History ShownTheirWork / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

* In many episodes (one of the more obvious examples is at Gummy's birthday party in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne "Party of One"]]), the ponies are shown shoving each other around with actions like [[UseYourHead headbutts]] and {{Ass Kicks|You}}, with the targets of these actions typically shrugging them off without so much as an annoyed look. This isn't {{Slapstick}}; RealLife horses are known for being very rambunctious when at play, which is why such roughhousing is sometimes called horseplay.

* When Applejack pokes Big [=McIntosh=] in the ribs in "Applebuck Season" he responds by raising a haunch and glaring at her. That's an actual threat display by a horse about to kick.

* While [[CloudCuckoolander Pinkie]] may be a little strange, in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen", she is shown rolling around in the grass. That's not her being strange; real horses and ponies will roll around in the grass like that.

* Aurora, Bori, and Alice from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'' are female reindeer that all have antlers. Reindeer/caribou are the only species of deer in which the females have antlers like the males. Appropriate choice too, since males shed their antlers during the winter during which the special takes place. Usually, Christmas animated specials would omit the antlers of female reindeer due to confusion with other deer species. And in general, while they are still stylized the three look more like actual reindeer than most cartoon reindeer, particularly having just two nostrils rather than dog-like noses that may be [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer shiny]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' features the main characters playing instruments in a band. The staff went to great lengths to make sure they were accurately playing their instruments, from the right finger placements for guitar, bass and keyboards to proper technique on the drums. Even the character who plays the tambourine realistically twirls and tams it.
** {{Averted|Trope}} come ''Friendship Games'', however. The marching band in Rainbow Dash's pep song generically loops through animations that don't line up to the sounds being played.
* Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala, the father-daughter pair from "Spice Up Your Life", have a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture culture based on India]]. Their restaurant's dishes seen on-screen are actual Indian cuisine such as naan (flatbread) and thukpa (spicy flat noodle soup).

* In "Somepony to Watch Over Me", the chimera's snake head tells her sisters to speak up because she can't hear them very well. Real snakes have vestigial ears and can only listen to vibrations and low-frequency airborne sounds. Likewise, the goat head has oblong pupils, and the tiger head is apparently based on saber-toothed cats. Not only does she have the elongated canines the family is known for, but also possesses a stocky build like the larger sabretooths such as ''Smilodon'' (although in "School Raze" her sabretooth part is shown to have a long tail, suggesting she could be a ''Machairodus'').

* In "Somepony to Watch Over Me", the chimera's snake head tells her sisters to speak up because she can't hear them very well. Real snakes have vestigial ears and can only listen to vibrations and low-frequency airborne sounds. Likewise, the goat head has oblong pupils, and the tiger head is apparently based on ''Smilodon''. Not only does she have the elongated canines the genus is known for, but also possesses a stocky build like the real animal.

* These ponies are noticeably the most expressive ones of the franchise, making all sorts of facial expressions to convey their emotions some of which border on outright bizarre. [[https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/horses-capable-humanlike-facial-expressions Real-life horses]] possess a [[http://funnyexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Picture-2-2.jpg rich]] [[http://funnyexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Picture-10-2.jpg variety]] [[http://funnyexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Picture-26-2.jpg expressions]] to communicate.

* In "Somepony to Watch Over Me", the chimera's snake head tells her sisters to speak up because she can't hear them very well. Real snakes are deaf. Likewise, the goat head has oblong pupils, and the tiger head is apparently based on ''Smilodon''. Not only does she have the elongated canines the genus is known for, but also possesses a stocky build like the real animal.

* Little Strongheart from "Over A Barrel" is the correct size and colour of a young buffalo.

* Aurora, Bori, and Alice from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'' are female reindeer that all have antlers, which are present in both sexes of reindeer/caribou like them. Usually, Christmas animated specials would omit the antlers of female reindeer due to confusion with other deer species. And in general, while they are still stylized the three look more like actual reindeer than most cartoon reindeer, particularly having just two nostrils rather than dog-like noses that may be [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer shiny]].

* Aurora, Bori, and Alice from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'' are female reindeer that all have antlers, which are present in both sexes of reindeer/caribou like them. Usually, Christmas animated specials would omit the antlers of female reindeer due to confusion with other deer species. And in general, the three look more like actual reindeer than most cartoon reindeer, particularly having just two nostrils rather than dog-like noses that may be [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer shiny]].

* Aurora, Bori, and Alice from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'' are female reindeer that all have antlers, which are present in both sexes of reindeer/caribou like them. Usually, Christmas animated specials would omit the antlers of female reindeer due to confusion with other deer species. And in general, the three look more like actual reindeer than most cartoon reindeer, particularly having just two nostrils rather than dog-like noses (that may be [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer shiny]]).

