Twilight: Dear sweet Celestia! Discord, the god of chaos, has returned from his stone imprisonment to lay waste to everything and everyone we hold dear! Spike, we have only one option: We must locate the Elements of Harmony! Spike:(lights and smokes a bong) Yeah. Far out, dude.
Hotdiggedydemon Panel Cartoon #1 (shown to TrotCon; a nearly identical one was made for Everfree Northwest that only changes Spike's mouth animation and what he says)
Spike: She'd fuck anything. Chicks, dudes...didn't matter. Fat guys, skinny guys, guys who climb on rocks. She fucked. A snail.
Apocalypse How: Discord, Wolflor, the R-Dash 5000's, and all sorts of other natural disasters cause a Class 0 when they destroy Ponyville. Then Rainbow Dash pulls off a Class X-4 with her Sonic Rainboom. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash causes a Cosmic Retcon that prevents either from happening.
In "SHED.MOV", Fluttershy changes into her design from the show at the very end.
When Twilight accidentally summons a demon to help Discord destroy Ponyville in "MAGIC.MOV", she and Spike have a Reaction Shot that very much resembles The Simpsons.
Ass Shove: More like an Ass Poke, but Twilight Sparkle does this to Fluttershy using her horn in "DRESS.MOV".
Back from the Dead: Subverted and averted; Twilight attempts to resurrect her in "MAGIC.MOV", but to no effect. Then she comes back in "SWAG.MOV" and reveals she was only in a coma; her friends merely assumed she was dead after she was vertically sliced in half with a chainsaw.
Apple Bloom (and, by extension, Princess Celestia) is also alive again thanks to a Cosmic Retcon caused by Rainbow Dash.
Bad Boss: Rarity to her "family" of illegal Mexican immigrants.
Balloon Belly: Applejack after eating tons of apples in "APPLE.MOV".
BFS: The Sword of the Holy Titans. Deconstructed in Ask Jappleack because, while powerful, there was no way for Jappleack and the Equestria Prime ponies to actually use it due to its size. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash becomes a giant to fight Discord in "SWAG.MOV", making her big enough to wield it.
Brain Food: In "SHED.MOV", Fluttershy threatens to eat Rainbow Dash's brain.
Brawler Lock: Between Discord and Rainbow Dash in "SWAG.MOV".
Broken Angel: Rainbow Dash loses her wings in the battle against Discord in "SWAG.MOV".
Call Back: In "PARTY.MOV", when Twilight tries to hold an intervention for Pinkie, she notices all her other friends are missing and asks Spike:
Twilight: This is supposed to be an intervention! Where is everypony? Spike: Applejack's in a coma, Rarity's being held hostage by Mexicans, Fluttershy's in the nuthouse, and Rainbow Dash is dead. Anymore questions, smartass?
"Oh dear god, it got in my mouth again!"
Canon Discontinuity: Invoked in the Panel Cartoons to explain Rainbow Dash being not dead.
The Cosmic Retcon in "SWAG.MOV" rewinds history to the very beginning of "SHED.MOV", well after the period Rarity is being held hostage by the immigrants from "DRESS.MOV". With her appearance here, she is completely fine, with no visible body damage or explanation how she escaped.
Cerebus Syndrome: A common trend in the series. "MAGIC.MOV" flanderizes almost all of the wackiness out of Twilight to turn her into a bland Straight Man, and "PARTY.MOV" turns Pinkie into a whorish celebrity addicted to parties. While this works on an individual level (each video uses a characterization that acts as an accurate parody of the character), this results in a bizarre case of one-man Depending on the Writer.
Characterization Marches On: Spike slowly grows more cynical and frustrated with the weirdness surrounding him.
Chekhov's Gun: The Sword of the Holy Titans is mentioned in the Ask Jappleack blog by Twilight Prime, but she states no one is big enough to wield it. In "SWAG.MOV", the .MOV universe's Twilight summons it for a giant Rainbow Dash to use to finish off Discord.
Child by Rape: Apparently, Lyra Heartstrings is pregnant with twins due to being raped. She doesn't really seem to care about the rape part, though.
Comically Missing the Point: When trying to recall what Fluttershy keeps telling everyone about her shednote "Stay outta my shed!":
Spike: I think she said we're always welcome in her shed!
