My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Tropes H to P

"Visit the mane article HERE"

H
"Twilight Sparkle: AJ, I think you're beating a dead... (camera zooms out to reveal Applejack's been trying to buck apples off a dead tree) ...tree."
 * Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Specifically the male ponies; most of them wear vests. As stated elsewhere, female ponies generally just wear some form of accessory.
 * Hard Light: Rainbows are a liquid. It's safely edible, but painfully spicy. It's also sticky enough to be used as war paint.
 * Heroic BSOD: Almost Once Per Episode. All of the main ponies get one in the first season, ranging from mild nervous breakdowns to freaky psychosis, and Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle continue to get more in the second. Each time, the reasons are intimately related to the character's personality, strengths and weaknesses. See specific episodes or the relevant Heroic BSOD example page for more details; appears in "Applebuck Season" (Applejack), "Swarm of the Century" (Twilight), "Suited for Success" (Rarity), "Sonic Rainboom" (Rainbow Dash), "Party of One" (Pinkie Pie), and "The Best Night Ever" (Fluttershy); and "The Return of Harmony" (Twilight), "Lesson Zero" (Twilight), "Putting Your Hoof Down" (Fluttershy), "Hurricane Fluttershy" (Fluttershy) and "A Canterlot Wedding" (Twilight).
 * Hidden Object Game: Discover the Difference, Encuentra los Símbolos, and the Hidden Picture and Spot the Difference activities in the IOS Games Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day and Ruckus Reader.
 * Hold Your Hippogriffs: Too many examples to list. Spread all over this article.
 * (Usually) replacing "body" with "pony", such as "everypony" and "somepony."
 * Longer phrases like "on the other hoof" and "stand back you foals."
 * There's a pony theme going on.
 * Oddly averted with "look a gift horse in the mouth", "hungry as a horse", etc.
 * What Twilight says to Applejack in "Applebuck Season" also counts as a Last-Second Word Swap to viewers.

"Twilight Sparkle: Ugh. That pony is as stubborn as a mule. (turns and sees a mule next to her) No offense...
 * Played with during an aversion in the same episode:

Mule: None taken."

"Rarity: You talk about it [Her tree, Bloomberg] as if it's your baby or something.
 * Horde of Alien Locusts: The Parasprites.
 * Humiliation Conga:
 * Gilda, in "Griffon the Brush Off", goes to one of Pinkie Pie's parties and is hit with prank after prank.
 * What happens to poor Twilight when she tries to help Fluttershy wake the animals in "Winter Wrap Up".
 * Twilight again in "Feeling Pinkie Keen", throughout pretty much the whole episode.
 * Almost the entire cast gets pounded with this trope in "The Best Night Ever".
 * Hurricane of Puns: In several episodes.
 * "Cutie Pox" has Twilight discovering pony illnesses in a book: Hay fever, and The Trots.
 * The Theme Tune Extended (which can be found as a sing-along on the DVD The Friendship Express) includes puns on each of the mane six's names sans Twilight.
 * Hypocritical Humor: A couple of examples throughout the series. In "Over a Barrel"...

Applejack: Who're you calling a baby?! Bloomberg's no baby! *Nuzzles her tree* Don't let widdle Warity make you all saddy-waddy! Bloomberg's a big and strong apple tree. Yes he is!"


 * Also, in "Green Isn't Your Color" Spike gets mad at Twilight for telling someone about his crush on Rarity...while he's wearing a fanboyish t-shirt with her picture on, making his crush pretty darn obvious.
 * Lesson Zero has Rarity, who often performs cartoonishly overdone displays of despair at minor problems, call Twilight a drama queen. Cue the others glaring at her and subsequent Hypocrisy Nod.
 * In "May The Best Pet Win," Rainbow Dash tells the tortoise competing to be her pet, "This isn't a game, you know!" She immediately tells the rest of the prospective pets, "These games will determine which one of you has the most important qualities I'm looking for in a pet."

I

 * "I Am" Song: Pinkie Pie's "Smile Song" from "A Friend In Deed".
 * Imagine Spot:
 * They happen several times in "The Ticket Master", where Twilight's friends fantasize about going to the Grand Galloping Gala. This is basically repeated in "The Best Night Ever".
 * Twilight imagines the Parasprites carrying away Princess Celestia in "Swarm of the Century".
 * In "A Dog and Pony Show", the ponies worry about Rarity in the clutches of the Diamond Dogs, and Spike imagines himself charging in and saving her single-handedly.
 * As a muscular dragon knight in shining armor, no less. When Spike has a hopeless fantasy, he clearly doesn't do it by halves!
 * For some reason, of the seven Glimmer Wings toys, the three that are of ponies from the show are also the only ones whose Glimmer Wings are stated to be imaginary: Glimmer Wings Rarity ("RARITY imagines having beautiful wings just like her butterfly friend, and fluttering across the sunny sky!"), Glimmer Wings Rainbow Dash ("RAINBOW DASH has fun pretending her wings look just like her dragonfly friend's as they buzz around PONYVILLE!"), and the upcoming Glimmer Wings Fluttershy ("FLUTTERSHY thinks her dragonfly friend's wings are beautiful. She imagines how she would look with wings like that!").
 * Improbably-Female Cast: With a few exceptions, almost all recurring characters are female.
 * Even the extras are predominantly female.
 * There are only seven significant recurring male characters; Spike, Big Macintosh, Snips and Snails, Joe, Mr. Carrot Cake and his son Pound Cake. There are more significant background ponies than that.
 * I Need to Go Iron My Dog: "I think I hear my laundry calling."
 * In another situation, "I'm powerful late for... something."
 * Applejack "looking" at the time when her wrist is completely empty.
 * Rainbow Dash drawing a wristwatch onto her foreleg to look at the time. (Her and Fluttershy's excuse for avoiding Pinkie Pie's party, which was the most ridiculous, was the one that Pinkie Pie chose to believe.)
 * From Rarity: "I have to go, to do the thing, with the stuff, you know..."
 * In Name Only:
 * Most of the main characters have names taken from the previous My Little Pony cartoon, but that's just out of convenience. Lauren Faust primarily based the mane cast's personalities on how she used to play with her own My Little Pony toys as a kid -- toys that weren't even of the same characters except for Applejack. She also used the ponies from the G1 cartoon as inspiration. See 'Composite Character' for more information.
 * Also goes for many background ponies, both those that have been given a name in the show and those that only have Fan Nicknames.
 * Insistent Terminology: In "May the Best Pet Win!" everypony keeps on calling the Tortoise a Turtle, and Fluttershy is always quick to correct them.
 * Interspecies Romance:
 * Mules and donkeys have appeared in various episodes, which leads to the conclusion that ponies can have babies with donkeys.
 * Also, Spike the dragon's one-sided crush on Rarity the unicorn. Fortunately, with the show's Y rating, we can rest assured that we will be spared the mental imagery of their unholy offspring.
 * One of The Hub's Royal Wedding bumpers gives Spike a crush on Tori Spelling.
 * Ironic Echo: Played with. During "Sonic Rainboom", Fluttershy says to Rainbow Dash (who's suffering a bad case of stage fright) that there's nothing to feel nervous about facing a crowd of ponies who will watch, criticize and judge each and every of her moves. Later, during "Green Isn't Your Color" Photo Finish gives Fluttershy a similar speech when the nervous pegasus is about to begin her first modeling pass.
 * "Pinkie Pie, you are so random" has a very different connotation between "Griffon the Brush Off" and "Swarm of the Century".
 * In "Party of One", Pinkie says "Okie dokey, Loki" with great enthusiasm. The next time she says it, however, it's with great skepticism.
 * Istanbul Not Constantinople: Strangely averted by characters making references to our Earth -- Twilight calling Spike "Casanova" and "Romeo"; Spike wanting a "Fu Manchu beard" in "Boast Busters"; and "Suited For Success" with French haute couture, Dutch apple pie, and constellations as seen from Earth including Sagittarius, Orion, and Canis Major -- as well as the Ursas Major and Minor.
 * Characters have spoken in familiar languages and accents (French, German, Italian, Brooklyn, etc.).
 * "I Want" Song: Played straight with Twilight's verses in "Winter Wrap-Up"; played with in "At the Gala" in an Almost There-ish way in that the ponies are singing about what they want with the anticipation that it's going to happen soon, not in some distant future.
 * I Warned You: Nearly every episode in which Twilight isn't the main focus has her basically lampshading the Aesop partway through the story. Plot Induced Stupidity is essentially the only reason she lacks this kind of foresight in her own episodes.

