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Description
Original collector’s notes:–
A Problem for King PolkaSource: My Little Pony comic #176
The Rockin Beat ponies also appear in My Little Pony Tales “Battle of the Bands”, fronted by Melody.
This is an interesting manuscript, seemingly a summary of older records combined with contemporary lore. It’s authored by an unknown
Despite the unreliable narration from centuries past, this seems to be a much-traduced record of the final days of human civilization in Pony Land. Before the last of the fair folk and the last royal court of mankind headed for the Grey Havens and sail into history forever, leaving the land to the little ponies and devoid of magic for a time. At least that’s the only way we can make sense of it historically.
Not that kind of advice, weirdo.
The only legitimate ‘magical’ element presented within the Tales comic continuity (although Patch does reference her meeting with the Glow N’ Shows in numerous issues) is the events of the ‘dream’ within
Sweetheart’s Accidental Bedtime Acid TripPrincess Sparkle’s Party. Tuneful in Key to Your Heart was never explicitly stated to have been a unicorn in the text (welp, little ponies sometimes just grow horns, I guess), and her future comic appearances, while scant, feature her as an earth pony, such as in issue 216’s cover story Musical Appreciation, just check the G1 comic page on My Little Wiki (although I could be wrong about the aforementioned Tuneful point, as I am missing issue 208, where the Beats may play a major role).As for Ace… well, he does cosplay as a Victorian gentlepony (complete with top hat) in ‘Olden Days’ (story from MLP and Friends issue 44), so why not a Georgian?
Come to think of it, Paradise Estate is surprisingly modern in appearance for a largely medieval-style community such as the earlier G1s. I guess you could explain it as, being that Paradise Estate is a summer home to the ponies in the comics, they kind of just decided to remain there and build around it. I mean, the Petite Ponies (if you’ve seen any of their bizarre comic stories on Heck Yeah Pony Scans) had an entire town (remarkably) similar to the Talesverse a few years earlier (complete with suspiciously similar ice cream shop), so why not the other G1s?
Regarding your accurate point about the different-but-familiar facet of the Tales universe (and how directly said facet is orientated towards the audience if it the fantastical elements were intended foreshadowing for some long-forgotten, unproduced second season), I’ve recently formulated my own theory as to how Tales would have continued (assuming it generated sufficient ratings to last seven seasons):
Season 6 - After a year on the run freeing hoofed species and sparking pockets of rebellion (and learning the true connotations of adventure), Patch, Vividglow and Basil return to Ponyville, where he manage to rescue their friends and spark a rebellion force against Hardhoof/Grogar. The season ends ominously, with the main cast and their families preparing for the final face-off.
Season 7 - The final season, in which Teddy and Sweetheart finally hook up, Bright Eyes’ parents reveal themselves at last and Patch’s past is discovered at last by Cotton Candy. Basil also eventually reveals himself as G1 Spike, who was corrupted by a band of dragons he joined as an adolescent, leading him to turn his back on the ponies and their civilization until he ruined Squire’s life. Eventually, the final showdown occurs, with the seven main characters, aided by the rebellion force, finally vanquishing Grogar back to the Realm of Darkness,
with the main cast promising to aid build a better world. The final episode then ends with the main cast heading to the ice cream shop to celebrate like the old times, with a triumphant reprise of the theme playing.
Sorry for the wall of text there. Yeah, it’s not perfect, but I’m willing to accept feedback.
Maybe Ace is just stylin’ it like it’s 1720 again. Clubbed natural hair, long and tied at the nape with ribbons were a perfectly normal men’s hair style back then.
Definitely intrigued by the Key to Your Heart comic you mentioned. Did any of the Tales-era comics feature any magic presented-as-fact, or were the unicorns just presented as “welp. Little ponies sometimes grow horns, but they still own microwave ovens and corded phones and mundane day jobs. Deal with it”? I have to admit, I love the Talesverse for being possibly the most jarringly different setting in MLP history while at the same time being strangely familiar.
More prosaic in-universe explanation: Tales might be the culmination of an existing historical trend. Perhaps everypony no longer wanted to live in draughty old dream-castles and just switched directly over to modern condominium-style living (I mean, why bother with a grimy industrial revolution?) Case in point: Paradise Estate really is pretty suburban and low-rise. I mean, just look at the furnishings (when they’re not coming to life and chasing you around).
Addressing the Tuneful issue, she actually appears as a unicorn (with her horn very conspicuous in a number of illustrations) in the story Key to Your Heart from issue 206 of the comic (a Tales issue). But then again, said issue also featured several illustrations of Teddy in his nefariously mistaken red-with-blue-mane colouration (and don’t even get me started on the ‘Happy Birthday Ace’ activity where Ace not only dons a green coat and red mane, but also has a braid with a bow in said mane. Yes, really) so obviously the comic was not immune to similar issues. Note that the Glow N’ Show/Glowing Magic ponies (Brightglow, etc.) never made an appearance in any of the Tales comics (as far as I know, but I only need nine more issues to complete the set and no other collector with any of those issues has reported them), but showed up in a scant number of stories in the pre-Tales G1 setting (although ‘Dazzleglow and the Drinking Dragon’ has the variety of title which leads you to wonder if the story involves her opening some form of alcoholic rehabilitation clinic).