Continuity Lockout: "SWAG.MOV" features plot elements from the Ask Jappleack Tumblr, particularly the Sword of the Holy Titans, which Rainbow Dash uses to vanquish Discord. Applejack even explicitly references her adventures there.
Cool Sword: The Sword of the Holy Titans. Not only is it gigantic, it's powerful enough to One-Hit Kill Discord.
Cosmic Retcon: After Rainbow Dash destroys the universe at the start of "SWAG.MOV", the universe resets itself to the moment Apple Bloom gets her cutie mark, giving Rainbow Dash the chance to keep history from repeating itself.
Country Matters: A couple pop up during the series. In "PARTY.MOV", Pinkie even has it written on her shirt!
Crapsaccharine World: Everyone in this magical, colorful land of ponies is either retarded, a jerk, or completely nuts. Plus, we have slavery, cannibalistic psychopaths, and a giant monster who rampages through the city. Oddly for this trope, the authorities are quite competent, with police and doctors doing their jobs and taking matters seriously. It's improved a bit at the end of the series, since Discord's been killed (the other two monsters are Ret Goned in the process), Fluttershy's sane, and at least two of the Mane Cast have Taken a Level in Kindness. Applejack, after her Character Development, also resolves to start teaching others what friendship and compassion really mean to help make it a better place.
Despair Event Horizon: At the start of "SWAG.MOV", Twilight is dejected that she failed to find the Elements of Harmony to stop Discord, and that none of her so-called friends did anything to help.
Pinkie: What would you do if Ringo Starr just waltzed into your house and stole your...uh...favorite dress?! Octavia: I think I'd mostly just be confused?
Distracted by My Own Sexy: Rarity breaks her routine of abusing her workforce to gaze at her reflection, calling herself "the most beautiful creature in all of Equestria".
Distracted by the Sexy: Upon entering Fluttershy's corpse filled shed, the first thing both Spike and Rainbow Dash notice is the porn.
Dramatic Irony: From Paco's Twitter "Today is Hearts and Hooves Day. Meesus Rarity gave me a chocolate-covered heart. She said she found it outside Meesus Fluttershy's shed."
Dwindling Party: The mane cast gets gradually smaller as the shorts progress. As of "PARTY.MOV", Twilight is the only Element bearer still able to do anything. This is undone due to a Cosmic Retcon.
Early Installment Weirdness: The episodes' plots mature over time, going from completely random, absurd, and even abstract in structure, to more straightforward, plot-driven, and comprehensible.
Earn Your Happy Ending: As surprising as it sounds, they actually do. After the resurrected Rainbow Dash performs a Sonic Rainboom and destroys the universe, she resets history to the point in time when Apple Bloom would've died (saving her life in the process). This also turns Rainbow Dash into a giant...somehow. In the end she beheads Discord with the Sword of the Holy Titans summoned by Twilight, not only saving Ponyville, but preventing most of the other disasters from ever happening at all. The ending has Ponyville rebuilt, the Mane Six on good terms again, and Applejack even keeps her Character Development from Ask Jappleack.
Extremely Short Timespan: From "DRESS.MOV" to "MAGIC.MOV", the series seems to take place within the course of one day ("DRESS.MOV" taking place in the morning, "SHED.MOV" taking place later in the day, "MAGIC.MOV" taking place at night, and so on).
Eye Awaken: Discord's severed head opens its eyes after landing back on ground. This isn't done for horror, because he's landed in Fluttershy's shed...
Everybody Lives: Well, aside from Derpy (who remains a decorative toaster cozy) and some innocent civilians (who lost their lives in Discord's rampage and battle with Dashzilla), all consequential characters survive in "SWAG.MOV" thanks to the Cosmic Retcon.
Even then, it's subtly implied that even as a toaster cozy, Derpy is still alive. For better or worse.
Fan Disservice: Rarity's bitch-tits and Twilight's clopping.
Feather Fingers: Parodied a few times. In "SHED.MOV" Fluttershy inexplicably gains fingers (which she snaps) for a moment. Even better, in "MAGIC.MOV", Twilight's hoof suddenly sprouts a finger for the sole sake of pressing a button; the same thing happens with Pinkie in "PARTY.MOV", who sprouts a finger for the sake of tapping on the bench she's sitting on.