J

 * Jerkass: Throughout the first two seasons, the manes have encountered their fair share of them.
 * Gilda from Griffon the Brush Off.
 * Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. The latter moreso.
 * Prince Blueblood turns out to be nothing more than "the plot".
 * Discord, a hilarious Reality Warper who loves having fun with mind warping and an Expy of Q.
 * The Flim Flam Brothers from "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000".
 * The teenage dragons Spike encounters during Dragon Quest. They bully Spike and want to eat the Phoenix eggs.
 * Jerkass Ball: A large premise in most episodes (often combined with Idiot Ball). Expect the main dilemma of most stories to be caused by one of the ponies acting arrogant, self centered or even borderline insane. Every character bounces this at least once in the series (usually in their limelight episodes).
 * Jerk Jock: The three male pegasi who bully Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. Their cutie marks are a dumbbell, three basketballs, and three American footballs.
 * Rainbow Dash herself and Applejack are milder examples of Jerk Jocks when they laugh at Twilight for entering the Running of the Leaves.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Rainbow Dash is this the majority of time otherwise however, egotistical and aggressive, but loyal and altrustic to her friends. Do not bully them.
 * Rarity can be considered a mild example, she's vain and greedy at times, but it is heavily outweighed by her genorosity and empathetic moments.
 * Fluttershy's pet rabbit, Angel Bunny. He comes off as an abrasive spoiled child at times but he's shown that he really does care about his owner.
 * Justified Trope: Revealing the source of a seemingly hard-to-justify trope is often used as a punchline.

K

 * Kafka Komedy: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a Lighter and Softer variation of this.
 * Kaiju: A few. A sea monster, three dragons, two giant bears, a hydra. Fortunately, Talking the Monster to Death is sometimes an option.
 * Kick the Dog: The Villain Song "This Day Aria". "Though I do not love the groom/In my heart there is no room/Still I do want him to be all miiine!" Ouch.
 * Killer Rabbit: Angel is a light-hearted take on one. The Parasprites too -- especially when
 * Knockout Gas: In "Mmmystery on the Friendship Express", Pinkie gives explanations for how culprits could have committed a crime, all of which parodying movies. One of these involves her getting knocked out by gas.
 * Know Your Vines: In "Bridle Gossip", the mane six walk through a patch of bright blue flowers to stop Apple Bloom following Zecora. The next morning they wake with embarrassing changes, such as Pinkie's swollen tongue, that they blame Zecora for. Eventually it is revealed that the flowers were 'poison joke' and the effects were pranks. Played by the plant.
 * Kubrick Stare: Pinkie Pie give a surprisingly chilling one in Party of One.

L
"Rarity: What is that smell?
 * Ladies and Germs: The brilliant line "Fillies and gentlecolts."
 * Lady and Knight: Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are literally a bright lady and white knight.
 * Large and In Charge: For no obvious reason, everyone who's claimed to be an absolute ruler has towered over their subjects. Princess Celestia and Luna are closer in size to horses, Discord is tall enough to look Celestia in the eye, and
 * Large Ham: Various characters have their hammy moments, from Rarity, Suited For Success" to "The Great And Powerful Trixie" to Photo Finish, but perhaps the hammiest of them all is Princess Luna, especially in Luna Eclipsed, where her hammy tendencies go so far that it only makes it all the more difficult to convince the other ponies that she's no longer evil.
 * Leitmotif: Crop up every now and then.
 * Fluttershy's is a slow, instrumental version of the main theme.
 * Pinkie has a cute, bubbly, ditzy one you can hear when she's skipping up to Rainbow Dash in "Griffon the Brush-Off", shortly before Gilda shows up for the first time.
 * Photo Finish has one.
 * Rainbow Dash has a little tone with a bass line.
 * Opalescence has a short but very distinct harpsichord leitmotif.
 * Applejack has a banjo play for her in "Sisterhooves Social" when she gives Rarity sisterhood advice, and in "The Last Roundup" when speaking to the citizens of Ponyville about the rodeo.
 * Let's Mock the Monsters: Pinkie's "Giggle At The Ghosties" song is all about this.
 * Rarity also pulls this on the Diamond Dogs in "A Dog and Pony Show".

Diamond Dog: Smell?

Rarity: Ah. Mystery solved. It's your breath."


 * Lethal Chef: Applejack, who is otherwise one of the best cooks in town, becomes one in "Applebuck Season" when under the effects of overworking and (heavily implied) sleep deprivation.
 * It's entirely possible that Pinkie Pie is one, what with Mr. and Mrs. Cake being uncertain about leaving the shop in her hands(hooves) without an experienced baker to help her, the fact that she's a poor judge of taste (she has no problem eating cupcakes that are badly burnt or covered in hot sauce), and the wrapped candies and bestickèd lollipops she tosses into Apple Bloom's cupcakes.
 * She seems to have gotten a lot better by the end of the season, though she still does some questionable things (like letting Gummy swim in the punch bowl).
 * Speaking of which, there's also Apple Bloom's short-lived attempt at baking from "Call of the Cutie".
 * Sweetie Belle is currently the reigning champion--she somehow is able to burn juice and makes toast that has to be served in a bowl. It looks like burnt pudding.
 * Lightning Can Do Anything: It topples trees, strikes down royal guardsponies, does massive damage to town halls, gives Spike the hiccups, and is a handy general-purpose fright prank.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: Although the mane cast is just six characters, the show has shown many characters in the first season, as seen here.
 * The Lost Woods: Everfree Forest.
 * Loud Gulp: Many times.
 * Love At First Sight: Spike falls in love with Rarity the moment he sees her. However his crush seems to be only shown occasionally, probably due to the preference of certain writers. For example, in "Ticket Master", he doesn't seem to feel anything for her at all and doesn't react when Rarity talks about her love-destiny "Him." In "Boast Busters", he wants to impress her with a mustache (and beard, for some reason), in "A Dog and Pony Show", he fantasizes about rescuing her from the Diamond Dogs, and he's practically all over her in "Green Isn't Your Color".
 * Lull Destruction: In the Italian dub at least. The characters are a bit more "vocal" than in English: Lyra Heartstrings shouts out "Ciao!...oh?" in the first episode and other characters seem to growl where there were just silent glares before. Oddly, the dragon in "Dragonshy" has the original "dog whimper" and an Italian "dubbed whimper" at the same time when it was being scolded by Fluttershy.

