtube channel: Jenny's "Kimi Sparkle" series, a parody of WebVideo/MLPAnalysis videos, and Griffin's "Silver Spoon Escapes from Camp Energy", a LetsPlay of {{VideoGame/Limbo}} done as a series of largely improvised stream-of-consciousness ramblings done in character as Silver Spoon. They have also started a multi-part series based on the ''WesternAnimation/EquestriaGirls'' movie, entitled ''Horse Women''.

Citing reasons like "being genuinely tired of doing the same show for several years" and "we want to do other things too", the creators have put the project on a hiatus. They promised to continue it sometime in the future.

* 1. "The Perfect Swarm" (based on "Swarm of the Century")
* 2. "Read It and Sleep" (based on "Look Before You Sleep")
* 3. "Dragone Baby Gone" (based on "Dragonshy")
* 4. "Cute from the Hip" (based on "Call of the Cutie")
* 5. "Neigh, Soul Sister" (based on "Sisterhooves Social")
* 6. "Lunar Slander" (based on "Luna Eclipsed")
* 7. "Cherry Bomb" (based on "The Last Roundup")
* 8. "Foaly Matripony" (based on "A Canterlot Wedding")
* 9. "Seed No Evil" (based on "One Bad Apple" and the fan animated video ''WebVideo/{{Snowdrop}}'')
* 10. "You Shmooze, You Lose" ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkyUdCNmTFc in script form only at the moment]])

* AbsurdlyDedicatedWorker: "The Perfect Swarm" has a running gag with one particular pony watering a single flowerbed for hours on end. Even as a disaster is destroying Ponyville around her. Several episodes (and two in-universe months) later, "Foaly Matripony" reveals that this pony is ''still'' watering those same flowers.

** Scootaloo claims that [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash]] is her mom. Mom doesn't even acknowledge Scootaloo's existence.
* AdBreakDoubleTake: Parodies the one from "Look Before You Sleep", where lightning strikes a tree near Twilight's house.
-->'''Spike:''' Augh!\\
'''Spike:''' Not again!
** Minor example in "Dragone Baby Gone":
--->'''Twilight:''' All right girls, get into position!\\
'''Twilight:''' Good job, girls!
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Done rather morbidly in "Dragone Baby Gone".
-->'''Fluttershy:''' Bouncing baby bunnies burning brightly...!

-->'''Luna:''' Together, we shall do friend activities such as... puzzles, and... hugging, and... '''''OTHER THINGS!'''''

-->'''Fluttershy:''' This is your cult leader Fluttershy, speaking. Praise [[EldritchAbomination Smooze]]! And, um... remember to leave some money in the donation tray... um, if that's okay with you.
* AfterTheEnd: "Snowblind" states that winter eliminates the weak from society - without it, humans would still be running around with their bicycles!

* AllJustADream: "Seed No Evil" relegates the event of ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' to a nightmare of Apple Bloom's.

** Diamond Tiara is poorly hiding her {{Tsundere}} crush on Apple Bloom, while Silver Spoon has a crush on ''her''.
** Francis is oblivious to Twilight's love for him.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Diamond Tiara's mom, who gets drunk at her daughter's mark mitzvah and starts singing Music/SmashMouth. Badly.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Princess Molestia/Luna has issues with personal space, social situations, and the volume of her voice. She's not avoided for being scary, as she thinks, but because she's awkward and clingy.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: Diamond Tiara, not because of surname nor mannerisms, but because of her "mark mitzvah" celebration upon getting a cutie mark. It's only really ambiguous because the finer points of pony religions are unaddressed. Human Diamond Tiara from ''Silver Spoon Escapes from Camp Energy'' is confirmed to be Jewish.
** There's also Applejack's remark on the subject.
--->'''Applejack:''' For the last time, I ain't switchin' religions just so you can have a mark mitzvah like the popular kids!

* ApocalypseCult: Fluttershy's cult worships the Smooze, and intends to summon him to destroy Equestria.
* ArcSymbol: The Twilight face shown above tends to show up a lot (i.e. in the visuals for "It'll Be OK" and as fireworks at the very end of "Foaly Matripony").
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: From "Lunar Slander":
-->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' When Fluttershy isn't helping animals learn to read, she's tempting the devil with her dulcet tones! And she's yellow!
** Babs Seed exorcised the spirit of Old Man [=McMilkshake=], burned down the bakery he haunted, and purchased Ponyville's railroads.
* ArtEvolution: The EpisodeTitleCard, starting in "Cherry Bomb", turns from standard white text into an actual drawn title card.
* ArtMajorBiology: Played for laughs; "Dragon-ness is recessive." Not that the actual show is much better about it, mind you.
* ArtShift: During the original animation for "It'll Be OK" in "Foaly Matripony".
* AscendedMeme: Someone at Hasbro apparently watched [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SAHWlKgnN1o/UVkBJaIrbnI/AAAAAAABXhA/CHGEjqeiM5s/s1600/284737__UNOPT__safe_sweetie-belle_sweetie-bot_friendship-is-witchcraft_card_510c79d6a4c72dc7c5000ce3_515291d2a4c72d25b0000211.png "Cute From The Hip"]].

** Despite the series' love of black humor, the characters really do care for each other. [[ItsAllAboutMe Except]] [[TheSociopath Twilight]].
** The entire episode of "Neigh, Soul Sister" is Sweetie Belle telling Rarity that she loves her, and Rarity finally returning her affection.
--->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Initiate happy cry sequence!]]\\
'''Rarity:''' Cry? [[BrickJoke That's not a war face]].\\
'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming I love you!]]]]
** Twilight and Francis (Shining Armor), in the romantic way. Well, for Francis at least. Twilight has been his number one fan for his entire career, and she's even been in love with him from the very day she found him on their doorstep. After [[spoiler:Twilight disrupts his and Cadence's wedding, chases Cadence to the crystal caves beneath Canterlot and either kills her or leaves her for dead,]] they get married.
*** [[OverlyLongGag It's okay!]] [[NotBloodSiblings They're not]] [[BrotherSisterIncest biologically related!]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Mommity and Daddity, Dragonshy, Granny Smith, and a bird, all brought back by Pinkie's portal]]. When one comes back, a number appears that counts how many have been revived.
** [[spoiler:And at long last, Pinkie's parents... as babies.]]

** Applejack and Rarity playing "Applesack" and "Charity" in Twilight's fanfiction.
** Rarity's discovery of Sweetie Belle's heart breaking drawing inspires her to write a monologue for her Hearth's Warming Eve pageant audition

** Spike's butchering of "[[Disney/{{Mulan}} Reflection]]" in his audition for the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant. Perhaps it's for the best that Twilight forbids him to dream.
* BackupTwin: [[spoiler: Cadence is dead by Twilight's hoof, so]] Candace, Cadence's [[LampshadeHanging identical twin sister who is also a princess]], takes over as the Crystal Empire's ruler in ''Horse Women''.
* BaitAndSwitchComparison: In "Cute From The Hip":
-->'''Apple Bloom:''' But... Applejack says that--\\
'''Rainbow Dash:''' Hey, who are you going to listen to? [''does goofy 'applebucking' pose''] Someone who does ''this'' all day? Or your sister?
** We also have this from Rarity: "But we have nothing in common, I come from a rich family, and you like to eat apples."
* {{Beat}}: In "Cute From the Hip", one lasts long enough for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to blink in time with the music several times.
** Another in "Neigh, Soul Sister".
--->[''Sweetie Belle has just activated Rarity's one-time use "self-hugging" sweater'']\\
'''Rarity:''' Now who shall hug me?\\
[''beat'']\\
'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Sweetie Belle!]]
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Twilight seems to slip into this in "Foaly Matripony". As in the original, she peeks in on her brother and his fiancee--but this time it's implied that SHE's the one casting a mind-control spell. Nonetheless, she seems genuinely horrified and runs off screaming that Cadence is pure evil.