Flanderization: Spike's stoner personality is based on three main canon concepts; the way it looks when he burns letters and sends them to Princess Celestia; a Running Gag within the fanon where certain frames appears as if he has "stoner eyes" (the middle of his blinking animation, where any character can look "stoned"); and of course, his scale colors (green and purple).
Freeze Frame Bonus: In the Ask Jappleack blog, it is established that apples have their own system of letters, replacing the standard A-Z with different shaped apple symbols. On the bottom of Pinkie's vodka bottle in "PARTY.MOV", there's a sentence written in the apple's language. Translated, it reads "APPLE BLOOM NEVER DIED".
At a single point in "SWAG.MOV", when Rainbow Dash takes the Sword of the Titans, the words "THIS IS SO FUCKING RETARDED OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ANIMATING THIS" appear.
The penny Paco picks up in "SWAG.MOV" reads "In Twilus We Trust". Twilus, of course, is the leader of the Holy Titans who created the multiverse.
Hold Your Hippogriffs: Discussed by Spike, as he asks what the point of saying "anypony" instead of "anybody" is. It's become something of a trademark annoyance for him in the Trotcon video.
Jump Scare: The endings of "SHED.MOV", "MAGIC.MOV", "PARTY.MOV", and the Panel Cartoons show Psycho!Fluttershy's Nightmare Face flying right at the screen. Subverted in "MAGIC.MOV", which gives off several moments where it looks like Rainbow Dash's corpse will suddenly spring up, but nothing happens.
Last Place You Look: The Elements of Harmony were in Spike's nose the whole time. It's only after Rainbow Dash defeats Discord with the Sword of the Holy Titans that the friends find them.
Lighter and Softer: The HotDiggedyDemon Panel Cartoons, which are PG-rated compared to the rest of the series.
Spike: If anyone asks, my eyes are like this because I didn't get enough sleep last night.
Lying Creator: According to the description for "PARTY.MOV", "In this episode of the PONY.MOV series, Pinkie Pie tries to find a new dress in time for the Grand Galloping Gala. Meanwhile, Spike and Twilight finally make out, and the R-Dash 5000 learns how to duplicate himself." Only one of those (the R-Dash 5000 learning how to duplicate itself) is true.
Mondegreen: "Yeah, why don't you suck my dicknote tit you dumb bitch." Expect to see this pointed out once every hour in the comments.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: The announcer who declares Fluttershy to be Prom Queen in a flashback in "SHED.MOV" bears a strong physical and vocal resemblance to Jeff Foxworthy.
Noodle Incident: Apparently, the way Rarity coerced Paco into working for her involved a dropped ice cream cone.
One-Winged Angel: Rainbow Dash turning giant to battle Discord in "SWAG.MOV".
Only Sane Man: Spike is an amoral stoner, but is by far one of the sanest characters in the series, often calling attention to how bizarre or stupid their plans are.
Power Strain Blackout: In "SWAG.MOV", Rainbow Dash turns into a huge anthropomorphic pony to battle Discord. After finally killing him, she shrinks and faints.
Put on a Bus: Rarity all but disappears from the story at the end of "DRESS.MOV" after her sweatshop workers stage a revolution.
Ret Gone: The R-Dash 5000 and Wolflor after Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom does a Cosmic Retcon on Ponyville.
Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: This seems to be the case with the Mane Cast when history resets itself after Rainbow Dash inadvertently destroys the universe, since they act as if everything that transpired between the reset point and the universe's destruction still happened.
Shaggy Dog Story: The plot of Twilight trying to resurrect Rainbow Dash in "MAGIC.MOV" is rendered completely moot when "SWAG.MOV" reveals Rainbow Dash was never dead to begin with.
"SWAG.MOV" opens with Twilight failing to save Ponyville because she failed to find the Elements of Harmony, which were stuck up Spike's nose the whole time.
Fluttershy's mask at the end of "SHED.MOV" looks a lot like the one worn by Hannibal Lecter
Fluttershy, being an expy to Fat Albert, sings a song that is a variation of her source's theme song.
Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark is in the shape of the "stick man" Blair Witch symbol
Paco's theory as to why the planes are disappearing? Heartless.