* Aurora, Bori, and Alice from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver'' are all depicted with antlers, which are present in both sexes of reindeer/caribou like them. Usually, Christmas animated specials would omit the antlers of female reindeer due to confusion with other deer species.

* In ''Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000'' they show a lot of work: Cider season is a very real thing and lasts only a few weeks; cider has no meaningful shelf life and so must be made fresh daily, the cider press shown is a real (and very old-fashioned) model, and the eponymous machine would indeed outperform the Apples' old method by about five to one, as claimed.

* Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala, the father-daughter pair from "Spice Up Your Life", have a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture culture based on India]]. The dishes they serve at their restaurant seen on-screen are actual Indian cuisine such as naan (flatbread) and thukpa (spicy flat noodle soup).

* Saffron Masala and Coriander Cumin from "Spice Up Your Life" have a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture culture based on India]], with their restaurant's dishes they serve on-screen being actual Indian cuisine such as naan (flatbread) and thukpa (spicy flat noodle soup).

* The Tasty Treat and its father-daughter staff in "Spice Up Your Life" are a FantasyCounterpartCulture based on India, with their dishes seen on-screen being actual Indian cuisine such as naan (flatbread) and thukpa (spicy flat noodle soup).

* The Tasty Treat and its father-daughter staff in "Spice Up Your Life" are a FantasyCounterpartCulture of India, with their dishes seen on-screen being based on real-life Indian cuisine such as naan (flatbread) and thukpa (spicy flat noodle soup).

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' features the main characters playing instruments in a band. The staff went to great lengths to make sure they were accurately playing their instruments, from the right finger placements for guitar, bass and keyboards to proper technique on the drums. Even the character who plays the tambourine realistically twirls and tams it.

* As Fluttershy points out in "Tanks For the Memories", some species of tortoises do borrow into the ground and brumate for the winter. Plus Tank's digging motions when he prepares for brumation is accurate for real chelonians, including the pauses between strokes.

** Although it may have just been a ContinuityNod to "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]" when Fluttershy told Pinkie Pie that she was one year older.

** Little Strongheart from "Over A Barrel" is the correct size and colour of a young buffalo.
** The goats from "Putting Your Hoof Down" have oblong pupils, just like real goats.
** As Fluttershy points out in "Tanks For the Memories", some species of tortoises do borrow into the ground and brumate for the winter. Plus Tank's digging motions when he prepares for brumation is accurate for real chelonians, including the pauses between strokes.

* From "The Cutie Pox": it's easy to miss, but every step of Twilight's buck when she dumps Spike (for a lame joke in a serious situation) is exactly how a real horse would dump it's rider, including her pinned ears and leading with her front legs first to put the "snap" into the whole motion.