* BilingualBonus: The kanji cutie mark that Twilight Sparkle gives to Apple Bloom in "Cute from the Hip" is actually part of the Japanese word for "apple".
* BizarroUniverse: WordOfGod [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szk-Hjl2Z0A&list=PL674D34912C4F9EFA stated]] that they consider the show itself like "a bizarro universe version of ''Friendship is Magic''" that airs on an alternate universe Creator/AdultSwim-like version of Creator/TheHub.

** A giant ball of parasprites crashing into a bowling alley knocking down all the pins is pretty funny, except when it kills eight ponies. Then it's hilarious.
** Rarity's parents are brought back from the dead, and soon go off for a vacation in "Neigh, Soul Sister". Listen in the background for what happens.

--->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [''arguing with Rarity''] [[AC:At least I don't spend every Veteran's Day sobbing on the floor!]]
** Episode 8 ventures into much darker territories with its humor. Most episodes generally retain the same storyline with bizarre, humorous changes, but "[[HurricaneOfPuns Foaly Matripony]]" involves Twilight sabotaging her brother's wedding so that she can marry him, [[spoiler:and leaving Cadence in a cave beneath Canterlot to die.]]
** "Seed No Evil" suddenly segues from its roots in "One Bad Apple" to an extended, much darker, parody of ''WebVideo/{{Snowdrop}}'' [[spoiler:that inspires the Snooty Snark Evaders to use dark magic to blind Babs for life]]. Nobody learns anything. Oh yeah, and then it ends on a cheerful musical number [[spoiler:mocking the now-blind filly]].
* BlackMagic: There is a distinction between "legal magic" and "witchcraft". The difference has not been explicitly defined, but it would appear that unicorn magic falls in the former category, while the latter seems to encompass gypsy magic and magic invoked by summoning dark spirits, such as what the Snooty Snark Evaders use to [[spoiler: blind Babs]].
* BlahBlahBlah: In "Cute From The Hip", Twilight apparently hears everything Apple Bloom says as her just saying "Apples!" repeatedly. She thinks she's speaking "Applenese".
* BlindWithoutEm: Rainbow Dash admits that her astigmatism made her too nearsighted to join the army during the war or the Wonderballs now. Everything's blurry from her viewpoint. She mistakes Apple Bloom for Applejack at first, and then later both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She refuses to listen to her eye doctor about getting glasses, though.
* BigNo: Luna/Molestia's reaction to Molest-Fest going awry, complete with the menacing royal voice echo similar to the original.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: The entire "buy some apples" RunningGag was a punch intentionally made on ridiculous censorship.
** "Lunar Slander" begins with a notice explaining that DOLE has issued a cease-and-desist letter stopping the series from using the word "apple." Every mention of apples in the episode (including Applejack's name and the "buy some apples" gag above) is dubbed over with a different fruit, and every visual depiction of apples (including the apple-bobbing tub and AJ's cutie mark) is blurred out.
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Fluttershy's profile in "Dragone Baby Gone":
-->'''Skills:''' Clubs, Spikes, Clubbing Spike\\
'''Item:''' Spiked Club\\
'''Dislikes:''' Clubbing, [[ButtMonkey Spike]]

--->'''[LEMON]jack:''' Take a shower! Use deodorant! Breathe through your nose! Throw some spiders!\\
'''Molestia:''' What? [[LampshadeHanging I feel like that stopped making sense]].
** In "Neigh, Soul Sister", the Sentient Social activity list is as follows:
--->Sisterly Double Dutch\\
Sisterly Bobsleigh Derby\\
Sisterly TuringTest\\
Sisterly Soul Scan\\
Sisterly Do-The-Apple-Family's-Chores-Extravaganza
** Pinkie's song in "Dragone Baby Gone":
--->"Step one, try not to be so self-conscious,\\
Two, shift your weight into your haunches,\\
Three, kick your legs into the air, and\\
Four, just forget your parents are both dead."

** In "Cute From the Hip":
--->'''Apple Bloom:''' Uh, Pinkie, if you're going to start singing, could you put the lyrics at the bottom of the screen?
** The extended version of said song has Pinkie singing about ''baking'' the fourth wall as part of her plan.
** Twilight states that [MANGO]jack is "the most universally-adored character in the show" in "Lunar Slander".
** All over the place in "Foaly Matripony". Celestia's letter states that all of Pinkie's dialogue was cut for time (and Pinkie's answer gets cut off mid-sentence). The mane six laugh at Spike for hoping that he'll get a larger role in the episode... and it happens again when he speculates that the marriage will shake up the status quo. The ponies brainstorm punny titles for that very episode.
** In "Seed No Evil", Apple Bloom states that the portal can resurrect two more dead parents before that plot thread is complete.
** In ''Horse Women'', Twilight's actress explains that her rather pathetic screams are due to her not being alone in the house while she's recording.

** The "Elmer's bath" that Fluttershy took prior to "Dragone Baby Gone" appears to be a part of the usual treatment that she and Rarity have at her cult's "Conversion Spa" in "Neigh, Soul Sister".
** In "Dragone, Baby Gone", Twilight offhandedly mentions that she may have to frame Molestia again to secure her place on the throne, and then tells the dragon that her [[Website/GaiaOnline Gaia name]] is Celestia2. Later, in "Lunar Slander", we're shown that Celestia was tipped off to her sister's alleged attempt to usurp the throne by a Gaia user named Celestia2--confirming that [[ManipulativeBitch Twilight was indeed responsible for Molestia's banishment]].
** "Pinkie's Brew" contains the lyrics "Eye of a newt and cinnamon". In "Lunar Slander", Pip reveals that he lost an eye, and that his given name is Newt. At the end of "Foaly Matripony", [[spoiler:it's revealed that he lost his other one as well. [[DeadBabyComedy Along with his legs. He doesn't mind]].]]
** In "Cute From the Hip", Twist tells Apple Bloom, "Make sure you knock on my door seven times, or we'll assume it's the police!" rather offhandedly. Several scenes later:
--->'''Apple Bloom:''' *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock*\\
[''{{beat}}'']\\
'''Apple Bloom:''' *knock*\\
'''Twist:''' Oh! Were you followed?
** In "Read It and Sleep", Applejack nervously mentions [[NoodleIncident Twilight's old friends in Canterlot]]. We get an explanation for this in "Foaly Matripony" (she vaporized them).
** When discussing puns in "Foaly Matripony", Rainbow Dash suggests that they just [[CallBack split the episode off into sections and use all of them]].
* BrotherSisterIncest: Twilight and her brother Francis, who [[spoiler:get married in the finale of "Foaly Matripony"]]. However, it seems like Twilight is a [[AllLoveIsUnrequited little bit more affectionate]].
** [[RunningGag It's okay!]] [[NotBloodSiblings They're not biologically related!]]
* BuffySpeak: Regarding the mountain in "Dragone Baby Gone":
-->'''Fluttershy:''' It's so... tall/steep...\\
'''Rainbow Dash:''' Well it ''is'' a tall/steep thing!
* BusCrash: Implied with [[spoiler:Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents]]; after leaving, the sounds of an offscreen crash are heard.
** Also what happened originally. Apparently Pinkie's brew is wreaking havoc with reality.
* ButtMonkey: ''Everypony'' hates Spike. They always think of mean things to say about/to him and give him the hardest tasks such as holding a lightning rod on top of Twilight's library during a thunderstorm. In the montage in Episode 3, the Element, Skills, Item and Dislikes of every pony in Team D.E.S.U. are displayed. Every pony has "Spike" in their dislikes, and Fluttershy has "clubbing Spike" listed in her likes.
** In "Foaly Matripony", the forcefield around Canterlot seems to exist for the sole purpose of keeping Spike out of the city during the wedding (and it does).
* CallBack: "Seed No Evil" has Sweetie Belle declaring "[[AC:Look how far I can electric slide!]]"
** In "Neigh, Soul Sister" Sweetie Belle claims that the water makes her feel funny after Rarity tells her to take a bath. In "Seed No Evil" Sweetie Belle literally goes haywire while in the bathtub.
* CallingYourAttacks: "Rainbow Dodge!" "Rainbow Kick!" "Rainbow Smash!"

