What do you think are the biggest plot-holes in MLP?

[TheMangoPony 146]

so, luna was banished 1000 years before S1. but celestia said that she and luna sealed away discord with the elements of harmony 1000 years before S2. did celestia just go "hey luna, can i borrow you for a fight! thanks!" and then banish her back to the moon when she was done?

I take the Luna one to be "Exactly 1000 years", since they are pretty exact on the date on that one. But for the Discord one I just pretend Celestia was being lazy and meant "ABOUT 1000 years ago.... like... I dunno... lets say 1002 years ago, somewhere around there." lol. Man, crazy times to be alive. 1000 years ago sure was happenin.

 

There's a few plot holes that I have heard about, but can't think of many off the top of my head. However, the CMC hanging out during the summer sun celebration BEFORE they officially met 6 or 7 episodes later is one that always comes to mind for me.

[Mylittlealicorn 3]

@techno915

actually discord was sealed away after the events of equestrias founding, before sombra and before nmm/luna was banished. Celestia just mentioned what happened in s2.

 

@Nightmare Lyre

Oh i meant that if Luna had Dreamwalking powers before she transformed into NMM why did she feel as if nopony appreciated her? Because she helped ponies in their dreams but like people, the ponies may not remember her aid. Watch this video:

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik5ntRhquII&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIk5ntRhquII

[Armin 168]

There have been a lot of plot holes, so I'll point out two plot holes. Both from A Canterlot Wedding.

 

1. If Chrysalis was disguised as Cadence, then why didn't the guards ask her any questions?

 

2. Why did the writers introduce Shining Armor and Princess Cadence at the last minute?

I agree with this, and I'd like to add this: How did the guards standing right outside the door with Chrysalis disguised as Cadence NOT hear her singing about her evil plan?! Super thick doors or writers goof?

[Scootalove 10,689]

I agree with this, and I'd like to add this: How did the guards standing right outside the door with Chrysalis disguised as Cadence NOT hear her singing about her evil plan?! Super thick doors or writers goof?

I say that it is the writers. I'm pretty sure that when you sing that loud like Chrysalis that you would be able to hear it, but instead the guards were focused on the wedding.

[techno915 408]

the CMC hanging out during the summer sun celebration BEFORE they officially met 6 or 7 episodes later is one that always comes to mind for me.

 

I don't remember exactly where i heard it, but that scene was an error, actually. they were just supposed to be a few generic fillies. although, i kinda like it being that way. it's like "wait, they were with each other and they didn't even know it! cool."

[walale12 23]

I don't remember exactly where i heard it, but that scene was an error, actually. they were just supposed to be a few generic fillies. although, i kinda like it being that way. it's like "wait, they were with each other and they didn't even know it! cool."

I prefer to think of it as "Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection to her friends, maybe before she's even met them".

[Declen 118]

 

 

1. Mlp fim season 1 ep. 1 and 2: Why did it take 1000 years and why banish luna if the elements of harmony freed her right away when the mane 6 used them on her?

Her Highness failed.

Curiously, BronyCurious constantly calls Elements of Harmony "a weaponn" - but it's not. EoH is some sort of control system used to hormonize entities. For example, it couldn't be used on the dragon in "Dragonshy", despite he was a clear and present danger to the whole Equestria.

For some reason, Her Highness wasn't able to use EoH in its full strength and hormonize Luna right avay. Everything she could do was to desable her for some time (approx. 1000 years). So, when NM-Luna broke loose, Her Highness let The Mane Six do the job. And they did it properly, because elements were distributed among them more adequately.

Both The Royal Sisters and The mane Six tried to use EoH on Discord to hormonize him es well. Both managed only to desable him, because he can't be harmonized. But The Mane Six have immediately hormonized Poniville while disabling Discord. Maybe The Royal Sisters could hormonise the whole Equestria he same way.

 

 

2. Apple Family Reunion:

Another explanation is that the moon cycle in Equestria lasts not a month but a week. Then 100 moons would be less then two years. Thats means, that equestrian moon is in fact a low orbit satellite

 

 

3. Dreamwalker Luna-

I'm for what BronyCurious sayd on this one. Yer we probably never know.

