Greetings, Bronies. To the point: why are you even here?

[Yellow Diamond 7,574]

Thereisnospoon303: The simple answer to your questions regarding my intentions is "yes". Bronies I know personally rarely provided any discussion material beyond "It makes me feel good" when I asked them about this sort of thing, and their recommended viewings largely failed to do anything but rub me the wrong way. I decided I'd rather approach a larger group of involved people about it rather than simply go "Nope, not for me." It's as much finding out why you guys like the show as it is seeing if there are bits I'd find worth looking into.

 

Now this we can work with in order to potentially make some headway in the discussion. The more specific the answers can be, the arguments will likewise tend to be stronger. It will also help us avoid the problem you've encountered of Bronies saying, "I just like it," even if that is not necessarily an invalid response.

 

Good writing is a must for me. I can't claim to be anything close to a literary critic but an engaging story with reasonable progression and witty dialogue mean a whole lot more than music and animation.

 

As much as I like good animation myself, you and I are in agreement that writing is a key facet not to be overlooked. (As an aside, I tend to dislike musical sequences in general, but MLP is the exception to that rule. I honestly couldn't tell you why exactly this exception exists.) It is understandable that each episode will vary in terms of writing since there are a handful of writers working on the show. Their styles and preferences are more distinct once you become familiar with MLP. For example, Dave Polsky, who wrote "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "Over a Barrel", is fond of physical comedy and sight gags; Meghan McCarthy, writer for "Party of One" and "A Canterlot Wedding" (just to name a few), often focuses on characters overcoming their insecurities.

 

There are of course several more writers, but my point is this: part of the broad appeal of MLP is its diversity in storytelling. Though the characters remain consistent (a few exceptions do exist), they do not repeatedly tackle the same sets of problems in each episode. While Season 1 seemed a bit more prone to Aesop Amnesia, Seasons 2 and 3 are more attentive to character continuity and history. This allows someone like Twilight Sparkle, introduced to the audience as an obsessive-compulsive bookworm with streaks of social awkwardness, to evolve over the course of the show. Such evolution is made believable because of the quality of the writing. Rarely do I ever recall thinking, "This doesn't make any sense. When would her character ever consider this?" The writing staff takes great care in continually building upon the foundations provided when MLP first debuted.

 

The strength of dialogue and pacing can be assessed over time by general consensus, but ultimately it is in the eye of the beholder. Ever since I have watched "Ponyville Confidential", I personally thought that episode was one of the strongest in both regards (i.e., dialogue and pacing). The comedic escalation feels natural rather than forced; the deeper the Cutie Mark Crusaders dig themselves into a hole, the more entertaining the episode becomes -- and when Rarity confronts her sister Sweetie Belle by adopting a line from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar ("Et tu, Gabby Gums?!"), you can appreciate how funny and smart the scene is.

 

In short, MLP has a dramatic range. I readily submit that they do not always succeeds; nevertheless, when the show does find success, the results are typically enjoyable on a number of levels.

 

Comprehensive, painstakingly-built fantasy worlds? That I can get behind, though from the sound of it that sort of material is more forthcoming than present. It might be worth keeping an eye out for.

 

Even though Season 3 is the shortest of the three seasons thus far, it arguably does the most by way of world building. This is probably due to the fact that the current writing staff is now operating apart from Lauren Faust. Much of her tenure involved getting a feel for the characters, though Season 1 certainly sets down the foundations for Equestria. Now I suspect more liberties are being taken since they do not need to be cleared with Lauren. This is merely speculation on my part, however.

 

Suffice it to say that we fans are very eager to see how Equestria develops going into Season 4 -- especially with Alicorn Twilight and all that jazz. The world building aspect - or the lack of definitive information about the world - is one of the major factors of appeal. The fandom has spent untold amounts of time speculating and developing Equestria, its origins, history, and environment. Sometimes we get Jossed; other times the ambiguities are left in place or strengthened by tidbits of new information. If you thoroughly enjoy analyzing a world and speculating about the setting, then MLP might very well hold some appeal for you.

 

Pop-cultural references are a bit of a different category. To me there's a pretty distinct difference between "pop-culture reference" and "pop-culture inferral". "Doctor Hooves", I understand, is a name that fans created after they saw similarities to the British sci-fi and not his given name. It's possible to draw references from pretty much anything anywhere, but in my opinion only those intended in the scripts could be categorized as qualities of the show. Other people might see differently.

