Mariusioannesp Speculates Wildly: Predictions for Season 6, the MLP Movie, and Beyond!

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to Bronies. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, between friendship and magic. It lies between the pit of Bronies’ fears and the summit of their knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call...

No, not that.

The Mariusioannesp Zone

Yeah, that’s it!

Submitted for your approval, here are my predictions for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Season 6, the 2017 feature film, and beyond!

This sure took a lot longer than I expected to do. So much nothing keeps getting in my way. And it’s just been revealed by Equestria Daily will be coming back in May! Already! I better get this out there quick.

Back in June of 2014, I made a series of predictions for the then upcoming Season 5. I intend to do the same for Season 6, the upcoming feature film, and other stuff. First though, let’s see how well I did predicting the course of Season 5. How well or not well I did in that regard could be a pretty good indicator how well I will do with these predictions.

Well, got a few things right. Out of a total of 13 predictions, I got approximately 8 right. (It’s “approximate” because some of my predictions were partially correct.) Still, it’s not that bad. I was completely right about the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally getting their cutie marks. I was completely right about there being an episode where Princess Luna visits Apple Bloom in her dreams. I was completely right about the world beyond Equestria being explored, like Griffonstone in “The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone” and Yakyakistan in “Party Pooped.” I was completely right about Discord and Maud Pie showing up again, not once but twice! (And Discord and Maud shared an episode! That was so awesome.) And of course, I was right about there being a MLP feature film.

The rest I was only partially right on. I predicted there would be more villains based on G1 MLP, specifically citing Grogar or Catrina. We did though get The Smooze in “Make New Friends But Keep Discord” though it was mostly taken out of its previous role as a villain. (I did though specifically mention The Smooze in my blog about G1 villains I wanted to see on MLP:FIM.) However, I’d like to point out that the Issue 24 of the MLP comic featured a former ally of Discord named Baast. You see, Catrina in G1 was a magical cat creature who accompanied by Rep, a shape-shifting reptilian creature with an unrequited crush on her. Baast in the comic is a magical cat creature with an unrequited love for Discord, a shape-shifting (half-)reptilian creature. On top of that, I suggested in that aforementioned blog that they rename an FIM Catrina after the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet, and Baast happens to be one of Bastet’s many alternate names. So, I’m going to say that Baast is the FIM equivalent to Catrina, and that I was kind of right about that.

There have been some that noted the vague resemblance between Arimaspi of “The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone” and Grogar from G1 MLP.


I admit there’s a similarity, but I have my doubts that Arimaspi was intended as the FIM version of Grogar. I can see him as one of one of Grogar’s minions the same way the similarly cyclopean giant spider Ahgg was a minion of Hydia in G1 MLP. I’m still holding out hope we will see a fairly faithful adaptation of Grogar on FIM.

I also predicted that the Great and Powerful Trixie would make an appearance in Season 5. Trixie had appeared in Seasons 1 and 3, so I figured she would have to appear in Season 5 for that pattern to hold. Unfortunately, Trixie didn’t appear in Season 5.

Or did she?

Yes, that’s Trixie way in the background of “The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2.” Though I thought her appearance would be a lot more significant than this. It’s kind of surprising if you think about it. Trixie has a quite the following in the fandom, and she was pretty much completely left out of a season dedicated to the fandom.

I also predicted that Flash Sentry would make further cameos on MLP. That didn’t happen, but he did have quite an extended cameo in Equestria Girls: Friendship Games. That was just sad.

Now that we’ve done that, let’s move on to Season 6. But before I make predictions in earnest, let’s start off with some of the things we already know about Season 6 that just so happen to be things I predicted for Season 5.

According to John De Lancie last September, there are at least two scripts featuring Discord for Season 6. That means that there will be at least two episodes featuring Discord in Season 6.

Last month, our good friends at Equestria Daily revealed this most interesting teaser for Season 6.

It’s Maud!!! Again! So, we have confirmation that Maud Pie will once again be appearing on MLP in Season 6.

