Western Animation / My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night

Dance the night away,
All our friends right by our side!

Dear Princess Twilight, tonight's the night of the big movie premiere. All my friends are really excited, and I should be, too. Except I can't seem to keep my mind on anything other than our new powers, and the rogue magic that's loose in this world, and how scary but exhilarating it all is. How does it work? How can we be prepared for it? When will it show up again? Well, you see the problem.

— Sunset Shimmer

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night is the fifth major installment in the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls franchise, itself a spin-off of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. In a departure from previous films, this is actually a three-part Mini Series of animated specials that follow the daily lives of the Rainbooms after the events of the fourth film. The stories are as follows:

• "Dance Magic": Rarity convinces her friends in Canterlot High to enter a music video contest. Students at Crystal Prep Academy are also competing and have much better resources and production values. Can Rarity and her friends pull it off?
• "Movie Magic": The girls are invited to go on the set of the latest Daring Do movie, a dream come true for Rainbow Dash. But when a set of rare and important props go missing and threaten to cancel production, her dream becomes a nightmare.
• "Mirror Magic": Sunset Shimmer's magic journal runs out of pages, so she finally returns to Equestria to get another one. While there, she meets and befriends Starlight Glimmer, and invites her to visit the human world. The duo must deal with a new adversary who has found a magic hand mirror that can trap people in limbo.

The specials aired on Discovery Family on June 24th, July 1st and July 8th, respectively, as part of the channel's Summer programming. The title refers to the series' single-DVD collection that was released on August 8, 2017. A novelization, titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Magic, Magic Everywhere! was released on June 6th 2017. The compilation was released as "Tales of Canterlot High" on Netflix on October 1st, 2017.

The specials are followed by a set of "Summertime Shorts", which aired from July 30th to August 27th 2017.

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My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night provides examples of:

General

• Big Eater: All three specials have scenes showing Pinkie as this.
  • "Dance Magic" has her happily munching multiple apple fritters in Applejack's music video imagine spot; she even takes Rarity's when she doesn't eat hers.
  • "Movie Magic" has her unknowingly stuffing herself (and Spike) with all of Chestnut Magnifico's peanut butter praline crunch bars, to the actress' annoyance.
  • "Mirror Magic" has her with a tray with five burgers at the beginning, and once she's trapped inside the mirror she gladly eats the chocolate-covered almonds and popcorn laying on the ground.
• Costume Evolution: Twilight has a new outfit, due to leaving Crystal Prep (where she wore a uniform) and attending CHS, consisting of a magenta sweater vest with a belt over a light blue blouse with a magenta bow tie, a purple skirt with her cutie mark on it, light blue knee socks and dark purple shoes.
• Covers Always Lie: Despite appearing on the cover for the DVD, the Equestrian Twilight is nowhere to be seen (although she is mentioned in "Mirror Magic"). Also, there are no sleepovers, implied or otherwise.
• Episode Title Card: Like with the previous shorts, the special's title shows up on a title card, this time following a Cold Open and intro sequence.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All the specials are titled "[Something] Magic".
• Mini Series: In a departure from the other Equestria Girls features, this is a set of three 22-minute episodes, the same length as a standard episode of its parent franchise.
• Running Gag: Whenever all seven girls are put in a set of themed clothing, Sunset Shimmer ends up with the "bad girl"/"villainous" outfits. For example, when they all appear as cowgirls in Applejack's Imagine Spot, Sunset is the one wearing a black hat and jacket. Likewise for movie-characters costumes: she dresses as the Mane-iac for the Power Ponies film, and in a pirate/thief getup for the Daring Do film.
• Trailers Always Spoil: A rare aversion for the franchise, for two of the three specials. The official teaser for the specials completely omits the Shadowbolts performing with the Rainbooms from "Dance Magic" (even editing them out of a montage sequence featuring all the girls), and "Mirror Magic" completely leaves out Sunset's return to Equestria and Starlight Glimmer's inclusion. However, the trailer does rather ruin "Movie Magic" by shots of Juniper in the black cloak, then showing her as the villain of "Mirror Magic" to make it obvious she's the villain of the two shorts.
• Two-Part Trilogy: While each of the three specials are stand-alone, "Movie Magic" and "Mirror Magic" are more closely related with the latter directly following up on the former, due to Juniper Montage being the antagonist in both. She's completely absent from the first special. The music video from the first part is featured in the third, however.