 

There are numerous outright pop cultural references in the show. For example, "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" is one giant ode to Darkwing Duck, Batman: The Animated Series, and a slew of other masked superhero cartoons; "The Return of Harmony" revolves around the Mane Six combating a cosmic trickster voiced by John de Lancie. The list could continue for some time. The fandom is not entirely responsible for MLP's pop culture savvy; the writers are right there with us.

[Galen 1,354]

 

 

Thereisnospoon303: The simple answer to your questions regarding my intentions is "yes". Bronies I know personally rarely provided any discussion material beyond "It makes me feel good" when I asked them about this sort of thing, and their recommended viewings largely failed to do anything but rub me the wrong way. I decided I'd rather approach a larger group of involved people about it rather than simply go "Nope, not for me." It's as much finding out why you guys like the show as it is seeing if there are bits I'd find worth looking into.

 

But Otherwise, you do realize that the "feel good" factor is literally the reason 99% of people who follow any series, be it anime, cartoon, live TV show, movie series, even music, theater, art, any kind of entertainment you can think of, right? Why does our fondness for MLP necessarily have to go beyond "it makes me feel good" to satisfy your curiosity? I love MLP because in addition to what I said, it makes me feel good. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender because it makes me feel good. I love Shingeki no Kyojin because it makes me feel F***ING good. Does one need that much more of a reason to like something? I honestly don't think so. I may disagree with someone's taste, but that doesn't make another person's taste any less valid than mine or yours.

 

 

 

Freedan: Your bringing up morals and ethics seems an interesting point. To me, a devotion to morals and ethics, particularly the latter, is mostly brought into the spotlight when it is put to the test. Basically a moral or ethical standard stands out when, without it, people are inclined to act against it. Equestrian society doesn't strike me as the kind of example where this is the case - in a world painted as ideally as people here have thus far led me to believe, doing the "right thing" morally seems less of a choice than a given, and moral or ethical dilemmas unlikely or impossible. Thoughts?

 

I disagree. There are plenty of instances throughout the series where the characters' morals are put to the test. The fact you're saying this isn't the case shows to me that you haven't watched enough of the show to actually know this. I do recommend, once more, that you go through more of the series to formulate a proper opinion.

[Booksmith 87]

I think we may be asking the wrong question. This should be less about why we like the show and more about why the OP doesn't like the show.

 

OP, have you actually watched the show? The entire first season? Did you have some prejudice against it before you started it? What makes you dislike it? I have yet to meet a single person who sat down and watched the entire first season then went "I just hated that." The production quality, themes and music are too damn good. Even if you hate pastel ponies with a passion, it can be enjoyed on a purely artistic level. We've all said what we like about the show, so if you want our help in understanding it, lay out for us what your experiences have been, OP? 

[Betez 1,734]

I think it's a little bit of each. Minus the inspiration to make my own artwork. (I still can't make an OC.) I'd say the biggest thing is it's antics and it's humor. I also love how [almost] everypony has a positive attitude, and I love the design and how much work the MLP staff put into making the show.

[Otherwise 3]

Right!

 

In short answer to a few of the above posts I hadn't addressed - others I'll get to later possibly after taking time to watch more bits of the show - I'm getting the impression that MiF is more appealing when the general froo-froo is not the center of attention. It's there, and it's still grating, but there's better stuff going on. The pilot two-parter got me thinking that, with a plot and despite the simplistic handling of conflict, there might be something to the series. The backslide into half-hour funtime lessons in the next episode was disappointing, and when in the next those lessons came in juvenile packages ( are they really arguing about who gets to go to a party urrghARGH) it marked the end of my willingness to experiment with the average episode.

 

So it's been awhile and I've had a chance to both take a break from the idea of FiM and to watch what might possibly be what is simultaneously its most redeeming and depressing portion, we'll have to see. There are probably spoilers of varying degrees, and because I don't really want to try to take the time and read people's brains as to what has and hasn't commonly been watched, it's all under a tag.

 

It probably comes as no surprise that I refer to the Discord debut two-parter at the beginning of season 2 and it is rare that a character manages to both please and disappoint me so much at the same time.

 

 

 

As I understand the tragically short-lived star makes something of an appearance, at least, later on but I'll get to that. The few times I've seen Q in Star Trek he was pretty much a pretentious asshole; Discord apparently got rid of everything I hated about Q and added a delightfully unhinged sort of quality a la the Mad Hatter. His voice is a perfect fit and I'm not unhappy to be able to say this is one thing FiM did right.

