WMG / My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Revealed Episodes Season 5

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Season-Specific: Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7, Season 8, My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever, Season 9
Future Characters, Future Plots, Crossovers, Other Guesses

This section archives guesses regarding upcoming episodes for Season 5 that were made before and during its airing. New guesses concerning the finished material go in other sections.

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1&2. The Cutie Map

The episode in the animatic clip will be a Shout-Out to Harrison Bergeron.

Just look at those cutie marks.

Spike will be saving the day again due to being a dragon (which don't have Cutie Marks).

It'll come in handy if all the mane six get the equally sign mark like Rainbow Dash and Rarity appear to get.

• The fact that Spike is staying in Ponyville could also be a way to bring the focus back to Ponyville if everyone's cutie marks get equalized as suggested by the Cutie Mark Quest DVD cover.
• Jossed. He stays in Ponyville to hang out with Big Mac.

Related to the above, perhaps some other friends of the Mane Six get involved in the save as well...

Discord, who also has no cutie mark due to being a draconequus, or the CMC, who simply haven't gotten any marks yet, may also help save the day.

• Jossed, although it's the townsfolk of Starlight's town that eventually help the Mane 6 after the Mane 6 help expose Starlight for the fraud she is.

Gilda will appear, find redemption, and save the day.

She's got no cutie mark to steal, and it's high time she learned the magic of friendship.

• Jossed.

The villain will be an average-, if not attractive-, looking stallion.

Mostly to subvert the usual Obviously Evil villains this show uses. He would have used his non-evil appearance to trick ponies into trusting him as he promised them equality, until he lured them into a town and zapped their cutie marks away, and never letting them leave, forcing them to adore him. And unlike the other less evil-looking villains, he won't be redeemed. Instead, he will be absolutely monsterous, to the point where he, like another villain, is Killed Off for Real. Oh, and why a stallion? That's just to follow the female-male pattern that the show has been following.

• Possibly semi-jossed; the trailers seem to be pointing to a pretty young mare being the mastermind in this episode. That said, the rest of this guess could turn out to be true.
  • Jossed. The villain is Starlight Glimmer, a unicorn mare.

The Big Bad of this episode will say something to the effect of "All ponies are equal, but some are more equal than others."

Because she has to.

• Jossed.

Related to above, Starlight may be revealed to not have the same cutie mark, or believe in her own rhetoric.

• Confirmed. She hides her true cutie mark to maintain control over her little town, and tries to justify it that she needs her cutie mark so she can equalize others.

The episode pair will have Ascended Fanon of Story of the Blanks.

If the DVD "Cutie Mark Quest" is any indication, the townsponies give up their cutie marks, rather than them being taken away. Considering the ponies of Sunny Town believed cutie marks were evil (might have been due to an outbreak of Cutie Pox), and the equals signs seem almost like a canceling mark... The town may even be named "Sunny Town", both as a Shout-Out to the game and to express how the ponies try to keep up an "everything is fine" appearance.

• Jossed: nothing relating to Story of the Blanks appears at all. Cutie marks get removed more because they express differences (which are evil, in the Big Bad's eyes) than because they are evil in their own right.

The three Ponyville Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Babs, will be the ones to save the day.

On the DVD "Cutie Mark Quest", it mentions Babs Seed as one of the characters involved. She doesn't appear in any of the episodes from previous seasons that are on the DVD, so unless the writer got it wrong, Babs will appear in the opening two-parter. Since she, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all don't have cutie marks, they will be unaffected and help save the day (maybe with some help from Spike and Discord)..

• Jossed. They do not make an appearance.

Starlight was yet another potential candidate for Celestia's student

Celestia had a prophecy that foretold of the future bearer of the Element of Magic telling of a pony whose name would be "a light in between the night and day" (except stated more eloquently), and that all mares of with similar names were searched out by her to come to her school. Obviously Sunset Shimmer and Starlight are both failed attempts, and who knows how many more there are?

Starlight will return to fight another day.

Starliht's plan to turn the ponies of a small village cutie markless will be foiled, but she will escape by the conclusion of the episode. She will return somewhere down the line (mainly the season finale) to enact her plan once again, but this time of the whole of Equestria.

• Confirmed for now. She escapes by the end of the episode, possibly setting up a return.

The name of the town is literally "Our Town"

3. Castle Sweet Castle

This will be the episode about Twilight mourning the loss of the Golden Oak Library.

The title does seem like a dead (no pun intended) giveaway.

• Confirmed.

The rest of the Mane 6 will try and cheer up Twilight and fail.

Judging from a recent clip of the episode, the other Mane 6 will try and cheer up Twilight by making the castle feel more like home. So they grab a bunch of their possessions so it can be added to the castle and make it feel more welcoming for Twilight; however, it appears they'll only bring items that each of them are interested in, not Twilight. It'll make the rest of the mane 6 feel at home, but it won't work for Twilight.

• Confirmed.
  • Actually they realized their mistake before Twilight came back, fixed it and succeeded in cheering her up.

4. Bloom and Gloom

Her nightmare will involve Sunny Town in some way.

• Jossed: It involves her (and the rest of the Crusaders) having nightmares about how the "wrong" cutie mark would be even worse than not having one at all.

Apple Bloom will get her cutie mark at the end of the episode.

That's what the clip seems to be setting up.:Jossed because a future episode still involves the Crusaders trying to get their cutie marks.

Luna will visit Apple Bloom's nightmare.

All signs seem to point to this.

• Considering this has happened in ever other nightmare-focused episode so far, does this really need to be said? Oh, and confirmed.

5. Tanks for the Memories

Fluttershy will be the one to dissuade Rainbow Dash from such an ill-thought-out scheme

• Jossed. None of the other ponies even knew about her plan before it was too late.

