MY TOP TEN FAVORITE MLP:FiM CHARACTERS (SEASON 1)

The best part of a TV show, a movie, a book, a comic, or even a video game, is always the characters. Characters are necessary for the audience to connect with. They are the ones that move the plot forwards, the ones that take part in the action, the ones that will tell the story at the end (if they survive, of course). Characters are needful. They are the backbone of a good story. without them, then there won’t be anything at all. You can measure a story by its characters, and many times they saved a terrible plot by how much sympathy you can feel for them. Sure, AVATAR’s plot is more basic than a pacifier’s mechanism, but between Jake Sully, Ney’tiri and Badass Colonel Surge, the whole thing is a complete fun-fest.

With this I’m saying there’s a lot of interesting characters out there, and you know I like many of them. And since we are going to be waiting longer than we expected for completely brand new episodes of My Little Pony, I guess it’s my duty to occupy that free time writing more pony stuff. So here are my top ten favorite characters of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. But first some rules and guidelines!

- Rule 1: No Mane Cast inclusions. Rainbow Dash and Rarity are fucking awesome so this list is not worthy of them.

- Rule 2: No alternate versions of the Mane Cast, like Pinkamena Diane Pie, Psycho-Shy or their filly versions.

- Rule 3: Opinions are based series wise, not fanon wise, so don’t expect me to run with fads like “Lyra wants to be human” or “Octavia is Pinkie’s sister”.

- Rule 4: Pets are included, even if they can’t utter a single word.

So with this here settled, on we go.

10. - DERPY HOOVES

I guess this one is an easy pick for all the bronies out there. Derpy Hooves is a character that was born in the under belly of 4chan. In the Pilot episode for Season 1, an animator left a pegasus pony in the background with cocked eyes. 4chan heard of this, and thus started to make fanart, reaction pictures and animated gifs of her. Fifteen episodes later, Derpy Hooves and her derped eyes were canon to the show. I love her because she represents something really important in this day and age: The creators take recommendations and advice from the fanbase. Derpy Hooves is to My Little Pony what the “Motherfucking Snakes” quote is for “Snakes on a Plane”. Only, you know, Rated PG. Also, she’s like the Alfred Hitchcock of the show! You won’t be able to watch an episode without looking for her cocked up eyes and blond mane. Why does she have to be so frigging cute?

9. - PHILOMENA

Philomena is Princess Celestia’s pet, a Phoenix that every so often has to shed all her feathers and burst into flames. Nothing new there, that’s something we all know from mythology and elementary school. What we may not know is that phoenixes (is that even a plural?) are such massive dicks. Philomena trolls and abuses from poor Fluttershy’s kindness until the poor pegasus is reduced to tears. And it’s glorious. When she’s ill, almost completely bald and coughing her feathers off of her body, she looks like the Road Runner’s grandma; and her personality is that of old school cartoon characters. She will bloat like a sponge, she will drop brick jokes, she will eat grain like a hydraulic hammer, and she’ll start Benny Hill-style chase scenes. She gains extra points for her brilliant design when she’s reborn. A very regal, very majestic red and yellow bird that looks gorgeous. If this wasn’t good enough, she shares the name with my father’s mother. Yeah, her name was Philomena and she wasn’t too different from this Phoenix. Celestia has good taste in pets, I must say. This one is as beautiful as she is a pisser.

8. - GUMMY THE ALLIGATOR

Only now I realize one of the best parts of the whole show comes from the writer I like the least. Dave Polsky may have been the author of the only episode I didn’t completely liked (Over a Barrel) but he also created Pinkie Pie’s pet, Gummy the Alligator. Used as a throw away joke in Feeling Pinkie Keen, Gummy made another appearance in Party of One and he was absolutely hilarious. He is this dopey-eyed gator the size of a chihuahua that lives with Pinkie Pie and has no teeth. His only purpose in the show is to look adorable and follow Pinkie Pie anywhere she goes, looking inquisitive and oblivious about everything. The funny thing is that many of the characters own pets that have some relation to them: Twilight has an Owl because owls represent knowledge (like Athena, the goddess of Wisdom); Rarity has a cat because cats have elegance and poise, like our Rarity does; Applejack has a dog because dogs are really useful in farms; Celestia has a Phoenix because it’s the perfect pet for an immortal; Fluttershy has a Bunny because bunnies are adorable and she needs someone to throw assertiveness in her life. But Pinkie Pie, a pink pony who loves parties, she has an Alligator for a pet...and the connection is where? Well, the connection is that it’s Pinkie Pie and she makes no sense. Not even her pet does. And that’s hilarious.

7. - CHEERILEE

You will hear me using this reason one too many times during the article, but it’s true: Many of the characters that are in this list are here because I love their design, and Cheerilee is one of them. I love her magenta coat and the simplicity of her mane and her cutie mark. I spent a good while wondering which version of her I liked more: Her 80’s version or her normal version. While the 80’s version is niftier with the leg warmers (I have a thing for leg warmers) and the braces (I do have a thing for braces) I think the best one is the normal version. She’s a very passionate pony who loves her job and dedicates all of her energies to it. And she does it with a fair and thoughtful attitude, like many teachers would. She may not have a lot of characterization, but the little there is, is really well done.

