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| 3 | %% Zero Context Examples are not allowed in wiki pages. Please add context before uncommenting. |
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| 6 | ---- |
| 7 | !![[center: [- [[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Main Index]] -]]][[center: [- '''[[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast The Main Cast:]]''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheCutieMarkCrusaders the Cutie Mark Crusaders]]-]]] [[center: [- '''Supporting Cast:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses The Princesses]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSchoolOfFriendship the School of Friendship]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastPonyville Ponyville]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Other Locations]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Antagonists:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains Major Villains]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicQueenChrysalis Queen Chrysalis]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicCozyGlow Cozy Glow]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures Dangerous Creatures]], '''Jerks and Bullies''', [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]])-]]] [[center: [- '''World of Equestria:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces Races]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures Historical Figures]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The 2017 Movie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW IDW Series]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicToylineExclusive Toyline Exclusive]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMiscellaneous Miscellaneous]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Minor Characters:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOneShots One-Shots]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers Other Characters]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPonies Background Ponies]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesCommonPonies Common Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesSpecialPonies Special Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesOthers Other Background Ponies]])-]]] [[center: [- '''Equestria Girls:''' [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHeroines Heroines]] ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]]), [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains Villains]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] -] ]] |
| 8 | ---- |
| 9 | |
| 10 | These characters are the least powerful villains in the series -- unless you count the power of verbal and physical abuse. Their crimes consist of looking down on and sometimes abusing the good ponies, and they don't have major schemes beyond this. They are mostly SmugSnake {{jerk|ass}}s who talk a good game, but can't back it up once in a corner. |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 13 | |
| 14 | !!Season 1 |
| 15 | [[folder:The Sports Pegasi]] |
| 16 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudsdale_jocks_74.png]] |
| 17 | [[caption-width-right:300:From left to right: [[FanNickname Dumbbell]], [[AllThereInTheScript Hoops]], and [[FanNickname Score]]]] |
| 18 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" |
| 19 | |
| 20 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KathleenBarr (present-day [[AllThereInTheScript Hoops]]), Terry Klassen (past Hoops), Creator/RichardIanCox (present-day "[[FanNickname Dumbbell]]"), and Creator/BrianDrummond (past "[[FanNickname Dumbbell]]")[[note]]the last one according to [[https://twitter.com/BrianDrummondVO/status/294496688343756800 this]] tweet by Creator/BrianDrummond[[/note]] |
| 21 | |
| 22 | A group of three muscle-headed Pegasi living in Cloudsdale who used to tease Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They later apologized for their teasing after seeing Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom. |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | * AllThereInTheScript: Whether it's AscendedFanon or just a case of IKnewIt, the TieInNovel ''Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell'' makes Hoops's FanNickname official. |
| 25 | * TheBully: They regularly bullied Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy during their foalhood years (and even a young, shy Gilda when she first joined the Junior Speedsters). When they meet again in "Sonic Rainboom", they spend much of the episode taunting Rainbow Dash until the very end. |
| 26 | * FailedASpotCheck: In "Sonic Rainboom", Dumbbell and Hoops say there's no such thing as the title phenomenon. It is revealed in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" that they were in an impromptu race that [[spoiler:produced one]]. Possibly justified, considering that one of them was unconscious and the other dizzy and in any case they are jerks who wouldn't admit being wrong if they didn't have to. Once Princess Celestia herself saw Rainbow Dash do the Sonic Rainboom, there was no way that they or anypony there could deny it anymore. |
| 27 | %%* InsultBackfire:%%Quotes aren't context. |
| 28 | %%-->'''Hoops:''' You're going down!\ |
| 29 | %%'''Rainbow Dash:''' In history, maybe! |
| 30 | * {{Jerkass}}: They are a little less so now as adults, as colts they were straight-up bullies. |
| 31 | * JerkJock: Their cutie marks suggest that they're good at sports, and they certainly are good at being jerks. |
| 32 | * KickTheDog: In a flashback in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", where two of them are shown making fun of [[ShrinkingViolet filly Fluttershy]] for being a weak flyer. |
| 33 | * KidsAreCruel: As colts they harassed "Klutzershy" and derided "Rainbow Crash". |
| 34 | * NoNameGiven: With the exception of [[AllThereInTheScript Hoops]]. |
| 35 | * PetTheDog: After seeing Rainbow Dash perform the Sonic Rainboom, they apologize for their bullying and congratulate her. |
| 36 | * TheQuietOne: "Score"/"Quarterback" sometimes laughs along with the other two, but never says anything. |
| 37 | * SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: They could remember who Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were when they meet them again. |
| 38 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: Despite being one-shot characters, in a way, they had the biggest impact in the series. If they had not bullied Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash wouldn't have tried to race them, causing her to do a Sonic Rainboom, leading the Mane Six to get their cutie marks. The bullies accidentally caused life-changing transformations for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and (to a lesser extend) caused Applejack to quit trying to adapt to the big city and to return to the family farm. |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:The Diamond Dogs]] |
| 42 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Diamond_Dogs_2910.jpg]] |
| 43 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Diamond Dogs show you where to dig.[[note]]From left to right: Spot, Rover, and Fido.[[/note]]]] |
| 44 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:One of the dig dogs:]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dig_dog.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 45 | ->''"We hunt for gems. But you are a better hunter. So now we hunt... for you!"'' |
| 46 | |
| 47 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow A Dog and Pony Show]]" |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ScottMcNeil ([[AllThereInTheScript Rover]]), Creator/GarryChalk (Fido), and Creator/LeeTockar (Spot)[[note]]Tockar was confirmed by Creator/TabithaStGermain at the 20:57 mark of this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDWxfrAI2Vk Comic Con 2012 video]]; Fido was originally believed to be voiced by Creator/RichardIanCox, but this has since been revealed to be an error on St. Germain's part.[[/note]] |
| 50 | \ |
| 51 | The Diamond Dogs, led by Rover, Fido, and Spot, are a group of ugly, dirty, greedy and stupid canine-like creatures who live underground and are obsessed with gems. They ponynap Rarity and force her to work for them in an attempt to use her gem-finding skills to obtain more gems. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | For the greater species as a whole, see Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces |
| 54 | ---- |
| 55 | * AlliterativeName: The name of their race, not the individual dogs in the episode. |
| 56 | * AllThereInTheScript: WordOfGod [[http://twitter.com/#!/goldenrusset/status/85769118686523392 says]] [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/2064022309 that]] the trio's names are Rover, Fido, and Spot, but in the show they're just called "the Diamond Dogs". |
| 57 | * BeautyEqualsGoodness: They look disgusting compared to the ponies, and their behavior is just as appalling. |
| 58 | * BigThinShortTrio: They're all equally dirty and stupid so this is how one tells them apart. |
| 59 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: While they made some appearances in ExpandedUniverse materials, they have never appeared in the show again after their debut appearance. [[spoiler:Their race gets a mention in "The Last Problem", though.]] |
| 60 | * DogsAreDumb: They're far from bright, and are manipulated with ridiculous ease by the pony who is technically supposed to be their slave. |
| 61 | * DualBoss: Rover, Fido, and Spot as the bosses of Level 5 of Creator/TheHub's {{Web Game|s}} ''VideoGame/AdventurePonies''. |
| 62 | * DubNameChange: The Italian dub refers to them as cani stanadiamanti, meaning "diamond-finding dogs". "Stana" refers to finding hidden things in general but literally means "remove from a burrow", referencing their digging habits. |
| 63 | * DumbMuscle: They're all brute force and zero brains. Their underlings, the Dig Dogs, are even dumber than them. |
| 64 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Spot seems to disapprove of Rover calling Rarity "ugly". |
| 65 | * EvilCounterpart: To Rarity, considering that they all love gems, but the Diamond Dogs have no problems kidnapping someone to find gems for them. |
| 66 | * EvilSmellsBad: The Diamond Dogs smell bad, but the Dig Dogs smell ''terrible''. This seems unique to the evil ones, as no mention is made of the rest of their kind being such. |
| 67 | * TheExile: According to the "Rainbow Dash/Trixie Friends Forever" comic, these particular guys were kicked out of regular Diamond Dog society for being violent criminals. |
| 68 | * {{Expy}}: The main trio of Rover, Fido, and Spot are inspired by [[Characters/MyLittlePonyAndFriendsVillains the Raptorians]], another trio of canine beings who [[MadeASlave enslave]] Ponies. |
| 69 | * FacelessGoons: Their dig dog minions -- numerous, interchangeable, and provided with identical eye-concealing helmets. |
| 70 | * {{Greed}}: They don't just want gems, they want ''all'' the gems. |
| 71 | * GrossUpCloseUp: Their hands are full of cuts, scabs, and filth, and their nails are broken and dirty. |
| 72 | * HarmlessVillain: Not only do they pose little threat in a fight, they surrender to Rarity because she complains to them so much about her conditions that they can't stand her. |
| 73 | * IHaveYouNowMyPretty: They try this when they kidnap Rarity. It ''really'' doesn't work out well for them. |
| 74 | * {{Jerkass}}: Even before Rarity's done anything annoying, they're ''giggling'' at the thought of making her dig up the gems for them. |
| 75 | * LowTechSpears: The Diamond Dogs, goblin-like brutes who live in rough underground tunnels, speak like Gollum, and have little visible culture outside of obsessively hoarding gems, are armed with rough spears consisting of pointy rocks tied to sticks. |
| 76 | * MuggingTheMonster: Trying to kidnap and use Rarity as their own personal gem-finding slave does not end well. |
| 77 | * NoNameGiven: The Dig Dogs, if they even have individual names. |
| 78 | * OurKoboldsAreDifferent: They're basically a fusion of the two types of Kobolds: mining troll and bipedal dog. |
| 79 | * ParentalBonus: |
| 80 | ** Their name, Diamond Dogs, references a Music/DavidBowie [[Music/DiamondDogs album]] from 1974, something a bit out of the intended viewer's interest range. ''[[PeripheryDemographic Un]]''intended viewers may be reminded of the character from ''Film/ConAir'' or [[Literature/DiamondDogs an SF novella]] by Creator/AlastairReynolds; more recent viewers might think of Ted's inner circle in ''Series/TedLasso''. |
| 81 | ** Their underlings are called the Dig Dogs in a ShoutOut to the classic arcade game ''VideoGame/DigDug''. |
| 82 | ** They sound a lot like [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]]. |
| 83 | * PityTheKidnapper: They learn the hard way that Rarity isn't a pony to trifle with and give her back by the time her friends arrive to rescue her. |
| 84 | * PrimalStance: They walk heavily hunched over, with their hands resting all the way on the ground, serving to highlight their primitive and brutish natures. |
| 85 | * ShoutOut: |
| 86 | ** A reference to the Music/DavidBowie album and song ''Music/DiamondDogs''. The [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW comic book]] crew decide to run with this, and fill a trek through an abandoned Diamond Dog mine with references to Bowie. |
| 87 | ** The way they talk about their ''Precioussssssss'' at the beginning of the episode, combined with their subterranean habits, is pretty clearly inspired by [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]]. |
| 88 | * SmugSnake: They're extremely confident that the ponies and a baby dragon won't give them any trouble, despite all evidence to the contrary. |
| 89 | * StockAnimalName: Rover, Fido, and Spot are the ''least'' imaginative names for dogs. |
| 90 | * TopHeavyGuy: Their arms appear to be much larger than their legs. [[JustifiedTrope Justified as they are burrowers]]. |
| 91 | * TunnelKing: They live underground and created the tunnels they make Rarity dig in. |
| 92 | * UncleanlinessIsNextToUngodliness: Justified because they work with dirt all the time. |
| 93 | * WouldHurtAChild: They have no problem with tossing Spike around in order to capture Rarity. |
| 94 | %%* YouNeedABreathMint: ''"Smeeeeell...?"'' |
| 95 | [[/folder]] |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [[folder:Prince Blueblood]] |
| 98 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4530983764563435_3933.png]] |
| 99 | [[caption-width-right:250:Don't be fooled by that look. He's not as charming as you hope (and even he knows it).]] |
| 100 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" |
| 101 | |
| 102 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/VincentTong[[note]]according to [[https://twitter.com/TrevorDevall/status/270976711196303360 this]] tweet by Creator/TrevorDevall[[/note]][[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Japanese)[[/labelnote]] |
| 103 | |
| 104 | Princesses Celestia and Luna's far-removed nephew. A white unicorn with a gold mane, he is Rarity's dream stallion. Rarity falls in love with him at first sight only to find out he's [[PrinceCharmless a self-obsessed jerk]]. He also makes a major appearance in the IDW comic ''Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendsForeverIssue26''. |
| 105 | ---- |
| 106 | * AdaptationNameChange: One of the French [[TieInNovel magazine stories]] refers to him as Vladímir. |
| 107 | * AllThereInTheManual: The show only calls him Celestia's nephew (which would make one think that he's Luna's son [[FridgeLogic somehow]]), but his [[http://theponyartcollection.tumblr.com/post/26391734445 trading card]] clarifies that his relation to Celestia and Luna is far removed. Creator/LaurenFaust had previously [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/1932962564 stated]] that he's "the great great great great great great great great great great great (and probably more greats) nephew on Celestia's and Luna's mother's side, about 52 times removed, roughly speaking." |
| 108 | * AssInAmbassador: Subverted in ''Friends Forever 26''. After spending most of the first half of the comic acting like an UpperClassTwit, Shining Armor decides that the best course of action is to deal with the yak negotiations himself while keeping Blueblood as far away from them as possible to avoid an international incident. Not only does Shining fail in his negotiations to the point of nearly getting them to declare war [[HairTriggerTemper (again)]], but Blueblood shows that he's actually quite personable with people that aren't from his own country and salvages the situation to the point where he has to walk back because his palanquin is stuffed too full of gifts from the yaks. |
| 109 | * BlueBlood: His only "good" point is his royal connection. |
| 110 | * BrokenPedestal: Becomes this for Rarity once she meets him in "The Best Night Ever". While her expectations [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel were a bit high to start with]], such as [[FourthDateMarriage expecting him to propose to her the night they meet]], Blueblood acts absolutely nothing like the PrinceCharming she expected while on their "date" (if it can even be called that). She eventually becomes so fed up with his selfishness, especially when he uses her as a HumanShield, that she hits her RageBreakingPoint and chews him out in front of the whole ballroom. |
| 111 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: His attitude in ''Friends Forever 26'' showcases that while he is a snooty, self-entitled egotist, he's also a talented negotiator and diplomat when dealing with foreigners. |
| 112 | * TheCameo: |
| 113 | ** Shows up at a ship christening with Rarity in Season 2 during Rarity's song in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E9SweetAndElite Sweet and Elite]]". Amazingly, he manages to avoid acting like a jackass in that episode. |
| 114 | ** He also makes a very small appearance in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E24EquestriaGames Equestria Games]]" attending the titular event. |
| 115 | * EntitledBastard: Always expects Rarity to kiss his hooves and gets offended when she expects to be treated like a lady. |
| 116 | * HateSink: |
| 117 | ** In "The Best Night Ever", he teaches young girls what ''not'' to look for in a man. His entitled arrogance is boundless; he uses Rarity's shawl to cover up a spill so he can walk over it without getting his hooves wet (even though he could just walk around it), tries to make her open doors for him, and in the act that causes her to finally snap at him, uses her as a HumanShield to defend himself from cake splatter. |
