Friendship is Magicite? Let's Play Pony Fantasy 6!

Why yes, this is a Final Fantasy 6 ROMhack for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The title screen's a bit of a mess but the commonly used name is just "Pony Fantasy VI." I don't know a lot about this hack going in. There's a cast page on the website but I'm going to ignore it in favor of discovering the casting choices as we go along. If you do peak (or play ahead), please don't spoil.

Since Final Fantasy 6 is so widely-played (and LPed) I'm going to assume everyone has a decent idea of the baseline story and focus how things have changed for the most part. Also I don't want to retype as much dialog. Advance warning: Said dialog is now in a terrible, terrible font.

Painfully awesome or awesomely painful? I sure hope so! On with the show!



The backstory is pretty similar and the fact that magic is specific to unicorns comes in handy. It's easy to imagine unicorns, stripped of all spells higher level than cantrips (which most unicorns in Friendship Is Magic stick to anyway), would go into decline.



Twilight Sparkle as Terra. Pretty obvious matchup. But how about Vicks/Biggs and Wedge?



They're these two, Snips and Snails, the two idiot youngsters of Ponyville. Best known for bringing a cranky celestial bear to town and gluing their butts together. Twice. Knowing what's to become of them in the coming minutes, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this casting decision. They're idiots, but they're just kids!



These monster sprites have changed, but... oddly. The guards are far more heavily armored and remind me of Kingdom Hearts. Why do the lobo have pink manes?



Because ponies don't have hands! HAW HAW HAW! I sense a lot of dialog changes along those lines in our future. Whelk hasn't changed but Snips and Snails have the full line of Magitek attacks available to them now so the battle lasts all of four attacks. I don't mind, since I never really got why Terra got super great attacks while her minders got the standard issue stuff.

Anyway, two dead colts and a sparkly ice cube later...



D'aw, look at that hurt sprite! I don't think the stallion is meant to be anypony in particular but the colors match Meadow Song, a background pony from a number of episodes. He's also a toy in one of the new blind bag sets; collect them all!$!



This. This character blurb is what convinced me to play more. It's so cheesy and perfect! Note there's still not enough space to name her "Twilight Sparkle" but they hard-coded it into the dialog anyway. Her default name is "Twi" and just about everypony is going to have a shortened version of their name anywhere gameplay requires it. I'm going to leave them as is, even if they're terrible.



Hi Twi! Twilight Sparkle is the lead mare in Friendship is Magic and represents the element of Magic. Every pony has a special talent and hers IS magic. In the show she starts out as a magically potent loner, who struggles to understand friendship, so this is a pretty great matchup.



Flashback time! That "War of Chaos" thing suddenly makes sense!

Discord is the embodiment of chaos and another delightful incarnation of John de Lancie playing Q. So go ahead and read all Discord's lines in his voice for the rest of the game. I know it's an improvement over the voice Kefka gets whenever I play FF6.

Before anyone asks, Discord is:
- Deer antler
- Goat horn
- Snake tongue
- Fang
- Goat beard
- Lion arm
- Eagle claw
- Lizard leg
- Goat leg
- Bat wing
- Pegasus wing
- Horse mane
- Snake tail

He's chaos incarnate.



Gilda: We're the ones who deserve to rule the world, and the power of magic will make us unstoppable! All those lame rebels won't stand a chance!
Crowd: Hurrah!!! Long live Emperor Gilda!!!



I don't know if I like this casting choice. Gilda is a griffon who went to flight school with Rainbow Dash. She's a pretty generic bully in an anti-bullying episode. Her ruling most of the world? I'm going to assume Discord assigned her to this role because of its absurdity.

Anyway, back in the present Twilight runs off into the mines and knocks herself out so it's time to bring in another party member.



Apple Bloom: Urgh, anyway, you the one who sent fer me?
Stallion: Yeah. I need you to escort a V.I.P. to Canterlot Castle.
Apple Bloom: ... ... !? You better not be talking about that unicorn freak of nature!!!

I recognize that twang!



It's Apple Bloom! She's one of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders - essentially Girl Scouts constantly seeking merit badges, except there's only one merit badge (their butt mark) per pony and nopony knows what it is until they get it. Apparently Apple Bloom is older, at least teenaged, at this point and still doesn't have her cutie mark. That's gotta suck.



