My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Fridge Logic/Fridge

Fridge Logic - General
"You know, I think I've figured out why it is that the girls felt so out of place at the Grand Galloping Gala. It was a High-Brow, Upper-Class Affair, and all of them are Working Class girls. [...] Lacking any working knowledge of the Gala, they imagine it using the fanciest event they've experienced or known about: Applejack imagines something like a fancy State Fair, Rainbow Dash pictures an Air Show, and Pinkie Pie just pictures a party and carnival bigger then any she's ever seen. Fluttershy, not caring about the Gala itself, just imagines the Castle's gardens to be a fancier, more exotic wildlife preserve then what she's seen. Only Rarity has an accurate concept of the Gala itself, and it's clear from her romantic fantasy, it's one based entirely from Romance Novels and Fashion Magazines. Twilight herself just imagines she'll be able to spend time with Princess Celestia, like she did before going to Ponyville."
 * Meta example: Many episodes have often one big moral and a small one, or two morals bundled together. This makes more sense when you consider that, originally, Hasbro wanted the series to run in two shorts per episode.
 * Why did Princess Celestia assign Twilight Sparkle's living quarters to the library? More specifically, why did she assign Spike's quarters at the library? Still more specifically, why did she let the fire breathing dragon live inside a wooden tree and surrounded by flammable, paper books?
 * Said tree is specifically mentioned to have a magical lightning rod. I don't think magical sprinklers are out of the question.
 * Said dragon's flames merely teleport paper material to the princess, as evidenced by Spike's hiccup and the rain of scrolls on Princess Celestia. Lady knows what she's doing.
 * Said paper materials fall on Celestia's head. Lady hasn't thought her cunning plan all the way through.
 * The book's ashes didn't fly out the window to Celestia. It's the scrolls that are magical, not the fire.
 * That doesn't explain why he could teleport an inkwell in "Griffon the Brush-Off."
 * The best explanation this troper has run across is that ponies (or at least unicorns) communicate via specially prepared scrolls which, when burned, reappear in the fireplace of the addressee. Because Twilight moves around frequently for field work or at the request of the princess but is almost always accompanied by Spike, he is registered as her "fireplace" for postal purposes. Spike's fire acts normally when used for cooking and burns other paper normally; those specially prepared postal scrolls are the only things teleported.
 * Said dragon's flames also destroy books, as evidenced by Spike's dragon flames destroying books.
 * Yes but the binding didn't burst into flames with the rest of the book, so the bindings on Equestrian books are probably fire proofed and water proofed given the number of unicorns that practice magic that exist.
 * Spike has good control over his fire. We see him burn a book on accident all of once, and he reacted like it had never happened before.
 * According to Ms. Faust Spike's sending ability is a learned skill taught to him by Princes Celestia. Since breathing fire is a natural part of a dragon's biology his sending skill is probably like tensing a muscle, he can do it whenever he wants, but it can also happen accidentally.
 * As for assigning Twilight to live in the library, it's Twilight. She would've gone there everyday if she lived in a normal house anyway.
 * Also, everyone in Ponyville seems to live at their place of work. Rarity lives in her dressmaker’s shop, the Cakes live in a bakery, and so on. Okay, Miss Cheerilee doesn't seem to live at school, but, you know…
 * Isn't that just a little ironic that Ponyville's library, a place for those who obviously like to read, is marked with picture of a book?
 * It is indeed, but since nowhere else has text in its sign, it would be weirder if the library broke the pattern.
 * From a more meta perspective, the show is targeted at a young audience that pictures would be more easily understood. It also makes dubbing the show into other languages easier.
 * It is possible that the written language of Equestria is Pictographic, sort of like Chinese. If you look inside the book Twilight was reading in the first episode you'll notice that the words are all Pictograms. The sign outside the library could actually just be a stylized version of the character for "Library". It possible that it's a hybrid system with, like Japanese with an alphabet instead of a syllabary, since we see the ponies writing out Celestia's name in letters. It is also possible that it's the translation convention at work and Celestia spans multiple characters.
 * An interesting theory, but in "Party of One", the phrase "Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie" sort of appears to be written in English, although only the first word is really legible.
 * Again, like the sign that reads Welcome Princess Celestia. It could be translation convention at work. IE they wrote the characters for "Happy Birthday Pinky Pie", its just translated to english for our benifit. Or they use an alphabet for banners and other more formal displays, while using pictograms for everyday use.
 * This strays into Reality Is Unrealistic and Aluminum Christmas Trees territory, as real world libraries in some countries are marked with some kind of pictogram that is much larger than any written signage, mainly because it conveys the intended meaning much faster. Maybe Equestria just has a similar information graphics culture to our own.
 * Write "library" largely and clearly enough to be read from a distance. Do the same with a drawing of a book. A drawing also simply fits the sign's aspect ratio better. Lastly, to young enough ponies and to foreigners, pictures would be more useful.
 * There is only one time in the show when clearly legible words are written: in "Swarm of the Century" (the sign that says "Welcome Princess Celest"). All the books have pictures instead of covers on the title, and all the signs are either pictures or illegible words that look like a mix between several different alphabets. This is obviously done so the animators don't have to do any extra work when the show is dubbed into other languages. You can even tell that, in "Swarm of the Century", the writing on the sign looks animated poorly, because it was put into the shot after everything else so it could more easily be changed.
 * If ponies and buffalo and cows are all sapient, are any animals of a given size? If so, what do the ones who are large carnivores eat?
 * The ursas, manticore, and hydra didn't seem to be sapient, so probably not. It seems more like it's just the ungulates (or at least the more equine ungulates, I don't think those pigs were sapient, were they?) and the draconians (though once again, that hydra didn't seem sapient). Though all of the animals do seem to have a higher level of intelligence than in the real world.
 * The hydra may be sapient. The heads couldn't communicate with the cast, but they seem intelligent. One expressed schadenfreude (the German word for "shameful joy") and later blew a raspberry at them.
 * After thinking about this further, I realized that Gilda demands some changes to the above theory. As a gryphon she is sapient, but she is not an ungulate, draconian, or anything similar. Because the manticore was not sapient, it's not the lion part of gryphons that make them sapient, so it may be the eagle part. So it may be that large birds and related creatures are also sapient. If you consider Philomena to also be sapient then she supports this theory. Though it's hard to say if she's any more sapient than Angel, or any other animal in Equestria for that matter.
 * In the Season 2 episode "May The Best Pet Win," the falcon, eagle, bat, owl and turtle appear to have sapience equal to Philomena; a falcon actually shakes hands with a turtle and expresses deference, but does not speak.
 * If friendship is magic, and Twilight didn't have friends before episode one, than why was she able to use magic so well? Or at all for that matter?
 * Friendship is magic, but magic is not necessarily friendship. Celestia assigns Twilight to study the magic of friendship, whereas she had been studying, for example, the magic of unicorns. (This is covered in the prequel series, My Little Pony: Unicorns is Magic.)
 * This is true, considering that Trixie is also a skilled magician, but doesn't seem to have any friends, even if she is incredibly arrogant.
