My Little Pony: The Elements of Harmony: Friendship is Magic: The Official Guidebook Read online

  Abridged Edition

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  First e-book edition: December 2013

  eISBN (9780316286374)

  Book design by Charles Kreloff

  Case art by Ross Stewart.

  Jacket design by Steve Scott.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Snider, Brandon T.

  My little pony : the elements of harmony : friendship is magic : the

  official guidebook / by Brandon T. Snider. — First edition.

  pages cm.

  ISBN 978-0-316-24754-2

  1. My little pony, friendship is magic (Television program)—Juvenile

  literature. I. Title.

  PN1992.77.M87S65 2013

  791.45’72—dc23

  2013000609

  In the magical land of Equestria,

  there were two regal sisters who ruled together

  and created harmony for all the land.

  To do this, the eldest used her Unicorn powers

  to raise the sun at dawn.

  The younger brought out the moon to begin the night.

  Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom

  and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.

  But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The

  ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth

  but shunned and slept through her beautiful night.

  One fateful day, the younger Unicorn refused to

  lower the moon to make way for the dawn.

  The elder sister tried to reason with her,

  but the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed

  her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon.

  She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.

  Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful

  magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony!

  Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her

  younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon.

  The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and

  harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.

  Contents

  Abridged Edition

  A Few Words of Introduction...

  by Jayson Thiessen and Meghan McCarthy

  Why My Little Pony?

  A foreword by Lauren Faust

  1. My Little Ponies

  Who’s who among ponies in Equestria, featuring some early preproduction artwork

  2. Cutie Mark Crusaders

  Meet the youngest ponies and discover the special power of the cutie mark

  3. Fellow Equestrians and Animal Friends

  A roll call of other Equestrian residents of all shapes and sizes

  4. The Dark Side

  Meet some characters who aren’t so friendly and read what the creators

  have to say about them

  5. The Elements of Harmony

  A history of the most powerful magic known in Ponyville

  6. The Magical World of Equestria

  A map of the land and details on the different regions

  7. An Interview with Lauren Faust

  8. The Musical Pony

  Complete song lyrics from the show, plus a few words from the show creators

  9. Friendship Fanatics

  An overview of the fandom, the appeal for fans of all ages,

  and a few words from the show creators

  Friendship.

  It is something everyone needs in his or her life, but you have to make it happen—plant a seed, nurture it, grow it, maintain it, and keep it alive. Then, if we accept each other wholeheartedly and maintain harmony between us, that friendship is magic!

  At least it is according to colorful, pretty ponies in a sparkly world of rainbows and cupcakes.

  Somehow, the simple notion of these ponies making friends and being kind, loyal, honest, generous, and fun with one another sparked a huge following of people of all ages and genders around the world. But how did it happen? How did a children’s cartoon geared toward little girls gain such a huge fandom?

  This question has been answered many times in different ways, and if you ask me, friendship may be magic in Equestria, but in our world, storytelling is magic.

  People love great stories, and I think that’s the key to what makes this cartoon about little ponies so captivating to so many. Storytelling is about emotion: the feelings that the audience has toward the characters, the world, the situation, and the stakes.

  This feeling doesn’t come from the story itself; it’s from how the story is told.

  That’s where I think My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic stands out. The combination of the writing, voices, design, storyboards, music and sound, animation, and timing—it’s all designed to create a poignant feeling, one that you walk away with and stays with you all day.

  A magical feeling.

  Like friendship.

  —Jayson Thiessen, supervising director

  When Lauren Faust first approached me about writing for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I had been on a bit of a creative hiatus. I had two small children and was still navigating the murky waters of motherhood. After ten years in the entertainment industry, I was trying to figure out which direction to steer my writing career, and, to be honest, I was struggling to find the right path. So when Lauren asked if I’d be interested in writing a few episodes, I jumped at the chance. I knew the show would be good, as I knew how dedicated Lauren was to the project and how important it was for her to create a show that featured strong female protagonists. But what I didn’t realize was how much it was going to challenge me creatively and how satisfied I would be with the end result.