Down in the caves, Apple Bloom finds help from... an entire race of flightless pegasi?!



Scootaloo is another Cutie Mark Crusader, a pegasus who never learned to fly. She's never starred in an episode, unlike the other CMC, and is generally neglected by the show's writers. To make up for that, we get ELEVEN of her! Scootaloo's also supposedly a good dancer, so there's a point in favor of this matchup.



Sadly the other Scootaloos still have their Ku-names. And, uh, healing items are named after varieties of apples. I probably won't know which to choose if I ever need one in battle. So I may be killed by apples.



The "blank page" simile suits Twilight Sparkle. I'm not sure it makes up for the blatant misuse of "y'all." Y'all is plural. 75% of the word is "all"! Apple Bloom is apparently pursuing a bodyguard cutie mark. Maybe it'll look like Kevin Costner.

Next time we'll head to Figaro Canterlot Castle.

Jesus Christ

Y'all never been in the southern US, clearly. Also, I would've picked Nightmare Moon for Ghastra, frankly.

Oh dear sweet Christ on a flaky biscuit, Apple Bloom as Locke? Seriously?

Trust me, people from the South really do this.

I live in the south, and we make fun of people who say y'all period.

Also since there is an (') in it that is technically only 60% :P

I should keep up to date with my FFVI. It being my favorite of the series, and I never knew this existed... Not that I would play a game where the main characters are ponies.

I wonder who Locke-bloom is going to try to hook up with later?

For that matter, I wonder how they'll handle Edgar.

Has anyone shown this to Brickroad yet? Someone needs to get Brickroad in here.

This is going to be awesome!

The font of this romhack will keep me from following this LP. Sorry, Elfir.

this is the best thing ever

I mean, wow

This is ridiculous.

I regretfully must agree with this sentiment. I guess the question "has FF6 ever been given a worse font than the one I gave it before joining RPGOne" has finally been definitively answered "yes".

While the font is pretty awful, I'm not having any real trouble reading it, especially if I just ctrl+ a few times on this page.

Now I'm curious who the rest of the cast will turn into.

How is this even a thing?

Bronies will ponify anything they can, be it games, real people, movies, other shows, the list goes on, with extremely fluctuating levels of quality, since this is relatively simple, I'd say it's about as good as it could be expected to be, if you're into that sort of thing.

I refuse to believe this is the best of all possible My Little Pony Final Fantasy 6 patches. The presence of that font alone for one thing.

What is this I don't even...

You are a scholar and a saint, Elfir.

There are so many things wrong with this, but I wasn't expecting the font to be the worst of them.

Obligatory 'what is this I don't even'

The font doesn't bug me too much, so I'll probably follow this as a curiousity. I really hope they gave Sabin's role to Fluttershy. Because of a reason.

Discord as Kefka really works, though Gilda as the Emperor not so much. Their names start with 'G'? I guess?

Okay okay, I will not criticize Southern grammar for not making sense anymore!

Apple Bloom being so young in the show, it's hard to come up with a pairing that isn't icky. Maybe Diamond Tiara, her rich bitch classmate. She's a unicorn, so that fulfills one requirement. My other top pick would be Spike, the baby dragon. He doesn't do magic but he is a magical creature, so he could still be a magic experiment performed by the empire.

I will see if there's any way to revert the font but I kind of doubt it'll work.

I am amused and, upon reflection, unsurprised that this is a thing. And I suspect this LP is going to be immensely amusing. Elfir, you have my respect already for even attempting it.

Are we taking bets on Atma or the Goddesses being pony-swapped?
Nightmare Moon would have been a good choice for the emperor, so I'm guessing they're saving her for some other role. Gogo?

"I remember that episode, how clever! Wait, why is this twice as long as it needs to be? Oh they went there? Hahahaha"

See, I would have gone with Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and Discord for the Goddesses. Or maybe it'll be the sisters and the changeling queen. Did this come out before or after that episode?

The final version came out about three weeks after the Canterlot Wedding episodes, so presumably it was too late to make major casting changes. So I don't expect to see Chrysalis (who was not even in teasers.)