6. - BRAEBURN

Okay, I will be forward and honest here. The only reason why Braeburn is in this list is because he is too freaking adorable. He is overly cute for his own good. I love how good he looks like! I love his cowboy hat; I love his huge green eyes; I love his warm smile; I love his thick accent; I love his cutesy-wootsey cowboy vest; and his short-haired mane. He’s too cute! He doesn’t have much of a personality either, but the little we saw shows a very confident, strong and peaceful guy. He’s driven to war during the Over a Barrel episode, but only because he has no other choice, and when his people are about to get squashed he doesn’t hesitate and grabs the nearest apple pie to defend his town. He’s also part of the worryingly small male demographic in Friendship is Magic, so it’s obvious we want to see more of him. More Braeburn! Season 2, you heard me!

5. - ROSE (LUCK)

Should I say it again? Yes, I love Rose for how good she looks. Don’t get me wrong (you perverts)! It’s really difficult to pick Rose as one of my favorite characters and try and justify it without saying that she looks really good (unless I get into fanon theories and I already said I wasn’t going to get into that). She’s part of the trio of female ponies that I’ve decided to call “Apocalypse Ponies”. Every time something “terrible” or “horrible” comes to Ponyville, these three ponies will gather in front of the screen and scream “THE HORROR! THE HORROR!”. Rose is always the one that catches my eye. Her coat is pure white and her mane is three shades of red, short and spiky. Her cutie mark is a normal looking rose. And that’s about it. Coming from me it’s not a surprise that I pick this character. I love minor characters, so background ponies are mandatory in my list. I just hope they flexed her character more. Such a good looking pony deserves more of the spotlight, not everything has to be Lyra and Bon Bon.

4. - THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE

I mean, seriously guys, how dare you not expecting this character to be on my list! Actually, I’m pretty sure you did expect her to show up, after how much I brag about her. The Great and Powerful Trixie is one of the many (worryingly so) one shot characters that populate Friendship is Magic. We have Gilda, Zecora, Prince BlueBlood, the Wonderbolts, and The Great and Powerful Trixie amongst others. I actually don’t know how Lauren Faust and her writer team didn’t use Trixie more. There werebeen so many other situations where she could’ve showed up! I guess, because they were restrained by the “slice of life” episode style they couldn’t sneak Trixie again, but I am here expecting another appearance of the Most Powerfully Boasting unicorn in all of Equestria in Season 2 or, if failing on that, Season 3. If she appears in Season 2 my squeals will be heard in your houses.

3. - APPLE BLOOM

This here is a really interesting character. Pretty much like the entire Apple family members, all of them are extremely well developed except Applejack, and I think the best developed is Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom is the third pony in a group of little fillies dedicated to find their especial talents called “The Cutie Mark Crusaders”. She is a determined and brave girl who has more guts than other older ponies. She ventures in the Everfree Forest, an equivalent to the Haunted Forest from Harry Potter, twice! She is a badass in my eyes, and has the most adorable design of the entire show (that big red bow that’s bigger than her head). But she’s also insecure and afraid of things. She is really flexed out and has depth, flaws, but also talent and potential. She’s great at fixing stuff, drawing and making costumes, and I bet in the future her cutie mark will be a pen or a quill. Besides, how can you say no to that adorable face?

2. - OCTAVIA

Ignoring the fanon of this character hurts me a lot, mostly because I actually contributed to create it. But, even ignoring the humongous fan following Octavia has gotten, I got to admit she still is one of the characters I like the most. Let’s be honest here for a second people; this show is full to the brim with colourful ponies. Too. Many. Colourful. Ponies. It’s always bright white, obnoxious yellow, fiery red, sickening green, poxy orange or even deep blue. And then we have Octavia. Her colour scheme is dark grey coat and light black mane, the only colourful parts being her purple cutie mark and that pink bow she wears on her neck. Nothing else. I love that! That’s a really cool, really gloomy and very serious colour scheme, and fits perfectly for her profession as Cellist (it’s a Cello, not a Double Base, the creators said so). I love her serious face, her stoic attitude and her professionalism. Plus, that white collar with the pink bow makes her look adorable.

1. - PRINCESS LUNA

Yeah. I mean, who else could be better than Octavia but the younger Princess in Equestria’s Royal family? Princess Luna is, again, one of those characters that appeared once and never showed up again. She was imprisoned inside that carcass of hatred and loath that was Nightmare Moon, and after The Elements of Harmony released her she only said two lines: “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much big sister.” And then, the fandom exploded. Not literally with a boom, but with fanfics, fanarts, fan-comics, fan theories, pages and pages in forums trying to figure out what was Luna’s personality and how she was going to be. She would be completely absent during the entire First Season of the show and we only grew eager to see how she was. At the time this is written, we still are! We’ve been promised that Luna will return in Season 2, and maybe for more than just one episode. That makes me happy enough, but the reason why I like her so much is the doubt. I don’t know how she is going to be, it’s a complete mystery, but from those two lines and the tone in which she said them I get to two conclusions:

- One: Luna will not turn evil as she regrets becoming Nightmare Moon, despite it not being her fault.

- Two: She loves her sister Celestia and will do everything to stay with her forever.

Her design is also one strong point for me to love her a lot. She’s taller than the average pony but still smaller than her sister, her muzzle is slightly squared and she doesn’t look too girly except from the eyelashes and her long hair. Her body is completely purple (I love purple) and her cutie mark is an abstraction of the deep night and a crescent moon on it. Plus, her name is the same name one of my dogs had (and I miss her greatly). She has all the elements to be the best character of the show, and for many bronies out there she is! They’d rather pick this character over Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle, and that just baffles me. How good a show is, that there can be massive interest and demand over a character with not even two minutes of screen time? I have no answer to that. I’ve come to a point where I won’t try to measure the show’s quality. It’s pointless by now.

Hehehe, pointless...

I hope you guys enjoyed this list, and if you happen to come across it and you have your own favorite characters, let me know in the comments!