M

 * Made of Good: The Elements of Harmony are made of positive qualities of friends, while the Fire of Friendship is made of friendship.
 * Mad Libs Dialogue: Treehouse TV's flash game Magical Moments Storybook and the iOS game Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day both have this.
 * Magic a Is Magic A: Curses or hexes "artificially" conjured by potions and incantations don't work and aren't real magic, at least according to someone who should know. Real magic is inborn, as in the case of unicorn magic, and by extrapolation perhaps other things such as the pegasus ability to walk on clouds, the process that creates Cutie Marks, the ability of certain plants to cause bizarre and rather extreme physical effects and of others to cure them, and/or Pinkie Sense. Still, magic is studied, and unicorns at least sometimes need spells, which can be read from a book, implying they involve some kind of procedure to be performed, which would have to be mental since they indeed involve no external incantations or acts.
 * Pinkie Sense is supposed to be an aversion, and Twilight Sparkle insists it doesn't make sense (partly because it doesn't work like unicorn magic at all), but it's got its own simple logic: Pinkie Pie gets bodily reaction A, predicting an event of type X will happen soon. And as stated above, it would fit with the "inborn powers" rule.
 * Magical Zebra: Zecora. Somewhat averted in the episode when Ponyville was invaded by parasprites, when Twilight Sparkle asked Zecora how to deal with them, and she ended up being no help whatsoever.
 * Lauren Faust has revealed that in the show's initial planning stages, when there were going to be more adventure-oriented stories, Zecora was actually designed to be an alternate mentor to Twilight.
 * Magitech: According to Word of God, all the technology seen in the series was charmed by the unicorn who made it. Two better examples was the propellor used by Tank, which had an aura on it that looked just like one of a Unicorn, and Flim and Flam powered their cider machine with their magic directly.
 * Masculine Lines Feminine Curves: This shows up in the ponies' facial structure.
 * Master Character Heroines:
 * Twilight Sparkle is an Athena the Father's Daughter.
 * Applejack is a Hera the Matriarch.
 * Pinkie Pie is a Persephone the Maiden.
 * Rainbow Dash is an Artemis the Amazon.
 * Rarity is an Aphrodite the Seductive Muse.
 * Fluttershy is a Demeter the Nurturer.
 * Meaningful Name: Many of the characters are named after their talents and behaviors.
 * The mane cast in particular:
 * Fluttershy for being able to fly and for being... well... shy.
 * This new Rainbow Dash, who has rainbow hair but can also fly really fast.
 * Applejack and family, all named after apple-related stuff. Plus, she gathers apples and makes apple "accessories."..
 * Pinkie Pie, who is pink and has an affinity for sweets and desserts.
 * Rarity has an affinity for precious gems and jewelry.
 * Twilight Sparkle solved the conflict between the Sun/Day and Moon/Night deities.
 * And her Cutie mark is magic sparkles. One big sparkle surrounded by five smaller ones, just to drive the point home further.
 * Spike has spikes.
 * Trixie uses her magic to do tricks.
 * Photo Finish is a photographer.
 * It's possible this is a stage name though...
 * Applejack's sophisticated, city-dwelling aunt and uncle, seen in "Cutie Mark Chronicles", are named "Orange," as in the phrase "apples and oranges" (which is used to explain how completely different two given things are).
 * Silver Spoon is a Rich Bitch who doesn't appear to be much good for anything.
 * Scootaloo, who is a demon on her scooter.
 * Princess Celestia, who controls the sun, and her sister Luna, who oversees the moon.
 * Spitfire and Soarin', two members of stunt-flying team the Wonderbolts.
 * Hoity Toity, who ... is.
 * Snips and Snails, two immature young colts who are named after the "what are little boys made of?" rhyme.
 * Cheerilee even lampshades this when explaining to her students how she got her cutie mark, by explaining that she aims to bring cheer and smiles to the little fillies and colts in her care.
 * Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo:
 * Ditzy Doo's name comes from a known piloting maneuver called the dipsy-doodle (bear in mind she can fly) and also comes from her ditzy nature (she went north to get birds that migrate south).
 * Derpy Hooves is named for her Derpy expression.
 * Equestria, the name of the land, is derived from "Equus," the genus of the Animal Kingdom containing horses.
 * Discord gives Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
 * Flim Flam brothers are con-men, names being a play on a flimflam or a con.
 * Medieval European Fantasy: Particularly in the style of architecture and technology, but for exceptions, see Schizo-Tech.
 * Medieval Stasis: Averted, apparently. Maybe it's due to changes in production staff or increased budget, but Ponyville and Equestria seem to be advancing technologically:
 * Train travel was rare in Season 1, and the trains were pulled by ponies. By Season 2, trains are self-powered and ubiquitous.
 * In Season 1, the only medical facility seen was "Ponyville Emergency Care", which seemed to be just a big tent. In Season 2, Ponyville had a two-story hospital.
 * The Merch: Lots of officially licensed shirts and other merchandise by Mighty Fine (sold through their own online store WeLoveFine as well as by Hot Topic and 80sTees.com), Zazzle, and FashionPlaytes.
 * Merchandise-Driven: Naturally, but this show deserves special mention for showing how this can have an upside (assuming tons of merchandise for fans to buy doesn't already count as one): The Hub has been really lax about keeping episodes off YouTube and public download sites, since the show itself isn't where the real money is anyway. The full episodes are also posted to their own site six days after airing, though they don't stay up very long.
 * The episode "May the Best Pet Win!" seems to include elements from four different Rainbow Dash toys:
 * The first basic Rainbow Dash toy is accompanied by a squirrel. In the episode, a (flying) squirrel gets several seconds of screen time as Fluttershy shows it off to her...and Rainbow isn't interested.
 * The Riding Along with Rainbow Dash toy is accompanied by a turtle. The episode has a Running Gag in which a tortoise is misidentified as a turtle. (Word of God says that the episode was conceived and written almost a year before it aired, and the toy was first revealed at around the same time, so there may or may not be a connection here.)
 * Rainbow Dash's photo shoot may have been intended to promote the Fashion Style Rainbow Dash toy.
 * The second basic Rainbow Dash toy is accompanied by a duck. In the episode, the candidates for Rainbow Dash's pet include not one, but two ducks.
 * The Friendship Express Train toy set includes a Pinkie Pie figure. The episode "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" stars Pinkie Pie and is mostly set aboard said Friendship Express Train.