Going with an accelerated update schedule this week so I can get to a certain branching point by next weekend, the next time I'll be able to play bunches. After that things will slow down a bit.

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Since last time, I've been thoroughly schooled in the rules of Southern grammar (there are none) and failed to find a way to improve the font. Meanwhile our ponies hightail it south to the desert castle of Canterlot and march right into the throne room like they belong there or something.



Apple Bloom: Surprised someone like me knows the Princess? I'll catch up with you soon!
Celestia: So you're a unicorn, are you? Here in Canterlot you will find yourself quite welcome! Please, relax while you're here. As Princess, I care deeply about all my subjects.

Whoa, we're about to get Princess Power!



As half of the only royal sibling set in Friendship Is Magic, Princess Celestia's a pretty obvious choice for this role. On the other hoof she's basically a goddess in physical form. So either her powers have been artifically limited or she's holding back just to troll the party. Both equally possible.

My only complaint? Celestia's character-limited nickname is "Tia." Ugh.

Twilight Sparkle: Look, can I ask why you're helping me? Is it because of... my abilities?



Celestia: Please stay here at the castle and check out the library...
Twilight Sparkle: ... ...? Potential, me?
Celestia: The years pass so fast...
Twilight Sparkle: This is all so much to take in...

This is a nice exchange. Celestia says much the same in the show when recruiting Twilight Sparkle for her magic school as a young filly. A shame this Twilight Sparkle won't have the next few years to dedicate towards study.



Guard: Er, maybe you don't have clearance for that yet...

I somehow missed this before, but Apple Bloom has both Tools and Steal. She was the mane force in fixing up the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, other than decorating, so I can see this. More interestingly, filling that action slot means this game isn't planning to give everyone magic across the board. Probably just the unicorns (and alicorns - the term for horn + wings ponies like Celestia.)



Celestia: Sister, time waits for nopony...
Youth: What is the matter with you!? Sister! Tears...?!



Matron: When she left she looked so determined. I hope she is doing well... I wonder what she's like now?

With Celestia as Edgar, obviously her sister Luna will be Sabin.



While Celestia is pretty similar to Edgar in personality, especially if you ask shippers, Luna is quite different from Sabin. She's formal, awkward, and loud. But they both left their homes after major life events. Sabin's dad died and he went off to become a martial arts badass. Luna turned evil and got banished for the moon for a thousand years. So they're practically the same person!

I didn't expect NPC dialog to be worth noting, but as a pleasant surprise quite a bit is relevant! So let's have some Talky Talky Time!



The final version of this ROMhack came out just a few weeks after the end of season 2, so this appearance by Cadance (only in the last two episodes) is presumably a last minute addition. Pretty cool though. In my "in my head only" Chrono Trigger hack, Cadance is Marle's replacement.

Filly: The princess's wings are so pretty!

Remember the "Edgar's going to bone me when I grow up!" girl? I approve of this change.

White Mare: Princess Celestia has a strange obsession with forbidden magics, it's no wonder she gets along with the empire.
White Mare: The princess seems to know a lot more about magic than she lets on. I hear she's taken a special interest in you?
Doctor Hooves?: Long ago, magic was used for things besides just moving things around and making light. Unicorns who used these powerful magics were called "Unicorn Knights."

Canterlot is really obsessed with magic! Many unicorns in Friendship Is Magic only use magic for moving stuff around and making light, as that pony says. Most only have one real spell with limited usefulness (like "Detect Gemstones") so it doesn't get used a lot. Twilight Sparkle is rare in that she can learn any spell with enough study, much like a Dungeons and Dragons wizard.



Not much change from the original dialog, but in John de Lancie's voice is sounds so much better. Yes, I'm a fangirl. Shut up.



Celestia: Quite a show for just one filly, why would you think she came here?
Discord: Princess, if you had half the sense you pretend to have, you would get her out of your castle immediately. And if you'd like, I'd be more than pleased to expedite her departure...

He makes it sound like Twilight Sparkle is going to self destruct any minute now. Just to make this exchange really awkward, I'll point out quite a few fanfic writers and fanartists like to pair these two up as former lovers.

Discord: The Emperor will be very disappointed to hear about what happened here. I truly hope nothing happens to your precious Canterlot...!

