Snails (Friendship is Magic)

From Equestripedia, the Archives of Equestria!
Friendship is Magic • Equestria Girls
Snails
Friendship is Magic character
Biographical information
SpeciesPony  • Unicorn
GenderMale
AgeChild
OccupationBuckball player
NationalityEquestrian
ResidencePonyville, Equestria
Relationships
FamilySnails' family
AffiliationPonyville Buckball team
Real world
First
"Boast Busters"
Last

Snails is a tall and lanky unicorn who attends Cheerilee's class[1] and is a friend of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.[2][3] He is best friends with Snips and the two are inseparable—in fact, the two are almost never seen apart.[2][3][4][5][6] Although Snails has somewhat of a bad reputation among his peers,[3] he's a gentle and caring foal if one looks past his stupidity and simple-nature.[2][3]

History

Early life

Snails was presumably born and raised in Ponyville, Equestria. His only known relative is his mother, who he seems to have a good relationship with.

Era of Harmony

Snails, along with Snips, were easily the most excited ponies about Trixie Lulamoon's arrival in Ponyville. Together, the two attended her show in Ponyville and didn't seem to care or notice Trixie's aggressive and rude behavior. After the show, they were both very friendly towards Trixie, while the mare was nothing but rude to them. Believing into her hype and that she was the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria, the two ventured into the Ursa cave in the Everfree Forest the following night to awaken a Ursa Major so that Trixie could defeat it. Instead, they awoke a Ursa Minor and lured it into Ponyville, only for Trixie to cower in front of the beast while Twilight Sparkle was the mare who defeated the beast. As punishment, Twilight gave Snips, Snails and Spike mustaches[4]

Snails was invited to the Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera and took a huge bite out of her cake.[7]

At the Ponyville Talent Show, Snips and Snails went as two magicians. Their trick was to make a rabbit disappear, however, Snails ended up eating the rabbits carrots.[8]

Snails went to the Hedge Maze in Canterlot on fieldtrip with the rest of his class. He ended up laughing at the Crusaders when they were punished by Cheerilee.[9]

When Apple Bloom got the Cutie Pox, Snails watched as she showed off her many new talents in Ponyville in amazement.[10]

As a member of the Rainbow Dash fanclub, Snails followed around Rainbow Dash, hoping to see her heroic deeds in action.[11]

Snails walked to school with Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Twist and Snips' on Hearts and Hooves Day[12]

Featherweight took a picture of the duo while they were stuck in gum and posted it in an article for the Foal Free Press. Excited about their new fame, the two unicorns tried to milk it and intentionally get stuck in gum so they could star in more articles, but it didn't work out.[13]

The two boys were once again excited when Trixie came back to town, but the mare used her magic to abuse the two by fusing them together at the horn. After Trixie effectively conquored Ponyville, she personally enslaved the two foals to be her chariot drivers. The two hesitantly stood by Trixie's side during the Magic Duel and were turned into babies by the magic spells used in the fight.[14]

Personality

Snails is, for the most part, a good-natured, slightly bucolic and simple minded young boy who, despite having somewhat of a bad reputation (no doubt thanks to his impish friend, Snips), has proved himself to be a kind-hearted pony on numerous occasions.[2][3][5] He, along with Snips, willingly risked their own lives in order to save Sweetie Belle from a rampaging bear by going back for her and dug her hooves out with their horns.[2] In the same day, Snails showed genuine concern for Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom when they fell off of a cliff and tried his best to help them back up.[2] Despite often portrayed as dimwitted, Snails is smart enough to realize when he's being mocked and while he doesn't seem to mind being the laughing stock from time to time, it has worn on his self-esteem.[3] This was revealed in the Don't you forget about us! storyline, in which Snips and Snails finally confess their feelings, about how they're tired of everyone, even their friends, treating them like jokes and not like friends with feelings.[3]

For his faults, Snails seems to find the notion of superiority over others to be horrible and was agasp at the mention of Diamond Tiara claiming to be superior to him and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.[3]

