Tear Jerker / My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Season 9

The Beginning of the End

• The Tree of Harmony, along with the Elements, getting shattered before the Mane Six's very eyes is like watching the Golden Oak Library get destroyed, but on a larger scale. The Tree is pretty much an unsung hero, baring the MacGuffins seen since episode one and providing Equestria with its own protection for several seasons, even in the background. And to top it all off, as revealed in "What Lies Beneath", the Tree was sentient. What we saw was an outright character death in disguise.
• As the others charge Sombra following the Tree's destruction, Twilight just keeps trying in vain to put the elements back together.
• Seeing Spike and so many of the ponies we know and love under Sombra's mind control is heart-wrenching. Even more so is watching Twilight and co. seeing their friends and family turned into mindless slaves, and having to fight them a-la "Tough Love".
  • Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity seeing their loved ones under mind control. Including the young foals like Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Even the baby ponies, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, have been brainwashed by Sombra.
• Discord struck down by Sombra. Remember that sad, touching speech he gave in the trailer? It was from this scene. It hits home so hard, that Twilight and her friends are able to defeat Sombra once and for all with The Power of Friendship. Of course, it turned out to be exactly what Discord had planned, and he was faking his defeat and injury in order to teach them that they were ready to defend Equestria on their own, but still.
  • Worse, he only got hit by (Well, pretended to.) Sombra because a moment ago, he had said that Fluttershy was his favorite friend, which caused Sombra to target her instead. That caused Discord to immediately jump and shield her.
  • Fluttershy desperately begging to Discord wake up...
• There's something a bit sad about seeing the other villains shrug off Cozy Glow's attempts at befriending them... which they were right to do, considering Cozy Glow was trying to manipulate them.

Uprooted

• Everyone's reactions when they learn that the Tree of Harmony has been destroyed, and then later when they see it for themselves.
• When Smolder tries to make a statue of the tree to honor it, she laments that she is already having a hard time remembering what it looks like.

Sparkle's Seven

• Spike confides with Fluttershy that while he always wanted to be like a little brother to Twilight and Shining Armor, he doesn't think they see him the same way. Thankfully, Shining Armor confirms by the episode's end that he and Twilight always considered Spike a sibling.
• It's subtle but when Zephyr Breeze reappears, Rainbow Dash calls him the most annoying pony in Equestria, and when Fluttershy mention him to Spike, she said that he (Zephyr) could learn a lot from Spike about being a good little brother. It's sad to see that, in his last episode, it looked like Zephyr Breeze was on better terms with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, only for them to be annoyed with him again.

Common Ground

• Wind Sprint's situation. With how much reverence she has for her Disappeared Dad, it's clear she misses him deeply, and to make matters worse, her mother is now dating a pony who's nothing like her father. It's no wonder that she sees Quibble Pants as just a poor replacement for her dad.
• Quibble Pants doesn't have it easy either. It's clear he really wants to connect with Wind Sprint, but spends most of the episode screwing up until he thinks Clear Sky wants to end their relationship because of his failures, which he accepts with sad resignation.

She's All Yak

• Yona running away in tears after completely embarrassing herself at the dance. It especially hurts considering all the work she put into preparing for the dance was all for naught.

Frenemies

• For a second, it almost looks like the villains are going to turn over a new leaf, but they end up plotting against Grogar instead.
• Rusty Bucket is visibly saddened when Cozy Glow says she didn't want to be friends with him anyway, after her plan to pull the "you're my friend so you have to help me" card blows up in her face.

Sweet and Smoky

• How Spike’s mood grows increasingly depressed and dejected, compared to his usual perky, friendly demeanor. It’s not only the result of Garble mistreating him in this adventure, but the culmination of his previous three encounters with the teenager as well. Every time Spike has trusted Garble, or given him the benefit of the doubt, or tried to show him the slightest bit of kindness, it has always ended with Spike getting burned - whether it was their initial ‘friendship’ that ended with Garble’s gang trying to attack him because he wouldn’t smash some phoenix eggs, or Spike helping lift a boulder off Garble’s tail only to get sand kicked in his face for his troubles, or that time he was forced to participate in a race over Flash Magnus’ shield and Garble immediately reneged on his word and tried to crush him with a boulder. The only reason Spike subjected himself to more abuse and humiliation was for Smolder’s sake, to honor a promise he made to his friend, and he made no progress at all. And despite it all, Spike doesn’t even really hate Garble. He just sort of accepts that this older, violent dragon will apparently always despise him, and nothing Spike does will ever change that. It’s a bitter and depressing pill to swallow, but Spike accepts it, and he eventually trades jobs with Fluttershy because he’s not a glutton for more punishment and he hopes she’ll have better luck than him.

