Recap / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (IDW) "Issue 100 to 102"

It's been fun, everypony! But as they say, all good things have to come to an end. So let's end it in style!

In the final arc of the comics, Captain Celaeno guides Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Lyra, and Bonbon to her home country of Ornithinia. There, she reunites with her old friend Ocypete, who's betrothed to Prince Huginn of the Western Ravens. The group learns that Ornithinia is well aware the Trees of Harmony around the world and their history, and is trying to activate theirs. But as they attempt to do so, a previously hidden threat decides to finally make themselves known, initiating one more struggle for the fate of Equestria.

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This arc contains examples of:

• Abusive Parents: Ocypete mentions that her parents were "mean" during her childhood.
• Affectionate Nickname: Princess Ocypete calls Celaeno "Cellie", while Celaeno calls her "Ossie".
• Antagonist Abilities: The Elements owned by the Knights of Harmony grant them a variety of superpowerful abilities none of the other sets have. It's unclear if this is exclusive to their set or they're simply far more experienced with the Elements' true power than the other sets.
• Arranged Marriage: King Thaumus arranged for Ocypete's marriage to Prince Huginn, intending for him to fill the final spot on the Tree of Love.
• Ascended Extra: This is the first time since "Slice of Life" that Lyra and Bon Bon are actually part of the story rather than just background characters.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
  • Princess Ceridwen uses her magical ability to change the forms of others to make Prince Huginn grow continuously, threatening to collapse the entire mountain if the effect isn't reversed.
  • In the final part, Balor takes Twilight and Star Swirl's magic and transfers it to King Danu, which causes the king to transform into a giant. His strength and power greatly increased, Danu attempts to use it to demolish Canterlot.
• Avengers Assemble: Similarly to what happened in the climax of Season 9 finale, all other Element bearers join the battle against Knights of Harmony in most dire moment, turning the tide instantly, saving the Canterlot from collapsing and finally using their combined powers to bring down King Danu for good.
• Badass Boast: From Silverstream of all people.
  Mannah: What are you?
  Silverstream: Your worst nightmare!
• Berserk Button: King Danu absolutely loses it at the sight of Discord, ordering the other Knights to destroy him before he can even speak.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Celaeno manages to save the others from her crashing ship all by herself.
  • The other Bearer sets all arrive at the finale to save Canterlot and defeat King Danu.
• Big Word Shout: Danu, frustrated by Cadance, Stygian and Maud Pie managing to shatter his rock-based attacks, screams "ENOUGH!" and creates a tremor that leaves them buried.
• Blackmail: When King Thaumus learned that Celaeno intended to invite Ocypete to travel the world with her, he offered to provide her with her own ship if she left on her own - and to make her sorry if she didn't.
• Black-and-White Insanity: The Knights of Order are convinced that allowing others to wield Elements of Harmony will always end badly, and that they are the only ones worthy of wielding them.
• Bland-Name Product: There's an establishment in Ornithinia called Seedbucks, a clear reference to Starbucks.
• Blow You Away: One of the Knights of Harmony, Taranis, can spin his staff in circles to create a whirlwind.
• Bookends: The comic book series began with the Fringe pony milling around and ends with him doing likewise, this time noticing Chrysalis beginning to break free from petrification, commenting "She's early".
• Breaking Old Trends:
  • Unlike the other Trees in season 10, the Orinthinian Tree of Harmony (or rather, Love), is out in the open, rather than hidden (due to a conscience choice by the royal family), with most of the Element bearers already found. It also only has Kindness and Generosity in common with the other Trees, with new Elements of Protection, Trust, Perserverance and Hope included. And finally, the bearers are sorted into romantic couples.
  • The Elements of Patriotism the Knights of Harmony wield are another set that breaks the trend, with them possessing unique Elements of Pride, Acceptance, Equity, and Faith, and sharing the Elements of Loyalty and Magic with the other Trees, sans the Tree of Love. It's also shown that said elements also gives their wielders unique powers; with Loyalty, Pride, and Acceptance granting their bearers elemental powers, and Equity, Faith, and Magic grant their bearers the ability to influence others.
• The Bus Came Back: Starlight Glimmer and Stygian appear at the end of Issue #100, helping Twilight research the temples.
• Call-Back:
  • In the past, Discord tried to turn the Knights of Harmony against each other, just as he would later do with the Mane Six.
  • In the final comic, Cadance complains about being trapped in another cavern just like her wedding in the season 2 finale.