 

However it also highlighted just how far the show falls short of actually being good, probably for the sake of keeping things simple for little girls. As absolutely whimsical as Discord is he's just so flat as a character and a pretty disappointing example of a thousands-(whatever)-year-old practically-force of anarchy. His final stand, which amounted to little more than  "Hit me with your best shot obviously the assumptions I've made can't change oh wait they did", was not only anticlimactic but also a significant flaw in his character both in his ability to adapt to past experience and in his very nature - "Things aren't going to change" is hugely out of sync with a being of chaos, which dictates that things are always changing. Whether or not this was intentional on the writers' part as a weakness of his or a need to keep things to two episodes, it was poorly handled.

 

Which brings me to my biggest beef with the arc: the alterations to the popularly-termed "Mane 6". Putting aside the idea that it was foolish to leave Twilight unaffected - every good villain needs someone to gloat to - the kinds of changes made to the others spoke to the simplistic unimaginations of its young target audience and absolutely begs for more creativity, not to mention more time than the two episodes the arc is forced into. 

 

For the sake of lucidity, Applejack is my best example. She sees a possible future of what she and the other "Mane 6" members dread perhaps above all: being driven apart as a result of their efforts to restore order. The spell is cast, and Honest Applejack decides to lie to cover up what she saw...but for some reason that sets her default to lie about *everything* no matter how mundane. You can't ask for a bigger finger pointing to her for the audience's benefit saying "In case you haven't noticed, I am under a spell now because I fib about everything obvious and harmless at every opportunity."

 

Is this really the kind of shallow life lesson that gets praised so much? What about ideas showcasing how truly devastating lying can be, how it destroys trust and relationships? How much more of an impact would it have made if Applejack ends up damaging the same friendships she attempted to protect by lying and had to deal with the consequences of trying to repair those frayed ties in a manner more commonplace than "OH there's a memory spell I forgot to use before tee-hee"? Or even if she'd managed to buck up the courage enough to confess what she'd seen? A vision that disturbed her so deeply that Honest Applejack would lie to prevent its happening? How do the rest react? The possibilities are myriad - and this is only one character of five!

 

It's weak. There's probably another popular bright spot or two later in the show that I'll be looking into, and maybe the writers learn their lesson. We'll (probably) see.

 

 

 

Right. Finished "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and despite the irritating manner in which things were simplified and condensed into a happy little half-hour kid-friendly package -  and how apparently none of the "Mane 6" had enough of a brain to question what was important enough to risk such an undertaking, thus robbing the whole affair of any solid notion of what the point was - I can't complain about the route it took. 

 

Except how there's apparently little to dissuade the sneaky side lesson that having friends requires that you change who you are. More on that later maybe.

 

Arrivederci!

Edited July 12, 2013 by Otherwise

[Dark Horn 430]

If you wish to see what the show is all about in 2-3 episodes, I'd recommend watching The Return of Harmony, both parts 1 and 2, and then Keep Calm and Flutter On.

 

It'll really help if you listen very carefully to, well... everything, as these are episodes in Season 2 and 3.

[Kitty Cat Moonshire 629]

 

 

Nighmawe Woon: Wha'eva! Wha'eva! I doowat I want!

I'm going to remember and use that next time I get pulled over for speeding xD I'm sure the cops will acknowledge that my desires supersede any legal and social boundaries ^-^  

[SirTherodar 28]

It seems that you have already made a decision about the show.  We have given you many reasons, which I shall list, and you have shot down almost every one as a proper reason.  You are also judging the show as if it was designed for adults, keep in mind the show was originally made for children, the stories don't have to be complex to be good.

 

-Great animation

-Incredible fandom

       -Art

       -Fan music

       -Fanfiction

       -Unity

-Relatable characters

-Good storylines

-Good music

-Life lessons and morals

-Innocent

-Makes us feel good inside

-Steady character development with depth and realism

-Humorous

-Great voice actors

-The show avoids full-on stereotypes  *Will address this below*

-Inspiration

-Philosophical aspects

-Show has so much more potential

-References to the real world and fandom from within the show itself

-There are likely some that I have missed

 

So, as you can see, there is a plethora of reasons we like the show.  Personally, I like the show because it has great music and, as a musician, I have fun playing it.  If you look at the individual parts of the music, they are wonderfully complex, and the songs are full of tension and release.  

