A Note About The Flaming Pony.

Hi hi everypony!

So, I get asked a lot of the same questions, as I'm sure you can all imagine, and sometimes I can answer them and sometimes I can't. Lately I've been getting asked about Wild Fire and why she was changed in one of the last episodes, if we'll ever see her again, and how she came to be in the first place.

Her first appearance in the Canterlot Wedding ep, wasn't much of an exciting story (none of this really is). After seeing the cleaned up storyboard (which I believe that section was drawn by fellow board artist Marshall), I noticed that the one pony he drew looked almost like Wild Fire. For shoots and giggles, I went to our art director and simply just asked if we could try and make it WF. And it worked. She was approved as a "board pull" design. It was as simple as that.

While work had begun on season 3, I was approached by my good friend Wootie (and co-director) asking if it was okay to use WF as a Wonderbolt Cadet for the 307 episode. They needed a few more designs, and I agreed that it would be fine. So yes, up until the episode was pretty much completed, it was WF.  However, something happened during that time in production, where some layout artists were trying to sneak their ponies into the show without permission. Being a board artist, this is impossible for me because I don't have access to the flash files like layout people do. There seems to be a common misconception that board artists have the power to do things like that - we don't. Because of the actions of others, the studio took it as a precaution to re-colour WF as to not upset the client, as well as remove other "non-approved" pony designs from, not just 307, but other episodes as well. And that's pretty much it.

I have recently spoken to our art director about it, as it seemed at the time a very confusing and touchy issue. I found out that apparently WF was officially approved, so...if there happens to be more pony in the future, I will definitely try to get her back in as a small cameo!

I hope that clears up any questions and confusion!

Only a few eps left in the season..can't wait for the finale!

Sabby