In "PARTY.MOV", Spike mentions that, in relation to Pinkie's scandals, among those she fucks include "fat guys, skinny guys, guys who climb on rocks", in reference to the old Armour Hot Dog jingles.
The pony a coked-up Pinkie rants about music piracy to has a NERV cutie mark. This is a pony version of Garrett Hunter from Mega64, whose band "Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo" was featured in the previous episode.
In "PARTY.MOV", Lyra announces that she will name her twins "Snoopy and Prickly Pete". These were the names of George Costanza's fictitious horses in Seinfeld.
At the very beginning of "PARTY.MOV", when Spike is channel surfing, ponified versions of The Simpsons, Home Movies, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force appear. Not to mention the entire video is one to E!'s celebrity stories.
The Stinger: At the end of the credits of "SWAG.MOV", we see Fluttershy having tea in her shed (which doesn't appear to have any of the animal corpses from before) when Discord's head lands on it. He opens his eye to see Fluttershy glaring at him and saying "You're in my shed."
Rainbow Dash: Woah-ho-ho-ho, Applejack! You eat all those apples, you're gonna get a wicked bad tummy ache! (later) Pinkie Pie: Man, Applejack! You eat all those apples, you're gonna get a wicked bad tummy ache! Rainbow Dash: Aw, no way, I just said the same thing, you crazy cunt! Heheheh!
Time Skip: "SWAG.MOV" starts one year after Discord destroys Ponyville.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Spike in "SWAG.MOV". Though already a total Jerkass in his own right, he still seems pretty affable and only gets angry for good reason in previous episodes (such as Pinkie spraying him with menstrual blood in "PARTY.MOV"). Then Applejack returns, prompting a virtual "Who gives a fuck" from Spike, who then proceeds to verbally bash her when she tries to tell them about her adventure. Keep in mind that the latter was in a coma for five episodes, and barely did anything to provoke this over-the-top assholish behaviour from Spike.
Un Entendre: In "MAGIC.MOV" Spike delivers this gem:
Twilight: I'm going to try a black magic resurrection spell. Spike: How about you resurrect my penis. (beat) With sex.
Ungrateful Bastard: Everyone's reaction to Jappleack returning not just from her coma, but also from saving their very existence:
Spike: Nobody cares, you stupid cunt, shut your fucking mouth, oh my god shut up shut up, a million times shut up, I'm going to kill you, shut up. Nobody cares.
Villainous Incest: Discord and Wolflor are revealed to be brothers in the Jappleack blog. Discord ends up humping Wolflor in "PARTY.MOV".
Villain Song: "Gunna Eat'cha Brains" for Fluttershy, sung in the tune of the Fat Albert theme song.
Visual Pun: Selfish, greedy Rarity constantly talks about how generous she is. There are only two generous things about her in this show: her obese figure, and the beating she gets when her Mexican workers start a "revolución".
Writer's Block: Twilight struggles to write a letter to Princess Celestia because she hasn't learned anything, so she screws it up and throws it in the trash, which is full of other balls of screwed up paper. Not that Princess Celestia is even alive at that point...
Wrong Genre Savvy: Twilight's theories about ressurecting cadavers are all from movies, and she doesn't understand why they don't work. It's because the one dead body she tries bringing back, Rainbow Dash, isn't dead.
Yank the Dog's Chain: Apple Bloom gets squished by Discord moments after earning her cutie mark.
In "SWAG.MOV", Paco finds a penny on the ground. Then he gets hit by a tidal wave of blood.
Ask Jappleack contains examples of:
Ambiguous Gender: Everyone on the show refers to Jappleack as a female, but her response to a Tumblr question asking if she's a boy or a girl is "I don't know".
Art Shift: Jappleack waking up in normal Equestria, where everything is styled just like the show.
Badass Boast: Appelox has a relatively delicious one:
Appelox: I am APPELOX! Glutton of the void! Devourer of the planes! I will not cease until all have been consumed! Across all existence, none are safe from the cavernous damnation of my LEVIATHAN GUT!
Jappleack has a pretty epic one to counter Appelox's:
Jappleack: He called himself "Glutton of the Void". I don't know where he got the balls to give himself that title, but gluttony is my territory.