| 118 | ** Exaggerated in the one-shot comic "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicDeviations Deviations]]'", a WhatIf where he becomes Celestia's student instead of Twilight. When the events of the series premiere happen and Nightmare Moon arrives, he proves himself so insufferable that the Mane Five declared him worse than her, prompting her to have a HeelRealization and the group comforts her, while Blueblood is banished to the moon. |
| 119 | * HiddenDepths: If ''Friends Forever 26'' is any indication, despite his narcissistic and snobby personality, Blueblood can be charming and charismatic when he wants to be. |
| 120 | * IcyBlueEyes: His eyes represent his narcissistic and snobbish personality. |
| 121 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: In ''Friends Forever 26''. He doesn't look down on Shining Armor or Cadance despite them not being born royalty, but he does say a few things that while not intended to be malicious, are rather insensitive. |
| 122 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Expects people to do things for him, even shown as he wasn't willing to do any chivalrous acts to Rarity. |
| 123 | * {{Jerkass}}: Repeatedly proves himself to be one in his behavior toward Rarity. Using her as a shield to keep himself from being splattered with cake is the very last straw. |
| 124 | * NoNameGiven: The first time he "appeared" which resulted in the Fan Nickname of "Prince Astron". His real name was revealed in the Season 1 finale. |
| 125 | * ManipulativeBastard: His 'Guide to Diplomacy' in ''Friends Forever 26'' is cynical, manipulative and really quite brilliant, and he's demonstrated to be rather skilled at his job. |
| 126 | * MeaningfulName: He's called "Blueblood" because of his BlueBlood. |
| 127 | * {{Narcissist}}: Thinks very highly of himself. |
| 128 | * PrinceCharmless: He lacks any and all forms of gentlemanly behavior expected of a prince and ''especially'' the chivalric reverence accorded to a lady. He currently provides the page image. |
| 129 | * PrincelyYoungMan: The SpoiledBrat type though at first he seems like a PrinceCharming type. |
| 130 | * PickyEater: Considers Applejack's tasty apple treats unworthy of him, denigrating them as "common carnival fare". |
| 131 | * RichBastard: Implied because he's a prince and an asshole. |
| 132 | * RoyalBrat: Rarity calls him a "royal pain" because he is so stuck up and selfish. |
| 133 | * TheScrooge: Took Rarity to Applejack's apple treats cart but expected Rarity to pay for it. |
| 134 | * ShadowArchetype: He is the male version of Rarity without any of her good qualities. He essentially expects Rarity to treat him the same way she expects him to treat her. The difference, of course, is that at first Rarity is willing, if grudgingly so, to accede to Blueblood's requests, while Blueblood never does a thing for Rarity. |
| 135 | * SomethingAboutARose: Rather than give it to Rarity, he puts it in his own buttonhole. |
| 136 | %%* ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: Averted. He knows better. |
| 137 | * TooImportantToWalk: Friends Forever 26 has him travel from the Crystal Empire to Yakyakistan in a palanquin. He does travel on foot the way back because it's too stuffed with gifts for him to fit, but he doesn't mind since the return trip is downhill. It should be noted that he might have a point. Shining Armor arrives scruffy and exhausted, whereas Prince Blueblood is rested and ready to greet the Yaks with appropriate courtesies. |
| 138 | * UncannyFamilyResemblance: In the ExpandedUniverse, at least -- [[CanonForeigner Léon]], Princess Celestia's 4-year-old cousin from one of the French [[TieInNovel magazine stories]], looks like Prince Blueblood as an alicorn PaletteSwap of Rainbow Dash. Blueblood and [[CanonForeigner Léon]] even have the same Cutie Mark! |
| 139 | * UpperClassTwit: An aristocrat with little to no signs of common sense, basic manners, or consideration for those around him. He seems to have a talent in alienating people. |
| 140 | [[/folder]] |
| 141 | |
| 142 | !!Season 2 |
| 143 | [[folder:Jet Set and Upper Crust]] |
| 144 | [[quoteright:288:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jetsetuppercrust_9694_3.png]] |
| 145 | [[caption-width-right:288: Your chapeau is too country for them.]] |
| 146 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E9SweetAndElite Sweet and Elite]]" |
| 147 | |
| 148 | ->'''Jet Set voiced by:''' Peter New[[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Creator/EduardoGarza (Latin American Spanish); Yoshiyuki Shimozuma (Japanese)[[/labelnote]]\ |
| 149 | '''Upper Crust voiced by:''' Creator/AshleighBall[[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Ikumi Nakagami (Japanese)[[/labelnote]] |
| 150 | |
| 151 | A snobby married couple who live in Canterlot. They kick off the plot of "Sweet and Elite" when they insult Rarity's breeding and only shut up when they realize that she has become popular among their "friends", in particular [[UnclePennybags Fancypants]]. |
| 152 | ---- |
| 153 | * AlphaBitch: They are not exactly Alpha, but they display all the other typical traits. While they are wealthy and try to act like big shots, they typically follow someone else's lead. |
| 154 | * CityMouse: They do not like small towns like Ponyville. |
| 155 | * {{Expy}}: Very similar to Roderick and Rhubella Rat from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''. Though the Rats were teenagers, and these two unicorns are adults. |
| 156 | * FavoritismFlipFlop: At first they like Rarity's style, then they hate it because they think she is a small town hick, then they change their minds again when Fancypants makes it clear that he admires her. |
| 157 | * GratuitousFrench: Why say "hat" when you can say "chapeau"? |
| 158 | * HappilyMarried: These {{jerk|ass}}s were made for each other. |
| 159 | * HumblePie: Twice; both times thanks to Fancypants. First when he personally invites Rarity to his balcony seat for the Wonderbolts race ''right in front of them''. The second is at the Garden Party when Fancypants states he likes Rarity and her friends and endorses Rarity's designs, forcing them to suck up to her to save face. |
| 160 | * IdleRich: Proud of it. They think the fact Rarity makes her own hats is embarrassing once they find out that she is not upper class. |
| 161 | * {{Jerkass}}: See FavoritismFlipFlop, KnowNothingKnowItAll, and other tropes for examples of their jerkassery. |
| 162 | * KnowNothingKnowItAll: They are keen to look cultured and tasteful, but it seems they know next to nothing and take all their cues from the genuinely refined Fancypants. |
| 163 | * PetTheDog: In "Between Dusk and Dawn", they genuinely offer their services to Twilight and her friends and are smiling for most of the episode. They don't get to express this in words though, as Fancypants does all the talking. |
| 164 | * PopularIsDumb: Averted for the ''popular'' part as the episode implies that they are either midway or low on Canterlot's social scale but believe themselves higher than Rarity. The top of the hierarchy seems to be occupied by Princess Celestia herself, and she socializes with Rarity while ignoring these two. |
| 165 | * PreppyName: Pony naming conventions allow them to have some particularly unsubtle snobby upper-class names. There's not a lot of ambiguity about what part of society someone named "Upper Crust" lives in. |
| 166 | * RichBastard: Their wealth gives them a sense of superiority to business owners like Rarity. |
| 167 | * ShadowArchetype: For Rarity. They have the same fussy and selective tastes she does, and her slight shame about coming from Ponyville is amplified when they let her know they think it's a hick town. The important difference between them is that Jet Set and Upper Crust use high society as a way to look down on other ponies, and don't have the strength of character to state their own opinion. Rarity on the other hand, is gracious and polite and not afraid to stick up for her friends. |
| 168 | * SlobsVersusSnobs: One very unsympathetic Snob half at the garden party with the Mane Six being on the sympathetic Slob side. |
| 169 | * WealthsInAName: "Upper Crust" refers to higher echelons of society, while "Jet Set" refers to a "jetsetter," a term for someone living a glamorous life who travels often. |
| 170 | * YesMan: Their approval of Rarity is tied to that of their circle of friends, who in turn take the lead from Fancypants. Conversely, Fancypants starts getting interested in Rarity when he learns that she personally knows Celestia. "You know the Princess?... Heheh, you are obviously somepony worth bumping into!" |
| 171 | [[/folder]] |
| 172 | |
| 173 | [[folder:The Flim-Flam Brothers]] |
| 174 | [[quoteright:347:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flim_flam_brothers_revector_by_kna-d4q9xyj_1_3898.png]] |
| 175 | [[caption-width-right:347:They're bringing opportunity to your very community. [[note]]Right's Flim, left's Flam, they're the world-famous Flim-Flam Brothers![[/note]]]] |
| 176 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E15TheSuperSpeedyCiderSqueezy6000 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000]]" |
| 177 | |
| 178 | ->'''Flim voiced by:''' Creator/SamuelVincent[[note]]both according to [[https://twitter.com/#!/goldenrusset/status/163536672032702464 this tweet by Jayson Thiessen]][[/note]][[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Creator/WataruTakagi (Japanese)[[/labelnote]]\ |
| 179 | '''Flam voiced by:''' Creator/ScottMcNeil[[note]]both according to [[https://twitter.com/#!/goldenrusset/status/163536672032702464 this tweet by Jayson Thiessen]][[/note]][[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Yōhei Tadano [Season 2], Hiroki Katō [Season 4-onwards] (Japanese)[[/labelnote]] |
| 180 | \ |
| 181 | Flim and Flam are Unicorn brothers and self-proclaimed "traveling sales-ponies nonpareil[[note]]Without equal[[/note]]" who roll into Ponyville one day in season 2 with their fancy new cider press, the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. They end up challenging the Apple clan to a cider-making contest, goading them into wagering the rights to sell cider in Ponyville. They later return in season 4, running a MedicineShow and peddling "miracle cure-all tonic". They return again in season 6, as ticket salesmen in Las Pegasus. |
| 182 | ---- |
| 183 | * AllThereInTheScript: Flim's full name is Flim Skim, which has only been used in the toyline; specifically, in the eighth wave of Blind Bags. |
| 184 | * AppealToAuthority: In "Friendship University", they exploit Star Swirl's naïveté and influence to get ponies to enroll in their school. |
| 185 | * ArchEnemies: To Applejack, considering all the trouble they've caused the Apple family, it's understandable and Applejack's mood quickly turns sour whenever they're around. |
| 186 | * BackForTheFinale: In "The Ending of the End," [[spoiler:they come back for the final battle as part of TheCavalry for the good guys]]. |
| 187 | * BadFuture: They're the only non-arc villains to be given one during in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 The Cutie Re-Mark -- Part 2]]". They are apparently shown taking over an Equestria cleared of its natural resources and replacing it with an industrial nightmare complete with a smog-filled sky. |
| 188 | * TheBarnum: In every sense of the trope; showman, con artists, charming, etc. |
| 189 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: The above-mentioned BadFuture scenario in "The Cutie Re-Mark". They're small-time comic relief villains in the main timeline, but without Twilight and her friends to stop them from going too far, they have the potential for evil on par with Chrysalis, Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Discord and even '''Tirek'''. (Or ''worse'', since Twilight claims each timeline is more terrible than the last, and their timeline is shown after the others.) |
| 190 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: They start out as friendly but their true colors show in the latter half of the episode they're in; they boast about cheating the Apples out of their home. |
| 191 | * {{Blackmail}}: In "Friendship University", they catch Twilight sneaking into their office and take a picture of her rummaging through the office, threatening to release it to the public (and ruin her reputation) if she doesn't stop investigating them and their school. |
| 192 | * BlatantLies: |
| 193 | ** Part of their sales pitch in the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWHolidays2017 2017 holiday special]]: "They said a survey found that eleven out of ten ponies want to hear an endless loop of the same holiday music when they go anywhere this time of year!" |
| 194 | ** During their song in "Friendship University", they claim to share a "mutual respect" with Twilight. This couldn't be farther from the truth; they had insulted her school just moments ago, while Twilight had immediately suspected them of being up to their own tricks. |
| 195 | ** In the special ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'', Flam, disguised as a random shopper, told everyone at the Rainbow Falls trader's exchange that there were "only a few left" of their "Holly the Hearth's Warmer" dolls. After the two are run out of town, they are shown having enough dolls to fill several seats on the Friendship Express. |
| 196 | * BrilliantButLazy: This is a recurring flaw of the two: they're genuinely competent and intelligent and have the capacity to be honest businessponies, but when faced with the option of easy schemes to con ponies out of their bits, or hard work to make money honestly, they choose the first. |
| 197 | ** The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is amazing, so they're obviously talented, but they spend most of the competition relaxing and drinking cider, and panic when their machine's default settings aren't good enough. They also show a preferance to monopolizing cider production to maximize their earnings and rake in bits in a short amount of time, instead of offering fair business deals that would make their business less profitable but more sustainable in the long-term. |
| 198 | ** They opened the Friendship University to compete with Twilight's School of Friendship and raise money to expand their resort by advertising free admission and then charging for the worksheets needed to advance. When Twilight realizes the lessons they're teaching are literally copied from her workbooks, she offers to agree to let them keep the school open if they only come clean about how they make money from it; the brothers refuse and admit they were planning to shut down the school anyway, because they've made enough money from it and running it is more work than they thought it would be. |
| 199 | ** They could easily raise the funds for an expansion of their resort by regularly putting aside a portion of the resort's daily profits -- a slow, but sure method of getting what they want. Instead, they resort to more scams in an attempt to raise the money more quickly. Those scams are, as usual, quickly exposed and shut down, leaving them with next to nothing to show for it. |
| 200 | ** One bad future in the "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 The Cutie Re-Mark – Part 2]]" puts forward the idea that they would be capable of ''taking over Equestria'' if they upped their game a little. |
| 201 | * TheBully: They are bullies who grew up and graduated from demanding lunch money to threatening someone's business. |
| 202 | * TheCameo: |
| 203 | ** They show up or are mentioned a bit more in the comic series, even being villains of one micro-issue. Seems the writers have taken a liking to them. |
| 204 | ** They also have human counterparts in one of the ''Rainbow Rocks'' short "A Case for the Bass", who later appear in ''Rollercoaster of Friendship'' and ''Holidays Unwrapped''. |
| 205 | ** They are briefly seen in "A Royal Problem", in a dream of one or both of them, playing in a pile of gold Bits. |
| 206 | ** In "Between Dark and Dawn", they are shown attempting to hitchhike (and looking the worst for wear) during the song "Lotta Little Things". |
| 207 | ** In "The Last Problem", [[spoiler:they are seen among a group shot of characters during "The Magic of Friendship Grows"]]. |
| 208 | * CardCarryingJerkass: Both of them. They shamelessly swindle other ponies for a living, and mock those who try to dismantle their cons, reveling in their success. When they get a chance to turn over a new leaf in "Viva Las Pegasus", they swiftly [[RedemptionRejection reject it]], and gleefully go right back to conning others. |
| 209 | * TheCharmer: During their song sequence, they make a lot of mares, including Rarity, swoon. |
| 210 | * ChronicVillainy: In season six they take over a Las Pegasus resort, and through that are pretty much set for life financially. They still pop up trying to con ponies out of money in some way, now just with the excuse they want the funds to expand the hotel. Even when Flim and Flam have a chance to just go straight, they won't give up their scheming ways. |
| 211 | * ChurchOfHappyology: Friendship University relies on drawing in celebrities to boost its reputation and charges ridiculously high fees for the materials students need to complete their courses and keep moving up through the curriculum. |
| 212 | * ColorCodedWizardry: Their magic glow is a unique shade of green. |
| 213 | * ComplexityAddiction: They're seemingly addicted to scamming people and setting up elaborate, complex get-rich-quick schemes that will get them in a lot of trouble when they fail, even though they constantly demonstrate the business acumen to be able to thrive while doing legitimate business. This is especially notable in their appearances after they take over Gladmane's casino -- they own a popular, thriving resort whose legitimate, aboveboard dealings almost certainly net them more money than their minor scams possibly could and for much less risk, yet they still insist on trying to cheat people out of petty amounts of money. |
| 214 | * ConArtist: The first time they show up, they sell a legitimate product through legitimate means[[note]]or at least, that's ThePlan if they can get some apples[[/note]], but they goad the Apple family into a contest that has no benefit for them in order to steal the rights to sell cider in town. The next time they show up, they're flat-out con artists, lying about what their product can do. |
| 215 | * CoolCar: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 not only presses cider, but also serves as a steam-powered carriage. |
