My Little Pony TV Specials/YMMV


 * Angst? What Angst?: The ponies that were transformed into baleful ponymorphs and were made to assist Tirek bring in The Night That Never Ends sure don't seem too broken up about it at the end of Rescue from Midnight Castle.
 * Animation Age Ghetto: thanks to this, people are still surprised at how dark the first special was almost thirty years after it was made.
 * Anvilicious: the anti-drug moral of Escape from Catrina is less than subtle.
 * Cliché Storm: as good as the original special was, it is also this. An Evil Overlord is trying to Take Over the World and only a Plucky Girl Kid Hero and her Ragtag Bunch of Misfits friends can stop him using a powerful MacGuffin given to them by a absent-minded wizard.
 * The same goes for the follow-up.
 * Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch: It's My Little Pony. This was inevitable. These also sometimes get this treatment from fans of the newest incarnation.
 * Complete Monster: Tirek, full stop. Not only does he want to spread eternal darkness to the world, but his plan requires that he imprison and torture ponies so that they can pull his chariot. He's also brutally violent towards his henchman and threatens to tear off the head of a child dragon if he is failed again. He's arguably the only true example of this trope this franchise has to offer.
 * Contested Sequel: To a lot of fans, either everything that came after these two specials, or just anything after Rescue from Midnight Castle, period.
 * Ear Worm: a good chunk of the songs are very catching and will stay with you long, long after you've watched these. In particular the opening themes.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Firefly. Spunky tomboy with guts and attitude? Check. Being voiced by Sandy Duncan also doesn't hurt.
 * The Moochic: this character is fondly remembered by many fans of the series as one of its finer points. Being voiced by Tony Randall probably helped.
 * Fan-Preferred Couple: Firefly and Medley have been gaining a bit of support in more recent times.
 * Also, in some circles Megan and Scorpan.
 * First Installment Wins: Most of G1 fans consider Midnight Castle (and sometimes Catrina) to be high point of the cartoons that were made at the time. With its slick animation, menacing and competent villain Tirek, Anti-Villain Scorpan, and awesome climax...it's not difficult to see why.
 * Girl Show Ghetto: Uh-huh.
 * Girls Need Role Models: The likely reason for Megan's existence. She's quick, spirited, and despite her own fears happens to be The Chosen One who saves the day from Evil Overlord Tirek.
 * He Panned It, Now He Sucks: Expect anyone who dislikes Midnight Castle to get this treatment, even if they did have a well thought-out reason why.
 * Hype Backlash: A lot of fans hype these two specials up a lot as proof that not all of the G1 cartoons were terrible. Expect this to happen from time to time.
 * Moral Event Horizon: Tirek crosses this in his plan. He even coined the trope The Night That Never Ends.
 * Catrina was about to do this when Rep stops her and makes her change her ways just in time.
 * Sacred Cow: Midnight Castle is this to G1 fans without doubt. Catrina to a lesser extent.
 * Seinfeld Is Unfunny: To a lot of FiM fans. Though these specials were pretty edgy for My Little Pony at the time, the current incarnation has taken everything these specials were and made them the standard for the franchise.
 * Shipping: With the advent of Friendship is Magic, shipping and Ho Yay has become a popular phenomenon in the pony fandom. So pairings like Firefly and Medley, Bowtie and Applejack, Meganx Scorpa, Twilight and Moondancer, and of course Catrina and Rep have begun popping up.
 * So Cool Its Awesome: Considered to be this by a lot of fans of the overall franchise.
 * Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped: Though the delivery of the Anti-Drug aesop of Catrina was heavy-handed and a bit fantastic, one can still appreciate it, since drugs really are bad for both the mind and body.
 * So Okay It's Average: Tends to be the lowest opinion of these specials.
 * Tastes Like Diabetes: Well duh.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: In Midnight Castle, both Tirek and Scorpan.
 * The former was a very Evil Overlord with intentions of ushering an age of eternal darkness and thus rule Ponyland and possibly Earth for eternity. To do it, he put the local enchanted creatures through painful transformations and constantly kicks his right hand goat-man, Scorpan around without relent and with threats of decapitating his only friend Spike. Scorpan himself had previously been enslaved by a previous conquest by this guy. He only got one half-hour to show his stuff, and he spent most of that time sitting on a throne.
 * As for Scorpan, while the special itself did make great use of him as a rare My Little Pony Anti-Hero (Type II) who unwillingly serves his evil master inspite of his own good nature. He ultimately undergoes a Heel Face Turn once Tirek has kicked him a few too many times. After this, he is never seen again and he never undergoes anymore Character Development.
 * Once he actually undergoes the Heel Face Turn, he accomplishes precisely bugger-all.
 * Tough Act to Follow: If you start watching the G1 cartoons starting with these, you may be less than impressed with anything that followed after.
 * Viewer Gender Confusion: Applejack is still a girl in Midnight Castle, but the gravelly voice can make it hard to tell.
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: A mild example, but no one who flipped onto the station to watch this could've have expected to BEHOLD THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
 * Win the Crowd: Pretty much why these were created.
 * The Woobie: Scorpan, Spike, and Ember is the first special.
 * Rep, Sundance, and Baby Moondancer in the second.
 * What the Hell Casting Agency: Paul Williams as Catrina's henchman.