Darkest moment of the show?

[silvadel 1,393]

When they cut to commercial after the elements went wild and blasted Twilight leaving a crater in the floor during the last episode.  I was shocked that they could cut to commercial there in a kids show.

[Zygen 6,066]

I think the darkest would have to be either chrysalis banishing twilight to the caves, or maybe the slavery scene with sombra.

 

There's a lot of darker scenes though Expecially in S3 and late S2.

[An Old Head 4,816]

There are three that instantly come to mind.

• As DF rightly said, the paint drying test in Too Many Pinkie Pies was possibly the most wrenching scene of the show. It's not just owed to the death of clones - it's also owed to how precarious it is. The entire scene, they were so, SO close to sending the wrong Pinkie Pie back. We've seen how extemporaneous Pinkie Pie is, and how it takes remarkable strength for her to keep her focus when it's needed. I can only think of how terrifying it must have been for her, knowing it was a fight for her life.
• Surprisingly overlooked in this topic, the scene where Spike creates a dead rat scene in Owl's Well That Ends Well. With the target audience in mind, that was another one of the darkest scenes in the series. They had a representation of blood! Gory mauling! I mean, what?! 
• Need I not mention the mental breakdown in Party Of One. Especially considering that two episode earlier we learned that Pinkie Pie was destined to please others. That breakdown was caused by sense of failure - a horrendous sense of failure. Thinking that her friends had up and left her, disliking the parties she threw... she must have felt absolutely awful. The sinking feeling hit me as well... Poor Pinkie.
  There was another thing about that scene that made it so dark - notice how when Pinkie's paranoid side makes her inanimate friends try and convince her that her friends are worthless, Pinkie actually responds, "They're not so bad...". I was overwhelmed. She was in a pit of despair, shaken by that feeling of loneliness, and through all of her depression she still wanted to stick up for her friends, and give herself a bit of hope. That's a real internal struggle. Her corrupted side speaking through the four inanimate friends ended up taking all of that hope away from her, and her actual self ended up agreeing. That felt like the "no going back" point. That was the very essence of dark.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Flipturn ツ

[APonyToRemember 31]

I would have to say the flashback when King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire with an iron fist and the crystal ponies were enslaved or when Queen Chrysillis believes she has Canterlot controlled and innocent ponies in the streets and homes around Canterlot were being chased, captured, or mowed down.

[Stellafera 3,836]

Okay, has this seriously not been mentioned? At all?

 

 

Nope, just a terrifying visual representation of Fluttershy's self esteem issues, move along...

[Wingnut 6,994]

 

Okay, has this seriously not been mentioned? At all?

 

 

Nope, just a terrifying visual representation of Fluttershy's self esteem issues, move along...

That was the best visual in the whole episode!  Whoever came up with the idea for that was a genius.  For this alone, Hurricane Fluttershy should've been nominated for an Emmy award. 

 

What does it take for a cartoon episode to land an Emmy nomination?  You can read about a well-known textbook example here:  http://powerpuff.wikia.com/wiki/Bubblevicious

[RubyVesper 100]

 

There are three that instantly come to mind.

• As DF rightly said, the paint drying test in Too Many Pinkie Pies was possibly the most wrenching scene of the show. It's not just owed to - it's also owed to how precarious it is. The entire scene, they were so, SO close to sending the wrong Pinkie Pie back. We've seen how extemporaneous Pinkie Pie is, and how it takes remarkable strength for her to keep her focus when it's needed. I can only think of how terrifying it must have been for her, knowing it was a fight for her life

I agree with the fight for her life part, but to clear some stuff up, here is a logical explanation: The mirror pool links to the infinite amount of other universes in the multiverse. Therefore, there is an infinite amount of Pinkie Pies ready to be deployed. When Twilight sends them back to the mirror pond, they go back to their own universe. If the actual Pinkie Pie we all know would've been sent back, there would be no linked universe, so a new one matching the one she's from would be created assuming she's forced to enter an other universe. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

[Scythe 39]

Yes, the test in Too Many Pinkie Pies was my first thought when coming into this thread. Those clones were killed, regardless of how you try and argue that they were sent back into the pond. Their lives ended, and by the looks of things, it was pretty painful. We saw how Twilight made them explode like balloons. Also, we know that it wasn't just a case of 'clone magic' wearing off because the real Pinkie could have been shot. So... yeah. Twilight is technically a mass murderer. Congratulations, Princess Murderlight...