Dance Magic

• Aesop Amnesia: The Shadowbolts have apparently forgotten that being obsessed with winning and trying to cheat don't lead to anything good. This is actually given a justification by Twilight: as eye-opening as the Friendship Games incident was, it wasn't enough to change what's likely a deeply ingrained part of the school's culture. The Shadowbolts themselves admit at the end that they've let the "win at all costs" mentality get too far, but wish to change.
• Art Shift: Pinkie's Imagine Spot is crudely animated with stick figures, drawn with pencils and crayons.
• Ascended Extra: The Shadowbolts that appear get significantly more screentime and dialogue than they did in Friendship Games.
• Because You Can Cope: Turns out to be the reason why the Crystal Prep students had surprisingly few reservations about stealing Rarity's idea, despite a supposed Heel–Face Turn in "Friendship Games"; they assumed she'd be alright because she'd be creative enough to come up with something else, whereas they were also desperate for the cash but were struggling for ideas.
• The Bus Came Back: The Crystal Prep students — particularly Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest — return after being absent from Legend of Everfree.
• Call-Back:
  • The whole plot more or less happens because the girls are helping Camp Everfree raise extra money for the necessary repairs after the events of the last film.
  • Crystal Prep's super-competitive culture factors heavily into the plot, as they stoop down to actually stealing Rarity's music video idea.
• The Cameo:
  • A silhouette of Ahuizotl appears in Rainbow Dash's Imagine Spot based on a scene from Daring Do, implying that he's exactly the same as his Equestrian counterpart. (It wouldn't make much sense otherwise, since an ahuizotl is already a creature from real-life Aztec Mythology.)
  • Opalescence also appears in Rarity's house.
• Character Focus: While the movies have Twilight Sparkle (either of them) and Sunset Shimmer as main characters, this special gives the leading role to Rarity. As a result, Twilight and Sunset end up no more important here than the rest of the cast.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Zigzagged. The Shadowbolts steal Rarity's idea for themselves when she shares it with them, and claim that if she tries to use it, it'll look like she's badly copying them, but they can't figure out an original song to use for the contest, meaning they couldn't have won anyway. Since the Rainbooms have tons of original songs, and the Shadowbolts are better dancers, Rarity decides to work together so they can all win.
• Chekhov's Gun: Twilight Sparkle in her analysis of risking the money they have saved for saving Camp Everfree so far, points out that if they do win, they will have double what they need. Since they wind up having to share the prize money with the Shadowbolts, this becomes important
• Chirping Crickets: When Applejack states that the Rainbooms can wash more cars, the camera cuts to a shot of the parking lot to show it's empty, with a tumbleweed rolling by.
• Continuity Nod:
  • During Applejack's Imagine Spot, all the girls end up dressed in cowboy clothes. Pinkie Pie's is the same cowgirl outfit she was wearing in Friendship Games. Similarly, Sunset Shimmer's tenure as an antagonist is referenced with her wearing a black hat (a quick visual cue for "bad guy" in old Western films... allegedly).
  • The Crystal Prep girls have a Leitmotif that's very similar to "Unleash the Magic".
• Didn't Think This Through: Both the Rainbooms and the Shadowbolts suffer from this.
  • Rarity's idea is a surefire winner — having each one of her friends dance in different styles — but her proposed choreography greatly exceeds her friends' actual dancing skills (Cute Clumsy Girl Fluttershy tells Rarity she can't do a triple pirouette, but it falls on deaf ears). Rarity notes this later as the deadline to submit the video grows perilously close, saying she'd asked her friends for too much in too little time.
  • The Shadowbolts suffer from the opposite problem, having no issue with the choreography — even if they stole the general concept from Rarity — but falling short when it comes to the song. The contest requires an original dance routine and song, and they can't think of an original song to use, having practiced only their dancing with songs from Sapphire Shores. Sour Sweet realizes that Rarity will just come up with another idea soon if they can't figure out an original song first, and Sugarcoat notes that the Rainbooms likely have the song already figured out.
• Disapproving Look: Sugarcoat shoots a pointed one to both Rarity and Sour Sweet when they argue about what to work on first — the song or the choreography.
  Sugarcoat: The order is irrelevant.
• Drama Queen: In a Rarity-centered special? What are the odds... Seriously, Rarity facing adversity makes for some of the best moments, including over-the-top faces, and she has her own fainting couch in her bedroom.
• Early-Bird Cameo:
  • Twilight's everyday outfit design was first seen as insert art in the Tie-In Novel Twilight's Sparkly Sleepover Surprise, which was released on May 17th 2016.
  • The titular song was first heard as a bonus for the Friendship Games soundtrack, released in late 2015.
• Easily Forgiven: Rarity and the rest of the Rainbooms quickly forgive the Shadowbolts for stealing Rarity's idea and driving her to tears from the stress (although that last bit is unintentional) when she overhears them say that they are just as stuck as she is and they are going to let down their classmates if they can't raise enough money for their upcoming trip on a yacht; a sentiment Rarity can relate to, thus driving her to propose working together for their mutual benefit instead of, say, holding a grudge.
• Facepalm: Sour Sweet resorts to the two-handed "ashamed" variant when it looks like they won't be able to even compete in the contest, thus letting down their classmates.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Sugarcoat raises an eyebrow when Rarity hints at her proposal at the diner.
• Fishbowl Helmet: In Pinkie Pie's Imagine Spot of the Rainbooms on the moon, when she mentions them wearing astronaut gear, all it does is add fishbowl helmets with antennas to their normal clothes.
• Funny Background Event: While the girls are discussing in Rarity's room, Spike seems to be this close to start chasing Opalescence for fun, before Sunset Shimmer picks him in her arms.
• Gratuitous French: Rarity describes her yet-to-be-defined fundraiser idea as the "pièce de résistance".
• Hand Behind Head: For once it's not Sunset Shimmer doing the gesture, but Twilight Sparkle when reminded about her former classmates from Crystal Prep, while wondering if them competing too will be a problem.
• Heartbreak and Ice Cream: Much like her pony counterpart, Rarity gorges on ice cream with tears running down her face after she thinks she's failed her friends.
• Huddle Shot: Invoked by Pinkie Pie, who drags all six of her friends and gathers them into a huddle with their heads touching, so that they can brainstorm new ideas for their music video, after Sunset suggests "putting their heads together".
• Idiosyncratic Wipes:
  • A bunch of jewels are used to wipe the screen for scene changes a few times. Fitting for a Rarity-centered special.
