Bon Bon

Bon Bon is the placeholder name of a background pony. She is an Earth pony that appears in several episodes, and has speaking roles in Call of the Cutie, Green Isn’t Your Color, Lesson Zero and The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. She has a pale cream coat and a navy blue mane with a pink stripe. Her cutie mark shows 3 pieces of wrapped candy. She is very similar to previous-generation ponies similarly named Bon Bon.

Development and production

Bon Bon shares her appearance with a G1 pony of the same name, including her color scheme and cutie mark. The name comes from “bonbon”, French for “candy”. Bon Bon is frequently seen next to Heartstrings, which has been explained by a layout artist to be mostly coincidental and based on aesthetic considerations, as far as season one is concerned. Despite only being coincidental in the show, the designer of the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster intentionally placed the two ponies together. Bon Bon is voiced differently in each of her appearances.
As with most background ponies, Bon Bon’s design and color scheme are frequently used for filler ponies in crowd scenes. For example, in Fall Weather Friends, four or five Bon Bons can be seen as the angle pans past right before the race. Another four or so can be seen in the race stampede afterward; however only one is in the actual race. In a scene from Owl’s Well That Ends Well, there are clearly two Bon Bons visible.

Depiction in the series

Bon Bon makes regular appearances in the show, usually in more prominent ways than regular background ponies. For example, after Twilight’s chase scene in The Ticket Master, Bon Bon expresses her astonishment at Twilight’s disappearance once she teleports. In Applebuck Season she is one of the characters lining up for free muffins, and is one of the ponies who fall ill after consuming them. In Swarm of the Century she is praised by Twilight for her good work on tending to the flowers.
When Apple Bloom secretly fills Bon Bon’s bag with apples in Call of the Cutie and demands payment for them, Bon Bon complains to Applejack and looks at her disapprovingly until she is given additional apples at no charge. That episode is one of several where Bon Bon has a speaking role.

In Green Isn’t Your Color, she enters Rarity’s boutique, inquiring about Fluttershy. However, she immediately loses interest once Rarity tells her that Fluttershy isn’t there anymore, and leaves. Later, she is one of the ponies crowding around Fluttershy after her presence in town is accidentally revealed by Twilight.

In Lesson Zero she falls under the spell that Twilight put on a doll, Smarty Pants, and expresses her love for the object. She is seen later fighting with Heartstrings in the background over the doll. In Secret of My Excess she is seen talking to Heartstrings near a well, which Derpy Hooves pops out of. In The Last Roundup, she is the only background pony to welcome back Applejack at the Ponyville train station; she also appears at the train station at the beginning of the episode, and at Applejack’s surprise party.

She speaks again in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, once again with a much different voice.

Appearances

Times are approximate and taken from videos available online.

Season one

1 6:47-6:53 (watching Twilight’s chariot land), 16:41 (making a funny expression), 18:48 + 19:29 (on floor next to Heartstrings), 19:52 (talking to Heartstrings), 19:36 + 20:58 (on floor; first in happy anticipation of Celestia’s entrance, later shocked at the Night Mare Moon revelation);
clones: 18:46 + 19:11 (clone on balcony to the left), 20:17 (numerous clones in audience)

2 20:24-21:01 (standing in crowd)

3 10:59 (laughing with Daisy at dinner), 12:47 (running from rain), 17:12-17:32 + 18:06-18:16 (one of the ponies crowding around Twilight), 17:38 (surprising Twilight from a doorway);
in fantasies: 2:28 (in queue in Applejack’s fantasy), 3:47 (in the stands in Rainbow’s fantasy), 8:01+8:20 (watching Rarity in her fantasy);
clones: 4:23-4:26 (lots of clones seen from behind)

4 2:10 (running from the cow stampede in panic), 2:54 (observing Applejack herd the cows away), 3:57-4:15 (standing around in town), 4:19 (affixing decorations to a bridge), 4:53 + 5:57 (in audience at party for Applejack), 7:41 (still in audience, but now next to Heartstrings), 14:49-14:56 (getting free muffin samples), 15:08 (possibly Bon Bon, recoloured because of sickness), 18:09 (running from the bunny stampede)