 * The trope is also somewhat inverted; the show's older fanbase has often wished for more show-accurate and age-appropriate merchandise for them, instead of the toy line's intended audience. Hot Topic and several online sites have granted this wish with brony T-shirts and posters which can be seen at cons everywhere during the show's run!
 * A toy set scheduled for release in August 2012 features Shining Armor and Princess Cadance of "A Canterlot Wedding".
 * Mickey Mousing: Notably, every episode has a score composed mostly from scratch rather than relying on library music, although a few cues from previous episodes are sometimes reused. (There's also a specific arrangement of the traditional My Little Pony theme that plays at the end of most, but not all, episodes when Twilight writes her letter to Princess Celestia.) For the use of Standard Snippets, see above under The Jimmy Hart Version.
 * Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: Not literal worlds, but you'd be amazed how much wide-scale damage the heroes and their neighbors have done. Fluttershy and Twilight caused the town to be eaten by parasprites, Snips and Snails brought in a giant star bear that could have wrecked the town with ease, Twilight mind controlled a sizable portion of the town into fighting over her doll, the CMC practically Mind Raped Big MacIntosh and Cherilee, they pissed off the entire town by exposing/slandering the entire populace, and released the spirit of chaos.
 * Mind Over Matter: Telekinesis is a standard ability for all unicorns; also see Mundane Utility.
 * Pegasi seem to have some kind of "tactile telekinesis", because the vehicles they pull behind them hover instead of dangling straight down from the harness.
 * Not only that, but the wheels even rotate without being in contact with any solid surface.
 * Mood Whiplash:
 * Every time there's a two-part story, the first part ends in a dark cliffhanger... followed by the happy ending tune. It's almost a Running Gag, though there's no evidence it's deliberate.
 * Near the end of episode 17, we go from the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing around in the woods to
 * The Season 2 premiere takes it Up to Eleven and beyond in both directions.
 * The Season 2 'finale' -- is there an Up To Thirteen? Because it gives us Twilight Sparkle, emotionally crushed, allows her a split-second Hope Shot -- and then, to all appearances, . Cue "Doot doo doo doot doo, Myyyy Little Pony". If they hadn't shown the two parts back to back, the bronies would have rioted.
 * Motor Mouth: Pinkie Pie, full stop. She even needs to stop for air before continuing with her verbal tsunami.
 * Apple Bloom as well, during "Call of the Cutie". She inhaled before releasing her own verbal tsunamis, though.
 * Fluttershy can turn into one of these under the right circumstances (such as when first meeting Spike and when critiquing her first gala dress).
 * Muggles: Earth ponies; they neither have the magical ability of unicorns, nor the flying ability of pegasi. They are said to be stronger and tougher than other ponies, though, and Word of God says they have a "special connection" to the land.
 * Confirmed in "Hearth's Warming Eve"; they are the only ponies capable of growing good crops.
 * Also in "Hearts and Hooves Day", when Big Macintosh is not only capable of towing an entire house behind him with ease, he doesn't even notice it. And he was hopping as he did.''
 * Multiple Endings:
 * Hasbro's Web Games Rarity has three different endings, all of which involve the player's pony hanging out with the mane six.
 * Two episodes so far have had online polls prior to their premieres, each listing three endings to the episode and inviting the reader to guess which one is Canon:
 * Three endings to "Look Before You Sleep" are described on Treehouse TV's website here. The episode had already aired in the US, revealing that the Canon ending was.
 * Three endings to "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" were described on The Hub's website--the page has since been taken down, but the endings have been archived here (among other places). Additionally, a commercial for the event partially shows a fourth ending in all three endings' places. The earlier episodes "Call of the Cutie" and "Sonic Rainboom" had already implied that the Canon ending was, which was revealed to be true when the episode aired.
 * Mundane Utility: The unicorns use their magic horns for picking up books, straightening papers, and eating sandwiches. Basically, unicorn magic counts as having an extra pair of "hands", which is particularly useful when you don't have hands in the first place.
 * Rarity even tailors and sews with her magic horn.
 * The Sonic Rainboom (or something resembling it) can be used for demolition.
 * Muscles Are Meaningless: All the ponies seem to possess strength far beyond their size and figure, from earth ponies pulling a five-compartment train at full speed, to pegasi floating a moving car full of anvils, carts, and pianos.
 * In "A Dog and Pony Show", Rarity (one of the relatively weak unicorns) could pull a cart full of diamonds with ease while three Diamond Dogs could barely move it.
 * In "Dragonshy", a montage of the ponies getting ready to confront a dragon features Applejack's much larger brother Big Macintosh lifting a heavy set of saddle-bags onto her back with great effort. She sags under the sudden weight, but easily straightens up and leaps into the air. This may be meant to imply she's stronger than he is ("strong" is certainly a description associated with her) -- but not necessarily, since he does have to lift it with his neck muscles rather than whole body.
 * In "Hearts and Hooves Day", Big Macintosh is shown to be strong enough to tow an entire building, presumably having shorn it clear off its foundation. Likewise, in "Lesson Zero", he was shown to be strong enough to toss an entire mob of ponies--most of the town, in fact--off of him with just a shake of his frame. It's clear that, strong as Applejack is, her brother is stronger still.
 * Slight inconsistency about this is shown in that Twilight Sparkle can't move a plough without magic (unlike the larger stallions), but.
 * This may be a case of Fridge Brilliance considering that the plow was designed for use by earth ponies who are physically stronger and.
 * Partly Truth in Television. Ponies are known for possessing the ability to carry quite heavy loads, even those that match their body weight.
 * Partially averted at the same time. Big Macintosh is actually extremely strong, as shown in Lesson Zero when he
 * Mythology Gag: See the Shout Outs page for the full list.
 * Mythopoeia: Friendship is Magic has a slowly-growing body of myths and history connected to it, including the story of Nightmare Moon in the pilot, Discord's background from the start of season two, and the founding of Equestria from Hearth's Warming Eve and the iOS app Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day & its Ruckus Reader version Twilight Sparkle's Special Lesson.