  • The "Dance Magic" music video itself has a few of its own, like the "cutie marks graffiti" wiping the screen to close the rap segment.
• Imagine Spot: As the Rainbooms brainstorm to find a new theme for their music video, we get imaginary scenes led by Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Except instead of dancing, Applejack's is about eating apple fritters because she's hungry, Rainbow Dash's is an adventure scene ripped out of a Daring Do book, and Pinkie Pie's is just stream-of-consciousness silliness.
• Imagine Spotting: During each of the Imagine Spots, the girls other than the one narrating seem to be perfectly able to see what's going on and react accordingly. Notably, Rarity being aghast at her clothes in Applejack's scene, all of them panicking from the danger in Rainbow Dash's romp, or looking around in confusion from Pinkie Pie's ramblings.
• Insult Backfire: When Rarity tells Sour Sweet her idea for the dance video, Sour Sweet responds that it "sounds great if you're going for 'way too over the top'." Rarity replies with a chipper "Thanks!"
• In the Hood: Sort of; while sneaking around Crystal Prep, Rarity dons sunglasses and a large headscarf.
• It's All My Fault: Rarity is very quick to blame herself for naively handing the Shadowbolts her music video idea on a platter (as she puts it), and also for, in general terms, letting down everyone who depended on her successfully raising money with her idea. This last sentiment is shared by the Shadowbolts.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: It's mentioned by Sunny Flare that Cadance is the new principal of Crystal Prep. Apparently, former principal Cinch's actions during the Friendship Games caught up with her.
• Literal-Minded: After Sunset Shimmer suggests they "put their heads together" to find a new concept, Pinkie Pie does exactly that... dragging all of them in a Huddle Shot with their heads touching.
• Loose Lips: Rarity just can't help but tell the Shadowbolts the details of her idea for the Rainbooms' music video. The Shadowbolts promptly steal the idea for their own video.
• Match Cut: Like in Rainbow Rocks during "Let's Have a Battle (of the Bands)", the "Dance Magic" music video includes two series of hard cuts switching from one girl to the other to make a continuous movement.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The design of Twilight's glasses during the music video bear more than a passing resemblance to the design they had in her Equestria Girls dolls for the previous two films, with stars and molded dots on the rims. The animated version are missing the star on the bridge, however.
  • This isn't the first time a Rarity had someone stealing one of her ideas and made it look like she was the one copying.
  • Human Rarity has a fainting couch, too, and like her pony counterpart she indulges in ice cream as comfort food when she feels like crying.
  • There's an Aunt Orange smoothie kiosk at the mall.
  • During Applejack's Imagine Spot, Rarity wears a humanized version of Pony Rarity's rags from "Simple Ways", to her horror.
  • Like their pony counterparts, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are fans of the Daring Do series, so Twilight knows Rainbow is ripping it off during her Imagine Spot.
• No, You: A Duck Season, Rabbit Season variation when Rarity and Twilight confront the Shadowbolts at the Crystal Prep dance studio.
  Rarity: Don't change the subject, Sour Sweet!
  Sugarcoat: But you didn't bring up a subject.
  Rarity: You, either!
  Sour Sweet: Ooookay...
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Pinkie Pie on saying "Best! Music! Video! Idea ever!", along with a Staggered Zoom.
• Retcon: The Loose Canon Tie-In Novel Twilight's Sparkly Sleepover Surprise^note Where the Rainbooms plus Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare attend together the titular sleepover at Rarity's house. Drama ensues. is basically written out of existence — even in the novelization of the specials — by Rarity's and Sugarcoat's brief exchange that states that the last time they saw each other was at the Friendship Games, rather than at said sleepover. It's further displaced by Twilight's claim that she hasn't heard much about her old school since she left.
• Saving the Orphanage: The Rainbooms are still trying to raise money to save Camp Everfree.
• School Uniforms are the New Black: The Shadowbolts are still in their school uniforms when they reappear. The only appearances they make out of uniform is when they're choreographing the idea they stole from Rarity, and in the final music video.
• Shout-Out: During Rainbow Dash's Imagine Spot, Applejack is dressed like Indiana Jones, and is even clinging to her hat like Indy often does.
• Split Screen: During the music video, Sour Sweet, Rarity and Twilight takes pose in their respective thirds of the screen.
• Staggered Zoom: The view zooms on Pinkie Pie's face with a closer cut for each punctuated emphasis when she says "Best! Music! Video! Idea ever!"
• Stealth Pun: Sunny Flare's outfit for the music video is disco-inspired, and features boots with the shaft designed to look like bell-bottom pants. Said pants are also known as "flares" or "flare pants".
• Straight to the Pointe:
  • The Episode Title Card itself, focusing on the dancers' feet, features doing the pointe in ballet slippers.
  • Both Fluttershy and Sugarcoat do a lot of pointes in their part of the choreography. And while Fluttershy at least is wearing ballet slippers, Sugarcoat's shoes look like ordinary sneakers.
• Stylistic Suck: Pinkie Pie's Imagine Spot is drawn in crayon, with the characters barely moving or animating.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • The events of the last film caused a not-insignificant amount of damage to Camp Everfree, and even though the hastily set-up fundraiser was successful to get the funds to pay the debts to Filthy Rich, they weren't enough for the necessary repairs.
  • Even if no-one told her bosses about the whole "nearly got the world destroyed" thing, Cinch still blackmailed a student and admitted that she knew a student was being bullied and if anything encouraged it. Her getting replaced after that, even if she wasn't fired, isn't all that surprising and such things have happened in real life.
  • While getting Cinch fired and replaced by the much more compassionate Cadance is a very important first step, old habits die hard as the Shadowbolts quickly fall into their over-competitive behavior, even resorting to stealing their opponents' ideas this time around. Cinch might be gone, but her influence on Crystal Prep remains.
• Take a Third Option: Realizing that neither side is likely to win individually, Rarity hits on the idea of teaming up with the Shadowbolts for a joint venture and a equal share of the reward, which is more than enough to cover the expenses of both sides.
• Tyop on the Cover: Initial international airingsinvoked have the writer's last name (Berrow) as "Burrow" in the opening credits. This was corrected by the time the special debuted on Discovery Family.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: The "Dance Magic" music video is overall disco-themed, but is interrupted in the middle by a rap sequence from Pinkie Pie. Likely, a reference to the "History of the Wonderbolts" rap.
• Your Makeup Is Running: Rarity's makeup runs when she cries, but it wipes right off without smudging when she stops.