| 216 | * DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: As mentioned in ComplexityAddiction, they're pretty much set for life running a popular casino resort, but they insist on going back to get-rich-quick cons to get money. |
| 217 | * DidntSeeThatComing: When they agreed to let the mane cast help the Apples, they didn't expect Twilight to be able to organize the group to the point it'd make a difference, leading to their downfall. |
| 218 | * DidYouJustScamCthulhu: In "Friendship University", they manage to fleece Star Swirl the Bearded, generally held to be one of the greatest sorcerers to have ever lived. |
| 219 | * DirtyCoward: According to WordOfGod, [[DependingOnTheWriter they're this at least for Siege of the Crystal Empire.]] Jeremy Whitley said he interprets them as ones who'd sell out their own mother to save their own hide. |
| 220 | * EarlyAdaptationWeirdness: In the IDW Comics "Siege of the Crystal Empire" Arc, they go from simple conmen and snake-oil salesmen to willingly working alongside villains like Queen Chrysalis and and King Sombra. |
| 221 | * EnemyMine: Once Applejack and Fluttershy reveal Gladmane's true scheme to them and manage to convince Flim and Flam (since it is told to them by Applejack and they know she would never lie), they agree to work together with them to expose him. |
| 222 | * EngineeredPublicConfession: In "Friendship University", though in this case, the "public" consists of one pony, Star Swirl. Since Flim and Flam are using him to attract students to their school, they decide to end their scam rather than have him expose the truth. It doesn't hurt that Star Swirl specifically tells them to shut the school and return the students' money. |
| 223 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: Before we even see their faces or learn their names, they carelessly wreck the Apple family's fence -- symbolizing their lack of regard for other ponies, and the near-disastrous effect their presence will personally impose on Applejack and her family. |
| 224 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Unrepentant scammers as they may be, they [[spoiler:are part of TheCavalry that goes to help the Mane Six in "The Ending of the End"]]. |
| 225 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: In "Friendship University". When Twilight discovers Flim and Flam's true motives, they try to convince her to keep quiet, since they now both have dirt on each other. Twilight refuses this, stating that her reputation means nothing if she doesn't stand up for what she believes in. |
| 226 | * EvilCounterpart: To Applejack, considering that she and the Flim-Flam Brothers are all {{Spirited Competitor}}s, but unlike the brothers, Applejack would never be happy with winning a contest if it meant that others would lose their home and livelihood in the process. "Leap of Faith" makes it even more obvious, as the two of them act as foils to Applejack in the sense that they have no problem lying to people in order to sell, as opposed to Applejack who is honest to a fault. Also, the Flim-Flam Brothers seem to have a connection to apples as well, since their first on-screen scheme revolves around apple cider and the second involves a "cure-all" tonic made from apple juice and beet leaves. |
| 227 | * EvilGenius: They're highly intelligent, but they completely lack morals when it comes to business practices. It's later revealed that this is Flam's specialty, and that he comes up with the plans and Flim pulls them off. This is the issue Gladstone uses to force the two apart. |
| 228 | * EvilLaugh: Gives one after they defeat the Apple Family. |
| 229 | * EvilPlan: |
| 230 | ** Exploit the Apple Family's business (75-25 percent profits) and if that fails, to drive them out of business. |
| 231 | ** In "Leap of Faith" it's "trick everypony into thinking our product really works by having Sliver Shill fake being cured and then exploit Applejack's love for her family to get her to go along with it". |
| 232 | * {{Expy}}: Their style of dress and fast-talking salesman demeanor is reminiscent of Harold Hill from ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'', and their song is even reminiscent of the number "Trouble". Even their storyline in Issue 9 of ''Friends Forever'' is a WholePlotReference of ''The Music Man'', until the SiblingTriangle over the love interest comes into play. |
| 233 | * FatalFlaw: Their arrogance and greed -- when things go well for them, they don't know to quit while they're ahead and push their luck until their schemes collapse. |
| 234 | ** In "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", the titular machine easily out-produces the Apple family, and the brothers sit back and relax while occasionally recharging the machine. Then they foolishly agree to let Twilight and her friends help the Apples, the family begins to catch up, and Flim and Flam resort to turning off the quality control to make the machine faster to maintain their lead. The conflict of the episode also happens in the first place because they want a 75-25 percent split of the profits if they go into business with the Apples, an extremely unfair offer. |
| 235 | ** In "Leap of Faith", they've gone the classic SnakeOilSalesman route and convince Applejack to let them do it since it isn't hurting anypony and does seem to help. Then when Applejack is pressured into publicly admitting their "miracle tonic" may have actual benefits, they start pushing it as "Applejack-approved" and use her name to market it, finally getting her to put a stop to things. |
| 236 | ** After taking over Gladmane's casino and resort, the brothers are set for life, but their need to make more money and expand the resort keeps them going back to get-rich-quick schemes. |
| 237 | * FauxAffablyEvil: |
| 238 | ** At first glance, they seem very affable and likable, especially during their initial debut. They promise the whole town a large quantity of Apple Cider that the local suppliers (The Apple family) is unable to provide, an action that is more likely to be thanked than opposed, and have every intention of delivering. Everypony seems to like them well enough, and when Flim requests the usage of the Apple family's orchard to show off their cider, he's very polite about it. However, at the core, they're short-sighted, manipulative and greedy; rather than take the obvious route and offer a fair bargain to the Apples, they first insist upon a blatantly one-sided bargain, and then, when the Apples refuse to play, manipulate them into a contest to steal their orchard from them. |
| 239 | ** By their second appearance, they have given up even having straight intentions; they were legit cider makers in their first appearance, for all that their methodology was greedy and short-sighted, but in their second, they've become straight-up hucksters, knowingly peddling a worthless placebo as a miracle cure-all. |
| 240 | ** Though in Issue 9 of ''Friends Forever'' they seem to once again be selling a genuine product with their apple corer. |
| 241 | * {{Flanderization}}: In their initial appearance they were jerks towards the Apples and had their mannerisms and appearance based on Harold Hill, but they were actually legitimate businessmen offering Ponyville a real service the town needed. All subsequent appearances reduce them to sleazy con artists. |
| 242 | * FrameUp: [[spoiler:In ''Ponyville Mysteries'' #4, they steal the Spa Ponies' water supply, and deliberately lead part of the pipeline through Sweet Apple Acres (hiding the rest of it), to make it look like the Apples had stolen the water.]] |
| 243 | * GadgeteerGenius: They apparently built the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 themselves. |
| 244 | * GreedMakesYouDumb: One of the {{Fatal Flaw}}s -- their obsession with securing as much wealth for themselves as possible at every turn has hampered them more than anything else. |
| 245 | ** In their debut, they could have still made plenty of money if they had chosen to split the profits of their proposed venture with the Apples down the middle. Instead, they insisted on taking the lion's share of those profits for themselves, resulting in the Apples refusing, setting in motion a series of events that led to them having to leave Ponyville without any profits at all. |
| 246 | ** Even after taking control of Gladmane's resort (and its steady stream of legitimate income), they decide it's not enough, and in "Friendship University" put together a new scam to provide enough funds for them to have the resort expanded, all so they can make even more money. |
| 247 | ** In ''Best Gift Ever'', they make a point of telling customers they don't give refunds for their shoddily-made dolls. This causes the disguised Flam to break his cover when he angrily yells out "no refunds" alongside Flim. |
| 248 | * GuileHero: During their brief EnemyMine with the heroes against Gladmane in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E20VivaLasPegasus Viva Las Pegasus]]", they successfully con him into confessing his wicked ways. |
| 249 | * HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler:In "The Ending of the End – Part 2", they're part of TheCavalry for the heroes, joining the fight against the TerribleTrio of Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow. It's unknown if this is due to a HeelFaceTurn, [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]], or [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatism]] as the villains would be a threat to them. They cameo in "The Magic of Friendship Grows" where the only other villains to do so were those redeemed.]] |
| 250 | * HeelFaceTurn: They subvert this in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E20VivaLasPegasus Viva Las Pegasus]]". Although they helped Fluttershy and Applejack get rid of their manipulative boss, they insist that using their talent at conning ponies for the powers of good was a one-time thing and go right back to swindling ponies for money at the end of the episode. |
| 251 | * HoistByTheirOwnPetard: |
| 252 | ** First, letting the rest of the Mane Cast help the Apples, seeing them as no threat. Then by turning off their quality control, which is ultimately their downfall. |
| 253 | ** In the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWHolidays2017 holiday special comic]], they claim to have Twilight's "princess endorsement" for their products. Twilight later uses this against them by telling their customers all the merchandise will be given away for free. Flim and Flam have no choice but to pretend they've run out of stock and leave town before they lose all their profits, rather than admit that they lied about having Twilight's endorsement. |
| 254 | ** In "Friendship University", they used Star Swirl's reputation to draw in more students. In the end, it is Star Swirl who forces them to close the university, and return their ill-gotten gains. |
| 255 | * {{Hypocrite}}: "Friendship University". It doesn't get much more hypocritical than for two money-hungry ConArtist brothers (for whom the terms "friend" and "mark" are one and the same) to teach others about the values of friendship (which includes ''generosity''). They even go so far as to claim ''Twilight'' isn't being very friendly, in spite of the fact that they'd opened their school to directly compete with hers, and repeatedly insult both it and her. |
| 256 | * IdenticalTwinIDTag: Aside from both brothers having slightly different hairstyles, and different patterns of white mixed in with the red of their manes, Flam sports a spiffy mustache. Also, their Cutie Marks are opposites; Flam's Cutie Mark is an apple missing one segment, and Flim's Cutie Mark is a single segment of an apple. |
| 257 | * InsufferableGenius: Their device is remarkably effective, and in other circumstances, would be exactly what the hundreds of thirsty ponies left over from the Apple Family's daily supplies running out would want, but despite their invention appearing to be legit, the brothers' abrasive treatment of the Apple Family ultimately dooms any chances of them both doing business in Ponyville. |
| 258 | * {{Irony}}: |
| 259 | ** They use Granny Smith's pride to goad the Apples into a competition that, without help, they had no chance of winning. It's ultimately their [[SmugSnake own egos]] that causes them to let the Mane Cast help the Apples, which leads to their defeat. |
| 260 | ** In their second appearance, they actually manage to finagle Applejack, their primary nemesis in town, into reluctantly sponsoring their MedicineShow. |
| 261 | ** In spite of their being long-time ArchEnemies with Applejack, their most devastating defeat so far came in "Friendship University" at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle, a pony they'd barely even ''acknowledged'' until that episode. Thanks to Twilight's plan, they were forced to refund every last Bit they'd conned out of their students; while Applejack had shut down their cons in the past, they usually got away with at least some form of profit. |
| 262 | * ItsAllAboutMe: They care only about themselves, being willing to cheat, manipulate, and sully the reputation of anypony to get what they want. |
| 263 | * {{Jerkass}}: Their KickTheDog moment, if not their previous actions, show them to be this. |
| 264 | * JerkassHasAPoint: In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver''. While they ''were'' selling shoddy products for unsure Hearth's Warming shoppers, Flim and Flam point out to Applejack that they weren't actually doing anything illegal; they were just using salesman tactics to sell a bad product. This forces Applejack and Fluttershy to convince people not to buy their "Holly the Hearth's Warmer" dolls another way. |
| 265 | * KansasCityShuffle: In "Viva Las Pegasus", Flim and Flam's plan to trick Gladmane relies on him [[spoiler:thinking he can dodge an EngineeredPublicConfession, only to walk into the real one.]] |
| 266 | * KickTheDog: |
| 267 | ** Openly rubbing the fact they won and cost the Apples their farm in their faces, and laughing about it. Comes back to bite them ''fast''. |
| 268 | ** Repeatedly breaking Granny Smith's fence for no reason works quite well to deter sympathy from the viewers, as well. Though they could be unaware that they are doing it. |
| 269 | ** In "Friendship University", they mock Twilight's school, claiming that it is "just a school" located in a "backwater" like Ponyville. |
| 270 | * LackOfEmpathy: |
| 271 | ** They show absolutely no remorse over the fact they've cheated the Apple Family out of their livelihood. |
| 272 | ** And they apparently see nothing wrong with telling Granny Smith she could have made that jump just fine when she obviously couldn't have. However, that might be because they trusted her to be able to deliver on her claims with a little confidence. |
| 273 | ** In "Friendship University", they show no sympathy to a student who can't afford his next worksheet. When the student offers his last Bit, Flam callously tears the worksheet in half, and Flim tells him to come back for the rest when he can afford it. |
| 274 | * LeanAndMean: The pair of them together have as much body mass as one member of the Apple Family, but also four times as much mean. |
| 275 | * LaserGuidedKarma: |
| 276 | ** In "Friendship University". After using {{Blackmail}} to threaten Twilight with a photo of her in their office in order to stop investigating their school, Flim and Flam are themselves blackmailed into revealing the truth about their scam. |
| 277 | ** In the ''Best Gift Ever'' special. After attempting to exploit the Hearth's Warming rush to line their pockets, Flim and Flam are forced to go home with most of their merchandise and little profit, ensuring the two will have a miserable Hearth's Warming. And considering how they ''intentionally'' made the dolls as shoddy as possible (to the point where they would fall apart after only a day or two), it's very unlikely that any will last until next year, denying them any chance to recoup their losses. |
| 278 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: In "Viva Las Pegasus", Flim and Flam manage to be this compared to the VillainOfTheWeek Gladmane. While they are unrepentant con artists, they've never sunk so low as to turn ponies against each other for their own benefit. |
| 279 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 280 | ** "Flim-flam" is another word for a confidence scheme, and these guys aren't exactly trustworthy. |
| 281 | ** Flim's [[AllThereInTheManual last name in the toyline]], Skim, has the meaning "to take the choicest parts" when applied to business or finance. It refers to crooked practices where a person takes more money or goods than they deserve by stealth or trickery -- a perfect mesh for Flim's roles in the series. |
| 282 | ** [[StealthPun Assuming Flam's full name has the same format as Flim's]], his last name would be Skam. Less applicable towards their first appearance, but perfect for their second, where they run a medicine scam. |
| 283 | ** Their cutie marks are apples that are quartered 75% (Flam) and 25% (Flim), respectively. |
| 284 | * MeaninglessVillainVictory: They win the contest and Sweet Apple Acres fair and square, but in doing so produce a lot of crappy cider and alienate their customers. This forces them to flee Ponyville and abandon their prize. Their second on-screen scheme is no better, though they at least manage to flee before they have to refund their angry customers. Averted, arguably, in their primary comic appearance, where they still come away scot-free with a heap of cash even if they don't manage to take the commune's land and then sell it, as was their original plan. |
| 285 | * MedicineShow: Their new scam in their second appearance consists of peddling a supposed cure-all (that is in reality nothing but apple juice and beet leaves). |
| 286 | * MoralMyopia: |
| 287 | ** At the beginning of the "Siege of the Crystal Empire" storyline. Following another scam being exposed off-panel by an (unnamed) Apple family member, they talk amongst themselves about how they believe the Apples are acting as unwanted "hall monitors" for Equestria, preventing two "honest conmen" from making a living. They even go so far as saying that they're suffering a "bum rap" over their schemes constantly getting dismantled. |
| 288 | ** In the ''Best Gift Ever'' special. They say that they're simply providing a service to unsure Hearth's Warming shoppers with their shoddily made products, and doing nothing wrong. |
