User:AlexanderGrey/Sandbox/My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (sometimes abbreviated to Friendship is Magic, MLP:FiM, or just FiM) was an animated television series based on the long-running Hasbro toy franchise My Little Pony, adapted for television by Lauren Faust.

Friendship is Magic was the first property of the "fourth generation" of the My Little Pony franchise, and is therefore also sometimes referred to as G4, especially when discussing the franchise as a whole.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was considered a critical success among its target demographic of young girls, but was also known for having attracted a surprising periphery demographic of young adult males, known as bronies. As a result, it became the subject of a large volume of fanfiction, fan art, websites, and has a thriving convention scene.

The first episode first aired on The Hub (later rebranded to Discovery Family) on October 10, 2010, as one of the channel's flagship shows. The show concluded at the end of its ninth season on October 19, 2019, with a two-part finale and an epilogue episode set several years in the show's future. A theatrically released movie, My Little Pony: The Movie was released in 2017, separating seasons 7 and 8.

A number of spin-offs featuring the same characters and settings as Friendship is Magic were additionally produced, some of them continuing after the show's conclusion and the introduction of the franchise's fifth generation.

Plot

Friendship is Magic primarily takes place in the kingdom of Equestria, a land populated by a variety of creatures, but primarily governed by the titular anthropomorphic ponies. Other nations ruled by other anthropomorphic animals are referenced and visited during the show's run.

The show is largely slice-of-life, with intermittent "adventure" episodes. Episodes typically revolve around problems faced by one or more of the characters. Early seasons were produced under E/I rules and had explicit moral lessons at the end of each episode, taking the form of letters (or later, a journal) where characters would write about what they had learned. This aspect was dropped in later seasons.

Synopsis

The show centers around Twilight Sparkle, a highly intelligent but sheltered unicorn pony living in Canterlot, and a star pupil in the school of magic ran by Equestria's alicorn ruler, Princess Celestia. Twilight is concerned about a prophecy predicting the imminent return of the villainous Nightmare Moon. However, Celestia appears to not take this warning seriously, instead sending Twilight and her assistant Spike to the rural town of Ponyville to organize the Summer Sun Celebration and to "make some friends".

Twilight remains pre-occupied with the prophecy, meeting several ponies whilst planning the Celebration but being largely ambivalent to their interactions. Nightmare Moon returns during the Summer Sun Celebration as the prophecy predicted. Twilight and five of the ponies she had met earlier — Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash — escape from the event and set out to find the Elements of Harmony, magical artifacts that can supposedly defeat Nightmare Moon.

After a long journey, during which each pony proves their value to the team, they eventually locate the Elements, but Nightmare Moon reveals herself and destroys them. Undeterred, Twilight reveals that she has come to recognize the Elements in each of the ponies she has met. Working together they defeat Nightmare Moon, revealing that she was a corrupted version of Princess Luna, Celestia's sister.

Celestia arrives to recover her sister and reveals that she was aware of the truth of the prophecy. She had sent Twilight to Ponyville not because of disbelief, but because she knew that it would take a group of friends working together to restore Luna to normal. Fascinated by this hitherto unknown form of magic, Twilight requests to stay in Ponyville with her new friends and to study whether friendship truly is magic.

Later developments

Over time, Friendship is Magic's scope expanded from focusing on the daily life of the "Mane Six", Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The second season finale introduced Princess Cadence, a third alicorn who is due to wed Twilight's brother Shining Armor. The show's third season began with the sudden return of the Crystal Empire, a kingdom within Equestria that was lost in a historical war, which would come to be ruled by Cadence and Shining. The third season concluded with Princess Celestia congratulating Twilight on her successful understanding of the magic of friendship. Twilight is subsequently transformed into an alicorn and is made Equestria's fourth princess, signalling her change from being a student to being a mentor for others.

The fifth season introduced the Cutie Map, a large table that could magically locate "friendship problems" across the world, prompting members of the main cast to travel outside of Equestria's borders for the first time. The first mission the Cutie Map gives them almost ends in disaster, as the Mane Six are captured by Starlight Glimmer, an authoritarian unicorn who rules a town with enforced equality, Starlight magically removing the cutie marks of others. The Mane Six eventually succeed in disbanding the town, freeing its citizens but letting Starlight escape.

Starlight returns in the season finale, wherein she uses time travel to try and prevent the Mane Six ever meeting. She is initially successful, but is distraught to find that Equestria is nothing but a wasteland without Twilight and her friends protecting it over the years. She resolves to change her ways, joining the show's main cast for the remaining seasons.

My Little Pony: The Movie, which released between seasons 7 and 8, focused heavily on the world outside of Equestria, introducing several new nations and cultures to the franchise.

This carried through into the show's remaining seasons. The eighth season featured the opening of the School of Friendship—an educational institution where creatures of any species could learn the magic of friendship. The Mane Six and Starlight each became faculty at the school and six new characters, nicknamed the Young Six, were introduced as students: Gallus, a griffin; Ocellus, a changeling; Sandbar, an earth pony; Silverstream, a hippogriff; Smolder, a dragon; and Yona, a yak.