* CameBackWrong: Possibly, depending on how much of Granny Smith's skin was falling off. [[spoiler:Definitely the case with Pinkie's parents, not that she minds.]]

-->'''Doctor American:''' I'm American.
** Rarity makes a cameo appearance in "Lunar Slander" wearing the invisibility scarf that she wore at one point in "Dragone, Baby Gone".
* CardCarryingVillain: Twilight runs right up to Princess Cadence Notevil Goodpony and immediately tells her why she's at the wedding.
-->'''Twilight:''' [''starts "Sunshine, Sunshine" dance''] I will destroy you and steal your fiancé, booty booty booty booty rockin' everywhere!
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], as [[ObliviouslyEvil she sees nothing wrong with this]].
* CassandraTruth: [[PoorCommunicationKills Unlike in the original show]], Pinkie and Applejack are very clear about their respective problems (Pinkie clearly spells out the threat the parasprites pose and what they need to do about it, while Applejack tells them in her letter that she's been enslaved). Their friends ignore them. Applejack doesn't exactly flat-out state that she has a bomb strapped to her until it came out, but that may be because Whiplash would activate the bomb if she did.
* {{Catchphrase}}: Some of the characters have their own, but this one gets around: "Talk about eye candy!" It was lampshaded via SpinningNewspaper in episode 8.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first episode, Princess Celestia seems to actually '''like''' Twilight Sparkle -- albeit in more of a "celebrity and BigNameFan" way than their close relationship in the actual show -- and actually asks her for a friendship report. Later episodes show Princess Celestia to consider Twilight obnoxious at best and creepy at worst, and establishes the letters as something Twilight took it upon herself to send and Celestia wishes would just stop.
* ChekhovsGun: The line "They say a kitch-en time save nine" from "Pinkie's Brew" seems like a throwaway rhyme. However, when various parents start coming BackFromTheDead in subsequent episodes, a counter appears on screen, ticking up toward nine.
** In the same episode as Pinkie's Brew, Cheerilee gives a seemingly irrelevant and paranoid lesson about robots that seems to have no bearing on anything. Then, at the end of the episode, [[RobotGirl Sweetie Belle]] is introduced.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Snowblind. [[spoiler:Subverted near the end.]]
--> "That's because I'm blind, [[spoiler:you ja[BLEEP].]]"

-->'''Silver Spoon:''' We're like sharks right now.
* {{Cloudcuckooland}}: You'd be hard pressed to pick which character in Ponyville is the ''farthest'' off the deep end. Tellingly, ''Pinkie Pie'' seems to be [[OnlySaneWoman the closest one to sanity]].
* ColonyDrop: PlayedForLaughs in "Star Waving Mad", when Twilight gets bored of playing with the moon and unceremoniously drops it on Ponyville.

--->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Why is it funny to laugh at someone else's misery?! "Oh look, our characters are so malevolent and heartless!" Maybe next we'll hear a new cheap catchphrase!]]\\
[''{{beat}}'']\\
'''Applejack:''' Moonshine gravy!
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Nopony seems to grasp that the "free iPod" Applejack won was a trap, or that AJ is enslaved, or that she has a bomb attached to her that detonates if she tries to leave. Even when she spells it out in plain English and the bomb is sitting there in plain view.
* ComicallySmallBribe: From "Cherry Bomb":
-->'''Applejack:''' I'll give you a nickel to outrun them!\\
[''the coach pulls ahead'']\\
'''Twilight:''' I'll give you a piece of string!\\
[''the coach falls behind'']\\
'''Applejack:''' I'll give you two sticks of gum and a rubber band!\\
[''the coach leaves the other five in the dust'']\\
'''Rarity:''' She's richer than us!

--->[''Snails takes a massive bite out of a cake with a smiley face drawn on it; the cake frowns'']\\
'''Diamond Tiara:''' Hey! Cakey is ''my'' best friend! I get to decide when she dies!

* ContinuityCavalcade: The SpinningPaper near the end of "Foaly Matripony" features callbacks to nearly every prior episode.

** Rarity uses an invisibility scarf in "Dragone, Baby Gone" and can be seen walking around wearing it in "Lunar Slander".
** Applejack accidentally pulls the top half of a neighboring tree into Twilight's home in "Read it and Sleep", then tries to jump and kick it while yelling "Destroy!" three times. Later, in "Neigh, Soul Sister", we get this exchange:
--->'''Applejack:''' [[FantasticRacism Apple Bloom, the grapes are different than our kind. You know what that means!]]\\
'''Apple Bloom:''' [''while crushing the grapes with her hooves''] Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!
** In the first episode, Twilight runs past a pony watering flowers several times, with Twilight commenting just how long she's been doing it. In "Foaly Matripony", one of the newspaper articles mentions a pony who's been watering flowers for two months, saying that she no longer feels anything.
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Let's see... all dragons are slaves when they aren't second class citizens, an unknown but no doubt sizable proportion of the population are actually robots who apparently go on murderous rampages if they learn their true natures, there was a massive World War One-esque conflict not long ago, a cult is openly seeking to destroy the world...
* CreditsGag: Rarity's parents are named "Mommity" and "Daddity", and Dole CEO David H. Murdock is listed among the "donors" in "Cherry Bomb".
* CripplingTheCompetition: Twilight mentions vaporizing her competition during her song in "Foaly Matripony".
* CurseCutShort: Just barely audible in "Read it and Sleep".
-->'''Rarity:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You! Little! B-]]
* CurtainClothing: Francis Sparkle's outfit is made of corn dogs, of all things.

** Sweetie Belle starts treading close to this in "Neigh, Soul Sister" when she attempts attaching herself to Applejack.
-->[[AC:If the world isn't going to love me, ''then I'll teach it to fear me instead!'']]

--->'''Rarity:''' What was that, "Applesack"? You wouldn't want us to [[NoodleIncident end up like Twilight's old friends in Canterlot]], would you?

* CuteIsEvil: Fluttershy, the soft spoken, aggressively {{moe}}, [[spoiler:half dragon]] leader of a ''doomsday cult''.
* {{Cute Machine|s}}: Sweetie Belle, even with her [[RoboSpeak overtly robotic voice]]. ''Especially'' with her overtly robotic voice.

** Played straight with the pacts made with [[TheVoice Twin]][[EldritchAbomination kle]]. Unusually, however, Twinkle asks those who call upon him (or at least in Snowblind's case) to reconsider their wishes before he grants them ("Are you sure you don't want something more whimsical?").

* DeliveryStork: Raincloud, having delivered Twilight's adopted brother Francis to her doorsteps.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "She didn't notice all the carnage and dead ponies!"
* DescentIntoDarknessSong: Pinkie Pie's orphanage song does this. It begins as a happy song, but then Pinkie starts singing about how unworthy she is.
* DesignatedHero: Lampshaded in "Seed No Evil", after [[spoiler: the Evaders wish for Twinkle to blind Babs]]:
--> '''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Now she is protected from [[SelfDeprecation harmful cynical media]] that could influence bad behavior, so we're still the good guys. Correct?]]\\
'''Applejack:''' ... Yeeeeah.[[invoked]]

** It's pretty ridiculous how the other ponies regard Fluttershy when she called the parasprite swarm her "Army of Darkness", killed at least 13 dragons and many other demons, enjoys clubbing Spike with her spiked club, throws rabbits into bonfires, and leads a ReligionOfEvil (see below).
** None of the Mane 6 pay attention to Whiplash's frequent, unsubtle bomb puns, nor her treatment of Applejack.
** Twilight as of "Foaly Matripony". No one notices that [[spoiler:she left Cadence for dead and stole her groom, who is her adopted brother]]. Plus, she actually sang about how she vaporized her competition during "It'll Be OK".