On the other side of the spectrum, Fluttershy will be the one who ends up causing Rainbow Dash to plan this ill-thought-out scheme

Given Fluttershy's knowledge of animals, she's probably the one that will inform Rainbow Dash about Tank's hibernation period during the winter, leading to Rainbow Dash plan to prevent winter from happening.

• Confirmed.

Rainbow Dash will be fired at the end...

...continuing the trend of stirring the pot. The next Dash-centric episode will be about her finding a new job.

• Jossed.

6. Appleoosa's Most Wanted

The episode will be a brew of Adult Fears.

Let's see... Foals looking to apprehend a criminal? Tartarus, foals straying in a strange town? Brrr...

There will be Buffalo in town.

Even if the tribe is elsewhere there's bound to be a cultural exchange between them and Equestria, to help stop future tensions before they start.

• Jossed. A few buffalos appeared in Trouble Shoes flashback but none in present-day Appleoosa.

7. Make New Friends, but Keep Discord

The Smooze will be a case of Adaptational Heroism/Heel–Face Turn/Not Evil, Just Misunderstood

It doesn't seem to be evil or malevolent in its preview appearance, just gross and annoying. Three possibilities I can see stemming from this:

• The Smooze is a good guy here and just wants to make friends.
• The Smooze was once a villain and an ally of Discord in the past (perhaps even his only friend before he met Fluttershy) but turned over a new leaf.
• The Smooze was thought to be evil at first and many ponies will think so for much of the episode, but the Smooze will eventually prove itself and earn everypony's friendship.

Discord brought the Smooze along to liven up the Gala

Discord's a good guy now, and he probably knows that Celestia hates the Gala because it's so boring. Perhaps he decided that he could be able to do something good AND cause chaos by bringing Smooze to the Gala for some fun.

• Jossed. It was an attempt to make Fluttershy jealous.

Fluttershy's "new friend" is Maud

If [http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/04/tons-of-season-5-information-hidden-in.html#more this trading card spoiler] is any indication. Plus, a shot of the animatic shows Flutters talking to an Earth pony who has her eyes half-closed, just like Maud is always portrayed.

• Jossed. It's some hippie pony named Tree Hugger. Maud does go to the Gala, but it's with Pinkie.

Discord's attempt at Operation: Jealousy will backfire spectacularly on him

First of all, Fluttershy is certainly not the jealous type, so she likely won't even notice that he's trying to make her jealous. Indeed, Fluttershy might even misinterpret the whole thing as Discord simply revealing that he's made a new friend. Second, Fluttershy has proven that she can make friends easily, even with dangerous creatures. As such, we can assume that she'll manage to make friends with the Smooze itself.

Rarity invited the CMC to the Gala to spite the Sugar Lump Brats.

We see them attending, but why would they go? Likely a combination of trying to make Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon jealous as well as not realizing that it's not the kind of thing that appeals to children. The question is, will it end with them covered in tree sap?

8. The Lost Treasures of Griffonstone

Gilda will make an appearance

The episode focuses mostly on Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and they're going to a place called Griffonstone.

• Their mission will turn out to be solving their own friendship problem by achieving closure with Gilda.
• Confirmed.

There will be lots of Daring Do references

The reason should be obvious from the title.

• Jossed.

This will be concurrent with the hundredth episode and another episode involving the other Mane Four on a different mission.

• Jossed.

9. Slice of Life (100th Episode)

Every popular background pony will have a speaking role and be addressed by name.

• Jossed. While they made an effort, none of the children had speaking roles, Derpy is never addressed by name and and Vinyl is The Voiceless.

Plotwise, the episode will be directly inspired by "The Zeppo" and/or "The Greatest Story Never Told".

Some background ponies will be upset about the fact that they frequently get outshone by the Mane Cast. They get involved in their own crazy adventure, but no one ever finds out about it own their accomplishments. They ultimately decide that they're OK with being stuck in the background, because they're such good friends, and at the end of the day, Friendship is Magic.

• Trixie will be the main protagonist, because she's tailor-made for this sort of plot.
• The Mane Cast will be busy with their own adventure, which the viewer won't get the full details of, but will be shown to be ludicrously over-the-top even by the show's standards. Example: The Mane Cast, including Spike, will inexplicably be alicorns in one scene.

Every Doctor from Hartnell to Capaldi will get a Shout-Out.

Personality guesses in relation to fanon:

Time to include various possibilities for how the background gang will be portrayed:

• Derpy - her liking for muffins will be made canon, as will her status as a mailpony (may use bubble-wrap as a reflection of her cutie mark)
• Doctor Hooves - already confirmed by Word of God to be similar to the Doctor Who version. Likely he could be an Expy of the 10th Doctor, maybe even being voiced by David Tennant.
• Vinyl Scratch - will basically have her fan personality canonized.
• Lyra Heartstrings - rather than being obsessed with humans, she will be seen playing songs on a lyre, going with the theme of her cutie mark but being separate from her fanon portrayl.
• Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops - will be shown to be a good baker, diverging in part from fanon though being a Shout-Out to her namesake.
• Octavia - similar to her fanon Elegant Classical Musician characterization.
• Berry Punch - not seen as an alcoholic, but is enthusiastic for trying out different drinks
• Dinky - will be confirmed to have no relation to Derpy (seeing as Derpy is about as old as the Mane 6), but may be like her adoptive sister/neice.
  • Derpy will still be a mother figure to her.

Derpy and Bon Bon will both be established as voice actresses.

There will be no shipping between background ponies.

That will be the chief break with fanon.

Derpy will be referred to as "Dinky's Mom".

She can't be named again, but she will be mentioned. Maybe Dinky herself will address her as mother.

• Jossed.