Movie Magic

• Adaptational Attractiveness: Chestnut Magnifico as Daring Do has lipstick and eyeshadow.◊
• Artistic License – Animal Care: Pinkie Pie feeds Spike the Dog with some of Chestnut's imported praline candy bars. Feeding dogs any kind of candy is irresponsible as excessive amounts of sugar are toxic.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: In-Universe example. Chestnut Magnifico is presented in the special, at first, as being disinterested in the Daring Do movie given a phone call she makes suggesting that she wants out of the production. In actuality, she's 100% onboard with the movie, as said call was to reschedule another project because it would interfere with shooting the Daring Do movie.
• Balloon Belly: Spike after binging on candy bars with Pinkie Pie.
• The Cameo: In-Universe. The Rainbooms and Spike are all given minor roles in the Daring Do movie for helping recover the props and their characters are briefly seen in a scene during the film, with Rainbow's character throwing Daring Do her whip.
• Cell Phones Are Useless: While locked up, Rainbow Dash thinks of calling her friends for help with her cell phone... before remembering that since they're on a movie set, security had taken away their cell phones earlier. Besides, she is in a skintight superhero costume with no pockets at the moment.
• Combat Stilettos: The Power Ponies costumes come with stiletto heels. Justified as they were meant to be used for a Show Within a Show, so practicality isn't a concern.
• Continuity Nod: Sunset Shimmer's pre-Heel–Face Turn days are given a subtle reference when the Power Ponies' character she gets cast as is the villain, Mane-iac.
• Crazy-Prepared: Rainbow Dash and Twilight have their magic geodes, just in case. Applejack commends their forethought, figuring all of them should do the same.
• Death Glare: Juniper, as she's being escorted away by security, turns to the Rainbooms and gives them a rather nasty look, almost if she was saying, "I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids and your dog."
• Didn't Think This Through: Juniper thought she might be cast as Daring Do if Chestnut Magnifico quit. Canter points out that she's a teenage girl with zero acting experience; no-one would ever dream of casting her as an adult action hero in a big-budget blockbuster.
• The Door Slams You: Rarity gets hit in the face by the door of Chesnut Magnifico's trailer opening just as she is about to knock.
• Dramatic Thunder: The special begins with the filming of a scene that features a shot of thunder and lightning as Stalwart Stallion gives a villain speech.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Canter Zoom, the director of the Daring Do film, first appears in Legend of Everfree as a background party-goer at the Crystal Gala fundraiser.
• Easily Forgiven: Subverted. Canter Zoom forgives Juniper Montage for all the trouble she caused... but doesn't let her off the hook. He is unable to trust her ever again and officially bans her from the movie studio. Juniper is escorted out of the episode by security. Not quite being arrested, but still quite a hefty punishment for a "mundane" antagonist in the series.
• Facepalm:
  • Canter Zoom's reaction to learning that the costume Daring Do is supposed to wear in the night club scene can't be found is to facepalm (even though he's wearing glasses).
  • Rarity slaps her brow after Pinkie Pie says that Stormy with a Side of Pudding is her all-time favorite movie.
  • Rainbow Dash also facepalms when she's stuck in the prop room and remembers security took their phones earlier, and thus she can't call her friends.
• Fair-Play Whodunnit: There are a few clues strewn throughout the episode that hint towards Juniper being the culprit. Juniper mentions she knows the entire set like the back of her hand and has access to any locked door with her master key ring; the culprit overcomes Rainbow Dash's Super-Speed through superior knowledge of the terrain and locks her in a closet to keep her pinned down.
• Faux Shadow: The peanut butter praline crunch bars look like a Chekhov's Gag early on, but they aren't. They're just a junk food enjoyed by several characters, including the villain.
• Film of the Book: Daring Do is a series of books in this world, too, and it's getting a movie adaptation, with the girls invited to the production. Prop-theft ensues.
• Finger Framing: When Rainbow Dash suggests that they could get minor roles in the Daring Do movie, Canter Zoom looks at them through the frame of his fingers while thinking it out.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: When Juniper is exposed as the culprit behind the theft of the movie props and the sabotage of the movie's production, Canter Zoom does forgive her for the trouble she's caused because they're family and he doesn't press charges. But he still bans her from the studio for betraying his trust and makes it clear that it is going to be a long time before he even considers letting her back in.
• Forgot About Her Powers: Downplayed. Rainbow Dash and Twilight both brought their magic geodes along, and use their powers to aid in their pursuit of the prop thief, though not when it'd be most convenient (for instance, Rainbow Dash doesn't use her Super-Speed the entire chase, and Twilight doesn't think to catch the thief using her Mind over Matter powers). The other girls even note their powers could have helped them out, and resolve to start wearing their crystals more often.
• Give Me a Sword: As part of the Daring Do film, Rainbow Dash gets to toss Daring Do her whip so she can disarm the villain of his magical artifacts. Rainbow Dash immediately blows the shot by geeking out at the scene.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Juniper's reason for sabotaging the movie was mainly because she wanted her uncle to cast her as Daring Do, but he picked a more experienced, professional actress instead. That, and said actress kept eating her favorite candy.
• Hair Reboot: Rainbow Dash's hairstyle as Zapp would have required to be styled much shorter than usual, but it returns to its normal length when she's back in her everyday clothes.
• Hammerspace Hair: Pinkie stores an entire bucket of pudding in her hair, which earns a brief Double Take from Twilight.
• Heroic Bystander: The Rainbooms are cast as this as a thank-you for saving the film, such as Rainbow Dash throwing Chestnut a whip.
• Idiosyncratic Wipes: A clapperboard is used to wipe the screen for scene transitions, fitting with the cinematographic theme of the special.
• Implausible Deniability: Juniper tries convincing everyone she's found the missing relics... right after they catch her trying to smuggle them out from their hiding place while wearing the same cloak and jump suit as the thief they were following.
• Inadvertent Entrance Cue: When the girls start searching for clues, Applejack says its not like there's some mysterious cloaked figure running around the studio to ask where they are keeping the missing relics. Sure enough, a mysterious cloaked figure does show up and Rarity spots him/her.
  Applejack: Where do we even start? It's not like there's some mysterious thieving cloaked figure we can chase after and say "Hey! Tell us where you are keeping the relics!"
  Rarity: You mean like... that one?
• Inescapable Net: Juniper throws a net over the girls, leaving only Rainbow Dash free to pursue her. By the time they get out of the net, the two are already away and Rainbow Dash got herself locked up in a prop room.
• Instant Cosplay Surprise: The stagehand who mistakes the girls for the actresses playing the Power Ponies has no trouble putting all seven of them in costumes — within three minutes according to the dialogue — and then pushes them on set. This is made even more unlikely if you know anything about real-life movie superheroes costumes (or even just Cosplay of them), which tend to be very elaborate affairs.
• In the Hood:
  • Stalwart Stallion opens up the special by wearing a cloak. This is a scene of the Daring Do film, of course.
  • Juniper Montage dons Stalwart's cloak while sabotaging production, which prevents Rainbow Dash from seeing who she is during the chase.
• Irony:
  • Pinkie Pie is dressed at one point as the human version of Filli-Second, who has Super-Speed. Not only is that not the superpower she got in Legend of Everfree, but she very noticeably lags behind everyone else during the chase — and not necessarily because she's messing around. Additionally, Pony Pinkie has been shown to have Cartoon Physics-based Super-Speed; her human counterpart doesn't.
  • Of the Dramatic kind. Canter Zoom claims that A.K. Yearling is "holed up in her office writing", but despite that she's very hard to get ahold of. The audience, however, can safely assume she's an archaeologist-adventurer like her Equestrian counterpart.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Twilight and Rainbow Dash are both fans of Daring Do, and Rainbow Dash interrupts two shots with her squeeing.
• Master of Unlocking: Twilight can use her Mind over Matter powers to unlock doors, revealed when she lets Rainbow Dash out of a locked prop room.
• Mistaken for Special Guest: The girls are forced into Power Ponies costumes after being mistaken for actresses. The director immediately notices they're not the actresses he asked for, and the poor sap who brought them on set loses his job.
• Mystery Episode: Invited to a movie studio, the girls are confronted with the mystery of who is trying to sabotage Canter Zoom's Daring Do film adaptation. Plenty of Scooby-Doo-style hijinks ensue.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Rainbow Dash interrupts a filming scene with "Woah woah woah," one of the catch phrases of her pony counterpart.