** Parodied in "Lunar Slander", right from the beginning:
--->Dear viewers,\\
[[FanworkBan We have officially received our first cease and desist letter]] [[SchmuckBait regarding the use of copyrighted material in our videos]].\\
The word "apple" and the image of an apple are legal copyrights of the Dole corporation. This episode has been modified from its original version to keep within good legal standing. We thought that DOLE would be a BRO about this, but clearly there is no BRO in DOLE. We hope you enjoy the episode regardless.

** In "Cherry Bomb", on-screen text claims that "Buy some apples" is a Dole trademark, and the SoundEffectBleep comes complete with a classified ad for the Dole Chairman.

* DramaticIrony: Sweetie Belle accuses Rarity of being a "[[AC:soulless automaton]]" when she protests attending the Sentient Social with her. Of course, she's also (quite obviously) a robot herself, but nobody (including herself) notices.

* DumbIsGood: Parodied: Ponyville's citizens are proud of their ignorance, to the point that when they receive a letter from Applejack in "Cherry Bomb", they think she's been 'corrupted by knowledge' and believes she's too good for their friendship now that she knows how to write.
** By the end, Applejack agrees, reporting that it's better to not know anything at all.
* DysfunctionJunction: Applejack and Rarity are tormented by their memories of the war, Pinkie Pie is an orphan accused of witchcraft, Fluttershy is an affably evil cultist, and Twilight Sparkle is prone to obsession and completely lacking in empathy. Rainbow Dash is the only one of the Mane Six who isn't horribly emotionally scarred--she's just stupid.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Some of the running gags established in later episodes are so pervasive that their absence early on can be striking, particularly with regard to the first episode, "The Perfect Swarm".
** The first episode's establishing shots feature silent background characters.
** "The Perfect Swarm" uses traditional censor bars and bleep sounds.
** "The Perfect Swarm" also sticks pretty faithfully to the plot of the original episode, something that would ''not'' be true of later episodes.

** The EpisodeTitleCard starts out as white text on black background. By "Cherry Bomb" onwards, it becomes an actual drawn card.
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: [[TheCutie Fluttershy]] singing [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame "Hellfire"]]. In the first ten seconds.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Fluttershy seems to be honestly trying to talk Rarity ''out'' of donating Sweetie Belle's college fund to her cult.
** In "Foaly Matripony", we have her uttering this gem when Twilight's obsession with her own brother gets a little too unsettling (the fact that Twilight was talking to a sandwich probably didn't help):
--->'''Fluttershy:''' Twilight, you're even scaring ''me''.

* EverythingsBetterWithPlushies: One of Rainbow Dash's lyrics in The Convention song.
--> "Meet fanboys by the dozens, they'll shower me with plushies!"
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Along with Princesses Celestia and Molestia/Luna, in "Dragone Baby Gone" Twilight claims Celestia has named ''her'' a princess along with being the leader of Team D.E.S.U.
** And as of "Lunar Slander" [[spoiler:Luna gave her title to Twilight Sparkle]].

** "Oh, I wish Spike hadn't spilled glitter everywhere. He can be [[ButtMonkey such a disappointment]]."
* ExactWords: Applejack is okay with Pinkie singing, as long as it's not a sad song with a deceptively happy tune. [[spoiler:It's a bittersweet song.]]
** The rest of the Mane 6 will understand "when it's five after one".
* ExtremeOmnivore: Applejack has eaten mud (pretending it's chocolate) and an old sandwich on the floor ("It's still good!").

* EyeScream: Half the time a character says "Talk about eye candy" it's because something is in or on their eyes.
** Subverted in "Lunar Slander".
--->'''Newt:''' Ever since I lost my eye, I've been craving nothing but candy!\\
'''Twilight:''' Talk about holiday spirit.
* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: Lampshaded in "Seed No Evil":
-->'''Applejack:''' I guess sometimes it just takes one unspeakable cruelty to counteract another!\\
'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Is that really the moral?]]
** InUniverse example in the same episode: "Snowblind" ends with [[spoiler:the main character declaring that if she wants something, she'll take it, and that she's not some kind of Christmas special feel-good pony. Given that she did so by trafficking with dark powers...]]

** In addition to the cast's utter contempt for Spike, adult dragons are apparently kept in cages in Equestria, for children to throw things at. Twilight all but directly states that the only reason baby dragons don't suffer this fate is because they're not a large enough target.

--->'''Applejack:''' Apple Bloom, the grapes are different than our kind! You know what that means!\\
'''Apple Bloom:''' [''cheerfully stomping grapes''] Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!

* FinishingEachOthersSentences: In "Neigh, Soul Sister".
-->'''Apple Bloom:''' Applejack and I dec-\\
'''Applejack:''' -ided that I could do the race with you, and we're only-\\
'''Apple Bloom:''' -going to charge you twenty-\\
'''Applejack:''' -hundred dollars!

-->'''Applejack:''' Hey, all of us have some depth to our characters...\\
'''Rainbow Dash:''' ''I'' don't!\\
'''Applejack:''' ''Almost'' all of us have some depth to our characters...
** {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in "Foaly Matripony". Cadence finds the one-dimensional nature of the Mane Six unnerving, and worries when it starts to rub off on Francis. Rightly so, as it's implied that Twilight's the reason for this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Gypsy? I'm not a gypsy! I'm a pastry chef! Those aren't even similar! ...Or are they?"
** In "Cherry Bomb" Pinkie Pie makes the exclamation that her magic candy told her that Applejack's trip was going to be "the bomb". This turns out to be much more literal than Pinkie anticipated.
* ForcedMeme: Rainbow Dash tries to make one in "Foaly Matripony".
-->'''Rainbow Dash:''' While Twilight was singing that song, I thought of a new word! It's called ''blarf''! I don't know what it means yet, but I know it's gonna be big!

-->"When you're rife with devastation, there's a simple explanation:\\
You're [[MerchandiseDriven a toymaker's creation]] trapped inside a crystal ball!"

** In "Dragone Baby Gone", you can see that Twilight's map is indeed not a map.
** You can spot Rarity wearing her Invisibility Scarf in "Lunar Slander".
** Raincloud can be spotted in the background of several scenes in Con-Junction in "Cherry Bomb".
** A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in "Foaly Matripony" when Twilight finds Francis on her doorstep: [[spoiler:Raincloud]] dropped him off!
** Several of the ''[[WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012 Littlest Pet Shop]]'' pets can be seen in the background of "Foaly Matripony".
** In Kimi Sparkle's review of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E3CastleManeia "Transyl-Mania"]] a translucent horn appears on Kimi's forehead.
** In "Lunar Slander" when Twilight is giving the trick-or-treaters books, if you pause at just the right time, they're her own fan-fictions. "Diamond In The Rough" can be seen, as well as something that looks like her once-mentioned Discord fanfic.
* FreudianExcuse: Fluttershy's evil seems to be the product of her hellish childhood.
-->'''Fluttershy:''' Do you know what a bunny fire is?\\
'''[[spoiler:Dragonshy]]:''' Is it like a fire? For... bunnies? Are you still angry because I threw your velveteen rabbit in a fire?

** In "Cute from the Hip", while Diamond Tiara passes the note to Apple Bloom, Cheerilee talks about how a loveless relationship is a sign that you've married a robot.
** In "Neigh, Soul Sister", Mommity and Daddity's cab crashes off-screen while Rarity speaks with Sweetie Belle.
** At one point in "Seed No Evil", the original show's standard in-credits appear... only this time, the episode in question is named [[BlackComedy "Apple Bloom Goes Grave Robbing"]].
* FunWithAcronyms: Team D.E.S.U.: "Dragon Euthanization Specialty Unit".
** F.A.T. ("Find Applejack Together") Squad.

* GilliganCut: Applejack in "Dragone Baby Gone". Apparently rattle snakes just aren't that fast in July.
** Also in "Cute From The Hip".
--->'''Rainbow Dash:''' Well, we've tried rainbows and dashing, so I'm basically out of ideas.