If the BBC has recovered more missing Who (as Mr. Morris said last July that there was cause for optimism but he couldn't say more), they will authorize teaser Shout Outs (sub rosa, natch).

For example, if The Macra Terror has turned up, Rarity fighting a giant crab will become Ascended Fanon. Or if Marco Polo has turned up, Hasbro's toy department could make a Qilin. Of course, we probably won't know for a while after the episode if this guess is Jossed or confirmed...

10. Princess Spike

11. Party Pooped

12. Amending Fences

The plot, as inspired by a recent trailer, is...

The Cutie Map sends Twilight to Canterlot in order to repair a friendship that never fully formed: her own with some of her old classmates.

• Semi Jossed: The plot of the episode was about Twilight making up with her old classmates but the map had nothing to do with it.

13. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep

This will be the episode discussed on the Nightmare Fuel page where Princess Luna has a nightmare about Celestia falling to corruption.

• Jossed. Luna's nightmare has nothing to do with Nightmare Star.

Luna will suffer the nightmare while trying to help Apple Bloom cope with hers...

...as Story of the Blanks becomes Ascended Fanon.

• Jossed.

This episode will act as the finale to the "CMC Dreams" plotline.

As in, the CMC will help Luna out with her problems as she helped them.

• Jossed. It's the Mane Six who do most of it. The CMC do get to help out in the shared dream though.

Luna's Nightmare (or at least part of it) will involve Celestia being taken over by the nightmare forces and turning evil

.Based on this tcg card spoiler.

• Jossed. Celestia was completely absent.

14. Canterlot Boutique

Rarity will be offered the chance to work in Canterlot full time

Rarity will be faced with the old "friends or dreams" dilemma

• Jossed. Rarity always planned to stay in Ponyville and have somepony else manage the Canterlot location.

15. Scare-Master

This is another Nightmare Night episode.

Self-explanatory.

It will be a Nightmare Night episode about Fluttershy

The title is too similar to "Stare Master" for it to be a coincidence. Fluttershy will either:

1. be trying to conquer another phobia
2. try to prove to everypony that she can be scary herself. Bonus points for this scenario if the vampire thing from the previous season is brought up again.

This episode will show the Mane 6's fears.

Based on Q and A from the SDCC panel.

• May be jossed, since we saw those during the nightmare sequences in Luna's episode.

Fluttershy and her brother will have a Stare-off.

• Jossed - Fluttershy's brother debuts in season 6.

Lyra Heartstrings will be dressed as Megan.

16. Rarity Investigates

This episode will be a lead-in to the next one.

If the guess about the next one being about Coco getting Rarity to help her with the theater is true, because it would be odd to have two unrelated Rarity episodes in a row.

Wind Rider is Lightning Dust grandpa.

Their color schemes are similar amd they both only care about being the best, mabye they both have been plotting against Rainbow Dash just waiting for the right moment to get back at her.

Lightning Dust will be the one who framed Rainbow Dash out of a desire for revenge.

With the episode's synopsis now revealed, this seems likely. If being kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy is enough to push this reckless pony over the edge, then it is most likely that Lightning Dust may choose to impersonate Rainbow Dash in an attempt to crush her dreams of becoming an official Wonderbolt, blaming her for her misfortune instead of taking responsibility for her actions.

• Jossed. Lightning was not even mentioned.

Alternatively, the guilty party had good intentions for the crime, and Rainbow Dash just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Much like how Appleoosa's Most Wanted had Troubleshoes (whose greatest crime is his incredible bad luck), this episode will have a criminal who's not out to ruin anyone's life, but is merely trying to make ends meet or help someone they care for. It's just that Rainbow Dash just happens to be around the area where the crime or two take place, and she's arrested for it.For Rarity, this could set a dilemma for her; does she turn-in the criminal and potentially harm their family, but will help Raibow Dash out, or does she stay silent, and Rainbow Dash takes the fall, but the criminal and their family is safe?

• Jossed, unless "wanting to preserve my record" counts as good intentions.

It will turn out that Rainbow was guilty of the crime in question.

As a twist, it would be revealed that Rainbow has been accused with trespassing and sabotaging the weather factory. Rarity knows that Rainbow is guilty, but is torn between helping Rainbow, or to reveal the truth and have Rainbow punished. Eventually, she decides that the truth is more important, and that lying to help out a friend get out of rightful punishment is immoral, resulting in Rainbow being sentenced to community service, lowered from jail time since she has helped save Equestria from destruction multiple times. And besides, the show can't just have one of its main characters being sent off to jail, right?

• Sounds like a bad idea. The factory sabotage already came across as a really selfish act. If it turns out that she’s lying about it to avoid punishment and don’t get a jail sentence because of her status she’ll probably lose the sympathy of most of the audience.
• Jossed. The accusation was relatively minor.

While Rarity is looking for clues, the rest of the Mane 6 will try to stall Rainbow Dash's trial by acting as her defendants.

What other reason could there be for why Rarity is the only one doing the investigation work?

• Jossed. The others are completely absent for this episode.

The dialog will have some Ace Attorney shout outs.

Objection!
Considering Rainbow Dash is the suspect, this sounds suspiciously similar to Turnabout Storm.

Hold it!
The writers and producers continue to claim an internal ban on reading fanfics.
Take That!

Depending on how similar the actual plot is to Turnabout Storm, Larson may have some 'splainin to do.

17. Made in Manehatten

Suri Polomare and Coco Pommel will make a return appearance.

The fact that "Manehatten" is in the title seems to hint at this possibility.

• Confirmed for Coco, jossed for Suri.

Suri won't be there, but Coco will.

The episode will be about her asking Rarity for help in reviving her neighborhood community theater. (Inspired by a recent trading card which reveals this as her goal.)