5 12:18 + 12:37 (near Sugarcube Corner), 12:56 (next to the vegetable stand), 14:13 (talking to Cloud Kicker at Gilda’s party), 19:03 + 19:19 + 19:54 (still at Gilda’s party), 20:37 (laughing at mutual zapping);
clones: 1:30-1:33 (two clones in different sections of the town square)

6 17:42 (watching the Ursa from inside a house);
clones: 2:21 + 8:44 + 9:28 (two clones in crowd at Trixie’s show)

7 1:50 – With Golden Harvest ~ 2:37 – With Heartstrings ~ 2:50 – In the crowd ~ 20:12 – Just standing

8 0:13 (helping with clean-up)

9 none

10 2:57 – 3:02 – being praised by Twilight Sparkle for work on flowers, 14:01 – 14:10 with Heartstrings and the parasprites outside Sugarcube Corner

11 Bon Bon acts as one of the main background singers in the Winter Wrap Up song, appearing on screen multiple times.

12 6:15 – 6:40 – having apples forced upon self by Apple Bloom (speaking part)

13 For most of the Running of the Leaves, Bon bon is in the lead. Perhaps she won first place?

14 13:04f (at the fashion show, opposite Heartstrings), 14:08+14:17 (next to Heartstrings*), 14:31 (mouth wide open at the sight of the dresses)

15 none

16 none

17 none

18 15:14 (standing in crowd)

19 none

20 11:58 (at Rarity’s, inquiring about Fluttershy, speaking part), 15:50 (part of crowd around Fluttershy), 16:43 (in the audience)

21 18:22 + 19:02 + 19:39 (in a hat)

22 6:55 (at party for Celestia)

23 Seen in the crowd

24 two clones 2:22+3:01+3:48+3:53f+4:18f (watching the sky)

25 none

26 Seen at the gala

Season two

1 2:07 (three clones in Ponyville main square).

2 20:36-21:26 (several clones in crowd).

3 16:32 – speaking line about Smarty Pants, 16:32-17:10 – part of the crowd fighting after Smarty Pants, 17:25 – fighting with Heartstrings over Smarty Pants, 17:55 – having her tail pulled by Big Macintosh in the aftermath.

4 None.

5 Seen in crowd, clones.

6 Seen admiring then afraid of Apple Bloom’s cutie pox.

7 None.

8 00:10 – Shown as part of the Rainbow Dash fanclub, wearing a Rainbow Dash head piece, 2:32 – Shown cheering for Rainbow Dash, 3:13 – Cheering, 5:01-5:06 and 6:03 listening to Rainbow Dash story telling.

9 18:48 – Backing away from Applejack when she rips up the ground, 19:01 – Backing away from Twilight Sparkle when she dances.

10 07:13 – Seen talking to Heartstrings by the well as Spike walks passed them. She and Heartstrings are then startled by Derpy Hooves.

11

12

13 None

14 2:42ff – in the crowd cheering for Applejack; 04:31 – at Ponyville train station; 05:02 – at Applejack’s surprise party; 21:01 at Ponyville train station

15

16

17

18

19

Quotes

Call of the Cutie

Bon Bon: I didn’t put those in my bag!

Green Isn’t Your Color

Rarity: Welcome to Carousel Boutique!

Bon Bon: Is she still here? We heard Fluttershy was here.

Rarity: Sorry, you just missed her. But you’re still in luck! I’m having a huge sale of some of my best designs!

Bon Bon: And you are?

Rarity: Rarity, of course!

Bon Bon: Never heard of you.

Lesson Zero

Mayor: What’s all the commotion about?

Dizzy Twister: They’re fighting over that doll!

Bon Bon: That incredible, amazing doll!

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

Cherry Berry: I can’t get the taste off my tongue!

Bon Bon: Mine’s got rocks in it.

Stallion: I wouldn’t pay one cent for this dreck!