 * How about this for an explanation? Magic can function without friendship. It works on the connection that resides within all ponies towards everypony else. Friendship increases the power that a pony can draw on exponentially, though.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Twilight's magical powers were actually piss-weak ''until Friends share a magical connection before they even meet, and that was the day when that connection was established! Twilight didn't know it yet, but she had found her five very best friends. The show doesn't offer any other explanation why
 * What were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon named before their cutie marks appeared?
 * They, and their parents, are extremely vain, and their highly superflous names became a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Their cutie marks match their names, meaning that the thing the care most about is themselves.
 * If that's true, it's kinda sad that they were pretty much destined to be stuck-up little bitches.
 * Yeah, but if they're happy with it, then it's not too bad.
 * If its like the Apple family them maybe their parents named them after their family theme, like Diamond Tiara's are jewelers, and that being kids only see the bare surface of what there cutie mark means (wearing a tiara and being rich) and are lasking out at other with better cutie marks.
 * This is a good theory, the only problem is that to get the cutie mark they have to discover what they're good at. Find their purpose in life so to speak.
 * Is the Grand Galloping Gala invitation-only? The Imagine Spot images that Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash envisage when thinking about the gala make it look like an agricultural fair with extra attractions (like the Royal Easter Show in Sydney). There looked to be hundreds, if not thousands of ponies in attendance, so it looked like a major tourist event. Even if the tickets to such an event aren't free (which they often are - food and attraction sales are what lets them run a profit), they can't be too expensive or they won't get the numbers they want. Now, none of the main cast seems particularly wealthy, but they don't seem poor either, so if the GGG really would be the highlight of their year, saving up for it shouldn't be too difficult. Indeed, Applejack's business strategy should require her to bring her produce to the gala. For the six characters, "two free tickets" could simply translate to "we only have to buy four tickets between us", no conflict required.
 * It probably is invitation-only. Once they finally get there in the season finale, the whole point is that it's not as they imagined.
 * It's either invitation-only or the tickets are incredibly expensive, which would explain all the upper-class ponies in attendance.
 * Now that I've seen the finale, this is indeed true. My mistake. Still, it seems odd that none of the mane cast even consider that there might be other ways to get a ticket to the Gala. And also odd that Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were not just unrealistic in their expectations of the event, but actually deluded as to the entire nature of it. I've never been to the Royal Garden Party, but I know it doesn't involve balloons and apple pies.
 * Some Fridge Brilliance from poster "Lonewolf23" at RPGNet


 * Twilight seemed to want to go to the Great Galloping Gala to see Celestia. Why couldn't she have gone to Canterlot in her spare time? It's within cantering distance.
 * Celestia is implied to be pretty freaking busy most of the time, and given that Twilight's official assignment is to stay in Ponyville Twilight might have assumed that Celestia would frown on her pupil popping in all the time when she was supposed to be off doing other stuff. She wasn't just excited about seeing Celestia, but about spending some quality time with her, hence why she was so crushed when Celestia was basically forced to ignore her for a while. And there's also a bit of a difference between just hanging out, and attending a special, exclusive, once-a-year social function with someone.
 * Besides, Twilight arrived in Ponyville on a flying chariot. It's obviously not a trivial distance for anyone less than a Physical Goddess.
 * Not really fridge logic, but I have no idea where to put it. Am I the only one who, upon learning Celestia had power over the Sun, wondered if it could be weaponized?
 * Only usefull for General Reaper (and go to Headscratchers with that).
 * It has, go read The Sun is Tired, Chapter 5, to be exact.
 * It would makes sense that Celestia would be able to use the Sun as a weapon if she needed to. It would essentially be Equestria's version of a nuclear deterrent and probably carry the same weight in the decision of whether or not to use it. Namely if Celestia uses it when it doesn't seem absolutely necessary, it would probably cause rumors to spread amongst the populous, wondering if the princess has lost her mind.
 * If Applejack works an apple farm... why the herding skills?
 * She's a herd animal. Knowledge of herd animal mentality, and how to work with it, probably comes naturally to her. This would explain why she can steer a stampede of cows, but not gather a bunch of rabbits.
 * It's also shown that she keeps animals like pigs and cows at her farm as well as apples.
 * It has not been made clear whether six ponies are required to use the Elements of Harmony (since Twilight Sparkle is a new Element wielder and may not have full knowledge of the Elements' use). If, as the mythology states, Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony together, did they split the elements three each? Was Celestia was able to use all the Elements by herself to banish Nightmare Moon? If Celestia was able to use the Elements alone, was it due to her being an alicorn? If so, Luna could also have used the Elements. Or did both of them independently possess fully-unified Harmony powers?
 * Backstory implies that, while Celestia and Luna where able to use the full power of the elements against  by working together, Celestia was unable to use the full power against Nightmare Moon. Perhaps each princess does embody all six elements, but accessing the elements' full potential requires at least two ponies working together.
 * Which, of course leads to this problem: Since all of Celestia's banishments and imprisonments have been weakened (Nightmare Moon and Discord as two examples) shouldn't Celestia send the Mane Six on a tour to check all the locks? After a thousand years, there probably are a few entities Celestia has frozen in carbonite for good reason.
 * What's with the appearance of bridles? The Diamond Dogs having them could be justified but why would Rarity have dress forms with bridles on them?
 * ...Sexy lingerie?
 * Isn't Mr. Cake explanation of Pan Cake wings and Pumpkin Cake horn a little fishy?
 * The Cutie Mark Crusaders try increasingly ridiculous things in attempts to get their cutie marks. However, this may not be just a simple excuse for a continuous plot element. If you think about it, they all exhibited their special talent in "The Show Stoppers". It's likely that they're just trying to ignore their own talents so that they have an excuse to keep hanging out with each other. After all, their lack of cutie marks is what brought them together, and it's likely that it's one of the key things keeping them together. If they were to all get their cutie marks, they would practically have nothing keeping them together.
 * What is Fluttershy's actual job? All the other ponies seem to have "regular" work to at least some extent, if you count Rainbow being mentioned to help out with weathermaking now and then and Twilight's job officially being "student". Fluttershy is not Ponyville's vet - that slot is taken - and she doesn't seem to keep enough chickens to sell the eggs. Is she Ponyville's Crazy Cat Lady?
 * Given how eager she seems to be to give animals away, it's likely she runs what's essentially an animal shelter.
 * I sort of thought of her as running something like a pet store, but a shelter is more likely, especially when you think of how she constantly tries to heal them as well, but uses more basic forms of medicine than a vet would. Much like a volunteer at a shelter would. She's also Ponyville's pet-trainer, local animal expert in caring, and dragon tamer
 * Why do ponies' names match their cutie mark at all if the cutie mark only appears a long time after their parents named them? Does this make the cutie mark a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

Fridge Logic - Season One
"Twilight: Alright everyone, we need to build an exact replica of Ponyville over there. We've got less than a minute!"
 * In the Iron Pony contest, Applejack claims that Rainbow Dash using her wings is cheating. Yet, over half of the contests involve leg strength, where a pony who flies places instead of walking is obviously at a disadvantage. This is never addressed.
 * Rainbow Dash can walk/run, but Applejack and the other Earth ponies can't fly and (obviously) don't have wings to use to get ahead.
 * The physics aren't always consistant, but I would expect Rainbow Dash to be a lot lighter than Applejack. As such she could likely run faster with less muscle strength behind her.