• Confirmed mostly. Applejack and Rarity are sent there by the map and find her flyer asking for help with the theatre.

We will see Babs Seed with her cutie mark.

Jossed sadly.

18. Brotherhooves Social

Spike and Shining Armor will be the central focus.

Well, they are technically adoptive brothers, and it would be nice to get an insight into their relationship.

• With the reveal that Fluttershy has a brother, this may end up being jossed.
• Although the synopsis has nothing to do with Fluttershy's brother, jossed.

The title event is a male counterpart to the Sisterhooves Social.

Pegasus brothers Thunderlane and Rumble will be shown competing.

The title event will have various brother-sister pairs.

Twilight and Shining Armor, Applejack and Big Macintosh, Fluttershy and her brother, whose existence was revealed at SDCC 2015.

• Jossed. Apple Bloom and Big Mac, disguised as mare, are the only brother-sister pair.

We will see Snips and/or Snails with a brother.

• Jossed.

We will be introduced to Fluttershy's brother.

• Jossed.

This episode will have Twilight and Fluttershy be sent to solve a friendship problem by the Cutie Map.

Much like how The Lost Treasures of Griffonstone had Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie help the griffins out (and repair Dash's and Gilda's friendship), and that Made in Manehatten will have Rarity and Applejack help out Coco Pommel, it's not unreasonable to assume Twilight and Fluttershy will also be sent to solve a friendship problem (perhaps with Fluttershy and her brother).

• Given the official synopsis, jossed.

This episode takes place at the same time as Made in Manehatten.

Big Mac takes Applejack's place in the Sisterhooves Social since she's in Manehatten.

• And since Rarity is also gone, Sweetie Belle also needs someone to play with...maybe Fluttershy's bro will show up.
• Confirmed, except for Fluttershy's brother.

Twilight will fill in for Rarity.

I mean, hey, she did express extreme boredom in the previous episode. Participating in the Sisterhooves Social in any shape or form will definitely give her something to do besides pretending to read Spike's comic book.

• Jossed.

19. Crusaders of the Lost Mark

Daring Do will be in this episode.

• Jossed.

The CMC will get their cutie marks in this episode.

• Confirmed! They get their marks after deciding their true calling is to help others understand their own marks.

CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TREASURE HUNTERS!!!! YAAAAAY!!!!

• Jossed.

Diamond Tiara will LOSE her cutie mark this episode

As the synopsis says that the CMC will have to help DT in unexpected ways, what would be more unexpected than having to help he regain her cutie mark. This may also involve Pipsqueak gaining his cutie mark as he is mentioned as focus for this episode as well. In the process they will discover/realize their own talents.

• Jossed.

Starlight Glimmer will be the reason why Diamond Tiara loses her cutie mark

• Who else would be able to easily strip a pony of their cutie mark?
• Jossed. No marks were lost, and Starlight wasn't there.

Diamond Tiara never had a cutie mark in the first place.

• She was sick of being a blank flank, possibly because most of the other foals her age had their marks already and she felt her position as the queen bee of the class was threatened, so she started painting a fake cutie mark on with makeup, much like Starlight Glimmer. Her bullying the Crusaders is partly due to insecurity because she knows she still doesn't have her cutie mark, so she wants to make sure nobody suspects a thing by constantly making fun of those who do have blank flanks. Silver Spoon is the only one who knows the truth. Diamond's mark will be revealed as fake in this episode, but she'll end up getting her real cutie mark at the end, which will coincidentally look very similar if not identical to the fake one.
• Jossed.

20. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows

Pinkie Pie will find out about the fourth wall.

And the result will an insane fourth wall-breaking Bizarro Episode in a similar vein to "Duck Amuck" or "1+1=Ed".

• Jossed.

Pinkie Pie will find out a secret.

And the conflict will be over her having trouble keeping the secret, or from her keeping it causing more problems and her being conflicted over whether to tell everyone or not since she thinks breaking a promise to keep a secret could ruin friendships.

• Confirmed. Pinkie finds out something, and the main conflict is keeping it secret until its planned reveal.

The secret is:

• Cadance is pregnant.
• There's a top secret mission in the offing.
• Cadance and Shining have a one-of-a-kind Hearth's Warming present for Twilight.
• Cadence never actually existed, she is actually a persona that Chrysalis used all the way from her 'ascension' in order to usurp power from Celestia, but eventually found herself Becoming the Mask, which led to a mental breakdown where Chrysalis forcibly separated herself from her Cadence personality and decided to use a more brute force strategy instead.
  • Cadance pregnancy confirmed!

The theme song will be modified.

• They're probably going to leave the CMC as blank flanks in the shot when they're on the train, since Twilight is still a unicorn in that shot, but when they get to the group shot, they will add their no-longer-blank flanks.
  • Strangely jossed.

21. Hearthbreakers

This is the Hearth's Warming Eve episode with the Pie family.

And will confirm the link between the Pie and Apple families.

• Confirmed in terms of if being the Hearth's Warming Eve episode featuring Pinkie's family.

We will find out whether Sweetie Drops is really of the Apple family or if that was part of her Bon Bon persona.

The Mane Cast's families will come down to Ponyville to celebrate Hearth's Warming with them.

Maud's showing up. Might as well bring in the other characters' families, especially the ones we haven't really seen yet.

• Maybe Twilight and Shining Armor's parents will finally talk!

In conjunction with the above, the episode will end with Cadance announcing that she's pregnant.

Because we've been waiting for it for so long already!In addition, it will likely be a running gag throughout the episode that she tries to make the announcement, but keeps getting cut off.

22. What About Discord?

Discord will try to make amends with Shining Armor after the events of "Twilight's Kingdom".

