My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (season 4)

The fourth season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, developed by Lauren Faust, originally aired on the Hub Network in the United States. The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works and is often referred by collectors to be the fourth generation, or "G4", of the My Little Pony franchise. Season 4 of the series premiered on November 23, 2013 on the Hub Network, an American pay television channel partly owned by Hasbro, and concluded on May 10, 2014.

The show follows a pony named Twilight Sparkle as she learns about friendship in the town of Ponyville. Twilight continues to learn with her close friends Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Each represents a different face of friendship, and Twilight discovers herself to be a key part of the magical artifacts, the "Elements of Harmony". The ponies share adventures and help out other residents of Ponyville, while working out the troublesome moments in their own friendships.

Concept
Season 4 continues from the events of the third season finale, "Magical Mystery Cure", where Twilight, shown to have come to hone her magic skills while learning the value of friendship, has been crowned as Equestria's newest princess, becoming an alicorn in the process. Some elements of the season focus on Twilight coming to terms with her new status; lead writer Meghan McCarthy stated that "What we didn't want to do was change who Twilight is as a character, because she's certainly someone that everyone's proud to know and love", while Tara Strong, the voice actress for Twilight, claimed that the episode is "a birth of a new era for Twilight, but not the end of what makes the show so wonderful". In addition, with the directive of the letters to Princess Celestia no longer in force, the six main characters also resolve to keep a collective journal of their formative experiences for posterity's sake. According to a Twitter post from McCarthy, the season also includes a story arc that features the ponies on the hunt to find keys to open a mysterious six locked chest.

Production
Investment documents for DHX Media's 2012 financial year indicate that production for a fourth season had been financed. Before the season premiered, aspects of it were discussed by Meghan McCarthy, Tara Strong and other writers and voice actors at various fan conventions. Hasbro's vice president for international distribution, Finn Arnesen, had stated that My Little Pony is a "top-priority" brand for the company and expects the series to continue beyond the fourth season. The fourth season of the series premiered on November 23, 2013. This season marks the first time storyboard artist Jim Miller will be co-directing alongside Jayson Thiessen. This season also marks the first time to be executive produced by Thiessen and McCarthy.

Main

 * Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle
 * Rebecca Shoichet as Twilight Sparkle (singing voice)
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity
 * Kazumi Evans as Rarity (singing voice)
 * Ashleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow Dash
 * Andrea Libman as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie
 * Shannon Chan-Kent as Pinkie Pie (singing voice); Libman occasionally
 * Cathy Weseluck as Spike

Recurring

 * Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon
 * Kazumi Evans as Princess Luna (singing voice)
 * The Cutie Mark Crusaders
 * Michelle Creber as Apple Bloom
 * Madeleine Peters as Scootaloo
 * Claire Corlett as Sweetie Belle
 * Britt McKillip as Princess Cadance
 * Andrew Francis as Shining Armor
 * John de Lancie as Discord

Minor

 * Chiara Zanni as Daring Do/A.K. Yearling
 * Brian Drummond as Ahuizotl and Seabreeze
 * Michael Dobson as Dr. Caballeron and Bulk Biceps
 * Ashleigh Ball as Prim Hemline
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Suri Polomare and Zipporwhill
 * Cathy Weseluck as Coco Pommel
 * Peter New as Big McIntosh
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Granny Smith and Mrs. Cake
 * Peter New as Goldie Delicious and Zipporwhill's father
 * Kelly Metzger as Spitfire and Blossomforth
 * Matt Hill as Soarin
 * Andrea Libman as Fleetfoot
 * Brian Drummond as Mr. Cake
 * Brenda Crichlow as Zecora
 * Nicole Oliver as Cheerilee
 * Chantal Strand as Diamond Tiara
 * Shannon Chan-Kent as Silver Spoon
 * Lee Tockar as Snips
 * Richard Ian Cox as Snails
 * Rena Anakwe as Sapphire Shores
 * The Flim Flam Brothers
 * Samuel Vincent as Flim
 * Scott McNeil as Flam
 * Veena Sood as Ms. Harshwhinny

Guest stars

 * Ellen Kennedy as the Mane-iac and the Chimera
 * Cathy Weseluck as Torch Song
 * Jerrica Santos as Torch Song (singing voice)
 * Trevor Devall as Thunderlane
 * "Weird Al" Yankovic as Cheese Sandwich
 * Doron Bell as Trenderhoof
 * Alvin Sanders as Flutterguy
 * Marcus Mosley as Flutterguy (singing voice)
 * Danny Balkwill as Toe-Tapper
 * Graham Verchere as Pipsqueak
 * Ingrid Nilson as Maud Pie
 * Ian James Corlett as Silver Shill
 * Sylvain LeVasseur Portelance as Stellar Eclipse
 * Jay Brazeau as Claude the Puppeteer
 * Vincent Tong as Flash Sentry and Duke of Maretonia
 * Mark Acheson as Lord Tirek