Student Counsel

• The pony Trixie keeps out of the office seemed pretty eager to talk to Starlight about something, tearing up when denied entrance multiple times.

The Last Crusade

• The Cutie Mark Crusaders nearly being separated forever.
• The scene of the (supposedly) final CMC meeting, and the subsequent sobbings that followed, with the addition of Inelegant Blubbering. Michelle Creber, Claire Corlett and Madeleine Peters really put a lot of effort into their characters crying, making it sound like it came straight from the gut as well as the heart.
  Apple Bloom: "Ah'd like to call the final meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order. First order of business...(lips quiver)...CRY!!!"
  (proceeds to do so along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo)
  • The Crusaders' crying seems Played for Laughs first, but it gets more painful as it goes on. By the time Rainbow Dash gives them a second wind, their crying gets even more painful.

Between Dark and Dawn

• It's a bit sad realizing how trapped Luna and Celestia have come to feel regarding their roles (not that they hate their roles, but that they wish they had more freedom to do other things, especially having experienced some real excitement and fulfillment in adventure recently). Indeed they apparently are not allowed vacations, and often are only able to justify leaving their posts for more than short periods if they declare it to be an "emergency" (which is what they had declared the various non-emergencies earlier in the episode to be). Then one considers it was likely much worse for Celestia, who had to deal with this on her own for centuries (we even get the visual of the castle shutting to trap her inside), all the while nursing guilt and resentment over losing Luna.
• While Celestia and Luna are thrilled to go on vacation together at first and enjoy themselves, they quickly begin to get on each other's nerves with their choice of activities. It eventually gets them into an argument where Luna accuses Celestia of not wanting her to be happy and even claiming she probably wishes Luna never came back so she could still rule day and night. The two get into a screaming match with their Royal Canterlot Voices and it ends with them both deciding to spend the rest of their vacation alone, storming off in different directions. Then there's the way they word things when they break down into arguing, with the various references to their past rift and the underlying resentment that does still exist despite their love for each other.
  Celestia: Face it Luna, you are never happy!
  Luna: Because you don't want me to be happy! I always have to do things your way. I bet you wish I'd never come back so you could still rule day and night!
  Celestia: You think I like that kind of pressure? Being responsible for every little thing in Equestria and you? What I'd like is a sister I can depend on!
  Luna: YOU MEAN BOSS AROUND?!
  Celestia: CALM DOWN, LUNA!!
  Luna: NO! And don't you dare use your Canterlot Voice on me! I think this adventure would be better if I did it by myself!
  Celestia: Fine! I just remembered something I forgot I always wanted to do. Be alone!
  Luna: [tearing up] Guess we have the same thing on both of our lists then.
  • If you look at Celestia's face quickly before she argues back, you can see her reaction to Luna suggesting she didn't want her to return. The comment stung. They may not want each other's company right now, but that's still the little sister Celestia grieved a thousand years for.
• Remember in the pilot, Luna said: "I missed you so much, big sister!" Argument or no argument, hearing that same big sister say she always wanted to be alone (whether she really means it or not) had to break Luna's heart.

2,4,6, Greaat!

• After the failed cheer performance, Rainbow Dash flat out says that nobody likes cheerleading, which upsets the whole cheer squad. Yona takes it the worst, as she runs out of the room in tears.

A Trivial Pursuit

• Pinkie's sadness when Twilight gets her disqualified after purposely tricking her into breaking the rules.
  • Also the fact that Pinkie's first thought when she was disqualified was how it would affect Twilight's chances of winning, after all Twilight had done to her throughout the competition.
• After her Jerkass Realization, Twilight goes to apologize to Pinkie, asking her to be her partner again, but Pinkie replies "I don't know" in an unsure tone. It turns out she was talking about a cake she'd made with Sunburst's face on it, but Twilight's somber tone and expression make it clear that she knows she screwed up big time.
  Twilight: I guess sometimes even the Princess of Friendship can mess things up with her friends...