N

 * Never Say "Die": Pinkie Pie's swear from "Green Isn't Your Color" starts with "Cross my heart and hope to fly..." It's worth noting, though, that death isn't a completely taboo subject for the show - in another episode, Twilight vows to find a way to help with the Winter Wrap-Up "even if it kills me."
 * After losing her last feather, Philomena gasps, collapses limply, gasps once more, drops for seven seconds off a tall statue, spontaneously combusts and ends up as a heap of dust in Fluttershy's hooves. Twilight's summary? "There's been a terrible accident."
 * Princess Celestia even calls it "playing a trick," implying the bird is doing it on her own free will.
 * Averted in, of all things, Rarity's dressmaking song from "Suited For Success": "Hook and eye, couldn't you just simply die?"
 * Also averted in Return of Harmony Part 2: After Discord says that "harmony in Equestria is officially dead."
 * From way back in Applebuck Season: "AJ, I think you're beating a dead... tree."
 * In "The Cutie Pox", when a large group of ponies are running in fear from the Cutie Pox-afflicted Apple Bloom, it sounds like somepony says "She's going to kill me!"
 * What happens to  in "Hearth's Warming Eve"?.
 * In "Hearts and Hooves Day" the Cutie Mark Crusaders have a song sequence in which they criticize various stallions on why they can't be paired with Cheerilee. The point out an elderly pony as being too old. What was this old pony doing? He's a pastor giving the eulogy at a funeral. There's a closed casket clearly next to him.
 * New Game+: Completing Adventures in Ponyville once lets you play as a pegasus. Completing it twice lets you play as a unicorn.
 * Nice Hat: During "Feeling Pinkie Keen", Twilight briefly wears a pith helmet, to go with the naturalist theme.
 * Trixie's hat also counts.
 * In "Dragonshy", Rarity prepares by putting on a military helmet, sees herself in a mirror, goes "eww", and switches to a fancy hat with a similar camo pattern instead. Like many of the other "preparations" the characters make in this scene, this is later absent.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Twilight Sparkle uses her magic to stop the Parasprites from eating all the food in Ponyville. It works, except that the spell makes the Parasprites ignore the food and start eating the TOWN instead.
 * In "Sonic Rainboom" Rarity's mission to provide moral support for Rainbow Dash suddenly turns into Rarity's runaway ego trip that only hastens Dash's collapse into a quivering nervous wreck.
 * In "Over a Barrel", Pinkie Pie tries to settle a territory dispute between settlers and the native buffalo herd by singing about sharing. The sheriff and the buffalo chief finally come to an agreement...that it was the worst performance they'd ever seen. When the buffalo are on the verge of backing down from their threat of a stampede, Pinkie Pie's ill-timed reprisal of the song triggers the chief's Berserk Button.
 * The main ponies' efforts to have the reality of the Gala meet their expectations in "The Best Night Ever" end up wreaking havoc at the Gala itself.
 * Rainbow Dash's advice to Apple Bloom to try as many different things as rapidly as possible in order to find her Cutie Mark got carried over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Perhaps if they weren't constantly changing plans they might succeed.
 * In "The Return of Harmony, Part 1" the fight between the Cutie Mark Crusaders may have caused Discord to wake and escape his weakened prison.
 * Twilight breaks herself in "It's About Time". A battered and broken Twilight from the future appears briefly in the library and tries (unsuccessfully) to warn her past self about some oncoming disaster to take place between now and next Tuesday morning. Present Twilight misses the important part of the message and immediately freaks out, spending all of her time trying to deduce what's about to happen and, if at all possible, prevent it... but
 * Nopony Poops: Partly averted -- excretion itself isn't mentioned, but in "Winter Wrap Up" Spike compares Twilight's bird nest to an outhouse.
 * In "Fall Weather Friends", Rainbow Dash uses the term "horse apples" in the same sense that primates would use comparable terms. (Horse apples actually do exist; they are a type of inedible fruit.)
 * This may actually be an example of a Stealth Pun, besides the obvious euphemism, "road apple" is a colloquial term for horse manure.
 * In "The Cutie Pox", Twilight mentions "the trots" as she looks through a books of pony ailments.
 * In "Sweet and Elite", one of Rarity's excuses for switching parties is that she needs to go to the "little fillies' room".
 * Averted in "Baby Cakes", as we have two moments in the episode where the babies have to be changed, and it's clear from the green stench what the reason for the changing is.
 * And again in "The Last Roundup," which shows Pinkie in desperate need of a bathroom and depicts the show's first on-camera outhouse.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed:
 * The super manly tennis player pony seen during "Call of the Cutie" seems to be based on former Tennis player Andre Agassi during his prime.
 * Fashion designer Hoity Toity in "Suited For Success" is based on Karl Lagerfeld.
 * The Best Young Flyer Competition's backstage manager in "Sonic Rainboom" resembles Lucille Ball. The contest's announcer in the same episode is a pegasus version of John Madden.
 * Photo Finish from "Green Isn't Your Color" is a pony version of Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour.
 * The unicorn mare in "Sweet and Elite" that hangs around Fancy Pants resembles Brigitte Bardot and has a triple fleur-de-lis cutie mark!
 * "The Cutie Pox" shows four stallions at the bowling alley that bear a striking resemblance to Steve Buscemi, Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and John Turturro from the film "The Big Lebowski"
 * No Indoor Voice: Princess Luna in "Luna Eclipsed". Played for Laughs and cranked Up to Eleven in that, whenever she speaks, it's accompanied by a visual "shout" coming from her mouth and an ominous echo.
 * Non-Indicative First Episode: First two episodes, actually. They're heavily Magical Girl-influenced High Fantasy adventures about preventing the apocalypse, while the rest of the show is mostly slice of life with a little magic thrown in.
 * Non Standard Character Design: Some ponies in the show have distinct character designs such as Princesses Celestia and Luna, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and Snips & Snails. Extras with unique designs have also appeared such as the bartender from "Over A Barrel". Then there's the ones that subvert the show's own styling, like the infamous ripped pegasus in "Hurricane Fluttershy".
 * The mane six, if you compare them with the numerous background ponies; the only element they copy from the mane six's designs would have to be Rainbow Dash's hairstyle on the Derpy/Raindrops design, and even that isn't exactly the same as Rainbow Dash. Not to mention that three of the mane six have multicolored hair, very rarely seen on background figures.
 * No OSHA Compliance: Cloudsdale no having any railings seems reasonable, considering only pegausi live there. However, if Scootaloo and Fluttershy are any indication, flying is something that is not learned until significantly later than they learn how to walk, making Cloudsdale a deathtrap for young pegasi.
 * Twilight Sparkle's bedroom is a second-story loft with no railing around it.
 * No Song for the Wicked: Despite songs happening rather often (and not just from Pinkie Pie, though she sings the most), none of the antagonists have had a Villain Song thus far. This is especially strange given that Evil Is Hammy is in full effect for most of them.
 * Finally subverted in season 2, when the Flim Flam Brothers get one.
 * Also in the Season 2 Finale, with  half and reprise of "This Day Aria".
 * Not the Fall That Kills You: Twilight Sparkle falls for quite a while before Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy grab her in mid-air, without any damage, in Part 2 of the pilot.
 * In "Sonic Rainboom" Rarity falls for 50 seconds, which in Earth's gravity and air resistance would be at least a mile. Rainbow Dash accelerates to Mach 1, straight down, before catching her and making an instant 90-degree turn.
 * Somepony did the math. The short version? ''Rainbow Dash was pulling approximately 1670 Gs."
 * That math is only accounting for the speed of sound. Some other pony did the math. She wasn't going at the speed of sound. She hit Mach 4.7 and was going 11Gs before the turn.
 * Both were right, she was pulling 11G's during the burst of speed as she created the Rainboom, then 1670G's during the turn just before they all hit the ground.
 * In "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", after falling from a cloud high in the sky, a young Fluttershy is saved by a swarm of butterflies, just a couple feet above the ground.
 * Considering the other attributes applied to pegasi (walking on clouds, ability to create and change weather, pulling carts and such, etc.) it's possible that they project magic into things that they touch, allowing them to save falling ponies or land on clouds (or clouds of butterflies) without harm.
 * And now it happens yet again in "Secret of My Excess", with Dash and Fluttershy rescuing a falling Rarity and Spike with a torn part of a dress.
 * Novelization:
 * The Friendship is Magic gift set includes a book based on "Friendship is Magic, part 1" and "Friendship is Magic, part 2".
 * The Twilight Sparkle Animated Storyteller toy comes with a set of four books (narrated by Twilight) based on "Friendship is Magic, part 1" (titled Welcome to Ponyville), "Friendship is Magic, part 2" (titled The Magic of Frienship [sic]), "The Ticket Master", and "Applebuck Season".
 * The Applebuck Season Storybook, The Magic of Friendship Storybook, The Cutie Mark Crusaders Storybook, and Pinkie Pie's Parties Storybook are likely based on episodes.
 * At least one of the German magazine stories is based on "The Ticket Master".
 * At least six of the British magazine stories are based on "Friendship is Magic, part 1", "Friendship is Magic, part 2", "The Ticket Master", "Applebuck Season", "Griffon the Brush Off", and "Dragonshy".
 * The Pinkie Pie Animated Storyteller toy comes with a set of four books (narrated by Pinkie) based on "Griffon the Brush Off", "Dragonshy", "Swarm of the Century", and "Fall Weather Friends".
 * At least one Sparkle World story, Pinkie Pie's Twitchy Tail!, is based on "Feeling Pinkie Keen".
 * The panorama sticker storybook Cutie Mark Quest is based on "The Cutie Mark Chronicles".
 * The upcoming board book A Wedding in Canterlot is based on "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1" and "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2"
 * Now That's Using Your Teeth: Completely justified since, as ponies, they have no hands with which to manipulate objects.
 * Now That's Using Your Teeth: Completely justified since, as ponies, they have no hands with which to manipulate objects.