Brick Joke: Jappleack is asked what her favorite book is and she responds with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Appelox is later shown with a caterpillar-esque shape.
Book Ends: The Tumblr epilogue takes this slightly further than the main series. The story begins with Jappleack having a less-than-healthy relationship with her sister. In a homage to the show, Jappleack writes a letter to Celestia, where she thanks the princess for everything that's happened, including the fact that her sister isn't dead anymore. The touchy-feely ending is kind of ruined as Jappleack tells Apple Bloom to "Go get me an apple, you ugly slut," but the general tone of the scene remains the same, implying it's more playful than abusive this time around.
But Now I Must Go: After killing Appelox, Jappleack has to return to her home universe to prevent reality from tearing itself apart, leaving behind her new friends in the process.
Cerebus Syndrome: Ask Jappleack begins as your usual humorous Ask A Pony Tumblr Fourth Wall Mail Slot that Crosses the Line Twice, but descends into "Dude, Not Funny!" territory when Jappleack begins assaulting Apple Bloom. After a flurry of fan feedback, Jappleack makes peace with Apple Bloom and discovers how much she depends on her sister. Then "SHED.MOV" happens, which has Apple Bloom dying in the opening scene. Jappleack suffers from a deep depression, coupled with the recent death of Winona, losing her appetite for apples, and questioning her purpose in life. The whole blog gets a whole lot more complicated after that.
Cosmic Keystone: Subverted. Appelox seems to be one at first, but killing him releases the other Holy Titans from inside him, allowing them to resume holding up reality.
Cosmic Retcon: According to Twilus, some "force" is causing the events of her own universe (right up to the moments leading to Apple Bloom's death). This feeds into "SWAG.MOV", where the force turns out to be Rainbow Dash performing a Sonic Rainboom, giving her friends the chance they need to stop Discord and inadvertently saving Apple Bloom's life in the process.
Defiant to the End: Jappleack's defining character trait. Twilight Prime comments that the urge to rebellion seems to be literally integrated into her DNA.
Early on, a reader pointed out the danger in eating too many whole apples, in that the seeds contain small amounts of cyanide. Readers were reassured that Jappleack eats only cartoon apples. And yet...
Hostile-ish Blog Takeover: Applejack Prime briefly takes over Jappleack's tumblr after she knocks Jappleack out cold in pre-emptive self-defense, but only until she is able to get Twilight Prime to come over and explain what's going on.
Ironic Echo: The iconic exchange in "APPLE.MOV" ("Applejack, what are you doing? You can't eat all those fucking apples!" "Fuck you, I can't eat all these apples!") is brought up later in the Ask Jappleack blog by the Friendship is Magic version of Twilight Sparkle, when Jappleack decides to eat Appelox.
Twilight Prime: Jappleack, what are you thinking? You can't eat Appelox! Jappleack: ...Fuck you, I can't eat Appelox.
Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Before Apple Bloom's death, Jappleack beats her into a bloody mess for laughs. Afterward, she is treated as the most important thing in Jappleack's life.
Took a Level in Kindness: Jappleack starts out as a hateful Jerkass who abuses her little sister, and answers many of the questions on her Tumblr like any troll would. Once her sister dies and she discovers the values of love and tolerance from Applejack Prime, she becomes much more mature, loving, and considerate.
I0itsmonica: What happened to you, Jappleack? Jappleack: Meh, I dunno. I guess I just sort of...grew up.
Trademark Favorite Food: Deconstructed when Jappleack realizes that not even her love of apples can fill the void left by Apple Bloom's death, causing her to question her purpose in life.
Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Twilight Prime's big plan to defeat Appelox will relies entirely on this—the "unspoken" bit is arguable, though, as Twilight Prime is shown reading the Jappleack blog and finds out that Japple's jawspan may in fact be wider than Appelox himself.
Waking Up Elsewhere: After consuming enough apples, Jappleack ends up in the normal version of Equestria.
Yank the Dog's Chain: Not long after she realizes how much Apple Bloom means to her, Apple Bloom dies.
Just as she discovers happiness in Equestria Prime, Appelox comes along and tries to destroy it. When she kills Appelox, she finds that her continued presence in Equestria Prime will tear all of reality asunder, forcing her to leave her new friends.
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