Dragon Dropped

• Spike's depression after Rarity drives a wedge between his and Gabby's friendship. Even Twilight remarks how she's never seen him this sad before.
  • Gabby's pretty broken up about it as well. Considering that she's one of the most cheerful characters on the show, seeing her walking around despondent is heartbreaking.
• Spike's tone when he asks Rarity "You really miss spending time with me?" implies he genuinely never considered that she would. All the time they spent together over the show's history, Rarity really did value his friendship and genuinely cared about him, and Spike had no idea. Or he'd convinced himself that wasn't possible.
• Just the fact that this could be seen as the end of the Sparity ship that's been present in the show since the very first episode. A big part of Spike's character was his crush on Rarity, but now he seems to have grown out of it. Fits nicely into the season's theme of all things coming to an end.

A Horse Shoe-In

• Just look at Gallus' face during the parent-teacher conference. It's pretty clear that Grampa Gruff's apathy bothers him a lot, and the fight between Gruff and Trixie doesn't help. Even in his next scene he still looks visibly upset.
• After Trixie ends up endangering several students with her idea of a field trip, Starlight hits her Rage Breaking Point and angrily chews out Trixie for her actions while telling her she will never be vice-headmare. Even if some of this was justified due to Trixie not taking the process seriously and thinking she was guaranteed the position, it still hurts a bit to see Starlight say she can't think of any way Trixie could ever help her and basically calls her incompetent. Trixie runs out of the classroom in tears and is seen sulking in misery in her wagon.
• While it's played for laughs, there are probably a few plant lovers out there that also yelled "Phyllis, NO!" with Starlight after Trixie tossed it out. And that's how the episode ends.

Daring Doubt

• The book signing scene where A.K. Yearling is ready to meet eager fans of her work...only to be greeted by angry, vindictive fans who scold her for the morally questionable things Daring Do has done in the series. What makes the scene heartbreaking to watch is that the vitriolic attacking is uncalled for, as their source for knowing this information is from an unauthorized book that A.K. didn’t even approve of. Not only that but they’re attacking the writer for feeling they have been lied to, due to learning that Daring Do is real and that they have only been told part of the story for years. Anybody that has ever worked on a piece of fiction who’s had to deal with the personal attacks from a small group of disgruntled fans knows how much it hurts to both disappoint their fans as well as to see the same fans who have supported your work for many years only to turn around and harass you for one minor mistake.
  • By the end of the episode it is left ambiguous if A.K. Yearling (and by extension Daring Do) has recovered any of her former fans from this incident.

The Big Mac Question

• Big Mac lamenting on how every time he tries to do a grand gesture for Sugar Belle, it goes wrong.