-->'''Spike:''' When you're holding a puppet show, you can only force your friends and neighbors to watch. But ''everypony'' can see the moon!\\
'''Twilight:''' Great idea! I'm so smart! Keep up the good work, Twilight.
* TheGlomp: In "Lunar Slander".
-->'''Princess Molestia:''' [''magically pulls Fluttershy to her and hugs her''] Prepare yourself for a glomp! For this kind act, you have earned yourself one thousand hugs starting now!

* GreatOffScreenWar: "Read It and Sleep" and "Neigh, Soul Sister" contain numerous references to "the war" and what happened in it. Despite this, all we know is that Applejack considers Rarity a deserter, and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo has done things she wouldn't otherwise do]], including at least one war crime. Meanwhile, Rarity [[ShellShockedVeteran was traumatized by her time in the trenches]].
-->"[[IDidWhatIHadToDo I did what I had to]] to protect the Apple family!"\\
"[[WhatTheHellHero I'm sure that's what you said while you were driving that stampede into a school house!]]"
** An original song entitled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYzRbdHvb3s How Applejack Won the War]]" implies that Applejack put the entire farm on a war footing and was involved in the accidental killing of civilians, as well as massacres of surrendering enemies.
* [[HairTriggerAvalanche Hair Trigger]] Music/{{ABBA}}lanche: Deliberately triggered by Fluttershy. For that moment, the falling rocks (and mountainside) [[spoiler:play a music video of the song "SOS"]].
* HeroicSacrifice: In "Cherry Bomb", Applejack ''tries'' to take the bomb outside of town and spare her friends from fiery death, but they just catch up with her anyway. [[spoiler:Raincloud then saves them all by taking the bomb and flying away with it, just before it explodes]]. In keeping with the tone of the show, however, nopony notices or even cares. Not even Applejack. Until "Star Waving Mad", when [[spoiler:Twilight drops the moon, setting most of Ponyville on fire.]]
-->"Red alert! Red alert! [[spoiler:Raincloud]]! Come in [[spoiler:Raincloud]]! We need your help! Where are you?"

-->"My father left me to fend for myself in the frozen tundra with nothing but a hatchet and a length of rope. I would have died if a pack of wolves hadn't taken me in as one of their own. But I wasn't safe, the wolves were robots built by my father to lull me into a false sense of security. I awoke one morning to find that he had slaughtered them all and left a message in the snow reading "I dare you to love again." But the message was actually written in ant pheromone. I was suddenly engulfed by thousands of rabid african ants, each trying to borough its way inside me to get to the queen larva my father had put in my Cheerios."
* HollywoodTourettes: Averted. Spike's Tourette's doesn't cause obligatory swearing, but it ''does'' cause him to involuntarily teleport his epic fantasy trilogy to Celestia... who destroys his years of work, thinking it's another one of Twilight's creepy fics.

-->'''[[spoiler:Fluttershy]]:''' [[spoiler:Dragon-ness is recessive.]]

** The Mane 6 spend a portion of "Foaly Matripony" trying to think of puns for the episode title.

* ImaginaryFriend: Bonko the Clown, Snowblind's only friend.
* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Snowblind [[spoiler:ends up subverting this.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Snowblind:''' I'm not some Christmas-special martyr here to make you feel better about yourselves.]]
* InsuranceFraud: Applejack's [[INeedToGoIronMyDog excuse to leave]] when she sees Twilight's [[ShipperOnDeck fanfiction]].
-->'''Applejack:''' Oh, hay. I gotta go on home and wreck something so I can file an insurance claim saying the storm did it. See ya!
* InterspeciesRomance: Spike's crush on Rarity in the original series suddenly makes sense here as we learn that dragon-pony relationships have happened before, there ''have'' been offspring, and we've already ''met'' at least one. Evidently dragon genes are entirely recessive.
* IronicEcho: Sweetie Belle practices a song early in "Neigh, Soul Sister" about how much she loves her sister Rarity. Compare to the song she sings during the race, after rejecting her.

--->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Life is a journey. She has plenty of time to grow up, fall in love, and start a family, like you or I. For love is the fluid that beats through our collective hearts.]]
** In "Neigh, Soul Sister", Rarity's disguise contact lenses altered her appearance to look like Applejack... every part except for her eyes.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Twilight seems genuinely incapable of understanding that she's not the entirety of her friends' lives, to murderous levels judging from Rarity's reaction to Applejack's plans to leave in 'Read It and Sleep'.
* JustAMachine: According to Cheerilee, robots don't have souls. This is supposedly the main difference between them and cyborgs.

* KarmaHoudini: Twilight. She gets Luna sent to space camp out of jealousy, kills a few of Celestia's students (and just gets scolded), and [[spoiler:kidnaps Cadence and hides her in a cave after stealing her fiance.]]
* KickTheDog: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJoYq0wKc4I "Spike's Big Day".]]
* KidsAreCruel: "Snowblind" has the titular filly being informed by her teacher that the others are waiting to attack her with snowballs. "Better get it over with now, or they'll just attack you again tomorrow."
* LeastRhymableWord: Even [[RhymesOnADime Zecora]] has trouble with the word "circle".
** That said, she also had trouble with "sad"...
* LaughingMad: Twilight giggles in a rather ''unsettling'' fashion just before showing Rarity her Applesack[=/=]Charity fanfiction.
* LaughTrack: One is played after a particularly horrible joke in "Seed No Evil".

* LeaveNoSurvivors: Applejack's philosophy during The War, according to "How Applejack Won the War".
-->White flag?\\
We're not done\\
Got those cowards on the run\\
Round 'em up, no need to stall\\
Take no prisoners, KILL 'EM ALL!

-->'''Applejack:''' With just a little teamwork we can all-\\
'''Twilight:''' I'm going in alone!
* LighterAndSofter: Possibly due to the [[CrapsaccharineWorld standard]] [[WorldGoneMad inversion]] of the source material, Molestia's backstory is considerably less tragic than Luna's.
-->'''Celestia:''' [''narrating''] Taking drastic measures, Celestia banished her wicked sister to Space Camp for one thousand hours.
* LiteralMetaphor: From "Seed No Evil": "Looks like the tables have turned... literally!" Cue LaughTrack.
* LiteralMinded: Twilight thinks Princess Celestia wants her to build a "book fort". At the [[BrickJoke end of the episode]] we find out the princess had told her that "books are your forte".
-->'''Twilight:''' Fort... ''e?''
* LockAndLoadMontage: "Dragone Baby Gone" uses the one from "Dragonshy" for the most part, substituting a stat list after each freeze-frame (and adding one for Twilight, who wasn't part of the original).
* LoserProtagonist: Apparently shaping up to be [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie]]. In fact, every appearance of hers after "The Perfect Swarm" more or less involves her attempts at [[MeaningfulName witchcraft]].

** Episode 1 "The Perfect Swarm":
--->'''Princess Celestia:''' Didn't you learn something about one of your dear friends?\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Oh, right! Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that it doesn't matter if you can slide two feet, or even five or six feet. What's important is that you look cool no matter what.
** At the end of Episode 2 "Read It and Sleep" Twilight's friendship report is actually [[spoiler:her 70 chapter ship-fic, which she sends to the Princess]].
** In Episode 3 "Dragone Baby Gone", she ends up writing to the Princess about [[spoiler:the ball Rainbow Dash was playing with]].

** Episode 4 "Cute from the Hip": Twilight starts out with what sounds like a normal letter about remembering her childhood only to go on about how much she likes writing and sending letters to Princess Celestia.
** Averted in Episode 5 "Neigh, Soul Sister". Even though Twilight doesn't appear in the episode, she gives a lesson (via a micro tape Sweetie Belle swallowed) on always loving one's brother, mirroring Rarity's and Sweetie Belle's lesson in the original episode.
** In Episode 6, "Lunar Slander" has her write about the difference between a ghoul and a phantom, and how she will one day be able to be a princess to deliver her letters as soon as they're done.
** Applejack writes to Celestia in Episode 7, "Cherry Bomb", claiming that knowledge always comes with a price and IgnoranceIsBliss.

