I Heart Pony ( and Girl's do too ) What does it take to make someone fall in love with a brand? What makes a series of stories you heard in your childhood memorable for you entire life, so much so that you want to share them with your children once you become an adult? Think of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. These brands settle into the hearts and memories of their audience and remain there. Why? These brands are worlds. The possibilities within these worlds are vast. yet there is a defined logic and structure to these alternate realities, making them highly believable. Moving more inwardly, these worlds have limitless lands where limitless types of beings and characters can live in them. You see, it is not just the world that the audience loves, but mostly the characters that live within them and the different, yet somehow similar trials they must face in their lives. We as the audience are fascinated to see our own experiences told from a perspective that we’ve never seen before. The love of these brands stems from this juxtaposition of the familiar and the fantastic, and the undeniable love of these stories and char- acters, sometimes spanning across generations, carmot happen without a vast, complete and believable world. INTRODUCTION {continued} This approach has been utilized for countless intel- lectual properties, including Transformers and G.I. Joe, with much success, but has fallen short when attempted with girl properties. Perhaps this is because the softer gentler nature of girl properties felt limiting to those who would try. And all too often the worlds created for girl properties are left vague, ambiguous and generic. But i do not think this has to be so. A girl world can be set up the in the same manner, it is the intentions that must be different. Rather than set the stage for epic, dramatic adventure stories like the examples above, a girl world should set the stage for friendship, heart and laughter as well as adventure--- adventure that is more fun and exciting than dramatic and epic, but adventure nonetheless. With only that alternate inten- tion, the same strong history, mythology, back story and even the alternate logic and physics of an alternate world will serve the same purpose to endear you to the characters and make the stories memorable. This is a proposal for the world of My Little Pony, and the stories and characters that live within it. Friendship PREMISE My Little Pony is a show about friendship. magic and adventure told with a strong sense of fun and characteebased humor, meaning that the humor is derived from the personalities and interactions of the characters. Sure, there are plenty of visual gags, light slapstick humor, and plenty of silliness to go around, but even these sorts of laughs come from something about the characters. We focus on 6 young female ponies who have a maturity level from 10 through 15 and their relationships with one another in the little pony village they live in. and the light hearted adventures they have beyond their village in the vast. magical world beyond. They are the best of friends despite their diffe ences and they face challenges, joys and emotions like human girls their age. The only difference is that their experi— ences happen in a world of fantasy and magic with an appeaing “ponyesque” twist! Though the Show is primarily a comedy about friendships and reltionships, it is not unusual to learn an important lesson. get your heart strings tugged upon or find yourv self on the edge of your seat! Now, before we get into these funny. sometimes heart- warming. sometimes exciting stories. Let me set the stage..... WORLD + LOCATIONS The world of My Little Pony is not completely unlike ours. The sky is blue, the grass is green, plants grow and animals ahound, but it is by the mere fact alone that. colorful talking ponies are living in it, a magical world. And in this world, the ponies live in their own realm, the land of Equestria (taken from the word “equestrian," which means “of or relating to horseback riding") Here. our little ponies live similarly to us. They care For their homes and families, have important res sponsibilities or even jobs, they spend time with friends, they run errands, shop and eat and just generally deal with the day-to-day tasks of living« only every aspect of their lives has something “pony-esque" about it. Their houses are homes with elements of a stable thrown in. Their yards are lawns, but are also reminiscent of a coma]. There are elements of their towns and villages that are like equestrian centers. or ranches. Even their food markets seem a little like feed stores. Their clothing (when they choose to wear it, for their colorful pony coats keeps them plenty warm and covered) are half fashion wear, half tack. Though they live and act like people, everything they have and everything they do has some sort of pony “theme" to it. PONYVILLE Though the realm. of Equestria is vast, My Little Pony talees place primarily in the pony village of Ponyville. Moderately populated by several dozen or so pony families, Fillydelphia is a quaint township surrounded by mostly meadows and pony farms, where Earth ponies cultivate the ponies’ favorite foods: carrots, oats, hay, sugar for sugar cubes and the sweet treat Fillydelphia is famous for, APPLES!!! Though Ponyville is a simple village, there is often a lot of bustle at the town square. Pony farmers strap on whimsical carts to sell their wares along the dirt roads. S hopleeeper ponies welcome customers to buy their country arts and crafts. Stemming from it’s apple producing roots, Ponyville’s town square has become what you may call a bit of a tourist trap. Ponies from neighboring towns and cities visit to shop for fresh fruit and vegetables, unique merchandise and to witness special events at the Fillydelphia Stable Center Sports Arena and Show Ring. There they can witness all sorts of entertament from pony sport competitions (jumping, dres— sage, rodeo and racing) to pony plays and musicals. Still, outside of the growing activity of the town square, Ponyville is quiet town, and the further you get from the center of town, the more and more rural it becomes. Beyond the fields of the pony farms, you find beautiful untouched meadows, and further still, the breathtaking Ever Free Forest, a mysterious but beauti- ful area in Equestria where the plants grow entirely on their own (a normal thing to us but an amazing thing to ponies!) And it is the village of Ponyville that 6 particu— lar pony friends call home. WORLD But one very important feature of the ponies lives is very, very different from ours. Ponies must endeavor to make their world live. The sun rises in the land of My Little Pony, but the little ponies have to MAKE it rise. They have to make the rain fall, they have to make the plants and forests grow, they have to usher in the spring so that the baby animals (and baby ponies for that matter) can be born. They make the leaves fall in the autumn so that the trees can grow new ones in the spring. They move the clouds so that the sun may shine on the meadow and they have plenty of sweet grass to eat. They’ve been doing this for thousands of years and their lives and culture have all grown from this neces— sity. It seems like a lot of work, but I assure you, it is second nature to them and they have very full social lives outside of their responsibilities to