My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks/Animated shorts

Coinciding with the release of My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, Hasbro is also releasing a series of eight animated shorts that, according to show director Jim Miller, are not part of the film but are "tied into it". Each short is written by an individual writer; specifically, those writers are Cindy Morrow, Natasha Levinger, Josh Haber, and Amy Keating Rogers. The shorts have been released through multiple outlets online, including the Hasbro Studios Shorts YouTube channel, Hasbro's My Little Pony Facebook page, Hasbro's My Little Pony Equestria Girls YouTube channel, and a German Equestria Girls YouTube channel. According to director Ishi Rudell, the shorts are "not being released in the order they were made."

Music to My Ears
Music to My Ears is one of the eight animated shorts released as a tie-in to My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. It is the first to be published by the Hasbro Studios Shorts YouTube channel, on March 27, 2014, the first to be published by the My Little Pony Equestria Girls YouTube channel, on March 31, 2014, the first to be published by the My Little Pony Facebook page, on April 4, 2014, and the first to be published overall. The animation primarily focuses on the human counterpart of DJ Pon-3.

Development and production
According to director Ishi Rudell, the original ending of this short involved Principal Celestia putting on the headphones and rocking out to the music.

This short was adapted into chapters 4 and 7 of the screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks.

Summary
As DJ Pon-3 is crossing the street, she puts her headphones on and turns on some dubstep music. She starts walking to the music's rhythm, and everything around her moves and is synchronized with the beat, from a crossing guard to the chirping of baby birds to the barking of a dog. During her walk, she passes by the Cutie Mark Crusaders and other Canterlot High students. As DJ Pon-3 enters Sugarcube Corner, everything briefly slows down, and she passes by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. At the counter, she buys a cupcake from Mrs. Cake before heading out.

Upon reaching Canterlot High, DJ Pon-3 struts through the hallway. A pair of students joins her, but Cranky motions for them to enter his classroom. The school bell rings, and every student except DJ Pon-3 is in class. She's stopped by Principal Celestia, who confiscates her headphones and gestures for her to get to class. As the principal walks away, DJ Pon-3 puts on a spare pair of earbuds, and the music resumes.

Guitar Centered
Guitar Centered is one of the eight animated shorts released as a tie-in to My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. It is the second to be published by the Hasbro Studios Shorts YouTube channel, on April 4, 2014, the second to be published by the My Little Pony Facebook page, on April 14, 2014, and the second to be published overall. The animation primarily focuses on the human counterparts of Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

Production
This short was adapted into chapters 2 and 3 of the screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks.

Summary
Rainbow Dash visits a music shop with her friends to replace her broken electric guitar with one that "looks as awesome as [she's] gonna make it sound." A double-necked guitar catches her eye, but Trixie grabs it at the same time she does, and the two begin to fight over it. At Applejack's suggestion, Rainbow Dash challenges Trixie to a "shred-off" to determine who will keep the guitar.

The two girls fight to outperform each other with their solo guitar riffs. As Trixie begins to gain the upper hand, Rainbow Dash's entire body levitates into the air and surges with an electrical aura, transforming her into her pony-like form and changing her guitar's appearance. Rainbow Dash hits the ground and creates a sonic rainboom-like shockwave that blows Trixie aside.

The other girls applaud Rainbow Dash's performance, but as DJ Pon-3 hands her the double-necked guitar, Rainbow Dash decides to let Trixie have it, saying her transformed guitar is the one that "really speaks to [her]." Trixie gloats over her self-supposed victory as Rainbow Dash leaves with her new guitar, only to read its price tag and realize her prize costs $12,000, and swears revenge on Rainbow Dash.

Quotes

 * Rarity: Rainbow Dash, I simply don't understand why you can't just play the guitar you have.
 * [sproing]
 * Rarity: [gasps] Now I understand.


 * Rainbow Dash: That's the problem! I need something that looks as awesome as I'm gonna make it sound.


 * Trixie: The Great and Powerful Trixie always wins in the end! [laughs]
 * Rainbow Dash: I doubt it.