Neighshe? I missed that last time! Every place name can become a horse pun, according to the writers of Friendship Is Magic. Canterlot. Baltimare. Fillydelphia. Neighshe is the worst I've seen so far, though.

Also a reference to the Elements of Harmony! I'm sure we'll find out more about those later, but right now it's indication Celestia is way older than she looks, just like in the show. I was still a little worried Celestia was just going to be a regular ol' royal pony.



See? Nopony else is familiar enough with the Elements to get Discord's reference.



Apple Bloom: Right now, Celestia pretends to support the Empire. But really, she's supporting The New Lunar Republic, created to fight the Empire. Ah'm her contact with that group... The pony you met in Neighshe is one of us.
Twilight Sparkle: But the empire taught me everything, I lived there my whole life!
Apple Bloom: And they also took over yet mind, made you do all sorts of terrible things! They're gettin' worse all the time, somepony's gotta put a stop to it!

New Lunar Republic? Weird. Feels like we're in a Star Wars conflict, except both groups have evil sounding names.



Winter wrap up winter wrap up!

Apple Bloom: Ah dunno what to tell ya... Ah haven't found my special talent yet either, but Ah keep looking. You should too! [leaves]
Twilight Sparkle: But if everypony is fighting, which side is right...?

Apple Bloom's accent seems to come and go. I can't decide yet if it's laziness or there's some logic/pattern involved.

Sometime that night...



Ponies riding giant chickens looks pretty absurd, eh?



Go Cadance! This might have been a better role for Shining Armor, the captain of the Canterlot guard. On the other hoof he's Twilight Sparkle's brother so that would bring up all sorts of complications. Shining Armor might still appear, though his only appearing in episodes from shortly before this hack was finalized makes me doubt it. He'd make a great General Leo.



Egads! My forehead hurts just reading that!



Celestia: Forgive me, Applebloom, I wasn't expecting to see that. It has been... ages..
Apple Bloom: Yeah, sure, but what, um... was it?
Celestia: That was magic, Applebloom. REAL magic. Conjured fire, instant healing... MAGIC.
Apple Bloom: M M M M M M M MAGIC?! She used magic?
Both: Pswswswsw! Pswswswsw!
Celestia: Twilight... that just comes naturally to you?
Twilight Sparkle: ... Sorry... I... um...
Apple Bloom: Look, Ah didn't mean to make such a big deal of this...
Celestia: I don't think I've met anyone with such raw potential before...
Twilight Sparkle: ...
Apple Bloom: So, um, magic is great an' all, but shouldn't we be gettin' back to work?
Twilight Sparkle: Thank you, Applebloom! Thank you, Celestia!

Celestia's action list has a blank slot for magic later but her current secondary is... Summon? It didn't appear to do anything when I tried it, except display some unintelligible text. I'll keep you posted.



Hehe. Seapony.

Last I heard, seaponies weren't going to appear in Friendship Is Magic because really dumb kids in focus groups thought they looked scary. Though as of this Comic-Con Hasbro said they weren't planning any seapony toys but hinted if they appeared in the show, the toys might follow.



Apple Bloom: We're members of the New Lunar Republic.
Celestia: Our organizer, Mayor Mare, would certainly like to meet you. "Magic" is going to be the key to winning this war.
Twilight Sparkle: "Magic"...
Celestia: Twilight, you seem to have quite a rare gift...
Twilight Sparkle: I thought everypony knew magic, it comes so naturally to me...
Celestia: Did the EMPIRE teach you those spells? Magic like that has been lost for generations... ...
Twilight Sparkle: What should I do...?
Celestia: The Empire will enslave you again if they catch you... If they get their hooves on you, the world's finished...
Apple Bloom: Twilight, if you come with us, at the very least we can promise to protect you...
Celestia: Let's go meet Mayor Mare, the base will be a safe place to hide you.
Twilight Sparkle: ...
Apple Bloom: Please...
Celestia: OK! To the south there's a cave that leads to Canterlot City.

I feel like they've forgotten the amnesia storyline here. At least Celestia has, since she's grilling the poor pony. I guess next time we're heading to South Figaro Canterlot City and maybe adding another pony to the herd.

So, so much potential for abuse.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this one, old sport.