Shiny wasn't seen with the rest of the cast in Twilight's new castle at the end of the two-parter, which may imply that he hasn't forgiven Discord for his betrayal.

• Jossed.

The plot will be inspired by the film "What About Bob?".

While one of the characters is on vacation, Discord pops up and winds up becoming friends with their family, much to their surprise.

Twilight won't be suspicious until seeing Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity hanging out with Discord.

Twilight will go into Discord's mind.

She'll use magic to go inside Discord's mind to see if he's up to anything, but will instead learn about his origin.

• And/Or go insane from what ever she sees.

This will be set either between Twilight's Kingdom and The Cutie Map, or else shortly after The Cutie Map.

Given the synopsis, it sounds like in order for the story to work, there needs to have not been time for Discord to regain Twilight's trust. And many episodes are clearly in Anachronic Order anyway. As a necessary corollary of this, to avoid confusing the kids...

...the Cutie Mark Crusaders will not appear.

• Confirmed.

For once, Discord did nothing wrong.

Instead, he's been legitimately trying to be a better friend and the rest of the mane six are learning how to better understand and enjoy his sense of humour. Twilight's lesson this time is to not judge a situation before she has all the facts.

• Partly confirmed. Discord really did make friends with the others legitimately, but he also was the one who convinced them not to invite Twilight to avoid interrupting her book-organizing weekend, and while he claims he didn't do it to make her jealous, he happily admits he did find it entertaining when she was. Twilight's lesson is partly the one listed above, but mostly that it's okay to admit that she's jealous, while Discord learns that being left out hurts and it's not nice to rub it in somepony's face to make them jealous.

23. The Hooffields and McColts

This will be an Applejack/Apple family episode.

• Jossed. It's a Twilight and Fluttershy episode.

This will be the episode where Fluttershy's brother appears.

The authors will have Shown Their Work about the Hatfield and McCoy feud.

Starlight Glimmer will once again make a cameo appearance in the background.

Most likely to spy on Twilight Sparkle.

24. The Mane Attraction

This will be the episode with the Lena Hall song.

And it will involve the Mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders helping a singer be herself (based on the SDCC animatic).

The song she sings will be sung by Starlight Glimmer in the season finale.

While Starlight Glimmer sang in the Season 5 premiere, the lyrics we've gotten so far of the song are "I'm here to show you who I am. Threw off the veil, it's finally time", sung in a slow and somber tone. Maybe Starlight is in fact another pony in disguise, and the season finale is when we finally learn "Starlight's" motives, and she shows her true self.

• Jossed. We were shown an animatic, and it's performed by a different pony.

Lena Hall's character, despite commercial success as a singer, will begin the episode as a blank flank.

She earns her cutie mark at the beginning of the second chorus of her song. There isn't a dry eye in the house, with Lena's character, the CMC, and everypony else, including Applejack, shedding Tears of Joy.

• Jossed. Countessa Coloratura's cutie mark is visible in the preview clip, which comes earlier in the episode.

(post-episode) Svengallop will return in a future episode with plan to get Revenge on Applejack and Coloratura for firing him and making him lose his greatest source of income.

After leaving Coloratura on her own, Svengallop will seek out another young starlet to manipulate and make money off of in an attempt to ruin Coloratura's career via competition, trying to prove that she's worth nothing without him. Applejack, however, will help Coloratura to fight back via a Battle of the Bands-esque concert that Svengallop tries to sabotage so that his new puppet will win and not Rara. Eventually, Applejack and Coloratura win, and Svengallop undergoes a Villainous Breakdown in which he snaps at Coloratura and angrily yells at her while onstage while the mic is still on. After revealing his true colors to the world, the other pop star he tried to manipulate will fire him, the audience will boo and throw stuff at him, and afterwards nopony will consider him for a manager after hearing of what he's done.

• Alternatively, Twilight Sparkle will have Svengallop arrested and thrown in jail after he is exposed and his assets frozen, effectively ending his career as manager.

25/26. The Cutie Remark Part 1 & Part 2

The plot is…

Starlight Glimmer returns, revealing her true motivations: she wanted to make it so nopony will be better at anything than she is, and met some villain (probably Grogar or Hydia) who gave her the ability to steal Cutie Marks, and with them the pony's special talent (and anything else that makes them unique). At the same time, this robs the ponies of their ability to fight back against said villain. This time around, the two have developed a way to steal many Cutie Marks all at once. Also, Lightning Dust returns to lend a hoof, much to Rainbow Dash's surprise and dismay.

In part 2, she and her boss are defeated when Twilight and her friends channel the power of the Castle of Friendship, restoring all the stolen Cutie Marks.

• With the official synopses for the episodes now revealed, this is very likely to be jossed.

Starlight will use Time Travel to try and stop the initial Sonic Rainboom.

The SDCC preview has Twilight talking a lot about the initial Rainboom that allowed the Mane 6 to find their cutie marks. Seems like a strange detail to bring up unless it ends up being important.

• Specifically, Twilight is giving a lecture on "Cutie Mark Magic" and talking about how her and her friends got their cutie marks, and she sees Starlight Glimmer in the audience.
• And it could quickly turn into a Be Careful What You Wish For storyline as Nightmare Moon has now prevailed, with possible Shout Outs to A Pail of Air due to the bitter cold condensing (and maybe even freezing) the oxygen.
• Confirmed? The synopses on Netflix states that Starlight Glimmer's revenge scheme does involve a time travel spell and changing the past. However, we have yet to see if she intends to prevent the Rainboom from happening.
• Confirmed. Starlight goes back in time to prevent the initial Sonic Rainboom that connects Twilight and her friends' destinies together.

We'll get a look into Starlight Glimmer's past, and we'll see why she wants to bring equality to Equestria...

