My Little Pony (Big Idea Entertainment film)

My Little Pony is a 2014 film released by Big Idea, becoming it's 3rd full-length film, after the first two Veggietales film, and the first film not to feature the Veggietales characters.

Morning in Ponyville
The film begins with Twilight Sparkle awakening to a bright and sunny Ponyville day, singing that she's certain today is going to be perfect. During her song, she wakes up Spike (who goes right back to sleep) and passes by numerous ponies around town, including the Quills and Sofas store owner. As her song reaches its climax, Twilight is suddenly interrupted by a splash of rainwater. She immediately accuses Rainbow Dash for the rain but instead finds Rarity on a nearby bridge attempting to manipulate the rainclouds; and to Twilight's shock, Rarity has Rainbow Dash's cutie mark.

The Cutie Mark Switch!
Twilight questions Rarity about why (or even how) she's controlling the weather and what happened to her cutie mark. Rarity doesn't know what Twilight is talking about. She explains that she is simply doing what she's done since the day her cutie mark first appeared. Rarity's "quilt" of clouds causes it to rain and snow simultaneously in Ponyville, earning her the irritation of the town's residents.

Twilight and a very sleepy Spike go to Fluttershy's cottage (which, according to Rarity, is actually Rainbow Dash's cottage) to find out what's going on. They find a sullen Rainbow Dash inside and open the cottage door to the sight of dozens of woodland animals running amok. What's more, Rainbow Dash has Fluttershy's cutie mark. Twilight finds Fluttershy at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie's cutie mark, trying to make ponies laugh. Pinkie Pie, wearing Applejack's mark, is trying her best to manage Sweet Apple Acres, and Applejack (with Rarity's mark) is at Carousel Boutique trying to make dresses. Each of Twilight's friends fail miserably at their new tasks and are clearly unhappy, but they sing that they are just doing what their cutie mark is telling them to do, that it's their destiny to do so.

Star Swirl's unfinished spell
Twilight and Spike frantically return to Golden Oak Library as Twilight realizes what must have happened: The night before, Princess Celestia had sent her Star Swirl the Bearded's spell book. The last page in the book contains Star Swirl's secret, unfinished masterpiece, and Celestia had tasked Twilight with making sense of the spell, believing she is the only pony capable of doing so. She had started by reading the spell aloud:

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled."

- Star Swirl the Bearded's unfinished spell

As she did so, she inadvertently cast the spell on the nearby Elements of Harmony, causing them all (aside from Twilight's) to change colors. Twilight deduces that this caused her friends' cutie marks to be swapped around as well. Spike suggests casting a counter spell, but there is none. He then suggests her memory-fixing spell. Twilight explains that it isn't her friends' memories that have been altered but their true selves. And Zecora's cure for the cutie pox wouldn't help either. Realizing their dead-end situation, Spike reasons that maybe their friends will grow to like their new lives, but Twilight truly doubts it, accepting blame for her friends' misery.

Twilight goes up to her room and laments over her terrible mistake and how much misery she's brought to both her friends and to Ponyville. Spike consoles her, saying he's sure she'll find a way to help her friends and fix everything. Reassured, Twilight looks at a photograph of her with her friends.

"They mean more to me than anything. My friends."

- Twilight Sparkle

Suddenly, Twilight starts to glow, and she gets an idea: if she can't remind her friends of who they are, she'll remind them of what they mean to each other. She puts the Element of Magic on and places the rest of the Elements in their chest, then heads out with Spike.

Finding their true selves
Twilight and Spike find Fluttershy in front of the Twinkling Balloon. Disappointed by her failure to make anypony laugh, she decides to move back to Cloudsdale. Before she does, Twilight asks her if she could help Rainbow Dash with the animals. Fluttershy is very unsure, but she is willing to do whatever she can to help her true friend.

Back at the cottage, the situation is even worse than before: Rainbow Dash is tied up in a pot, with the animals dancing around her. Fluttershy asks Twilight for a spell, but Twilight refuses and tells her to handle the animals. Fluttershy steps in to feed the woodland creatures, and they instantly calm down and warm up to her. She begins to glow, realizing that this is what she's meant to do, that this is her destiny. Twilight then places the Element of Kindness on Fluttershy. In a burst of comprehension, Fluttershy finally remembers who she is, and her cutie mark returns to normal.

One by one, Twilight restores the memories and identities of each of her friends by reintroducing them to their correct roles, with the help of her restored friends and the Elements of Harmony: Rainbow Dash helps Rarity clear the weather, Rarity helps Applejack make dresses, Applejack helps Pinkie Pie save Sweet Apple Acres, and Pinkie brings smiles back to everyone in Ponyville.

Finishing the spell
With her friends restored to their true selves, Twilight has another epiphany: She knows how to complete Star Swirl's spell! She and her friends return to the library, and Twilight rewrites the spell's incantation:

"From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end."