Equestria Daily also revealed next month that the theme for Season 6 is called “Explore Equestria.” I imagine this means Season 6 will feature our intrepid pony protagonists traveling beyond Ponyville and throughout Equestria and perhaps beyond. It’s just like I predicted how the lands beyond Equestria would be explored in Season 5. Will these adventures be further missions from the Cutie Map? That’s possible. Either way, I’m definitely looking forward to this.

And now with that out of the way, let us begin my official predictions for Season 6 of MLP!

MLP Season 6

Starlight Glimmer Will Definitely Be Back

Without a doubt, Starlight Glimmer is here to stay with her reformation in the last season finale. She will definitely make some kind of appearance in Season 6. The question remains though in what capacity will she be making such an appearance. Many have debated whether or not the season finale indicates that Starlight Glimmer will become a main character alongside the Mane 6. I never really saw it that way as I interpreted the scene where she returns to “Our Town” to make amends with the ponies there as meaning she would be returning there. Despite that, I still believe this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Starlight Glimmer, though I doubt she’ll be added to the main cast. I could see her returning as a more secondary character who figures in some episodes, or maybe even as a background pony.

More Villains Inspired by G1 MLP

The last time I made this prediction, I specifically said we were going to see Grogar and/or Catrina in Season 5. We all know how that turned out. However, after Tirek in Season 4 and The Smooze in Season 5, it is inevitable that we will continue to see villains and other assorted characters based on the villains of G1 MLP. Which one they will choose we can’t really know for sure at this point. I already wrote a blog on the subject of which G1 MLP villains it would be cool to see on MLP:FIM. Any one of them could be the next one.

I still hold out hope that we’ll see Grogar next.

Fluttershy’s Brother Will Be Introduced

Last summer at the San Diego Comic Con, the powers that be behind MLP revealed quite the bombshell. Fluttershy apparently has a brother that we will be introduced to soon. Many expected it to be this past season, but then it was revealed that we wouldn’t be seeing Fluttershy’s brother this season. Presumably, this means we’ll be seeing him in Season 6. (Last year, the powers that be behind MLP did have a habit of confusing Season 5 and Season 6 at times. Probably because they were working on them practically simultaneously.) Then again, he might not show until the movie or subsequent seasons if there are any. Still, I’m fairly confident we’ll be seeing him in Season 6. I do wonder what this brother of hers will be like though. He could have very similar personality to Fluttershy and perhaps even be her twin, essentially canonizing the Rule 63 Butterscotch. (That would be one way to continuing to honor the fandom.) Or he could be the polar opposite of Fluttershy and be brimming with fortitude. Or he could be something completely unexpected like Maud Pie was in “Maud Pie.”

The Return of the Great and Powerful Trixie!... I’m sure of it this Time

I know the last time I predicted Trixie would be back for Season 5, and despite the aforementioned beyond a tiny cameo way in the background in the second part of the season finale, I was pretty much wrong. It becomes more surprising this was the case the more I think about it. In a season as dedicated to the Brony fandom as Season 5 was, they almost completely neglected to include one the fandom’s favorite characters. We haven’t seen Trixie on MLP since Season 3, though she has had much of a presence in the MLP comics and in Equestria Girls. I think the time has come for Trixie to make another return appearance on MLP.

Babs Seed Will Be Back

Speaking of characters coming back, there’s Babs Seed. It was quite surprising to see Babs Seed make her second appearance so soon after her first way back in Season 3, but we haven’t seen much of her since then. (She has shown up in a couple of the MLP comics though.) She did get a mention in Season 5’s “Bloom and Gloom” when it was revealed she had gotten her cutie mark. Also, she made her own tiny cameo in the background in “Made In Manehattan.”

Anyway as you can see above in the title, I’ve once again cited Babs Seed’s card from the MLP trading card game. These cards have proven themselves to be a source of predictive information for the course of MLP. It seems to indicate Babs Seed will be having trouble with her cutie mark. Given that the Cutie Mark Crusaders have just gotten their cutie marks in helping others find and understand their cutie marks, it makes the most sense that the next season will feature the return of Babs Seed so the CMC can help her understand her cutie mark.