 * She could also alter the pitch of her wings to increase or decrease her glide potential without technically "flying," which would give her an advantage over certain terrain.
 * If her muscles aren't as strong, then she doesn't deserve the title of "most athletic pony". Using her wings to hover over the mudpit in a tug-of-war is clearly cheating. She was pulled far enough to lose, she just didn't happen to touch the ground beyond that point.
 * You shouldn't really be able to compare them. For a pegasus to be as good at everything you can do without wings and an be excellent flier, she'll need to train much more than someone who does the same things minus flying. Without flying, she'll be at a disadvantage. But with flying, she'll have a huge advantage.
 * Think of it this way: had either pony been facing off against Twilight, she could have easily used magic to dominate every challenge, and that is certainly cheating. Rainbow using her wings is no different. The contestants should be limited to skills that apply to all ponies. Had any challenge involved growing plants or whatever earth pony magic does, Applejack would have been expected to play fair. If influence over animals is a quality of earth pony magic, she may have already passed up a chance to cheat!
 * Its been shown that earth ponies are slightly stronger than other ponies to make up for not having magic or the ability to fly.
 * This is common fanon, but it's never mentioned by Word of Faust or really shown in the show. However, Word of Faust has stated that Earth Ponies are magical. They have a magical connection to plants and animals that non-Earth Ponies can't match aside from rare examples like Fluttershy. And it's been shown in the show, too. How many unicorns and pegasi do you see with plant or animal related cutie marks that aren't obviously about something else (such as the unicorn teacher in Cutie Mark Chronicles having an apple, which is clearly indicative of a talent with teaching rather than raising apples).
 * In that case, if anyone is to blame, then it would be Twilight, in my humble opinion. She was recruited as a judge for the contest, yet she never calls out Rainbow Dash on her behavior. In those circumstances, you can't blame Rainbow Dash for doing something she considers natural for her and that the impartial judge of the contest seems to be authorizing. But this raises the question, how could someone as obsessed over rules and order as Twilight is have turned a blind eye to Dash's antics?
 * Flying wasn't mentioned in the rules. And Applejack didn't bring it up until after she'd lost, making herself look like a sore loser.
 * To be fair to Applejack, the instances were we saw her being bugged by Rainbow's wings were cheating: One was a jumping contest and the other was the tug of war, and applejack would have won both(fairly) if rainbow hadn't flying. It's more the equivalent of running in a race walking competition.
 * In "Swarm of the Century", both Applejack and Rainbow Dash's attempts to fix the problem look like they would have worked if it wasn't for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, yet we're supposed to think that Pinkie Pie had the only answer and the other ponies were at fault for not helping her. Granted finding instruments was the most reliable and would have been the fastest solution if everyone pitched in but still, they could have shown both Applejack and Rainbow Dash as only being able to gather most of the parasprites.
 * The message I took from this episode was that everyone should have been working together on one plan of action rather than each trying a separate method. Had the others helped Pinkie Pie, or at least gotten her to help with Rainbow Dash' or Applejack's method, the problem would have been solved. It was only because the different methods ended up interfering with each other that the problem persisted. Pinkie Pie's solution wasn't the best one, it was simply the one that ended up working.
 * In "The Ticket Master", during Rarity's daydream, the prince gives her an engagement ring. This was cool looking, with it on his horn, until I realized that ponies don't have fingers to wear rings. Even if this is just a unicorn thing, we don't see any unicorns with wedding bands on their horns.
 * Also in that episode, the first thing I thought was "why not just ask the Princess for more tickets?" Because Twilight can't think straight from hunger, is why.
 * She might have felt that asking for more tickets would be rude.
 * Agreed; when someone gives you free tickets to an exclusive event that presumably has a limited number of spots available, it's not exactly polite to use your connections in an attempt to get more tickets.
 * No doubt this was Twilight's reason, but it's worth noting that Celestia asks that very question in her reply.
 * In "Look Before You Sleep", Twilight acts like Pinkie Pie, which is quite the opposite to her character. And she doesn't even do anything when the tree comes crashing in, beside looking for help in a guidebook. Was she so afraid to stay alone at stormy night? Or maybe she saw Applejack and Rarity bickering and decided to bring them closer together?
 * I thought that too (that Twilight was acting more like Pinkie).One theory is that the writers did actually have Pinkie in mind when they wrote the first draft of the episode's script, but for any number of reasons, they gave the role to Twilight instead.
 * It's canon that she hasn't really had friends before, and it was her first sleepover. For all she knew, a tree crashing into the house was a part of the sleepover experience.
 * Twilight is concussed in that scene. (This also explains most of Feeling Pinkie Keen.)
 * In "Over a Barrel", when the buffalo attack the train, how did they know the tree was in the caboose, and not in an ordinary freight car? If they didn't know, then why did they detach only the caboose? For that matter, if they knew it was in the caboose, why did Little Strongheart run almost the entire length of the train to get back to it, instead of just jumping on at the rear?
 * Braeburn doesn't seem particularly surprised to hear Bloomberg's been tree-napped, so they may have done this before. In fact, this may be why he asked Applejack to accompany the tree this time. However, that doesn't explain why she was so shocked at it being stolen... unless he's familiar enough with her eccentricities to know how she'd react to her baby being stolen, and didn't want to stress her out too much...
 * She didn't tell them she was bringing the tree, it was a surprise gift. That's why Braeburn didn't show concern until after they told him, even though he already knew the buffalo were a problem.
 * And as for the train thing, which overlaps with Fridge Brilliance, The Buffalo Tribe enemies were the citizens of Applelossa and their relatives most of the time. If Little Strong Heart remained on the ground, there was a better chance of an earth pony catching her, getting on the train car prevents them from finding her and gives her time to find the tree, through scent most likely, she just has to travel fast because she's on top of a train, as shown by the fact she has to skid to a halt to stop. This is backed up by the fact she was so startled to see Rainbow Dash, she's not used to having someone able to make it to the top of the cars with her.
 * In "A Bird in the Hoof", Twilight seemed just as surprised as everypony else about the true nature of Philemena. But wasn't Twilight Celestia's long-time student in Canterlot for years? How is it that she's unaware of nature of her long-time mentor's treasured pet? Also, as fond as she is of books and studying, Twilight never came across any narratives and illustrations of phoenixes?
 * Given that their relationship was highly scholarly, it's likely Princess Celestia didn't mention her pet to Twilight. Most teachers and professors don't. As for illustrations, it may be that she simply didn't come across them in her studies, or, given that Phoenixes are rare creatures, the only pictures she saw were of when they are in good condition, and not about to burst into flames.
 * Plus she could have had one of her insane moments where she doesn't think properly. Remember the last time there was trouble that Twilight didn't want Celestia to know about?


 * Remember how Harry Potter reacted to Dumbledore's phoenix going up in flames? Who knows what weird pets your teacher has that you're not aware of.
 * In "Call of the Cutie", Applejack tells Apple Bloom that she was the last in her class to get her cutie mark. Yet in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", she launches into her Flash Back with the claim that she got her mark when she was even younger than the Crusaders. Was her class filled with early bloomers, or what?
 * Nah, just means the Crusaders are late bloomers.