• The Cavalry: The foreign elements show up as the Knights are destroying Canterlot to rescue the heroes.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Celaeno has been in love with Ocypete since they were young, and Ocypete returns those feelings after seeing them for herself.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The Amy Mebberson alt cover for #100 features several comic exclusive characters.
  • A downplayed example, but the allusion to Bon Bon being a spy from "Slice of Life" is slightly brought up as she manages to sneak around professionally while Lyra has trouble keeping up. Bon Bon herself even stating she can do it in her sleep.
  • The backstory of the Knights of Harmony shows images of Farasi, Caninia, and Abyssinia, the countries previously visited in the season 10 arc.
  • When Star Swirl the Bearded recalls everything he's experienced, images of the Mirrorverse King Sombra, the "T.Rex Fluttershy" (from the "Reflections" storyline) and Queen Chrysalis' origins appear.
  • Cadance creates a forcefield around Canterlot, like the one she once put around the Crystal Empire.
  • Twilight tells Danu that the physical Equestrian Elements of Harmony were destroyed.
  • Taranis is an Ophiotaurus, and a sapient one at that.
  • Mage Meadowbrook reminds the Mane Six of what happened the last time they called on the Elements of Harmony.
  • A Mural of Cosmos is briefly seen in a Flashback during Issue #102.
• Continuity Snarl: Star Swirl recalls details from the "Reflections" arc, which was retconned away by the show in season 7.
• Contrived Coincidence:
  • The students from the School of Friendship just happen to be on a field trip to Canterlot at around the same time the Knights of Harmony launch their attack.
  • The original Knights of Harmony came to Equestria in search of its Elements of Harmony at the same time as Discord's original reign of chaos.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The Knights of Harmony utterly demolish Canterlot's defenders.
• Deal with the Devil: Huginn agreed to work for Ceridwen so that she'd give him an attractive appearance. She mentions her magic specifically allows her to alter someone's form anyway she wants once she's given consent, which she demonstrates by forcing Huginn to grow until he crushes the whole kingdom.
• Determinator: Celaeno makes it clear to Prince Huginn that she won't be giving up. This, coupled with the remaining throne glowing when Celaeno touches it, causes Ocypete to realize that Celaeno is the missing Element of Perserverance.
• Dirty Coward: Prince Huginn. He balks when Celaeno challenges him to a duel, and orders the guards to attack her. He also attempt to launch a surprise attack with a dagger. And while he does try for a direct attack soon after, he folds the second Celaeno disarms him.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Danu can create earthquakes and manipulate rocks and stone. After getting a boost from Twilight and Star Swirl's magic, he creates an earthquake big enough to tear Canterlot right off the mountain.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Despite being well aware that Discord had turned the other nations against them, the original Knights of Harmony took the event as "proof" they were unworthy of wielding those Elements, and did everything they could to prevent the other Element sets from ever being used again.
  • This is especially the case with Ornithia and Equestria: the Ornithians were the only species who'd gotten the Elements who didn't attack Cunabala in the original war and Equestria not only seemed to have its own Tree without the Knights' involvement, but likewise never had anything to do with the war. Thus the two kingdoms the Knights actually attacked are innocent of any wrongdoing at all and their only 'crime' was having a Tree and activating their Elements.
• Divide and Conquer: Discord pretends to flee from the Knights of Order (who despise him for his past actions). With help from Trixie, he produces copies of himself to draw the Knights away from each other, allowing Twilight and her allies to take them out.
• Dynamic Entry: Rainbow and Spitfire slingshot Celaeno back to the castle, just in time to literally crash the wedding.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Smolder is not happy that the Young Six have to face "the water guy" (Mannah), as her firebreathing abilities will be of little use.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When the Mane Six note that the Knights of Harmony are intent on destroying anycreature who has been touched by the magic of the Equestrian Elements, they realize that this includes the Young Six.
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: The Knights of Harmony/Order do this while delivering their Curbstomp Battle, each explaining what their power does proudly. This hubris costs them dearly, as now that the heroes know exactly what their powers are, they're able to plan around them and find counters.
• Fake Aristocrat: Prince Huginn isn't a real prince, but a moulting raven taken off the streets and transformed by Ceridwyn, as part of a scheme to keep all the Orinithian Elements from activating.
• Fallen Hero: The Knights of Harmony, who once spread their ideals to other lands, have now become the Knights of Order and are now intent on destroying all other Elements of Harmony.
• Fantastic Caste System: Orinithian society, with the raptors being part of the royal family, and the parrots residing on a lower level (literally).
