"The Ending of the End" and "The Last Problem" | |
---|---|
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes | |
Episode nos. | Season 9 Episodes 24, 25 and 26 |
Directed by |
|
Written by |
|
Produced by |
|
Featured music |
|
Editing by |
|
Original air date | October 12, 2019 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
Full list
| |
The three-part series finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic consisted of the ninth season's 24th, 25th and 26th episodes as well as the 219th, 220th and 221st overall: the two parts of "The Ending of the End" along with "The Last Problem". Broadcast in prime time on October 12, 2019, on Discovery Family, the finale was 90 minutes long and produced by Allspark Animation. "The Ending of the End" follows Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie—known collectively as the "Mane 6"— and dragon friend Spike defending Equestria from their past enemies who are now united. "The Last Problem" is set years after the events of "The Ending of the End" when one of Twilight's students has a friendship problem. To solve it, Twilight recalls the moments she and the Mane 6 spent together.
On the day of Twilight's coronation, Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow successfully unlock the power of Grogar's Bewitching Bell, allowing them to use it to make themselves all-powerful. They then betray Grogar and drain him of his magic, revealing him to be Discord in disguise. Discord travels to Canterlot and reveals this to Twilight and her friends while explaining that his actions as Grogar were intended to prepare Twilight for her new role. Despite Discord's good intentions, Twilight, her friends, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are horrified and furious by his actions and poor planning, so Twilight rallies her friends and allies to prepare for the attack. The villains attack Equestria, with Cozy Glow invading Canterlot Castle and draining Celestia and Luna of their magic, Tirek defeating the Pillars, and Chrysalis ravaging the School of Friendship and capturing Starlight. They regroup at the castle, where they overpower Twilight and her friends and reveal that they have turned the pony races against each other. After her friends insist that she retreat, Twilight teleports away while the others are overwhelmed by the villains.
Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow imprison the ponies and celebrate their victory, but argue over what to do with the magic they have stolen. Discord enacts a plan to free Starlight so she can release the others. Starlight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Discord and the Pillars fend off the villains while Twilight's friends escape. As they search for Twilight, they find her taking refuge in the Crystal Empire having lost hope and fallen to despair. Suddenly, the Windigos return as a result of the hostility between the pony races and brings forth freezing weather. Encouraged by her friends, Twilight regains her confidence and they return to Canterlot to confront the villains. The villains gain the upper hand when they cowardly take Spike hostage in a desperate attempt to make the Mane 6 stand down, as they were about to finally defeat Twilight and her friend, a giant army consisting of all of Equestria and the other kingdoms, united by Twilight's students, appears to assist in the battle. Twilight unites the magic of friendship within her friends, the Young Six and the Pillars to evaporate the Windigos and strip the villains of their power, after which Celestia, Luna and Discord turn them into stone as punishment for their crimes. Celestia expresses that she is proud of Twilight and that she is officially ready to rule Equestria. Twilight postpones her coronation so she and her friends can spend some quiet time after the battle.
In a distant future, Twilight is visited by Luster Dawn, her top student at the School for Gifted Unicorns, who does not understand the importance of friendship, so she tells her a story of how she was once worried about losing her friendships. Flashing back to her coronation day, Twilight prepares to move back to Canterlot with Spike, but worries about drifting apart from her friends. However, her friends seem welcoming of this change and focus more on the final preparations for the ceremony. Twilight expresses her frustration about her friends' contentedness to her moving away and they reveal that they do share her concerns and have been using the preparations to distract themselves. They let out their feelings and cry together, which makes Twilight feel better, knowing that her friends feel the same way. This results in them getting behind on their preparations and almost missing the train to Canterlot. Twilight makes it just in time for her coronation, but the ceremony encounters many problems. After the group share a laugh about the disastrous ceremony, Twilight decides to establish a Council of Friendship so she can maintain her relationships with her friends by convening once every moon, while Celestia and Luna retire to Silver Shoals.
Back in the future, Twilight finishes her story and her friends arrive, revealing they have remained friends and are ruling Equestria together as the Council. Twilight explains to Luster that friendships can be hard to maintain, but life is even harder without them.
Luster takes the lesson to heart and Twilight sends her to Ponyville, where she begins to make friends and have adventures of her own. The last scene in the show is of the book that was opened in the first episode, closing upon a scene of the Mane Six and Spike standing happily on a hillside, watching this moment.