 * Also, Rainbow Dash says in "Call of the Cutie" that she was the first in her class to get her cutie mark, but one of the boys she races in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" has his already.
 * Maybe he wasn't in her class? There may be more than one.
 * She went off to Manehattan for an unspecified period of time. She might have left when she was younger than the Crusaders, but only gotten her mark after a few years - she does seem to grow older between the beginning and end of the flashback.
 * Same school, different class?
 * According to Fluttershy, they were at summer flight camp, so there's no reason to assume they were even from the same school.
 * So... Why didn't Applejack just, I dunno, tell Twilight that if she let go, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would catch her?
 * For that matter, why didn't she just hang onto her until Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could come get her, rather than let her fall so far before they could catch her? She's probably strong enough.
 * Given the choice between putting all your trust in the strong, sensible pony holding your hooves and looking at you, and putting it in a hyperactive pony who crashes into things and another who's terrified by the sight of you... Applejack was probably better off not mentioning it. And the pegasi might have had wing clearance issues getting that close to the cliff edge.
 * Yeah, I agree with this. Plus, every pony except Applejack had to demonstrate their element against adversity. Rainbow Dash and Rarity made sacrifices, Fluttershy risked a mauling, Pinkie Pie had to overcome fear, and Twilight had to recognize her newfound faith in her friends. But Applejack had no reason not to tell the truth. Unless... the test was that she didn't tell Twilight that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were waiting to catch her? She had to understand how to withhold information without compromising the truth, and did that by reassuring Twilight rather than ordering her to let go, and appealing to her trust instead of pointing out the pegasus ponies below. Huh, this looks a little like Fridge Brilliance...
 * ...until you realise that Applejack (and the rest of the cast) had no idea that they were supposed to prove or learn anything, or that they embodied the elements. All they knew is that they were on a quest to find an ancient Mcguffin and defeat the Princess's evil sister.
 * Applejack didn't know (and didn't have to know) it had to be a test to know how to stay truthful while not frightening Twilight.
 * It's possible that Applejack was afraid of Twilight pulling HER down too, but along with the then-questionably-skilled pegasi point, maybe she didn't want to tell her.
 * Applejack comes from a huge family - she knows the difficulty and importance of real friendship firsthand, and she decided to hammer that bodily into Twilight. Because Honesty... is brutal.
 * That makes sense. The whole scene kind of reminds me of one in Finding Nemo, where a character's order for another to "let go (and fall)" was also a metaphor for letting go of your children. Twilight never had friends and was clearly afraid, fearing she might be let down or whatever. Maybe Applejack was savvier than anybody realised and knew that Twilight needed to take a really big step and trust them if they were going to get out of this. The first step to friendship is trust. And that was the first step Twilight faced in the forest.
 * Everyone seemed to be Completely Missing the Point in "Winter Wrap Up". As Twilight is repeatedly warned, she must not use her powerful magic to solve Ponyville's problems, because the wrapping up process is an ancient tradition from when the town contained only one species. Everything should be done "the Earth Pony way." So far so good... if you could all just turn around and ignore all the helpful pegasi flying by.
 * I got the impression the 'no magic' rule meant just that. The physical, if you like, talents of the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi could be used to get the jobs done, just not the supernatural ones. If Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies specifically and they were later joined by the other races, then it makes sense that the tradition was extended to suit each as far as possible. You see earth ponies and unicorns mixing together in teams, but some things, such as clearing the sky, can only be done by pegasi. Unfortunately Twilight's unique talents leaves her at a loose end until she gets a chance to show off the other skill she has; she knows how to organize.
 * So how did Ponyville handle the sky before the pegasi moved in?
 * There's an Original Flavor fanfic that puts forward a pretty good fan theory covering that.
 * Remember Pinkie's flying contraption?
 * Relatively minor one about "Winter Wrap-Up". The teaser shows Twilight explicitly getting dressed into various winter gear, albeit significantly earlier in the morning than she should be. So... why is she not wearing that gear immediately after the title sequence, or at any later point in the episode?
 * Another point - she got up incredibly early for the event. So why is it that when she arrives, it's not only full-blown daytime, but everypony else is already there before her?
 * She realized she woke up way too early, went back to bed and overslept.
 * It turned to be a warmer day than she thought.
 * In "Party Of One", Pinkie Pie wears Groucho Novelty glasses. You know, the one with the eyebrows, mustache, and... human nose?? Do humans exist in the Ponyverse, and if not, why didn't the animators replace the human nose with a pony nose?
 * In the same vein, Pinkie Pie's "You're #1" foam finger in Sonic Rainboom.
 * Depending on her knowledge of what's beyond the fourth wall she often breaks, she may have been giving us a little nod. Or she was just being Pinkie.
 * Pinkie may have gotten the foam finger from Lyra.
 * How about Spike knowing who Fu Manchu is?
 * Apple Bloom's Show Stoppers costume has human skulls.
 * RL 'Satanists' have equine skulls. Make the connection.
 * So that's where all the humans went.
 * One possibility is that humans and human culture are a thing of myth and legend in Equestria, just like magical talking ponies, gryphons, and dragons are in our world. As such, the groucho glasses and the foam finger could be memorbilia from a popular play (or whatever the ponies watch for entertainment). That would explain not only why Pinkie Pie has said items (which on it's own could be explained by Pinkie breaking the 4th wall) and why they other didn't really react to them (even if they lumped it with Pinkie, being Pinkie, there should be some sort of reaction).
 * It's obvious that Twilight has never been to the Grand Galloping Gala before, what with her joy at having been invited and not knowing what to have expected. And yet she's apprectly the Princess's most treasured student, personal apprentice, and closest friend. Yet more evidence towards Trollestia?
 * It's on a school night.
 * This is the first year she's had friends she wanted to go with. She may have had the opportunity before, but didn't see the point of it any more than she saw the point of anything else beyond her studies.
 * Not to mention the only reason she wanted to go was to spend more time Celestia. Before the Gala, she's spent who knows how long away from her teacher with only periodic visits for business, so Twilight presumably wanted to make up for lost time. Compare that to what life was probably like while she lived in Canterlot, where the Princess was never more than a short trot away, and there was no real reason to waste valuable study time on a stuffy high class party. Especially considering she never bothered with a mundane, low class party either.
 * A minor Fridge Logic bit. In 'Look Before You Sleep', Applejack's dared to 'play dress-up in a frou-frou glittery lacy outfit'. She then goes and gets a rather weird-looking Pimped-Out Dress..except they're in Twilight's home. Which means that the dress is Twilight's.
 * Knowing Rarity, she probably whipped it up MacGyver-style out of dental floss, paper doilies and old curtains.
 * I imagine there's a good chance Twilight recieved that dress from Rarity as a present.
 * Oddly, Rarity has it in Green Isn't Your Color, when she's picking an outfit for Fluttershy, and apparently brought it along for the photo shoot in the park, which means it's one of her originals.
 * I'd say it's not that outlandish for Twilight to have a Pimped-Out Dress like that. She did live in Canterlot after all, as the Princess' prized pupil no less. It's not impossible at all that she might have attended some social events wearing it.
 * In Giggle At The Ghosties, Pinkie Pie mentions Granny Pie telling her to laugh at her fears, but later Pinkie Pie explains to us that her early life was spent on a rock farm, where there was no smiling, or talking. How could this be explained?