 

*Explanation*  The appearances of the characters are counter-intuitive.  Rarity may seem stuck-up and prissy, but she is quite generous.  Rainbow Dash may seem like a dumb jock, but she loves reading and will help wherever she can.  Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash may have in fact been villains in a different show, their personalities could be made to fit, but they are the heroes of this show.      

 

I find it slightly irritating that you ask our opinions, yet you tend to ignore or explain away what we answer.  

 

I think we may be asking the wrong question. This should be less about why we like the show and more about why the OP doesn't like the show.

 

OP, have you actually watched the show? The entire first season? Did you have some prejudice against it before you started it? What makes you dislike it? I have yet to meet a single person who sat down and watched the entire first season then went "I just hated that." The production quality, themes and music are too damn good. Even if you hate pastel ponies with a passion, it can be enjoyed on a purely artistic level. We've all said what we like about the show, so if you want our help in understanding it, lay out for us what your experiences have been, OP? 

I find it hilarious that your avatar matches your post.  

[xblackrosesx 81]

Although you worded this nicely I have to ask you some questions. 

Two questions for you: 

1) Why don't YOU? 

2) Why do you care?

We are just another fandom minding our own business, so honestly, you shouldn't need to worry about why we watch the show. We watch it, because we LOVE it. 

Problem?  

 

[Stellafera 3,836]

Is this really the kind of shallow life lesson that gets praised so much? What about ideas showcasing how truly devastating lying can be, how it destroys trust and relationships? How much more of an impact would it have made if Applejack ends up damaging the same friendships she attempted to protect by lying and had to deal with the consequences of trying to repair those frayed ties in a manner more commonplace than "OH there's a memory spell I forgot to use before tee-hee"? Or even if she'd managed to buck up the courage enough to confess what she'd seen? A vision that disturbed her so deeply that Honest Applejack would lie to prevent its happening? How do the rest react? The possibilities are myriad - and this is only one character of five!

 

That would've indeed been an interesting route to go, but there is the issue of the episode time limit. It's a great idea for a story arc, but...

 

While there is character development in Friendship is Magic (particularly in the more continuity-oriented Season 3), the fact is that this is fundamentally a non-serialized, slice of life show. 

 

From what I can tell, you aren't a very big fan of slice of life. Which is fine, but it's also a personal preference. Me? I highly value character over plot/setting, and that's just my taste. The way I see it, if the characters are interesting enough, I could fully enjoy a story that involved them sitting in an empty room and talking. There's plenty of other people who would find that incredibly boring.

 

This show just isn't the sort of thing that you like to watch. And I can respect that.

[Zerrodo 104]

Get ready for this.

 

Prepared?

 

          We like FiM because, while it may not be the best show on the block, it is still entertaining to some degree. The specific level of entertainment provided varies from person to person, as we are all different, however what entertainment we used to find in shows such as Fairly Odd Parents, Spongebob Squarepants, Foster's Home and Ed, Edd n Eddy are no longer easily found as most of these quality slice-of-life cartoons have either gone to complete shit decreased in quality over the years or been canceled altogether. What does FiM do? Tops the charts in terms of what cartoons are on television today. Everything that has been missing from our favorite toons for years is now was back with the creation of FiM.

          But what does this mean? I'll tell you what it means. It means that we don't all necessarily think that this show is the best goddamn program we've ever seen. Some of us? Sure, I guess. Me? Certainly not. However, at the same time, it is one of the only cartoons currently that still provides the goods and doesn't resort to crappy poop humor (pun intended) to make itself entertaining.

 

Is that answer good enough for you? Or are you still hungry for more?

Edited July 13, 2013 by Zerrodo

[Yes-Man 597]

For some reason, I have a feeling that this is gonna come its us in the ass later on.

While I chose the, "General Happy Feeling" choice, this feeling is derived from everything else in the poll. A close second was the fandom answer, as it makes me feel welcome and apart of a family. One big, crazy family.

As for why I like the show, I enjoy it because it serves as an escapist realm, one to immerse yourself in when times get tough. Kind of like Roleplaying games or books. It's one of the best cartoons on the air today, which for me is saying a lot, as I like pretty much all cartoons.

The character development is great, the plot (story, not Fluttershy's ass) is phenomenal, and the universe is quite big.