 

1. If Chrysalis was disguised as Cadence, then why didn't the guards ask her any questions? 2. Why did the writers introduce Shining Armor and Princess Cadence at the last minute?

That episode was torn apart by Antony C. It looks like this two-parter is a one big plot hole.

[Fluttermena 1,223]

How did the guards standing right outside the door with Chrysalis disguised as Cadence NOT hear her singing about her evil plan?! Super thick doors or writers goof?

 

Because songs in musicals don't follow the same rules as they do it real life:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MusicalWorldHypotheses

 

The song is just an artistic representation of what is really going on. Chrysalis and Cadance were probably just thinking about the situation, and their thoughts were rendered into a song by the writers for our entertainment.

[Declen 118]

 

 

1) Discord being put in a place where everypony can see him while they could have thrown his statue in a lost place where no one could find him

It wouldn't help.

When he has returned in RoH, he new everything about The Mane Six. Obviously, he could apprehend much more then what just heppened alongside his statue.

 

3) Mare do well.......

...is just a parody on the whole superhero stuff. Plot holes in parody simply reflect common plot holes in original works.

 

6) Prince Blueblood not being at the wedding or in MMC.

Oh, they just forgot about him.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

Good plot holes you discovered.

 

Then again, no cartoon is perfect when stating a story line, so that was bound to happen.

 

Maybe some of those answers will be explained in season 4 probably. 

[Starlight Sky 374]

Gonna do a quick take on all of these. Might add more another time.

 

I've been watching Brony Curious' videos such as Luna the Dreamwalker and he brought up some interesting points. Now, i do love mlp but i see a few problems with some plots.

1. Mlp fim season 1 ep. 1 and 2:
Why did it take 1000 years and why banish luna if the elements of harmony freed her right away when the mane 6 used them on her?

2. Apple Family Reunion:
Granny Smith says the reunion is every 100 moons (8 years) yet in one reunion photo we see applejack, applebloom and big mac all the same age and not little.
Also in S1E4 Applejack says the ponies that Twilight met in episode 1 were there for THE reunion. Could It have been 8 years already since twilight's arrival or is it just a writers goof?

3. Dreamwalker Luna- this isn't really a plot hole, however, could it be that nopony remembered her advice in their dreams if she had this power pre- Nightmare Moon? And therefore felt that she got no recognition in that sense either? Or it could just be that she was given this job after her return to make her feel more useful.

Please tell me what you think/if you found more plot holes. And again, i love this show, but i noticed some problems in some episodes. That said, i hope S4 gives me some answers!

1) Celestia wasn't able to connect with her sister after she became NMM, so "reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom. The Elements of Harmony!!". The Elements of Harmony restore things to a natural order. Celestia "tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart.....". Thus, she used the Element to restore order to the land, but not NMM herself. This dark side moon princess makes the dark side of the moon an "appropriate" outcome (just like Sombra banished to shadows of the frozen north, and Discord turned to stone).

 

When the mane 6 use the elements, it's fueled by their friendship for one another. Their feelings reach NMM whereas Celestia couldn't; thus, the Luna's inner light is restored.

 

2) I take 100 moons to mean 100 nights. Could be 100 cycles of the moon, but that's sounds a tad excessive. Plus, the pony calendar may differ from our own. The first reunion photo was in black and white, but it only took two pages to reach the present time (so Granny's just flipping through as she pleases).

 

3) Ponies likely had a much different schedule 1000 years ago. Building the towns and cities would keep adults busy. And there wouldn't be much of a night life until they developed enough. Now that present day problems/pressure arise, Luna has more chances to connect with others.

 

There have been a lot of plot holes, so I'll point out two plot holes. Both from A Canterlot Wedding.

 

1. If Chrysalis was disguised as Cadence, then why didn't the guards ask her any questions?

 

2. Why did the writers introduce Shining Armor and Princess Cadence at the last minute?

1) They only put up a barrier after a threat was made, so she may have disguised herself before her minions tried to follow.

 

2) It set up a good story, introduced new characters (that made the Crystal Empire available for next seasons opening), and brought us back to Canterlot for the finale. (Not really a plot hole)

 

 

so, luna was banished 1000 years before S1. but celestia said that she and luna sealed away discord with the elements of harmony 1000 years before S2. did celestia just go "hey luna, can i borrow you for a fight! thanks!" and then banish her back to the moon when she was done?