| 289 | ** They're pretty much this in general. They have no problem fleecing their customers out of every last Bit, and sullying the reputation of their competition, or any who challenge them. But when the tables are turned, they treat it like a great injustice. |
| 290 | * MotorMouth: Their songs are very fast-paced. |
| 291 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Why on Earth would you trust someone whose name is ''Flim-Flam!?'' |
| 292 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: |
| 293 | ** Their actions ultimately leaves the Apple family with enough cider to fix the problem that made these two a threat in the first place, which was not enough cider for everypony. |
| 294 | ** Trying to encourage Granny Smith to do something that she really wasn't capable of and would have hurt herself doing right in front of Applejack, who was already feeling bad about lying, was what pushed her into blowing their scam. |
| 295 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain: The fifth season finale showcases an alternate universe in which ''they take over Equestria,'' reducing it to a heavily polluted, mechanized hellhole. Especially impressive as they must have come out on top of the major villains and even ''Celestia'' to make this come about! To put this into perspective, according to the "Cutie Remark" two-parter, the hierarchy of the show's villains FromBadToWorse goes: Sombra, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, Tirek, Discord... and finally these guys. The only alternate timeline worse than theirs is the one where all life in Equestria has ceased to exist. |
| 296 | * OhCrap: |
| 297 | ** When they realize that the Apple family has caught up with them in the cider making competition thanks to Twilight's leadership capabilities. |
| 298 | ** When they realize just how furious the entire town is with them. |
| 299 | ** In "Friendship University", when they realize Star Swirl has become aware of their scam. |
| 300 | * {{Pride}}: When they agreed to let the mane cast help the Apples, they didn't expect Twilight to be able to organize the group to the point it'd make a difference, leading to their downfall. Tellingly, when the two actually break up, it's ''not'' due to their mutual {{Greed}}, but due to being tricked into thinking that each had been insulting the other behind his back. |
| 301 | * RedOniBlueOni: Flim is much more energetic than his calmer brother Flam. |
| 302 | * RedemptionPromotion: The only time they unquestionably come out ahead in an episode is the one where they team up with the heroines. |
| 303 | * RedemptionRejection: After the EnemyMine with Applejack and Fluttershy in "Viva Las Pegasus" ends, they insist that using their skills for good was a one time thing and return to their con-men ways at the end of the episode. |
| 304 | * TheRichWantToBeRicher: After they gain ownership of Gladmane's popular resort. The day-to-day profits of the resort will in all likelihood be enough for them to be set for life, yet they still pull scams in all their future appearances, planning to use the profits to have the resort expanded so they can make ''even more money''. |
| 305 | * SecondPlaceIsForLosers: The main reason that they turn off the quality control mechanism in the apple cider making contest, which ultimately leads to their downfall when their cider is too filthy for the townsponies to drink. |
| 306 | * SelectiveEnforcement: In "Friendship University", they barely charge Star Swirl anything for his work sheets, but demand a lot more from their other students. |
| 307 | * SiblingTriangle: They get into a nasty one prior to Issue 9 of ''Friends Forever'' that results in them not speaking for three weeks until Granny Smith talks some sense into them. |
| 308 | * SmallNameBigEgo: Traveling salesponies ''nonpareil''? Showmanship aside, their claim may not be far off. They really know how to work a crowd, they've got a heck of a sales pitch, AND their product works as well as they advertised it! |
| 309 | * SmugSnake: |
| 310 | ** "We don't care if the whole kingdom of Canterlot helps; it's a lost cause!" |
| 311 | ** In "Friendship University", they mock Twilight and her school, and gleefully blackmail her as an incentive to get he to stop her investigation of their school. But when the tables are turned, they quickly descend to pleading with Twilight not to expose them, and meekly agreeing with Star Swirl's order to close the University and refund their students. |
| 312 | ** In the ''Best Gift Ever'' special, they initially gloat to Applejack about how she can't shut down their con this time because what they're doing isn't illegal. But when Applejack and Fluttershy do just that, they end up racing after their former customers, desperately offering them a "buy one, get one free" deal. |
| 313 | * SnakeOilSalesman: Zigzagged. Judging from Granny Smith's expression when she's given a sample, their cider is pretty good, but their personalities fit the trope to a T, they are crooks out to make a quick buck at the expense of others, and they failed in their attempt at selling the final batch of cider. Played straight in their second appearance, where they have reverted to the classic con of the SnakeOilSalesman -- hucking phony medicine. |
| 314 | * StealingFromTheTill: The Flim Flam's con in "Friendship University" is embezzling money using funds that are intended to be used for funding their university to expand their resort. |
| 315 | * StupidEvil: Their insistence on pulling scams for quick profit rather than use legitimate business ventures that provide sustainable profits always ends badly for them, yet they seem determined to keep doing so, despite their less-than-stellar track record. The one time they used their ConArtist skills for good, they were essentially rewarded by gaining control of Gladmane's resort, granting them a perfectly legal source of profit. But they openly [[RedemptionRejection refused to learn from this and turn over a new leaf]]. In their next appearance, they once again try to pull a scam, which, as usual, is eventually exposed, forcing them to close it down and refund every last Bit. |
| 316 | * ThemeTwinNaming: "Flim/Flam" is a phrase in and of itself. |
| 317 | * TongueTwister: Each of their songs have a few. |
| 318 | * TookALevelInJerkass: In the ''Best Gift Ever'' special. They both wear wicked grins while taking advantage of their customers, and enjoy gloating to Applejack about how she can't stop their technically-legal venture. |
| 319 | * UngratefulBastard: In "Viva Las Pegasus", Applejack and Fluttershy helped the two to reconcile after Gladmane drove them apart with his lies. This doesn't stop them from cheating Fluttershy out of her money during ''Best Gift Ever'' (or taunting Applejack soon after). |
| 320 | * VillainousBreakdown: When the Apple team starts to win, Flim panics instantly, though Flam stays composed. |
| 321 | * VillainousFriendship: They ''are'' brothers after all. For as greedy and materialistic as they are, the pair never seem to quarrel over their profits and happily share and share alike. The ''one'' time they're on the outs with each other, they're all too happy to get back together once the matter's settled. |
| 322 | * VillainExitStageLeft: In their first two appearances, they flee Ponyville once the jig is up. |
| 323 | * VillainSong: Notably the first villains to have one in the series. And the first was so popular that they got to do another song in their next appearance. |
| 324 | * VillainWithGoodPublicity: |
| 325 | ** They are charismatic, their cider-making machine is a true wonder, and their abundant machine-made cider is as good (or maybe even better) than the cider squeezed by the Apple family, so they win everypony's support as soon they arrive to Ponyville. It isn't until after they cheat the Apple family out of their farm and deactivate their machine's quality control system to produce faster (and vastly inferior) cider that makes the townfolk angry. |
| 326 | ** Even more obvious in "Leap of Faith" where everypony seems to have forgotten how angry they were with the brothers last time they were in town. |
| 327 | ** In ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver Best Gift Ever]]'', it's implied this is starting to wear off. They were both wearing a disguise while doing their latest scheme, even before they knew Fluttershy and Applejack were there. |
| 328 | * WaistcoatOfStyle: Part of the showmanship is looking good. |
| 329 | * WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: It's notable that the tonic, like the cider, is mostly apples. This re-enforces the parallel between them and Applejack (and supports the WMG that they're distant relations of the Apple family). |
| 330 | * WrongLineOfWork: Flim and Flam are business-savvy, charismatic, and really know how to play to a crowd. If they just stuck to legitimate business ventures, they would easily be comfortably well-off for the rest of their lives. Instead, they use their talents for scams and con jobs, due to wanting to make as much as possible right away. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | [[folder:Iron Will]] |
| 334 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron_will_image_853.png]] |
| 335 | [[caption-width-right:200:''"Iron Will's my name, training ponies is my game!"'']] |
| 336 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E19PuttingYourHoofDown Putting Your Hoof Down]]" |
| 337 | |
| 338 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TrevorDevall[[note]]according to [[http://www.alltasteexplosion.com/?p=2858 this]] interview with Creator/TrevorDevall[[/note]][[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Creator/AkioOhtsuka (Japanese)[[/labelnote]] |
| 339 | \ |
| 340 | A boisterous minotaur who runs a motivational seminar that helps meek ponies like Fluttershy become more assertive. Of course, his lessons aren't free... |
| 341 | |
| 342 | He reappears in Season 7 in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E21OnceUponAZeppelin Once Upon a Zeppelin]]", having quit his job as a motivational speaker in favor of organizing airship cruises. |
| 343 | ---- |
| 344 | * AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: He wears a necktie, nose-ring, headset and nothing else. |
| 345 | * AdaptationalVillainy: As the boss of Level 3 of Creator/TheHub's {{Web Game|s}} ''VideoGame/AdventurePonies''. |
| 346 | * AntiVillain: Of the Well-Intentioned variety. |
| 347 | ** His debut episode presents him as the antagonist, and it appears that Creator/{{Hasbro}} considers him one of the series' villains if the villains poster and ''Adventure Ponies'' is anything to go by. However, he isn't actually evil at all. His intentions are not in the least malicious -- all he does is teach a self-help seminar; the episode's conflict comes largely from Fluttershy taking things too far -- and he learns from his encounter with Fluttershy. |
| 348 | ** He's a more straight-forward villain in "Once Upon a Zeppelin", where it turns out that the lesson he learned was "don't guarantee satisfaction so you can withhold refunds," and basically guilt-trips Twilight into working with him. Even then, he still qualifies since he sticks to the ExactWords in his contract, and upholds his end of the bargain when Twilight asks that the rest of her family would be free to enjoy the cruise if she participated in the cruise's "Princess Activities" in their stead. |
| 349 | * BadassBoast: All his mantras qualify as this. "If somepony tries to block, ''show them that you rock!''. |
| 350 | * BenevolentBoss: For all his flaws he at the very least treats his goat servants well. He is even seen relaxing with one of them on his cruise. |
| 351 | * BlatantLies: In "Once Upon a Zeppelin", most of his announcements about Twilight's family early on -- like his claim that Spike is Cadance's alicorn child and that she rescued him from a monster made of fire -- are completely wrong, but the cruisers still run to see the sights he talks about, even Twilight's parents who know these announcements are false. It is unknown if Iron Will is making this up or if he just did poor research. |
| 352 | * TheBusCameBack: He returns in "Once Upon a Zeppelin" with a major one-episode role after having been absent for over four seasons. |
| 353 | * TheCameo: In "The Last Problem", [[spoiler:he is seen among a group shot of characters during "The Magic of Friendship Grows"]]. |
| 354 | * CrazyPrepared: When it comes out that he basically conned Twilight and her family into participating in his airship cruise, he flees by parachute. Shining Armor even admits he's pretty well-prepared. |
| 355 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: Of "Putting Your Hoof Down", for all intents and purposes (he learned his own lesson after all). |
| 356 | * EarlyAdaptationWeirdness: He's not especially villainous, but in the comics he still joins Radiant Hope's legion of doom and in fact has one of the most important roles ([[spoiler:stealing the Crystal Heart, a national treasure]]), as well as teaming up with Queen Chrysalis. |
| 357 | * ExactWords: "If you are not 100% satisfied [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You. Pay.]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Nothing]]''!" He's reasonable enough to stick by them. Then comes at this trope from the other side by hiding the words inside [[ReadTheFinePrint the fine print]] instead of shouting them. |
| 358 | * {{Expy}}: His voice sounds almost like Mr. Satan from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. He also appears to be based on Wrestling/HulkHogan and a number of other professional wrestlers (see NoCelebritiesWereHarmed). |
| 359 | * {{Foil}}: A positive example for Fluttershy. He's much more assertive and gregarious than the meek, introverted pegasus. |
| 360 | * GentleGiant: To a degree: he threatens that he wants to hurt Fluttershy for not paying for the seminar, and rips the planks she used to board up her cottage, but then proceeds to give a gingerly knock. Also, he's not below using a very girly basket to go grocery shopping with. |
| 361 | * GracefulLoser: When Fluttershy claims she doesn't owe him any money because she's not satisfied with the results from his seminar, he proves to be a minotaur of his word. He even considers it a learning experience he might integrate into his lessons. He's less gracious when his Princess-themed vacation con goes sideways. |
| 362 | * HammerSpace: Where ''did'' he get that basket from? |
| 363 | * HiddenDepths: |
| 364 | ** At first glance, he looks like an abusive jerk trying to scam people with a fake self-help seminar. Turns out he's surprisingly well-behaved, emphatic and a bull of honor, plus his seminar ''truly'' worked. The only problem is that it worked ''too'' well. Even when he's struggling with Rarity and Pinkie Pie, he only used a fraction of his strength and he politely knocks at Fluttershy's door instead of smashing it as the audience is led to believe he's going to do. |
| 365 | ** In IDW's ''Friends Forever #10'', we discover Iron Will is married with a son that looks up to him (perhaps too much), and that he's also a gourmet chef. |
| 366 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: |
| 367 | ** He would have been well within his rights to demand payment from Fluttershy, had he not included the "100% satisfied or you pay nothing" guarantee in his seminar. |
| 368 | ** Attempting to squeeze just one more "princess activity" out of Twilight backfired on him. Twilight, having been taught by Cadance that it's okay to want time with her family, tells the passengers just that. This leads the passengers to question why the cruise was advertised as one where the princesses willingly interact with the customers, causing Iron Will's entire scheme to unravel. |
| 369 | * HotBlooded: Played with. On one hand, he's a large personality that frequently shouts, but he has the presence of mind not to hurt the mares or break down Fluttershy's door. |
| 370 | * ILied: In "Once Upon a Zeppelin", he told Twilght that she only needed to do one more activity (signing autographs) before she was free to spend time with her family. But when she and her family got ice cream, he invited the other passengers to intrude on the moment. |
| 371 | * IncomingHam: Iron Will's entrance involves artificial smoke, dramatic spotlight, fireworks, a well-timed cape reveal, theme music which sounds suspiciously like "Eye of the Tiger", and him flexing his muscles before he even starts talking. The whole work. |
| 372 | * InsistentTerminology: He's not a monster; he's a Minotaur. Notably, he isn't the one to insist on the terminology -- of the three times it comes up, Fluttershy corrects the others when he isn't around, and when Rarity says it to his face, she corrects herself. |
| 373 | * JerkassHasAPoint: He's not wrong when he points out that Twilight's parents CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot if they had bothered to ReadTheFinePrint for his airship cruise offer. |
| 374 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He qualifies for this in "Putting Your Hoof Down" because while he was a bit forceful on getting Fluttershy to pay up (then again, it was around a few days since the seminar), he's reasonable enough to stick by his ExactWords. He even plans on using his encounter with Fluttershy as an inspiration for his next seminar. |
| 375 | * LargeAndInCharge: His goat minions don't come up to his knees. |
| 376 | * LargeHam: He flexes in some way every time he talks. Even ''Pinkie Pie'' is confused by it. |
| 377 | * LaserGuidedKarma: His scheme to use Twilight's fame for his own benefit ended up backfiring when Twilight told the passengers she needed some time with her family. Realizing that Twilight wasn't a willing part of the cruise, the passengers realized they'd been deceived, and turn on Iron Will, forcing him to flee. |
| 378 | * MixAndMatchCritters: [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Traditionally]], the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur Minotaur]] (literally, "''the bull of [King] [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece Minos]]''") is a creature (unique, not a species, much like the original Pegasus) with the head of a bull and the body of a man, or at least somehow part man and part bull. Iron Will fits the first description down to the waist, below which he has hooves and a bull's tail, not uncommon in modern renditions of minotaurs. With a bipedal posture and one-third human body, or at the very least human hands and arms if that's interpreted as an upright bull's torso, he's the closest thing to a human the series has seen so far. |
| 379 | * {{Mooks}}: Not the evil types. He has goats that serve as his equipment crew and security. |