  • The Daring Do movie being filmed is an adaptation of Daring Do and the Marked Thief of Marapore from the Defictionalized book series The Daring Do Adventure Collection written by G.M. Berrow (incidentally, she did not write this episode, though she did write the previous one), complete with the same villain, setting, and relics (albeit with different names), and even lifting out the same introductory scene in the Cold Open; the city chase at the end is original to the episode, though. This marks the second time the series has referenced a work from the same continuity but different medium following "The Mane Attraction" and Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party.
  • All the characters the Equestria Girls (beyond Sunset Shimmer) got cast are the same characters their counterparts from Equestria became in "Power Ponies". One can't help but wonder if this is based on a joke by the crew in the Rainbow Rocks DVD Commentary.
  • It doesn't matter what universe they're in or who's a pony (or a pony transformed into a human); Twilight Sparkle will, at some point, call Pinkie Pie a genius.
  • When Pinkie stuffs a tub of pudding in her hair, she has pudding on her head. Now which role did her pony counterpart play for Hearth's Warming Eve again?
• Never Trust a Trailer: The official episode synopsis states that the seven girls get invited to the set of the Daring Do movie by author A.K. Yearling herself. In the episode, it's actually the movie's director, Canter Zoom, and Yearling is only mentioned by name.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Canter Zoom is modeled after George A. Romero, down to the exact shape of his glasses. He also resembles George Lucas, writer of the Indiana Jones movies, which in turn were the inspiration for Daring Do.
• Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Rarity and Fluttershy hear the tail end of a call Chestnut Magnifico is having with her agent, which make them suspicious of her since it seems like she wants to quit filming Canter Zoom's movie. In fact, she was ranting about another contract, a nature documentary that wasn't what she expected, and which would conflict with her current work. She's perfectly happy to extend her contract for the Daring Do role as needed once it's cleared up.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After finding out that Juniper was the one who stole the relics, Canter calls her out on not only jeopardizing the whole film and endangering the actors and film crew, she also on top of that lied to him and took advantage of his trust.
  Canter Zoom: Not only did you jeopardize the production and endanger the safety of the actors and film crew, but you also lied to me and took advantage of my trust.
• Red Herring: Chestnut Magnifico at first seems like the culprit, given that she seems to want to quit rather than extend her contract, and her favorite imported candy bar wrappers are found at the scene of the broken set. When Juniper is revealed as the real thief, she mentions that she also has a fondness for those candy bars, while the contract Chestnut wanted out of is a nature documentary that's conflicting with her schedule and wasn't what she thought it was anyway.
• Rule of Cool: During the chase through various movie sets, the girls pass by some luxury cars on a street set; Pinkie very deliberately takes the time to dramatically slide over the hood of one of the cars while running. This sets off the alarm.
• Rule of Funny: Rarity gets subjected to The Door Slams You. It likely wouldn't have been as funny if it were anyone else.
• Running Gag:
  • Rainbow Dash interrupting the shooting of scenes of the movie due to being unable to contain her Daring Do fangirl-ism.
  • "Peanut Butter Praline Crunch Bars".
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The stagehand who forces the Rainbooms into the Power Ponies costumes believes he will be fired if he doesn't get them on set in time. He ends up getting fired anyway when the director realizes he put the wrong girls in the costumes.
• Sensual Spandex: The superheroine outfits from the Power Ponies movie — all of them, including the Mane-iac's (worn by Sunset Shimmer) — are of the body-hugging, very clingy kind.
• Shout-Out:
  • The setting of a Daring Do movie allows plenty more references to its inspiration, namely Indiana Jones:
    • The missing dress latter found by Rainbow Dash looks like the one worn by Willie at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
    • The marketplace scene has an extra holding a golden statuette, like the one from the famous opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
    • There's also a pair of extras in the background carrying a prop suspiciously similar to The Ark of the Covenant.
    • Chestnut Magnifico as Daring Do wields a whip to fend off Stalwart Stallion. The music itself reinforces the reference.
  • The sound stages that the Rainbooms run through during the Chase Scene include references to Batman: The Animated Series, The Fast and the Furious, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • The title of the film Stormy with a Side of Pudding is inspired by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
• Show Within a Show:
  • Much like in Equestria, Daring Do is a popular book franchise, and it's getting a movie adaptation in this world.
  • Human versions of the Power Ponies also make an appearance as a film, with the girls being mistaken for the cast.
  • They also visit the set of Stormy with a Side of Pudding, which Pinkie Pie states is her favorite movie.
• Split-Screen Reaction:
  • When the volcano decor collapses, the screen is split in three to show the shocked reactions of Pinkie Pie / Sunset and Fluttershy / Rarity and Twilight.
  • And again where they learn the relic props are gone; Canter Zoom is in the middle, the girls are on the left and right (some of them hanging by the side of the screen to fit in the shot).
• Spy Catsuit: Juniper Montage wears a skintight black suit under Stalwart Stallion's cloak to better blend in the shadows.
• Squee: Juniper Montage has a giggling fangirl moment when she mentions that she got A.K. Yearling to sign a copy of her latest book.
• Stealth Pun: The chase scene montage shows two sports cars similar to a late model Ford Mustang and a vintage Chevy Camaro. Both badges are often referred to as "pony cars" by their fans.
• The Summation: Narrated by Twilight, a few flashbacks are used at the end to explain all of Juniper Montage's activities, and how she was thwarted by the presence of the Rainbooms (very much Scooby-Doo-style).
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • In spite of Juniper's excuses and apologies, Canter Zoom is still furious and hurt that his own niece attempted to sabotage his movie's production, even endangering one of the actors. Ultimately, while he doesn't press charges on Juniper because she's family, he no longer trusts her being around the studio and has her escorted away by security.
  • When the Rainbooms are put into Power Ponies costumes and escorted to a set, the stagehand who brought them will hear no arguments to the contrary they're not actresses. When the director sees a stagehand dressing up random people in expensive costumes, the stagehand gets fired.
• Sweet Tooth:
  • Pinkie Pie. She greatly enjoys the praline crunch bars (which both Juniper and Chestnut like), and tastes some of the real pudding used in the Stormy with a Side of Pudding set (even taking some with her in a bucket she carries in her hair).
  • According to Applejack and the movie studio's guidebook, The person who founded the movie studio was described as an eccentric oddball who installed rooms full of candy, six different kinds of fondue, three lunch buffets, and a Cupcake Fountain, the latter in particular which Pinkie Pie and Spike both set out to find.
• That Poor Car: Pinkie Pie sets off the alarm of a sports car by simply sliding across its hood.
• Trailers Always Spoil: The synopsis of the third special states Juniper Montage seeks revenge, despite that she has never been shown or mentioned in the series prior before "Movie Magic". Naturally, Juniper turns out to be the antagonist.
• Trail of Bread Crumbs: Rainbow Dash inadvertently steps in some pudding, which Pinkie Pie realizes will lead everyone else to Rainbow.
• Troubled Production: In-Universe example. Mysterious happenings around the movie studio threaten to ruin the production of the Daring Do movie. Actors threatening to walkout, sets falling apart, and worst of all, some important movie props have gone missing.
• Twitchy Eye: Canter Zoom appropriately has one, when Rainbow Dash and Juniper Montage tell him something on the set has disappeared.
• Villain Ball: The girls have reached a dead end in their investigation and have lost the trail of the cloaked villain. Too bad the villain had to show up to throw an Inescapable Net over them, attracting the attention of Rainbow Dash, who gives chase and discovers a clue in the process.
• We Have Forgotten the Phlebotinum: Sunset laments that if she hadn't left her geode at home, she could just read everyone's minds and be done with it.
• We Will Meet Again: Juniper Montage delivers a scowl at Mystery Inc... ahem, the Rainbooms once she is escorted out of the studio, hinting at the possibility she will be back. Sure enough...
• Whole-Plot Reference: The whole story, and partially the atmosphere, are very reminiscent of a Scooby-Doo episode. With suspicious acts of sabotage, clues scattered around, a cloaked villain sneaking about, the comic relief and dog looking for food, the gang splitting, a chase scene, a trap laid for the bad guy, a Dramatic Unmask, and even a Summation at the end to clear up the mystery, complete with a "meddling kids"-style line from the villain. Seriously, the only thing missing is Twilight having a Dropped Glasses scene.
• The Wonka: According to the guidebook, the movie studio's founder is described as an eccentric oddball who installed rooms full of candy and a cupcake fountain to satisfy his Sweet Tooth. It's still a perfectly functional and competently run movie studio, however.

