The new My Little Pony: A New Generation movie has recently come out on Netflix and it was definitely something special. It introduced a whole new cast of characters that takes place well after the adventures of the original series and events that featured the previous generation of ponies.
There's been a lot of updates to Equestria since the time of Friendship is Magic, some more obvious than others. From style updates to the fact viewers can see the hooves on all of the characters instead of a select few, there's a lot of new things to get used to in this new generation.
10 There Is A Queen Instead Of Just Princesses
Back in Friendship is Magic, the only ponies addressed as royalty were Alicorns. The only characters that were addressed with a King or Queen title were Changelings and all of the Alicorns, despite being rulers, were referred to as princesses.
In A New Generation, viewers were treated to a royal family consisting entirely of pegasi. There is Queen Haven and her daughters Princess Zipp Storm and Princess Pipp Petals. They are the only ones carrying a royal title that was mentioned in the movie outside of the children's playtime and bedtime stories at the beginning, and those were direct references to the previous generation.
9 The Maps Are Wildly Different Between Both Generations
Friendship is Magic went on a long time and had a massive map to go with it. The map even became a central plot device in Twilight Sparkle's castle as it would send the protagonists around on various friendship missions around their world, and was even used by Starlight Glimmer to adjust time and space.
An old version of the map is seen hanging in Sunny's house, with a new one in her book. Even taking a look at the expanded map from the later parts of Friendship is Magic it's hard to figure out just where in Equestria that the new generation takes place. They are just too different from one another.
8 There Appears To Be No More Permanent Alicorns
Every mention of the Alicorn princesses from Friendship is Magic that happens within the movie makes it clear that they haven't been around for a very long time. So long that it's even referred to as Ancient Equestria. All depictions of the alicorns are in research drawings and stylized pictures rather than photographs.
At the end of the New Generation movie, Sunny unites ponykind and the crystals grant her magical wings and a horn, though they are clear and sparkly, suggesting that they are not permanent.
7 Ponies Are Extremely Divided By Species
The fact that ponies are divided by species and no longer friends is the main premise of the whole New Generation movie. Sunny and her father strongly believed that all ponykind used to be friends and were willing to sacrifice the chance at a normal life in order to prove it. She eventually gets her hard proof in the form of old advertisements hidden away in Zephyr Heights that it was definitely true, and then she went on to bring all of the species together
Back in Friendship is Magic, there was some separation between ponykind but they weren't nearly as aggressive about it. For example, Cloudsdale really would have let other kinds around, but no pony but a pegasus could walk on clouds without magic. Canterlot was primarily a unicorn city, but every pony could walk around freely. The only real problems the old generation had with other species were those who weren't ponies, such as Changelings, Yaks, and Hippogriffs. With the founding of Twilight's school, she sought to bring friendship to all sentient races, not just ponies. This new generation has clearly taken quite a few leaps backward since then.
6 A New Generation Has Gotten A Style & Tonal Upgrade
One very clear and obvious difference between the two generations is that the new movie is CGI with 3D models. It's the first of the generations to do so, and yet they still manage to feel like part of the same world with their bright colors and cute designs.
Additionally, it has a PG rating instead of a G, making it higher than any other pony generation before. It allows them to tackle more mature subjects such as racism and mourning.
5 The Protagonist Is An Earth Pony Who Already Wanted Friends
Sunny Starscout was really inspired by her father Argyle telling her stories about Twilight Sparkle making friends with all kinds of ponies, learning about friendship, and eventually becoming princess of it.
So much so that even from a young age she worked hard to tell others around her that they should be friends again. When she grew up, she had even been banned from Canterlogic for trying to break in and promote her views, all at the cost of any friends she had other than Hitch. Twilight Sparkle on the other hand started out as a brainiac shut-in who had to learn how to be friends and what the point of it was.
4 There Is More Modern Technology
While there is some technology in Friendship is Magic, there is not much that isn't rudimentary, strangely powered, or only there for one gag. A New Generation is full of technology, especially in the pegasus city of Zephyr Heights.
There are huge televisions, smartphones, and clear references to popular social media all over the place. Sunny's kitchen is even pretty modern in comparison to Pinkie Pie's or Applejack's, even if it is a little dated-looking.
3 Ponies Have More Colors And Patterns
It was rare for there to be a lot of colors or patterns on a pony in general, with Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia being outliers. The transition to even more colors is most obviously seen in Pegasi, where they all have feathers that are a different color from their coats. Some of them, such as Queen Haven and a few background ponies, even have a different colored base to their wings than the rest, adding even more color to them.
Additionally, many of the ponies also have gradients or extra markings, where that was extremely uncommon in past generations. Hitch for example has a blaze and socks, and every pony has clearly obvious and colored hooves.
2 There Are Some Big Differences With Cutie Marks & Names
A major difference so far in style is that the ponies of A New Generation only have a cutie mark on one side. Cutie marks played a major role in the previous generation, being a source of their identity. Once they appeared, they were even celebrated with a party, signifying that a pony had discovered who they truly were. They also almost always reflected their names a bit, such as Rarity having Diamonds and Twilight Sparkle having shiny sparkles. The cutie marks of the ponies in the movie have a connection to their interests and roles in society, but not necessarily their name too.
There's also the fact that in the older generation, every pony had a name that consisted of real words and rarely had a name that was more like a name. There were names like Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Rarity, and Shining Armor. In the new generation, there are names like Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm, and Phyllis Cloverleaf instead.
1 They Have Eyebrows In A New Generation
Something that manages to be a shocking realization is that the older generation of ponies only had eyebrows on specific characters such as Discord or Starswirl the Bearded. The style was able to get away with using a different, more cartoony method of emotion that wouldn't translate over as well to a 3D model without looking strange and uncanny.
Since eyebrows are an everyday occurrence, it's a little detail that goes amiss until someone points it out. It felt a little awkward at first, especially since some ponies have differently colored eyebrows from their manes and tails.