Supervising director Jim Miller considered it a "real honor to end the show properly and not just have it stop". He wanted to give the characters a "proper send-off", letting the viewers know what the characters were doing in the future and say goodbye. [1] The finale was announced on September 12, 2019. [2]
According to series' director Jim Miller, Discord impersonating Grogar was planned since the beginning of the season, as they wanted Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow to be the villains since they had more connection to the main characters. [3]
All three episodes were broadcast in a 90-minute "supersized" timeslot in prime time on October 12, 2019. Prior to their broadcast, Discovery Family aired My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic — A Decade of Pony, a behind-the-scenes look on the production of the series, featuring interviews from the production crew and cast members, on October 11, 2019. For a week, a "Pony Palooza programming takeover" aired. It began on October 6, 2019, and featured the entire series. [4]
Screen Rant ranked "The Last Problem" the second-best season finale and third-best episode according to IMDb. [5] [6]
Composer Daniel Ingram hoped for the series to leave a legacy of first-rate children's entertainment as it "set a bar very high" with in many categories, including storytelling, animation and character depth. Many crew members favorably regarded Friendship Is Magic as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. [1]
"The Return of Harmony" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the second season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, as well as the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth episodes of the series overall. Both episodes were directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by M.A. Larson. Part one of the episode aired in the United States on September 17, 2011 on the Hub, while part two aired the following week, on September 24. The first received a Nielsen household rating of 0.2, and was viewed by over 339,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated episode ever broadcast by the Hub at that point.
"A Canterlot Wedding" is the title of the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episodes of the second season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The fifty-first and fifty-second episodes overall, they were directed by James Wootton and written by Meghan McCarthy. "A Canterlot Wedding" premiered as an hour-long event on The Hub on April 21, 2012. In these episodes, Twilight Sparkle learns her brother, Shining Armor, will be marrying Princess Cadance. The news excites Twilight, but she becomes concerned about the marriage when she notices Cadance is not behaving like the friendly, caring individual she remembers her to be.
"The Crystal Empire" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the third season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the fifty-third and fifty-fourth episodes of the series overall. Both parts of the episode were first broadcast on The Hub on November 10, 2012. It was written by Meghan McCarthy, and directed by series director James Wootton.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, simply known as Equestria Girls, is a product line of fashion dolls and a media franchise launched in 2013 by the American toy company Hasbro as a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the My Little Pony line of pony toys and its Friendship Is Magic television series. Equestria Girls features anthropomorphized versions of My Little Pony characters from that period; as with My Little Pony, which features a colorful body and mane, Equestria Girls characters sport non-human skin and hair colors, while incorporating their pony counterpart's cutie marks in their clothing. The franchise includes various doll lines, media tie-ins, and licensed merchandise.
"Magical Mystery Cure" is the thirteenth and final episode of the third season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the sixty-fifth episode of the series overall. Directed by James Wootton, it was written by M.A. Larson.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, known simply as Equestria Girls or EQG, is a 2013 animated fantasy musical film which is the first installment of Hasbro's toy line and media franchise of the same name, which is itself an anthropomorphized spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the My Little Pony franchise. The film was animated in Adobe Flash, directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by Meghan McCarthy, and was produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 15, 2013, followed by limited release in the United States and Canada on June 16, 2013, with a home media release on August 6, 2013. It also commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of the original My Little Pony toy line.
"Twilight's Kingdom" is the collective name for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episodes of the fourth season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, as well as the ninetieth and ninety-first episodes of the series overall. The two-part season finale deals with a new threat named Lord Tirek, who wants to rule Equestria by absorbing all magic, as well as Twilight Sparkle trying to learn what she should do with her new role as a princess. "Twilight's Kingdom" was directed by Jayson Thiessen, co-directed by Jim Miller, produced by Sarah Wall and Devon Cody, and written by Meghan McCarthy. It premiered on the Hub Network on May 10, 2014, with both parts airing back-to-back.