their world. In fact, this special responsibility to nature afford them some of their greatest joys, as all of their holidays, festivals and special events stem from seasonal duties. THE PONIES You would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t have at least a clue as to what a My Little Pony is. We all know them as brightly colored miniature horses with a cute stub— biness reminiscent of Welsh Ponies. They are not only sentient, but speak and live lives simila to we humans There are males and females, babies and elders, and they live in homes and little towns. What is most distinguish- able about the ponies are their Cutie Marks: the meaningful illustrations that ado n their flanks A pony’s cutie mark is extremely important, for they are symbolic of each pony’s individual— ity and serve as a personal symbol that defines each one’s unique character, passions and ambitions. In fact, baby ponies are born without a cutie mark and do not see their mark magically ap- pear until they truly know who they are and find their place in life. The mani— festation of a pony’s cutie mark is one of the most important parts of her life: a coming-of-age, and is joyfully celebrated like a sweet—sixteen, quincefiera or bat mitzvah. PONY TYPES There are 3 types of ponies that inhabit Equestria. 1 Earth Ponies The most populous type of pony, they are also the simplest looking. They have no magic like the other types of ponies, but even so they have the greatest talent for caring for nature. Hardy and resourceful, they’ve learned how to live without magic and are better than any other type of pony at growing plants, whether it be beautiful flowers or crops and they excel at car— ing for animals, both real and fantastic. They live in the fields, the plains, the forests and tend to remain close to the earth. They are quite grounded, both literally and figuratively. 2 Pegasis Ponies Ponies with feathered wings, the majority of pegasus live in the ever morphing city of C loud- sdale in the sky. Pegasus ponies” ability to fly has merited them stewardship of the weather. When the ground is dry, Pegasus ponies gather to gallop atop the clouds and shake loose the rain to the earth! Like cowboys, they wrangle the clouds from the sky to create a sunny day. They gather in great herds and flap their wings simultaneously to create the wind. With great effort, they can maneuver clouds before the sun to create rainbow bridges, but legend holds that pegasus can create a rainbow solely and completely on their own. Up until re— cently, this fact was believed to be a myth until one pegasus pony achieved this miracle, but she only did it once. 3 Unicorn Ponies Where earth ponies inhabit the earth and pe— gasus ponies populate the sky, unicorn ponies hail from the mountains. Each and every unicorn has magical powers that emanate from their horn, a Unicorn’s crowning glory. These individual powers usually coincide with each unicorns individual personality, talent and cutie mark. Most unicorns tend to gravitate to the more metropolitan of the pony dwellings, like Equestria’s awe inspiring capital and home of the queen, Canterlot. Canterlot is a hub for unicorns to practice their unique skill, which is reading and sometimes controlling the stars. The knowledge they gain from the stars helps them to guide the pegasus and earth ponies in their work and make Equestriais seasons run efficiently. Very talented unicorns can make certain stars shine brighter, or even move so that they may communicate with po— nies far, far away. They are the scholars, artists and mages (who needs science when you have magic?) of pony society. CHARACTERS Twilight Twinkle PONY TYPE : Unicorn ROLE : The smart one GOOD POINTS : Highly intelligent, disciplined, a responsible, idealistic, a natural born leader BAD POINTS : Takes on too many responsibilities, a bit judgemental, secretly unsure of herself UNICORN POWER : Casts light in the darkness, to illuminate, lights the way Twilight Twinkle (Twilight for short) is the newest resident Unicorn of Ponyville. She was raised in the Queen’s court in Canterlot surrounded by culture, art and magic. Being a city pony, she’s a bit out of place in a small village like Ponyville, but she likes it very much, it’s slow pace and peacefulness making it a perfect place for her to study. You see, Twilight was charged by the Queen herself with the mission to go to Ponyville to learn about the Magic of Friendship and report her findings to her Royal Highness. You see, though dutiful, intelligent and unusually gifted in the ways of the magic, Twilight was once a bit of a recluse, preferring to spend all her time studying and believing that friends were an unnecessary distraction. But the wise Queen knew that all Twilight needed to change this unhealthy at titude was (obviously) to actually MAKE some real friends. Which Twilight has in Ponyville. Newly converted, Twilight is not only enamored with the Magic of Friendship, but actually ob— sessed with learning all she can about it. When— ever she experiences these magical epiphanies, she sums up the experience and it’s meaning in a letter to the Queen. Apart from her duties to study the Magic of Friendship and report her findings to the Queen, Twilight has become a very welcome addition to Ponyville. Clever and knowledge able, she is adept to finding solutions to problems and is happy to help anyone who should ask. Whether you have a personal problem she can lend her insight to, or a greater problem she can solve with practicality or even magic. Twilight also has an extremely strong sense for what is right and wrong. She strives to be as good and responsible a pony she can and one can always expect her to do the right thing, even if it means personal sacrifice on her part. And she expects the same from others, so she rarely tolerates shenanigans from trouble—mak— ers like Rainbow Dash. In this sense Twilight can sometimes be a stick—in—the mud or a little too judgmental, sometimes failing to see the sensitive reasons behind some ponies’ short— comings. She very quick to “tsk, tsk, tsk” with her tongue and wag her finger... er, hoof. Though the ponies of Ponyville look up to Twilight for her intelligence and admire her courtly background, Twilight secretly doubts herself. She is placed her under a lot of pres— sure by other ponies’ expectations of her. She is so afraid to let her friends down and most especially she does not want to disappoint the Queen. Worries like these keep poor Twilight up late into the night. (In fact, this idiosyn— crasy and her habit of losing track of time while she studies at night is part of what earned Twi— light her cutie mark!) What Twilight has yet to learn is that the Queen recognized a tremen— dous and extraordinary potential in her. The Queen sees that she could one day become the most magical pony in all of Equestria, if only she is exposed to the right conditions. Condi- tions which could not be found in a courtly life in Canterbury, but only in Ponyville surrounded by the wonders of the world. Twilight frequently gets written royal requests from the Queen to complete missions. Some as small as gathering information or deliver— ing an important message, but others as large as diplomatic missions to deal with stubborn dragons who’s behavior may be adversely af— fecting Equestria. It’s at these times that we experience our exciting pony adventures, and Twilight