My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic finale

"**The Ending of the End**" and "**The Last Problem**"
"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	Denny Lu; Mike Myhre;
Written by	Nicole Dubuc ("The Ending of the End — Part 1"); Michael Vogel ("The Ending of the End — Part 2"); Josh Haber ("The Last Problem");
Produced by	Devon Cody; Josh Haber; Stephen Davis (executive); Kirsten Newlands (executive); Sarah Wall (executive); Meghan McCarthy (co-executive); Eliza Hart (co-producer); Collen McAllister (co-producer);
Editing by	Josh Haber (story); Greg Canning (animatic); Tom Harris (online); Todd Araki (sound); Jason Fredrickson (sound); Roger Monk (sound); Andrew Spindor (sound);
Original air date	October 12, 2019
Running time	90 minutes
Guest appearances
	Full list Kathleen Barr as Queen Chrysalis and Trixie; John de Lancie as Discord; Sunni Westbrook as Cozy Glow; Mark Acheson as Tirek; Tabitha St. Germain as Princess Luna and Granny Smith; Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia; Doc Harris as Grogar; Kelly Sheridan as Starlight Glimmer; Matt Cowlrick as Rockhoof; Christopher Britton as Starswirl the Bearded; Cathy Weseluck as Mayor Mare; Kyle Rideout as Thorax; Vincent Tong as Sandbar; Shannon Chan-Kent as Smolder and Raspberry Dazzle; Britt McKillip as Princess Cadance; Gavin Langelo as Gallus; Richard Ian Cox as Grandpa Gruff and Hyper Sonic; Devyn Dalton as Ocellus; Lauren Jackson as Silverstream; Garry Chalk as Prince Rutherford; Christopher Gaze as Seaspray; Katrina Salisbury as Yona; Sabrina Pitre as Luster Dawn; Kelly Metzger as Spitfire; Peter New as Big Mac;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Big Mac Question"	Next →; —
	My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (season 9)
	List of episodes

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.

Plot[]

The Ending of the End — Part 1[]

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 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; Cozy Glow invades Canterlot Castle and drains Celestia and Luna of their magic, Tirek defeats the Pillars, and Chrysalis ravages the School of Friendship and captures 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.

The Ending of the End — Part 2[]

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 until 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.

The Last Problem[]

In a distant future, Twilight is visited by Luster Dawn, her top student at the School of Magic, 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.

Production[]

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]

Broadcast[]

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.^[3]

Reception[]

Screen Rant ranked "The Last Problem" the second-best season finale and third-best episode according to IMDb.^[4]^[5]

Potential legacy[]

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]

References[]

^ ^a ^b My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic — A Decade of Pony (Documentary). Discovery Family. October 11, 2019.
^ "Discovery Family Channels Celebrates the Series Finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic with a Special Primetime Event on Saturday, October 12 at 8/7c" (Press release). Discovery, Inc. September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
^
Several sources:
- Nordyke, Kimberly (September 12, 2019). "'My Little Pony' to End With 'Supersized' Primetime Finale Event (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- Haring, Bruce (September 14, 2019). "'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' Sets Finale, Special On Long-Running Series End". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- Gelman, Vlada (September 12, 2019). "My Little Pony Series Finale, All American Mom and More". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- Burlingame, Russ (September 12, 2019). "New My Little Pony Series Finale Details Revealed". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
^ Olsen, Carly (November 21, 2019). "My Little Pony: Every Season Finale, Ranked According to IMDb". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
^ Olsen, Carly (November 19, 2019). "My Little Pony: The 10 Best Episodes, According To IMDb". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

External links[]

[ADOP-1] My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic — A Decade of Pony (Documentary). Discovery Family. October 11, 2019.

[2] "Discovery Family Channels Celebrates the Series Finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic with a Special Primetime Event on Saturday, October 12 at 8/7c" (Press release). Discovery, Inc. September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.

[3] Several sources:
Nordyke, Kimberly (September 12, 2019). "'My Little Pony' to End With 'Supersized' Primetime Finale Event (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

Haring, Bruce (September 14, 2019). "'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' Sets Finale, Special On Long-Running Series End". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

Gelman, Vlada (September 12, 2019). "My Little Pony Series Finale, All American Mom and More". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

Burlingame, Russ (September 12, 2019). "New My Little Pony Series Finale Details Revealed". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[4] Nordyke, Kimberly (September 12, 2019). "'My Little Pony' to End With 'Supersized' Primetime Finale Event (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[5] Haring, Bruce (September 14, 2019). "'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' Sets Finale, Special On Long-Running Series End". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[6] Gelman, Vlada (September 12, 2019). "My Little Pony Series Finale, All American Mom and More". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[7] Burlingame, Russ (September 12, 2019). "New My Little Pony Series Finale Details Revealed". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[4] Olsen, Carly (November 21, 2019). "My Little Pony: Every Season Finale, Ranked According to IMDb". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

[5] Olsen, Carly (November 19, 2019). "My Little Pony: The 10 Best Episodes, According To IMDb". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

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