 * An even better example would be in "Winter Wrap-Up", where she mentions she has been ice skating "since she was a little filly". Sure, you might say that the above one is just a minor detail, or even that she is a natural as she said, but c'mon. Ice skating is hard - even for Pinkie Pie, it's hard to believe she's just that good with little to no practice.
 * Pinkie Pie is an Unreliable Narrator? Shock of shocks.
 * First: No talking? How could they even properly live without talking? Anyway, back to the subject, maybe during the part at the flashback, Pinkie Pie's granny had recently passed away and might be the reason Pinkie was so sad-looking at the time.
 * Pinkie is a little on the nutty side. Considering she ended her rock farm tale with "and that's how Equestria was made", it's probably not wholly accurate. Either that, or Granny Pie didn't tell her that tidbit that until later.
 * No talking doesn't have to mean no talk at all, just no talk beyond bare necessities, which to such a social creature as Pinkie might as well not be talking at all.
 * My theory is that you've got it backwards - the rock farmers are the black sheep of the Pie family, whilst Granny and Pinkie are the "normal" ones. The genes for a pink mane have to come from somewhere. And don't you find it strange that the Pies are the only ponies in Equestria with names that contradict their talent? Perhaps they forbade the extended family from ever visiting the farm after Granny taught Pinkamena to "Giggle at the Ghosties."
 * How about this: Pinkie doesn't mean "no talking, no smiling" as in, they were explicitly forbidden from doing those things; she means it as in, they're on a joyless depressing rock farm out in the middle of nowhere so no one even wants to. Granny Pie remembered a time when it wasn't all rock farms, so she could tell Pinkie to "giggle at the ghosties", but until Pinkie learned about the concepts of "color" and "happiness", she couldn't really comprehend what Granny was saying.
 * Granny Pie simply doesn't work on the rock farm. Being boring is part of living on (that particular) rock farm, not necessarily of being a pre-Pinkamena Pie-family-member.
 * In "A Bird in the Hoof" it seems a bit odd that the teacups have handles on them, seeing as how the ponies have not digits with which to manipulate the cups, and the unicorns can simply levitate them.
 * Maybe the teacup design was thought up by an elitist unicorn and there was a time one it was considered proper to only levitate the teacup via the handle. Or the handle could have been added to aid servants serving the tea. Since ponies lack hands, any non-unicorn servants of aristocrats would have either use their mouths or sit down and use both front hooves to place the cup in front of the aristocrat. Sitting down and using their front hooves would be difficult to deal with the serving tray and would take longer to serve everyone if their master has guests. So the handles were add so servants could grab that with their mouths and set the cup in front of their master or their master's guest(s), who would then pick it up with telekinesis (if unicorn) or their front hooves (if not)
 * If Trixie travelled in the wagon, then who pulled it in the first place? She's no Earth Pony.
 * She probably moved it magically, like how Twilight moved the snowplow in "Winter Wrap-Up".
 * No reason why she couldn't pull it herself. We saw Twilight and Rarity-both Unicorns-hauling heavy carts overflowing with gems in 'Dog and Pony Show'. Unicorns may be overall weaker than Earth ponies, but they can still do feats of strength or defy the stereotype.
 * Tails have muscle and nerve endings in them. Rarity's is no exception, she can wave it and use it to pick things up. How then was she able to slice it off like it was just a piece of hair? (Perhaps this is just a headscratcher for some, but I got a little nauseous the first time I watched Episode 2; before it became clear she was fine)
 * Watch a real horse's tail move sometime; the part which is actually biologically the tail is actually kind of stumpy; the rest is just hair (and Rarity's shenanigans are just cartoon physics).
 * Either that, or Steven Magnet's fainting suddenly makes a lot more sense.
 * In the series opening mythology sequence, Twilight Sparkle reads that Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna has been trapped in the moon, and that "the stars will aid her escape." Specifically, four stars, as illustrated in the book she's reading and shown explicitly when the Mare in the Moon suddenly disappears from the lunar surface. We learn in Season Two that There are six Elements of Harmony, and no reason to expect that number to vary. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are two (very powerful) ponies. The four stars who aid Night Mare Moon's escape...  This concept also gains greater significance when you realize that the entire chain of events -   were not about defeating an imprisoned enemy ... the whole thing was


 * If Princess Celestia was the previous wielder of the Element of Magic, then Princess Luna was one of the other elements. If Twilight Sparkle is the new wielder of the Element of Magic, then who among the Mane Six will betray the rest and become the new Mare in the Moon? Or Discord's Disciple?
 * I honestly think that's more of a coincidence than anything. I think the reason for the four stars was Four Is Death. The rest of that stuff is a nice theory, but barely fits into possible canon. Definitely a good idea for a fanfic though.
 * If Twilight Sparkle had mistranslated the thousand-year old prophecy, "the stars will aid her escape" could apply to Night Mare Moon escaping from the moon (as presented verbatim in the first episode), or (if interpreted differently) it could apply to Princess Luna escaping from Night Mare Moon/the Miasma, which characterizes the stars as a benevolent force, subverting Four Is Death.
 * The general idea of the  is supported by effective Word of God from Lauren Faust. Link to her actual dA comment page here, screenshot here. She does mention that her reasoning should not be taken as canon, as she no longer runs the show.
 * What makes you think it was Celestia that was the wielder of the Element of Magic?
 * The whole "wingboner" thing seems pretty idiotic... until you see a moment in Dragonshy when Twilight uses her teeth to grab Fluttershy's wing by biting it, resulting in an agonized/aroused look from Fluttershy. This, though not definitively, proves that a pegasus's wings could be an erogenous zone. (God, the things I never thought I'd type...)
 * Additionally, look at the usual mating position for horses and then imagine it with pegasi. Somepony's going to have to raise her wings, to get them out of the way.
 * Some Brilliance from the first episode. Twilight figures out Nightmare Moon is going to escape, and Celestia's advice is to leave the books alone and go make friends. At first, you think Celestia is just being a Jerkass, but what are the Elements of Harmony powered by, again? Celestia knew she wouldn't be able to use the Elements, so sent the only pony she knew of that had any clue about the prophecy.

Fridge Logic - Season Two
"Celestia: TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!"
 * Not exactly fridge logic, but I do find it odd that Rainbow Dash thought of Cloudsdale as home instead of Ponyville when Discord basically threatened her home.
 * I thought Rainbow Dash lives in Cloudsdale?
 * Rainbow Dash lives in Ponyville (or, more accurately, directly above Ponyville in a cloud-townhouse). She grew up in Cloudsdale.
 * Hence, "the foundations of home"; not where she lives, but where she started.
 * Most likely Discord warped Dash's sense of loyalty by brainwashing her. Just like he was able to increase Rarity's greed, he probably increased Dash's loyalty to her old home relative to her new home.
 * Why doesn't Spike carry around scrolls and a quill at all times? In a world without cell phones, his magic power would make him extremely useful. Irreplaceable, even. In "A Dog and Pony Show," Spike could have sent for help, then gone after Rarity himself.
 * Because that's not how it works. He breathes on a scroll, it goes to Celestia; she does some magic ti a scroll, it comes out of Spike's mouth. He can't just send a scroll anywhere.