- Twilight's revision of Star Swirl the Bearded's spell

Having completed the spell, the Elements of Harmony spark to life, bathing Twilight in their light. She suddenly vanishes into thin air, leaving a scorch mark on the wood floor in the shape and pattern of her cutie mark.

Twilight's transformation
Twilight appears in a strange, ethereal space full of stars and nebulae. Princess Celestia appears before her, congratulating her on creating a brand new form of magic, accomplishing something even Star Swirl the Bearded couldn't, since he didn't understand friendship the way Twilight does. She leads her student down a pathway of stars as dozens of images float by, depicting key moments in Twilight's life and study of magic and friendship. Celestia sings of how proud she is of her student, and that she is now ready to fulfill her destiny.

Suddenly, a shifting blob of magenta energy emerges from Twilight's chest and begins to swirl around her while a pulsing white light grows from her very center. Twilight is lifted into the air, the whirls of magenta and white blanket her, and she disappears in a brilliant flash, like the supernova of a star.

In the night sky over Ponyville, a variation of Twilight's cutie mark (sporting six small white stars instead of five) appears and floats down to the ground. Twilight's friends watch as the light fades away and Twilight appears, now a little taller and with a pair of feathered wings.

As the others gather around to marvel at Twilight's new look, Rarity states that Twilight has become an Alicorn, with Fluttershy commenting that she looks just like a princess. Princess Celestia appears and states that Twilight is a princess, explaining that since arriving in Ponyville, she's displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and leadership that a true princess is known for. Twilight worries that this means she won't be Celestia's student anymore. Princess Celestia says she'll still be there to help and guide her, but Twilight has just as much to teach now as she has to learn. Twilight's friends and Celestia then bow to her.

The newest princess in Equestria
The next day, a princess coronation ceremony is held in Canterlot, which Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance preside over. Celestia addresses the assembly of ponies, saying Twilight has proven without a doubt that she is prepared to be crowned Equestria's newest princess.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time... Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

- Princess Celestia

The audience beholds Twilight as she and her royal procession enter the throne room. Before the three other Princesses, she is crowned with a new version of the Element of Magic tiara. On the castle balcony, Twilight waves to a crowd of hundreds of cheering ponies. Princess Celestia prompts her to say a few words.

In her first official address as princess, Twilight says friendship was at one time something she didn't care much about, but she wouldn't be standing there if it weren't for the friendships she's made. She expresses to her friends her undying gratitude, and considers herself the luckiest pony in Equestria. It's an emotional day for all, even Shining Armor, who Twilight is surprised to find crying. Twilight's friends congratulate her, and she meets the five of them in a group hug.

In a reprise of the song, the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle is brought out of the castle in her own chariot before she jumps out to trot and sing alongside her friends. Ponies line the city streets to witness the coronation parade, including Derpy, Cloudchaser, and Flitter. Twilight then takes flight on her new wings and soars at the screen, proclaiming everything's going to be just fine.

Just smiling and waving
A Week later, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are back at the Crystal Empire to welcome the duke and duchess of Maretonia. Twilight is delighted that her friends are accompanying her, but she admits her duties amount to just a "smile and wave". When Pinkie Pie asks what's the matter, Twilight says she feels her role as a princess doesn't amount to much. The feeling is only made worse when, during the dignitaries' welcoming ceremony, all Twilight does is unveil a royal banner.

"I mean, wow, really regal and important! [laughing nervously]"

- Spike

After saying goodbye to the dignitaries, Twilight asks Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance if there's anything else she can do, but Cadance tells her their visit is already over. Twilight is disappointed that, compared to her fellow princesses of Equestria, her own role as a princess is unclear and she wants to have a purpose. Celestia, Luna and Cadance let Twilight know through a heartfelt song that her time "is coming soon" and that she'll play her part as a princess. Twilight is cheered up a little by their song and words of encouragement.

Tirek's return
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Rare Find walks through an alleyway while levitating a bucket of oranges. He encounters an individual in a cloak and apologizes for nearly bumping into him. The cloaked creature introduces himself as Lord Tirek and, with a menacing proclamation of taking "what should have been [his] long ago", consumes the unicorn's magic, causing the unicorn's eyes to lose their color and his cutie mark to vanish while making Tirek stronger.

Back in the Crystal Empire, Princess Celestia wakes up from her sleep in a startle, and Luna enters her bedroom. Celestia says she had a terrible dream. Luna, having witnessed her dream, tells her it was a vision. As Celestia gets out of bed, she forebodingly states "the stronger he becomes, the more we are all in danger".