• Fantastic Racism: Huginn thinks that Celaeno is beneath him because she's a parrot. He also shows disgust toward ponies.
• Feathered Serpent: Ceridwen is one, albeit with the addition of arms, and a more birdlike head.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing:
  • Celaeno tells Huginn that she doesn't give up easily... moments before she's revealed to be the Element of Perseverance.
  • When Discord seemingly flees from the Knights of Order, Trixie's horn can be seen glowing. Soon after, it is revealed that the Knights of Order are chasing an illusion conjured by Trixie.
• Foreshadowing: A carving of Discord can briefly be seen on the same walls that tell of the Knights of Harmony, hinting at his connection to them.
• Forgot About His Powers: When Danu triggers a massive earthquake, Princess Cadance falls into one of the crevices caused by it, completely forgetting about her ability to fly.
• Forgot Flanders Could Do That: Thanks to his Heel–Face Turn and some previous depictions of him in the comics, exactly how dangerous Discord was in his debut and how horrible he was in the past has been pretty heavily downplayed. It turns out he's entirely responsible for the Knights of Order by manipulating no less than four countries into declaring war on Cunabala, single-handedly ruining all the good they'd done for the world and turning them into Knight Templars, nearly destroying Cunabala in the process, reminding the audience of just how dangerous and evil Discord was at his worst.
• Freudian Excuse: The Knights of Order ended up as they are because Discord turned those they taught harmony to against them, starting a massive war. The current iteration of the Knights were raised from birth to act as they are, making them essentially indoctrinated Tyke Bombs.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: After hearing King Danu's story, Twilight is quick to point out that his belief that giving access to the Elements to any nation other than Cunabala will inevitably lead to war between them is bollocks. After all, her and her friends' actions proved without a doubt that harmony and peace between Equestria and other nations is not only possible, but already has been achieved. However, the Knights of Harmony refuse to acknowledge that.
• Generation Xerox: The present day Knights of Harmony/Order aren't the originals, but are shown to be the same species and look alike.
• Grand Finale: The final arc of the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic comics. While not the final comic to feature the G4 cast (The "MLP Generations" one follows after this), #102 is the last standalone comic for the G4 as a whole.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Ceridwen is acting under the orders of her father, King Danu of Cunabala.
• Happily Married: King Thaumus and Queen Ozomene, and Prince Aello and his wife Zephyra.
• He Who Fights Monsters: The Knights of Harmony/Order became what they are because Discord manipulated the ones they taught harmony to attack them unprovoked. Now they're Knight Templars who have effectively declared an unprovoked war on Equestria.
• Human Popsicle: Flash Magnus is frozen in ice by Mannah.
• I'm Your Worst Nightmare: Silverstream says this to Mannah after No-Selling his attack.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: Ceridwen inflicts on this on Big Mac in #101, reducing him in size until he can fit in the palm of her hand.
• I Reject Your Reality: Even after being defeated by all the other Element wielders working together, King Danu insists that allowing others to use the Elements will only lead to full-scale war between them.
• Knight Templar: The Knights of Harmony/Order. After teaching other lands about Harmony long ago, they now seek to destroy all other forms of it other than their own. This is because the denizens of the lands they taught harmony to were turned against them by Discord (pre-Heel–Face Turn) and sent to attack Cunabula. As a result, Danu decided that harmony was not enough. When Danu learns that Mane Six have internalized their Elements, he immediately states that they must be destroyed.
• Lampshade Hanging: Rarity, Spike and Applejack note how nopony seemed to have any emergency plans during Celestia and Luna's rule, leading to them being captured or incapacitated on a regular basis.
• Lazy Bum: In Issue #100's bonus story, Sweetie Belle scoffs at the idea of having to work hard to succeed in fashion, instead hoping to stumble upon a line of work that she is naturally gifted at instead.
• Locked Out of the Loop: The Orinithians weren't turned against the Knights of Harmony like their other allies. So when the lights indicating the other temples started going out one by one, they feared some evil force was attacking them, and hid their kingdom from an attack that never happened.
• Logical Weakness:
  • Danu uses his power over earth to dig a tunnel under the dome around Canterlot. However, he's hit with this when Maud Pie enters the fight: she can deduce what the boulders he's controlling with his powers are made of and find shatter points in them, letting Cadence shut him down. Danu might be able to control rock, but he doesn't know what kind of rock he's manipulating.
  • Mannah's water manipulation powers backfire on Silverstream, as she just turns into a sea pony, swims through them, and smashes the Knight of Acceptance in the face with her tail.
