History YMMV / MyLittlePonyTVSpecials

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Tirek is a ''very'' thinly veiled {{Expy}} of Satan. Remove his back legs and your left with a red, horned, cloven hoofed lord of evil who turns beauty into ugliness with the "Power of Darkness". In a show about magical, candy colored ponies. [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic You know, for kids!]]

* GettingCrapPassedTheRadar: Tirek is a ''very'' thinly veiled {{Expy}} of Satan. Remove his back legs and your left with a red, horned, cloven hoofed lord of evil who turns beauty into ugliness with the "Power of Darkness". In a show about magical, candy colored ponies. [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic You know, for kids!]]

* MoralEventHorizon: Tirek crosses it in his whole pans. He even coined the trope TheNightThatNeverEnds.

*** Firefly's an especially bizarre case because she ''kept being sold.'' However, every time she got re-released, they'd just re-run or re-release the one special she was in too (hence its many names.) She was sold like she was the Optimus Prime of the franchise even ''beyond'' the show era, to the point of being on shelves alongside ''MyLittlePonyTales,'' or even ''[[NoExportForYou instead of]]'' MLPT, nearly a decade after her debut. You'd think the flagship character of the toyline would be the main character of ''both'' series, but no - it didn't even get her a ''second'' guest appearance.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Firefly. Spunky tomboy with guts and attitude? Check. Inspired Rainbow Dash? Check. Being voiced by Sandy Duncan also doesn't hurt.

*** Firefly's an especially bizarre case because she ''kept being sold.'' However, every time she got re-relased, they'd just re-run or re-release the one special she was in too (hence its many names.) She was sold like she was the Optimus Prime of the franchise even ''beyond'' the show era, to the point of being on shelves alongside ''MyLittlePonyTales,'' or even ''[[NoExportForYou instead of]]'' MLPT, nearly a decade after her debut. You'd think the flagship character of the toyline would be the main character of ''both'' series, but no - it didn't even get her a ''second'' guest appearance.

* WhatTheHellCastingAgency: PaulWilliams as Catrina's henchman.

** Medley, Bow-Tie, Glory, Twilight[[note]]Who later became a pegasus pony for some reason[[/note], Moondancer, and Ember[[note]]Implied, but not outright stated to be a baby pony.[[/note]] all have garnered their place amongst fandom.

* GannonBanned: Some fans will insist that it's Rescue ''at'' Midnight Castle not Rescue ''from'' Midnight Castle, since it was given this name in it's later incarnation as a regular series episode. However, this is an aversion as it was originally called simply "My Little Pony" when it was first aired on 1984.

** Mr Moochick: this character is fondly remembered by many fans of the series as one of its finer points. Being voiced by Tony Randall probably helped.

** Medley, Bow-Tie, Glory, Twilight, Moondancer, and Ember all have garnered their place amongst fandom.

* ClicheStorm: As good as the original special was, it is also this. An EvilOverlord is trying to TakeOverTheWorld and only a PluckyGirl KidHero and her RagtagBunchOfMisfits friends can stop him using a powerful {{Macguffin}} given to them by a absent-minded wizard.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Firefly. Spunky tomboy with guts and attitude? Check. Being voiced by Sandy Duncan also doesn't hurt.

* GannonBanned: It's Rescue ''at'' Midnight Castle not Rescue ''from'' Midnight Castle.

* NightmareFuel: Tirek, everything from his voice to what to turning ponies into a dragons, even leaving one out and forcing her to watch.

* ToughActToFollow: If you start watching the G1 cartoons starting with these, you may be less than impressed with anything that followed after.
** Perhaps a bit unfair. Though it would take until G3 for the animation to get back to the original's quality, many of the series villains are quite menacing and the likes of Grogar and Lavan could give Tirek a run for his money.
* TrueArtIsAngsty: Tends to be considered among the best things put out by the My Little Pony franchise because of its darkness.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: A mild example, but no one who flipped onto the station to watch this could've have expected to '''''BEHOLD THE POWER OF DARKNESS'''''.

* WinTheCrowd: Pretty much why these were created.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: To a lot of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic FiM]] fans. Though these specials were pretty edgy for MyLittlePony at the time, the current incarnation has taken everything these specials were and made them the standard for the franchise.
* {{Shipping}}: With the advent of ''Friendship is Magic'', shipping and HoYay has become a popular phenomenon in the pony fandom. So pairings like Firefly and Medley, Bowtie and Applejack, [[CrackPairing Megan and Scorpan]], Twilight and Moondancer, and of course Catrina and Rep have begun popping up.

** Most of the ponies, too. Firefly, despite all her WolverinePublicity during G1, never appeared again in the cartoons. She would have made a perfectly fine protagonist for [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie the movie]] and [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends series]], however Hasbro wanted to [[MerchandiseDriven promote the newer toys]].

* TheWoobie: Scorpan, Spike, and Ember is the first special.

** ''Shoo be doo shoo shoo be doo!''

* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: It's MyLittlePony. This was inevitable. These also sometimes get this treatment from fans of the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic newest incarnation]].

* AngstWhatAngst: The ponies that were transformed into [[BalefulPolymorph baleful ponymorphs]] and were made to assist Tirac bring in TheNightThatNeverEnds sure don't seem too broken up about it at the end of ''Rescue from Midnight Castle''.

* ContestedSequel: To a lot of fans either everything that came after these two specials, or just anything after ''Rescue from Midnight Castle'', period.