It also has some of the best cartoonists out there working on it, and while I don't have the attention span to name them, I can assure you they're all very talented people, ones whom I look up to and wish to be like someday.

And from an amateur animator's point of view, the animation is top notch, even so much as to say it's the best. There's always so much going on on-screen, from the background characters to their walking animations.

All in all, I love the show for pretty much everything about it, and while it's not perfect, I would never stop watching or participating in our big happy family, the Brony Fandom.

(And sorry for this shitty list-format it's in)

Edited July 13, 2013 by Yes-Man

[YALL ARE FUCKING GAY 505]

the show is brilliant the art story telling and the voice acting

 

but most of all they are FUNNY

 

pinkie pie and her tenancy to break the fourth wall  and pop in and out of frame and break the laws of physics only possible in shows like this. 

 

twilight sparkle and her massive mental breakdowns ( episode: it's about time) about not getting a letter to princess celesta in time and then creates chaos dismay for the entire town 

 

flutter shy she's afraid of her own shadow her overcoming these problems  make some of the best stories told in the show ( she makes a dragon cry by telling it to not be a dick )

 

ALL VALID REASONS TO WATCH THIS SHOW  

[Oblivion 20,267]

Well with all the intense violent crap on TV It's nice to have something cute and fun to watch sometimes. My job is also a pain in the hind quarters which just adds another reason I like the show which is it relieves stress. Not to mention for a little girls show the Plot is amazing (No not that plot your morons) And I like to watch the characters grow and mature with each episode. Also as Plowplot mentioned the fandom in itself is simply amazing with it's artwork and fan fictions(which some fan fictions are even better than a lot of books I've read) Anyway it all comes down to the fact that it's a cute show and has a (for the most part) Awesome fan base!

[Yellow Diamond 7,574]

I hesitate to turn this into a potential back-and-forth regarding an episode, given the fact we are discussing the overall appeal of MLP. I nevertheless feel obliged to touch on a few points mentioned.

 

In short answer to a few of the above posts I hadn't addressed - others I'll get to later possibly after taking time to watch more bits of the show - I'm getting the impression that MiF is more appealing when the general froo-froo is not the center of attention. It's there, and it's still grating, but there's better stuff going on. The pilot two-parter got me thinking that, with a plot and despite the simplistic handling of conflict, there might be something to the series. The backslide into half-hour funtime lessons in the next episode was disappointing, and when in the next those lessons came in juvenile packages ( are they really arguing about who gets to go to a party urrghARGH) it marked the end of my willingness to experiment with the average episode.

 

Bear in mind that this is still a kids show at heart. The first season is especially geared toward life lessons. But it will be hard to get over the hump if you simply dislike slice-of-life episodes: MLP has plenty of them.

 

As I understand the tragically short-lived star makes something of an appearance, at least, later on but I'll get to that. The few times I've seen Q in Star Trek he was pretty much a pretentious asshole; Discord apparently got rid of everything I hated about Q and added a delightfully unhinged sort of quality a la the Mad Hatter. His voice is a perfect fit and I'm not unhappy to be able to say this is one thing FiM did right.

 

I thought Q being a pretentious (omnipotent) asshole was exactly what made him so appealing. But I digress...

 

However it also highlighted just how far the show falls short of actually being good, probably for the sake of keeping things simple for little girls. As absolutely whimsical as Discord is he's just so flat as a character and a pretty disappointing example of a thousands-(whatever)-year-old practically-force of anarchy. His final stand, which amounted to little more than  "Hit me with your best shot obviously the assumptions I've made can't change oh wait they did", was not only anticlimactic but also a significant flaw in his character both in his ability to adapt to past experience and in his very nature - "Things aren't going to change" is hugely out of sync with a being of chaos, which dictates that things are always changing. Whether or not this was intentional on the writers' part as a weakness of his or a need to keep things to two episodes, it was poorly handled.

 

A tidbit of trivia: Night Mare Moon (or the initial concept for the debut villain) was originally going to bear the name "Discord", but Hasbro nixed the idea since they did not believe little children would understand the meaning of the word. The whole bit in the statue garden (Cheerilee defining the word "discord") makes a bit more sense in this context since it can be interpreted as a very subtle Take That to those who initially thought it would be a bad idea.