  • Ceridwen can't just will someone's form to change, she needs connect with a beam or touch them. While we don't see the fight, Rainbow Dash can easily outspeed her and she's dogpiled by all six of the Mane Six at once.
  • Morrigan's power is brainwashing. As such, Meadowbrook making a potion that wards against it renders her power essentially useless.
  • The Knights as a whole have one big one: they've been isolated on their island for over a thousand years with no contact with the outside world. Thus, they have no idea what most of the heroes are capable of and once the heroes start fighting strategically, they're ultimately taken off guard and gradually taken down.
• Making a Splash: Mannah, the Element of Acceptance can summon water.
• Mind-Control Eyes: Ponies affected by Morrigan's mind control have black eyes.
• Mix-and-Match Critters:
  • King Danu is half-pony, half-lion.
  • Mannah, the Element of Acceptance, is part-fish, part-squid.
• Moral Myopia: The Knights of Order truly believe the Elements of Harmony can only be used for bad in the hands of others, and believe removing them is for the good of all. Despite this, they have no problem attacking innocents, and killing good people for no reason other than wielding the other Elements.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Huginn throws a dagger at Celaeno, who, while dodging it, leans again the Tree of Love's empty throne. The throne lights up, making it clear that Celaeno, not Huginn, is the missing Element.
• Not Quite Flight: After leaping off her crashing airship while carrying Rainbow and Spitfire, Celaeno stretches out her arms, using her feathers to glide.
• No-Sell: In the past, Discord attempted to turn the Knights of Harmony against each other. He failed, as their Elements revolved around loyalty to their home more than each other.
• Oh, Crap!: Discord lets out a solid "uh-oh" when King Danu orders the Knights to destroy him.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Cadance is deeply annoyed at getting lost in the caverns beneath Canterlot once again.
• Out-Gambitted: Just when it seems like the tide is turning thanks to Discord's deception, it is revealed that Ceridwen has disguised Balor as Spike so he can get close enough to steal Twilight and Star Swirl's magic.
• Out of Focus: Lyra and Bon Bon are absent from the latter half of issue 100 because they have to stay behind at the site of the crashed airship while Rainbow and Spitfire fly Celaeno back to Ornithinia.
• The Power of Love: Ocypete explains that each set of the Elements of Harmony corresponds to a specific kind of relationship, and Ornithinia's is love. They need three pairs of birds in love to activate.
• Power Nullifier: Balor is a living magic nullifier, disabling Shining Armor's magic with ease.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Invoked when Ceridwyn threatens Rainbow.
  Ceridwen: The next time you see Equestria, it will be a burning pile of rubble. And you will know that it was all. Your. Fault.
• Rapid-Fire "No!": Celaeno repeatedly yelps "No" when she realizes her ship is about to crash into a mountain while she, Rainbow and Spitfire are still onboard.
• Red Baron: To the natives of Cunabala, Discord is known as "the Serpent".
• Redemption Rejection: Twilight repeatedly pleads with King Danu — even as Knights of Harmony are being curb-stomped — to reconsider his worldview and befriend Equestrians and their allies. He remains unrepentant.
• The Reveal:
  • The other Trees of Harmony were planted by the Knights of Harmony, and are actually the Trees of History (Farasi), Family (Caninia), Purpose (Abyssinia), Love (Orinithia) and Patriotism (Culabula).
  • The original Knights of Harmony came to Equestria during Discord's reign. When his powers failed to divide them, he manipulated the other nations to turn on them, leading the Knights to block their access to their Elements, and teach their descendants that allowing others to wield Elements of Harmony would be a disaster.
  • A Flashback shows one of the original Knights of Harmony creating the Grootslang to guard the hidden Farasian Temple.
• Sequel Hook: On the last page, the statue of Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek starts to crack.
• Shout-Out:
  • The guards at the royal castle wear armor that make them resemble Hawkman.
  • The members of the Ornithian royal family are named for figures in Greek mythology. Aello and Ocypete are named for two harpies; Thaumus and Ozomene are named for the father and mother of the harpies; and Zephyra is named after Zephyrus/Zephyr, the Greek god of the west wind.
  • Prince Huginn is named after one of two ravens in Norse mythology that travel around the world and deliver information to the god Odin.
  • In the course of her saving the others, Celaeno crashes through a wall, leaving an Impact Silhouette resembling the logo of the Justice League of America.
  • Princess Ceridwen is named after an enchantress in Welsh mythology.
  • When Ceridwyn teleports, the sound effect "Bamf" is shown.