Through a storybook, Celestia and Luna tell Twilight the history of Tirek: originally, he and his brother Scorpan came to Equestria from "a distant land" with the intent of stealing Equestrian magic. However, Scorpan came to appreciate the ponies' ways, and even befriended a young unicorn wizard. He pleaded with Tirek to abandon their plan, and when he refused, Scorpan alerted the princesses of Tirek's intentions. He then returned to his homeland, while Tirek was sentenced to prison in Tartarus for his crimes.

Celestia and Luna deduce that Tirek must have escaped Tartarus when Cerberus last abandoned its gates; only now, they reason, has Tirek regained enough strength to use his dark powers. With the threat of Tirek's strength returning looming over their heads, Cadance elects Twilight to stop him. Before she can accept, however, Celestia woefully tells Twilight that she has chosen another in her stead: Discord.

Visiting the castle
Twilight relays Celestia's decision to her friends in Ponyville, and while most of them are skeptical of Discord's assistance, Fluttershy has the utmost faith in him. With nothing to do in the meantime, Twilight concedes to go to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters and "catch up on some reading", and her friends accompany her.

On their way to the castle, the ponies recall having to give up the Elements of Harmony to the Tree of Harmony. As they converse, Discord arrives, reading some of the Mane Six's entries in their friendship journal before heading off to track down Tirek. He also wonders why Twilight has yet to open the Tree of Harmony's chest, suggesting that whatever is inside could help Twilight prove her worth as a princess. Just before he leaves, he returns the friendship journal to Twilight and tells her that he bookmarked some of its more interesting passages. Twilight takes Discord's words to heart and begins searching the old castle library for a means of opening the chest.

Meanwhile, as Tirek continues absorbing unicorns' magic, Discord appears before him and binds him in chains. Tirek is disgusted to discover that Discord is acting on behalf of ponies, saying "friendship is but a new form of imprisonment". He proposes to Discord an alliance and offers to him something better than friendship: freedom. Discord looks behind him to a photo of himself and Fluttershy and ponders.

The five keys
Twilight reads through the friendship journal, focusing on the sections Discord bookmarked, and discovers a pattern. She recalls when Applejack revealed the Flim Flam brothers' deception, Fluttershy showed the Breezies the ultimate kindness, Rarity endured Suri Polomare's schemes, Rainbow Dash chose to fly with Ponyville over the Wonderbolts, and Pinkie Pie overcame her own pride as a party planner. Each of them had to face a situation and make a choice relating to their Element of Harmony, and the ponies affected by their choice gave them a gift. Twilight believes their gifts are connected to the location of the chest's keys.

The ponies bring the objects—Coco Pommel's spool of rainbow thread, Spitfire's Wonderbolts pin, Seabreeze's flower, Silver Shill's gold bit, and Cheese Sandwich's rubber chicken Inanimate Boneless—to the chest, but Twilight doesn't see anything special about them. When Pinkie Pie throws Boneless against the chest, a bright light turns him into a key, and he rests inside one of the chest's keyholes. Twilight's friends bring the rest of their gifts close to the chest, and each one becomes a key for one of its keyholes. However, there's still one key missing: Twilight's key.

Before the friends wonder where the final key could be, Spike belches out a letter for Twilight, telling her to go to Canterlot immediately.

Discord's betrayal
Twilight flies to Canterlot and meets with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance in the castle throne room. Celestia informs Twilight that Discord has betrayed them and joined forces with Tirek. She also says that Tirek has gained enough power that he can now steal the magic of Pegasi and Earth ponies as well as unicorns.

The princesses surmise that Tirek will go after Alicorn magic next, and once he has it, he will be unstoppable. However, Celestia has a solution: the princesses must rid themselves of their magic before Tirek has a chance to steal it.

Protecting the magic
Princess Luna explains to Twilight Sparkle that they must give up their magic before Lord Tirek comes to steal it. Twilight is more than willing to sacrifice her magic as well, but Luna elaborates that their magic can't disappear into thin air; someone has to keep it safe, and Princess Celestia says that someone is Twilight, because they believe Tirek doesn't know there's a fourth princess of Equestria.

Twilight is uncertain, as she is only just learning to control her own Alicorn magic, but Princess Cadance believes she can, as she represents the element of magic itself. Celestia adds that Twilight must keep the magic a secret from her friends or else put them at great risk. With these in mind, Twilight accepts this task, and the other princesses carry out a ritual that transfers all of their magic into Twilight. Elsewhere, Discord picks up on this magical imbalance but thinks nothing of it.

When the transfer is complete, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance are left severely weakened and exhausted, and their cutie marks have vanished.

Magical overload
Twilight returns to Golden Oak Library in the middle of the night, causing Spike to wake up. As a result of her absorbing the other princesses' magic, Twilight suffers from the occasional magical twitch, and she tries keeping it a secret from Spike. Spike, noting that the sun hasn't come up yet, goes back to sleep. Twilight realizes that the sun should indeed be up by now and uses her magic to (awkwardly) lower the moon and raise the sun.

