Part 1: Phantom Blood Bridle

more lil tidbits about this part:

- Hamon is one of the few forms of magic that can be learned by any creature

- Dio is supposed to be more gold than yellow but it’s kinda hard to portray that with horse fur :p

- this and part 2 take place quite a bit before Luna’s return, so most of these characters know about only Celestia when it comes to alicorns (Starry is more knowledgeable about Luna’s existence, being an archeology buff and all)

- Dio is racist and considers himself, a unicorn, superior to pegasi and earth ponies. he’s especially spiteful towards his father for keeping them in poverty, since he believes he naturally belongs at the top of society. it’s also a huge blow to his pride to be taken in by pegasus aristocrats and often takes his frustrations out on Starry

- Dio (correctly) recognizes that Hamon users’ abilities evoke that of Celestia’s (both are related to sunlight), which he takes as a personal challenge to his own “royal” status

- his ultimate goal is to take the throne for himself and be ruler (and maybe keep Equestria in eternal night) but barely makes it to the throne room before being defeated (Celly is aware about the situation as it’s happening but i feel weird having canon mlp characters play an active role in here lmao)

Phantom Blood / Battle Tendency / Stardust Crusaders / Diamond is Unbreakable / Golden Wind / Stone Ocean