Despite his good heart, Snails doesn't want to regularly hang out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This doesn't appear out of malice or even annoyance, as he accepted them as friends, but moreso to uphold some childish "image" in the school community.[3] Snails is shown to have the uncanny ability to make the best out of bad situations. Despite being lost in the wilderness, he had fun in the more peaceful times and played with Snips, dressing him like a snowman.[2] Snails also has the ability to laugh at himself and his past mistakes, finding the humor in how his naïveté and stupidity nearly destroyed Ponyville when Trixie reared her ugly head.[3] Snails enjoys junkfood.[3]

In some ways, Snails is a lot like Big McIntosh. He's the largest of his group of friends (although while Big Mac is the largest and most muscular, Snails is simply lanky and tall) and has a simpleminded nature that allows him to enter a zen-like state,[15] which he does frequently. Also like Big Mac, Snails has a lot of hidden depth to his personality, but in a different sense. While Big Mac is much more mathematically inclined, as well as articulate and even a little philosophical,[6][16] Snails is simply more gifted with magic than others and is smart enough to realize people laugh at him, not with him.[3] Again, like Mac, Snails is a lot more compassionate and caring then others may initially believe.[2][3]

Relationships

Snail's best friend by far is Snips. The two are very lose and share a brotherly bond not unlike the Cutie Mark Crusaders sisterly bond. Snails acts like a big brother to Snails, trying to protect him and tries to take matters in his own hooves in order to secure Snips's safety, such as lighting his pathway[4] or when he "protected" Snips's ears from Diamond Tiara saying she was better than them.[3] Snails is also good friends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and cares about them a lot, going as far as to risk his life for theirs when they were lost in the wilderness.[2] He also cares about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, showing care and empathy for them and showed deep and genuine concern for them in their times of danger.[2] However, Snails doesn't want to hang out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and instead just wants to hang out with Snips.[3]

Snails has interacted with Spike a few times and they appear to be fairly good friends. Spike knows both of their names and seems well acquainted with them, though seems to find them annoying.[4]

Personal life

Snails lives in Ponyville and attends Ms. Cheerilee's class. His family members are unknown, and he appears to be a relatively active member in the Ponyville community, sometimes appearing in town events and plays sports. His best friend is Snips, but he's also good friends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and, to a lesser extent, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Snails is generally disliked throughout Ponyville for his idiotic behavior, however and is generally treated poorly by just about everyone other then Snips. Although usually considered an utter moron, Snails is actually quite skilled in multiple areas.

Snails was introduced as an admirer of Trixie and best friend to Snips during Boast Busters and appears to be fairly good friends with Spike as well. Although a friendly and sweet boy, Snails is often seen as a laughingstock among both his peers and elders due to his limited intelligence. Snails has a reputation of being a trouble maker around Ponyville, and while he does cause problems, it's never out of malice or ill-intent, it's simply out of sheer stupidity. Despite his simple-minded ways, Snails isn't so dumb as to not realize he's considered a joke and has even showed disdain and mild angst over his bad reputation. Snails is among the more talented of unicorn foals and fillies in Ponyville. He was able to illuminate dark caves with his horns, help levitate Sweetie Belle and even light a fire with the help of Snips; a feat of magic that impressed even Diamond Tiara. He's also been shown to be genuinely brave and even heroic, not once did he show any fear upon entering the Everfree Forest or the Ursa Major's Cave. Furthermore, he saved Sweetie Belle's life from a rampaging bear by digging her hooves out with his horn with the help of Snips, despite putting his life in iminent danger. Snails is also quite caring, as he showed genuine concern for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's safety and did his best to save their lives.

Talents

Oddly enough, Snails is depicted as being one of the more competent magic users in his class. This doesn't mean he's gifted or talented, but he has the ability to muster spells of light able to illuminate dark caves and light fires.[4] In fact, Snails and Snips have surprised others with their competency in certain spells,[3] able to make fires without much effort and create small signals.[2] He was also shown to be able to support the weight of fillies with his spells, albeit slightly, which is something Sweetie Belle failed to pull off.[2] Snails has been depicted as being equal to Snips and superior to Sweetie Belle in terms of current talent,[2][3] though it's unknown if this will keep up into his older years.

