Ranking The Pets From Worst to Best · 3:43am Sep 1st, 2019
While there have been some unofficial lists involving pets (usually just the mane six's), I don't think anyone has tried to do an official ranking for every pet we've been introduced to throughout the series. And light of today's episode focusing quite heavily on Angel, I think it's only fair to do a ranking for all the pets. Yes, all of them, that's a total of ten! You may be wondering why that is, but you'll soon see. Of course, like always this list is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.
10. Opalesence a.k.a Opal
Why she's on the bottom: Poor Opal. Despite being introduced at the same time as her owner's character started to take off, Opal has lagged in obscurity and been largely forgotten. It's a shame because Rarity clearly loves Opal, but Opal often tended to get quite abused by Rarity (usually indirectly). If not she was just used for the obvious cat jokes (getting stranded in a tree, swiping at stuff with her paws, etc.). Even Capper got more attention. Heck, at least one fan comic had Capper meet Opal and get into trouble with her.
9. Philomeena
Why she's not on the bottom: At least Philomeena has a personality, or had one anyway. Philomeena was seen only once, in "A Bird in the Hoof". And you really have to wonder how if Twilight was Princess Celestia's personal student, she never knew about Philomeena or that the bird was a phoenix (it's possible she forgot but considering phoenixes are rare creatures that seems unlikely). There's a headcanon that suggests she was actually Sunset Shimmer's pet and Celestia held onto the bird after Sunset's departure. Granted, there's nothing to confirm that and I think that's a bit of a stretch. Philomeena did appear in the comics along with Tiberus (who sadly remains confined to the comics despite the show incorporating some of their elements), most noticeably in the last Friends Forever issue where she was enlargened. And it's really saying something when that was her first major appearance since her debut, and it was in the comics of all places.
8. Twiggy
Why he's/she's in the bottom three: I'm going to assume Twiggy's a guy since we don't know one way or another. With Twiggy we really don't know much. Twiggy was just there to emphasize how Mud Briar is the male equivalent of Maud in almost every way. We did see Twiggy next to Boulder during "The Break Up Break Down" which may imply their owners ship them. But Twiggy's age and function remains a mystery. The return appearance is largely what elevates him/her.
7. Angel Bunny
Why he's low: Quite possibly the most polarizing pet on the entire list. You either really love this little fur ball, or you absolutely hate him. I kind of lean towards the latter, because most of the time the writers seem to go out of their way to make him act like a spoiled brat. Only a couple of times does it seem like he really values Fluttershy's happiness and care about her, such as when he ties her up during "Putting Your Hoof Down" or when he coaches her in "Hurricane Fluttershy" and sends the CMC away for making Fluttershy cry in "Ponyville Confidential". It seems like he's remembered more for his bad deeds, such as in "Putting Your Hoof Down" where he completely pushes Fluttershy around to the point where some said it was like an abusive relationship. He did get some character growth recently with "She Talks to Angel", but even then he was the one who kept causing trouble. I'm not sure why he seems to have been one of the only reoccurring pets to actually do anything.
6. Peewee
Why he's in the bottom half: Do you wanna know why it is that at the beginning of "Just for Sidekicks" we had a photo montage that showed Twilight making Spike give Peewee back to his parents? It's because the writers actually forgot that Peewee existed, which just goes to show you how much of an afterthought he was. They probably put him into "Dragon Quest" at the last minute and then just discarded him without a second thought because of it. At least "Molt Down" allowed them to bring him back, and we got to see him all grown up. It's better than nothing, and it does kind of serve to teach kids that wild animals shouldn't be kept as pets. I just wish they had treated Peewee better. Made it clear from the start that Spike wasn't going to hold onto him forever. And maybe there could've been a subplot in one episode or even just the opening to one of Spike returning Peewee to his family, to at least give Peewee a proper send off.