** Also works similarly well in the Japanese translation, as the names of every language in Japanese ends with the sound "-go", coincidentally so does the Japanese word for "Apple" (Ringo).

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=682pneYoP0c "Pinkie's Brew"]] starts off as a zany attempt by Pinkie Pie to go back in time but quickly becomes depressing as it's clear she wants nothing more than to see her parents. There's a reason the song cuts out partway through in the episode.
** "The Gypsy Bard" from "Cherry Bomb" also counts. Applejack lampshades this:
--->'''Pinkie:''' Wanna hear the song I sing to my parents? Oh, sorry, the one they sang to me?\\
'''Applejack:''' Doesn't matter which one, Pinkie. Long as it's not one of those sad ones with the deceptively happy tune.
** Pretty much any one of Pinkie Pie's songs counts.
** The episode-independent song "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYzRbdHvb3s How Applejack Won the War]]" is a bouncy, jaunty tune about battle, jingoism... and Applejack's war crimes.

* ManipulativeBastard: Twilight Sparkle plays Molestia like a harp from Hell in "Lunar Slander", and is all but confirmed to have been the one who convinced Celestia to banish her to Space Camp in the first place. Her [[spoiler:apparent success in convincing Molestia to abdicate]] might push her into full fledged MagnificentBastard territory.

* MediumAwareness: One of [[ShowWithinAShow Snowblind]]'s classmates is aware that not only are they fictional, but they're in a fanfic.
-->'''SpearCarrier:''' Do you ever wonder who's [[OriginalCharacter OC]] you are?
* MerchandiseDriven: Parodied in "Cherry Bomb":
-->'''Conductor:''' The Friendship Express is headed straight for your bedroom! Tell your parents to buy one!\\
'''Applejack:''' Only thirty bucks!
** And again in "Seed No Evil":
--->'''Silver Spoon:''' That's not really a face that's going to sell many toys.
* MissingTrailerScene: Human!Flash Sentry doesn't give Pony!Twilight a corndog in the first part of "Horse Women."
* MoralDissonance: Not that Twilight's even ''close'' to a decent role model in the first place, but she is responsible for Molestia's banishment to space camp in the first place. [[MagnificentBastard She then convinces Molestia to give up her powers in exchange for help socializing]], even though Twilight really didn't help at all.
* MotorMouth: Done briefly by Apple Bloom in Episode 4, first while talking to Rainbow Dash about cutie marks, then again while talking to Twilight about Pinkie's gypsy magic.

* MsExposition: Diamond Tiara's talent.

* MusicalNod: As Apple Bloom mentions that two more parents can be resurrected before the clock is up, the background music changes into a brief snippet of "Pinkie's Brew".
* MustMakeAmends: Fluttershy make amends to her father for all the softball plays he didn't went to watch and all the drawings that were not good enough for his fridge.
-->'''Fluttershy:''' And when I say "make amends", [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I. Mean.]] [[spoiler:[[SelfMadeOrphan DIE!]]]]

* NameMcAdjective: "Seed No Evil" has the ghosts Old Man [=McMilkshake=] and [=McMovie=].

** Along with a touch of {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, Twilight's reaction to seeing her own face (as Apple Bloom's cutie mark)?
--->'''Twilight Spakle:''' Oh, who was that pretty lady?
** Then [[http://askpagemaster.tumblr.com/ this guy]] appears on Apple Bloom's flank, and she asks the same question with the same tone.

* NeverSayDie: Twilight threatens to destroy Cadence in "Foaly Matripony".
* NiceHat: While she's still a designer, giant hats are Rarity's specialty. She also has a "hat scarf".
** One could [[IncrediblyLamePun go so far as to say]] giant hats ''are'' her [[PlanetOfHats giant hat]].
* TheNicknamer: Cheerilee doesn't know any of her students' names, and so calls them things like "[[HeyYou you]]" and "girl with the bow".
** Applejack tends to call people non sequiturs like "lawnmower" and "wagon wheel".
* NoFourthWall: In "Foaly Matripony", the characters try to think of titles for the episode.
** They also laugh off Spike's claims of the status quo being changed. [[ButtMonkey And his hopes of playing a major role in an episode]].

* NonIronicClown: Snowblind's ImaginaryFriend Bonko is one of these.
* NoodleIncident: Twilight maintains that her attempt to make waffles in a bounce house would've worked if not for Spike's [[RunningGag weak grip]], but Celestia forbidding Twilight to enter a bounce house ever again says otherwise.
** Also, Twilight did something to her friends in Canterlot, if Rarity is to be believed when convincing Applejack in cooperating at Twilight's slumber party.
* NotBloodSiblings: [[AllLoveIsUnrequited One-sided]]. Twilight is ''very'' affectionate towards her adopted brother Francis Sparkle, who only sees her as a sister. The others think it's creepy. [[spoiler:They get married.]]
** Doubles as a RunningGag. "We're not biologically related, so it's technically okay."
* NotHisSled: Think you know how Foaly Matripony's gonna turn out, just because you've watched the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 wedding]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 episodes]]? Yeah, think again.
* NoWaterproofingInTheFuture: Water makes Sweetie Belle "[[AC:feel funny.]]"
* OffscreenInertia: As of "Foaly Matripony", that pony with the watering can from the first episode is ''still'' watering those flowers.
** According to the newspapers at the end, she's been at it for two months.

-->'''Pinkie Pie:''' I'm just a kid! I fit in!\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Pinkie Pie, didn't you already have a childhood?\\
[''beat'']\\
'''Pinkie Pie:''' ''[[LittleNo No]]''.

** Oddly enough, Pinkie, despite her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} canon personality]]. Her friends ''still'' insist on treating her as an evil gypsy witch.
** [[spoiler:By "Cute from the Hip", she's actually learned gypsy magic from Zecora.]]
** Sweetie Belle is the only one to call out other characters on their callousness, when she's not busy "[[AC:contemplating the fragility of life]]" and declaring her love for her sister. Despite being a robot.
** Applejack seems to be the Only Sane Mare in "Cherry Bomb", [[spoiler:until she tells Pinkie how she planned to 'break the news gently' by letting them witness her horrible demise.]]
** Cadence in "Foaly Matripony". She even lampshades this.
** Celestia earns sanity points for not only being the only one besides Cadence who not only notices Twilight's darker side, but actually ''does something'' about it (for example, exiling her from Canterlot and more or less ordering her to do ''nothing'' when she's allowed back in).
* OriginalCharacter: InUniverse. The bat-winged pegasi are Molestia's [=OCs=].
* [[OrphanageOfFear Orphanage of Emotional Abuse]]: Judging from Pinkie's Orphanage songs, she was taught that she probably wouldn't ever be adopted because she was an 'ugly pink earth pony' and wasn't special enough to be loved. Her song in "Cherry Bomb" also reveals that they taught her to hide what ''did'' make her special.
** Spoofed in "Cherry Bomb", where she switches back to the old voice during an otherwise perfectly repeated scene.

** Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's stunned blinking, to the point where they eventually start blinking with the background music. Followed immediately after by the three thinking of names for their group, to which Sweetie Belle can only think of "[[AC:Cutie Mark Acquisition Program]]".
** Repeated in "Neigh, Soul Sister". While listening to Spike's audition tape, Sweetie Belle's reflection in the mirror occasionally blinks out of sync with her.

* PaintingTheMedium: When Rainbow Dash holds her hooves over Pinkie's mouth as she's singing "The Gypsy Bard", the captions are faded out to match her muffled voice.

** Most of Pinkie Pie's character revolves around being orphaned following her parents' untimely deaths.
** Rarity's parents also died six years ago while on vacation. [[spoiler:They come back via one of Pinkie's portals, and then decide to take another vacation without their daughters. And die again, if the offscreen crash sounds are any indication.]]
** If Scootaloo is to be believed, Rainbow Dash is her mother, but doesn't so much as acknowledge her existence.
* PerverseSexualLust: "Seed No Evil" implies Applejack has one for trains.
* PetTheDog: Rarity missed the eclipse and the attempted return of [[ReligionOfEvil the Smooze]] in order to attend the Sentient Social with Sweetie Belle. Even her reasoning for doing so is a little heartwarming. "I wanted to save your soul". She cared enough for Sweetie Belle that she wanted to make sure she got through the apocalypse, when it did arrive.

