YMMV / The MLP Loops

• Broken Base: The FiM loops has reached this status among reviewers and a few writers alike. Obviously, they're still fairly popular with writers of the loops and faithful FiM fans, but most readers of other loops often tend to groan over their appearances in the loops, especially after season three. Even series fans have started to grow weary of the loops, with the FiM loopers so focused on comedy that they barely resemble anything of their former selves. Their uncanny ability to fix any problem a looper has, no matter how improbable, is a major reason why some writers are tired of them, as they often tended to get shoehorned in to fix a problem without the head author's consent. In short, anything about the FiM is likely to spark arguments from writers and reviewers alike, and let's just leave it at that.
• Crack Pairing:
  • Berry Punch and Discord eventually started dating. Also an ironic development, given that she originally turned him down (while they were both Awake) in loop 44.9.
  • Trixie and Chrysalis, as well, given the two characters have never met in the show. (At least, until the season 6 finale, three years after they became a couple in the Loops.)
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Due to MLP being one of the first universes to start looping after the original seven, the rules were still being figured out and by extension, many FiM loopers, such as Berry Punch, Mayor Mare, Silver Spoon, Derpy, Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch and Nyx would never be allowed to loop nowadays.
• Harsher in Hindsight: One chapter in the low 100s has a version of Sombra who destroyed the Crystal Heart, to no apparent ill-effect. Some time later, the show proved that destroying the Crystal Heart would not be consequence free.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: In chapter 8, Twilight Sparkle expresses the opinion that Diamond Tiara will only ever be a bad example. Many Loops later, Diamond starts Looping, proving Twilight wrong in all the best ways.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The first time that Discord and Berry talked she said she will not even consider dating him. Sixty or so chapters later they are.
  • An early chapter has the cast re-enacting the defeat of G1 Tirek. Flash-forward several dozen Loops, and the Running Gag about Tirek totaling Twilight's library on a constant basis.... And that's not to say anything of the mane cast actually fighting (an updated) Tirek in the actual show later on. (The snip was made long before the season four finale was even a thing!)
  • Looping Sunset's personality is nearly identical to how she acts in Rainbow Rocks, making this Heartwarming in Hindsight as well. Sunset was activated as a Looper prior to the reveal that Rainbow Rocks even existed. All of her Character Development in the Loops was made without that in mind.
  • When Diamond Tiara started looping, the writers made her talent hard-flanked leadership. Come "Crusaders of the Lost Cute Mark", it's revealed that leadership is Diamond Tiara's true ability in canon.
  • In Loop 202.17, originally written in November 2017, Starlight travels into the future and is sent back by a pony described as having "a yellow furred head, covered in a mass of pink curls". Their voice is explicitly compared to Maud Pie's. Almost two years later, canon introduced a pony with that exact physical description: Pinkie's son Li'l Cheese.
  • Queen Chrysalis reforming ends up becoming this as in canon, she, along with Tirek and Cozy Glow, are among the few villains that don't change their ways.
  • In the loops, Celestia has developed a bad habit of running off to the beach to go surfing after dumping all her responsibilities on another pony (generally Twilight). The final season of the show sees Celestia, along with Luna, do almost the exact same plot when they announce that they want to retire to Seaward Shoals and try to prep Twilight to take over ruling.
  • Loop 180.16 (originally published in April 2016) had the Crusaders ask if the Cutie Map would send them on missions now. Nearly two years later, the episode "Surf and/or Turf" had them go on a Cutie Map mission for the first time in canon.
  • Looping!Zecora is part of the second team of Element-Bearers, with the Element of Generosity. In the season 10 comics, Zecora canonically becomes an Element-Bearer, albeit for Magic, courtesy of a second Tree of Harmony existing in her homeland of Farasi.
• More Popular Spin Off: To Innortal's original loops, and pretty much codified the loops as a whole.
• My Real Daddy: Some consider Saphroneth to be this to the loops format.
  • It got to the point where Twilight was going to name a world she made after him, but he cut that out due to embarrassment. And fourth wall breakage.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Zecora ascended to become some kind of Zebra-Alicorn through the same event that Silver Spoon ascended to become an Draconequus. Not only did this completely deprive Zecora of her own personal awesome event to ascend with (instead of piggybacking it onto Silver Spoon's), Silver's very interesting and unique situation overshadowed Zecora's so much that there have been almost zero loops of her in her 'alicorn' form.
• The Woobie: Chrysalis, once she becomes a Looper. Her first loop was "Slavequestria", where she and a non-Awake Shining Armor were Happily Married and helping runaways as part of La Résistance. Then the loop reset, and she was horrified to find that all the terrible things she did in canon were not All Just a Dream, as well as heartbroken that the Shining she had loved no longer exists, with the Awake Shining Happily Married to Cadance. She's left horribly depressed for many loops afterwards, and even though she's now in a steady relationship with Awake Trixie, it's clear she still misses her version of Shining.