The Ending Of The End

• Canterlot showing early signs of being divided by the Treacherous Trio's handywork.
  • Specifically, vendors act mean-spirited and deliberately offer faulty produce to any pony brave enough to ask them, shop owners act all too much like paranoid conspiracy theorists who think any stranger at the door will rob them, and the guard at canterlot treats Applejack with a certain degree of prejudice, like he can't trust her to not steal anything.
  • From what we can tell from Rainbow Dash's mention of clearing the skies by herself, the Anti-Friendship 'plague' has already found its way to Cloudsdale.
• After learning about Discord's Engineered Heroics scheme, Twilight, rather than having her confidence boosted, starts wondering if any of her recent accomplishments were really hers. While most of the characters are angry when they learn of Discord's scheme (though Fluttershy is more distraught), Twilight is just quietly sad over the whole thing. The hurt tone in her voice when she points out the confidence the Mane Six gained from defeating Sombra was "all a lie" is all too noticeable.
• Almost everypony is furious with Discord for his actions, and you can tell that, especially with Fluttershy, it hurts him.
• Princesses, Mane Five, Spike and Discord hold off the combined assault of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, urging Twilight to run and save herself. When she prepares a teleportation spell, crying and clenching her teeth, you can practically read the utter anguish written on her face as she's leaving behind those whom she loves most. Mind you, she has no way of knowing if they'll even come out of this alive. From her point of view, this might have been the last time she ever saw them.
  • Although we know they survived, the view of remaining heroes being enveloped in light, followed by a blackout, gives a stunning impression of ultimate Heroic Sacrifice on their part, making the entire scene all the more heartbreaking.
  • To make it even MORE heartbreaking is that the episode ends on a cliffhanger, making the viewers have no idea if Twilight's friends were killed off during King Sombra, Tirek, Chrysalis and Cosy Glow's power combined explosion.
• Everyone in Equestria being divided by their prejudice, to the point where, as Twilight so put it, nobody remembers what friendship is. It's too disheartening to see the ponies abandon everything they know about friendship and instantly believe "it's everypony for themselves".
  • When she's not being snide about it, the leader of the Pegasus ponies does look wistful with regret as she declares they're "on their own", as though deep down she wishes she wasn't divided from her own friends in the other two factions.
  • Poor Sugar Belle being caught up in the middle of the newly-formed divide between the three pony races.
  • If you look closely at the background: You will see that Lyra and Bonbon are not together, and are instead staying around with their fellow unicorns and earth ponies respectively. Keep in mind that both of them recently got engaged/married.
  • Looking closer also reveals that the CMC are similarly split up.
  • Adding onto this, we know that Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies can interbreed with one another and have children together, and we don't know if everypony went after the opposite races throats or if some tried to object to it like the students did but just didn't get the point across. The post up said it's already heartbreaking to see Lyra and Bonbon split up and imagining them trying to object to being split up... but imagine being a blood relative to a race opposite than you and being forced apart all because most people believed in some rumors that might've not even been true!
• A small one, but when the Windigos arrive, the pegasi and the unicorns try to do something to protect themselves, while the earth ponies claim that all they can do is hide. It's the series finale, and their inferiority to the other two tribes is still showing.
• In the midst of her friends trying to help her get her confidence back, Twilight tearfully confesses how terrified she is of facing Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, having failed to figure out any way to stop them and seeing everything she's ever worked for since she became Princess of Friendship seemingly go up in smoke.
  Twilight: What if I make things worse?! Ever since Celestia told me I was taking over, I've been gaining confidence. Then I find out it's all a lie. Equestria's been falling apart around us, and I didn't even notice! What kind of princess does that make me? (voice breaking) I'm scared.
• Twilight telling Cadance and Shining Armor that in the event she and the Mane 6 fail to defeat the Treacherous Trio, Flurry Heart is their last hope. It paints a rather poignant picture that if that had been so, Flurry Heart would've been raised in a post-apocalyptic Equestria to defeat the bad guys to avenge her Aunt Twilight. Just the idea that she could've lost her beloved Aunt is sad on its own.
  • Also, after Twilight says this and she turns away to leave, a brief shot can be seen of Shining Armor getting ready to cry and Flurry Heart waving Twilight goodbye. Shining Armor realizes what Twilight means and that she and her friends are essentially going on a suicide mission, probably the worst fear he ever had, and this might be the last time he ever sees his little sister. Flurry Heart though, despite being depicted as a Brainy Baby, doesn't understand the severity of the situation and probably thinks her aunt is just visiting. So this could have been the last time she ever sees the Aunt she loves so much and not even realize it.
• Seeing Fluttershy get zapped by an alicorn Cozy Glow. For two reasons is this heartbreaking. First, it's disheartening for sweet Fluttershy to be shot down by someone who was formerly her student. (Cozy even rubs it in by addressing her as "Professor".) Second, she references how Fluttershy wasn't the best flyer in her youth. How does she know that? Because as a teacher at the Friendship School, she probably shared that in her stories, back when Cozy was her student. So how is Cozy Glow repaying her for confiding this information? By using it to twist the knife.
• Even worse, watching poor Spike get caught in the crosshairs of the battle as Chrysalis threatens to rip his wings off. It's the very thing that makes Twilight and the others stand down and stop fighting, Twilight's anguish as she pleads for them not to hurt Spike (who previous episodes have confirmed is like a little brother to her) really sells it. And when Chrysalis hands Spike back to them, Twilight holds him protectively with Spike clearly pained.
• As the evil trio charge up a final attack after Twilight and company surrender, Rainbow Dash declares "No matter what, we face it together!", followed by the seven of them huddling together. The implication is clear: they were planning to die together. And were it not for the Student Six, they likely would have.
• There's something bittersweet about seeing Cozy Glow touching her forehead, already missing the feeling of having a magical horn, almost bordering on "Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome.
• While they were all unrepentant until the end (especially Chrysalis), being turned to stone for eternity is a rather sad fate for three of the most popular villains. After their development throughout the season, especially in "Frenemies", they almost feel like a very messed-up family, so it's actually disheartening to see them end up like this. (If they are not awake as statues like Discord was, their minds are in a perpetual state of nonexistence, so if never released, they're as good as dead or erased) At least they were turned to stone together, whether they like it or not.

