Nine years is a heck of a long run for any show, let alone a children’s cartoon. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has always been a unique show, from its fans to its characters, the show has always stood it out. And while it has had its ups and downs, there’s no denying that this show about brightly colored ponies has become a cultural phenomenon.

Maybe it should have ended earlier. Like maybe a season or two back, but I honestly thought the 3-part series finale was pretty good. Pretty much precisely what I expected, so I can’t say I’m completely disappointed.

The final battle could have been more epic. It could have been bigger. Certain things could have been better hinted at or expanded on. But overall, it was pretty damn decent. And the final scene almost had me crying my eyes out.

But it was also time for the show to end. The finale begins with a disguised Queen Chrysalis sowing discord and mistrust among the different races of ponies: Pegasi against Earth ponies and unicorns; Unicorns against pegasi and Earth ponies…You get the idea. I think this would have been a great plot to expand on and I would have liked to have seen it more over the season than the villain trio struggling to get a long.

But the Bad Trio, or whatever, they’re called finally use Grogar’s Bell to get full power and it’s revealed that Grogar…is actually Discord in disguise.

The twist kind of came out of nowhere and I’m not really sure how to feel about it. I would have really liked to see Discord and Grogar fight it out; but, it is what it is. Of course, all the ponies except Twilight are captured, nobody trusts Discord, the Villains are overpowered and then thanks to all the arguing, the Windigos show up.

Everything seems lost. And then the final battle begins.

It does seem for a time, with the reappearance of the Windigos that everything is lost. But of course, things aren’t. The Young Six help bring every pony and everybody back together, and thanks to Discord’s sacrifice the Trio is defeated.

Lots of one shot characters appear for the final battle, including some from the movie. Which is pretty cool. I like that it’s canon. And of course, Discord once again redeems himself. No huge sacrifices, or permanent ones are made.

But at least they buck old trends and the villains aren’t reformed. They’re turned to stone. That I wasn’t expecting. And everyone else, pretty much lives happily ever after. And according to the final episode, Twilight eventually gets bigger and gains her shimmer mane and the rest of the Mane Six are living happily ever after,

Twilight is still running the school of magic, and she’s gained her own friendship-wary student named Luster Dawn. (I’m surprised how many variations of this kind of name they have: Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer…).

Most of the episode is a flashback, with Twilight explaining to her protégée, how she and her friends are still close even though they don’t see each other every day and even though her coronation was a disaster of epic proportions.

We don’t get to see what happens to all the characters: Celestia and Luna are noticeably absent for example. But, we get a peek at some of the lives: Rarity’s fashions have expanded to the other races (She has a gray streak, that I like to think she dyed it after getting a singular gray hair in her mane. She thinks the streak makes her look more elegant.); Pinkie Pie married and had a child with Cheese Sandwich. They presumably have some kind of party empire. And it would seem like Fluttershy and Discord are a thing. They’re living together.)

It’s funny, since the show itself was never strong on the romance but the fandom was a bit crazy. And I don’t think a lot of people were happy about the confirmed pairings or that there were end-game ships at all. Except for Pinkie Pie, none of the other relationships are verified. So whatever,

(People grow up and fall in love and I like Fluttercord, so I’m cool with it. (But I prefer RariJack to AppleDash. Just saying.)

And I like how the show hands of the torch to a new generation of all different species. I wish that we had gotten to see what became more of other characters and that the characters from the movies, and maybe even Sunset Shimmer made more than just a cameo appearance, but it was sweet and heartfelt and the ending song: :”The Magic of Friendship Grows” is one of the best songs in MLP: FiM canon.

It shows how the ponies and audience have grown and it touches on the feelings of ending and beginnings…Please if you’ve seen the show watch the finale.

And that’s the scoop.

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Score: 8/10

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Length: 3 episodes; 22 minutes each

Year of release: 2019

Creator: Lauren Faust

Director: Mike Myhre

Writers: Nicole Dubuc, Michael Vogel, Josh Haber

Voice Actors: Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck, Nicole Oliver, Michelle Creber, Madeleine Peters, Claire Corlett

If you like this read: A good start to the end of an era: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the final season