Twilight steps back from the school in the ninth season after Celestia and Luna both announce their intention to retire from ruling Equestria, with Twilight as their chosen successor. Twilight's coronation is depicted the show's final episode, Twilight telling the story of how the magic of friendship saved the day, encouraging her star pupil to focus less on studying and to start making some friends.

Races

This feels like it could be very much summarised and condensed. Probably don't need to go into detail about what each race actually is unless it's notably different from the real world or mythological equivalent.

Equestria and its surrounding territories are home to many different sentient races:

• Pony - Equestrian ponies are often brightly colored, and all receive a unique, distinguishing magical mark (a 'cutie mark') on their flanks when they discover what makes them unique. There are several races (sometimes called tribes) of pony:
  • Earth pony - a 'normal' pony without horn or wings. Implied to naturally possess great strength and stamina, as well as an innate talent with plants, animals, and rocks.
  • Pegasus - a pony with feathered wings. Capable of flight, and with an innate ability to manipulate clouds and weather. Pegasi can naturally walk on clouds, and many live on them; there is an entire pegasus city called Cloudsdale, high above Equestria.
  • Unicorn - a pony with a single horn on its forehead. Unicorns can use their horns to perform magic. All unicorns can perform simple telekinesis, using their magic to levitate and hold objects in the air. Unicorns can also cast other magic spells, generally ones related to their special talent. Despite the mythological origins of the unicorn, Equestrian unicorns are considered equine, and aside from the horn have a normal pony body.
  • Alicorn - a winged unicorn pony. Considered to be a combination of earth, pegasus, and unicorn ponies, with the abilities of all three. Alicorns in Equestria are extremely rare - only four are known to exist - and are revered by the populace. It is possible for an ordinary pony to become an alicorn through a form of ascension. Alicorns appear to automatically have royal status in Equestria, and all known alicorns are princesses.
  • Bat pony - similar to a pegasus, but with slitted eyes and bat-like wings. Bat ponies have only been seen in one episode and have never been named or identified, but have a following among fans.
  • Crystal pony - a pony with a crystalline body, but which otherwise seems to be identical to an ordinary Equestrian pony. Crystal ponies have three tribal variations: crystal earth pony, crystal pegasus, and crystal unicorn. They inhabit the Crystal Empire but have been seen visiting other locations.
• Griffon - half eagle, half lion hybrids. Griffons appear to have their own society but nonetheless intermingle with ponies on rare occasions. In the fandom, they are popularly assumed to have their own country, the Griffon Kingdom.
• Changeling - an insectoid pony-like creature with the ability to disguise itself as any pony, and which feeds off of love. There appears to be a very large population of changelings, but they have only been seen once in the series so far. Changelings have a bee-like social structure, with a queen who rules the hive.
• Zebra - one zebra, Zecora, is a secondary character in the show. Zebra are explicitly stated not to be ponies and mostly live in a far off land (heavily implied to be the Equestrian equivalent of Africa).
• Minotaur - a species of bipedal bull with fingered hands.
• Dragon - Equestria is full of dragons of many different varieties, although the winged western variety is most typical. Dragons can grow to enormous sizes and are known for their greed and hoarding habits. They appear to be impervious to high temperatures and can breathe fire.
• Diamond dog - a bipedal species of dog which lives underground and mines for gemstones. They appear to have a culture, military organization, and trade economy.
• Donkey - a species which lives among the pony population. Little is known about them, but they appear to be treated like any other pony.
• Cow - known to be sapient (one is known by name, and is seen entering a shop), but at other times, are herded like cattle.
• Horse - horses are briefly seen in one season 3 episode. They appear to have their own territory (Saddle Arabia) and are closer to real horses than Equestrian ponies. Ponies also often use horse-related metaphors (eg. 'hearts strong as horses'), suggesting that the two races have been close in the past.

Characters

The "Mane Six"

• Twilight Sparkle - a purple unicorn (and later alicorn) pony. Extremely studious, highly intelligent, but somewhat socially inept at first. She joined Ponyville as their new librarian, before later becoming a princess. She represents the Element of Magic.
• Applejack - an orange earth pony. A hardworking apple farmer with country mannerisms. She owns the Sweet Apple Acres farm and has a large extended family all over Equestria. She represents the Element of Honesty.
• Rainbow Dash - a blue pegasus pony with a rainbow-striped mane and tail. She is athletic, tomboyish, and a very talented flyer who dreams of joining the world-famous flight team, the Wonderbolts. She represents the Element of Loyalty.
• Pinkie Pie - a pink earth pony. She is incessantly cheerful, hyperactive, and loves to throw parties. Infamous for her tendency to break the fourth wall and perform cartoon-like feats that baffle even her friends. She represents the Element of Laughter.
• Fluttershy - a yellow pegasus pony. She is very timid and soft-spoken, and a poor flyer, usually preferring to remain on the ground. She has a talent for understanding and communicating with animals. She represents the Element of Kindness.
• Rarity - a white unicorn pony with a stylish purple mane and tail. She is a self-made fashionista who runs her own business and dreams of being a part of high society. She represents the Element of Generosity.