Back in Canterlot, Discord and Tirek find Shining Armor, with Shining Armor labeling Discord a "traitor". Once Tirek absorbs his magic and that of the royal guards, Tirek tells Discord to "go and have a little fun" while he makes his way to the throne room. Inside, Tirek finds Celestia, Luna, and Cadance but is shocked and infuriated to discover they have no magic for him to absorb.

In Ponyville, Twilight struggles to get used to her new power while also keeping them hidden from her friends. After blowing the door off the library and zooming past Rainbow Dash, she tells her friends to keep all the ponies in Ponyville indoors and heads back toward the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Tirek's reign
With Celestia, Luna, and Cadance without their Alicorn magic for him to absorb, and in a cruel act of revenge against them, Tirek banishes the three princesses to Tartarus as he once was. As a sign of his gratitude and loyalty to Discord, Tirek gives him a medallion that was given to him by "someone very close". Tirek sees a stained glass window depicting Princess Twilight and realizes that there's a fourth princess living in Equestria. He asks Discord where she is and Discord points him in the direction of Ponyville.

After Twilight's friends secure the other ponies' safety, Discord appears before them and imprisons them in a cage. Realizing Discord's betrayal, Fluttershy is reduced to tears. With the ponies together in one place, Tirek absorbs their magic and grows even more powerful. Discord is thrilled by the prospect of ruling Equestria alongside Tirek, but Tirek says Discord is no longer of use to him and absorbs his magic as well.

A weakened Discord reminds Tirek of his medallion—his sign of his "gratitude and loyalty". Tirek says the medallion was given to him by his treacherous brother Scorpan and considers both him and the medallion worthless. As Tirek leaves to seek out Twilight, Discord is distraught over the same act of betrayal he brought upon Fluttershy and the others.

Battle for Equestria
Near the ancient castle, Twilight continues practicing her new powers, with some difficulty. When Tirek appears and demands her magic, Twilight desperately avoids him. In the process, at least the aboveground portion of Golden Oak Library is completely destroyed. In rage, Twilight fires upon Tirek with a massive magic blast. Tirek realizes what the other princesses have done, and Twilight battles him in an explosive and destructive duel, able to combat him on equal footing.

Seeing the two of them are at a stalemate, Tirek offers with Twilight a trade: the release of her friends in exchange for the Alicorn magic. Despite her friends' protests, Twilight agrees to trade the magic for her friends, including Discord. Discord thanks Twilight and apologizes to Fluttershy, and Tirek promptly absorbs all of Twilight's magic, making him almost unstoppable.

Discord, repentant of his actions, gives the medallion given to him by Tirek to Twilight as a sign of true friendship. Believing this to be the final key needed to open the chest, Twilight and her friends race to the Tree of Harmony.

Rainbow Power
Twilight and friends return to the chest, where Twilight's medallion turns into the last key. Before Tirek discovers and stops them, the six friends turn the keys at the same time, and the top of the chest opens, releasing a rainbow-colored blast of power that showers them in light. The ponies are transformed and given rainbow-marked coats, manes and tails. They confront Tirek, who is unable to overpower their magic.

A blast of light strips Tirek of his power, and he is banished to Tartarus once more. Twilight and her friends fly over all of Equestria and return all of the ponies' stolen magic, and the other princesses are freed from their own imprisonment. Finally, the Tree of Harmony launches the chest and its keys toward Ponyville, where it sinks into the ground. Mere seconds later, a great crystal castle rises out of the ground from where the chest landed.

Twilight and her friends behold the castle's majesty as their rainbow powers wear off, with Twilight wondering who the castle belongs to. Princess Celestia then appears, along with Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Spike and Discord, telling Twilight that the castle is hers. As they walk through the castle corridors, Twilight finally understands her role as a princess: to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. In recognition of her role, Princess Celestia designates her the "princess of friendship".

"But what is the princess of friendship without her friends?"

- Princess Celestia

In the castle throne room sit seven thrones, one for Twilight and each of her friends (except for Discord, who Fluttershy tells has yet to deserve one).

Epilogue
As the ponies of Ponyville gather outside the new castle, Twilight steps out and invites them inside as she and her friends sing an upbeat song. Through the magic of their friendship, a rainbow shoots up from the throne room floor and travels across Equestria, where it is witnessed by Coco Pommel, the Wonderbolts, Cheese Sandwich, the Breezies, Silver Shill, and Discord. In the throne room, Discord is finally accepted by the ponies, and he gives Princess Celestia a bouquet of flowers, much to her own surprise.

The final shot of the film sees Twilight taking a photo with her friends.

VeggieTales lesson

 * In a Veggietale lesson, in the post-credit scene (which is right after the credits), Bob and Larry made the appropriate appearance to tell us that loving your friends will give you strength. They end post-credit sequence that god made you special, and he loves you very much.