  • The wedding officiant says, "Mawwiage!! Mawwiage is what bwings us togedah today!!", a direct quote from The Princess Bride.
  • When Rainbow rushes back to Equestria, the words "Warp Speed" and "Giving it all she's got" appear on-panel.
  • Rainbow Dash warning Twilight of the Knights of Harmony coming is similar to Bruce Banner's warning to Dr. Strange in Avengers: Infinity War.
  • Danu is named after a Celtic Earth goddess.
  • Taranis is named after the Celtic god of thunder.
  • Balor is named after a Celtic demon who’s cyclopic gaze can kill.
  • Morrigan is named after an Irish goddess.
  • In the final issue, Discord dresses up as "Blondie" and Fred Flintstone.
• Shovel Strike: Once freed from Morrigan's control, Rockhoof clocks the Knight in the head with his shovel, knocking her out..
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Ceridwen tells the Mane Six that continued resistance will only led to the destruction of their home, Twilight retalites thusly:
  Twilight: There are things more important than a home. Maybe after all this is over, we'll have a chance to show you.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • The Knights of Harmony and their country have been cut off from the outside world in total isolation for over a millenia. As a result, they have next to no idea what the heroes are actually capable of and are ignorant of modern concepts like geology or Silverstream's pearl shard, which the heroes realize and use against them.
  • The Knights' opening Curbstomp Battle was impressive...but also showed everyone exactly what their powers are. Cue round two where the heroes tailor their parties to counter each of theirs.
  • The Knights were raised from birth to embody their Element and aware they're the strongest magic user of their generation. They prove to be very overconfident and not take set backs well, which ultimately leads to their downfall.
  • The Knights' Elements require bond of country, not any personal bond like the other sets do. As a result, they never needed to have one or even like each other. While this let the 'choose for magical potential' idea be viable, it also means when push comes to shove, the Knights fall apart into bickering the nanosecond they get upset with each other and don't bother backing one another up.
• There Is Another:
  • Another Tree of Harmony (or rather, Love) appears, with the Elements of Protection (King Thaumus), Generosity (Queen Ozomene), Kindness (Prince Aello), Trust (Zephyra), Hope (Ocypete) and Perserverance (Celaeno).
  • The Knights of Harmony wield the Elements of Loyalty (Danu), Pride (Taranus), Acceptance (Mannah), Equity (Ceridwen), Magic (Balor) and Faith (Morrigan).
• Tyke Bomb: As it turns out, the current iteration of Knights of Order aren't the originals, rather the Elements of Patriotism are passed down to the most powerful magic users of the next generation, who are raised from birth to use them to protect their country and enforce that Knights' dogma. Deconstructed, as it's shown this has made them arrogant and unable to take set backs well, among other problems.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: While King Thaumus did some questionable things, it was all to ensure that the Tree of Love would have all six Elements.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Celaeno's crew are completely absent, despite being onboard the ship when they stopped to drop off Fluttershy's group back in "Abyssinians".
  • Issue #100 has characters question how the other Trees of Harmony came to be due to the circumstances behind Equestria's Tree's origin, but the question is dropped amidst the urgency of the Final Battle and remains unaddressed.
  • Despite Starlight Glimmer being shown promising to keep the Young Six safe, she disappears from the story afterward even after the Young Six are taken hostage.
  • Big Macintosh partook in the fight in the second to last issue, only to be shrunk by Ceridwen, but is absent from final issue.
  • After the Knights are defeated, it's never shown what happened to them.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Ocypete is angry with Celaeno over her leaving without warning years ago, then returning just to tell her not to get married. It takes Celaeno revealing that she was forced to do so by King Thaumus to appease Ocypete.
• Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Whenever they commit a heinous act, the Knights are quick to deflect blame to the one they're attacking. For exact examples:
  • Ceridwen blames the heroes for both her attempted destruction of Orinithia and the coming threat to Equestria.
  • Danu and the Knights put the blame of their attack on Canterlot squarely on the heroes for their 'crime' of activating the other Element sets. When Danu goes One-Winged Angel and attempts to destroy Canterlot, he flat out starts screaming its the heroes' fault.
• With Catlike Tread: Shown while Lyra and Bon Bon are tailing Huginn. While Bon Bon moves silently and swiftly, Lyra leaps around and crashes into things.
• Would Hurt a Child: The Knights of Harmony have no qualms about using the Young Six as hostages. Mannah even tries to assault Silverstream with his water powers. Luckily for her, she can shapeshift into a seapony and circumvent this attack.
• You Monster!: Danu calls Cadance "evil" for trying to defend Discord.