  Ask any of the writers why they love working on My Little Pony and they will tell you how refreshing it is to tell stories that really mean something. We all feel like we are working on a project that isn’t just entertaining but contributes something positive to the world. No matter your age or gender, it is important to be reminded every now and then that honesty, generosity, laughter, kindness, loyalty, and friendship are the keys to a happy and fulfilling life. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic seeks to do just that—in a hilarious, music-filled, jaw-droppingly well-animated way.

  I feel honored to work on the show an
d humbled by the support we’ve received from fans all over the world. If the show is half as fun for the viewers to watch as it is for us to make, then we are clearly doing something right.

  —Meghan McCarthy, story editor

  A foreword by Lauren Faust

  Rainbows, unicorns, fairy tales, hearts, stars, cupcakes, and, of course, pretty pastel ponies. Many people look at these things and roll their eyes. They can’t imagine there could be anything more to such things beyond what they appear to be. But not little girls. They know something that we do not.

  As adults, we observe that girls like these things. We absorb the information that this “frilly pink silliness” resonates with them, but we don’t understand why. So when we interact with them, we try to give girls a slightly polished version of the so-called silliness our outsider eyes think they see. But when we present them with this inadequate interpretation, we sadly risk slowly convincing girls that our shallow representation is what they are actually imagining, and that the ideas in their heads are not as awesome and amazing as they actually are. If we are not careful, they will adopt our dismissive attitude that all this magic is merely “frilly pink silliness.”

  To truly understand, we adults must go inside ourselves and remember the time before the grown-ups told us these things were not worthwhile. That child is in there somewhere, and she believes unicorns are noble beasts that bring beauty to the world. She believes magical creatures are lovely and terrifying and the world they live in is one of wonder that has no bounds. She believes fairy dust is a powerful substance—what else in the world can so easily bring you your greatest desires? She believes the smallest, most helpless creatures can be your strongest support group if shown enough love. She believes something as simple as a cupcake can bring

  two people together in the bonds of friendship and a giggle is a welcome mat or a warm handshake.

  We cannot belittle this. To a little girl…This. Stuff. Is. SERIOUS.

  To her, magic is not frivolous and silly; it is huge, and it is glorious. It is real. In her mind, it’s something that not only garners wonder and awe but also respect. She knows magic can give us everything we ever hoped for, if only we give it the reverence it deserves.

  If we give little girls a respectful interpretation of the things they like—if we dare to take it as seriously as they do—we will see for ourselves that it’s not so silly at all. We can truly appreciate the merit they see in it. And, amazingly, we can enjoy it ourselves.

  That child is in there, in each of us. And it’s not so hard to find her if we just open our minds to magic.

  My Little Pony concept

  art by Lauren Faust

  “Building a

  universe is a whole lot of fun,

  but sometimes very challenging. In

  the early days of [the show] we would

  often have big conceptual discussions … ‘do

  the ponies sleep in beds or stalls?’ or ‘if there

  are no humans in this world, why would anyone

  wear a saddle?’”

  —Robert Fewkes, Hasbro Studios

  “In her show bible, Lauren Faust really mapped out

  the characteristics of the six main ponies. As we

  wrote, characters developed, as they always do,

  but their core characteristics were already

  established by Lauren, giving us fantastic

  groundwork to build upon.”

  —Amy Keating Rogers,

  writer

  TWILIGHT SPARKLE has a love of

  learning unmatched in Equestria.

  She is a natural leader, a patient

  friend, an obsessive organizer,

  and an avid reader. Her home in

  Ponyville is above the Golden Oak

  Library, where she also serves as

  librarian, assisted by Spike and

  her pet owl, Owlowiscious. Of

  the six Elements of Harmony, she

  represents the Element of Magic. As

  a young filly in Canterlot, she was

  chosen by Princess Celestia to study the highest form of magic as the

  princess’s apprentice. Seeing Twilight value knowledge over friends,

  the princess sent Twilight to Ponyville to learn the magical properties

  of friendship. Because Twilight not only mastered magic but also

  created magic of her own through such friendship, she has been

  bestowed with wings and the title PRINCESS TWILIGHT.