5. Owlowiscious
Why he's in the top half: The gary stu himself, at least in his debut appearance. Interestingly, after Season 4 he was seen again in "Do Princess Dream of Magic Sheep?" so we know he didn't fly away when the Golden Oak Library was destroyed. But since then we've never seen him again. Kind of a bummer because in his final outing in "Inspiration Manifestation" he was a pretty good straight man and buddy to Spike. Maybe if his debut appearance in "Owl's Well That Ends Well" hadn't made him such a gary stu people wouldn't have been so hard on him? And maybe if they'd stopped trying to milk that "Whoo" joke that was never funny in the first place? It's also kind of funny how despite him being an owl, a nocturnal creature, he's always been active during the day outside when we first met him. I know that owls in certain environments (usually domesticated) can be active during the day, but it's kind of jarring to have such a nocturnal creature almost never active during that time.
4. Tank
Why he's high: You've really gotta admire Tank. Despite how many times his owner has outright endangered him or treated him poorly he's never abandoned her. I guess maybe it's because of the cool flying gear he's been outfitted with. It works pretty well, even if he's not accustomed to it. Interestingly, domesticated tortoises actually aren't supposed to hibernate. But then again I don't know if Tank is fully domesticated or if he truly could be given where he lives. Makes you wonder if Rainbow Dash has the cloud walking spell cast on him just in case?
3. Boulder
Why he's in the top three: If not for "Rock Solid Friendship" and what we saw I don't think Boulder would've ended up so high on the list. Prior to "Rock Solid Friendship" he seemed to just be a pet rock Maud had as a companion, probably one of a dozen rocks she may have found in a field. But "Rock Solid Friendship" revealed that she knows Boulder's personal history. In a way, Boulder may have been her first friend. We also saw that he's quite useful, he can open up a hole in a cavern if Maud throws him up. And he's quite old, surprisingly (though he doesn't look like it).
2. Winona
Why she's not on the top: Winona was the first pet to make an on-screen appearance, and she definitely made a good impression. We saw her working alongside Applejack, meaning she's highly trained as a herder dog. The appearances kept up for a while, proving to be quite loyal (to a fault, she never questioned an order from Applejack). And baby photos indicate she's been around since at least Apple Bloom was a baby (though I don't think we saw her in flashbacks in "Where the Apple Lies"). Sadly, like most pets, she stopped really being seen after Season 4. And because of that, she loses to the pet who by now you should've deduced remains by process of elimination.
1. Gummy
Why he's on the top: Ever since he popped up in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" Gummy has stolen the show. He never really talks, he just blinks. But with that he's able to do so much. We've seen that he's actually a pretty deep thinker. And it seems he's able to translate his thoughts to Pinkie with his tongue. He must be doing something right to pop up as often as Angel does, and be perhaps the least troublesome pet of the whole bunch. Though with how long Pinkie's had him you have to wonder how the heck he hasn't started growing teeth yet (she mentioned flossing his gums in Season 3, which I don't know what the point of that is if he doesn't have teeth). Ultimately, Gummy takes the top spot in no small part because he proves to be such a great contrast to his owner.
And there you have it.
For me, the pets all more or less rank at the same level, though Tank is usually number one.
I think Winona made a bunch of cameos in Going to the Seed, and they were so big that there were times in which the camera only focused on her. So they aren't even close to forgetting her. Opal made an appearance in Rainbow Roadtrip's intro song in which Rarity accidentally packs her into her suitcase, and I think a bit in She's All Yak, but those are pretty small appearances.
Owlicious and Tank are pretty much forgotten by the show staff, but at least I remember them. Philomena and Peewee, however, I had completely forgotten to the point when reading their names wasn't familiar at first.
I think Twiggy is supposed to be female in order to contrast Maud and Boulder's "female pony with a male pet" dynamic.
For me, i thought Winona was top dog while Gummy was a close second. I do agree with the rest of your list. Angel is no angel; he's a devil in disguise by behaving like the spoiled brat that he is. And there's so much under the surface for Gummy that nobody knows.