| 380 | * MrFanservice: A flexing guy that never wears a shirt. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7kNwHd0QHU For more emphasis on the fanservice?]] |
| 381 | * MythologyGag: Fittingly for a Minotaur, he's first encountered inside a hedge maze. |
| 382 | * NewJobAsThePlotDemands: |
| 383 | ** He shows up in "Once Upon a Zeppelin" having quit his job as a motivational speaker in favor of leading cruises, since according to him, the need for an assertiveness trainer has dried up. |
| 384 | ** In "A Matter of Principals", Discord is able to quickly hire him as a substitute teacher for the School of Friendship (implying that his cruise business has also collapsed). |
| 385 | * NobleDemon: Despite being pushy, manipulative, and entirely self-serving with his business practices, he never breaks his promises. He sticks to his "one hundred percent satisfied" guarantee with Fluttershy, and keeps his word that Twilight's family will get to do whatever they want if she cooperates with him for his cruise. |
| 386 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Iron Will appears to be an Expy of motivational speaker Tony Robbins. Also Creator/MrT, Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[Wrestling/RandySavage Randy "Macho Man" Savage]] and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] and the inspirational style of [[ImageMacro Courage Wolf.]] |
| 387 | * NoIndoorVoice: He speaks in a loud, gruff voice. |
| 388 | * OurMinotaursAreDifferent: A minotaur. Unusually, and presumably as an extension of the "no humans in ''MLP''" rule, he has the legs of a cow rather than having a bull's head on a fully-human lower body. |
| 389 | * RealMenWearPink: That's a cute little shopping basket he's got there. |
| 390 | * RhymesOnADime: His inspirational {{Catch Phrase}}s. To name a few: |
| 391 | -->'''Iron Will:''' When somepony tries to block, show them that '''YOU ROCK'''!\ |
| 392 | '''Iron Will:''' Never apologize when you can criticize! |
| 393 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When called out for his jerkassery in "Once Upon a Zeppelin", he escapes via parachute. |
| 394 | * ShoutOut: |
| 395 | ** Iron Will shares his name with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Will a different Iron Will.]] |
| 396 | ** He also [[Creator/MrT pities the fool]] who doubts his methods. |
| 397 | * SleevesAreForWimps: Invoked with the tufts of fur on his shoulders, which resemble the remains of ripped off sleeves. |
| 398 | * SpeaksFluentAnimal: Speaks fluent ''goat''. |
| 399 | * StealthPun: He's a minotaur who endorses becoming a bully to earn respect. |
| 400 | * ThirdPersonPerson: The way he says his name. |
| 401 | -->'''Iron Will:''' You can call Iron Will "Iron Will!" |
| 402 | * TooImportantToWalk: His goat minions carry him around. |
| 403 | * TookALevelInJerkass: While his assertiveness seminar was basically well-intentioned, his airship cruise and exploitation of Twilight and her family are more overtly scummy. |
| 404 | * TopHeavyGuy: He has a large chest and brawny arms but small, thin legs. |
| 405 | * VillainExitStageLeft: In "Once Upon a Zeppelin", after the less-than-moral way he scammed Princess Twilight into acting as an attraction for his cruise is exposed, he quickly jumps overboard and parachutes away to avoid facing the angry attendees and giving a refund. |
| 406 | * VillainyFreeVillain: Both appearances, he technically doesn't do anything immoral, he sticks to his contract and provides the services agreed to upon it. Where his villainy comes in is how he acts like a total jerk while doing it. |
| 407 | ** In "Putting Your Hoof Down", he angrily demands payment from Fluttershy for his seminar and refuses to back off and come back later, insisting on being paid ''now''. When Fluttershy refuses on the grounds he promised satisfaction and she's not satisfied with how she's acting, he awkwardy tries to find a loophole to see if she's just a ''little'' satisfied. |
| 408 | ** In "Once Upon a Zeppelin", he gets the Sparkle parents to sign a contract that the tour will focus on the family and they will entertain the guests, but they sign it without reading it. When Twilight agrees to be the sole member of the family that will work for him, Iron Will exploits her like mad and deprives her of any free time to spend with her family. When the cruise guests find out what he's been doing, he reveals he's learned his lesson from last time: [[ExactWords he did ''not'' promise satisfaction and there will be ''no'' refunds,]] and he jumps out of the airship to parachute to safety. |
| 409 | * TheVoiceless: His goat minions seem incapable of speech. They only do bleating sounds. Iron Will seems to understand them perfectly. |
| 410 | [[/folder]] |
| 411 | |
| 412 | !!Season 3 |
| 413 | [[folder:Lightning Dust]] |
| 414 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large1_66.png]] |
| 415 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E7WonderboltsAcademy Wonderbolts Academy]]" |
| 416 | |
| 417 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Brittney Irvin |
| 418 | \ |
| 419 | A cadet at the Wonderbolt Academy, where pegasi train to join the Wonderbolts. She pushes herself to become the best of the best fliers in Equestria, but her reckless way of going about it gets her fellow cadets hurt, and she has no sympathy for those endangered or harmed by her actions. |
| 420 | ---- |
| 421 | * TheAce: When it comes to flying, she's nearly as good as Rainbow Dash. |
| 422 | * ArrogantKungFuGuy: Very cocky and looks down on the other, less skilled, cadets. |
| 423 | * BadassBoast: |
| 424 | -->'''[[DrillSergeantNasty Spitfire]]:''' What about you? You look like you couldn't fly past the first flag pole without getting winded.\ |
| 425 | '''Lightning:''' Try me, ''ma'am''. |
| 426 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: |
| 427 | ** Seems like a relatively nice pegasus (especially to Rainbow), but that mask slowly crumbles as she suggests creating a tornado to wipe out the competition. If this wasn't a red flag, then it's when she acts like the rest of the Mane Cast falling to their death is nothing. |
| 428 | ** When Scootaloo starts a fan club for her and the Washouts, she seems friendly to Scootaloo at first and even invites her to join the team. [[spoiler:But once Lightning tries to make Scootaloo do an incredibly dangerous stunt that Scootaloo is clearly not comfortable with, Lightning threatens Scootaloo to go through with it on the grounds she would disappoint Lightning and get "impeached" as the president of Lightning's fan club.]] |
| 429 | * BlatantLies: [[spoiler:Despite dismissing Scootaloo's concerns about the stunt, and forcing her to go through with it, she later claims that she would have done it herself if she'd known Scootaloo was going to "bail".]] |
| 430 | * BreakTheHaughty: She's heartbroken when Spitfire [[InsigniaRipOffRitual rips off her team leader insignia as punishment for her recklessness]]. |
| 431 | * BrokenPedestal: Becomes one to [[spoiler:Scootaloo after she attempts to force her into a dangerous stunt without showing any concern for her getting hurt]]. |
| 432 | * TheBusCameBack: She returns in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E20TheWashouts The Washouts]]" after a five-season absence; it is shown that [[spoiler:she was indeed kicked out of the academy and is now the captain of a stunt team of Wonderbolt dropouts like her.]] |
| 433 | * CallousnessTowardsEmergency: She shows zero concern when the tornado she created throws around and endangers the other cadets. And when Rainbow Dash tells her that it nearly sent her friends plummeting to their doom, her response is an uninterested "Yeah, and?" |
| 434 | * TheCameo: Scootaloo talks about her, showing pictures of her to Rainbow's parents in "Parental Glideance". She later appears as a filly in a flashback in the same episode, earning gold twice in a row before looking mad when Rainbow takes gold and she takes silver. |
| 435 | * ColorfulContrails: When flying, she leaves a green trail superimposed with an orange-and-yellow lightning bolt. |
| 436 | * CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Gold eyes and a blonde mane. |
| 437 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheUnfettered. As Spitfire notes, Lightning regularly pushes herself to the limit in order to improve her flying skills. But this attitude also makes her reckless in her determination to reach new heights, even willing to do dangerous things that might endanger others. |
| 438 | * DependingOnTheWriter: Her attitude and relationship with Rainbow Dash after ''Wonderbolts Academy'' varies in the ExpandedUniverse. She is briefly seen fighting on Ponyville's side in the comic's Nightmare arc and joins Rainbow Dash on a couple of rides in ''Literature/FluttershyAndTheFineFurryFriendsFair'', implying she may have made a HeelFaceTurn. On the other hand, in the ''Siege of the Crystal Empire'' arc, she is shown to still be very bitter about being kicked out of the academy and is eager to join a group of villains if it means getting revenge on Rainbow Dash. When she returns in "The Washouts", she is initially friendly with Rainbow Dash, claiming that Rainbow did her a favor -- but all too soon, she makes it clear just how much she resents her old teammate, gleefully rubbing Scootaloo's admiration of her in Rainbow's face. |
| 439 | * DrowningTheirSorrows: A G-rated example, but when we first see her in the "Siege of the Crystal Empire" storyline, she's in an unnamed bar, complaining about her lot in life and drinking root beer after root beer. |
| 440 | * EvilCounterpart: She's basically Rainbow Dash without any of Rainbow's loyalty or conscience. |
| 441 | * FieryRedhead: Her orange hair and her feisty attitude qualify her for this. |
| 442 | * {{Foil}}: To Rainbow Dash -- without the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]]. There's a point beyond which Rainbow stops thinking only about herself, but Lightning will go cheerfully on. |
| 443 | * ForgottenFirstMeeting: As shown by "Parental Glideance", she and Rainbow Dash went to the same summer camp as fillies, but neither of them remembers it. |
| 444 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: Among the other cadets at the academy. Everyone just glares at her when she brags about how she and Rainbow cleared all the clouds with their tornado instead of worrying that she put Rainbow's friends in danger of ''dying''. Everyone is much happier when Rainbow is made lead pony and don't shed any tears over Lightning Dust. |
| 445 | * HatedByAll: |
| 446 | ** All the other cadets in the Wonderbolts Academy basically hate her because all she ever does is brag about herself, make things harder for the rest of them, and put others in danger with her recklessness. When she almost gets Rainbow's friends killed with her tornado stunt and just brushes it off, everyone just [[DeathGlare glares at her silently]], and no tears are shed when Spitfire strips her of her rank and kicks her out. |
| 447 | ** Subverted in "The Washouts" where it is shown she has plenty of fans cheering for her and even has her own merchandise. |
| 448 | * HoistByHerOwnPetard: [[spoiler:She shows zero concern for Scootaloo or her safety after she lets her join the Washouts and puts her into an extremely dangerous and untested stunt involving a rocket that could have killed her. After Rainbow saves Scootaloo, Scootaloo ultimately chooses her over Lightning and Rainbow lets a rope coil around Lightning's hoof and have her dragged away by the rocket.]] |
| 449 | * HotBlooded: Constantly pushing herself to greater heights without thinking of the consequences. |
| 450 | * InsigniaRipOffRitual: Spitfire removes her team leader badge as punishment for endangering Rainbow's friends. |
| 451 | * ItsAllAboutMe: If you were to tell her that there's no "I" in team, she'd tell you that there's an "M" and an "E". |
| 452 | * {{Jerkass}}: Though more from her LackOfEmpathy than any deliberate malevolence. |
| 453 | * JerkJock: She shows obvious traits of this: only caring about herself and ignoring the wellbeing of others. |
| 454 | * LackOfEmpathy: While she does not go out of her way to harm others, she expresses zero concern about how her actions consistently put others in harm's way; if they get hurt, [[NeverMyFault it's their own failing and/or they're overreacting]]. Best exemplified when Rainbow Dash calls her out on endangering her friends, endangering their teammates and pressuring Rainbow into a stunt that injured her wing, and Lightning's response is basically "Yeah, so what?" |
| 455 | -->'''Rainbow:''' A hoof bump? Seriously? You made me clip my wing. You sent half of our class into serious tailspins on the obstacle course. You unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!\ |
| 456 | '''Lightning:''' Yeah, and? |
| 457 | * LaserGuidedKarma: |
| 458 | ** Her attempts at pushing herself may have earned her a spot as team leader, but they're also what cost her that same spot. |
| 459 | ** [[spoiler:She pressured Scootaloo into doing a dangerous stunt that almost got her killed, and after Rainbow saves Scootaloo from said stunt she lets a rope coil around her hoof and carry her off on the rocket she previously strapped Scootaloo to.]] |
| 460 | * LeeroyJenkins: "Rainbow, into the crevice!" "Create a tornado!" Does she have a plan? No. |
| 461 | * LethallyStupid: In this case, Lethally Reckless. She is very reckless with her flying, injuring other flyers in the way, but she didn't notice the harm she caused until Rainbow Dash tells her, but she didn't care. |
| 462 | * MeaningfulName: She's as fast as lightning, and leaves everypony else in the dust. |
| 463 | * NoKillLikeOverkill: Despite already having a seven-to-one lead at the cloud-clearing exercise, she attempts to best the other cadets even more by causing a twister to eliminate the remaining clouds. |
| 464 | * NeverMyFault: |
| 465 | ** Sending other cadets into a tail spin? They need the practice. Losing control of a tornado and destroying a balloon with five ponies in it, four of whom will fall to their deaths without said balloon? They survived, didn't they? |
| 466 | ** In "The Washouts", she still blames Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts for getting her kicked out of the academy, when it was her own fault for putting several ponies' lives in danger. Lightning does admit she did risk lives during her time at the academy, but she can't seem to believe that should have been enough to expel her. |
| 467 | * {{Pride}}: Her worst flaw by far is her unwavering belief in herself and drive to be the best of the best. Rainbow Dash has this too, but whereas Rainbow knows when to rein in her pride if it means someone else getting hurt, Lightning doesn't hold back, ignoring the consequences to anyone else if it means showing off. |
| 468 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The victim of one from Rainbow Dash. Wanting to be the best flier there is? Sure. Going the extra distance to make it happen? Great. Endangering your teammates and failing at the concept of teamwork and [[LackOfEmpathy not giving a buck that you endangered ponies in the process]]? Get out of here. |
| 469 | * RecklessSidekick: {{Inverted|Trope}}; she's TheLeader of her team with Rainbow Dash acting as her more sensible wingpony (whom she pays little attention to). |
| 470 | * ReplacementPedestal: She becomes Scootalo's new role model in place of Rainbow Dash. [[spoiler:Until Lightning endangers her life for the sake of entertainment, then [[BrokenPedestal she loses all respect for her]].]] |
| 471 | * TheResenter: To Rainbow Dash at the beginning of the "Siege of the Crystal Empire" storyline. She bitterly claims that she should have become a Wonderbolt, and Rainbow should be [[DrowningTheirSorrows where she is at the moment]], since she "outflew Rainbow Dash at every turn" and had "the guts to do what needed to be done to win", while Rainbow cared more about making friends (even believing that a Wonderbolt doesn't need friends). The sole reason she agrees to join Radiant Hope was so she could prove once and for all she was better than Rainbow. |
| 472 | * TheRival: To Rainbow Dash. It was relatively one-sided when they were Wonderbolt cadets, with Rainbow being stuck in Lightning's shadow. But once Lightning was kicked out of the Wonderbolts and [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash ruined her chance at RevengeByProxy by saving Scootaloo from a dangerous rocket stunt]], Lightning declared they were "rivals for life." |
| 473 | * SecondPlaceIsForLosers: She takes this to dangerous levels when she creates a tornado to outshine her classmates, and almost get Rainbow Dash's friends killed in the process. |
| 474 | * ShadowArchetype: To Rainbow Dash. She's what Dash could be if she let her ego overshadow her conscience. |
| 475 | * SignatureMove: She seems to be fond of freeflying, where she tucks in her body and wings and falls in an upright position. She does this during the Dizzitron and flag-catching drills. |
| 476 | * SmugSuper: She's a terrific flyer but has to showoff and otherwise act obnoxious. |
| 477 | * TheSocialDarwinist: Do your best and disregard the rest. |
| 478 | * SpiritedCompetitor: Loves competing and strikes up a brief friendship with Rainbow Dash because Rainbow is on her level. |
| 479 | * StartMyOwn: She got expelled from the Wonderbolts Academy because her recklessness put other ponies in danger, so she starts a rival stunt team. |
| 480 | * ToxicFriendInfluence: Not only does she behave recklessly and with disregard for the other cadets' feelings or safety, she encourages Rainbow Dash to do the same, and Dash finds it difficult to say no. |
| 481 | * TheUnfettered: She has no problem if others get hurt, if it helps her achieve her goals. |
| 482 | * WeWillMeetAgain: In "The Washouts", [[spoiler: as she is carried away on a giant rocket that her hoof is caught to, she screams out to Rainbow Dash "RIVALS FOR LIFE!" as she is dragged into the horizon.]] |
| 483 | * WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:She has no issue putting Scootaloo into a dangerous and untested stunt that could have gotten her killed if anything went wrong. When Scootaloo shows concern over her safety Lightning just pressures her into doing it anyway.]] |
| 484 | * YellowLightningBlueLightning: Her color scheme is light greenish-blue fur with a yellow-orange mane. The motion trail she leaves behind reflects this, even having an electric-style distortion. |
| 485 | * YouDontLookLikeYou: Her possible molded toy depicts her as a PaletteSwap of Rainbow Dash. |
| 486 | [[/folder]] |
| 487 | |
| 488 | !!Season 4 |
| 489 | [[folder:Suri Polomare]] |