O

 * Odd-Shaped Panel: Everywhere in the Expanded Universe comics.
 * Off-Model:
 * While the main focus of most scenes is animated well, backgrounds and particularly background ponies tend to exhibit a surprising lot of cut corners.
 * Some official art for the series leans towards this, such as a wingless Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle with a distended forehead (which Hasbro has also recolored to be Beachberry, a Palette Swap of Twilight).
 * From the Expanded Universe, the Sparkle World stories Rain, Rain Go Away! and Spooky Slumber Party!
 * Offscreen Teleportation: Usually done by Pinkie Pie, but some of the others have used this ability.
 * During her cupcakes song, Pinkie even popped into the foreground while she was still in the background two times.
 * Derpy Hooves goes from bobbin' for apples to appearing in the tub in "Luna Eclipsed".
 * Oh My Celestia!: Has happened several times, in such forms as "Thank Celestia", "In the name of Celestia", and "With Celestia as my witness".
 * The One Guy: Spike
 * As of Season Two it looks like The One Guy might become a rotating position with Spike and Big Macintosh currently trading on and off.
 * One-Hour Work Week: Sometimes. How time-consuming the ponies' respective day jobs are portrayed seems to vary per episode.
 * One Steve Limit: Exceptions include:
 * "Berry": Berry Green vs. Berry Punch vs. Cherry Berry
 * "Breezy": Mr. Breezy vs. Breezie
 * "Caramel": Caramel (Chance-a-lot) vs. Caramel Apple
 * "Cherry": Cherry Berry vs. Cherry Jubilee vs. Cherry Pie vs. Cherry Spices
 * "Cinnamon": Apple Cinnamon Crisp vs. Cinnamon Breeze
 * "Cupcake": Mrs. Cup Cake vs. Cupcake (Sugarcup)
 * "Daisy": Daisy (Flower Wishes) vs. Daisy Dreams vs. Daisy Jo
 * "Dazzle": Apple Dazzle vs. Dewdrop Dazzle
 * "Diamond": Diamond Rose vs. Diamond Tiara
 * "Do": Daring Do vs. Ditzy Doo (Derpy Hooves)
 * "Dreams": Daisy Dreams vs. Lucky Dreams vs. Star Dreams
 * "Flitter": Flitter vs. Flitter Heart (Flitterheart)
 * "Golden": Golden Delicious vs. Golden Harvest
 * "Heart": Flitter Heart (Flitterheart) vs. Ribbon Heart
 * "Hooves": Derpy Hooves (Ditzy Doo) vs. Doctor Whooves IX, Doctor Whooves X, and Doctor Whooves XI
 * "Jo": Daisy Jo vs. Pony Joe/Donut Joe
 * "Peachy": Peachy Pie vs. Peachy Sweet
 * "Pie": Pie family grandmother and granddaughter Granny Pie and Pinkie Pie vs. Cherry Pie vs. Peachy Pie vs. Pudding Pie
 * "Rainbow": Island Rainbow vs. Rainbow Dash vs. Rainbow Flash vs. Rainbow Wishes
 * "Ribbon": Ribbon Heart vs. Ribbon Wishes
 * "Rose": Diamond Rose vs. Rose (Roseluck)
 * "Sky": Electric Sky vs. Twilight Sky
 * "Song": Meadow Song vs. Sweet Song (Sweetsong)
 * "Star Swirl": Star Swirl vs. Star Swirl the Bearded
 * "Star": The aforementioned pair vs. Amethyst Star vs. Star Dreams
 * "Swirl": The aforementioned pair vs. Lucky Swirl vs. Sea Swirl vs. Sweetie Swirl
 * "Sunny": Sunny Daze vs. Sunny Rays
 * "Sweetie": Sweetie Belle vs. Sweetie Blue vs. Sweetie Swirl
 * "Turnip": Hayseed Turnip Truck vs. Mr. Turnip
 * "Twilight": Mother and daughter Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkle vs. Twilight Sky
 * "Wishes": Flower Wishes (Daisy) vs. Ribbon Wishes
 * Only Sane Pony: This is how Twilight Sparkle feels when she first comes to Ponyville. It doesn't help that the first pony she meets there is Pinkie Pie. More generally, Twilight often (but not always) plays this role in other episodes.
 * Averted for Twilight with "Look Before You Sleep". She goes a bit obsessive to check the list to the point where she has to actually check whether a big tree crashing in her home is part of a sleepover. She also completely loses it when the Parasprites begin to eat the town in "Swarm of the Century"
 * Apple Bloom also qualifies as this in "Bridle Gossip", as she was the only one who didn't jump to conclusions about Zecora after the "curses" occurred.
 * One of the great things about the show is that the characters are multifaceted enough that many of them can take up the Only Sane Mare role depending on the situation. Even Pinkie flirts with this role in "Griffon the Brush Off".
 * For example, in "Swarm of the Century" where
 * Averted in a larger sense in that while Twilight is typically the sanest cast member, she does not go around complaining about the quirks of the others. Instead, she tries to fit in.
 * She is however often rather snarky and can get extremely frustrated and neurotic when one or more of her friends' antics are becoming extremely detrimental. On some occasions however, it is this very attitude that actually leads her to underestimate others and act Not So Above It All. She also has one of the most notable examples of a pony actually going INsane.
 * Spike is usually one of the sanest characters, it becomes especially noticeable once Twilight starts acting screwy. Even he has heavily flawed moments and has to be kept in check however (Only Sane Men don't usually have Dastardly Whiplash alter egos).
 * Applejack also plays the more rational character in many episodes, though like Spike and Twilight, still has defining flaws and a good few episodes devoted to her playing up.
 * Only Six Faces: Most of the ponies look like any other pony of their sex, race and age group. You can usually tell them apart from each other by looking at their hair style and color scheme.
 * Lauren Faust has said that she wanted to include a wider variety of body types, even among the main cast, but decided against it because most of the animators were working overtime as it was, and she didn't want to add to that unnecessarily.
 * Season 2 introduced a bunch of new pony designs into the series, which had led to the bizarre effect of the primary cast of ponies all having identical bodies while the secondary ponies having more varied designs though the use of the older body types are still prevalent within the show.
 * Open the Iris/Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Done a lot. Eyes in this show are impossibly expressive, and changes in both iris and pupil size carry meaning.
 * Order Versus Chaos: Harmony versus Disharmony is a very skewed variation of this. Harmony emphasizes unity and compromise rather than strict rules, and Disharmony (as represented by Discord) emphasizes . . . well, it's hard to say what Disharmony emphasizes. Discord talks a lot about chaos, but in practice it's more like he comes up with an arbitrary whim, puts that whim into practice, and pitches a fit if a Spanner in the Works impedes him in any way. (In some ways, he's more rigidly ordered than the apparently ordered side!)
 * Our Dragons Are Different: Obviously there's Spike, but "Dragonshy" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" feature more typical Western dragons. Though he's called a serpent, it's obvious Steven Magnet from the pilot is based off Eastern dragons.
 * In this universe, dragons are revealed to be able to grow from your cutsie-wootsie buddy to freakishly big and destructive hoarders once you activate their instinctual greed.
 * Out of Order: The second season's eleventh through thirteenth episodes. "Hearth's Warming Eve", #13, was broadcast 11th so that it would air in time for Christmas (due to its similar theming). As a result, "Family Appreciation Day" and "Baby Cakes" were each bumped forward a slot, #11 and #12 being broadcast 12th and 13th, respectively. Hasbro and The Hub have both stuck with the production order's numbering, while iTunes has decided to go with the broadcast order's numbering.