...and the reason why she wants to bring equality to Equestria is because she was bullied in her youth, because she didn't get her cutie mark as quickly as everyone else did. And even when she did finally get her cutie mark, she was still overlooked for more accomplished ponies (like Twilight Sparkle).

• Semi-confirmed. Her Freudian Excuse was that she lost her best friend after he got his cutie mark, but she didn't.

Starlight will be defeated by the spell Twilight invented in "Magical Mystery Cure".

Since they both have been shown affecting pony's cutie marks. Except Twilight's modified working version of the spell that made her an alicorn will empower ponies based on their cutie marks instead of changing them around.

• Jossed. She is defeated after Twilight shows her what a horrible future could unfold without the Rainboom, and is talked out of her plans.

Starlight Glimmer's interference will result in Nightmare Moon winning, but will also prevent the rise of the other major villains.

It won't be a happy place, surely, but it will prevent certain things from happening.

• Discord broke free because the Elements changed hooves. If the Mane Cast never became the EOH, Discord would not have gotten free.
• With Equestria in utter ruin, Queen Chrysalis won't bother invading.
• Princess Luna was confident that she could take Sombra out by herself. Nightmare Moon is Luna jacked up and ruthless, so Sombra is going to get Night Lasered right off the bat.
• Tirek might break free, but without Discord to grant him mobility, Nightmare Moon will crush him before he has a chance to become a threat.
  • Of course, it's not going to be a happy place, it's a realm that the night never ends, nightmare creatures run rampant, and the Tree of Harmony is going to be destroyed by Discord's machinations.
• Semi-jossed. Every time Starlight interferes with the past, Twilight finds that the present day Equestria being conquered by a different villain.

Alternatively, Starlight's interference will have different, but no less grave consequences.

For example, without a means to being able to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon, Celestia may be forced to take on Luna's corruption, becoming Nightmare Celestia/Solar Flare/Hellfire Sun, as seen in the TCG.

• Jossed. No Nightmare Star here.

Starlight Glimmer's plan will be defeated by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who will earn their cutie marks in the process.

Starlight will implement a master plan to eliminate all cutie marks, but the CMC (Disability Immunity?) will be a deciding factor in her defeat. Getting Everypony else their cutie mark will finally earn them theirs. Season 5 has had cutie marks as a theme, with CMC episodes discrediting the worst theories about them (that Starlight would base her philosophy on), this season seems like the ideal time.

• Substantiated by a hacked season 5 teaser poster (that's a thing now), that seemingly has Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with their cutie marks.
• Jossed. The CMC get their cutie marks in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark".

In one guess or another, the subplot is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders will get their cutie marks.

Considering that the theme of the season is Cutie Mark Magic, who knows what they'll get.

• Jossed. They got their cutie marks in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark".

The episode will end with a massive bash co-thrown by Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, and Party Favor.

• Semi-jossed. While Party Favor does make a quick cameo near the end, Cheese Sandwich doesn't appear, and no great party is thrown.

Starlight Glimmer will:

• Change her ways.
  • Confirmed. In fact, it appears that she will join the Mane 6.
• Die.
• Get banished to Tartarus.
• Get petrified.
• Land in the slammer.
• Fall into the timestream and be utterly vaporized.
• Get trapped in a time loop.
• Have her mind broken by her failures, leaving her as little more than an empty shell.
• Get thrown off Canterlot in slow motion, leaving her to very slowly fall to her death
• If reformed, become an Ambassador of Friendship who helps to share the Mane Six's lessons with the rest of Equestria.

Discord will play a huge part in the episode as a Foil to Starlight.

He has a monstrous appearance, but a good heart underneath. She is a normal and regular unicorn with a sadistic Faux Affably Evil persona and twisted motivations. He enjoys chaos, she wants order. He started out as a monster, but was able to let friendship into his heart. She (presumably) started out as a good filly, but got twisted into who she is now by who knows what.

• Jossed. He appears in an alternate timeline where he throws Equestria in chaos.

Starlight's use of time travel wont be undone at the end of the episode

It's looking likely that Starlight will create an alternate timeline where the Rainboom never happened, preventing the Mane Six from acquiring their Cutie Marks. Sounds like the sort of thing that the heroes would put right by the end, right?

Well what if the Mane Six end up getting their same Cutie Marks in the new timeline, but just in different ways. Certain events may be permanently undone, such as the acquisition of Rainbow Power (given how the new toy line, Cutie Mark Magic, seems to have replaced it) and the destruction of Twilight's library (due to fan backlash).

It won't be a full on reboot however, by the end of the episode, events will work out to the point where the series is largely recognisable (e.g In the alternate timeline, Applejack might have never come back from Manehatten, but will do so by the end of this episode), there'll just be a few minor differences here and there.

• Semi-Jossed? If the Stinger of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games is anything to go by, it is very likely that whatever Starlight Glimmer will do will eventually be undone, perhaps because Status Quo Is God.

Applejack will find herself in an alternate timeline where her parents aren't dead

Just a thought, since this might work as way to bring in Applejack's parents temporarily while still having them dead in the main timeline, if they are actually dead in the first place.

• Jossed. Only Twilight and Spike are involved in stopping Starlight. Also, Applejack's parents don't show-up.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders will help Starlight Glimmer to reform after all is said and done.

Considering that their true talent is helping other ponies discover their calling, this could work. After the timeline is restored, the CMC could help Starlight understand the meaning of her cutie mark and make some real friends. Futhermore, she could befriend Mane Six as an apology for what she had done to them before deciding to head back to her old village to make amends with the ponies living there and start again with a new outlook on friendship.

