The Last Problem is the final Season 9 episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and also the final episode of the series as a whole.
Synopsis
Years from now, Princess Twilight is visited by a student with a friendship problem. As she attempts to solve it, she looks back on the times she and the Mane Six spent together.
About the memory book:
During the events of the past, a few days before Twilight Sparkle gets prepared for her coronation as the new ruler of Equestria, Spike and Starlight make a magical scrapbook and ask each of Twilight's friends to add memories inside.
First, Rarity's memories include events from episodes like A Dog and Pony Show, The Return of Harmony, Rarity Takes Manehattan, Rarity Investigates!, The Saddle Row Review, and Best Gift Ever.
Next, Pinkie Pie adds in her memories from episodes like Feeling Pinkie Keen, Baby Cakes, A Friend in Deed, Too Many Pinkie Pies, Party Pooped, and The Last Laugh.
Fluttershy's memories come next, from episodes like Stare Master, Hearth's Warming Eve, Keep Calm and Flutter On, Filli Vanilli, The Hooffields and McColts, and A Health of Information.
After that, Rainbow Dash chips in her memories from episodes like Sonic Rainboom, Read It and Weep, Rainbow Falls, Tanks for the Memories, Applejack's "Day" Off, and 2, 4, 6, Greaaat.
Then Applejack adds her memories from episodes like Winter Wrap Up, Apple Family Reunion, Somepony to Watch Over Me, Made in Manehattan, Where the Apple Lies, and Sounds of Silence.
Finally, Starlight Glimmer and Spike add memories for Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and of course, themselves as well, from episodes like The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Luna Eclipsed, The Cutie Map, The Cutie Re-Mark, Celestial Advice, and Father Knows Beast. By the day before Twilight's coronation, the memory book is done.
The next morning, on the day of the coronation, just as Starlight is about to give Twilight her present, she and her friends just race past her to catch the train to Canterlot, so Starlight decides to give the book after the coronation instead.
A few minutes following Celestia and Luna's departure to Silver Shoals, Twilight and her friends look inside her memory book. Then she realizes there's one problem with it: it comes to an end. As they make new memories all the time, the book can never be finished, and they'll have to get started on volume 2. Still, Twilight is grateful for all the memories she's had with her friends, and can't wait to make more.
Production timeline
| April 12, 2018 | Premise written by Josh Haber. Originally, a full-grown Flurry Heart was to appear in the episode. |
| May 1, 2018 | Outline written. |
| May 14, 2018 | Beatsheet written. |
| May 17, 2018 | Six "clip shows" that take place during the events of the past were added to the script tracker, where Twilight's friends make a memory book for her. |
| June 4, 2018 | First draft of the script written. |
| June 18, 2018 | Second draft of the script written. Luster Dawn, a female unicorn with a pink coat and a blond-orange mane and tail, takes Flurry Heart's place in this episode. |
| July 4–9, 2018 | Final draft written. |
| July 18, 2018 | Starlight Glimmer's last three lines of dialogue were recorded. |
| July 19, 2018 | Lyrics for "The Magic of Friendship Grows" written. |
| August 1, 2018 | Full demo for "The Magic of Friendship Grows" composed and performed. |
| August 1–22, 2018 | Voice recording in session. The clip shows began on August 3, while The Last Problem finished on August 17. |
| August 27, 2018 | Script locked polish. |
| September 5, 2018 | All of Spike's last dialogue was recorded. |
| September 7, 2018 | All writing and voice recording for the show was done. |
| September 26, 2018 | Final unmixed version of "The Magic of Friendship Grows" composed and performed. |
| November 15, 2018 | Animatic for "The Last Problem" submitted for review. |
| November 27–28, 2018 | Animatics for the clip shows submitted for review. |
| December 4, 2018 | The group shots featuring a last look at the secondary characters, used during the song "The Magic of Friendship Grows", were given different colored backgrounds. |
| April 12, 2019 | Client cut of "The Last Problem" submitted for review. |
| May 6, 2019 | Client cuts of the clip shows submitted for review. |
| May 17, 2019 | Musical score for "The Last Problem" added. |
| May 27–June 10, 2019 | Musical score for the clip shows added. |
| May 31, 2019 | Final mix of "The Magic of Friendship Grows" composed and performed, officially wrapping up production for all music and songs for the series. |
| June 4, 2019 | Final revisions made for "The Last Problem". The clip shows followed on June 25–26; however, they stayed unreleased in the U.S. for more than a year. |
| June 21, 2019 | Jim Miller posted his final production sendoff message on Twitter. |
Characters
| Main characters | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Twilight Sparkle |
Luster Dawn |  Spike |
 Pinkie Pie | ||||||||
 Fluttershy |
 Rainbow Dash |
 Rarity |
 Applejack | ||||||||
| Other characters | |||||||||||
 Starlight Glimmer |
 Princess Celestia |
 Princess Luna | |||||||||
Home media
This episode is only available on digital platforms due to Shout! Factory's 10-year licensing rights having been expired as of 2019.
Gallery