finds that she is a natural born leader! Cleverly utilizing all her friends skills and talents to achieve their mission, and oftentimes discovering a new magic power within herself. It is at these times when Twilight is too focused to be insecure about herself that her natural instincts take over and she achieves things she never could from studying. And she does it by simply being herself. Rainbow Dash PONY TYPE : Pegasus ROLE : The adventurer GOOD POINTS : Adventurous, brave, a natural athlete BAD POINTS : Impatient, cocky, mischievous Rainbow Dash’s greatest, all-consuming pas- sion in life is to fly——— FAST!!!! Anyone who has ever seen this rainbow—haired pegasus in the air has been left in jaw—dropped awe of her speed, agility and, well, her confidence. Rain— bow Dash knows she’s awesome, and doesn’t seem to have a problem showing it. She’s quite positive she’s the fastest pegasus pony alive, and truth be told, she probably is. For when she was younger, during a race through the atmosphere she actually broke the air—speed record and achieved what no other pegasus had before: a rainbow that shot out behind her like a jet stream! Capable and athletic, Rainbow Dash lives for adventure! When any problem should arise that involves traveling to distant lands or dealing with a magical, mysterious beast, Rainbow is the first to volunteer! Rainbow Dash’s greatest ambition in life is to earn a position on the elite aerial acrobatic team, the celebrated Blue Thunders! The fastest and most agile pegasi, the Thunders are at the center stage of all major Equestrian national events and festivals and are called upon by the Queen herself for weather events of the highest importance. It would seem that Rainbow’s raw talent and skill would instantly earn her a spot on the team, but her greatest obstacle is a complete and total lack of disci— pline. Perhaps our little adventurer can over— come this character flaw someday and achieve her dream, or perhaps fate has something more in store for her... Rainbow Dash spends a lot of time dreaming of her future as a Blue Thunder in her little cloud stall above Ponyville. Sure, she has responsibilities like chasing away the clouds so the sun can shine on the farm ponies’ crops, but she unfortunately is not the most reliable pony in town. She doesn’t like chores too much, and would much rather challenge somepony to a race. When ponies come around to nag her about her duties, she’d just as soon hide, which makes for some fiinny antics. Rainbow Dash is also known to cause trouble. When practicing difificult aerial maneuvers, she’s sometimes misjudges and crash lands in the worst of places. Your flower garden, your corral fence, your house, your lunch, you... everypony in Ponyville has had something accidentally destroyed by Rainbow Dash, which is why she’s earned the nickname “Rainbow Crash.” And to make matters worse, when there are no adventures to go on and she gets bored, she’s liable to cause some mischief just to entertain herself If somepony emerges from the grooming salon with a newly coiffed mane and tail, Rainbow may take it upon herself to wrangle up a raincloud to muss it up! Ponies trying to admonish her for her pranks is an entirely other reason she always seems to be hiding from somepony. But beyond the trouble she causes, the ponies of Ponyville are happy to have her there. If someone has done you wrong, who’s the first to stick up for you? If you’re in danger, who’s the first to come to your aid? If some powerful creature is wreaking havoc in F il— lydelphia, or in all oquuestria, who’s the first to take the beast head on? You see, when the chips are down, and danger is a—brewing, Rainbow Dash always, always comes through, proving time and time again that she is a true hero! Pinkie Pie PONY TYPE : Earth Pony ROLE : The free spirit GOOD POINTS : Fun, silly, giggly, enthusiastic, marches to the beat of her own drum BAD POINTS : Naive, unrealistically optimistic, too much energy Pinky Pie is a tremendous ball of energy!! Giggly, playful and super girly, it’s not unusual to find this pink pony prancing and skipping joyfiilly though the streets looking for fun and always stopping to smell the flowers. By far the silliest pony around, her desire to entertain and unique view on situations make her the most likely source for humor. You may catch her romping through Ponyville marching to the beat doing cartwheels, singing a song in a silly voice and making up her own happy lyrics. Should she ever misunderstand something her take on the situation is certain to be hilarious, which is fine by her, for nothing makes her happier than evoking a giggle and a smile from her friends. Pinkie is the freest of free spirits, always acting on her whims and following her heart Eager to amuse her friends and make everyone happy, Pinky Pie will find ANY excuse to throw a party, whether it’s somepony’s birthday, a baby pony getting her cutie mark, or less obvious reasons like somepony getting their mane trimmed, getting rid of an annoying hangnail or receiving a bill in the mail. More than one pony in Ponyville has been the unsuspecting victim of a sneak—attack surprise party just because the weather was nice that day. To Pinkie Pie, every day is worth celebrating! Another reason Pinky throws countless parties is that she REALLY loves eating sweets. So if you’re looking for her you’ll have a good chance at finding her at the Sugarcube Sweet Shoppe. Ponies have learned to pass the front door of the Sugarcube with extreme caution, for you never know when Pinky should snap into a powerful sugar rush and fly out the front door like a rocket, practically destroying everything in her path! ! Fortunately for Pinky, being the establishment’s best customer means the own— ers don’t mind that they have to replace their front door on a weekly basis! Always eager to say hello and start a conversation, Pinky is a super fast talker, and should you find yourself caught in one with her, you may soon find your head spinning and your eyes rolling in their socketsl! Pinkie is so happy and innocent, it is impos— sible for her to look on the negative side of a situation. This makes Pinkie Pie the ultimate optimist and everyone’s eternal cheerleader! But while this positive attitude oftentimes keeps her friends from giving up when things get rough, it also makes her sometimes unrealistic, and sends her head first into trouble before she’s thought things through. Still, no matter what crazy antics she’s up to, Pinky Pie is always sure to bring a smile and a giggle, and all can’t help but love her! Applejack PONY TYPE : Earth Pony ROLE : The dependable one GOOD POINTS : Honest, friendly, practical, hard—working, enthusiastic, calm BAD POINTS : A little too honest, set in her ways, close minded, stubborn, slightly insensitive Applejack is Ponyville’s resident farm gal! She lives at Big Apple Orchard just outside of town with her family. Having grown up working hard to keep her family’s famous Apple business growing, Applejack has come to be known as the most down—to—earth, resourcefiil and de— pendable Earth Pony this side of the Bramble— downs Dustbowl! A talented arboriculturist, Applejack is the kinda pony who ain’t afraid to get her hooves dirty. Where a more frilly pony (and let’s face it, most ponies are pretty frilly) would shy away from sweating all day and mucking through the dirt to plant trees or grow vegetables, Applejack