• Jossed. The CMC do not interact with Starlight in a meaningful way, though it could happen in the future.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to be essential to the final battle against Starlight Glimmer, similar to Spike against King Sombra

No, seriously, their Cutie Marks are basically the opposite to Starlight's (based on what she said about it). Despite that, their cutie marks are explicitly identical, ironically similar to Starlight´s ideal. However, whereas Starlight uses her magic to take away ponies' talents, the Crusaders use their talents to help others discover their talents. At least a foil-like relationship is previsible.

• Jossed. The CMC do not interact with Starlight in a meaningful way

There will be a timeskip either at the end of the episode or between this episode and the next season.

It won't be a big one, but just enough to age the Cutie Mark Crusaders up enough to make it reasonable for them to be allowed to go out into the world solving cutie mark problems without adult supervision. Pony society seems quite permissive of ponies becoming independent at a young age, so skipping to a point where the CMC have just become teens seems reasonable.

Princess Skyla will be born in this one.

Given that Cadance's pregnancy was only announced in "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows", and that she looked the same as usual, it's likely that it's too early for Skyla to be born in the season finale, barring timey-wimey shenanigans.

• Jossed.

The Mane 6 will be separated from each other

Each of them will be shunted off into a different timeline where they are seemingly happier in.

• Rainbow Dash will be a member of the Wonderbolts and is totally awesome.
• Rarity is the fashion queen of Canterlot, while still retaining her 'Rules of Rarity'.
• Applejack finds herself in a complete family, where her parents are alive.
• Fluttershy finds herself preserving rare species of all kinds, meeting creatures she thought were just myths of flatout extinct.
• Twilight finds is in a version of Equestria which has no conflict, no arguments and everyone are friends, with her being a teacher passing down knowledge for the future generations.
• Pinkie Pie... I dunno.
  • Non-stop party world?

All seems well, however every one of them realizes that they are in a Crapsaccharine World of some sort, going against their elements, perhaps when they encounter events or objects that remind themselves of each other.

• Rainbow sees that everyone, Wonderbolts included are devious backstabbers that are willing to leave her or anyone else in the dust to get ahead.
• Rarity sees that greed rules the land, and generosity is as alien a concept to them as individuality in a Hive Mind.
• Applejack sees that rival businesses are absolutely ruthless, lying and cheating with shady business practices to compete with each other.
• Twilight realises that everyone is being forced to be friends, with no choice in the matter, with the 'magic' of friendship controlling their emotions so anything other than general happiness can be expressed, friendship has become... routine. Additionally, the world is stagnant with no real progress.
• Fluttershy sees that everyone is a jerk to each other.
• Pinkie Pie... I dunno.
  • Everypony is being forced to party and have to pretend they're having fun all the time when really they're tired and miserable.
    • Bonus points if Doctor Hooves is seen with a ponified Ace.
    • If this happens, we may see her Pinkamena personality return from "Party of One".

Upon the realisation that they cannot stand by and see Starlight Glimmer do such a thing even if they may be happy in their current places, they cannot sacrifice others' happiness for their own. Through this realisation, they are reunited somehow, and defeat Starlight one way or another.

• Jossed. Only Twilight and Spike are involved. Also, every alternate timeline they encounter is horrible in their own way.

Wind Rider will side with Starlight Glimmer to get revenge on Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

In the process, he will learn a hard lesson in accepting the consequences of his actions.

• Jossed. He makes no appearance.

Twilight will discover the reason why Starlight's doing what she's doing, or why she's the pony that she is.

In her attempts to stop Starlight's plans, Twilight will come across a young version of Starlight Glimmer, either being bullied because of her lack of a cutie mark, or being upstaged by another pony; her machinations would be fueled by jealousy. Twilight might even reference this back when she confronts Starlight one last time to try and get her to stop. That last attempt could be in the form of an Armor-Piercing Question that makes Starlight undergo a Heel Realization in which she realizes that she's no better than the ones who bullied or upstaged her.

• Confirmed, in a way. Starlight shows her past to Twilight. She lost her friend when he got his cutie mark.

The Cutie Map will be destroyed/unutilised.

Outside the two-part episode that starts the season, each of the Mane Six is being selected for a mission by the Cutie Map exactly once - each time in pairs. This sounds suspicious.

• Jossed.

Gilda, the Hooffields and McColts, and various Manehattanites will play roles in bringing Starlight Glimmer down.

Appearances by each of these characters could help show how far the Mane Six have come since they first met Starlight. In turn, the lessons learned in their previous appearances will come into play. Gilda, for example, could try to show Starlight Glimmer about how important it is to reconcile with the past and to learn to look beyond outward appearances.

• Jossed.

We will meet Double Diamond, Night Glider, Sugar Belle, and/or Party Favor again.

Given their role in the opening two-parter, they, along with Starlight Glimmer, could help to bring the season full circle as they help the Mane Six to defeat their former leader once again, perhaps to help Twilight to try and reach out to her and make her realize the error of her ways. In addition, they could forgive Starlight for all she has done and allow her to return to her village and start again, only that her cult will be based on the lessons that she learned from Princess Twilight.

• Confirmed. At the very end, when Starlight makes her Heel–Face Turn, she returns to the village to make amends with those she brainwashed, and they accept.

Contrary to the above, all of the Mane 6 will be miserable or at least somewhat unhappy in their new timelines, and the villains of the past are not in power.

Firstly, I'm assuming they don't get Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory, at least not at first. I think that:

• Seeing as it was the Sonic Rainboom that inspired her to go home, and going home earned her her Cutie Mark, it seems plausible that Applejack stayed with her Aunt and Uncle Orange.
• Likewise, Pinkie still lives on her family's Rock Farm and just miserably shifts rocks around.
• Rarity never became as successful of a designer and always gets the same criticism: she's lacking something and she has yet to find that something. She still lives in Ponyville.
• Rainbow and Fluttershy still live in Cloudsdale and are possibly just Weathermares (with Rainbow being rather less competitive than she usually is, her desire to win having been crushed long ago because she never can), provided Fluttershy even leaves the house. In this continuity, they are not friends.
• Twilight likely is still quite studious but has yet to figure out that magic is a special talent. She still lives in Canterlot.