"The Best Night Ever" is the first season finale of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The episode follows Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who try to enjoy the Grand Galloping Gala separately. Each of them finds their expectations disappointed and inadvertently cause chaos through all their attempts to satisfy their wants. The episode aired on May 6, 2011, and was positively received.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, known simply as Friendship Games, is a 2015 animated musical sports fantasy film which is a part of Hasbro's My Little Pony: Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise, itself a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the main My Little Pony franchise. The film was animated using Adobe Flash, directed by Ishi Rudell and written by Josh Haber, and was produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States, as a sequel to 2014's Rainbow Rocks film. Unlike the previous two films, Friendship Games had no theatrical run in the United States and Canada, but the film was first shown on Discovery Family, a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, on September 26, with a home media release on October 13 that year by Shout! Factory; it also had a limited theatrical run in the United Kingdom, Mexico and Australia beginning in late October 2015.
"Amending Fences" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the one hundred and third overall. Released on July 4, 2015, the episode was written by M.A. Larson and directed by Jim Miller. It received praise from critics and fans for its plot.
"The Cutie Re-Mark" is the collective name for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episodes of the fifth season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the one hundred and sixteenth and one hundred and seventeenth episodes of the series overall. Written by Josh Haber and directed by Denny Lu, the two episodes center around Starlight Glimmer, who tries to take revenge from the Mane 6 by going back in time and preventing them from ever meeting each other. Released on November 28, 2015, the plot of the episode received mixed reviews from critics.
Equestria is the fictional setting of the fourth and fifth generations of the My Little Pony toy line and media franchise, including the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Pony Life. Created by Lauren Faust, the setting incorporates many elements of fantasy, including inspirations from European and Greek mythology.
The eighth season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, developed by Lauren Faust, originally aired on the Discovery Family channel in the United States. The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works and is often referred by collectors to be the fourth generation, or "G4", of the My Little Pony franchise. Season 8 of the series premiered on March 24, 2018, on Discovery Family, an American pay television channel partly owned by Hasbro, and concluded on October 13.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, commonly known as Twilight Sparkle, is a fictional character who appears in the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's My Little Pony toyline and media franchise, beginning with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010–2019), and later in the franchise's fifth incarnation as well. She is voiced by Tara Strong; her singing voice is provided by Rebecca Shoichet.
The ninth and final season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, developed by Lauren Faust, originally aired on the Discovery Family channel in the United States. The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works and is often referred by collectors to be the fourth generation, or "G4", of the My Little Pony franchise. Season 9 of the series premiered on April 6, 2019, on Discovery Family, an American pay television channel partly owned by Hasbro, and concluded with a three-part series finale on October 12.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Forgotten Friendship, also known as Most Likely to be Forgotten on the extended YouTube release, is a 2018 animated one-hour television special which is a part of Hasbro's My Little Pony: Equestria Girls toyline and media franchise, itself a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the main My Little Pony toyline. The special was animated using Adobe Animate, written and edited by Nick Confalone, and directed by Ishi Rudell and Katrina Hadley, and was produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States. Premiered on Discovery Family on February 17, 2018, Forgotten Friendship is the first one-hour Equestria Girls television special, followed up with Rollercoaster of Friendship (2018), Spring Breakdown (2019), Sunset's Backstage Pass (2019), and Holidays Unwrapped (2019).
"Princess Twilight Sparkle" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the fourth season of animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh overall. The episodes follow the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle, who travels back to her hometown of Ponyville from Canterlot after Princesses Celestia and Luna disappear, and the Everfree Forest invades Ponyville. As Twilight and her friends try to find the cause of the havoc, they discover the Tree of Harmony, where they give up the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria.
"Keep Calm and Flutter On" is the tenth episode of the third season of animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as well as the sixty-second overall. The episode features Fluttershy attempting to reform Discord while the rest of the Mane 6—Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie—remaining ambivalent on whether he can be good. The episode was highly anticipated and garnered positive reviews from critics, who found it funny and entertaining.
"Friendship Is Magic" is the collective name for the series premiere of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The episodes follow Twilight Sparkle, a studious, antisocial unicorn, who reluctantly travels to the town of Ponyville at the insistence of her mentor, Princess Celestia. There, she meets five ponies—Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie—with whom she becomes close friends. Together, the six defeat Nightmare Moon, a villain who has returned after a thousand years of imprisonment in the moon, with magical artifacts known as the "Elements of Harmony". Many of the creatures that appear in these episodes have designs that convey humor or silliness. Aired in two parts, on October 10 and October 22, 2010, the episodes received positive reviews from critics.