knows that that’s what it takes to make the most delicious food around. And she just might be one of the only girl ponies around who doesn’t shriek at the sight of a bug. She just picks it on up and moves it out of the way, taking care that the little creature doesn’t get squished by a shovel or hoe. However, the flip side of not being afraid of a little dirt is that you may not be aware of when a little dirt is a little too dirty. A bit too practical to use a napkin when wipin’ your mouth on your coat will do just fine, Applejack was once voted pony most likely to forget to comb her hair. It don’t bother her none——— although maybe it should. Incredibly honest, Applejack would never stoop to tell a lie. However her honesty and practicality keeps her from being as sensi— tive to others feelings as she should be. She cer— tainly would never intend to hurt somepony’s feelings, but if you ask her “does this saddle make me look fat,” she won’t hesitate to tell you if it does. Still, this “horse sense” makes her a beacon for those seeking advice. Applejack has an impeccable ability to break a situation down to it’s core and fix it fast, usually with a wacky country anecdote told with a charming dose of Texan twang. Her pragmatic take on life may make her a great sounding board, but unfortunately, Applejack can be a bit old fashioned and set in her ways. She prefers to stick to the tried and true ways of pony living, and when somepony has a new idea, whether it be a new food, or a new fashion trend, or a magic machine for growing apples Applejack is loathe to try it. Es— pecially if it’s magic! She doesn’t trust the stuff! It ain’t natural! This stubborn streak may be the only thing that holds her back from time to time. Lastly, it must be said that this country gal ain’t no bumpkin! Applejack’s stick—to—it attitude doesn’t only apply to growing apples. We just so happen to be talking about Ponyville’s resident cham—peen barrel racin’, doggie herdin’, cattle ropin’, buckin’ bronco! ! Rodeo is one oprplejack’s greatest passions! So much so that her family let her set up her own practice corral in the orchard, and she spends all her free time there. And, please, don’t ever suggest that her Western tack isn’t as pretty as the more popular English dressage tack that all the trendy ponies wear. Applejack won’t take none of it! I mean, that confangled “bit” on the bridles? The one you put in your mouth? What’s that nonsense for anyway? Puh—lease. Rarity PONY TYPE : Unicorn ROLE : The debutante GOOD POINTS : Sophisticated, beautiful, creative, ambitious, generous BAD POINTS : Vain, a little entitled, fussy, dissatisfied UNICORN POWER : To make anything shine and sparkle, can change almost anything’s color, has special ability to find gemstones Rarity could possibly be the most beautifixl unicorn you’ve ever seen——— and she works hard to keep it that way! As she prances down the street, her coat gleaming pure white and her royal purple curls bouncing, everyone’s head turns, mostly in admiration, but sometimes with envy. Though she loves this attention (and labors for it, for she spends every evening in a milk bath for that white coat, and sleeps every night in curlers for those ringlets) she certainly does not think she is better than any other pony. In fact, Rarity does not just work on her own beauty, she wants everything and everypony to be beautifiil, too! She uses her keen eye for detail, her creativity, her unicorn powers to find gems and make things sparkle all in conjunction as a pony fashion designer! In fact, her designs are by far the most gorgeous at one of Ponyville’s newest, hottest boutique, “Carousel Couture,” a fancifully detailed shop that looks like a merry— go—round. However, at Carousel Couture, Rarity’s outfits, though fabulous, are as unusual to come by as her name suggests. You see, Rarity is very generous with her talents and should she believe that one her outfits would be perfect for somepony, she simply gives it away--— which, of course, is bad for business, much to the chagrin of Carousel Couture’s owner. A slave to inspira— tion, she simply can’t help herself. She sees so much tremendous potential in her friends, she always pressing them to submit to a patented Rarity makeover. She’ll makeover your hair, she’ll makeover your coat, she’ll makeover your stallroom, she’ll makeover your house, she’d makeover the whole town if they’d just let her!!! Rarity’s greatest ambition is to one day design for the Queen herself! Not only would it be the greatest honor a pony designer could ever achieve, but it would get her into the sophis— ticated and highly cultured city of Canterlot and out of tiny little, podunk, nothing—even happens here, Ponyville. Don’t get her wrong, Rarity was born and raised in Ponyville, and out of love she has tried her best to bring it up to her cultural standards, but these silly little farm folk don’t appreciate true beauty and all too often scoff at her town makeover efforts. “They would never do that in Canterlot,” of that Rarity is quite certain! The folks of Ponyville are much too practical for most of Rarity’s gifts, and it leaves her longing for a more suitable place to live. This dissasifaction contributes to the assump— tion that Rarity is a snob. Complaining about the town, prancing through the streets, a little too quick to ofier fashion advice, fainting at the sight of bugs, refusing to go out in the rain, wrinkling her nose at dirty farm tools——— all these behaviors make her come off as entitled and prissy. And well, maybe she is, just a little, but mostly she is misunderstood, and deep down she has a heart as pure as the gold thread she laces through her carousel designs. Fluttershy PONY TYPE : Pegasus ROLE : The sweet one GOOD POINTS : Gentle, loving, a natural beauty, nurturing, helpful BAD POINTS : Shy, fearful, naive, unconfident, easily manipulated F luttershy seems as though she is destined to be a princess. A graceful, fawn—like maiden, her gentle, serene ways make her unusually attractive to forest animals, both of the real and natural variety. Everywhere she goes a trail of butterflies follows her, and she’s usue ally carrying a chipmunk or two on her back. When no one else is around, she sings out in a beautifirl voice that call her little forest friends to her. But she has no aspirations to royalty. She is quite content in her quiet cottage off the meadow, where she has everything she needs to take care of her animal friends. In fact, she wouldn’t know what to do with the sort of at— tention a princess gets! You see, F luttershy is rather, well shy. Colored like the wild flowers in a meadow, Fluttershy is a natural beauty, and a humble one at that. Her soft flowing mane and tail have grown to very unusual lengths with no effort put forth from her. In fact, Fluttershy is the type of caregiver who is so preoccupied with the care and needs of others that she hardly takes time out for herself. Should she ever venture into town and brave all the hustle and bustle, it is usually on a mission to help one of her animal friends, whether picking up some medicine, or finding supplies to repair a home. Her generosity reaches out even beyond wild— life. She’d do almost anything to help a pony in need. Unfortunately, however, F luttershy is a little too trusting. So eager to help, creatures with questionable motives need only to shed a little tear to recruit her