P
"Twilight: [After Spike walks off in a huff] Well that was kinda huffy...
 * Pac-Man Fever: Still Schizo-Tech, but the only video games thave have appeared so far are a stand-up arcade machine (in "Hearts and Hooves Day") and a Retraux 8-bit platformer (in the "Adventure Ponies" promo). The latter case is likely intended as a nostalgic throw-back for the Periphery Demographic, though.
 * Painting the Frost on Windows: In Equestria, ponies are responsible for the rising of the sun and moon, the weather, the changing of the seasons and the survival of animals.
 * This has evidently been going on for so long that the reason the Ponies are so freaked out by Everfree Forest is because nature is getting on along fine by itself there.
 * Only secondary to that are all of the bogs, cliffs, hungry multi-headed monsters, etc. They aren't even mentioned until the group is already inside.
 * In "Sonic Rainboom", it's shown that clouds, snow and rainbows (which are liquid, non-toxic but very spicy) are all made in a factory.
 * Palette Swap
 * A lot of background ponies are palette swapped multiple times to make new background ponies.
 * Sometimes even major characters themselves are palette swapped to make background ponies.
 * The white nurse pony from "Applebuck Season" has a palette swap background pony from the same scene.
 * The two spa owners from "Green Isn't Your Color" have the same character design but with inverted color schemes.
 * The green dragon that appeared in the episode "Owl's Well That Ends Well" is a palette swap of the red dragon in "Dragonshy".
 * This dragon's character design was used once again multiple times in the episode "Dragon Quest".
 * The band that performed on stage in the episode "Luna Eclipsed" are actually palette swaps of the band who played on "The Best Night Ever" but are wearing scarecrow costumes.
 * The multicolored parasprite swarm all share the same character design.
 * Pals with Jesus: Twilight Sparkle is the personal student of Princess Celestia and is one of the few ponies who can call herself a friend of Princess Luna, both of whom are Physical Goddesses.
 * Better, she used to have Princess Cadance, who is basically the demigoddess of love, as a personal babysitter-- er, "foalsitter".
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: Fluttershy was able to avoid all her fans in "Green Isn't Your Color" just by hiding her face behind glasses and a fancy hat. Of course, once Twilight accidentally knocked the disguise away, everypony instantly recognized Fluttershy.
 * This actually ends up being Truth in Television, as Hulk Hogan claims in his first autobiography that he actually did this in real life on a challenge from a reporter back when he was in his first run with the WWF (now WWE) as World Champion. He was challenged to prove that people would instantly recognize him on sight after telling said reporter how often he got mobbed by fans. Hogan ended up wearing a coat, hat, and glasses into a crowded street and nobody seemed to notice who he really was. The moment he took them off, however, people flocked to him within moments. While it's doubtful anyone read Hogan's autobiography, the scariest thing about it is that if Hogan's telling the truth, this can happen in real life with actual celebrities, and obviously has, so the writers on this show may have been unintentionally lampshading this.
 * There are more examples. Marilyn Monroe went completely unrecogized in the street at the height of her fame by not wearing make-up and adopting a less sexy walk.
 * In "A Bird in the Hoof", Philomena avoids Twilight and Fluttershy by wearing an obviously fake mustache. Keep in mind that Philomena looks like a plucked chicken in a town populated entirely by ponies.
 * It had to work. The whole bit was a Shout-Out to Benny Hill chase scenes.
 * Subverted in "Party Of One". Pinkie Pie compounds disguises to include Groucho glasses, a square hay bale, and a coat and hat. While this is not a strict paper thin disguise, as you can not see any of Pinkie Pie, it is obviously her to the audience as she would be the only character to wear stuff like that. The disguise seems to work initially when Fluttershy sees her and runs away scared, but the trope becomes subverted when Rainbow Dash doesn't notice the disguise (or recognizing it immediately as something only Pinkie would use) as she says "Hi, Pinkie Pie" in passing.
 * Parental Abandonment: Rampant, although a number of relatives have shown up late in the series without ever being mentioned before. Presumably, some of them exist that we just haven't seen.
 * In "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", we meet Twilight and Pinkie's respective parents, but only in flashbacks. And even then, we can't really be sure that those were really Pinkie's parents. (Of course, if Pinkie is unreliable, then maybe Granny Pie is the one who isn't real...) Twilight's parents show up again at the end of Season 2.
 * Said episode seems to make the point that the mane cast members have parents but are old enough to live on their own. Strangely enough, Applejack has a younger sister but no visible parents, which plays this straight. (Rarity has been confirmed by Word of God to be living on her own, with Sweetie Belle just visiting.)
 * With Rarity's relative age being confirmed, this confirmation works for all of the mane cast, as they are all pretty much the same age (+ or - 1 year). Apple Bloom was probably intentionally left with Big Mac, AJ, and Granny Smith, maybe because they thought Apple Bloom was much better off in Ponyville, and the three Apples at the farm are enough to take care of her. Lauren Faust has mentioned that in her mind, they are probably dead, but since it never came up, the new show runners may still change that.
 * Partially averted in Rarity's case- both of her parents are shown to be alive in "Sisterhooves Social"... before immediately leaving again for a week-long vacation and leaving Rarity babysitting Sweetie Belle.
 * Likewise, sisters Celestia and Luna; particularly noticeable because Celestia is the ruling monarch of Equestria, but still goes by the title of "Princess". Which, technically speaking, merely means that Equestria is a Principality (a nation ruled by a prince or princess, and also a theocracy if Celestia and Luna really are to be considered deities).
 * Word of God is that the sisters were supposed to be queens, but Executive Meddling forced them to make them princesses because apparently young girls equate the word queen with being evil.
 * This gets downright weird when you consider the fact that Celestia has a nephew who is stated by Word of God to be multiple times removed on her mother's side, indicating that Celestia and Luna have parents--but Word of God also states that Celestia does not have parents that outrank her, which (possibly unintentionally) implies that they do exist (or once existed) but aren't in charge any more.
 * Parental Bonus:
 * More like an Older-Fandom Bonus, a brilliant move given that G1 collectors are now old enough to watch the show with their children. There are dozens upon dozens of references to the G1 cartoon throughout.
 * Additionally, some fans have already argued that the core cast of Ponies are rough Expys of the core cast from the G1 cartoon. To wit, Twilight Sparkle is like a combination of Magic Star and Paradise; Applejack, herself a G1 pony, is similar to Gusty with Wind Whistler's Team Mom tendencies; Rainbow Dash could be Firefly's daughter; Pinkie Pie reminds us an awful lot of Fizzie and Surprise; Rarity is essentially a toned-down Heart-throb; and Fluttershy is almost sweeter than Sweet Stuff.
 * Also, this helpful chart explains G1 & G4 correlations for both their looks and personalities. A lot of it had to do with Copyright and Trademark issues, but there's more info on the chart.
 * Twilight Sparkle's mom looks a lot like G1 Twilight.
 * In "Bridle Gossip", Spike nicknames a shrunken Applejack "Appletini."
 * "Sonic Rainboom" references the stereotype of construction workers making catcalls at female passersby when a group of construction worker pegasi gawk at Rarity's temporary gossamer butterfly wings.
 * "Over a Barrel" had a scene where an old, worn out (and blatantly alcoholic) pony is kicked out from Appleloosa's equivalent of a canteen.
 * "Over a Barrel" also featured one from Fluttershy on the train:

Fluttershy: Huffy the Magic Dragon!

(Everypony laughs)"

""Oh, Pickles! Hurry up in there!""
 * In both "The Ticket Master" and "A Bird In The Hoof", there is a chase scene that mimics the style of chase scene in the British comedy show "The Benny Hill Show", complete with similar music.
 * In "Owl's Well That Ends Well", Spike falls asleep inside of a punch bowl, which makes Pinkie Pie quip the punch had been... "Spiked."
 * In "Mare In The Moon"Twilight refers to Spike as "Casanova"
 * Fluttershy's hummingbird friend, Hummingway.
 * The opening chase scene of Griffon The Brush Off would easily seem very familiar to older audiences.
 * This even extends to advertising for the show: one billboard ad for the series is done as a parody of Bridesmaids, a movie aimed at the opposite end of the age spectrum.
 * What is the second banner based on? Poltergeist, also aimed at the opposite end of the age spectrum.
 * There's also a commercial from The Hub that parodies Apple's There's An App For That ad for the iPhone, with tons of Freeze Frame Bonuses, including a nod to Equestria Daily.
 * The whole Daring Do book in "Read It And Weep" is a reference to the Indiana Jones series. Near the end, they even have an overkill death trap of spiked walls closing in, sinking into quicksand, and spiders and snakes entering the room. Of course, Daring finds a way to get out.
 * Party of One: Trope Namer.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: The bully boys at Cloudsdale to some degree and young Fluttershy to the max. Even grown up Fluttershy still does it from time to time when she is especially shy.
 * Pegasus
 * Perfectly Cromulent Word: The word "rufus" is used by Sweetie Belle in the German magazine comic Einfach rufus.
 * Pie in the Face: Chief Thunderhooves of the Buffalo herd received one, and it was treated as if he received a gunshot wound. Then he found out it was delicious.
 * Pinkie Pie does it to herself in "A Bird in the Hoof".
 * Plot Induced Stupidity: Every main character holds the Idiot Ball at some point no exceptions, even ones that would formally know better get turns to be a silly pony (usually in their own limelight episodes due to spotlighting the character's personality flaws).
 * Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Luna to Nightmare Moon, and possibly implied with her sister Celestia as they share similar powers and origins.
 * Luna again in Season 2. Apparently, it took some time for her to recover after being cured by the Elements of Harmony, and now looks much older than before.
 * Police Are Useless: Justified in Season 1's opening two-parter where Nightmare Moon blasts three Royal Pegasus Guards with lightning.
 * A Canterlot Wedding: Canterlot is protected by a magic shield and a small army of Royal Guards who, despite being on high alert, are overrun by Changelings as soon as the shield collapses.
 * Potty Emergency: Pinkie suffers from a short bout of this.
 * A Canterlot Wedding: Canterlot is protected by a magic shield and a small army of Royal Guards who, despite being on high alert, are overrun by Changelings as soon as the shield collapses.
 * Potty Emergency: Pinkie suffers from a short bout of this.

- Pinkie Pie, slamming franticaly on the outhouse door while doing a Potty Dance.


