Welcome to Ponyville is a My Little Pony Friendship is Magic fan-game in the style of a visual novel. The player takes the role of a new pony moving in to Ponyville. Expecting a simple, easy move, they soon realize that everything is not what it seems in the little town.The first act was released on September 21, 2012 and can be downloaded here. There is an unofficial Flash port that can be found on Equestria Gaming's Arcade, but it lacks audio and was heavily criticized by the fans.Not long after Act I was released, it was revealed that one member of the design team was intentionally sabotaging the project, but overwhelming fan response convinced the makers to continue.In Febuary 2013 Filly Gamez announced that due to negative feedback and a renewed sabotage incident (which happened suspiciously close to the release of the aforementioned Flash port) Filly Gamez had put Act 2 on hold and closed their doors for an indefinite period of time.
The visual novel provides examples of:
Ascended Fanon: Not in the usual sense, but transcending fanon status for the purposes of this work. Quite a lot of stuff that is (and remains) merely fanon for the show is canon here. This includes interpretations of background ponies, such as Lyra obsessed with humans, Doctor Whooves, Vinyl Scratch hosting a radio show, and even Sethisto showing up.
Bait and Switch: After Rainbow Dash's crash, you have the option to say that you'll tell everypony in town about her messup... and follow up with a "Just kidding!" She'll actually congratulate you on pulling a decent prank on her, and seems to like you better for it than if you were just regularly nice.
Brown Note: The creepy bells in the nightmare sequences can apparently pull this off in Real Life for noise sensitive people; the reviewer at Equestria Gaming mentions their having caused long-lasting pain (which may or may not have affected the low score given). Of course, most players have been unaffected.
When the player meets Derpy, she explains her past leading her to becoming a delivery pony and recounts accidentally dropping a piano on somepony once or twice.
Everyone Is Bi: For romance plot purposes — for the sake of convenience, so as not to overcomplicate the game and because most ponies are female.
Featureless Protagonist: In addition to being able to choose between male and female, the player can choose to make either a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony.
Get Out: Trixie's reaction, after a long-winded rant, if you tell her she doesn't deserve an audience.
Hypocritical Humor: If you're a jerk to the other ponies, the protagonist frequently ends the scene musing over what the heck is wrong with them. For example, if you're a jerk to Rainbow Dash by threatening to embarrass her in front of all of Ponyville, she'll get mad and eventually fly off, and the protagonist calls her a narcissist. For another example, if you're a jerk to Trixie, she'll get mad and order the protagonist to get out in an angry fit, and the protagonist will muse over whether or not Trixie will ever realize her issues, despite having provoked Trixie's outburst in the first place.
Jump Scare: This happens in the second nightmare the protagonist has.
Karma Meter: One that measures how much of a jerk the protagonist are and one that measures how much others like the protagonist.
Let's Play: Some exist on YouTube. One such let's play is being done by RL Yoshi, the first part of which can be found here.
Let's Split Up, Gang: The protagonist eventually insists on this when searching the Everfree Forest with Fluttershy. (S)he say it's to cover more ground looking for Angel Bunny, but since (s)he doesn't know his/her way around and has no delusions about the forest not being dangerous and was quite worried about that just previously, it seems like a case of the Idiot Ball. Naturally, it serves a plot purpose.
Naïve Newcomer: The protagonist, who's unaware of all the zaniness Ponyville has to offer. Contrary to the usual setup, this actually makes them unlike the players, who are likely already fans of the show.
Nightmare Sequence: The protagonist keeps having dreams with creepy bells, monsters, images of Ponyville in ruins, and a freaky shadowy pony figure. These seem to be foreshadowing something. Subverted at the end of Act 1: It turns out they're actually awake this time.
Only Sane Man: In a nod to Twilight's own first impression of the town, the PC often wonders if every single inhabitant is crazy.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: The protagonist can dole one out to Trixie, which makes her so upset that she decides to leave Ponyville for good.
You:Get over yourself. As far as I can tell, you're neither great or powerful. If you were great, you wouldn't behave like a foal. If you were powerful, you would have vanquished the Ursa Minor. As far as I can tell... You're just a petty little mare begging for attention and praise. And, until you realize that, your going to just get more and more pathetic.
Rebellious Spirit: Vinyl Scratch. The protagonist's first meeting has her barging into the protagonist's home at night, asking if she can rent their bed, flirting with him or her, and optionally sleeping in the same bed as him or her.
Romance Sidequest: Confirmed to become more available as future acts are released and the relationships with the other characters are developed. Reportedly, the player can romance most of the characters in the game, regardless of their playing as a stallion or a mare.
Running Gag: The protagonist never gets to say his or her name.
Lampshaded when the protagonist goes to say his/her name...and stops for a minute for something to interrupt. He/She mentions this tends to happen, and asks to just be called new pony.
An angry Seth dares the PC to "say 'what' again" although you only get this scene if you're a jerk to Trixie; if you treated Trixie with kindness, the Shout Out is gone as instead you're treated to a warm-and-fuzzy scene of Twilight Sparkle thinking you're a good, special pony
If the player maxes out their anti-hero points, when searching for Angel near the end of the Act the player can threaten to abandon him in the Everfree Forrest, ultimately finishing the threat off by telling him to come with them if he wants to live.
Slasher Smile: The shadowy figure in the nightmares has quite a wide grin. It does not look friendly, however.
Video Game Caring Potential: Helping all these ponies out with their tasks and hearing their gushing thanks over it. If you're a fan of the show, this could lead to a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings about how wonderful you are. Especially if you get the "good" Act 1 ending where Twilight Sparkle praises you right before your last "not really a nightmare".
Video Game Cruelty Potential: Seeing how all the other ponies react if you choose "jerk" options. Some you could probably see coming (Sweetie Belle will say you're not very nice, Scootaloo calls you a jerk, Fluttershy will stammer or cry, Spike will get huffy, etc.) but not all of them will recognize it as cruelty (Octavia apologizes for playing classical music too loud if you choose the jerk response to her, Fleur de Lis blames herself, Apple Bloom thinks you were just joking, etc.).
What the Hell, Hero?: Considering you have the option of being a complete jerk, you can naturally wind up on the receiving end of this. The most notable case so far is if you threaten to humiliate Rainbow Dash by telling everypony how she royally screwed up the end of her latest practice session and you're the sole witness. She is understandably NOT happy about it.
. There is an unofficial Flash port that can be found on Equestria Gaming's Arcade
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