assistance, and she frequently finds herself the “damsel in distress” of the our pony entourage. Gentle and soft spoken, she has difficulty finding the strength to see herself out of her own problems. To go along with her shyness, she also lacks confi— dence. But what F luttershy has yet to har— ness is an inner strength that only comes out when others are in trouble. Seemingly defense— less when she’s the victim, she emits an intimi— dating strength when she witnesses someone else being victimized or treated unfairly. And she does this with the STARE! You know the STARE. We all know the stare. It’s the stare Moms give their kids when they’re about to step over the line. That “don’t even think about, buster” look that stops kids in their tracks. Under the right circumstances, F luttershy’s stare can intimidate even the mighty dragons and griffons, but she can only muster it when it is sincere. She’s too uncontrollably honest to be able to fake it for manipulative reasons, much to mischievous Rainbow Dash’s chagrin. Besides the STARE, Fluttershy is a valuable asset to the ponies when trouble arises because of her affinity with animals. When she’s able to overcome her shyness and fear she’s an incredible diplomat, her sweetness and sincerity charming even the most stubborn or powerful of mythical beasts. Much to F lut— tershy’s fear, she is called upon by Twilight to attend many pony adventures for this reason. And to her further fear, F luttershy is often recruited for her valuable ability to fly. But flying to far, unknown places and confronting magical creatures in the sky is quite outside her comfort zone, and it does not help that she is often paired with fellow Pegasus, brave Rainbow Dash who has little patience for Flut— tershy’s fearful reservations. Poor F luttershy would never admit it, but she even has a fear of heights——— very embarrassing for a Pegasus. Still, her talents make it worth it. Fluttershy has a lot of fears to overcome and growing up to do, but certainly one day her strength of character and enormous heart will make her a force to be reckoned with! Supporting Cast Big Apple Big Apple is Applejack’s older brother and overseer/owner/ head —honcho at Big Apple Farms. Suffice to say, he’s a work horse! Quiet and dependable, we don’t hear too much out of him since he’s mostly pulling plows, tending fields or mending fences. He does have a special relationship with his little sis, Applejack, and on the rare occasions that he does speak, it’s usually to playfully razz his sister who’s happy to sass him right back! Big, strong and, well, studly, it’s not unusual for a girl pony to develop a crush on Big Apple, and giggly fillies are often found visiting the farm to admire him under the guise that they want to buy some pie. Some of our girls may not admit it, but they may just be crushing a bit on him, too. Granny Smith Granny Smith is the Apple Family matriarch and great—grandmother to the 3 Apple foals. She doesn’t do too much these days aside from sleeping standing—up on her rocker and teetering back and forth like a rocking horse on the front porch. A little deaf and a good bit kooky, you’re never quite sure what’ll come out of her mouth when she is awake, but whatever it is it’s sure to make you chuckle, whether you really should or not. If you happen to be down by the farm, make sure to check in to see if Granny Smith’s made any apple pies; they’re the best this side of Prickly Prairie!! Appleseed Appleseed is Applejack’s little filly sister. Unlike her comrade crusaders, Sweetie Belle and Scoot- a100, who have obvious talents that will clearly earn them cutie marks someday, Appleseed has less direction and truly has no idea what it is she is meant to do, and who she is meant to be. Like her name suggests, Appleseed is full of potential, but has a lot of growing to do. Because of this lack of direction and focus that the other baby ponies have, Appleseed is a bit more determined than the are. . .. scratch that. She is A LOT more determined than they are! And as a result, she has become the unofficial leader of the trio, com- ing up with most of their cutie mark missions and spear heading their efforts. This constant experimentation has little Appleseed frequently leading her friends into in situations she’s they’re ill prepared for and trying things they’re really no good at. As a result, she comes across as clumsy, accident—prone and a good source for laughs. Luckily she’s too stubborn to let it hurt her feel- ings and most certainly to let it stop her. She’ll never rest until there’s something cute illustrat— ing her little butt! Scootaloo In addition to earning her cutie mark, Scootaloo is also determined to learn how to fly. Tomboyish and determined, she doesn’t let her inability to fly keep her from stay— ing EXTREMELY active. Competitive and mischievous, she often challenges the other baby ponies to races and games, and, should she lose, just might get into a scrawl with the boy baby ponies. Perhaps this is because she feels she has to compensate for being an earthbound Pegasus. But this “handi- cap” has led her to a special, unique talent: Scootaloo has fashioned herself a special pony scooter and she uses her. Pegasus wings not to fly, but to propel her little scooter for— ward, her speedily pumping wings making little motor engine noises the whole way! Perhaps it is when she accepts her limita— tions and embraces her special talents that she will finally earn her cutie mark! Sweetie Belle Sweetie Belle’s quest for her cutie mark is not her only goal in life. She wants so badly to be like her beautiful, talented, sophisticated, older sister, Rarity! Sweetie Belle longs for nothing more than her sister’s praise and acceptance, and her persistent pursuit of this can make her a bit of a nuisance to Rarity. Sweetie Belle is practically Rarity’s shadow, and to a Unicorn trying to climb society’s ladder to become aworld—renowned fashion designer, a pre—aclolescent tag—along can really cramp your style! To make matters worse, Sweetie Belle spends lots of time at Carousel Couture trying to “help” Rarity with her Carousel designs——- and between you and me, she doesn’t quite have her older sister’s raw talent. Howev- er, Sweetie Belle has a blossoming talent for sing- ing. Her voice is as sweet as a bell—-—- a really BIG bellll One cannot believe the booming, soulful sound that comes out of such a petite, little fawn of a Unicorn! Maybe when Sweetie Belle stops trying to be somepony she’s not and pursues and develops her own natural talents, she will finally wake up one morning with something adorable on her little patootie! Cheerliee Cheerilee is Ponyville’s elementary school teacher, and the constant wrangler of the re— nowned “Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Whenever we focus on the adventures of our little band of baby ponies, it is Cheerilee who gives them the guidance, words of wisdom and, well, supervision they need. One would imagine that having to chase 3 mischievous baby ponies with a penchant for getting into trouble would try one’s patience, but like her name would suggest, Cheerile is always, ALWAYS cheeiful, no matter whatll And what makes this even better for our blank— bottomed trio is that Cheerilee is always there to “cheer” them on in their quest! Cheerilee and Twilight Twinkle have devel— oped a very close friendship as both of them spend lots of time at the