Supporting characters

• Spike - a small baby dragon, he is Twilight Sparkle's assistant and sidekick. He can breathe fire, and also has the magical ability to teleport items using his fire breath. This ability is commonly used to send messages to Princess Celestia (and can be used in reverse, to receive messages back).
• Princess Celestia - an white alicorn pony. Ruler of Equestria, who raises and lowers the sun at dawn and sunset. She is thousands of years old, and Twilight Sparkle's personal mentor.
• Princess Luna - a dark blue alicorn pony. The sister of Princess Celestia and co-ruler of Equestria. She raises and lowers the moon at sunset and dawn. She is also the guardian of pony dreams, and can freely enter a pony's dreamscape while they are asleep. She was formerly banished to the moon for 1000 years when her jealousy turned her into the evil Nightmare Moon.
• Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo - three fillies collectively known as The Cutie Mark Crusaders. None of them have yet discovered their special talents, and so lack their cutie marks. As of Season 5 and onward, the Cutie Mark Crusaders now have their cutie marks and have dedicated their lives to helping others find their special talents or help ponies rediscover them
• Sunset Shimmer is the protagonist of the "Equestria Girls" series and is a former antagonist as well. In Equestria, she was a unicorn, but she currently resides in the human world through a magical portal. She is a loyal friend with a big heart and is always willing to listen and help her friends. She is the leader of the Mane 6 in the human world and she is one of the school's top students.
• Starlight Glimmer is also a former antagonist and Twilight Sparkle's pupil. She is a unicorn who once lead a village that believed in "Cutie Unmarking" a practice that involved taking a cutie mark from a pony and replacing it with an equal sign. Starlight was eventually exposed as a fake who still had her cutie mark, and left the village, plotting revenge on Twilight Sparkle. She returned to get revenge, which involved going back in time to stop Rainbow Dash from performing a Sonic Rainboom, which was the event that led the mane 6 to get their cutie marks. The reason she hated cutie marks so much was because of a former friend named "Sunburst" who got his cutie mark before she did, and left Starlight alone after he was sent to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Starlight never made a friend again and decided to make a village where cutie marks were not allowed. She was later reformed to be taken in by Twilight, and now lives in Twilight's castle learning about friendship. As of Season 6, she has a new hairstyle and while she tries hard to learn about friendship, she sometimes slips back into her original antagonist form.

Add the Student Six.

Spin-off media

• My Little Pony Equestria Girls - Spin-off film series and TV show set mostly in a parallel universe
• My Little Pony: Pony Life — Series of animated shorts featuring the same characters and setting
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Forever — "Clip show" series that combined clips from FiM with original animation, leading into the show's finale
• My Little Pony: The Movie - G4 movie
• My Little Pony: The Manga – A Day in the Life of Equestria - Manga adaption
• Multiple Friendship is Magic comic book line

Talk about G5 at some point here?

Friendship is Magic and furry

See also: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom

My Little Pony had always had some relevancy to the furry fandom. Fursonas, media and MUCKs based on the settings, characters and species from the franchise already existed prior to Friendship is Magic. However, FiMs mainstream popularity catapulted it to the fore, resulting in a dramatically increased interest in the franchise within the furry fandom. Simultaneously, a large fandom formed around Friendship is Magic, nicknaming themselves "bronies".

As a result, a number of furries began identifying as bronies, some becoming "horse famous" in the process, such as DustyKat. Simultaneously, exposure to furries via the Friendship is Magic fandom eased a number of bronies into becoming involved in the furry fandom.

The 2013 State of the Herd census indicated that 17 percent of bronies additionally considered themselves furries.. This had risen to 21 percent by the following year. A study of bronies in 2016 found that 19.4 percent of bronies also self-identified as furries, with around two-thirds of these having become furries after first being bronies. A survey conducted by FurScience at Furry Fiesta 2013 found that 20.7 percent of the furries questioned also identified as bronies.

There are differing opinions on whether the Friendship is Magic fandom should be considered a subset of the furry fandom. When asked at Anthrocon 2012, 50 percent of furries considered bronies to be part of the furry fandom, 22 percent indicated they thought there was some overlap, whilst the remaining 28 percent said they considered the fandoms to be entirely separate.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was nominated for the Ursa Major Award for "Best Dramatic Short or Series" nine times between 2011 to 2019—nearly every year that the series was eligible. It won five times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. My Little Pony: The Movie was additionally nominated for "Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture" in 2017.

Lee Tockar, a voice actor on the show, was a Guest of Honor at Anthrocon 2014.

See also

• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic on Wikipedia
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic wiki

External links

• Official website