I don't think they're in quite the same situation as in Magical Mystery Cure, as maybe they're as happy as they can be despite having no purpose in life, and trying to make the best of their situations, rather than fighting to do something they can't. Once they get their cutie marks, however, they get their memories back and help the others regain their own cutie marks. The first one to get their memory back may be Twilight, but I'm kinda hoping they surprise us with being a different member of the Mane 6 (such as Fluttershy or AJ), and it's not just Twilight who gets caught in a time loop. As mentioned, I also think that there will be no problems with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, or Tirek, as Celestia and Cadence were able to handle them, though differently:

• Nightmare Moon is back in the Moon
• Discord never stopped being stone (as Luna and Celestia didn't stop being tied to the Elements)
• Sombra was just sealed away again along with the Empire
• Tirek either never escaped or never gained enough power so that he couldn't be handled by Celestia and Cadence (as he got most of his power thanks to Discord's help, and he's out of the picture).
• Chrysalis's fate was unchanged, since the Mane 6 had little to do with her, and it was Twilight, who would be at the wedding anyway, who helped Cadence in a way that had nothing to do with her special talent.

Fluttershy's brother appears in one or both of these episode.

Possibly because Fluttershy still lives in Cloudsdale and isn't really friends with Rainbow in the AU, likely still living with her family.

• Jossed.

Nightmare Moon is incredibly and comically hammy and incompetent.

It seems Starlight is changing the show pilot, so this Nightmare Moon on the throne in the teaser is the one from the show pilot, not the season 4 premiere, and she will have her seductive voice back rather than her shouting one, as well as not ever use magic, do tricks with her mane, and generally be a pushover. I mean, just look at the face she's making om that throne? Would the S4 Nightmare Moon make a face like that? She might also join Twilight, angered at the fact that she's only part of a bigger scheme, and Starlight will (or will at least try to) wreck her with her magic-nullifying, cutie-mark-stealing spell.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's group is La Résistance.

They oppose Starlight's ideals, believing cutie marks are a good thing, and as a result they're forced to live in the Everfree Forest to avoid being equalized. The Cutie Mark Crusaders could also be with them. Initially they'll be aggressive towards Twilight, mistaking her for Starlight or some other enemy or just plain not trusting her, but eventually they'll end up helping her.

(post-episode) The world Twilight dragged Starlight back to - the barren wasteland - is a world where Celestia became evil and made eternal day.

Mostly because I just want her to be involved somehow.

(post-episode) The next season will have episodes with Starlight Glimmer in the limelight.

With Starlight Glimmer joining Twilight's group, the Mane Six are now the Mane Seven. Any episodes featuring Starlight in the upcoming season could show her undergoing Character Development and learning important friendship lessons just like Twilight did in the first few seasons. She could also have an episode akin to Amending Fences in which she and Twilight seek out Sunburst and try to make amends with him after he left her during her Start of Darkness.

(post-episode) In their timeline, Flim and Flam had not, in fact, taken over Equestria.

Celestia pwned Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek, but only after those five laid waste to much of Equestria. Flim and Flam are either being opportunistic, or else actually (following a realization of how selfish they have been) Well Intentioned Extremists trying to help rebuild the infrastructure.

(post-episode) The Final Future Seen: Plunderseeds Win

The Plunderseeds captured Celestia and Luna/Nightmare Moon, causing the sun and moon to both be in the sky and eventually collide, destroying each other and the world. Discord was never freed to prevent this as the Elements were never passed on from Celestia (as that is the canonical reason he was freed, nothing to do with the CMC apparently), and Tirek couldn't find the sisters to take control of sun/moon either. (Just to cover bases on who could've prevented this)

(post-episode) The alternate timelines seen in this episode still technically exist as separate dimensions.

In connection to the above related to Starlight-centered episodes for Season 6, one of Starlight Glimmer's adventures with the Mane Six could involve her still trying to cope with the fact that she caused so many bad things to happen in each alternate timeline. To help deal with this terrible legacy she's left behind, Starlight, with Twilight as a guide, could help the ponies of each timelines set things straight by confessing the truth of what she has done to them and helping to defeat the villains.

• In the Sombra timeline, Starlight and Twilight use their combined magic to incapacitate King Sombra and his army, banishing the evil king to Tartarus and bringing the war to an end and setting all the Crystal Ponies free.
• In the Changeling timeline, Starlight could figure out how to reverse Chrysalis' love-draining spell to weaken them enough to turn the tide and for the Resistance to overthrow their changeling oppressors.
• In the Nightmare timeline, Starlight will help bring together the timeline's versions of each of the Mane Six together while making them realize the things that are much more important than serving Nightmare Moon. In bringing them together, the alternate Mane Six will realize their destiny and tap into the power of the Elements of Harmony to set both Luna and Celestia free while bringing sunshine back to Equestria.
• In the Discord timeline, Starlight will turn Discord's own mind games against him and, with the help of that world's Celestia and Luna, blast him with a spell that weakens him significantly, allowing the Alicorn Princesses to reclaim their rightful place as the rulers of Equestria while deciding what they should do with Discord.
• The Flim-Flam timeline will see Starlight Glimmer battle the brothers in a struggle of Mare Versus Machine not unlike that of John Henry and the Steam Drill in which Starlight goads the brothers into pushing their machines' limits and breaking them.