Mirror Magic

• Advertised Extra: In-Universe. The seven girls are pictured on the Daring Do movie poster, even though they all only have walk-on roles in the movie proper (though their pictures may have only been added for that particular poster, as they're locals and fairly well-known in the area). This only infuriates Juniper Montage even more, since she blames them for costing her the lead role.
• Affectionate Nickname: Rainbow Dash comes up with "Sun-Shim" for Sunset Shimmer as her "movie star name".
• Arrow Catch: Rainbow Dash uses her Super-Speed to catch projectiles that are raining on them — only to discover those are chocolate-covered almonds.
• Artifact of Doom: A burst of Equestrian magic enchants a nearby mirror, and Juniper just so happens to find it.
• As You Know: Near the beginning of the short, Sunset writes a journal entry to Princess Twilight reiterating that Equestrian magic is leaking into the world. Twilight should already know this due to their frequent correspondence, but since the plot involves Equestrian magic it's established again for the benefit of the audience. It's also relevant to Sunset's concerns in this special.
• Bad Job, Worse Uniform: Canter Zoom found Juniper a job at a movie theater, but the work is demeaning and she has to wear a tacky uniform.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: When Juniper lashes out at the Rainbooms for supposedly ruining her life, she wishes them all to just go away and leave her alone. The mirror activates and sucks them all inside. From the devastated look on her face, Juniper didn't mean for that to happen, but the mirror's magical corruption begins to take over, making her fully deranged.
• Big Bad: Juniper Montage returns, with a revenge plot, of course.
• Bullet Dodges You: Not bullets, but Twilight uses telekinesis to stop a rain of chocolate-covered almonds, Matrix-style. (And then Pinkie Pie eats them, Pac-Man-style.)
• Burger Fool: Juniper hates her job at the popcorn stand of Canterlot mall's movie theater, and it only fuels her desire for revenge.
• Call-Back:
  • The Rainbooms' music video from "Dance Magic" is frequently displayed on most screens of the mall, not helping Juniper Montage's mood in the slightest from seeing them everywhere.
  • The Daring Do movie from "Movie Magic" is now finished and about to have its premiere. Seeing a poster for the film, including the Rainbooms in a corner, further upsets Juniper.
  • The enchanted mirror Juniper finds is an ordinary hand mirror that gets transformed by Equestrian magic, the same seen flying from the crack above the portal in Legend of Everfree.
• Cell Phones Are Useless: Sunset Shimmer tries to contact the other girls on their phones, but with no luck since they've already been sucked into the mirror by that point. Apparently, the White Void Room has no coverage.
  Sunset Shimmer: Six cell phones, all straight to voice mail.
• Color-Coded Wizardry: When Sunset returns to Equestria, her magic aura is red instead of blue-green as in the first movie, matching the color of her geode pendant.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Starlight Glimmer turned into a human has the same reactions that Twilight Sparkle did in the first Equestria Girls movie, like holding her fingers coiled like hooves, or trying to move on all fours. There's even a P.O.V. Cam moment with Starlight looking at her new hands, like with Twilight.
  • Starlight, Twilight and Sunset all mention their previous stints as antagonists when comforting Juniper about hers.
  • Starlight is taking her friendship lessons more seriously than she used to, which was the friendship lesson in "Every Little Thing She Does". In fact, it's her excuse to visit the human world.
• Digital Destruction: The DVD and iTunes releases have washed-out colors, most notably the yellows.
• Disproportionate Retribution: After being foiled in her attempts to sabotage the Daring Do film in the last special, Juniper Montage has apparently decided that the best thing to do is send the Rainbooms into some interdimensional White Void Room. Although she doesn't exactly do it on purpose, as she's still getting the hang on how the magic mirror works. She doesn't get a chance to show remorse after the fact, however, as she immediately is corrupted further by the mirror through a green flash of magic (which generally represents "bad" magic in MLP).
• Easily Forgiven: Practically a Foregone Conclusion in the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls 'verse at this point. After Juniper is turned back to normal, the Rainbooms and Starlight accept her apology and say they've been there before, with Starlight, Twilight, and Sunset mentioning their evil deeds that they were forgiven for. Unlike in "Movie Magic", it's totally played straight and Juniper actually gets off rather lightly, despite doing something comparatively worse. Lampshaded by Pinkie Pie:
  Pinkie Pie: Wow! We are a really forgiving group!
• Evil Is Bigger: The mirror transforms Juniper into a monstrous version of her movie star persona seen in the mirror, twice the size of a human.
• Exact Words: When Sunset asks Starlight if Princess Twilight would approve of her taking a trip to the human world, Starlight says that she can't be sure the Princess wouldn't approve. Sunset finds that unconvincing, but Starlight talks her into it. (Twilight has no objections when she finds out and even gives Starlight permission to extend her stay.)
• Eye Cam: Like her mentor did before her, Starlight Glimmer slowly opens her eyes after going through the portal, her vision at first very blurry before focusing on the school's entrance.
• Fake Static: When her boss calls her to get back to work, Juniper pretends that there is static on her walkie-talkie by making sounds with her mouth.
• Fangs Are Evil: Juniper also gets pointy teeth as part of her transformation; they are, however, only visible when she opens wide her mouth.
• Femme Fatalons: Juniper gets clawed hands — concealed under opera gloves — when transformed by the magic mirror.
• Forgot About His Powers: Having been in human form for so long, Sunset forgets that her pony self has telekinetic magic, needing Starlight to quickly point it out to her.
• Funny Background Event: As Juniper is ranting in the beginning of the episode, a number of people in the background can be seen either staring or awkwardly walking off.
• Furry Reminder: Starlight Glimmer adjusting to her human body, in the same manner Twilight Sparkle did in the first movie, displays several animal mannerisms, such as trying to trot on all fours and holding her hands clenched as hooves. Later, Sunset has brought her an ice cream cone with a few scoops precariously balanced. While Starlight is talking with Sunset, one of the scoops drops off unnoticed, so when Starlight goes back to take another lick, she acts like a dog bewildered as to where the other scoop has gone.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Juniper is resentful of the Rainbooms for their success; the Magic Mirror amplifies it further, making her more and more deranged.
• Heel–Face Turn: Juniper Montage follows up on MLP tradition by being the latest baddie to become friends with the main characters. She is last seen hanging out with the heroines (and Starlight Glimmer) in the end of the special.
• History Repeats: Once again, a girl in the Equestria Girls world runs afoul with Equestrian Magic, resulting in a crazy transformation that makes her unhinged. This time it's Juniper Montage as the unfortunate case, not unlike Sunset Shimmer, Human Twilight, and Gloriosa Daisy before her.
• How Do I Shot Web?:
  • Sunset Shimmer has been away from Equestria and what her pony form can do for so long that she forgets how to "hold" the new book that Starlight Glimmer has given her by telekinesis magic. After Sunset flails with her hooves to try to pick it up, Starlight quietly points out she's a unicorn too, and Sunset remembers how to use magic again. She's also so used to being on two legs that it takes her a minute to remember she's got four of them now.
  • Juniper Montage tries to figure out how to get her magic mirror to work when she learns it can make things vanish. She learns how to use it properly after she makes the Rainbooms vanish.
• Humanity Ensues:
  • Like Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle did before her, Starlight Glimmer is a pony from Equestria who gets to experience becoming human for a while. She has trouble getting around on two legs just like Twilight at first, though she quickly adjusts.
  • Inverted with Sunset Shimmer, who has spent so much time in a human body that she has to re-grasp basic pony behavior, such as walking on all fours and grabbing things with her magic instead of hands.
• Humiliation Conga: Juniper Montage continues to get beaten over the head after the previous special. She is stuck in a dead-end Burger Fool job at the Canterlot Mall, and if that isn't bad enough, she is continually subjected to the Rainbooms' "Dance Magic" music video on repeat, on top of working in the theater at the opening of the Daring Do movie, from where she was just rightfully but humiliatingly fired from by her own uncle. Being constantly reminded of her failures each and every day does wonders for her mood. No villain has ever gotten it this bad before.
• Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress: This special shows us that the problem of increased momentum that Princess Twilight encountered several times already when visiting the human world also works in reverse: when Sunset Shimmer crosses the portal, she's literally propelled through the mirror on the other side across the Castle's library.
• Innocently Insensitive: When the Rainbooms inadvertently meet Juniper Montage again at her Burger Fool job at the movie theater, Pinkie Pie is the first to remind Juniper of the Daring Do movie premiere. Bad idea. Rainbow Dash then tells Juniper that her whole situation was her fault. Worse idea. The final straw is when Juniper tries to show them the magic mirror, and they whisper unkind things about her within earshot. Juniper, already unhinged because of her resentment, finally lashes out and wishes them all to go away and leave her alone. As in, she sends them all into the mirror dimension.
• I've Heard of That — What Is It?: When Sunset Shimmer recognizes Juniper Montage at the movie theater, Starlight's reaction is a dramatic "NO!" And then she asks "Who's that?"