| 490 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/suri_polomare_by_thebosscamacho-d70zdgj_1039.png]] |
| 491 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E8RarityTakesManehattan Rarity Takes Manehattan]]" |
| 492 | |
| 493 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TabithaStGermain |
| 494 | \ |
| 495 | An acquaintance of Rarity's who takes part in the Fashion Week contest in Manehattan. She steals a bolt of Rarity's new personal fabric to make her own designs with -- or rather, to make her assistant Coco Pommel make them. |
| 496 | ---- |
| 497 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: Pretends to be nice to Rarity up until she's gotten what she wanted, then goes full-on bitch for the rest of the episode. |
| 498 | * TheCameo: She makes a brief background appearance in "The Gift of the Maud Pie", taking to a random pony on the streets of Manehattan. |
| 499 | * ConArtist: She swindles Rarity by asking to borrow a bolt of Rarity's new fabric just to add a few flourishes to her own dresses, but the next day it's revealed that she used the fabric for ''all'' of her designs while claiming she made the fabric herself. |
| 500 | * EvilCounterpart: To Rarity, taking advantage of the generosity of other ponies to further her own selfish goals. |
| 501 | * EvilFormerFriend: Downplayed; Rarity and Suri were acquaintances rather than close friends. It takes Rarity a moment to remember who Suri is. |
| 502 | * EvilMentor: To Coco Pommel. |
| 503 | * FalseFriend: Plays on her past with Rarity to get her to "lend" her some fabric so she can steal it and claim it as her own. |
| 504 | * FauxAffablyEvil: She keeps up her pleasant, laid-back attitude and chuckling even as she gives Rarity her "pony-eat-pony" philosophy speech. |
| 505 | * HateSink: One of the few ordinary ponies in the series who has no redeeming qualities to speak of and is just generally an awful, passive-aggressive bully. |
| 506 | * {{Jerkass}}: She's a remorseless, cutthroat fashion designer who leeches off of the talents and successes of others while presenting them as her own. In short, she's not a very nice pony. |
| 507 | * KarmaHoudini: She never suffers any on-screen karma for stealing Rarity's designs, nor does she seem worse off for it by her [[TheCameo next appearance]]. However, she does lose the award off-screen to Rarity thanks to Coco coming forward to the judges and telling them what happened, plus Suri does lose her as a assistant. Plus, at most, Rarity still ends up beating her in the contest with designs made entirely from hotel materials, proving she's the better designer despite Suri's theft. |
| 508 | * LackOfEmpathy: She shows no remorse in her actions, hiding it under the excuse that you need to do as such to make it in Manehattan. While it may be a tough city, that doesn't mean most of the ponies in said fashion show didn't work for it (such as her assistant Coco). This is indeed proven when Rarity ''still'' beats her despite using her designs (with dresses made on the fly no less), showcasing that Suri never truly earned her position. |
| 509 | * MeanBoss: Is abusive towards her assistant Coco and makes her do most of the work while she takes the credit. |
| 510 | * MeaningfulName: "Suri" in Japanese means "pickpocket". |
| 511 | * OpportunisticBastard: She takes advantage of Rarity's generosity, and apparently did a lot of similar things to get ahead in Manehattan. |
| 512 | * PsychoticSmirk: She pulls one of these off on occasion. |
| 513 | * PyrrhicVictory: She gets away with stealing Rarity's designs, but loses both the contest and her very competent assistant. |
| 514 | * TheRival: To Rarity. |
| 515 | * TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity: Well, being the EvilCounterpart for Rarity, what did you expect? When Rarity is nice enough to offer Suri a bolt of her new fabric for accents, Suri proceeds to use the fabric for her whole fashion line ''and'' claim that she made the fabric herself. |
| 516 | * SoreLoser: Tries to trick Rarity into forfeiting the fashion show so that she will be declared the winner by runner-up. But is denied when Coco personally delivers Rarity's trophy to her. |
| 517 | * VerbalTic: "...heh heh heh, mmkay?" |
| 518 | [[/folder]] |
| 519 | |
| 520 | !!Season 5 |
| 521 | [[folder:Wind Rider]] |
| 522 | [[quoteright:209:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large_325.png]] |
| 523 | [[caption-width-right:209:And the horseshoe winds up on the other hoof.]] |
| 524 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E16RarityInvestigates Rarity Investigates!]]" |
| 525 | |
| 526 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Jan Rabson |
| 527 | \ |
| 528 | A retired former member of the Wonderbolts, he is the current holder of a long-distance speed record with the Wonderbolts that still stands. Afraid of Rainbow Dash beating his record, he devises a plot to send Spitfire on a WildGooseChase making it look like she disappeared and pin the blame on Rainbow so she gets kicked out of the Wonderbolts. |
| 529 | ---- |
| 530 | * TheAce: He was one of the Wonderbolts' greatest and most famous fliers in his heyday, and he still holds the Wonderbolts' long-distance speed record. |
| 531 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: At first, he comes across as a nice and grandfatherly figure, but is later revealed to be the one behind the FrameUp. |
| 532 | * BrokenPedestal: Becomes one to Rainbow Dash[[note]]who had spent all episode [[{{squee}} gushing over him]][[/note]] and the Wonderbolts after he confesses he is behind her FrameUp. It's also heavily implied that he'll become this for a lot more once word gets out on what he did. |
| 533 | * TheCharmer: He does impress Rarity with his good taste in cologne and clothes. He also kisses Celestia's hoof at a party, much to her approval. |
| 534 | * DisguisedInDrag: Dresses up as a mare while getting a cake as part of the FrameUp. |
| 535 | * DramaticIrony: If he hadn't cared about his record so much, he might have kept it a while longer, or at least lost it without disgracing himself and getting kicked out of the Wonderbolts. |
| 536 | * EvilCounterpart: To Rainbow Dash: both are very competitive ace flyers associated with the Wonderbolts, but unlike Rainbow, who's fiercely loyal to her teammates and is as excited about their accomplishments as her own, Wind Rider is obsessed with his own greatness and is willing to betray his teammates to maintain his reputation. |
| 537 | * EvilIsPetty: The reason he framed Dash? He is afraid she would break his long-distance speed record. Everypony doesn't waste any time to call him out on it. |
| 538 | * EvilPlan: Get Rainbow Dash kicked out of the Wonderbolts forever so he can preserve his record. |
| 539 | * FrameUp: He sent a note pretending to be Spitfire's mother to send her on a wild-goose chase and make it look like she disappeared, and planted fake evidence in order to set-up Rainbow Dash as the culprit. |
| 540 | * GloryDays: Everything he does is to preserve his precious record. |
| 541 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: Says this nearly word for word as his defense for why he framed Rainbow Dash to protect his record. The rest of the team doesn't buy it. |
| 542 | * IKissYourHand: He kisses Princess Celestia's hoof at a party. |
| 543 | * InsigniaRipOffRitual: Just as it happened to Lightning Dust. But his retirement benefits go with it. |
| 544 | * ItsAllAboutMe: The reason he framed Rainbow Dash. |
| 545 | * JerkJock: A retired sports superstar, and a selfish jerk. |
| 546 | * LaserGuidedKarma: |
| 547 | ** He wanted Rainbow Dash kicked out of the Wonderbolts. After she is found innocent, ''he'' is the one to get kicked out instead. |
| 548 | ** A more subtle example: Rainbow Dash flew off to find Spitfire after it was declared impossible due to the long-distance. She managed to get back with Spitfire just in time for the air show. It's very likely she ''did'' break his long-distance speed record, the one thing he was preventing her from doing. |
| 549 | * MotiveRant: Insists that what he did had to be done, not acknowledging how selfish, pathetic, and petty it was. |
| 550 | * {{Pride}}: His FatalFlaw. He was willing to hurt Rainbow Dash just to preserve his record. |
| 551 | * SelfFulfillingProphecy: He tried to frame Rainbow in order to preserve his reputation, record, and legacy. He ended up losing them all thanks to his pettiness. If he had left it well-enough alone, he may have still lost his speed record, but he at least would have still had his legacy and reputation intact. |
| 552 | * SharpDressedMan: Has impeccable taste in dress, impressing Rarity with his scarf and cologne. |
| 553 | * TheSociopath: Cares very little about anything else besides his record, uses his fellow ponies as disposable stepping stones, is incredibly arrogant, and is implied to have framed more recruits than just Rainbow Dash, to keep his speed record. |
| 554 | * VillainousBreakdown: A fairly subdued example, but he's furious when it becomes clear that he's the real culprit. |
| 555 | [[/folder]] |
| 556 | |
| 557 | [[folder:Spoiled Rich (née Spoiled Milk)]] |
| 558 | [[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diamond_tiara_s_mother_by_xebck_d9clx7a.png]] |
| 559 | [[caption-width-right:156:Where Diamond Tiara gets "[[RichBitch it]]" from.]] |
| 560 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E19CrusadersOfTheLostMark Crusaders of the Lost Mark]]" |
| 561 | |
| 562 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChantalStrand |
| 563 | \ |
| 564 | Diamond Tiara's mother and Filthy Rich's wife. She is a haughty, self-centered mare who thinks herself above everypony else. She expects her daughter to follow in her hoofsteps by placing high expectations and berating her for any failure. Her maiden name is Spoiled Milk. |
| 565 | ---- |
| 566 | * AbusiveParents: Specifically the emotional type of abuser, as she browbeats Diamond when she loses the class presidency and at no point has so much as a single kind word for her.. |
| 567 | * CallingTheOldWomanOut: Diamond Tiara confronts her over her overbearing attitude, stands up for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and browbeats ''her'' into having her father help build the new playground and earns a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 568 | * CorruptPolitician: She is the head of the Ponyville school board and it's likely she prevented any of the school budget to go into fixing the school playground to make Pipsqueak look bad [[EvilIsPetty and to get even with him for winning the class presidency over Diamond Tiara]]. |
| 569 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: If Diamond Tiara getting worried in "One Bad Apple" when Babs threatened to [[DontTellMama tell Diamond Tiara's mother]] about the way she and Silver Spoon bully the CMC is any indication, while she's still a RichBitch and believes her daughter to be better than other ponies and is willing to insult them herself, at the very least, she ''does'' draw the line at, and does not approve of, her daughter ''bullying'' her classmates. Of course, seeing how she is willing to emotionally abuse her daughter and refer to the CMC (who are standing right there) as [[FantasticSlur "Blank Flanks"]], one has to wonder what her definition of "bullying" is.[[note]]Though "whatever I say it is" seems a reasonable guess.[[/note]] |
| 570 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: In "A Horse Shoe In". When she substitutes for the School of Friendship's loyalty class, she tells the students that loyalty is best gained by buying it. For that reason, she ends up being the first candidate for the Vice-Headmare position to be eliminated. |
| 571 | * FantasticSlurs: Aside from calling the Crusaders "blank flanks" like her daughter, she labels Pipsqueak as a "transplant from Trottingham". |
| 572 | %%* FatBitch: She's a little more pudgy than most mares. |
| 573 | * GagNose: Her snout is perpetually curved upwards, most likely to emphasize her snobby nature. |
| 574 | %%* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition. |
| 575 | * GoldDigger: Implied. Her cutie mark is a diamond wedding ring, suggesting that her "special talent" is mooching off of her husband's wealth. |
| 576 | * HateSink: There's nothing likable about her. Tellingly, her introduction was what instigated her daughter's redemption story. |
| 577 | * {{Irony}}: In her first appearance, she deeply impressed upon her daughter how important their family's social standing is. But in "Applejack's 'Day' Off", the other spa patrons roll their eyes in annoyance at her boast about living in a mansion, showing that many Ponyville residents don't think highly of her at all. |
| 578 | * ItsAllAboutMe: |
| 579 | ** It's implied that her treatment of Diamond Tiara was a thinly veiled effort to improve her own image through her daughter. |
| 580 | ** In "Where the Apple Lies", the only thing she has to say in response to hearing that Granny Smith is sick is "It's not ''contagious'', is it?", contrasting sharply with [[UnclePennybags her then-fiancé's]] genuine worry for his friend and business associate's health. |
| 581 | ** In "A Horse Shoe In", she offers to fundraise for the School of Friendship, but only in the hopes of getting some buildings named after her. |
| 582 | * {{Jerkass}}: In contrast to [[UnclePennybags Filthy Rich]], Spoiled Rich is very overbearing, haughty, and thinks she's above everypony. Little wonder where Diamond Tiara got it from. If "Where The Apple Lies" is to be believed, she was ''even worse'' before getting married, which is best seen in the contrast between her and her husband's initial reactions to the lie that Granny Smith is ill -- Filthy Rich is genuinely concerned for Granny's well-being, Spoiled Milk is more concerned about it [[ItsAllAboutMe being contagious]]. |
| 583 | * KarmaHoudini: {{Downplayed}}. While visibly not showing any consequences over her upbringing of Diamond Tiara, she is taken down a notch after being intimidated by her daughter calling her out and agrees to take her note asking for donations to the school playground to Filthy Rich. |
| 584 | * MeaningfulName: Spoiled Rich is, not surprisingly, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin spoiled and rich]]. Her personality is also as rotten as her maiden name, Spoiled Milk. |
| 585 | * ThePerfectionist: Won't take Diamond Tiara failing or falling short of her expectations, or making friends she doesn't approve of, at all [[spoiler:until Diamond Tiara calls her out]]. |
| 586 | * PetTheDog: In "Where the Apple Lies", she looks genuinely concerned when they are about to amputate "Granny"'s hoof. She's also one of the first to raise her hoof when Granny asks who wants to hear the rest of her story about apple blight. |
| 587 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: She makes a xenophobic remark against Pipsqueak when she finds out that he won the class election in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". |
| 588 | * RememberTheNewGuy: She takes ''five whole seasons'' to appear. Though considering what she's like, [[JustifiedTrope it's no wonder Diamond Tiara never talked about her]]. |
| 589 | * RichBitch: Full stop. [[FreudianExcuse She is the reason Diamond Tiara is likewise]]. |
| 590 | * SecondPlaceIsForLosers: She has this mentality and chastises her daughter for losing the campaign. |
| 591 | * SinisterSchnoz: She is drawn with a prominently curved-up snout that looks like a upward-hooked nose depending on certain angles. This reflects her affinity to [[VisualPun turn her nose up]] at everypony else around her. Interestingly, her appearance in the flashback in "Where the Apple Lies" depicts her with a different, more full-looking snout. |
| 592 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: In the span of an appearance or two, she's [[CerebusRetcon dramatically altered how Diamond Tiara is viewed]]. |
| 593 | * StupidEvil: For all her talk of prioritizing going upwards in society and rearing Diamond Tiara to have the same attitude, her incompetence in said topic would make every real SocialClimber roll their eyes at her stupidity. She looks down on the CMC and balks at her daughter making friends with them. The trio in question have direct connections to four of Equestria's greatest heroes and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E15TwilightTime have a Princess as a teacher on a weekly basis]]. It's the Equestrian equivalent of '''not''' sucking up to a person who has ComicBook/TheAvengers on speed dial while having access to the White House. If anything, Spoiled Rich should have been scolding her daughter for not leeching off the CMC. |
| 594 | * UngratefulBitch: Filthy Rich buys lots of flowers for Spoiled Rich during "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You", but he ends up returning them, because apparently Spoiled likes only purple flowers. |
| 595 | * WalkingSpoiler: She's tied in with everything that makes "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" a WhamEpisode. Specifically, it's extremely difficult to talk about her without bringing in her role in Diamond Tiara becoming who she is, which is in turn a pretty major part of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"'s plot. |
| 596 | * WealthsInAName: Her married name, Spoiled Rich, references both her family's great wealth and her extremely snobbish and entitled attitude towards it. |
| 597 | [[/folder]] |
| 598 | |
| 599 | [[folder:Svengallop]] |
| 600 | [[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/svengallop.png]] |
| 601 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E24TheManeAttraction The Mane Attraction]]" |
| 602 | |
| 603 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ColinMurdock |
| 604 | \ |
| 605 | The manager for the biggest popstar of all Equestria, Countess Coloratura. In actuality, a demanding, controlling narcissist who exploits Coloratura's fame for his own gain and live his life in comfort. |
| 606 | ---- |
| 607 | * TheCameo: He makes an appearance in the background of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E20VivaLasPegasus Viva Las Pegasus]]" at the food court looking miserable. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E5GranniesGoneWild Grannies Gone Wild]]", he's also visible in the background of the dance club scene, sulking in a booth. |
| 608 | * {{Camp}}: He has the most effete-sounding voice this side of [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Steven Magnet]]. |