** Tirek is also surprisingly popular with the ''Friendship Is Magic'' fans. [[spoiler: The creators brought him back in said series. Yes. I kid you not.]]

* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: It's MyLittlePony. This was inevitable. These also sometimes get this treatment from fans of the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic newest incarnation]

* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: It's MyLittlePony. This was inevitable. These also sometimes get this treatment from fans of the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic newest incarnation]].
* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Tirac]] is a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow surprisingly vile creature]] from a show that's supposed to be a little girl's show. A demon of a centaur, Tirac was the ruler of the Midnight Castle, and planned to send Dream Valley into a state of eternal chaos. To do so, he used a sack containing magical spells in it to essentially torture and transform young ponies into his hideous, winged dragons which he could then use to pull his Chariot of Darkness. He's also amazingly violent. This is shown whenever his henchman Scorpan [[YouHaveFailedMe failed him]]. He would threaten to have Spike's [[OffWithHisHead head cut off]] if he ever screwed up again, which makes it even more disturbing in that Spike was a child, and therefore it meant that he [[WouldHurtAChild had no limits to who he had to hurt in order to get his way]].

* FirstInstallmentWins: ''Most'' of G1 fans consider ''Midnight Castle'' (and sometimes ''Catrina'') to be high point of the cartoons that were made at the time. With its slick animation, [[VileVillainSaccharineShow menacing and competent villain]] Tirac, AntiVillain Scorpan, and awesome climax...it's not difficult to see why.

* GirlsNeedRoleModels: The likely reason for Megan's existence. She's quick, spirited, and despite her own fears happens to be TheChosenOne who saves the day from EvilOverlord Tirac.

* MoralEventHorizon: Tirac crosses it in his whole pans. He even coined the trope TheNightThatNeverEnds.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: In ''Midnight Castle'', both Tirac and Scorpan.

** As for Scorpan, while the special itself did make great use of him as a rare MyLittlePony AntiVillain / AntiHero ('''Type II''') who unwillingly serves his evil master inspite of his own good nature. He ultimately undergoes a HeelFaceTurn once Tirac has [[TheDogBitesBack kicked him a few too many times]]. After this, he is never seen again and he never undergoes anymore CharacterDevelopment.

** Perhaps a bit unfair. Though it would take until G3 for the animation to get back to the original's quality, many of the series villains are quite menacing and the likes of Grogar and Lavan could give Tirac a run for his money.

** Tirek is also surprisingly popular with the ''Friendship Is Magic'' fans.

* CompleteMonster: Tirac, full stop. Not only does he want to spread eternal darkness to the world, but his plan requires that he imprison and ''torture'' ponies so that they can pull his chariot. He's arguably the only true example of this trope this franchise has to offer.

** The former was a ''very'' EvilOverlord with intentions of ushering an [[TheNightThatNeverEnds age of eternal darkness]] and thus rule Ponyland and possibly Earth for eternity. To do it, he put the local enchanted creatures through [[PainfulTransformation painful transformations]] and constantly [[KickTheDog kicks]] his right hand goat-man, Scorpan around without relent and with threats of [[OffWithHisHead decapitating]] his only friend Spike. Scorpan himself had previously been enslaved by a previous conquest by this guy. He only got one half-hour to show his stuff, and he spent most of that time sitting on a throne.
** As for Scorpan, while the special itself did make great use of him as a rare MyLittlePony AntiHero ('''Type II''') who unwillingly serves his evil master inspite of his own good nature. He ultimately undergoes a HeelFaceTurn once Tirac has [[TheDogBitesBack kicked him a few too many times]]. After this, he is never seen again and he never undergoes anymore CharacterDevelopment.

* CompleteMonster: Tirac, full stop. He comes off like Discord (who at least seems to have some standards), with more evil and no whimsy.
** Catrina stood right on the fence.

* FirstInstallmentWins: ''Most'' of G1 fans consider ''Midnight Castle'' (and sometimes ''Catrina'') to be high point of the cartoons that were made at the time. With its slick animation, menacing and competent villain Tirac, AntiHero Scorpan, and awesome climax...it's not difficult to see why.

* MoralEventHorizon: Tirac. He even coined the trope TheNightThatNeverEnds.
** Catrina is this when, on separate occurences, she attempts to kill a Bushwoolie and Baby Moondancer. Rep saves the former, and regarding the latter, he stops her and makes her change her ways just in time.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: Considered to be this by ''a lot'' of fans of the overall franchise.

** FridgeHorror comes into place. Considering the later incarnations, maybe they've just become used to horrible things happening to them.

* {{Anvilicious}}: the anti-drug moral of ''Escape from Catrina'' is less than subtle.

** Perhaps a bit unfair. Though it would take until G3 for the animation to get back to the original's quality, many of the series villains are quite menacing and the likes of Grogger and Lavan could give Tirac a run for his money.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: thanks to this, people are still surprised at how dark the first special was almost thirty years after it was made.

* ClicheStorm: as good as the original special was, it is also this. An EvilOverlord is trying to TakeOverTheWorld and only a PluckyGirl KidHero and her RagtagBunchOfMisfits friends can stop him using a powerful {{Macguffin}} given to them by a absent-minded wizard.

* ContestedSequel: To a lot of fans, either everything that came after these two specials, or just anything after ''Rescue from Midnight Castle'', period.

** The Moochic: this character is fondly remembered by many fans of the series as one of its finer points. Being voiced by Tony Randall probably helped.

** Tirac is also surprisingly popular with the ''Friendship Is Magic'' fans.