Max Skinner

Like most little girls growing up in the mid-2010s, I obsessed over “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” It was one of my earlier introductions to cartoons – an interest that has stuck with me since. As much as I loved the show, though, I did eventually leave it behind. I stopped watching “My Little Pony” somewhere around a decade ago, and although I’ve grown up, I still miss the simplicity of watching it every day after school. So I thought, what better way to deal with the stress of upcoming finals than by going on a little trip back to Ponyville?

Welcome Back!

Diving back into the world of “My Little Pony” gave me whiplash, honestly. At first, I felt a wave of almost-forgotten nostalgia. The world design is ridiculous and wonderful, with gravity-defying rolling hills in the background and whimsical sloping roofs on all the houses. I remember loving each of the ponies’ homes, especially Twilight’s – I dreamed of living in a treehouse library. After I got past the nostalgia, though, it really hit me that, yeah, this is definitely geared towards nine-year-olds. The humor is pretty simplistic most of the time, and the plots are incredibly straightforward, especially in the beginning.

Horsing Around

There are a few recurring jokes, however, that absolutely delight me. The various names of places in the world of Equestria are frequently plays on words: Canterlot (Camelot), Manehattan (Manhattan), and Fillydelphia (Philadelphia), to name a few.  In my very intellectual research (reading the MLP fan Wiki), I even discovered a “My Little Pony” equivalent for Salt Lake: Salt Lick City. I did actually catch quite a few of these location puns when I was younger, but it still takes me by surprise sometimes when they pull another reference out of nowhere.

These other jokes are more sporadic, but they especially amuse me now that I’m older. The show will randomly throw in a completely stupid bit that only (slightly) older viewers would understand, and it makes me laugh every time. In an episode where a fashion expert critiques Rarity’s fashion show, he snootily says, “Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink!” (God, I love the way they talk). Rarity then, for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever, sheepishly pushes an actual kitchen sink backstage.

Another good one later on is when Twilight clears off a crate to stand on right before ranting to Pinkie Pie about magic. That crate, though, has a very particular label: suds – she’s literally standing on a soapbox. I mean, come on. These ridiculous jokes went completely over my wee child head, but now they’re so dumb that they genuinely make me laugh.

What the Hay?

Side-stepping for a little bit – what is going on in the “My Little Pony” universe? I never really gave much thought to the logic of the show when I was a kid, but now, I can’t stop thinking about how their world functions. Why are there horseshoes above their front doors? That’s like nailing a Nike sneaker to the wall. On top of that, most of the roofs in Ponyville are made of hay, and the ponies canonically also eat hay. So they decorate their houses with food and shoes, got it.

Which animals get self-awareness? The ponies obviously do. There’s an episode where a stampede nearly destroys the town, but a twist reveals that the cows are conscious, too. The smaller animals, like rabbits, cats, and dogs, can’t speak, though. So when exactly does higher intelligence kick in? Is it a size thing? Apparently not, because a giant manticore from the pilot episode exclusively roars and purrs. Most dragons can talk, but others can’t – same with sea monsters. So like… what?

The seasons are by far the most baffling part of their universe. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna control the sun and moon, but that’s par for the course for a fantasy world. This show takes it a step further, though, because the ponies control everything. There are weather ponies that clear the sky every day and schedule rain. When they forget, they have to pencil in full-on rainstorms to make up for it. Leaves don’t fall off the trees naturally, apparently, because they have an annual “Running of the Leaves” race to shake them free.

There’s also an entire episode dedicated to Ponyville “wrapping up” winter. They shovel the snow, melt the ponds, plant seeds, clear the skies, wake up the hibernating animals, etc. – all in the span of two days. There’s even tension that they won’t be able to finish in time. Why do they only have two days to clear up all of winter? If they have power over nature, why have seasons at all? It feels like a whole lotta work for basically nothing. More perplexingly, who set this whole system up?

Okay, that’s a little far down the rabbit hole – I’ll reel us back in.

Leaving Ponyville

Even though “My Little Pony” gears itself towards kids, there really is a lot to enjoy as an adult. The show is perfectly low-stakes most of the time, so you can easily get into the day-to-day life of the ponies with little to no stress – or, if you’re like me, dive headfirst into the inner workings of their world and its implications for science and the universe as a whole. Or, you know, you could just turn it on in the background – up to you.

Revisit Ponyville yourself over on Netflix!

Go check out Jordan’s recent article about the game TÖLT!