| 609 | * CaughtOnTape: How he is found out. Coloratura, under Applejack's suggestion, sets him up with a SecretTestOfCharacter where she cancels her contest with the school ponies. Twilight Sparkle manages to magically record his comments and demands to an overworked Pinkie Pie to which is later broadcast in front of everypony else. |
| 610 | * ChildHater: In sharp contrast to [[FriendToAllChildren Coloratura]], he is actually ''relieved'' when she [[SecretTestOfCharacter pretends to cancel the school ponies' contest and]] [[CaughtOnTape confesses he doesn't like to have rehearsals with "brats"]]. |
| 611 | * EntitledBastard: Svengallop is under the impression that he ''deserves'' all his extravagant requests because he takes care of the special effects, wardrobe, choreography, et cetera in Coloratura's concerts. |
| 612 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: He literally walks over Pinkie Pie upon Coloratura's arrival, then lists off a massive amount of complicated and specific items that Coloratura supposedly requires. |
| 613 | * FourEyesZeroSoul: Combine the {{jerkass}}, the MeanBoss, the UpperClassTwit, and the glasses, and there you go. |
| 614 | * HateSink: There is literally ''nothing'' to like about this narcissistic and egotistical douchebag as he is 100% unsympathetic. |
| 615 | * ItsAllAboutMe: While he tries to play up that Coloratura needs many extravagant things in order to preform, it's obvious he's just riding off the perks of her fame. He even blatantly states that "[He] deserves everything [he] gets" in his last argument with her. |
| 616 | * {{Jerkass}}: To children, to fans, to ChildhoodFriends, and ''especially'' to Pinkie Pie and Coloratura. He is HateSink incarnate. |
| 617 | * KarmaHoudini: {{Downplayed}}. He may have been fired being Coloratura's manager, but he is likely to find another popstar whose fame he can exploit for his own gain. Though, according to [[WordOfGod Amy Keating Rogers]], he returns to Manehattan but "nopony falls for his BS again", making it an offscreen averted trope: he doesn't have a gravy train to ride off of anymore and is likely blackballed in the ''entertainment'' industry. A brief cameo in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E20VivaLasPegasus Viva Las Pegasus]]" shows him not very pleased with his current situation, making it seem like [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty karma did eventually catch up to him]]. |
| 618 | * KickTheDog: His ''horrid'' treatment of Pinkie Pie. |
| 619 | * MeanBoss: Downplayed in front of Coloratura, he obviously doesn't like any suggestions that go against his wishes but will go along with them begrudgingly. But played straight as he abuses her fame with her unaware and makes outrageous demands to everypony he meets under the threat of cancelling concerts if they aren't met. |
| 620 | * MeaningfulName: A play on the word ''svengali'' as in one who controls or exerts influence on another, with selfish or sinister motives. |
| 621 | * TheSociopath: Arrogant, selfish, manipulative, and clearly not looking out for anyone but himself. |
| 622 | * TheSvengali: True to his namesake, he's a manipulative {{Jerkass}} who micromanages every aspect of Rara's life for his own gain. |
| 623 | * UpperClassTwit: Treats everypony as inferior (especially Pinkie Pie) and demands outrageous items for his own use. |
| 624 | [[/folder]] |
| 625 | |
| 626 | !!Season 6 |
| 627 | [[folder:Zesty Gourmand]] |
| 628 | [[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zesty_gourmand_by_6satanlover6_dbmdv601.png]] |
| 629 | %%[[caption-width-right:195:some caption text]] |
| 630 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E13SpiceUpYourLife Spice Up Your Life]]" |
| 631 | |
| 632 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Fiona Hogan |
| 633 | \ |
| 634 | A famous restaurant critic in Canterlot with very specific tastes. Any restaurant that she praises is marked with her three hoofprints. |
| 635 | ---- |
| 636 | * AlphaBitch: She uses her position as a high-ranking food critic to impose her will on the restaurants of Canterlot, and threatens to use her status to discredit any restaurant that doesn't meet her ''exact'' standards. |
| 637 | * AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: A unicorn with a bland and dingy colour palette and wardrobe who thinks food with minuscule flavours are best. |
| 638 | * BadReviewThreat: She uses her influence to force the restaurants in Canterlot to cater exclusively to ''her'' tastes, and badmouths any who don't comply. |
| 639 | * BrokenPedestal: Rarity greatly admires her and does her hardest to emulate her requirements to ensure the Tasty Treat's success, but when Zesty shows her blatant disregard for others' opinions, Rarity decides Zesty's standards aren't worth living up to. |
| 640 | * CausticCritic: She wastes no time deriding a restaurant if it doesn't meet her standards and ''only'' her standards. |
| 641 | * ColorMotif: Her dull grey coat and mane reflect her poor tastes in food, and the only food she does eat is bland and flavorless. |
| 642 | * HateSink: A condescending food critic who behaves like an overly petty and rude bully to those who don't agree to her strict standards of which restaurants should exist. Clearly most fans hated her for how much of a hostile jerk she acted around the ponies around her for no legitimate reason. |
| 643 | * IronicName: For a pony named ''Zesty Gourmand'', the dishes she recommends sure are bland and sparse. |
| 644 | * {{Irony}}: In her first scene, she coldly informs Rarity that supporting the Tasty Treat could do serious damage to her social standing. When the Tasty Treat becomes popular, Rarity tells Zesty that refusing to give the restaurant a chance could now damage ''her'' social standing. |
| 645 | * ItsAllAboutMe: The only tastes that seem to matter are hers. She becomes rather appalled later on when the Tasty Treat starts getting customers despite lacking her signature three hoofprints and leaves in a huff when her opinions are challenged. |
| 646 | * {{Jerkass}}: Her criticism extends beyond the kitchen, criticizing a pair of tourists right in front of them and telling Rarity that a fashionista should not have any say on what a good restaurant is. When confronted by an entire restaurant full of ponies who feel that Zesty just needs to mellow out, does she finally give the Tasty Treat a chance? No, she just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leaves in a huff instead]], refusing to even give their opinions the time of day. |
| 647 | * NonStandardCharacterDesign: Her unique muzzle and eyes combined with her tall lanky frame make her stand out amongst the rest. |
| 648 | * PlainPalate: [[IronicName Despite what her name implies]], she prefers food to be bland and served in small portions. She refuses to give any other kind of food a chance, so the restaurants on Restaurant Row serve food this way to get a three-hoof rating from her. |
| 649 | * RiddleForTheAges: She is never seen without her long coat on, so her cutie mark is a mystery. |
| 650 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When public opinion on her standards turn on her, she simply walks out angrily. |
| 651 | %%* SevenDeadlySins: Takes [[Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters the gluttony of delicacy]] up. |
| 652 | * StrawCritic: On the whole, Zesty has very little interest in actually doing her job as a critic -- that is, objectively evaluating the quality of the food, the presentation, and the establishment regardless of what kind of food is prepared. Rather, she has a very specific preconceived notion of what she likes in food and judges all food based on that. In other words, she's not judging whether or not a restaurant serves good food, she's judging whether or not a restaurant serves food ''she'' likes. |
| 653 | * VillainousCheekbones: She has high cheekbones accentuating her gaunt appearance, as well as her likeness to Anton Ego of ''{{WesternAnimation/Ratatouille}}''. |
| 654 | [[/folder]] |
| 655 | |
| 656 | [[folder:Gladmane]] |
| 657 | ->''"Oh, you can't trick a confession out of a pony like me! I'm ''always'' one step ahead."'' |
| 658 | [[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large_0.png]] |
| 659 | %%[[caption-width-right:225:]] |
| 660 | |
| 661 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E20VivaLasPegasus Viva Las Pegasus]]" |
| 662 | |
| 663 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Jim Byrnes |
| 664 | \ |
| 665 | The owner of a resort in Las Pegasus that Fluttershy and Applejack are sent to by the Cutie Map. He professes to be everypony's friend and to keep his employees loyal through ThePowerOfFriendship, although his talent for keeping them divided and bickering may also be a part of it... |
| 666 | ---- |
| 667 | * BenevolentBoss: Subverted. At first, he comes across as a friendly, approachable boss who prefers to think of his employees as friends, and his employees have nothing but nice things to say about him. It's eventually revealed that he really sees his employees as just a means to an end, manipulating them into fighting with each other so they won't take their acts on the road and keep making money for his resort. |
| 668 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: At first, he seems like a friendly enough pony on good terms with his employees. However, it eventually becomes clear that he deliberately creates discord between them to keep them in his employ and make more money for his resort. |
| 669 | * {{Catchphrase}}: His often-repeated laugh "uh-huh-huh", much like his [[Music/ElvisPresley inspiration]]. Likewise with "Thank you very much", though a little less frequently. |
| 670 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: The owner of a large hotel/arcade/amusement park in Las Pegasus, and resorts to manipulation to keep the acts that are a draw to his hotel from going on the road. |
| 671 | * DivideAndConquer: His technique to gain control of his entertainers was to cause bickering between their partners that would result in turning to him for advice. |
| 672 | * EngineeredPublicConfession: A DoubleSubverted version is how he's exposed in the end. He knows that the Flim-Flam brothers' first attempt was a set-up, so he "confesses" that they key to his success is friendship. Later on, though, [[spoiler:Fluttershy and Applejack get him to actually confess using the intercom in his office.]] |
| 673 | * EvilGloating: Gladmane indulges in this after seeing through the first attempt to trick a confession from him. Him doing just this is what the actual plan to get him to confess relies on. |
| 674 | * FalseFriend: Gladmane paints himself as a friend to everypony, but he's secretly manipulating his employees into fighting with each other so they won't leave his resort, which keeps himself at the top. |
| 675 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Gladmane pretends to be a friendly, approachable and reasonable boss, but is really a ruthless swindler who sees his employees as nothing more than a means to an end. |
| 676 | * {{Foil}}: Could be seen as one to/for Filthy Rich. While greedy, Filthy Rich actually keeps a ''genuine'' good standing with his clients (the Apple family in particular) and is shown to be a nice guy. Gladmane is also greedy but [[FauxAffablyEvil puts up a friendly facade]] to have good standing and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive manipulates his clients into staying]]. |
| 677 | * ManipulativeBastard: Gladmane manipulates his employees to keep fighting against each other in order to prevent them from leaving. |
| 678 | * MoneyFetish: [[invoked]]Gladmane loves money. His cutie mark is sparkling gold coins, and his bowtie is decorated with bits. |
| 679 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In appearance and mannerisms, Gladmane seems to be a ponified Music/ElvisPresley, down to the catchphrases. However, his manipulative behavior towards his own employees comes from Elvis' manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, who ruthlessly exploited his client's music and acting careers for his own gain. |
| 680 | * SmugSnake: Once Gladmane's true colors are revealed, he cheerfully indulges in EvilGloating and boasts about how he "invented" the EngineeredPublicConfession technique AJ, Fluttershy, and the Flim-Flam Brothers used. [[BatmanGambit This ends up costing him]]. |
| 681 | * VerbalTic: He tends to say "uh-huh" or "uh-huh-huh" at the end of his sentences, though he drops it when he's behind closed doors and [[BitchInSheepsClothing showing his true colors]]. |
| 682 | * VillainousBreakdown: When his scheme and duplicity are exposed, Gladmane drops all air of smug superiority and is reduced to [[PleaseDontLeaveMe begging his employees not to leave him]]. |
| 683 | [[/folder]] |
| 684 | |
| 685 | !!Season 7 |
| 686 | [[folder:The Expert Ponies]] |
| 687 | [[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large_4_24.png]] |
| 688 | [[caption-width-right:346:Left to right: Wrangler, Hard Hat and Dandy Grandeur.]] |
| 689 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E5FluttershyLeansIn Fluttershy Leans In]]" |
| 690 | |
| 691 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MackenzieGray (Dandy Grandeur), Mark Gibbon (Hard Hat), Kazumi Evans (Wrangler) |
| 692 | \ |
| 693 | A group of ponies Fluttershy's friends enlist to help her realize her dream of building an animal sanctuary in Ponyville. All are experts in their respective crafts, but don't regard others very highly at all. |
| 694 | ---- |
| 695 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: They all seem like perfectly pleasant, helpful, friendly ponies at first, but they quickly prove to be an arrogant, egocentric, and close-minded lot. Fluttershy's friends certainly didn't expect them to be this way, and regret calling for their favor when they find this out. |
| 696 | * BrokenPedestal: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all greatly admire the work of Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur, respectively, but aren't so pleased when they learn they've been putting Fluttershy down and trying to take control of her project behind everyone's backs. |
| 697 | * TheCameo: Hard Hat makes a brief appearance in "Honest Apple" building a stage for Rarity's fashion show. |
| 698 | * DramaticallyMissingThePoint: When Fluttershy tries steering them in her direction, they just go about their own way from a different angle, completely missing the point of Fluttershy's criticisms. Fluttershy wants to use trees as shelter? Hard Hat chops them up to use as building material. She prefers to keep the place looking natural? Dandy decorates the place with curtains made from "natural fibers". She wants the animals to stay comfortable? Wrangler prepares cages with pillows. |
| 699 | * HateSink: Their underhanded methods of completing Fluttershy's sanctuary makes them easy targets for Fluttershy to show just how assertive and confident she's become over the series. |
| 700 | * ItsAllAboutMe: They prefer to do things their own way whenever they feel fit. |
| 701 | * KnowNothingKnowItAll: Zig-zagged. They're all experts in their respective fields, but when they're called to offer their services, they assume it's because the one they're helping is too incompetent to do it on her own. They also don't take kindly to Fluttershy criticizing their work, [[NeverMyFault pinning the blame on Fluttershy's vision instead]] when it's their own inability to grasp her vision that holds it back. |
| 702 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 703 | ** Wrangler is a pony who handles farm animals (sheep in her case). |
| 704 | ** Hard Hat is a construction worker. |
| 705 | ** Dandy Grandeur specializes in grand, lavish interior decoration. |
| 706 | * NeverMyFault: They are wholly convinced that their changes to Fluttershy's sanctuary project are in her best interests when they don't even give her ideas a chance, and they pin the chances of the project failing squarely on her, not even bothering to stick around to see their work fall apart and prove them wrong. |
| 707 | * ShutUpKirk: When Fluttershy [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech lays into them for deliberately ignoring her vision]], they sneer and say her vision isn't all it's cracked up to be before stomping off. |
| 708 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: Wrangler is the only expert in this group who is a mare. |
| 709 | * VerbalTic: Dandy Grandeur has one almost every time he speaks, you know? |
| 710 | [[/folder]] |
| 711 | |
| 712 | !!Season 8 |
| 713 | [[folder:The Mean Six]] |
| 714 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/themeansix.jpg]] |
| 715 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E13TheMean6 The Mean 6]]" |
| 716 | |
| 717 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaraStrong (Mean Twilight), Creator/AshleighBall (Mean Applejack/Rainbow Dash), Creator/AndreaLibman (Mean Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy) and Creator/TabithaStGermain (Mean Rarity) |
| 718 | \ |
| 719 | Evil copies of the Mane Six created by Queen Chrysalis in a plot to acquire the power of the Elements of Harmony. Instead of helping her, they attempt to take the power for themselves. They also somehow initiate a case of MistakenIdentity among the real Mane Six, causing a rift amongst them which is soon resolved. They eventually are "killed" by the Tree of Harmony. |
| 720 | ---- |
| 721 | * AxCrazy: They are all pretty crazy but Mean Rarity and Mean Fluttershy are probably the most insane. The former is very nearly non-verbal as she mindlessly hordes whatever she can find and the latter dedicates every moment of her existence to causing suffering and then laughing about it. |
| 722 | * BadLiar: Mean Applejack constantly lies, but her tells -- such as looking around suspiciously and pausing quite often -- are blatantly obvious, and her lies tend to be ludicrous, implausible and highly over-the-top. |
| 723 | * BigBadWannabe: Mean Twilight is highly intelligent, questions Chrysalis's leadership from the very beginning, and is soon plotting to overthrow her and keep the Elements of Harmony for her own nefarious plans. Given that during their confrontation, she's seen overpowering the former changeling queen, she could very well have pulled it off and become a serious threat if not for the Tree of Harmony destroying her along the rest of the Mean Six. |
| 724 | * BodyHorror: The Tree of Harmony magically ensnares the Mean Six and drains the spell that brought them to life, causing their bodies to wither (although the visuals makes it look more as if they are ''melting''). |
