Twilight Sparkle – Tara Strong,

Applejack/Rainbow Dash – Ashleigh Ball,

Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy – Andrea Libman,

Rarity/Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna – Tabitha St. Germain,

Spike/Mayor Mare – Cathy Weseluck,

Princess Celestia – Nicolve Oliver,

Lord Tirek – Mark Acheson.

My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic is a TV series, with multiple spin-off movies which all together provide the background for toys called “My Little Pony” produced by Hasbro; a similar phenomenon of cross-promotion also occurs in the case of Monster High (toys are accompanied by a TV series which reinforces popularity and sales of the toys).

The previous episode: Equestria Games.

The next episode: The Cutie Map (Part 1).

Summary of the series (see here)

Summary of the episode:

In this two-part story, Twilight faces another significant challenge associated with her responsibilities of being one of Equestria’s royals. In the beginning, she struggles with the fact that she has no essential tasks assigned to her. At the same time, the other three princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence, are respected and visible in the kingdom’s everyday affairs (they greet distinguished guests, make crucial decisions, and so on). They explain to the youngest pony that her time is about to come, and she needs to learn how to be patient. Little do they know that Twilight’s time is nigh. 

While sleeping, the three princesses (excluding Twilight) have a vision of the evil centaur, Lord Tirek, sucking the life out of ponies, whose magic gives him strength and power. In a flashback, ponies are acquainted with Tirek’s past: he has attempted taking over Equestria before, however, betrayed by his brother, he was sent to Tartarus instead. The ponies suspect that he escaped when Cerberus got loose and for a while, the gates of Tartarus were not adequately guarded (It’s About Time). Afraid of the centaur coming for their powers (the greatest in Equestria), they let Twilight "store" their magic until Lord Tirek is defeated. 

Unfortunately, the task to imprison Lord Tirek gets more complicated, as he has already got hold of the power of almost every pony in the kingdom. Twilight, even with the royal powers of her fellow princesses, does not stand a chance in a fight with the mighty centaur. In order to defeat the monster, the ponies need to join forces and use the magic of friendship, the most potent force in the universe. Tirek does not stand a chance with the magical bond between the girls, loses his powers and gets back to Tartarus. Twilight proves her ability to be a real princess and becomes a genuine member of the Equestrian royal team.

Centaur in My Little Pony is a typical villain. Although he has a backstory, his motivation was evil from the beginning (at least that we know so far). His depiction, based on the idea of a monstrous centaur, is interesting, as he has the lower body of a horse, but instead of a human torso, head and hands, he looks a bit like Satan, with red skin, horns and a fiery glance. Lord Tirek coming from Tartarus to destroy Equestria, is a hybrid between a horse and the devil, not a human. 

Casting a centaur in the role of a villain is interesting from the perspective of the principal inhabitants of Equestria – ponies. To them, Lord Tirek must not only be an evil force trying to take over the world – he is also a monstrous hybrid, a mix between a pony and some other unknown creature (as far as we know, ponies do not know humans). Tirek is a mythical distortion threatening the harmony of the pony world. In this respect, his character has a similar function as he did in ancient times (except of course Chiron, who was wise and helpful towards humans). Lord Tirek takes away the power from the ponies, and only a union between friends can hold him back. Experiencing the power of friendship is undoubtedly an important lesson for young audiences, often encountering “centaurs” on their way.

“Centaurs” on Theoi.com (accessed: August 10, 2020).

Hodkinson, Owen and Helen Lovatt, Introduction in Classical Reception and Children’s Literature: Greece, Rome and Childhood Transformation, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.

Maurice, Lisa, "From Chiron to Foaly: The Centaur in Classical Mythology and Fantasy Literature" in The Reception of Ancient Greece and Rome in Children’s Literature: Heroes and Eagles, Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2015.

The series proved to be very popular among teenagers and adults as well: fans call themselves: “bronies”; because of this popularity, it could be considered as having reached a crossover audience.

Translations: Multi-language soundtrack