* Someone on staff knows their animals. Storyboardists Sabrina "Sibsy" Alberghetti and Raven Molisee attribute this to Creator/LaurenFaust; her series bible had both real horse pictures and anatomy next to her pony drawings to compare anatomy and how limbs and other parts would bend. The storyboardists also had similar pictures to work from. Lauren had insisted they avoid making the ponies perform actions that would be too much like a humans' action (bending a hoof like a hand, for example).
** In many episodes (one of the more obvious examples is at Gummy's birthday party in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne "Party of One"]]), the ponies are shown shoving each other around with actions like [[UseYourHead headbutts]] and {{Ass Kicks|You}}, with the targets of these actions typically shrugging them off without so much as an annoyed look. This isn't {{Slapstick}}; RealLife horses are known for being very rambunctious when at play, which is why such roughhousing is sometimes called horseplay.
** Horses will sometimes raise one of their front legs in a kicking motion when nervous, which is what Fluttershy does when she encounters Twilight Sparkle in the first episode.
** Similarly, horses flick their tails in annoyance to shoo away flies and the like. You can see this happen several times in the series when a pony character is annoyed (e.g. Rainbow Dash looking non-nonplussed when the three bullies taunt her during "Sonic Rainboom".)
** Twilight also uses her tail to swat at parasprites in "Swarm of the Century".
** When Applejack pokes Big [=McIntosh=] in the ribs in "Applebuck Season" he responds by raising a haunch and glaring at her. That's an actual threat display by a horse about to kick.
** The way the ponies move in general is very well done. When not being exaggerated for comedy, their joints bend in the same places and directions a real horse's would, and they have correctly animated gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop) consistent with how fast they're moving.
** The Ponies move their ears back and snort when angry or frightened, just like real horses do.
** If pushed far enough, a disobedient horse will sit down on its rump and refuse to move, exactly like Pinkie does when she refuses to go with Rainbow Dash in "Party of One".
** Fluttershy greeted the Manticore cat-style, leaning forward with her nose for a moment.
** Sexual dimorphism is accurately depicted in Fluttershy's mallard friends.
** The loon in Fluttershy's fantasy in "The Ticket Master" has a red outline on its eye. Red eyes are a distinguishing characteristic of loons.
** Zecora's digging goes unexplained, but real zebras dig for water in the same fashion. The same behavior by a ''horse'', however, is another threat display, so the scene actually makes MORE sense -- Zecora was probably just nervous and a little thirsty, but the ponies around her misinterpreted her body language as grumpy and hostile.
** In the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]", Fluttershy is shown falling over stiff-leggedly with fear on several occasions... accompanied by the sound of a goat bleating. This may be a reference to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat fainting goats]], a breed of goat which stiffens and falls over when startled.
** In the song "The Art of the Dress" many references are made to actual equine anatomy...and then appropriate parts of the dress are shown being designed and constructed for them, [[ShownTheirWork making it clear]] the writers didn't just grab random words from a "Parts of the Horse" chart. "[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Parts of the Pony]]," by the way, would be an excellent song in MLP.
** While [[CloudCuckoolander Pinkie]] may be a little strange, in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen", she is shown rolling around in the grass. That's not her being strange; real horses and ponies will roll around in the grass like that.
** Pinkie Pie removing wet pie filling from her face by covering it with molten chocolate, letting it dry and chipping it off is how some animals remove wet residues from their face using mud. The problem is, animals that usually do this are [[CarnivoreConfusion carnivores removing blood.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]", filly Fluttershy is drawn differently from most other fillies, having proportionally longer legs than her adult self. This is the correct body proportion for young equines. It also applies to other quadrupeds like deer and antelope, too. Other fillies were drawn in what would be more "human" baby proportions.
** -Although it may have just been a ContinuityNod to "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Griffon The Brush Off]]" when Fluttershy told Pinkie Pie that she was one year older.
** -It also makes her look like an awkward teenager.
** -It ''also'' is fairly common for future models to be exceptionally tall and gawky during their early teens. And Fluttershy does have, after all, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E20GreenIsntYourColor ze magics]].
** In "The Return of Harmony Part 2", once the ponies capture [[spoiler: brainwashed Rainbow Dash]], she starts to snort and flare her nostrils, an activity consistent with real-life horses under duress. Earlier in the first part, [[spoiler: a brainwashed Fluttershy]] swats Twilight with her tail, this is also something horses will do when particularly annoyed.
** The ponies' mindsets are also very accurate. Horses are incredibly skittish creatures due to being a prey animal; as a result, they often freak out and panic at anything that frightens them, which shows up as background ponies freaking out.

** In "Hearth's Warming Eve", when Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Commander Hurricane grew impatient they began stamping their hooves on their ground just like real horses when they're annoyed.
** The clicking noise Pinkie makes in "Baby Cakes" when she thinks Pound Cake has wandered off is a real sound that horses are trained to respond to.

** In "[=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express", Pinkie Pie scratches herself behind her ear like a dog. Actual ponies and foals will do this when they're young, but are unable to do this once they become fully grown adults.
** From "The Cutie Pox": it's easy to miss, but every step of Twilight's buck when she dumps Spike (for a lame joke in a serious situation) is exactly how a real horse would dump it's rider, including her pinned ears and leading with her front legs first to put the "snap" into the whole motion.

** Those aren't {{Wimp Fight}}s that the Cutie Map shows Twilight in the Crystal War timeline from "The Cutie Remark, Part 1". That's how horses really fight.

* The Windigos in "Hearth's Warming Eve" are represented with frightening accuracy as spirits of famine and cold that feed off hatred and in-fighting. The "famine and cold" part is correct, but many Wendigo myths involve ''cannibalism'' more than hatred and in-fighting. Though this could be Justified with it being a kids' show and all, [[{{Cupcakes}} despite what the fandom says]].

** In ''[=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express, Pinkie Pie scratches herself behind her ear like a dog. Actual ponies and foals will do this when they're young, but are unable to do this once they become fully grown adults.
** From ''The Cutie Pox'': it's easy to miss, but every step of Twilight's buck when she dumps Spike (for a lame joke in a serious situation) is exactly how a real horse would dump it's rider, including her pinned ears and leading with her front legs first to put the "snap" into the whole motion.

* There's absolutely nothing wrong with Twilight's description of comets in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well That Ends Well]]" (also see SchizoTech above).

* In ''Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000'' they show a lot of work: Cider season is a very real thing and lasts only a few weeks; cider has no meaningful shelf life and so must be made fresh daily, the cider press shown is a real (and very old-fashioned) model, and the eponymous machine would indeed outperform the Apples' old method by about five to one, as claimed.