There Will Be Another “Slice of Life” Episode

An episode dedicated to the background ponies like “Slice of Life” was certainly something many in the Brony fandom wanted to see. Though I hope they don’t wait another hundred episodes just to do that again. In my own review of "Slice of Life", I suggested an episode like this could be a seasonal recurrence. It would behoove them to take another crack at it for Season 6. I certainly would love to see that.

This Season’s Daring Do Episode Will Build off of the Daring Do Chapter Books

It was reported way back in August by Equestria Daily that Chiara Zanni, the voice actress behind Daring Do, had been doing some recording heavily implied to be Daring Do related. That practically seems to confirm that we will be seeing Daring Do again in Season 6. The question remains what will this episode entail. I have a theory. As you may be aware, G.M. Berrow wrote a trilogy of chapter books as straight-up Daring Do books. The final book of the series ends with an indication that there was something more to come. That could just mean there are going to be more Daring Do chapter books, but that has as of yet not been confirmed. G.M. Berrow made her debut writing an episode of MLP with Season 5’s “The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows.” It could very well be possible that G.M. Berrow will also be writing this upcoming Daring Do episode that will build upon the Daring Do chapter books.

Season 6 will be MLP’s Final Season… Maybe

Season 6 will more than likely be the last season before the MLP movie comes out in 2017. As a result, this season would be the most appropriate time from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic to officially come to an end. However, having a movie adaptation come out doesn’t necessarily mean the show has to come to an end. SpongeBob Squarepants is still kicking after having two feature films come out. (Though many of SpongeBob’s older fans have argued that the quality of the show diminished significantly since its first feature film.) South Park and The Simpsons have continued to this day after releasing their respective feature films. Hasbro’s own The Transformers back in the 80s continued for two seasons after The Transformers: The Movie and continued on in subsequent spin-off series and such. And even the original My Little Pony: The Movie was followed the My Little Pony TV series. Before the film was just the TV specials “Rescue at Midnight Castle” and “Escape From Catrina.” Hasbro most likely intends this My Little Pony feature film to be a jumping off point for bigger and better things that don’t necessarily include canceling MLP. If this is the end, they should announce that before Season 6 premieres in May. It will certainly be better for everyone involved if we go in knowing this is the last season rather than finding out halfway through or at the end. I remain hopeful but it would behoove us all to begin to brace ourselves for I sense the end could very well be nigh.

Spin-Offs
And now some more possible spin-offs I foretell in MLP’s future. I still believe that the spin-offs based on Equestria Girls, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Daring Do, and Power Ponies are possibilities. (Maybe not so much Equestria Girls as according to Hasbro’s fourth quarter earnings report the sales of Equestria Girls merchandise have declined.) However, I think it’s more likely we’d see all these as miniseries or specials someday down the line. The Ever After High series did something like that recently with a miniseries based on Alice in Wonderland that aired on Netflix. Either way, I think a series about grown-up Cutie Mark Crusaders would be interesting, especially since their special talents have been revealed to be helping others get and understand their cutie marks. Since all of this though, I feel there are other possibilities that might be out there, lurking beyond the horizon.

Slice of Life: The (Web) Series

Imagine an entire series dedicated just to the background ponies of MLP. That could be cool. It might be something they’re thinking about. As you may or may not know, a chapter book dedicated to Lyra and Bon Bon called Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares from S.M.I.L.E. is going to be released later this year. However, a series based on just the background ponies might not have enough of the occasional epic adventure that makes MLP so great. Having Bon Bon renew her adventures as a monster-hunting secret agent might help that out. It could be almost like an MLP version of Dan Vs. Still, Doctor Whooves would probably figure very little in it as having a character so much like the Doctor on this show could have the potential of stepping on the BBC’s toes when it comes to copyrights and trademarks and stuff. A series based on “Slice of Life” would work best as a web series made of shorts, much like they’ve done with Equestria Girls. That way, they don’t have to worry about writing big stories and focus just on the little stories. I’d like to see that. I think we’d all like to see that.