-->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:One lives one's death, one dies one's life.]]
* PoesLaw: Jenny's "Kimi Sparkle" videos have been subjected to this, especially her [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Defl7Rsma3Q Season 4 wishlist]]. So much so that Digibrony ended up [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF9WpU8Twwg posting]] a ''35 minute follow-up'' video explaining the joke and poking fun at the Youtube commenters who didn't get it.
* PokemonSpeak: Rainbow Dash's {{Smurfing}} devolves into this in her story of how she got her cutie mark:
-->'''Rainbow Dash:''' I always liked rainbows and all, but I was dashing nowhere in a dash. It wasn't until my very first dash that I rainbowed a rainbow need to dash. And rain''bow!'' Dash rainbow dash rain dash rainbow rain dash dash!

* PoorCommunicationKills: Parodied in "The Perfect Swarm"; Pinkie Pie repeatedly tells the others ''exactly'' what she's doing and asks for help, only to get completely ignored.
** Happens again in "Cherry Bomb". Applejack outright tells the others that she's been kidnapped, but they all think Applejack has abandoned them and found new friends.
--->'''Applejack:''' Wait, are you even listening to what I'm saying?\\
[''Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all shake their heads'']
* ProductPlacement: Parodied. The credits ask viewers to "Please buy lots of toys" out of gratitude to Hasbro, Dole's goodwill is won back with flattering comments about its CEO, and the conductor of the Friendship Express openly advertises it ''[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Cheat Commandos]]''-style.
** "Foaly Matripony" has an advertisement for Socker Boppers in it (most likely as a reference to the Gak incidents).
* PropheticName: From "Cute From The Hip":
-->'''Applejack:''' We didn't name ya Apple Bloom so you could grow up to be the president.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Rarity starts doing this several times in "Read It And Sleep", only to keep getting interrupted before she can finish.
* PuttingOnTheReich: "Princess Celestia put me in charge, so from now on you must refer to me as Princess Sparkle. And you all have to salute me like this."
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Subverted. Twilight thinks she's a good guy because of her KarmaHoudini status, but it clearly CrossesTheLineTwice.

** Mayor Mare drops some incredibly lame puns in "Lunar Slander" and "Cherry Bomb".

* RailEnthusiast: "Seed No Evil" shows Applejack really, ''[[PerverseSexualLust really]]'' likes trains.

* ReligionOfEvil: Rarity is in a cult led by [[DevilInPlainSight Fluttershy]]. They worship "Lord Smooze", a monster from the G1 movie. Oh, and they attempted to summon him during a solar eclipse with the intention of ending the world.

* RhymesOnADime: Subverted with Zecora, who is introduced as "the whimsical rhyming zebra" and proceeds to screw up her first chance:
-->'''Zecora:''' Gather, kids, and form a [[LeastRhymableWord circle]]\\
And listen as I...um...uh...'circle'...um...\\

--->Cheer up, kiddo, don't be sad.\\
This night didn't turn out so...s-sad.\\
Just listen to what I've sa-ai-ad\\
And then you won't feel so sad!
* RoboSpeak: Sweetie Belle at times drops into stilted speech. Even when she's talking about heartfelt emotions or life and death, it still sounds heavily synthesized.
* [[RobotGirl Robot Filly]]: Unknowingly, Sweetie Belle. It's a hilariously PaperThinDisguise.

--->'''Rarity:''' If I were a robot, could I do [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxh5m4C4bf1qm6odzo1_500.gif this]]?

** "Talk about eye candy..."
*** Subverted when Newt tells Twilight about losing his ''eye'', and craving ''candy'' ever since. "Talk about holiday spirit!"
*** Newt's lost eye comes back in Cherry Bomb, when AJ must "Pippington Promise" by covering her eye (Newt's full name is Newt Pippington Britishhooves).

*** [[spoiler:In "Foaly Matripony", one of the newspaper articles reads "Pony waters flowers for two months straight".]]
** Each time lightning flashes in "Read It and Sleep", Spike reminds us where he is.
*** Spike's off-screen cries of pain and humiliation are a series-wide running gag.
** [[SoundEffectBleep "Buy some apples!"]]
** "Look how [adjective] I can [verb]!"
** "Get out of my way, [noun]!"
** Spike's weak grip.
** "Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!"
** The constant mentioning of "giant hats".
** Rarity's disguise contact lenses.
** ''Everyone'' is skinnier [[InformedFlaw than Spike]].
** Someone commenting on Dash or Applejack demonstrating why they're the Element of Honesty[=/=]Loyalty gets poorly dubbed over with their {{Canon}} Element.

** Applejack's constant use of rattlesnakes in her metaphors, despite the fact that they ''[[NonSequitur never make sense]]''.
** Ponies yelling randomly about either what they're doing or feeling (ie. The beginning of "Read It and Sleep").
** "[[NotBloodSiblings They're not biologically related,]] [[BrotherSisterIncest so technically it's okay]]."
** On the website, there's the variations of "Twilight Sparkle learns a valuable lesson about Friendship and Magic" in the video description of every video.
** "Seed No Evil" has Old Man [=McX=], who helps fillies in need. Each mention of him is accompanied by a pun on "Bad Seed" (i.e. Old Man [=McMovie=] provides free movies to children - "which is good, since the torrent had a bad seed").
* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Sweetie Belle's "[[AC:Gasp!]]" in "Neigh, Soul Sister".
* SecretTest: [[spoiler:Dragonshy]] attempts to justify [[spoiler:his]] actions by claiming this was the point of everything he did. [[spoiler:Doesn't take.]]
* SelfDeprecation: During the ending of Foaly Matripony, one of the newspapers says "Spinning Newspaper Narrative Copout: [=FiW=] writers confirm".

* SelfServingMemory: In "The Perfect Swarm", Twilight Sparkle's recollection of the scene with Spike from the beginning of the episode.
-->'''Spike:''' I'm too dumb and fat! And your blueprint's just a great sketch and a clever pun!

-->'''Applejack:''' Sometimes I just stare into the flames and think about how small we all are...
* ShipperOnDeck: Quite literally: Twilight Sparkle has written a 70 chapter ship-fic involving "Applesack" and "Charity".
* ShowWithinAShow: In "Seed No Evil", "[[{{WebVideo/Snowdrop}} Snowblind]]".

* {{Smurfing}}: Rainbow Dash does this with "rainbow" and "dash".

** Played straight in Episode 1. Starting in Episode 4, it's replaced with a sound clip of Apple Bloom saying 'Buy some apples!' with an apple and a "censored" bar covering the offending muzzle.
** Parodied in "Lunar Slander", where due to a cease and desist letter prohibiting any depiction or mention of apples, the apple image over the muzzle and Applejack's Cutie Mark is blurred and the sound clip of "Buy some apples!" is censored accordingly. "Cherry Bomb" returns to using a standard bleep, claiming that [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope Dole owns a trademark]] on "Buy some apples."