 

The "colonial" period of Equestria would have certainly been an eventful time. The hardships of shaping the land, establishing leadership, and all the other details could explain the constant chaos of the times. And even if 1000 years is an exact date, she may have dealt with Discord and Sombra earlier in the year before NMM emerged. Those battles likely play a large role in Luna become NMM in the first place.

 

I have a lot:
1) Discord being put in a place where everypony can see him while they could have thrown his statue in a lost place where no one could find him
2) Alicorns, what are they, are they all royalty, are they all females, how are they made, how are they born, are they all immortal? Alicorns in general needs like five episodes to adress the subject
3) Mare do well.......
4) How badly Spike was at Spike at your service compared to how good he is at housework when working with Twilight
5) What happened at the clash of Shining and Sombra,
6) Prince Blueblood not being at the wedding or in MMC.
Thats just it right now

 

1) Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer nearby.. If he ever broke free, they'd be the first to knowunless he made a replacement statue before sneaking off, but that ain't Discord's style . It also serves as a reminder of their triumph over a great enemy. Other reasons too, but you get the point.

 

2) I'll leave this to season 4 for now. Not much of a plot hole; just an unanswered question.

 

3) What about it?

 

4) Spike works in a library. Dusting and organizing books is a tad different from farm work. Although he does learn to bake supposedly after that episode.

 

5) Sombra made direct contact with Shining Armor's horn, and thus the magic. This repelled Sombra, but Shining Armor's horn was blocked for some time. (Speculation, but a fair interpretation/possibility).

 

6) We didn't see him......what about it though XD Maybe we just missed him. Or something called for him to leave the comfort of the castle (doubtful and unlikely, but possible). Don't wanna list more just for Blueblood's missed appearance....not really a plot hole.

 

Edit: Ok, one more for Blueblood since I may have implied something.... I'm not sure if he lives in the castle. Probably does, but he could've just been there for the Gala. Anyhow, that's it! I got to go for now.

 

Edit#2: Expanded on first answer + grammar corrections.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Starlight Sky

[DarkestStar 31]

Good plot holes you discovered.

 

Then again, no cartoon is perfect when stating a story line, so that was bound to happen.

 

Maybe some of those answers will be explained in season 4 probably. 

The show, as many times as I know everyone has heard it, was originally designed for young girls. The writers, when first thinking about Gen4, were able to get away with so many plotholes BECAUSE they didn't expect viewers like us to appear and question their designs. Even after bronies became well-known, the writers still had to continue with the style they started with to maintain consistency.

[Kulstor 254]

Part of it is many shows will have mistakes, for some of the reasons said above, and I would guess they don't go over every script to examine it for mistakes and see if it clashes with previous established facts & events.  I'd guess that would be a job in itself, continuity director or somesuch title.  Though I do find it annoying that some characters are suddently introduced like Shining Armor & Princess Cadence, with no mention before, even offhand, of Twilight missing her brother.  Could have fit at the beginning of an episode or somewhere where not a lot was happening. 

 

As for Luna the way it could have been, and only speculation on my part, is maybe they had some adventures, defeating discord, not sure if it's mentioned if they encountered Sombre before (I've not seen that episode since it first aired), but after they defeated Discord they could have been made rulers by the ponies around then.  Maybe early in their reign they could have had some adventures, like wiwth Sombre maybe.  Then things settled down and that gave Luna more time to ponder.  Celestia being in charge of the day & being busy & Luna during the night, maybe they didn't see each other as much.  She saw what she though of as her being side lined, not appreciated as much as her sister, and things grew till she became NIghtmare Moon and had to be banished.

[Sunny Fox 5,952]

so, luna was banished 1000 years before S1. but celestia said that she and luna sealed away discord with the elements of harmony 1000 years before S2. did celestia just go "hey luna, can i borrow you for a fight! thanks!" and then banish her back to the moon when she was done?

