/r/mylittlepony Frequently Asked Questions

If the answer is personal or subjective, please sign your name next to it. Anyone can edit this page. Yes, it's okay.

General Questions

What is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?

A: It's a TV show that is based off the My Little Pony franchise. It was developed for television by Lauren Faust, of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and The Powerpuff Girls fame.

Why do you watch this show?

This little FAQ should answer all your questions! Below, you'll also find personal reasons added by various users. If you want to share your reason why you watch the show, feel free to add to this page. Just remember to sign your name!

A:

LucasRiley

A: I don't give a fuck, this show is awesome as hell, I think its funny and pretty adorable actually. Just a dude that likes what he likes. - Xzeon

A: I like good cartoons. -pastalunch

A: As weird as it sounds, it gives me a new and beautiful outlook on life. Plus it gives me an excuse to buy stickers. - Parasprite

A: It's like being served a pink cupcake prepared by an Iron Chef. I can't tell you its a thick beefy steak, or a subtle, intricate sushi dish. It's a pink cupcake. But! It's a pink cupcake prepared by absolute masters, and they put some flavors in there that pink cupcakes usually don't have that still manage to taste really good. Bizitmap

A: The short answer, we don't rightly know. Everyone here has a slightly different reason for liking the show. Some like it because they knew My Little Pony back in the 80's and this is a well done nostalgia bomb. For others it is all about the creative team behind this generation of My Little Pony did many of the shows of their childhood, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab, Foster's Home, etc. Others still got into it due to the meme craze it started on 4chan when it came out, and while the may have started the show ironically, or simply to find what the show is all about, they stayed with it the whole season and liked it. -Dorigard

A. I watch for a number of reasons. I LOVE vector style animation, that's what peeked my interest, I saw a PMV on youtube. So I looked into the show, now this before I was even aware that the show was in existence none-the-less of the brony community. And then I learn it came from the creator of "Fosters Homes For Imaginary Friends" & "PowerPuff? Girls" I was hook-line and sinker! Then we can get into how it's got Tara Strong who voiced acted so many awesome things, and from Season 2 they had "Q" (John De Lancie) from Star Trek to guest-voice-act as "Discord!" Anyway, that about sums it up for me. waffen337

A: Look at these writers now back at me, now look at this voice actress, and back at me, now look at that executive producer. You are now made of diamonds. - ColaEuphoria

Can I watch, too?

A: New episodes air on The Hub on Saturdays at 7:00 AM PST (GMT -8). The most recent episode is available on their website. Since most people do not have this channel, there are often live streams online (e.g., basil34 or ninjatertl). The show is available for rental or purchase on iTunes. Users also upload episodes onto Youtube in 1080p, usually by Saturday night.

For both Streaming and Download links, check out /r/mylittlepony's official episode guide.

What's "brony" and "everypony"?

A: The internet fanbase first rallied on /co/. Some prodigious poster decided to call fellow fans "bronies", a portmanteau of bros and ponies. This caught on like wildfire on /b/. Brony is gender-neutral. "Everypony" originates on the show: the ponies occasionally use "pony" instead of "body" for the pronouns everybody, anybody, somebody, and nobody. Some fans adopted this practice. These terms are usually used by overzealous fans.

Subreddit Questions

Who are /r/MLP?

A: Although formerly the Reddit home for Ponygoons, /r/MLP is now defunct. If you'd like to know more about Ponygoons, visit their website here.

Are there any other subreddits about My Little Pony?

A: Yes, there are. Here's a list of current ones. There's also /r/wehavetoomanymlpsubs to track MLP related subreddits.

I love the emoticons for this subreddit, how can I use them?

A: There's a simple guide that can be found here. If you would like to use the emotes outside of /r/mylittlepony, you can install this userstyle. Details on installation can be found at that page.

That's a cute dragon in the searchbar, what's he doing there?

A: That's Searchbar Spike, he helps you help us keep down on the reposted content and makes it easier to find what you are looking for.

How is that any different from reddit search?

A: If you can keep a secret, it's not. We just have our searchbar styled because we're cool like that.

You can, however, use Searchbar Trixie to help you find if your link has already been posted. Simply message her with a link, and she will check if it's been posted in the last 21 days (our repost cutoff).

What are those cutie marks beside people's names and how can I get one?

A: Cutie marks (flair) can be set by clicking "edit" under the subscribe/unsubscribe button (by your username) from within the subreddit. Select what you want and hit "Save". Yes, it's that easy! See this useful guide if you're unsure of all the options!

How come there are so many downvotes?

A: reddit uses score "fuzzing", which gives an inaccurate number of upvotes and downvotes to hinder spammers by not letting them accurately know if their methods are effective. While it might seem a submission got hundreds of downvotes, this might not actually be true.

Why do so many submissions show up as NSFW outside of the subreddit?

A: reddit has no official spoiler tag, so, in order to keep new content from spoiling people who haven't yet seen new episodes, /r/mylittlepony uses the NSFW tag instead. Inside the subreddit, NSFW posts are rendered as spoiler posts instead, and since the subreddit rules disallow NSFW content, there is no ambiguity.

Show Questions

How is the show made?

A: The show is animated in Flash 8 with many third-party and proprietary customizations. There are three animation crews, one in Canada and two in the Philippines. Each crew works on three episodes concurrently, each episode is staggered by a week from the other. An episode takes several weeks to animate, not including scripting, storyboarding, and voice acting, which are done beforehand.

Who makes the show?

A: The show is owned by Hasbro. Lauren Faust holds the titles of developer and executive producer. Rob Renzetti is the story editor. The rest of the credits are listed here. Frequently, the show's crew visits the larger fan-sites and answers questions about the show.

Can you detail the animation process?

A: Like classic cartoon shows, episodes are storyboarded in addition to being scripted, to facilitate the visual aspect of the animation. The show is distinct from most other animated shows for having a layouts stage, which details the action more thoroughly than mere storyboards. This is done prior to the actual animation by the studio's leading artists. The layouts are turned into an animatic, and then an animator works from the animatic, taking several days to a week to animate a one-minute scene.

How does the crew react to the show's success in the adult demographic?

A: Many are thrilled. Lauren Faust specifically developed the show to appeal to children and their parents, and she is delighted to have succeeded. One of the directors of the show is tremendously happy for the following the show has garnered on the internet. Several animators have also expressed their joy for the recognition their work gets by the adult demographic.