An MLP or Equestria Girls Crossover with Littlest Pet Shop

If you also watch Littlest Pet Shop regularly, than you know that episode that followed MLP’s last season finale featured this.

Yeah, that is Blythe riding an Applejack puppet as a Halloween costume. (And Blythe and Applejack are both voiced by Ashleigh Ball.)

You may also recall this from from the fourth season finale.

Yes, it’s Discord riding on Blythe’s scooter.

MLP and LPS are both produced by DHX and share many of the same voice actors as well as Daniel Ingram as music producer. Certainly those who are fans of both would love to see LPS and MLP or at least Equestria Girls crossover with each other. Crossover films and cinematic universes are quite popular in the film world, and they’re slowly trickling into the television arena. Hasbro’s 80s series The Transformers and G.I. Joe: Real American Hero crossovered with each other on occasion. Perhaps they might be game to do something like that again with MLP and LPS. DHX seems like it might be game. Some might wonder if it’s too late for a crossover given that LPS is currently in its final season. Perhaps then you don’t remember that a crossover between Futurama and The Simpsons aired back in November of 2014, and Futurama had completed its resurrected run on Comedy Central in 2013. Such a crossover could be a fitting last hoorah for LPS. I’d imagine it would have to be an independent special, ideally an hour long. This could be just a pipe dream for a fan of crossovers such as myself, but a fan can dream.

My Little Pony: The Movie

And now, I shall make some predictions for the My Little Pony: The Movie coming in 2017. Admittedly though, since we know next to nothing about the film, the following are less predictions than they are conjecture and outright wishful thinking.

MLP The Movie Will Introduce the FIM Versions of Hydia, Reeka, and Draggle

One of the few bits of news we’ve gotten about the movie is that Kristen Chenoweth and Emily Blunt have been cast in roles in the film. Emily Blunt was someone who was speculated to have been cast for some time only to be confirmed just recently. Emily Blunt is quite a big name star. It could indicate that Hollywood sees the MLP movie as a big deal, or perhaps Emily Blunt is herself a Brony and insisted on being involved. Kristen Chenoweth’s casting in the film was revealed last August coming right off her role as Maleficent in the Disney Channel film Descendants about a month prior. Because of that, some people speculated that she had been cast as the film’s villain. That got me thinking as well, especially when the rumors began of Emily Blunt being cast as well. Could it be possible they’ve been cast in two of the roles of Hydia, Reeka, and Draggle, or at least characters very much like them? Why would I even think Hydia, Reeka, and Draggle would be in this movie? Well, Hydia, Reeka, and Draggle were introduced in the first My Little Pony: The Movie. It might be an appropriate homage to that first film to have them as the villains of this film as well. I mean, they already had The Smooze in “Make New Friends but Keep Discord” this past season. They might as well. The only problem of course is that Hydia, Reeka, and Draggle are humans, and there are no humans in Equestria. They could be easily reimagined as ponies or some other more appropriate creature. Admittedly though, Kristen Chenoweth and Emily Blunt could be playing pretty much anyone or anything in this movie, but one can still hope.

Sunset Shimmer Will Make an Appearance

I’ve always suspected that the reason the first two Equestria Girls films were released in theaters, limited as their runs may have been, was to test the waters for a MLP feature film. This is even more apparent in my opinion if you remember that the announcement that there will be an MLP feature film came about a month after the release of Rainbow Rocks. In honor of that, I think Sunset Shimmer should make some kind of appearance in the MLP film. Without Sunset Shimmer and the rest of the Equestria Girls, this movie would not even be happening. At least that’s what I think.

Cheese Sandwich Will Appear With Weird Al Providing his own Song for the Soundtrack

Equestria Daily reported this past December that Weird Al Yankovic, the voice behind Cheese Sandwich, has expressed a great willingness to return to MLP or appear in the movie. However, with Season 6 coming in May, it’s certainly too late for Cheese Sandwich to be in Season 6. That is unless Weird Al is being coy with us, and he knows he’s already in it. However, with the movie coming in 2017, it might not be too late for Cheese Sandwich to be in that. If he does so, I feel Weird Al will also be providing an original song for the soundtrack. Why would I think that? Well, Weird Al provided the song “Dare to be Stupid” for the soundtrack of the film The Transformers: The Movie. Even if Cheese Sandwich isn’t in the movie, I think Weird Al should do a song for the movie just like he did for Transformers. It would behoove Hasbro to do that again.