 

Killing the other Pinkie Pies was definitely the darkest moment to me. Why couldn't they be sent off somewhere else? They could have been a roving band of entertainers or something.

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,275]

The slavery scene in that Crystal Empire episode was pretty dark, it's remind me of medieval times.

Although seeing the Mane 6 have their breakdowns sort of creep me out in a way (mostly Pinkamena of course).

[Ficta_Scriptor 165]

Killing the other Pinkie Pies was definitely the darkest moment to me. Why couldn't they be sent off somewhere else? They could have been a roving band of entertainers or something.

Coming back to this thread again... This whole Pinkie clone thing has given me an awesome idea for a Fanfic set during season 3 where Pinkie finally realises that those clones died. She becomes increasingly scared of Twilight and is driven insane, plagued by nightmares of Twilight killing her bretherin. If only I didn't have work I could get right on it!

[Night Shine 767]

I personally don't think that Sombra le going boom would qualify as a 'dark moment' because it's not really about what happens, but rather how the show portrays it. Music, atmosphere...mood.

 

For example, I think that these are some of the moments the show has portrayed as "dark":

 

1) CMC's Loss of Trust (Ponyville Confidential)

This is actually one of the most depressing moments of the show. The CMC walk around town and talk to almost every other major character, who turn their backs on the girls, acting downright cruel. Not a single one of them has a shred of remorse for the three girls, and Diamond Tiara's threat drives them into a state of despair.

 

2) Twilight's Failed Callout on "Cadance" (A Canterlot Wedding, pt 1)

Running with the similar theme of being scorned and abandoned by everypony she knows and loves, this is right after Twilight tries to call out Chrysalis as being evil and fails epically. Literally no one has any remorse for her, including her friends, brother, and mother figure mentor, and then she is dragged down into the fiery pits of Hell Canterlot Caves by Chrysalis. Talk about getting screwed over.

 

3) Fluttershy's Realization (Putting Your Hoof Down)

When Fluttershy stares into her reflection in the pond and sees a horrible monster. This one isn't quite as bad as the others, because Fluttershy isn't abandoned by anyone, really. However some could argue that it's worse because the conflict is internal and not external...anyway. This one is near-obviously dark, because of the incredible use of symbolic imagery. The entire scene with Fluttershy hiding in her home was ridiculously well-done, from the dark, stormy sky to the boarded house to Flutters literally seeing a monster in the mirror.

 

Still, I define a scene as Dark if and only if it has a Dark mood, so I guess that's just an opinion thing.

 

I'm really not sure about Party of One. Even though the subject matter is shit-your-pants disturbing, it's not completely portrayed as such. As TVTropes said in the list of tropes used in the episode:

"Black Comedy Burst: Pinkie Pie's breakdown... one of the darkest scenes in the series... is Played for Laughs."

[Argumedies 1,748]

For me I would say the parts where they showed both Rarity and Scootaloo falling to their deaths constitutes being dark moments. Yes they were caught and saved but that doesn't detract from a life or death situation. It just ended on the positive sides of the coin

[Suzaku 88]

I thought the darkest moment was when the Elements of Harmony failed to defeat Discord because the Mane Six weren't "In harmony".  It was the first time a villain had actually won, even if it was only for a while.  He even made Twilight Sparkle give up for a bit.

[Totally Ducklett 181]

Didn't one of the cmc interupt it by saying the priest was too old? Like when they were looking for a special somepony for hearts and hooves day?

I don't think its dark (well kinda but I don't know), but I do recall a funeral in Ponyville in one of the episodes. Pretty cool too (not cool as in that somepony died). It's shows that, even in the happy, sunshine world of My Little Pony, there is still the circle of life and death, the inevitable appointment with Death itself.

[Loona 287]

The Crystal Empire. Slavery... Dark Magic... IMO it's dark for this show   Of course, there's Pinkie's Breakdown, but that stuff's just plain insane.

 

I don't think its dark (well kinda but I don't know), but I do recall a funeral in Ponyville in one of the episodes. Pretty cool too (not cool as in that somepony died). It's shows that, even in the happy, sunshine world of My Little Pony, there is still the circle of life and death, the inevitable appointment with Death itself.

 

A funeral? When was that? 

[Totally Ducklett 181]

In my opinion... when Discord corrupted the mane six and Twilight was alone. Or maybe the part where Twilight and Cadence are trying to escape from the mines. 

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

I'm gonna be the second person to say when Spike set up the dead rat scene and made it look all bloody.  Yeah, it was fake, but the final result was a bit disturbing looking.