library. Twilight to study magic, pony history and lore, and Cheerilee to find fantastical stories to share with her pony students. Not only does she find these stories wonderful educational tools, but also for when a pony is feeling down and needs cheering up. Cheerilee’s sunny disposition and ability to look on the bright side makes her a wonderful confidant and shoulder to cry on when things just aren’t going your way——— to both baby ponies and to older ponies as well. Ponyville might not be the happy place it is if Cheerilee were not there to brighten everyone’s day! Queen Celestia Queen Celestia is the ruler of Equestria. She is a magnificent pony who is perhaps more horse-like than her cute subjects, and sports both a unicorn’s horn and a pegasus’ wings. She is profoundly magical and some say she is over a thousand years old. She alone is responsible for the rising and falling of the sun and moon, and as such, all of the ponies’ lives depend entirely on her. Queen Celestia is an elusive character, and very few ponies have had the privilege to see her or know her, though it is well known that she is wise and kind. She is spoken of often, but rarely seen. Spike Spike the baby dragon has been sent from Canterlot to be Twilight’s assistant. Cute, curious, easily confused and terribly loyal, Spike works very hard to help Twilight with her studies and her missions from the Queen. Though he usually walks on all fours, he is able to stand and offer his “hands,” an ability that proves invaluable to the hoofed ponies. But even more valu— able, Spike has a unique magical connec— tion to the Queen that proves invaluable to Twilight. When Twilight is ready to report her findings about the Magic of Friend- ship to the Queen, not only does Spike take dictation from her, but he uses his dragon breath to incinerate the letter. The glittery embers fly magically through the air finally re—assembling themselves in the Queen’s fireplace for her to read. In return, when the Queen has a letter to send to Twilight, Spike is able to “burp” it up in a puff of smoke——— and usually in the most embarrass- ing of moments! Short and stubby, Spike doesn’t exactly look like he’s destined to be one of the enormous, long and lean magical reptiles he calls his brethren, but he will. In fact, every so often he stumbles across one of his dragon abilities, but with no adult dragon to teach him, these powers are often hard for him to control. Found orphaned as an egg, Spike’s dragon heritage is a bit of a mystery. Drag— ons are notorious to ponies, but they know little about them, so Spike is either seen. as spectacle or something to fear. Good thing he has strong and patient Twilight to protect him! Shaman Shaman is a mysterious zebra who lives alone deep in the mystical Ever Free Forest. Hailing from a far off, exotic land, Shaman is a sorceress of sorts. She has no magical powers like unicorns, but is wise in the natural magic of the Ever Free Forest and a keeper of ancient lore. Though all the ponies know her, she has become a mentor to Twilight, who cannot always find the information she needs in the library. It is at these times, and when the Queen sends Twilight on a particularly challenging mission, that Twilight and her friends visit Shaman for help. They need only hope that Shaman is not in the middle of some strange magical ritual when they do. Sha— man often speaks in riddles and is very cryptic with her answers. This is very frustrating to the ponies, but they always find that with careful thought and exploration, her words are invalu— able to the task at hand. Stories The world of My Little Pony is vast both inwardly and outwardly, and as a result two difierent types of stories can be told: Adventure stories, and Relationship stories. Here’s how: Adventure Stories Equestria is a tremendous realm that has many landscapes: mountains, prairies, forests, plains, deserts, lakes, beaches, even rainforests and jungles! And out of the I landscapes pony districts have developed areas where pony culture varies because of the lifestyle they lead in their environment (we must remember that it is the po— nies’ responsibility to make these ecosystems the way they are, so of course a culture has grown from it!) So when our little troupe is not dealing with dragons, gryphorrs and manticors, they may be meeting up with and learning about Mustang ponies on the plains, or with the native deer (who like ponies speak and sport cutie marks) who live like the native Americans of the Northeast. They may encounter llamas in the mountains, or lively Arabian ponies in the deserts! They may even have an adventure underwater with their neighbors, the seaponies. Cultural pony diversity will serve for fantastic fodder for classic travel adventure, learning about new communities and customs and meeting new types of friends! It is in these stories the audience learns the importance of respecting people and customs that are different from your own and how to make new friends. But questria is only part of a limitless magical w rld. Beyond the borders of their country 3 less defined and often mysterious to the ponies. Out there live other magical creatures that may or may not have an organized society like the ponies. Often these creatures have an effect on the ponies’ world and interfere with their ability to move the seasons. That is when our pony heroines must often leave the comfort of their home (often at the promptng of a letter to Twilight from the Queen) and resolve e problem, never kn wing exactly what t ey’re going to encou er outside the king In of Equest ia The lands beyond Equestria, full of my tery and even dange w ll offer the viewer even more exciting adventures! It is in these tales that maybe we don’t learn so much, but we have an awe- some time!! Short and stubby, Spike doesn’t exactly look like he’s destined to be one of the enormous, long and lean magical reptiles he calls his brethren, but he will. In fact, every so often he stumbles across one of his dragon abilities, but with no adult dragon to t ach him, these powe s are often hard for him to control Found orphaned as egg, Spike’s drago eritage is a bit of a ystery. Dragons ar otori— ous to ponies, but they know little about them, so Spike is either seen as spectacle or something to fear. Good thing he has strong and patient Twilight to protect him! Relationship Stories As vast as Equestria is, we must remember that Ponyville is the place our little herd of fillies call home. Not to mention the fact that not every day in the life of any adventurer is so exciting. Our sextet has their day—to—day lives to lead as well, and this is where our Relationship stories come into play. Ponyville is a town not unlike towns of humans, and there’s plenty to see and do there, and even more to disagree about. You see, our girls are wonder— ful friends and have so many things in common, but like all friends they don’t always ge along. Rainbow Dash is always trying to get out of her responsibilities, Applejack is always chasing Rainbow down to do her chores, Twilight doesn’t approve of Rainbow Dash’s laziness, as a result Twilight is Rainbow’s favorite Victim for mischief Fluttershy doesn’t approve of Rainbow Da h’s mischief, Rarity i al— ways try ng to get shy Flutter h to model for her f shion shows, Rainbow Dash loses her patience with Pinky Pie’s incessant talking, so does Twilight, Twilight’s always trying