 * Also, Spike doesn't have pockets. Constantly carrying around quills and stacks of paper would get annyoing very quickly.
 * This simple fact: Even if Cloudsdale's destruction in Return of Harmony was a vision, Discord could easily make it a reality, or it could even have been a reality (and then undone) given his power and sociopathy.
 * During "Sonic Rainboom", there were elderly ponies shown working in the weather factories... ponies that probably can't move fast enough to escape before said factories are destroyed with the rest of Cloudsdale, and that's not even mentioning the children. Brr
 * Once one really stops to think about it, Discord as an unrestrained concept is psychologically terrifying. The fact that this is to be TV-Y for its intended audience holds that fact back, but think about it. He has reality manipulation and illusions beyond anything else shown in the show, teleportation of unspecified range, can transmute things with a thought including ones own body, is probably immortal to some degree (At least as old as Celestia/Luna, can decapitate himself just fine), and can shatter and atomize the laws of physics at a whim. But the worst part, is the causal ease he can fuck with your mind. HE RE-WROTE 5 MAIN CHARACTERS PERSONALITIES WITH A MERE TOUCH. (and also messed up Big Mac and some other fodder) The way he made Fluttershy ENJOY INFLICTING PAIN AND SUFFERING ON HER OWN FORMER FRIENDS, god that was fricking sadist. At a certain point, the ponies didn't even care that he was screwing up the town, their family, their entire lives. Taken to the extreme, he can literally convert your friends/family into murderous sociopaths with no qualms about torturing or killing you. And this guy is a trigger happy smirking Jerkass who isn't afraid to abuse his god-mode which he has 24/7. The idea that he, an omnipresent reality-warping monster, can just teleport-poke anyone anywhere, warping their entire mind re-writing both their being and perception of reality before one even realizes what's happening to them.... god, IT'S TERRIFYING.
 * In other words, Discord is an eons old, remorseless Psychopathic Manchild with omnipotent reality warping powers and an outright sadistic sense of humor who can Mind Rape you with a mere touch.
 * What about the simple fact that calm composed, Physical Goddess Princess Celestia is scared of Discord. What must she have witnessed all that time ago that makes her, of all ponies, afraid of him?
 * Hey, (as Discord noted) at least he doesn't embalm and keep his enemies (and friends) in marble statues in a garden and pretend to create order and harmony by ruling over the land through some Elements of Harmony. Celestia herself seems to be heavily treading along the Moral Event Horizon.
 * Depends how you take what he says. Is he saying that's something Celestia regularly did, or is he just retorting based on what he went through? Hell, just seeding the thought he wasn't the only one is his MO.
 * He doesn't turn people into stone because that would be boring. And we see how Discord treats everyone, enemies and innocents alike. I'd rather be turned into a stone statue.
 * Think about the whole thing from poor Twilight's point of view. She comes across her friends one by one, only to discover that they're not even the same ponies she knew anymore. They're treating her like dirt and she has no idea why or what's causing it. Just thinking about the idea of being cutoff from your friends and finding them in that state is unsettling to say the least...
 * Discord is all levels of terrifying, to be sure, but keep in mind that most tropers are, at the very least, in their teens. We've seen our fair share of nightmarish imagery in a show about magical ponies, but just imagine what it must be like for the actual target audience of small children. If we're this frightened of Discord, what must he look like through the eyes of a five year old?
 * A goofy looking monster with a goat's head who turns roads into soap and clouds into cotton candy that rain chocolate. Discord is only scary when you start analyzing him.
 * As silly as Discord's reign over Equestria seems, a lot of it is still rather unsettling. Like the fact everyone seems to have gone insane...and a few of the Ponies have the same faded look as the Mane Cast...
 * Not to mention that when you take into account the kinds of things he's implied to have done before Celestia and Luna had imprisoned him, it could have been a lot worse, and not just silly tricks...
 * Considering things were getting worse and worse as the episode progressed, it's very likely he was simply working his way up to that...
 * Think Emperor Joker.
 * Big Macintosh
 * He could have just had . Okay, that isn't really any better.
 * Does that mean we missed seeing Winona walking around and saying nothing?
 * Apparently, Your Mileage May Vary on this one.
 * You want some Nightmare Fuel? Remember when Granny Smith was busy being compelled to tap-dance? Think about it; would Discord have bothered to fix her hip first? *shudder*
 * She was smiling, and Discord's in the business of chaos -- not Cold-Blooded Torture. So she probably fared the best out of anyone in Discord's "new and improved" scheme of things.
 * It is possible to smile without wanting to.
 * It's also possible people are overlooking key aspects of Discord's personality in favor of making him Darker and Edgier and finding High Octane Nightmare Fuel where there should just be...NightmareFuel. Note that he didn't take control of the Mane Casts' bodies and make them say things they didn't mean; he literally altered their personalities. That's because he's the spirit of chaos, not mindless puppetry. If Granny Smith and Big Mac look delighted with their present situations, it's probably because they are -- which is creepy enough as is.
 * I wouldn't be so sure. Getting Crap Past the Radar doesn't always have to involve naughty bits. Jason already stated he and the rest of the staff still have a thin line they need walk by when it comes to this show and its content. So they can't be open about some things. However it was stated the mane six didn't have much (if any) self-control when under Discord's influence. So the implications are behind Granny Smith's actions and the after effects are unsettling.
 * The entirity of Discorded Sweet Apple Acres is deepy unsettling, but there is still overreaching. By that same logic, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are in horrific pain from having their wings removed. They just didn't show it in any way, because the show has to conceal it. And that mare being sprinkled with pepper? Clearly her eyes are burning in unspeakable agony, and Discord's just forcing her not to show it.
 * Allow me to make Twilight's breakdown in Lesson Zero worse. Even though what Twilight did was just use a "Want-It-Need-It" spell on the CMC (just run with it), consider this my friends: Twilight was desperate, she needed SOME kind of conflict out of the CMC to write a friendship report on. The exact details of her thought processes are unknown but, more than likely, in a bit of desperation, Twilight essentially    
 * Does not help that she started rapidly teleporting all over the place,.
 * This would go a ways in explaining Celestia's anger/disappointment towards Twilight at the end. Her behavior was
 * It is also likely that there were several proscriptions against using that particular "want-it-need-it" spell... and not just because of the obvious results when Twilight did it. Imagine the economic mayhem if any unicorn crook could make people willing, at the drop of a hat, to spend their life savings on a rock or stick or clod of earth.... "so what am I bid for this wad of lint out of my coat pocket?..."
 * In Luna Eclipsed, we see that tales of Nightmare Moon are the basis of a well-established holiday tradition. Why, then, did no one recognize her way back in Episode 1?
 * They might have recognized her if they had a minute to think about it. It's one thing to hear a fairy tale of a shadowy, villainous figure that eats children and completely another for said figure to appear in front of you as real as ever. Most ponies would probably think "Is this even real?" if NMM weren't so terrifying.
 * Does anyone else find it odd that the mane six would be scared of Nightmare Moon knowing full well they defeated her and freed Luna?