It's not a plot hole. Celestia never says it was a 1000 years ago that she and Luna defeated Discord. She doesn't give a number, she only says it was "a long time ago." She also says that they beat him after discovering the Elements of Harmony, while the EoH were already present when the incident with Nightmare Moon. So Discord was ruling before they discovered the EoH.

 

http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Transcripts/The_Return_of_Harmony_Part_1

[Mylittlealicorn 3]

Here's a few more things i found:

 

-Why are the crystal ponies, Sombra and Discord immortal?

For the C.P and Sombra, he made the Crystal kingdom disappear... So maybe time was at a stand still when it disappeared, therefore the ponies didn't age while it was vanished 1000 years.

Discord because he was locked in stone?

-Nightmare Night. According to the ponies this had always been a festival even before NMM first appeared. Not to mention in s1e1 nopony knew who NMM was, yet in "Luna Eclipsed" they run from her and have a legend of her and candy. Was this because after Luna was "cured" they were told what happened and then later incorperated her into the holiday?

 

Idk maybe i'm over analyzing but i love the history and such...

[Anadu Kune 668]

There have been a lot of plot holes, so I'll point out two plot holes. Both from A Canterlot Wedding.

 

1. If Chrysalis was disguised as Cadence, then why didn't the guards ask her any questions?

 

2. Why did the writers introduce Shining Armor and Princess Cadence at the last minute?

I think a better question would be why the guards would ask her questions pertaining to her identity. As far as they could tell she was Cadence. It would also seem that they had no reason to believe the Changelings were behind this. They may have only had a cursory knowledge of the Changelings to begin with. 

[Never2muchpinkie 211]

In the episode "Stare Master" from season 1, Sweetie Belle created capes for all three girls, even managing in the like 20 seconds that Rarity was distracted by Fluttershy to cut out and line three capes perfectly with the gold silk Rarity was planning to use for her dresses.

 

However, the next time she tries to sew something in THE VERY NEXT EPISODE, their costumes for the talent show from "The Show Stoppers", they come out horrible with an extra leg hole. It just seems like one of those things the writers had to do so that all three of them would suck at what they were working on but wanted to do.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

In the episode "Stare Master" from season 1, Sweetie Belle created capes for all three girls, even managing in the like 20 seconds that Rarity was distracted by Fluttershy to cut out and line three capes perfectly with the gold silk Rarity was planning to use for her dresses.

 

However, the next time she tries to sew something in THE VERY NEXT EPISODE, their costumes for the talent show from "The Show Stoppers", they come out horrible with an extra leg hole. It just seems like one of those things the writers had to do so that all three of them would suck at what they were working on but wanted to do.

 

You see, we don't know that. Sweetie Belle could have taken the silk from the last time that Rarity taken her eyes off of it to that moment. Therefore it could have been anywhere from twenty seconds to a few days, and assuming she asked for sewing advice from Rarity (Rarity being too busy to notice) she could have very well made three filly-sized cloaks in a few days, or even in a matter of hours.

 

And who knows that the time lag from Stare Master of Show Stoppers is. She might have forgotten.

[Never2muchpinkie 211]

You see, we don't know that. Sweetie Belle could have taken the silk from the last time that Rarity taken her eyes off of it to that moment. Therefore it could have been anywhere from twenty seconds to a few days, and assuming she asked for sewing advice from Rarity (Rarity being too busy to notice) she could have very well made three filly-sized cloaks in a few days, or even in a matter of hours.

 

And who knows that the time lag from Stare Master of Show Stoppers is. She might have forgotten.

Nope. Rarity showed Sweetie Belle the silk she was going to use. Right after Fluttershy and Crusaders showed up and Sweetie Belle showed off the capes Rarity panicked and went to the silk, and there were now three square holes in it suited to the size of their capes and she had to visibly struggle to pull the material from the sewing machine, meaning it had just been used. I just rewatched that part of the episode to double check that before I posted. Sweetie Belle says she made them herself.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I think that the writers forgot to put some continuity in some of their episodes, where something that a character does relates back to an old episode in some form of foreshadowing.

[SCS 7,537]

Hey there @Mylittlealicorn, just letting you know that I merged your topic about possible MLP plot holes into a previously existing topic. Please make sure to run a search before posting to make sure that the topic you want to post does not already exist.