to help Applejack with her chores but Applejack doesn’t approve of magic, Rarity thinks Applejack is dirty, Applejack thinks Rarity is too fussy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are athletically competitive, Rarity is secretly jealous of F luttershy’s natural beauty, Twilight patie tly tries to get F lutte shy to come out fher shell, Rainbow Dash impatiently t i s to do the same... t e list goes on and on! And it’s hard to believe that a group with so many differences can be such good friends, but it’s in the demonstrating of their friendship despite their differences that we find our stories. It is in these tales that our audience learns how to maintain friendships and solve disagreements. It is also in these tales that the audience relates the ponies to themselves and their own friends. Sample Relationship Stories Ticket Master Twilight has been given to tickets to go back to Canterlot for an important festival. Before she has the chance to figure out who she’d like to invite, Pinkie Pie accidentally blabs to all the ponies about the tickets and it turns out that each of them has never been there before and has an important reason to go! It’s bad enough now that Twilight has to choose between her friends, but soon they’re going overboard kissing up to her, which makes virtuous Twilight VERY uncomfortable. Before she knows it, she’s actually running and hiding from the on— slaught of compliments and bribes coming from her friends! And just when Twilight’s about to lose, the rumor spreads throughout all of Fillydelphia and now EVERYPONY’S kissing up for tickets!! Who will she pick——- that is if she survives long enough to choose! Griffon the Brush Off Rainbow Dash doesn’t usually have much patience for Pinky Pie, but lately they’ve been getting along famously. Usually an- noyed by Pinky’s energy, Rainbow has found that her hyperactivity makes her the only lo- cal pegasus who can keep up with her in the sky. And since Pinky’s always looked up to Rainbow Dash, she’s having the time of her life with this newfound acceptance. But, one day, out of the blue (literally,) Rainbow Dash is visited by an old friend from beyond Equestria, a beautiful young griffon named Grizelda. Now Rainbow and Grizelda are best friends in the sky and Pinky has been left in the dust. It turns out Grizelda is all smiles and compliments to Rainbow, but true to her Griffon nature, she’s a nasty, snotty, predator to everyone else. But Pinky has an advantage: the element of surprise——— SURPRISE PARTY that is! Over and over Pinky throws huge parties for Grizelda at the most embarrassing of times. Growing increasingly annoyed and frustrated, it isn’t long before Grizelda’s true nature is revealed in front of Rainbow, who will not put up with her friends being treated that way! Grizelda takes off in a huff, and Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie are friends again! The Cutie Mark Chronicles Waking up yet another morning without her cutie mark, Appleseed just can’t figure out what it is she’s doing wrong! So she goes out on. a research mission to find out just what you have to do to convince the powers—th at-be that you’re ready for your cutie mark. To find out, Appleseed spends a day asking the ponies to relay to her what happened the day they earned their cutie marks. In a series of reminiscing flashbacks, some exciting, some funny and some senti— mental, we learn, too! Applebonk Season The ponies have decided to meet for one of Pinky’s party’s and when Applejack shows up there’s something... wrong about her. She’s having a hard time pay— ing attention and seems to be bumping into things. She explains to her friends that it’s apple honking season and boy does her head hurt! You see, ponies can’t climb ladders or gingerly pick ap- ples with their big hooves, so they have to knock the apples out of the trees. The Apple family uses their heads for this, as they have found it knocks out twice as many apples as bucking. The side affects, however, are rather obvi— ous. Twilight quickly offers her magical services. Certainly there’s a spell that will empty an apple tree, but Applejack will have none of it!! She doesn’t like magic; it’s not natural. The Apple fam— ily has been honking for generations and they’re not going to stop now. Over the next several days, Applejack’s symptoms get worse. She trips over everything, she can’t walk in a straight line, she can’t hear because her ears ring, she totally botches a big rodeo competition. All the while Twilight offers to help, but Applejack is too stubborn! She’s going to bonk until she can’t bonk no more— —— and it looks like that might happen! Finally, Twilight watches on as Apple« jack bonks her last tree. She drops in a heap of exhaustion, proud that she was persistent and got the job done without magic. That is until her brother points out the other orchard, still covered in apples. Applejack surrenders! She al— lows Twilight to try her magic. Twilight closes her eyes and sits... and sits... and sits... and just before Applejack is about to call out the rnalarkey, a spark flies from Twilights horn and all the apples instantly fall from all the trees all at once. They even roll across the ground and place themselves in barrels. Slackjawed, Applejack can only babble incoherently while Twilight smugly in— forms her that she can offer her services at honking time next year, too. Bring On the Thunder Little Appleseed has a new plan for obtaining her cutie mark and Rainbow Dash has agreed to help. However, Rainbow had a bit of a brain fart in her planning, you see that very day is the day that the Blue Thunders will be in town for a show! Now, Rainbow Dash wants nothing more than to become a Blue Thunder, and this opportunity to impress them is too hard to pass up. Rainbow, being the slightly irresponsible pony that she is, puts her priority on showing off. But every time Rainbow pulls off an impressive maneuver, the Thunders just happen to be looking the other way. In the meantime Appleseed tries to ac— complish her goals on her own -—— which is really, really, really bad because Appleseed is attempting to earn a cutie mark for DARE DEVIL STUNTSH And of course, just when Rainbow Dash is about to pull of her most spectacular move with the Blue Thunders’ undivided attention, little Apple— seed shoots herself out of a poorly constructed canon and flies past Rainbow, yelping for help! In mid—air Rainbow Dash has decide whether to ruin her one chance with the Thunders or save her little friend, who wouldn’t need saving if Rainbow had just been responsible. Obviously she saves Appleseed, but she severely botches her landing and blows it with the Thunders. Still, Rainbow is happier she saved her friend, and is left with an important lesson. Let’s just hope she remembers it. Dragonshy Fluttershy is much too shy! Even though she has a special affinity with animals, and a sweet disposition that everyone loves, she can barely ever speak up for herself. That is why she is surprised why Twilight asks her of all the ponies to help on a new mission from the Queen. A dragon from beyond Equestria’s borders has fallen asleep atop a mountain and his snoring is blowing so much smoke into the sky, the pegasi can’t keep it from blocking out the sun. Twilight gathers her friends for the adventure, but Fluttershy is too scared. Once the ponies make it up the mountain (with much difficulty I might