  “In ‘Lesson

  Zero,’ Twilight has

  a meltdown over a looming

  deadline. My husband can attest to

  the fact that I have a lot of personal

  experience with this.”

  — Meghan McCarthy,

  story editor

  Character concept art

  by Lauren Faust

  Under orders from Princess Celestia,

  SPIKE THE DRAGON joined Twilight

  Sparkle in relocating from Canterlot to

  Ponyville. Twilight endearingly calls

  Spike her “number one assistant” for his

  extreme loyalty and ability to recognize

  when Twilight needs help. He has an

  incurable crush on Rarity, an insatiable

  appetite for sparkly

  gems, and the

  uniquely

  comical

  ability to messenger letters via his

  fiery dragon breath. Spike was found

  orphaned as an egg, and his origins

  remain a mystery.

  “The fact that Spike

  sometimes feels like

  an outsider is a great place

  from which to mine stories.

  He’s trying to figure out who he

  is. What beyond being Twilight’s

  assistant is his role in this world?

  I think he really reflects how

  everybody feels at some point

  in their life.”

  — Meghan McCarthy,

  story editor

  Ponyville library development

  art by Dave Dunnet and Martin

  Ansolabehere

  Giggly, playful, and super girly, it’s not

  unusual to find PINKIE PIE prancing

  and skipping blissfully through the

  streets of Ponyville. The silliest pony

  around, Pinkie Pie has a desire to entertain

  that makes her the most likely source for

  humor. She is a free spirit, often acting on

  her whims and following her heart. You

  would never guess she grew up on a dreary

  rock farm. Eager to amuse her friends and

  make everyone happy, Pinkie Pie will find

  any excuse to throw a party. She loves

  eating sweets and baking them so

  much that she is often found at

  the Sweet Shoppe in Sugarcube

  Corner, where she works,

  and lives in the apartment

  upstairs.

  “In ‘The Last

  Roundup,’ Pinkie

  had to annoy Applejack by

  blabbering on and on. I had come

  to that part of the scene and had no

  idea what Pinkie was going to say. But

  then as I was drifting off to sleep that night,

  I was thinking about the fact that Applejack

  and Pinkie were in a cherry orchard. Knowing

  Pinkie, she would be inspired by the cherries.

  Suddenly the words chimi-cherry, cherry-

  changa, and chimi-cherry-changa entered

  my brain. I jumped out of bed and quickly

  wrote those words down before I forgot.

  The next day, Pinkie was babbling about

  chimi-cherry-changas, pickle barrels,

  and kumquats and really getting on

  Applejack’s nerves.”

  — Amy Keati
ng Rogers,

  writer

  Character concept art

  by Lauren Faust

  RAINBOW DASH has one great all-consuming passion in life: to

  fly—FAST!!! Anypony who has ever seen this rainbow-haired Pegasus

  from Cloudsdale in the air has been in awe of her speed, agility,

  and confidence. Even in her youth, Rainbow was a fantastic flier,

  achieving what no other Pegasus had before: the Sonic Rainboom—a

  rainbow that shot out behind her like a jet stream! When any problem,

  big or small, arises, this aspiring Wonderbolt is the first to volunteer to

  save the day. Despite the mischief she causes, her friends are happy to

  have her around when

  danger is a-brewing, as

  Rainbow Dash proves

  time and time again

  that she is a true hero

  and a true friend.

  “I personally enjoy working with

  Rainbow Dash as a character. She’s fun, sassy,

  and excellent for using in action scenes!”

  —Jim Miller, storyboard supervisor

  Character concept art

  by Lauren Faust

  RARITY could possibly be the most beautiful Unicorn you’ve

  ever seen, and she works hard to keep it that way—but she wants

  everypony to be beautiful, too! She uses her eye for detail, her

  creativity, and her Unicorn powers to find gems and

  make things sparkle! Her gorgeous designs are

  displayed at Ponyville’s newest fashion salon,

  the Carousel Boutique. Rarity sees tremendous

  potential in her friends and always offers

  them makeovers or beautiful new

  clothes of her own design.

  Rarity’s generous nature

  inspires her to make her