** Continues in "Seed No Evil", showing up in a [[ShowWithinAShow movie]] called "[[WebVideo/{{Snowdrop}} Snowblind]]", when [[spoiler:the titular character swears near the end]].
--->'''Colt:''' Stars? You can't make stars! It doesn't even look like one.\\
[[spoiler:'''Snowblind:''']] That's because I'm blind, you jack[[SoundEffectBleep -BLEEP-]]!
* SourceMusic: Molestia's entrance is accompanied with "[[Anime/SonicX Gotta Go Fast]]" playing on her iPod.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: Wishing for [[EldritchAbomination Twinkle]]'s [[DealWithTheDevil aid]] causes him to contact you.
* SpinningPaper: Provides exposition at the end of "Foaly Matripony". Includes a ''lot'' of callbacks in the side articles, and even a {{lampshade hanging}}:

** Twilight concludes that it doesn't matter how far you slide, as long as you look cool doing it, but Sweetie Belle states that the only thing that matters is how far you can slide. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS, PEOPLE!!!
** The aesop of "Foaly Matripony". Throwing a fit will get you exactly what you want (especially if you kidnap, incarcerate or vaporise the competition).
* SpySpeak: "Tell Big Macintosh the eagle has landed in the pond, and [[{{Metaphorgotten}} there's a bomb strapped to the eagle]]."
* StatusQuoIsGod: Not particularly. Most episodes have massive amounts of continuity. But along comes "Foaly Matripony", where Spike wonders how this will affect the status quo. Everypony else just laughs.
* StealthInsult: Done ''incredibly'' subtly with Applejack and Rarity in Episode 2.
-->'''Applejack:''' Dance on that table. Should come natural to ya.

** Rarity's sleep song -- based on "Art of the Dress", itself a parody of the song "Putting It Together" -- prompts Applejack to remark that she doesn't "care much for covers".
** "Your talent is wiggling--" [''Silver Spoon wiggles her butt''] "--my talent is exposition; both of our talents have to do with [[UnusualEuphemism plot]]!"
*** "What an interesting plot, Twist!"
** In "The Perfect Swarm", Celestia exclaims "I'm sorry to have to put you through so much [[ExplosiveBreeder tribble]]."
** "The eldest came to be known as Celestia[[note]] pronounced ''Suh''-lestia[[/note]], because she raised the sun each day. Her younger sister, who used her powers to raise the moon, was called ''Mo''lestia."
** "...I'd have to say that this was the most touching Molest Fest yet!"
** In the song "Pinkie's Brew", she sings "I'll cook up a solution with the knowledge I've accrued," which could be talking about her attempt to fix things or the brew itself (the word "solution" can refer to a type of mixture).
** In "Foaly Matripony", at the end of the scene where Applejack presents Cadence with the bag of apple snacks, Cadence still tosses the bag into a trash can, but it's now labeled "Charity Food Drive". She gives an "apple sack" to "charity".
* StepfordSmiler. Pinkie. Oh, dear God, Pinkie. She learned to pretend to be happy while growing up in an orphanage, and her skills are listed as baking, smiling, and ''facades''.

--->'''Sweetie Belle:''' [[AC:Well at least I don't spend every Veterans Day sobbing on the floor!]]

* SubvertedPunchline: The first episode has the phrase "Talk about eye candy!" as an unexplained running gag, usually in response to some mild EyeScream scenes. A few episodes later, a character shows up in an eye-patch:
-->'''Newt Pippington Britishhooves:''' Ever since I lost my ''eye'', I've been craving nothing but ''candy!''
-->'''Twilight:''' Talk about holiday spirit!

** There isn't a lot of actual rhyming in "Sweetie's Big Race", but two parts have clearly subverted rhymes:
-->[[AC:The race has begun\\
We must run fast\\
Jump over the mud\\

--->[[AC:Making tacky jelly\\
Put it on your head\\
We're gonna win the race\\

--->[[AC:Just because you feel upset\\

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: In-universe. Pinkie's Parasprite Polka song is replaced by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJESDE62PbE a polka version]] of Music/RebeccaBlack's "Friday".
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The Derpy scene is set up as normal, but is revealed to be [[spoiler:Raincloud]]. Her "lines" are supposedly the same as Derpy's would be judging by Rainbow Dash's reaction.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: While teasing Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon abruptly insists "Diamond Tiara would ''never'' fall in love with someone as clumsy as ''you!''"
** In "Pinkie's Brew" (see Lyrical Dissonance, above), her parents tell her to "please [not] bake a portal, just accept it and move on". So... [[FridgeLogic how exactly did they anticipate that possibility?]]

** Subverted in "Foaly Matrimony". Princess Cadence Notevil Goodpony's name is a little suspect. She's actually a world peace activist, gives to charity, and, most importantly, the OnlySaneMan. [[CrapsackWorld Shame about that...]]

** The other students Twilight murdered are from the reviled fan project [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgJPHj7Cjss Dusk's Dawn]].
** "It's important to demonstrate to kids that both blacks and whites can be subservient to our white demi-god." Take that, [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/2010/12/09/my-little-homophobic-racist-smarts-shaming-pony/ Kathleen Richter]]!
** "Seed No Evil" has one towards ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'', as it was AllJustADream in this universe:
--->'''Apple Bloom:''' Thank goodness I woke up from that horrible nightmare!

** "Seed No Evil" satirized WebAnimation/{{Snowdrop}}'s {{glurg|e}}iness to high heavens and beyond.
--> '''Random colt:''' I wish this was endearing, but it's not.
* TalkingToHerself: Pretty much the entire thing as the majority of the cast are voiced by the series' two writers.
** Jenny Nicholson most notably voices the entire Mane Six[[note]]with the exception of "The Perfect Swarm" where Keesha Bush-Trenerry provides the voice of Rainbow Dash[[/note]] and Spike. Other main characters she voices are Luna and Applebloom.

* ThisLoserIsYou: Twilight appears to be a fairly lighthearted jab at the fandom, with her obssessive {{shipping}} and manipulation of characters, general nerdiness and otakudom, and AmbiguousDisorder. Her totally-not-creepy incest song is even made using popular fan art forms, including "pointy ponies" and kinetic typography.
* ThrowTheDogABone: [[spoiler:As of Episode 6, Pinkie's parents have come back.]]
* TooDumbToLive: The characters are never particularly bright, but "Cherry Bomb" takes it to new levels. The entire town utterly fails to understand Applejack's clearly-worded letter, and the rest of the Mane Six completely miss Applejack's blatant hints to help her escape from Whiplash's ranch.

* TrustBuildingBlunder: In "Cherry Bomb", Pinkie says that she'll have to "do lots of trust exercises" to get over Applejack leaving. She then throws herself onto Rarity, shouting "Catch me!" Rarity fails to catch her.
* TwoForOneShow: "Seed No Evil" interrupts the main story to present a parody of ''{{WebAnimation/Snowdrop}}''.
* UnfortunateName: [[UpToEleven Molestia]]. The holiday dedicated to her is Molest Fest. This year's was [[DoubleEntendre the most touching yet]].
--> '''Newt Pippington Britishhooves''': Who knew that a holiday called Molest Fest could turn out so rotten?

* UnsoundEffect: Used repeatedly along with SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud in the ColdOpen of "Read It And Sleep".

-->'''Princess Molestia:''' [''spits out false fangs''] I do not see how these scary teeth will make me MORE sexy.\\
'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Because... vampire!
* VictoryIsBoring: Twilight, after achieving her dreams of becoming a princess and an alicorn by ''Horse Women'', undergoes a crisis of faith. She wonders "now that I've fulfilled every teenage pony fantasy, what more can I possibly take by force?"
* [[spoiler: VillainousIncest: Well, if it follows that Twilight's the BigBad, then this counts.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Twilight Sparkle as of "Foaly Matripony".]]
* VillainSong: Played with - "Princess of the Night" was [[http://spiderjewel.tumblr.com/post/19436654825/was-it-intentional-on-your-part-to-make-it-seem-like written to sound like a Disney villain song]], but the role of the manipulative "villain" in this situation is filled by Twilight.
** And then there is [[VillainousIncest "It'll Be OK."]]
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Twinkle from "Snowblind" has this.
* WhamEpisode: "Foaly Matripony" has a large difference of effort put in in comparison to the previous episodes (there were ''many'' guest artists, animators, voice actors, and song writers contributing to the episode) as well as the humor being slightly darker. [[BlackComedy This doesn't make it any less hilarious]].

* WouldHurtAChild: If Rarity's account of the war is honest, Applejack.

* YouCantFightFate: Everyone fully expects Apple Bloom's cutie mark to be apple-related, even after Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rant how they could have any cutie mark they wanted.
* YourAnswerToEverything: "C'mon, DT, let's wrestle!"