• Lampshade Hanging: After Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle mention the bad things they've done in the past and been forgiven for, Pinkie Pie can't help but quip that their group are a very forgiving bunch.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Almost literally. After being trapped in the mirror, Pinkie Pie adjusts the camera while trying to look for any sort of boundaries.
  Pinkie Pie: Nope! No wall over here!
• Loyal Phlebotinum: The mirror only grants wishes for Juniper, as Starlight discovers when she tries to wish her friends out of it. At the same time, however, it only grants wishes for Juniper when she's holding it, so Starlight stealing it takes away her most dangerous power.
• Magic Mirror: In addition to the portal between Equestria and the human world, there is the hand mirror Juniper Montage finds that lets her see herself as what she imagines herself to be (a famous movie star adored by all), and traps anything and anyone she so strongly desires inside it. In short, it works exactly like the Mirror of Erised crossed with the Booking Glass.
• Make a Wish: The mirror only activates its power when Juniper specifically wishes for it to do so. Phrasing the command any other way accomplishes nothing.
• Mana Drain: The mirror feeds on the magic of the Rainbooms. When all seven are captured, their combined power is drained by the mirror and fuels Juniper's transformation.
• Morphic Resonance: As is usual when a pony go through the portal to the other world, Starlight Glimmer's human appearance shares many similarities with her true form, including skin and hair color(s) as well as hairstyle. This is such an accepted fact, in truth, that Sunset Shimmer can reasonably conclude she'd never seen Starlight's human counterpart in Canterlot yet, despite only having just met Starlight Glimmer in pony form at the moment.
• Mundane Utility: When Juniper first figures out how to use the mirror, she uses it as a magic-fueled vacuum cleaner.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When Juniper wishes the Rainbooms into the mirror, she looks shocked and devastated as they're sucked in, but before she can express any remorse, it's already too late and the mirror's corruption takes over.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The movie theater entrance includes a claw crane game machine full of furry toys looking somewhat like G1's Bushwoolies.
  • When Starlight is begging Sunset to let her come to the human world, tiny hearts appear in her eyes, just like in some G3 ponies.
• Never My Fault: Juniper Montage blames the Rainbooms for her uncle punishing her, but she brought her punishment on herself by stealing important props from the film set and trying to frame a star actress just because she didn't get to play the role she wanted.
• Never Say "Die": When the mirror limbo world is on its last legs, Twilight says if the whole world falls apart with them in it, she doesn't know what will happen. To be fair, she has a point, but we can assume it will be the end of them.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Canter Zoom gets his niece a job at the popcorn stand of Canterlot Mall's movie theater. The rather humiliating job coupled with the Daring Do movie premiere and the "Dance Magic" music video playing frequently through the mall doesn't help Juniper's mental state any, even before she gets her hands on the magic mirror.
  • The girls pay an accidental visit to Juniper at said popcorn stand, not knowing nor noticing her resentment and increasingly unhinged demeanor. What pushes Juniper over the edge is when Rainbow Dash reminds her that she put herself in that situation by stealing the movie props. When Juniper tries to show them what she sees in the magic mirror, the girls whisper within earshot some rather unkind things. Juniper finally snaps and wishes them all to leave her alone, the magic mirror activates and sucks them all inside.
    Applejack: Two apples short of a bushel, I say.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Pinkie Pie is worse than usual on this matter, invading Sunset Shimmer's space once again and even squishing her cheeks at one point.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Starlight invokes this with Juniper, knowing by personal experience that revenge won't make her feel any better, and that she could end up making a mistake she'll regret for the rest of her life.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Juniper Montage spends some of the special as a total joke, with the extent of her "villainy" just being petty, angry and resentful, but becomes dangerous when she gets her hands on the magic mirror, and she gets worse when she figures out how to use it.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: When Juniper Montage is trying to get the hang of using the magic mirror again.
  Juniper Montage: Mirror, I command thee! Pick upeth this poppage of corn!
• Older Alter Ego: Juniper Montage sees herself as an adult and a successful actress in the mirror. She eventually gets transformed into a more monstrous version.
• Pocket Dimension: Juniper's mirror contains what she wishes for it to vanish inside of it. When the mirror starts to fragment, so too does the reality within the mirror.
• P.O.V. Cam: Starlight Glimmer discovering the human world is done with a shot though her eyes, as her vision first regains focus, and then she looks in wonder at her new appendages.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Starlight makes an extremely exaggerated face with big, shiny eyes adorned by stars and hearts when she's trying to convince Sunset to let her come to the human world.
• A Rare Sentence: As pointed out by Starlight Glimmer...
  Sunset Shimmer: Well, I haven't ever seen you in that world. So... chances are you aren't gonna run into yourself.
  Starlight Glimmer: [deadpan] ... is something you don't hear every day.
• The Resenter: Juniper Montage harbors a ton of resentment at the Rainbooms. Not only does she hate the girls for ruining her plans in "Movie Magic", she also hates how successful they are getting to be in the blockbuster Daring Do movie, while she is stuck in a humiliating dead-end job at the Canterlot Mall, where she constantly sees commercials of their "Dance Magic" music video, as well as being there for the opening of the new Daring Do movie, from where she was just fired by her uncle in spectacular fashion, due to them exposing her plan.
• Revenge: Juniper Montage's goal is to get revenge on the girls after what happened in "Movie Magic".
• Running on All Fours: Just like Twilight Sparkle before her, Starlight's first attempt at moving in human form involves going on all fours, until Sunset catches up with her.
• Screaming Woman: Watermelody lets out a gratuitous scream and runs away in fright when the giant Juniper blows a kiss toward her.
• Sequel Episode: To "Movie Magic", as it continues the story of what happened to Juniper Montage after "Movie Magic", and her resentment towards the Rainbooms, ultimately resulting in a revenge plot involving a magical mirror.
• Skewed Priorities: Rarity's largest concern (at first, at least) when trapped inside the mirror with no way out is that she and her friends will miss their on-screen debut. Rainbow Dash calls her out on this.
  Rainbow Dash: Not a top priority now, Rarity!
• Shoot the Television: Smash instead of shoot — when Starlight is trying to save Sunset and the others from the mirror, she pleads with Juniper that they're trapped, but at that moment the screens behind Juniper play the "Dance Magic" video, angering Juniper again over how they stole her chance to be famous. The scene cuts to Starlight just as Juniper pulls back her arm and a smashing sound is heard. We later see several screens are broken.
• Shout-Out: After Twilight makes the chocolate almonds that were raining on them float in the air through telekinesis, Pinkie Pie starts eating them like Pac-Man would.
• Sweet Tooth:
  • While at the mall, Starlight enjoys a triple-scoop ice cream cone.
  • Pinkie Pie eats the chocolate almonds Juniper sent into the void within the mirror.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Starlight Glimmer manages to convince the rampaging Juniper Montage that it's not too late to make amends for the wrong she's done, and they can all become friends. This gets her to set the other girls free before the magic mirror breaks completely.
• Tempting Fate: In contrast with Sunset's worry over her friends being unreachable through the phone, Starlight (who's busy enjoying the wonders of the human world in the form of an ice cream cone) displays a lot more optimism about it. She even manages to temporarily ease Sunset's overwhelming concerns about magic running wild. Too bad the events happen to vindicate the latter...
  Starlight Glimmer: I'm sure they're around. What's the worst that could've happened?
• That Makes Me Feel Angry: Inside the mirror, Fluttershy claims she's having a little bit of a freak-out. When Rainbow Dash notes that she looks way too calm for this, Fluttershy responds it's a "deep-down-inside freak-out".
• This Is Unforgivable!: In the midst of Starlight talking her down, Juniper admits she feels this way about her own misdeeds. As she soon learns, her villainy is actually pretty minor compared to what Sunset, Starlight and Human Twilight have done.
  Juniper Montage: What I've done is... is... unforgivable!
• Trailers Always Lie: At least one synopsis of the special claims that Juniper's hand mirror can see into "the other realm" (i.e. Equestria), and that it sends things to the Void Between the Worlds. In reality, it traps things inside the mirror itself, and all it shows Juniper is the movie star she wishes she was. The synopsis also implies that Juniper trapped the girls while Sunset was with Starlight in Equestria, only for them to return and find them missing.
• Villain Episode: While the Rainbooms and Starlight Glimmer are still a significant part of the episode, the majority of the screentime goes to Juniper Montage, as she struggles with her new... occupation after her failure in "Movie Magic", as well as her hijinks with the magic mirror.
• Visual Pun: Juniper wishes for the mirror to turn her into a "huge star". Cue her monstrous form being twice as tall as ordinary human beings.