 * Poor Communication Kills: Pinkie Pie knows the Parasprites are going to cause trouble from the very beginning, but doesn't even try to warn anyone. She just says "Now I need to find a trombone!" and runs off. Works both ways, as her friends just dismissed her behavior as ordinary Pinkie craziness.
 * Let's not forget however, that's still Pinkie Pie we're talking about: her social skills aren't the best in the world, as shown in other episodes, like "Party Of One". As for the others, they were already frustrated by the situation, and since they knew Pinkie Pie weirdness… well, you can do math.
 * Averted in "Green Isn't Your Color", since the plot is driven by deliberate secret-keeping rather than a character's inability to articulate.
 * The entire plot of "A Bird in the Hoof" could have been avoided entirely if Princess Celestia had simply, though the fair share goes to Fluttershy for not asking.
 * The Power of Friendship: That whole "Friendship is Magic" thing? They're not just speaking metaphorically. Although they are also speaking metaphorically. Repeatedly, and at length.
 * The Power of Love:.
 * Powerpuff Girl Hooves: Though much of the time we see the pony characters manipulating things with either their teeth, wings, or magic, or pushing or rolling objects with their hooves, there are a heck of a lot of times where their hooves function, for the most part, as hands in holding various objects despite the lack of fingers. Word of God has tried to have such cases avoided, but becomes necessary in cases of non-magical ponies talking and trying to gesture with a prop at the same time. Generally done for Rule of Cool or Rule of Funny. Also, not surprising given Faust's resumé.
 * Their backsides also seem to follow this: Applejack has been able to balance an entire bushel of apples on her hindquarters without a thought while walking, and many other ponies are seen carrying large items in a same fashion. Also see Prehensile Hair/Prehensile Tail below.
 * Prehensile Hair: The ponies' tails. It falls under this trope rather than Prehensile Tail because almost the entire length of a horse's tail is hair.
 * Near the beginning of "Mare in the Moon", Twilight Sparkle stiffens her entire tail in a horizontal position so that Spike can bounce off it while hopping down from her back.
 * Nightmare Moon strokes Rarity's cheek with her mane, although it's not so much of actual hair as a cloud of purple energy.
 * Applejack can use her tail to twirl a lasso.
 * In "The Show Stoppers", Sweetie Belle uses her tail to hold a duster.
 * In "Party of One", Rarity uses her tail to carry a box, keeping it entwined within the twists she always wears it on.
 * And Fluttershy slaps Twilight Sparkle with her tail in "The Return of Harmony, Part 1".
 * There are four examples in "The Cutie Pox". First  Secondly,   Third,   Finally,
 * In "May The Best Pet Win!", Applejack is able to throw sticks with hers, and Fluttershy's is strong enough to carry Angel Bunny.
 * "Previously On...": "Friendship is Magic, Part 2", "The Return of Harmony Part 2", and "A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2" open this way.
 * Pride: Seems to be a common not-so-Fatal Flaw in Equestria: Twilight Sparkle takes a lot of pride in being Princess Celestia's apprentice, which may factor into her initial "I don't need friends" attitude; Rainbow Dash is a massive braggart; Applejack refuses to accept anyone's offers of help in "Applebuck Season" because she's too stubborn to admit she needs it; and Rarity takes great pride in her sense of fashion, often to the point of self-obsession.
 * Fluttershy seems to be the only who don't have any pride at all.... until The Best Night Ever, where the animals trying to avoid her touched her credibility as animal lover/taker. The result?
 * Notably averted for Twilight in "Boast Busters". Twilight Sparkle wants to avoid showing off her powers, since Trixie is doing exactly that and the onlookers are reacting quite negatively to it.
 * Applejack in "The Last Roundup" episode. Her pride.
 * Promotion to Opening Titles: The season 2 opening includes the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Big MacIntosh, and a lot more background ponies (including Derpy).
 * Protagonist-Centered Morality: There are some episodes where we're really meant to side with the Mane Cast when they're being just as big jerks (or even worse) as the antagonists. This is especially prevalent whenever we have snooty, upper-cruft ponies, compared to our lovable protagonists... who proceed to completely ruin the former's social event because they can't be arsed to learn anything about such events, including respecting them enough as to not crash their party.
 * Pstandard Psychic Pstance: Twilight does a hoofed version in the opening sequence of "Secret of My Excess".
 * Public Domain Soundtrack: The music in the show is by-and-large original, but several royalty-free songs are used on occasion: Pinkie's song in "The Best Night Ever" is a rewritten "The Hokey-Pokey", and the race through Ghastly Gorge in "May the Best Pet Win!" is set to "Ride of the Valkyries".
 * Pun-Based Title: Episodes so far include:
 * "A Bird in the Hoof" ("a bird in the hand")
 * "Boast Busters" (after Ghostbusters)
 * "Bridle Gossip" ("idle gossip")
 * "Dragonshy" ("dragonfly" and "gun-shy"; also see the Epunymous Title examples)
 * "Fall Weather Friends" ("fair weather friends")
 * "Feeling Pinkie Keen" ("feeling peachy keen")
 * "Griffon the Brush Off" ("given the brush-off")
 * "Lesson Zero" ("less than zero")
 * "Look Before You Sleep" ("look before you leap")
 * "Luna Eclipsed" ("lunar eclipse"; also see the Epunymous Title examples)
 * "Owl's Well That Ends Well" ("all's well that ends well")
 * "Sisterhooves Social" ("sisterhood social")
 * "Stare Master" (includes Title Drop, after Stairmaster)
 * "Swarm of the Century" ("storm of the century")
 * "The Ticket Master" (after the entertainment company Ticketmaster)
 * "Winter Wrap Up" (mashup of "winter wrap" and "wrap up")
 * Punny Name:
 * Fashion photographer Photo Finish (named after a term used in horse racing)
 * Nightmare Moon (also see the Stealth Pun examples).
 * The town of Appleloosa is a play on "Appaloosa," a breed of horse (also see the Edible Theme Naming entry).
 * Likewise, the sky-city of Cloudsdale is a play on the "Clydesdale" breed.
 * Canterlot = Camelot + "Canter"
 * Hoofington = Huffington + "Hoof"
 * Fillydelphia/Phillydelphia = Philadelphia + "Filly"
 * Manehattan = Manhattan + "Mane"
 * Trottingham = Nottingham + "Trot(ting)"
 * Las Pegasus = Las Vegas + "Pegasus"
 * Baltimare = Baltimore + "Mare"
 * San Franciscolt = San Francisco + "Colt"
 * Foaledo = "Foal" + Toledo
 * Whinneapolis = "Whinny" + Minneapolis
 * Manechester = "Mane" + Manchester
 * Seaddle = "Saddle" + Seattle
 * Froggy Bottom Bog is a play on Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood within Washington DC.
 * Twilight's owl friend introduced in "Owl's Well That Ends Well" is named Owloysius (a play on the name "Aloysius").
 * Fluttershy has a hummingbird friend named Hummingway.
 * Spike nicknames the shrunken Applejack "Apple-tini".
 * One of the Wonderbolts is named Soarin'.
 * Fluttershy likes butterflies, and is shy.
 * Not in-show, but fans have taken to "DisQord", after the Star Trek: The Next Generation character of whom he is nearly a Captain Ersatz.
 * In general, it's probably easier to list the characters and locations that are not named by this trope. It helps that Equestrians are nearly always named after some defining characteristic.
 * Punctuated for Emphasis
 * Rarity declaring that "IT. IS. ON!" in both "Boast Busters" and "Look Before You Sleep".
 * As well as Rainbow Dash's repeated claims that the ending of "Sonic Rainboom" was the "BEST. DAY. EVER!"
 * "The NIGHT! Will LAST! FOREVER! Mwuahahahaahahahaaa!"
 * "You do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!"
 * "THAT! BIG! DUMB! MEANIE!"
 * "Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"
 * "You're, going, to, LOVE MMMEEEEE!"
 * "I! Love! Ev! Ry! THIIIIIIIIING!"