 

I'm fairly certain most anyone will admit to the limitations of a 23 minute kids show (a two-parter being about 46 minutes worth of material), but I think you're selling the concept of Discord a bit short. Think of Night Mare Moon for a second: "Ooh, she's so evil and scary with her villainous laugh and 'the night shall last FOREVER!!!' Large Ham moments -- if I were 5 years old." And then you realize what would happen if Night Mare Moon had succeeded, and if Equestria were plunged into eternal night. Cue Fridge Horror sequence. Where MLP villains tend to excel (outside of being Large Hams) is in the prospect of their success. I've consistently used this as an argument for why I don't sympathize with Discord, a character who is frequently made tamer by Bronies due to his appeal. Yes, you are burdened with the knowledge that the Mane Six will find a way to succeed -- but if you take into account the character beyond what is seen at face value (or any character, for that matter), you may find that your initial assessment relied a little too heavily on superficial characteristics.

 

Discord, as much as a trickster as he is, is also prone to being a Smug Snake with reality-warping powers. (These traits are, of course, in keeping with being modeled after Q.) Filtered through the setting (i.e., MLP), it stands to reason that Discord, an otherwise unstoppable force of chaos, would be undone by his own ego. That he relies on the status quo (i.e., the ponies being corrupted and the Elements rendered powerless) is, in retrospect, a delicious irony.

 

Which brings me to my biggest beef with the arc: the alterations to the popularly-termed "Mane 6". Putting aside the idea that it was foolish to leave Twilight unaffected - every good villain needs someone to gloat to - the kinds of changes made to the others spoke to the simplistic unimaginations of its young target audience and absolutely begs for more creativity, not to mention more time than the two episodes the arc is forced into. 

 

Twilight wasn't left unaffected: she was very clearly warped by Discord's magic by the end of the first episode. If you are referring to why Discord apparently waited so long to corrupt her, you may be missing the point of the exercise. Discord loves to humor himself with the misery of others, and picking apart the Mane Six is all part of the game. On a more functional level, corrupting the AJ, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity takes away Twilight's greatest source of power: her friends. Once they were removed, Twilight lost hope for saving Equestria. She was completely broken.

 

For the sake of lucidity, Applejack is my best example. She sees a possible future of what she and the other "Mane 6" members dread perhaps above all: being driven apart as a result of their efforts to restore order. The spell is cast, and Honest Applejack decides to lie to cover up what she saw...but for some reason that sets her default to lie about *everything* no matter how mundane. You can't ask for a bigger finger pointing to her for the audience's benefit saying "In case you haven't noticed, I am under a spell now because I fib about everything obvious and harmless at every opportunity."

 

AJ constantly lying has more to do, I think, with having something of a running gag through what is otherwise a fairly dark episode. It may also reflect how Discord perceives Applejack should be played against her own character, i.e., make her needlessly and shamelessly lie about everything because she is supposed to the Element of Honesty. He made her into a caricature of a liar in opposition to her otherwise standard role as the honest, down-to-earth(pony) member of the Mane Six.

 

The latter point you make is true: AJ's corruption -- and that of everypony -- was made extremely evident to the audience. Considering that MLP is a cartoon with a younger target audience, this should come as no surprise. The fact the Mane Six are so evidently altered is part of the charm of the episode, I would say, rather than a hindrance.

 

Is this really the kind of shallow life lesson that gets praised so much? What about ideas showcasing how truly devastating lying can be, how it destroys trust and relationships? How much more of an impact would it have made if Applejack ends up damaging the same friendships she attempted to protect by lying and had to deal with the consequences of trying to repair those frayed ties in a manner more commonplace than "OH there's a memory spell I forgot to use before tee-hee"? Or even if she'd managed to buck up the courage enough to confess what she'd seen? A vision that disturbed her so deeply that Honest Applejack would lie to prevent its happening? How do the rest react? The possibilities are myriad - and this is only one character of five!

 

I actually happen to believe you're taking the right approach to this. Bronies frequently debate the stories, how well they were told, and how alternatives might have played out differently. You may have discovered one of many reasons why this show has a large fanbase.

 

That having been said, the writers have about 46 minutes in total to tell a story. What you are demanding might be interesting, but limitations otherwise exist which prevent delving more deeply into the types of issues lying to your friends might create. The episode is nonetheless geared toward the broader lesson that friendships can endure even the hardest of trials and darkest of times. The lesson just happens to be delivered to a setting filled with magic and ponies.

[Paleopony 703]

The main reason I like this show is because it's a great stress reliever.

[EpicEnergy 23,222]

I like the show because it introduced ponies with loveable personalities!