 * It seems that they were scared of her loud voice and mannerisms(It sounded like she was angry). Twilight was the first to approach her. Applejack took a little convincing to accept her. Pinkie Pie was pretending. Rainbow Dash didn't care. Fluttershy is scared of anyone who raises her voice (as we saw with Gilda) and Rarity was not in the episode. It seemed that most ponies were scared of her being angry, or of her portrayal as Nightmare Moon, but NOT of her still being Nightmare Moon.
 * But Fluttershy was scared the minute she saw Luna, and even called her Nightmare Moon. She actually seemed to be afraid of Nightmare Moon.
 * Fluttershy was already a terrified nervous wreck just on account of it being Nightmare Night, so it wouldn't take much to make her even more frightened.
 * Ok, grasping at straws here: Last time the mane characters saw Luna (That we know of) she was timid, smaller and had "normal" hair. In Nightmare night, it was at night(duh) so her coat looked darker, and her hair resembled more Nightmare Moon, plus, she has grew some, and was showing WAY more confidence, resembling more the Nightmare Moon they knew than the Luna that they briefly glimpsed. Add to that the TRADITIONAL CANTERLOT ROYAL VOICE. Twilight, being studious and learning under Princess Celestia herself, probably knew about the voice, either from a book, or from the princess (Hell, there is nothing to say that Celestia doesn't use the voice every now and then). Fluttershy, and everypony else assumed that Luna had been repossessed due to her exterior changes.
 * Celestia used on Twilight one episode beforehand, at the end of Lesson Zero.

"Applejack: Big Macintosh, I'm taking Apple Bloom to Twilight so we can find a cure! Can you stay here and look after Granny Smith and the farm? Big Macintosh: A-yup."
 * Luna was shown able to transform back into her Nightmare Moon form easily, and had the same powers to boot without it. Does this suggest that 'Knightmare Moon' was just a form that Luna already had achieved at some point, and whatever evil force or possession took control of her, just coerced her into using permanently because the aesthetic simply 'worked out better?' And considering her 'original' form from her first appearance,whose to say Luna isn't altering herself now to come off prestigious? Or that Celestia isn't either for that matter. (Her younger form shown being of pink shorter hair)
 * I don't know about the powers, but it seemed that Luna had to possess the Nightmare Moon statue in order to take that form again.
 * It's probably easy for her to change her appearance with an illusion or transformation spell.
 * She still needed fake teeth though :)
 * Of course. Nightmare Moon had normal teeth.
 * In "Luna Eclipsed", Princess Luna is shown to be behind the times by a thousand years, unable to speak to her subjects in a way they would expect, the way Princess Celestia would. If we remember that the episodes are out of order, and if we assume that Nightmare Night falls on a similar date to Halloween, then by that episode Luna should have been around for a little over three months (since she came back on what is really the summer solstice). After all that time, Celestia never bothered to tell her how things have changed? Luna never noticed that Celestia never used THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE? It makes sense that Luna wouldn't appear to the public for a while, but only if Celestia is HELPING her to be the princess she should be. It seems like Celestia just said, "Okay you're back to normal. You can be princess again. Run along now!" and left Luna to embarrass herself.
 * This trouper noticed that for a bit of Fridge Horror; In the episode "Lesson Zero" Twilight Sparkle essentially receives no punishment for brainwashing an entire town with magic.
 * She received what was probably the worst punishment in her mind: seeing Princess Celestia disappointed in her, possibly for the first time in her life. Given how much Twilight idolizes the Princess, I don't think that any other punishment would have driven the point home better.
 * The princess said that she'd forget Twilight's punishment as long as the whole group submit their lessons. It helps that the others stated it was their fault Twilight went so far.
 * Was referencing the fact that no other pony seemed the least be perturbed that they essentially had their will stripped from them.
 * Ponies seem to just ignore mental stuff after it's over. None of the Mane Six seem to have long term effects from their psychological breakdowns, and everyone ignored Discord's Mind Rape the second he was gone.
 * Actually, this could be a whole new layer of Fridge Horror. If Celestia kept quiet about it to the general public, the only ponies who know it was Twilight would be the Mane 6, Celestia and probably the Crusaders and Big Mac. As far as the Ponyville public know, they all flipped out over a plush toy totally at random and for no apparent reason. Sounds paranoia inducing at the least.
 * Blame it on the aftereffects of the town being Discorded shortly before, assure them that that was the last hurrah of his powers, and call it a day.
 * Bullets and tanks are mentioned in "May the Best Pet Win". However we've never seen anypony using modern weaponry in Equestria. Including elite Royal Guards, and you'd think those would be carrying the best weaponry available.
 * Bullets are not just gun ammo. The term can also apply to the ammunition used in mundane slingshots or other sling-type weapons. That sort of weaponry is much more common in medieval settings, even pseudo-medieval settings like this one.
 * And "tank" might refer to water tank. Perhaps in Equestria, all water tanks are built to last
 * I prefer to think of it as tanks(like the water one). Bullets were a bit tougher until I remember that Hasbro owns the rights to the Dungeons and Dragons monster manual, and the show has used hydras and dragons and manticores, so why not bulettes(Land Sharks)?
 * She doesn't say he's built like a tank. She says he's unstoppable like one. Water tanks aren't really known for being unstoppable.
 * There are two possibilities here. First is that tank refers to the kind of tank they'd actually have (but likely never use), which was essentially like a moveable miniature fortress. The second is that tank, in Equestria, means the same thing as it does in RPGs: Heavily armored warriors that are difficult to take down.
 * So how come Mare-Do-Well  became the one pony Rainbow Dash got the drop on successfully?
 * Or maybe the Mare-Do-Well just decided to let Dash get the drop on her and end the whole thing.
 * The second of these.
 * Although Pinkie still looked a little shocked, so it's likely they were planning to pull the reveal, just not quite at that exact moment. I like to think they were planning to lead her straight into a "soften the blow" surprise party.
 * Probably she just doesn't have/doesn't recognize a specific signal for "a friend you've been playing an elaborate trick on is about to pin you down and rip off your disguise".
 * I thought she looked more sheepish than shocked. As in "Yeah, it's me. Surprise?" She was reacting to Rainbow's utter loss of words with an apologetic smile.
 * In "The Cutie Pox", why was Applejack the only one who went with Apple Bloom to Twilight's? I can understand Granny Smith not being there because they didn't want to worry her, but what about Big Macintosh? Did Applejack just whisk Apple Bloom away without telling her older brother? Can you imagine how it would have gone if they hadn't of found a cure and he had to find out later? He probably would have kicked their house down in such a fit.
 * Or, alternatively:


 * Another question: How did they get Apple Bloom to Twilight's house in the first place? When they later try to get to Zacora's house she can hardly walk.
 * In Sweet and Elite, we see that Rarity is staying in a suite in a very tall tower. The bellhop pony carried all of her luggage up here. Talk about a workout.
 * In "Hearth's Warming Eve", the play ends with the flag of Equestria being put up - it's suppoed to be set in the time before Celestia, yet the flag shows Celestia and Luna, straight from the storybook in the series premiere. Surely they could have tracked down the correct flag design with Twilight Sparkle on hand?
 * Look closer at the two flags. On the Hearth's Warming Eve one the alicorns are generically colored, while the one from the pilot they are colored as Celestia and Luna.