• Was It Really Worth It?: Rainbow Dash laments to Juniper Montage that if she hadn't tried to ruin the Daring Do movie, she would be celebrating the premiere with rest of the girls instead of being stuck in the mess she's in now. Juniper doesn't respond to it well.
• White Void Room: The mirror banishes whatever it sucks in to a seamless white void, with a giant echo of the mirror floating above the ground. Pinkie even runs around in circles trying to find a way out, going from one side of the screen to another.
  Pinkie Pie: I don't get this place!
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The more Juniper uses the mirror, the more unhinged she becomes. When she catches all seven Rainbooms, it transforms her into the persona she saw in the mirror, and she starts hallucinating the civilians in the mall as adoring fans.
• Written-In Absence: Equestrian Twilight Sparkle got called away for a friendship problem, and thus can't be there to meet Sunset.
• You Meddling Kids: Juniper Montage bitterly rants this to the girls, blaming them for foiling her plans, getting her fired from her job in the studio, potentially costing her a role in the Daring Do movie, and thus being stuck in a Burger Fool job as a result.
  Juniper Montage: This should be my night! I would've found a way to be in the film if you had stayed out of it!

Magic, Magic Everywhere!

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The shuffling around of various plot points leads to a small dose of this. For example, introducing Sunset's worries about magic at the beginning of the novelization means that she shows concern through all three plotlines. The fact the girls don't know early on that they won the music video competition — and thus don't have the funds for Camp Everfree's repairs guaranteed — also leads to plenty of extra worry from all the girls of whether or not even participating in the contest was a good idea. Juniper Montage's thought process is lightly expanded upon, hinting at a Friendless Background. She also shows extra remorse after all is said and done.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: A few significant plot points from latter specials are introduced much earlier. Most notably:
  • Plot points from "Mirror Magic" are introduced in the chapters that adapt "Dance Magic". Sunset Shimmer's angst about the loose magic and her journal running out of pages opens up the novelization, happening right before the girls' car wash. Additionally, her trip to Equestria and Starlight Glimmer travelling to the human world is also moved to sometime after the car wash is done with, so Starlight stays much longer in the human world and partakes or is mentioned in all the specials' plotlines. Also, Rainbow Dash comes up with the Affectionate Nickname Sun-Shim much sooner.
  • The fact that Canter Zoom, director of the Daring Do films, went to Camp Everfree and participated in the fundraiser gala is also mentioned when Rainbow Dash notes all their fundraising efforts (before Rarity hints at her idea); in particular, Rainbow Dash tried to contact him to see if he could help, to no avail. The girls also ask him for financial help after the events of "Movie Magic", but he can't really help within the deadline.
  • Inverted with the resolution of "Dance Magic": the girls don't learn that they won the music video contest until more or less the end of the book — after the events of what would be "Movie Magic" and "Mirror Magic". This also means that they worry about getting funds for Camp Everfree for longer.
• Adapted Out: The unnamed director of the Power Ponies film is replaced with Canter Zoom, meaning he's simultaneously directing two films.
• Added Alliterative Appeal: Most of the chapter names follow this format ("Shimmers and Shivers", for example).
• Advertised Extra: The only Shadowbolt advertised on the cover is Sour Sweet — given only slightly less prominence than Rarity herself — yet she and her fellow Shadowbolts only appear once in the book, contrary to their major role in the "Dance Magic" special. Sour Sweet herself even gets an extra dose of this, as some of her dialog to Rarity in the mall is given to the other Shadowbolts; she only tells Rarity about how Cadance will let them have their dance on a yacht if they raise the money.
• Comes Great Responsibility: The girls have apparently decided — collectively, at that — to avoid using their powers unless absolutely necessary, as recklessly using magic has led to trouble before.
• Continuity Nod: The girls' previous fundraisers get gently referenced by Rarity in the mall; they'd already done a concert, a gala and even a fashion show (from Perdita Finn's Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine).
• Colon Cancer: As is typical of the Equestria Girls books, the title is usually rendered with at least three colons.
• Covers Always Lie: To the extreme; besides only representing one small part of the novelization (which combines all three specials in one interconnected story), it doesn't even do that accurately; the Shadowbolts — even the one in the cover — get Demoted to Extra to the point the whole "join forces to make a winning music video" (and thus the Aesop of putting aside rivalries) angle is removed from the chapters that represent "Dance Magic".
• Crazy-Prepared: Everyone sans Sunset Shimmer gets to be this, as they all wear their geodes at all times.
• Demoted to Extra: The Shadowbolts get hit extremely hard with this, to the point it comes very close to getting Adapted Out — all their appearances after meeting Rarity in the mall are excised, including their entire plot of stealing Rarity's idea and then joining forces with the Rainbooms.
• Extremely Short Timespan:
  • The way the book is written implies that everything takes place on the same day, further complicated by Starlight Glimmer being present (having basically sneaked behind Princess Twilight's back) since what would be the events of "Dance Magic".
  • Sugarcoat says that it's only been three weeks since the Friendship Games, instead of "a few months" as in the animated special.
• Friendless Background: Starlight believes that Juniper's issues stem from this, and it's implied she's right.
• Furry Reminder: Starlight has some extra ones exclusive to the book, such as neighing when cheering the girls during the music video practice.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Most of the chapter names in the novelization follow a "[something] and [something else]" pattern; additionally, almost all have Added Alliterative Appeal. The exceptions are chapters 2 ("Splashes and Bubbles"), 8 ("Lights, Camera, and Action"), 11 ("Dashes Chases"), 16 ("Wishes and Revenge"), 17 ("Worries and Concerns"), 21 ("Mistakes and Forgiveness") and 22 ("Endings and... Beginnings!").
• Inescapable Net: Juniper Montage, as in the TV Special, tries to use a net to trap the girls. Keyword tries, as Rarity uses her magic geode to create a dome barrier and avoids getting herself and her friends tangled on the net. This series of events is still long enough for the girls to lose track of Rainbow Dash.
• Jaw Drop: Juniper's Stunned Silence after Starlight, Sunset and Twilight all admit they made similar mistakes is accompanied with this in the novelization.
• Mundane Utility: Rarity thinks about using her magic shields to avoid getting her outfit and hair ruined during the car wash, but ultimately decides against it. The rest of the girls are implicitly on the same page, remembering what has happened when people recklessly use magic.
• My God, What Have I Done?: More like "My God, what am I about to do?", but Juniper almost immediately starts regretting what she says while holding the magic mirror. It's very short-lived, though.
  But she had a terrible, awful, horrible feeling that the girls were about to disappear like kernels of popcorn.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Twilight can sense the magic mirror's "mischievous magic" shortly before Juniper's wish for them to disappear comes true.
• Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending: In the adaptation of the events of "Dance Magic"; since the Shadowbolts don't steal Rarity's idea for the music video (as Rarity doesn't have one here), they never meet again with Rarity and make amends — the Rainbooms manage to come up with the concept and solve the choreography problems by themselves and win. The Shadowbolts thus never get the prize money they need for their dance on a yacht.
• Power Glows: Even when not actively using them, the geodes around the girls' necks have an otherworldly, pulsing glow.
• Power Incontinence: Sort of; Pinkie Pie accidentally touches her geode at one point, activating her power and conjuring a cloud of magic sparkly smoke.
• Retcon: In the context of Legend of Everfree's novelization; Pinkie Pie's power — of making sugar explode — is changed to being able to conjure sparkly clouds of smoke anytime she touches her geode. She accidentally uses it during the music video practice.
• Vague Age: Juniper Montage is described as not being much older than Twilight and Rainbow when she first appears.
• Youthful Freckles: Juniper Montage is described in the novelization as having these; she doesn't in the animation.

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