| 725 | * TheBore: Mean Pinkie is continouously bored about everything, and seems not to enjoy anything at all. This eventually leads to the real Twilight to think her friends don't like the retreat she planned, resulting in a breakdown. |
| 726 | * CompanionCube: The log that was once Mean Twilight becomes this for Chrysalis, as she frequently talks to it and gets defensive when Tirek and [[spoiler:Cozy Glow]] point it out. |
| 727 | * CompulsiveLiar: Mean Applejack lies practically non-stop, even when there's no benefit or reason for her to do so. |
| 728 | * EmbodimentOfVice: Basically each of them act the complete opposite of the Element their real counterparts possess, like how Discord corrupted the real ponies: |
| 729 | ** Mean Applejack represents dishonesty and lying. |
| 730 | ** Mean Fluttershy represents spite and cruelty. |
| 731 | ** Mean Rarity represents greed and neediness. |
| 732 | ** Mean Rainbow represents disloyalty and laziness. |
| 733 | ** Mean Pinkie represents cynicism and boredom. |
| 734 | ** Mean Twilight represents manipulation and antagonism. |
| 735 | * EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: Mean Pinkie Pie. One of her attempts to entertain herself involves watching bubbling water. She is shown smiling when Mean Fluttershy trips up Mean Rarity, and laughs maniacally while attacking the Tree of Harmony. |
| 736 | * EvilIsHammy: Mean Rarity is, if possible, ''even more'' hammy than her good counterpart. She has NoIndoorVoice, snarls at anyone who gets close to her, and makes [[MilkingTheGiantCow extremely exaggerated movements]]. |
| 737 | * EvilIsPetty: Mean Fluttershy goes well out of her way to be cruel for no other reason than because she enjoys it. The others join in sometimes, such as trashing the campsite, but she's as sadistic as Fluttershy is kind. |
| 738 | * EvilKnockoff: They're created from a spell cast by Chrysalis involving a tree with a visual image of the target, a strand of hair from each copied character and an engraving of their cutie mark. The result is six one-dimensional parodies of the originals, each embodying the opposite of the chief virtue of their counterparts and little else. |
| 739 | * EvilPlan: Mean Twilight's plot to herself is this: Overpower Chrysalis once they reach the Tree of Harmony and become the group's new leader, then use said power to seize control of the Elements and keep their power all to themselves. Unfortunately for her, though, she lacks Twilight's planning prowess and has no actual strategy for obtaining the Elements, which gets them all destroyed. |
| 740 | * EvilSoundsDeep: Mean Twilight's voice is significantly more raspy than her good counterpart, Tara Strong shifting into the pitch she usually uses when voicing male characters on some occasions. |
| 741 | * EvilVersusEvil: In the end, Mean Twilight turns against Chrysalis and the two engage in a magic duel for dominance. |
| 742 | * FailedASpotCheck: Even with all the visual differences each of the Mean Six have, the real Mane Six act like they can't tell the difference between clone and real pony, and just assume [[TookALevelInJerkass they've gone bad out of nowhere.]] Not that the Mean Six are any better at distinguishing the originals from their own group. The only one who is able to tell the difference is the Tree of Harmony, who quickly recognizes them as fake and destroys them. |
| 743 | * FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: The Mean Six die when the Tree of Harmony retaliates against their attacks by grabbing them with tendrils of light, causing them to wither away and visibly decay (making it appear like they're ''melting''), before the tree flashes white and they turn back into pieces of wood. |
| 744 | * FinalSpeech: Delivered by Mean Twilight as they are being destroyed by the Tree of Harmony: |
| 745 | -->'''Mean Twilight:''' Imbeciles! You ruined ''everythiiiiiiing!!!'' |
| 746 | * ForTheEvulz: Mean Fluttershy is a jerk just for the sake of it, like relentlessly taunting a bird that fell out of its nest even though it wouldn't have benefited her in the slightest. |
| 747 | * GeneticMemory: Averted. Despite a piece of their counterparts' hair being used in their creation, the Mean Six are lacking the Mane Six's memories. They don't know where the Elements of Harmony are, nor are they able to recognize Starlight Glimmer by sight alone. |
| 748 | * GigglingVillain: Mean Rarity has a tendency toward cackling to herself with little provocation. |
| 749 | * GoneHorriblyRight: Chrysalis wanted Mean Twilight to be a copy of the actual Twilight, which meant the copy also got Twilight's higher power level, allowing her to overpower Chrysalis when she enacts her plan to betray the former changeling queen. |
| 750 | * HateSink: Mean Fluttershy and Mean Applejack are easily the most unpleasant of the bunch, and even Queen Chrysalis seems to hate them the most. Fitting, seeing as they're evil opposites of two of the most pleasant and likable members of the Mane Six. |
| 751 | * ImpostorExposingTest: In front of the Tree, each begins to act inversely to their Element, which briefly turns black in response. Once all Elements have gone through this, the Tree grabs them with tendrils of light and drains the spell that gave them life out of them. |
| 752 | * {{Irony}}: They are created from trees, yet they are ''destroyed'' by one. |
| 753 | * {{Jerkass}}: {{Exaggerated}}. The very reason they ''exist'' is to be this, and there is no shred of kindness in their hearts. Unlike Mean Twilight, who at least has capability to be a competent BigBad outside of being a huge jerk, the other Mean Six members are defined entirely by their cruelty. |
| 754 | * KarmicDeath: After ''[[KickTheDog everything]]'' the clones did to the real ponies throughout the episode, the Tree of Harmony rightfully rewards them by draining the spell that gave them life right out of them. |
| 755 | * KickTheDog: |
| 756 | ** Mean Fluttershy encounters a baby bird that fell out of her nest, and proceeds to mock her. She even follows the bird all the way back to her nest, taunting her every step of the way. This causes the animals to hate the real Fluttershy and admonish her. |
| 757 | ** Mean Applejack cruelly mocks Starlight over all the camping equipment the real Applejack gave her, making Starlight feel like Applejack only gave her the equipment so she could laugh at her. |
| 758 | ** Mean Pinkie complains to Twilight that this is a "boring, lame, no-fun retreat," while Mean Twilight shows NoSympathy toward Fluttershy when Pinkie tries to calm her down. This causes the real Twilight to think her friends don't like the retreat, and the real Pinkie to assume Twilight doesn't care about her friends when they need help, and the two get in a heated argument with each other once they meet up. |
| 759 | * LazyBum: Mean Rainbow is this, being disloyal and sitting out on every task. She also dismissed herself in many ways. |
| 760 | * ManipulativeBitch: Mean Twilight is a subtle one, but she is still ''very'' good at being this. She ''preys'' on Chrysalis' desire to find the Elements and get revenge on the Mane Six, and once she, Chrysalis, and the others get to the Tree of Harmony, she plans to take the Elements all to ''herself''. |
| 761 | * MistakenIdentity: All of them are mistaken for the actual Mane Six, causing a rift amongst them when they regroup. They also mistake the Mane Six for members of their own group as well. Neither group realizes the difference. |
| 762 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: All the clones actually manage to do is give the actual ponies ''another'' activity to bond over during their retreat, specifically learning even the greatest of friends can get on each others nerves sometimes. |
| 763 | * NoSympathy: Mean Twilight shows absolutely zero remorse at the real Fluttershy is breaking down, leaving right before the real Twilight shows up so the real Pinkie puts the blame on ''her''. |
| 764 | * PragmaticVillainy: Though she denounces them as "fools", Mean Twilight doesn't mistreat the rest of the Mean Six like Chrysalis does, making it easy for her to convince them to turn against Chrysalis. |
| 765 | * ThePsychoRangers: Each acts inversely to the element they're assigned. Mean Twilight is a ManipulativeBitch schemer, Mean AJ is a compulsive BadLiar, Mean Pinkie is a [[TheBore boring]] wet blanket, Mean RD is an unhelpful LazyBum, Mean Fluttershy is a complete {{Jerkass}}, and Mean Rarity is a {{greed}}y [[StickyFingers thief]]. |
| 766 | * SlasherSmile: |
| 767 | ** Mean Twilight flashes some of these throughout the episode, but her biggest and scariest one is when she is in a BeamOWar with Chrysalis and is close to overpowering her. |
| 768 | ** Mean Fluttershy also flashes some of these as well. |
| 769 | ** As does Mean Rarity when she hordes. |
| 770 | * SpotTheImpostor: Aside from having slightly muted colors for the coats and manes, unkempt manes and tails, and "discorded" attitudes, each Mean Six has their own visual difference from the pony they are cloned from. |
| 771 | ** Mean Twilight has darker purple eyes, her cutie mark is a twelve-pointed magenta star (rather than a six-pointed magenta star with a six-pointed white star beneath) and her hair stripes are in opposite order. |
| 772 | ** Mean Applejack's hat is more ragged, her cutie mark's apples are green instead of red and her hair ties are also green. |
| 773 | ** Mean Pinkie Pie's yellow balloon on her cutie mark is lower than the blue ones (the real Pinkie's yellow balloon is higher). |
| 774 | ** Mean Rainbow Dash's rainbolt cutie mark is upside down and her lower mane and tail's colors are in opposite order. |
| 775 | ** Mean Fluttershy's cutie mark butterflies are opposite colored (pink bodies with blue wings) |
| 776 | ** Mean Rarity's cutie mark diamonds are a different, darker shade of blue, and their positions are reversed. |
| 777 | * TheStarscream: Mean Twilight plots to steal the power of the Elements for herself and overthrow Chrysalis for being weak and inept. She almost succeeds. |
| 778 | * StickyFingers: Mean Rarity tries to claim anything and everything she sees for her own, even if it's something as meaningless as a rock, or a stick. |
| 779 | * SurroundedByIdiots: Mean Twilight was on the verge of defeating Chrysalis, and would have done so if it weren't for the rest of the Mean Six attacking the Tree and showing actions adverse to the elements, causing it to attack and ''kill'' them. |
| 780 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Mean Rainbow is the least mean of the group. Unlike the other five who are PsychoRangers through and through, she is merely lazy and only follows the group without doing anything truly mean or evil. She's also the only one who does not mess with the real Mane Six in any way (along with Mean Fluttershy who does not meet the real Mane Six at all), nor does she take part in the attack on the Tree of Harmony in the end. |
| 781 | * {{Transflormation}}: They are created out of heartwood, a sample of each pony's hair, and pictures. After the Tree of Harmony destroys them, they turn into colored versions of the wood where they were formed. |
| 782 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Mean Twilight decides to split the team up to find the Elements faster while secretly plotting to betray Chrysalis, not knowing at said time, the actual Mane Six have split up as well. This causes the clones to intertwine with the real group in various situations, resulting in various troubles for their camping trip, leading to the actual ponies to hate each other for the episode. |
| 783 | * VillainBall: |
| 784 | ** Mean Applejack stumbles upon Starlight, giving her the perfect opportunity to lead her to Chrysalis. Not long after, however, she insults Starlight over all the camping equipment Applejack gave her, driving her away -- mere moments before Chrysalis would have come across them, to boot. |
| 785 | ** In general terms, several tend to act in pointlessly, often self-destructively evil ways for no good reason. Mean Applejack constantly makes up needless, barely believable lies regardless of whether she stands to gain anything from it, Mean Rarity is so obsessed with hoarding goods that she actively sabotages attempts to rescue her out of a belief that her rescuers want to steal her current hoard of junk, and Mean Fluttershy viciously antagonizes every living thing she encounters seemingly for the sake of it alone. More often than not, their obsessive needs to indulge their particular vices act as the primary obstacles in their respective ways. |
| 786 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The log that was once Mean Twilight is seen in "Frenemies" as Chrysalis's CompanionCube, yet is never seen again after that episode. |
| 787 | [[/folder]] |
| 788 | |
| 789 | [[folder:Sludge]] |
| 790 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large1_9.png]] |
| 791 | %%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]] |
| 792 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E24FatherKnowsBeast Father Knows Beast]]" |
| 793 | |
| 794 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Dave Pettitt |
| 795 | \ |
| 796 | A fat dragon who arrives in Ponyville and claims to be Spike's father, but there's more to him than meets the eye. |
| 797 | ---- |
| 798 | * AppealToInherentNature: After [[spoiler:his trickery is revealed, he tries to defend himself by arguing that taking advantage of the gullible is just what dragons do. Smolder is prompt to call him out on this pretext]]. |
| 799 | * BadLiar: Played with; while his story has several blatant holes in it, nobody bothers to probe further. |
| 800 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: He seems polite and fatherly to Spike when he meets him, but is revealed later on to be [[spoiler:a slob and a fake]]. |
| 801 | * BigEater: May overlap with SweetTooth. He can scarf down multiple cupcakes and trays of desserts easily. |
| 802 | * BrokenPedestal: After spending the whole episode with Sludge father/son style, Spike soon [[spoiler:loses all respect for him when he blabs that he's not even his real father after he tries to steal Spike's pillow]]. |
| 803 | * CaptainCrash: First seen crash-landing in Ponyville like a meteor, leaving a literal impression (as Pinkie lampshades). |
| 804 | * ConArtist: [[spoiler:Turns out to be one, lying about being Spike's dad so that he could live in the lap of luxury in Twilight's castle.]] |
| 805 | * DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: When Spike asks why he was orphaned, Sludge finds himself spinning a long-winded tale explaining this. According to his story, he was absent because he was imprisoned by "scale collectors". |
| 806 | * DisappearedDad: He claims he is Spike's long-lost father. [[spoiler:He's not.]] |
| 807 | * FatBastard: The fattest dragon yet seen, and he's definitely not a nice guy. |
| 808 | * {{Hypocrite}}: He talks a good game about how dragons should live in harsh conditions, but all he wants is to live in luxury in Twilight's castle. |
| 809 | * INeverSaidItWasPoison: Makes one crucial mistake with his story, but it's subverted as no-one bothers to probe further. |
| 810 | -->'''Spike:''' How'd you know I was a boy? |
| 811 | * ItsAllAboutMe: He's more interested in being comfortable and well-fed than anything else, including his son. [[spoiler:When Spike falsely claims that he has found a cave for the two of them to live in, and that teaching him how a dragon would ''not'' live in the castle no longer matters, he blurts out "It matters to me!" before catching himself.]] |
| 812 | * {{Jerkass}}: To the point where even Smolder, the JerkWithAHeartOfGold of the students, finds him disgusting. |
| 813 | * KarmaHoudini: Sludge never gets any comeuppance for [[spoiler:lying and exploiting Spike; he even keeps the pillow he steals from Spike -- though he is forced to abandon his newfound life of luxury and fend for himself in the wild again]]. |
| 814 | * LazyBum: He'll take any opportunity to mooch off others, even his own son. [[spoiler:Or not. Rather, he's only pretending to be Spike's father to live a life of luxury.]] |
| 815 | * LukeIAmYourFather: He claims to be Spike's long-lost father. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when it turns out he was lying in order to weasel his way into a comfortable life at Spike's expense.]] |
| 816 | * ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:He plays to Spike's identity issues by pretending to be his father so he can live in luxury.]] |
| 817 | * MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Prior to his debut, all dragons raised in the Dragon Lands (even the friendlier ones, like Ember and Smolder) were shown to be tough, independent, and self-sufficient. In contrast, Sludge is a fat LazyBum who prefers to lie around all day, being waited on by others. |
| 818 | * MythologyGag: He shares a name with a minor villain from the G1 story "Quest of the Princess Ponies". |
| 819 | * PetTheDog: [[spoiler:While he was lying the whole time about being Spike's father]], he does indulge Spike in taking part of all the activities Spike's wanted to do with his father. |
| 820 | * RageQuit: [[spoiler:After Smolder twice shuts down his claims that he just did what any other dragon would do, he angrily says "I don't need this", and decides to leave rather than argue the point further.]] |
| 821 | * ShoutOut: He also shares his name with a Dinobot from the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers G1 Transformers cartoon]]. |
| 822 | * TheSociopath: [[spoiler:He cares about nobody but himself, and he doesn't show any remorse in lying to the orphaned Spike that he's his father and exploiting him as a servant while he lives in luxury in the castle. One example is when he throws a bathtub out the window ''with Starlight in it'', especially when he didn't know beforehand Starlight could catch herself.]] |
| 823 | * TechnicolorFire: Like many other dragons, his fire comes in a specific color -- in his case, hot magenta with a yellow core. |
| 824 | * UngratefulBastard: Spike and his friends help Sludge recover after he crashes in Ponyville, and Sludge thanks them by [[spoiler:lying about being Spike's father as soon as he learns that Spike was raised by ponies and proceeds to mooch off of Spike's hospitality]]. |
| 825 | * UnreliableExpositor: In Sludge's story, he paints himself as a loving husband and father [[TheDeterminator who flew thousands of miles to reunite with his wife]], and even gives himself a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler:Given what we know about Sludge later, it's all painfully inaccurate.]] |
| 826 | %%* VillainSong: "Just Can't Be a Dragon Here". |
| 827 | [[/folder]] |
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