 * OTOH the depictions of Celestia and Luna in the stained glass window where they're shown defeating Discord in The Return of Harmony Part 1 look exactly the same as the alicorns seen in the Hearth's Warming Eve flag.
 * Two Alternative Explanations:
 * 1) Reality Is Unrealistic. The original Equestrian flag is known mostly to historians and scholars, but not to the average lay pony. Trying to use it during the play would've gotten calls that the flag was wrong.
 * 2) The original design truly was lost to history. Be it because of Discord's chaotic reign in between Equestria's founding and Celestia & Luna's rise to power, or just simply being forgotten over time, modern Equestrians don't know what the original flag looked like so use the current one in the play.
 * It's possible that the story of how Equestria was made was slightly warped. When it's stated that Celestia and Luna defeated Discord and saved Equestria, they may have saved what eventually became Equestria, and the disagreements between the pony tribes was a result of Discord's rule that wasn't instantaneously fixed because of how severe the problem was.
 * This one's countered by the narration. The play takes place before the reign of Celestia and Luna (which also forces it to pre-Discord).
 * Not necessarily Pre-Discord. Discord's rule came before Luna' and Celestia's reign, which means it could come before Equestria's founding, as well.
 * In Winter Wrap-Up, Twilight says, "Ponyville was started by earth ponies! So for hundreds of years, they've never used magic to wrap up winter. It's traditional!" According to Family Appreciation Day, Granny Smith was one of the founders of Ponyville. Therefore, Granny Smith is hundreds of years old.
 * She's maybe a hundred at least if you wanna be generous. Determinator to the extreme. The more likely explanation is Apple Jack just isn't very good at those "fancy mathematics!"
 * Granny might be a centenarian, but it's highly unlikely she's multiple centuries old. More likely she's embellishing the story a bit. Alternatively, Twilight meant that for hundreds of years Earth Ponies have never used magic to wrap up winter, and wasn't referring to Ponyville in the "hundreds of years" part.
 * Additionally, I don't think we know how long an Equestrian year is. If the seasons are controlled by Pegasi and the days are controlled by Celestia, how do the ponies measure a year? By a rotation around the manipulated sun, or by the passing of seasons which could last surprisingly short amounts of times? Hundreds of years could translate to 50 Earth years, depending on their measurement. Of course, this logic would also affect the founding of Equestria and the Alicorn's ages.
 * We do know, however, that Winter (as pointed out by Rainbow Dash in the very first line of the Wrap Up song) is three months long, just like it is for us. Twilight also mentions Spring several times throughout the same episode. The series premiere was set on the Summer Solstice, and the Running of the Leaves marks the beginning of Autumn. So unless the ponies have some wierd seasons we've never heard of, and assuming each of the four they do have lasts roughly the same amount of time, it's probably safe to conclude that they pony calender has 12 months in a year.
 * Was it just me, or was there a serious Broken Aesop at the end of "Baby Cakes"? Pinkie wrote a letter to Princess Celestia about babysitting isn't just about playing with children, and that a babysitter has to be responsible. But Pinkie was responsible! Her problem was that the babies she was caring for suddenly manifested extremely powerful and unpredictable magical and avionic abilities, and she was one earth pony handling them by herself. If she made a mistake, maybe it was not accepting Twilight's help, regardless of how condescendingly it was offered. It seems to me that a better Aesop would have been that sometimes you need to swallow your pride, or even your proper self-respect, and accept help you need even if it is offered condescendingly and insultingly. That might be something of a Family-Unfriendly Aesop for a kids' show, though.
 * Another good alternative: Be careful how you take offense. Twilight didn't realize she was being condescending, which happens a lot to socially-awkward individuals. From Twilight's perspective, she was thrown out of her best friend's house for offering to help her babysit. Which, given her sensitivity toward her friendships, would have sent Twilight crying back to the library...
 * ...which probably would have resulted in a letter being sent to Princess Celestia, in the hope that she wasn't too busy to lend some comfort. And who could theoretically activate a pony's full power potential at one month old. Suddenly that third act sounds more like a case of divine interference.
 * ...Or maybe just an answering letter back of the Princess gently explaining to Twilight how what she said was insensitive.
 * ...assuming Twilight Sparkle even noticed she'd been thrown out. She didn't even seem realize Pinkie Pie was angry at her, let alone was throwing her out. Twilight just assumed Pinkie Pie was more confident than she'd initially expected.
 * Twilight already understands her mistake. She'd be upset because of her mistake. She would be writing to the Princess in hopes of getting some comfort, and maybe some guidance on making up for her mistake. Trying to explain it to her at that point would only piss her off and complicate things further. By activating the Cake twins' powers early, Celestia bumps the task of babysitting them up a few notches to break Pinkie as well, placing both ponies on equal terms for when they make up later.
 * Guys, Celestia doesn't need to involve herself in everything.
 * The story of "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" is focused on apple cider. ....... this would be the AMERICAN version of cider, because in the United Kingdom, apple cider is alcoholic! On wonders how the subtext of this episode would be received over there, especially if it results in hilarious bonuses!
 * Maybe, but cider needs time to ferment and the Apples and the Flim-Flam brothers were selling their cider the same day it was made, so it really couldn't have been hard cider (which, incidentally, certainly does exist in the United States).
 * Except that Berry Punch (Who, in fanon, is an alcoholic and in the actual show just likes to drink things) is the one who the camera focuses on when Flam says that "It's the same in every town. Thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found." Her face is one of complete shock (about 5:10) to realize that there not just no cider in Ponyville, but since other towns are in cantering distance, maybe no cider ANYWHERE. There is nowhere for her to get her drink on, and she needs it... whether it's hard cider or not. Besides, we don't know if they add anything between the giant grindstone and the tap when they're making it in the competition, it'd be hidden behind the wheel, or within the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. If you look at Cheerilee's face after she drinks, she's definitely got a "I'm having a wonderful time with this cider" face at about 3:00.
 * "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000". Alright, Granny Smith makes a foolish bet because she got called a chicken. If the Apple family lose their cider-selling rights they won't have the money to keep the farm during the winter. That's fine. That's a series of logical events. But by the time the contest has been lost literally everypony involved has made the bizarre mental leap that the bet was actually for ownership of the farm! The Flim Flam brothers talk about renaming Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack talks about packing up and getting out, and none of the Mane Six seem to realise the error. Yes, you might have to sell the farm eventually, but you don't have instantly hand it over to the Flim Flam brothers! That was never part of the deal!
 * Everypony also missed another important point in their eagerness to escalate the episode's conflict: the bet only involved the right to sell cider. The only source of apples in the region is Sweet Apple Acres. You might not be able to sell your own cider while the Flim Flam brothers are around, but you can just refuse to sell them the apples they need to make it until they go out of business and move on instead!
 * In "Read It and Weep", there was never an explanation for why Daring Do needed to have the Sapphire Statue or the danger of it being in the hands of Ahuitzol. The book mentions that "with the Sapphire Statue secured, the world was safe and sound once again," implying that the statue had some sort of power that could put the world in danger, but they never elaborate on this. Sure, they could just leave it to our imaginations, but the statue was a key point in the story so it should have at least had an important reason for being taken and why it was so dangerous.
 * It was probably in the part of the book that Rainbow Dash skipped.