Applejack’s Parents Will be Definitively Revealed to be Dead

We all remember that moment from “Crusaders of the Lost Mark” where Applejack seems to indicate more directly than we’ve ever seen before that their parents are dead. Though this has been the common assumption, even once confirmed as a possibility by Lauren Faust herself, parental death is apparently far too touchy of a subject to be featured on a children’s TV show. However, it’s not too touchy of a subject for children’s film. Many children’s films seem to revel in having the young protagonist’s parent(s) die, sometimes right in front of them. The Lion King is probably one of the most wildly known examples. And it was just as heartbreaking to me in How to Train Your Dragon 2 when Hiccup’s dad Stoick dies. I was like, “No! It’s The Lion King all over again!” Anywho, this film will be the perfect opportunity to prove conclusively that Applejack’s parents are dead and gone. Maybe they’ll even have a flashback about it.

Discord Will Be in It

John de Lancie is no stranger to the silver screen. He has appeared in a number of films over the course of his acting career. Now, when you have an actor who does a recurring role on your show who already has quite a lot of experience on the big screen, you’d be remiss to not include him in the movie. At least that’s my reasoning why Discord should have at least some role in the MLP movie. Otherwise it’d seem almost insulting to someone who’s given his all to the show. Then again, Discord shouldn’t be unnecessarily wedged into the movie if he’s truly not needed. But I always say, you can never go wrong with a little Discord.

Derpy Has to Make an Appearance

This pretty much seems like a no-brainer. Derpy would have to make an appearance at least to honor the loyal dedication of the Brony fandom that made this movie possible. She’s already appeared quite a bit in “Slice of Life” so it wouldn’t be surprising if gets a couple of lines or plays a pretty significant role in the movie. What would be really great though is if they actually call her Derpy again. Children’s movies have a bit more freedom than children’s cartoons, as I pointed out before with the parental death examples. Perhaps they’ll be able to get away with it here.

Rest of the Mane 6 Will Become Alicorns… No… Well, Maybe

Last time I made predictions, I jokingly pointed out the unlikelihood that the rest of the Mane 6 would be becoming alicorns as well. Season 4 had been riddled with rumors and speculations that the rest of the Mane 6 would be joining Twilight in alicorn ascension. Remember the “Accidental Alicorns” that would pop up in the backgrounds of Key Episodes and that animation mistake in “Pinkie Pride” where Rarity was made into an alicorn. Of course, we all know now that nothing ever came of that. Subsequently, Season 5 was completely devoid of such rumors. The idea has become so unlikely that people have stopped really considering it. But is it really that unlikely? Twilight’s friends all have their own thrones in her castle. Then again, Spike has his own throne, and he’s a dragon. I doubt he’ll ever become an alicorn. If Season 6 ends up being the last season, the movie would be the perfect opportunity to make a change that drastic as they wouldn’t have to worry about having to follow it up on show. Plus, the much more epic scale of film will allow them to do it in a way that might actually make sense. Still though, Shining Armor and Cadance’s baby will be introduced this season, and she’s already been confirmed as an alicorn baby. That makes five alicorns. Do we really need five more? Also, M.A. Larson doesn’t seem to be involved in the film. Just Meghan McCarthy and Jayson Thiessen so far. I don’t know how into the alicorn ascension they could be. In the end though, if they decided to do it, this movie would be the best place to do it.

Whether these predictions are at all accurate or just the deranged and perverse fantasies of a clearly addled fanboy remains to be seen. I do have a pretty good track record. What do you all think of my predictions for MLP Season 6, the movie, and beyond? What to you foretell in Season 6, the movie, and beyond?

God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.