Snails has been shown to be a good builder of snowmen and reasonably competent at most activities he's performed.[2]

Town Dunce

"Everyone treats us like we're the town dunces. We've got feelings too, you know!"
— Snails

Snips and Snails are the town dunces of Ponyville.[3][13] Their reputation of stupidity and sheer dimness has become quite well-known throughout Ponyville and has even popped up in newspapers from time to time.[13] Indeed, Snips and Snails do border on being the town fools, and have even endangered Ponyville with their idiotic behavior a few times.[4] This has lead to Snips and Snails to build a reputation of being bad kids, or at least, special kids.[3] Regardless, both Snips and Snails have proven to be good, well-meaning and kind kids.[2][3][5]

Education

Snails attends Cheerile's class, alongside his friend Snips, as well as Diamond Tiara, Twist, Featherweight and several other ponies. His prior education, if any, is currently unknown.

Speech

Snails is defined by his very peculiar way of speaking. He has a very strong, stereotypical Canadian accent that,[4] in the context of Equestria, seems to be all of his own, as the accent seems extremely rare. The accent is further exaggerated by Snails' slower, dimmer way of talking and zen-like simplemindedness.

Slovenliness

Along with Snips, Snails is a slovenly individual with mediocre hygiene. As such, he's dirty and messy half the time and has no qualms about getting dirty and messy whether it be for fun, personal gain or just because he wants to. He's also shown to be a drooler and drools in his sleep.[3] Snails is implied to be slightly rustic too. Not nearly to the extent of some of his friends, such as Apple Bloom, but often speaks in more country terminology.

Abilities

Magical skills and abilities

Snails is a surprisingly gifted magic user for is age, able to perform spells that other foals struggle with greatly.[2][3][4]

  • Illumination: Snails has the ability to illuminate areas of darkness with his horn.[4] Though he struggles to perform the spells, he's quite competent with it and can light a decent area in extremely dark environments. Snails can also create flairs and signals, but to a much lesser degree, and requires the aid of other unicorns, such as Snips and Sweetie Belle. Performing flairs tires Snails out.[3]
  • Telekinesis: Much like most unicorns, Snails has the ability to move objects with his horn. He used his magic to pick up Scootaloo, albeit briefly and with the help of Snips and Sweetie Belle.[2]
  • Fire Creation: Snails has shown the ability to light fires with his magic before.[3]

Intelligence

For all intents and purposes, Snails is an idiot. As personified by his Snail cutiemark, Snails is slow. He is, however, smart enough to realize when he's being used and abused by others (occasionally, at least) and is smart enough to know ponies believing in superiority over others is wrong.[3]

Resourcefulness

Along with Snips, Snails is shown to be rather resourceful. He knew to use his unicorn horn as a tool to dig, ensuring Sweetie Belle's safety and showed clever thinking skills during the Don't You Forget About Us! storyline.[2]

Fighting skills

The details are vague, but Snails was instrumental in the victory over members of Nightmare Rarity's army, meaning he may have some decent fighting skills under his belt.[5]

Behind the scenes

Antagonism

For whatever reason, Snips and Snails are often thrusted into the roles of antagonist in spin-off material,[17] and merchandise descriptions tend to portray them in a negative light. This is almost never the case in the cartoon or comic series, and any problems Snips and Snails cause are not out of malice but sheer imbecility.

Voice actors

Snails has been voiced by the following people:

Trivia

  • Many of Snails voice actors have portrayed notable Dragon Ball characters over the years, such as Goku, Whis, Yamcha, Vegeta, Uub, Bora, etc.

Appearances

Cartoon

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Comics

Friendship is Magic

References

 V - E - H - DArticle comments (0)
Loading comments...

My Little PonyHasbro. Equestripedia and its editors do not claim copyright over creative works, imagery, characters, places, or concepts featured within the franchise.