 

You can read more about why we handle duplicate topics in this manner in this FAQ entry.

 

Thanks.

Edited March 18, 2014 by SCS
Fixed formatting.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

 

1. If Chrysalis was disguised as Cadence, then why didn't the guards ask her any questions?

 

2. Why did the writers introduce Shining Armor and Princess Cadence at the last minute?

 

I see that other folks have addressed these issues but I'll still put my take on it:

 

1. That's presuming that Chrysalis's plan was to disguise herself as Cadence initially and then capture the real one.  It's far more likely that she disguised herself as something else and then became Cadence.  

 

2. This one always bugs me when people bring it up.  Why would they have had to introduce them earlier?  Far as I'm concerned, we've never had been shown to that point a conversation like "Oh Twilight, do you have any brothers or sisters?" and hay, that really doesn't make much sense in the context of an episode, at least in the ones they've shown up to that point.  As far as Cadence, same deal.  Even if it might have been wiser to develop Shining Armor and Cadence before the wedding episode, I felt their introduction was handled quite satisfactorily.

 

Perhaps to more directly address your question, mere oversight, but not serious.

---

Other than perhaps some timing and physics issues that others have brought up, many supposed plot-holes are really not that terrible.  Many can be addressed with just a little imagination that can be reasonably expected from the audience.

 

Plot holes, however, abound miles wide in "Daring Don't" that I dare not talk about just to spare me the embarrassment I felt watching that episode.  I will address one thing that greatly bugged me about "Rainbow Falls":  Rainbow Dash says that their team has to be "one of the first four teams to cross the finish line".  Besides the fact that five actually qualified, the actual relay itself seemed to have elements that contradicted this statement-- namely that the teams competed separate from each other, and it appeared they had to beat a certain time to qualify, not be among the fastest.

[Sir Wulfington 276]

Good plot holes you discovered.

 

Then again, no cartoon is perfect when stating a story line, so that was bound to happen.

 

There's no reason they have to, though. If the writers took the time, they could avoid plot holes and continuity errors completely. Just because it's a cartoon doesn't mean the writers don't have to care.

[Mywas 687]

Dis thread again. I have some new plotholes I found

 

1. Where was Star Swirl when the Windigo's attacked?

2. Why wasn't rainbiw Dash's dad there in double Rainboom? His Daughter was in a contest and he should beeb there to cheer her on. Heck where is he in general?

3. Do the Mane Six have jobs? Apejack and Pinkie and Rarity di but what about FS Twilight and Rainbow Dash? Where do they get their money

4. If Dark magic is alicorn magic then how were Twilight and Sombra able to use it?

5. Why was Discord running away from a puny creature when he is a freaking god?

[Scootalove 10,689]

I see that other folks have addressed these issues but I'll still put my take on it:

 

1. That's presuming that Chrysalis's plan was to disguise herself as Cadence initially and then capture the real one.  It's far more likely that she disguised herself as something else and then became Cadence.  

 

2. This one always bugs me when people bring it up.  Why would they have had to introduce them earlier?  Far as I'm concerned, we've never had been shown to that point a conversation like "Oh Twilight, do you have any brothers or sisters?" and hay, that really doesn't make much sense in the context of an episode, at least in the ones they've shown up to that point.  As far as Cadence, same deal.  Even if it might have been wiser to develop Shining Armor and Cadence before the wedding episode, I felt their introduction was handled quite satisfactorily.

 

Perhaps to more directly address your question, mere oversight, but not serious.

---

Other than perhaps some timing and physics issues that others have brought up, many supposed plot-holes are really not that terrible.  Many can be addressed with just a little imagination that can be reasonably expected from the audience.

 

Plot holes, however, abound miles wide in "Daring Don't" that I dare not talk about just to spare me the embarrassment I felt watching that episode.  I will address one thing that greatly bugged me about "Rainbow Falls":  Rainbow Dash says that their team has to be "one of the first four teams to cross the finish line".  Besides the fact that five actually qualified, the actual relay itself seemed to have elements that contradicted this statement-- namely that the teams competed separate from each other, and it appeared they had to beat a certain time to qualify, not be among the fastest.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it!