 * Trixie: Twelve-thousand dollars?! You'll pay for this, Rainbow Dash!
 * Pinkie Pie: No, silly! If you want it, you'll have to pay for it.

Hamstocalypse Now
Hamstocalypse Now is one of the eight animated shorts released as a tie-in to My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. It is the third to be published by the Hasbro Studios Shorts YouTube channel, on April 11, 2014, and the third to be published overall. The animation primarily focuses on the human counterpart of Fluttershy. The title is a play on the title of the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now.

Production
This short was adapted into chapters 8 and 9 of the screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, which was released days earlier than the short itself.

Summary
Rarity helps Fluttershy volunteer at the animal rescue center to clean the hamster habitat. Fluttershy lets all the hamsters out with Rarity so she can clean out the tubes. When Fluttershy finishes, she finds that the hamsters have gone out of control during Rarity's attempts to accessorize them. Unable to calm the hamsters down, the girls reach for their backpacks to catch them. A tambourine drops out of Fluttershy's bag, hypnotizing the hamsters with its sound. Fluttershy shakes her tambourine to lure the hamsters back into the habitat, gaining her pony ears, wings, and tail in the process.

Quotes

 * Fluttershy: Rarity, what happened?
 * Rarity: Oh, I, uh— [screams] Carl Pettington's coat just begged to be accessorized, but Emilia Furhart refused to be left out, and got Curtis Pawpower to chew right through Carl's little scarf, and before I knew it, I had a habitat-wide feud on my hands! [beat] Also, I named them.


 * Rarity: Huh! I never would have guessed hamsters could be so touchy about fashion!

Shake Your Tail!
Shake Your Tail! is one of the eight animated shorts released as a tie-in to My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. It is the first to be published by the German Equestria Girls YouTube channel, on April 16, 2014 until the upload was made unavailable later in the same week due to a copyright claim by Hasbro Studios LLC, and the fourth to be published overall. On April 18, 2014, Ishi Rudell confirmed that the song featured in this short will not be in the Rainbow Rocks film.

Production
This short was adapted into chapters 16 and 17 of the screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, which was released more than a week earlier than the short itself.

Summary
The short is a music video of the song Shake Your Tail wherein the six friends perform the song at a school dance party. The performance is interspersed with a story in which the six attempt to decorate the school auditorium for the party. Each tries out a different theme for the party that ends in failure of some sort: Pinkie Pie's luau-themed set that falls apart around her; Rainbow Dash bombards her friends with soccer balls and basketballs in a sports theme; Applejack's country theme includes a dangerous rodeo bull; Rarity's elegant masquerade falls through when Pinkie startles everyone with a tiki mask; Twilight Sparkle turns the party into a boring study session; and Fluttershy's petting zoo idea results in animals running amok. Finally, Rainbow Dash comes up with an idea and combines all of their themes into one.

Pinkie on the One
Pinkie on the One is one of the eight animated shorts released as a tie-in to My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. It is the fourth to be published by the Hasbro Studios Shorts YouTube channel, on April 25, 2014, and the fifth to be published overall. The animation primarily focuses on the human counterpart of Pinkie Pie.

Production
This short was adapted into chapters 10, 11 and 12 of the screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, which was released weeks earlier than the short itself.

Summary
Pinkie Pie is helping Granny Smith make cookies in class. Rainbow Dash asks her for help finding a drummer for their band. Pinkie decides to make the cookies faster using two hands, but she folds the batter too fast, splattering it all over herself and Rainbow. Later, Pinkie helps Rainbow make a banner, but sprinkles too much glitter as a result of her rhythmic tapping on the giant glitter jar. At lunchtime, Pinkie does some wild rhythms on her glasses and bowls with her silverware. Rarity suggests finding an outlet for her energy, which gives Rainbow Dash an idea. Pinkie is then seen doing a wild drum solo in the band room and she transforms into her pony form. Rarity asks Rainbow Dash what gave her the idea of putting Pinkie on the drums, and Rainbow replies she has "a sense for these things."

Gallery

 * DJ Pon-3 feeling the beat EG2.png
 * Animated shorts image gallery