The Last Problem

• It can be pretty sobering to see Luster Dawn act the same as Twilight did at the beginning of the series, with seeing friendship as a waste of time and believing the Mane Six split up because of the coronation debacle.
• Although the Mane Six still keep in touch, meeting in Council meetings once a moon, Twilight had to move back to Canterlot to govern Equestria, away from Ponyville, the place where she's lived for the last few years.
• Just seeing Twilight move out of the Castle of Friendship. Leaving it in Starlight's care may soften the blow a little. But next to the Golden Oak Library, so many memories were born in that castle, as it's been Twilight and Spike's home for the majority of the series. And now, she has to leave it behind. What nails it home is that the Golden Oak Library won't be able to see her off, nor will its Root-Chandelier come with her to Canterlot (well, unless she somehow managed to have it delivered to Canterlot, but we don't see it in any of the future scenes).
  • Seeing Gallus, who the Tree of Harmony picked as a potential bearer of the Element of Magic, as part of Twilight's guard. It's bittersweet, because Gallus is doing well for himself, but he is the only one of the Student Six not living in Ponyville when they are adults. Plus, when you consider how previous episodes have shown how much the other five mean to Gallus, it must have been a huge adjustment at first. However, considering how the Mane 6s' friendships can survive long distance, the Student Sixs' can as well, and presumably has.
• In-Universe of her flashback, Twilight feeling neglected when, between packing for Canterlot and preparing for the coronation, they're too busy to make their last moments with her memorable or worthwhile. Spike can't even refute it when she blows up at them. In turn, the Mane 6 comfort her and admit they're just as sad as she is that she's moving away from Ponyville after everything they've been through. Even Rainbow Dash, who won't say she's scared of never seeing Twilight, admits she feels scared of it. This leads to the Mane 6 crying out their worries about not ever seeing each other that much, things changing, or that they may not stay friends. Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tara Strong and Tabitha St. Germain really put a lot of effort into their characters crying, making it sound like it came straight from the gut as well as the heart.
• Several characters are strongly implied to have passed away during the flash-forward: Applejack is wearing Granny Smith's scarf and her tail is tied up in a braid Granny once possessed; Apple Bloom is now wearing Goldie Delicious' shawl; three new puppies have taken Winona's place, along with several descendants of Angel's; Grand Pear is also gone as well.
  • Though there are some happy tears in that Granny Smith and Grand Pear can finally be with Bright Mac and Pear Butter, respectively.
  • Apart from Celestia, Granny Smith was the last living link to Ponyville's founding.
• Granted, it had become more and more likely over the years, but Scootaloo naturally reaching adulthood and her wings still being stunted pretty much officially confirms that she is indeed permanently incapable of flight. She seems to be taking it well, but considering that it was her childhood dream it can still be a mild gut punch.
• The song, The Magic of Friendship Grows, can be emotional in itself. But not only it is practically the final moment of the show, it's also the last time we hear the Mane 6 speak (or sing in this case), collectively and individually.
  • Likewise, at a certain moment of the song, each of the Mane 6 walk or hop as a collage of background characters throughout the series appear. Many who have joined in or helped them through their adventures, appearing collectively one last time.
• The ending shot: The series closes with the same book from the beginning of the series, mirroring the opening of the entire series with its opening.
  • Hearing the series melody in the background- heard in the theme song of every episode and the Background Music at the beginning of the first episode, and at the end of the final song to close out the series- will definitely exercise tear ducts of longtime followers of the show.
• Just the fact on its own that we're saying goodbye to our little ponies
• Happy tears also come at the very end as Twilight, Spike, and their friends, all successful and still very close after all these years, all watch Luster Dawn walk away with her own new friends, all smiling happily as the sun sets behind them.