add!) they try to reason with the dragon, but it is clear that Twilight’s diplomacy, Rarity’s charm and Pinky Pie’s humor will not work on such a disagreeable creature. So the ponies have no choice to try to force him off the mountain! But the dragon is too strong for them and Fluttershy watches in horror as her friends are thrown seemingly lifeless down the mountain side! At the sight of her hurt friends, Fluttershy transforms! She marches up to the dragon and gives him THE STARE!!! The dragon gulps as she admonishes him! “Who do you think you are?” and “what right do you have?” and “How dare you!” The enormous rep— tile backs away with every passionate step forward she takes. And, to the impressed amazement of her friends, this works! The dragon apologizes and leaves Equestria to find another place to nap, and Fluttershy finds that when you believe in some— thing, even the smallest of us can find the strength to do what is right! A Dawg and Pony Show Rarity is in constant need of new materials for her carousel outfits, and she uses one of her unicom gifts to find rare and beautiful items from seem- ingly nowhere. One day while she is out on a search, she does not realize she is being watched as she easily uncovers a huge deposit of gemstones. Suddenly, she is captured by a posse of Diamond Dawgs: burrowing, half prairie dog, half troll crea- tures are dripping with gold chains, rings and ear- rings. They talk like gangsta rappers (or at least try to, and they’re really bad at it) and also like gangsta rappers, have a notable obsession with acquiring bling! Her friends try to nrsh to her rescue, but find it difficult to get past the Diamond Dawgs who pop in and out of the ground like a whack—a- mole game, tripping them up and blocking their way. Inside the dawgs’ mines, Rarity is strapped to a cart and forced her to point out where the bling is. But they soon find that Rarity is no damsel in distress. And I don’t mean that she fights back oh no! That might make her chip her hoof! Complaining about the filth, refusing to cooper— ate, belittling the gangstas’ personal style, whining about how everything is too hard, Rarity proves herself to be the most demanding and diva—like hostage the Diamond Dawgs have ever known. So when, after an exhausting rescue mission, Rarity’s friends make it into the mines, they find the dawgs begging the ponies to rescue THEMll And a perfectly satisfied Rarity prancm out of the mines with enough jewels for fifty carousel outfits! Fancy Meeting You Deer There has been a strange figure appearing in the woods that appears from afar to be a mysterious pony with. .. antlers? Curious and eager for adventure, Rainbow Dash wrangles up some of the girls to investi— gate, and what they find is a herd of talk— ing, cutie —mark donning forest deer who speak and adorn themselves like the native Americans of the NorthEast. They find that the pony is their adoptive son, and a pony who does not know he is not a deer even though his antlers are obviously sticks (his deer family dance around the subject like it’s a bad toupee.) Can the ponies con— vince the deer pony of who he really is and convince him to come back to Fillydelphia with them——— or should they?? Nothing More to Sea The ponies go on a vacation to the beach only to find that the tide has gone so un— usually far out, it has uncovered a portion of the kingdom of the sea ponies! Dried up and languishing in the sun, the once lush, beautiful city of the sea is quickly turning into ruins. Twilight, having just learned some special water magic for the trip, helps her friends enter the ocean where they meet the sea ponies and find that the selfish, monstrous sea serpent, the Kraken, is hording half the water of the sea for his underground home and is taking more and more every hour. Can the ponies team up with the sea ponies to get the ocean back from the Kraken? The Audience { and how they’ll relate} Main Audience Girls Ages 6 — 11 My Little Pony offers 2 elements that are very important and popular to girls: rela— tionships and fantasy. Relationships. The ponies’ friendships will mirror girls’ friendships and their day—to— day lives, troubles, prohlerns, activities and joyful moments will reflect ‘tween experi— ences. Our ponies, though independent, have the emotional range of anywhere be- tween 10 and 15, with most seeming about 12. They way the cope with and respond to conflicts that arise will be the same as a 12 year old girl. Their feelings and what sort of things they learn will be the same as well. But what sets My Little Pony apart from all other ‘tween properties is that all these experiences have a FANTASICAL twist, and clever “pony” theme behind all of it. (For instance, if we were to tell a story about a sports competition, we would not have the pony’s play soccer, but polo, or rodeo, or a jumping competition. If we wanted to tell a story about a dance recital, it would be a dressage recital. All the feel— ings and experiences would be that of a little girl, it is only the details that would be pony.) Fantasy. There’s no denying it. Genera- tions of girls have had love affairs with Magic and Fantasy, and My Little Pony strongly incorporates girldom’s personal representation of the fantasy world: The Unicorn. Castles, royalty, mythical beasts, magical lands, princesses, fairies, shiny glittery dust that changes things for good. Girls love it and always have. This proposal for My Little Pony keeps magic and fantasy distinctly feminine, but takes out the fluff and keeps in just enough edge to keep the world and the stories exciting, which a modern ‘tween demands. It is possible to be cute and girly AND cool. Secondary Audience Preschool Ages 3 —6 The ponies are cute. Preschoolers own ponies. The stories and morals within are nice enough for parents. Little kids want to watch big kid stuff. They’ll watch. Boys (believe it or not) They won’t admit it, but they’ll watch. When their sister’s watching it, they’ll balk and act like it’s dumb, then they’ll sit down and watch it. For the same reason Moms will find My Little Pony interesting enough to happily share with their daughters, the compelling conflicts, the strong character— izations, the silly humor and (most impor— tantly for boys) the ADVENTURE, the boys will watch, too. Really. Moms We’ve got a few good points going for us when it comes to Moms. First, the original buyers of My Little Ponies are in their late twenties to mid—thirties and are likely to have daughters within the target age range, 3—11. Bringing back elements of the original ponies from the 80’s (original characters like Applejack and Spike, strong sense of classical magic like Dream Castle and the Waterfall, and a pinch of legitimate pony play) will nurture a sense of nostalgia, some— thing that is not difficult to do with Geerers. Second, compelling storylines (ie: truly engaging conflicts, both external adventure— and inter— nal relationships,) characters with depth and complexity, clever and silly humor that doesn’t talk down to kids (pony puns like F illydelplria, a regular supply of slapstick and character—based jokes and gags) and even a few jokes that might go over the kids’ heads will all engage Mom enough that watching My Little Pony will become a fun thing for Mom to do with her daughter. Not only will Mom be sharing her favorite childhood toy with her little girl, but she may actually enjoy watching, too!