History YMMV / HardResetEakin

** The show itself would go on to do its own GroundhogDayLoop plot with ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetsBackstagePass Sunset's Backstage Pass]]''.

* CrazyIsCool: Pinkie's suggestion for what will happen if [[spoiler: both copies of the Element of Magic]] were ever to touch
-->'''Pinkie Pie''': “Omigosh! I totally know what would happen!” I say. Twilight and Star Swirl look over at me. “I bet there’d be a big magical explosion and you would [[FreakyFridayFlip swap bodies]] or something! And then you’d try to hide it from everypony else because [[RuleOfFunny obviously it’s funnier that way]] and you’d both have to go back to Canterlot to fix it for some reason. Then Star Swirl would look like Twilight and Princess Celestia would think he is Twilight and she’d ask you for a friendship report and you’d have to make one up on the spot but you’d have an epiphany about how amazing friendship really is! And while Star Swirl’s doing that Luna will find Twilight who looks like Star Swirl and she’ll be all ‘come to bed, lover’ and Twilight would get to bang Luna again, and it would be super awesome but you’d end up with all sorts of [[GenderBender gender confusion issues]] because [[TrueArtIsAngsty at this point I think you should just go ahead and try to collect all the different kinds of mental problems one pony can have]]. Plus then you and Azalea can make up but she’ll find out somehow and she’ll be like ‘how could you? We were only taking a break,’ and Twilight would be all like ‘you’re the one who left me!’ Then you two would start casting the spell to fix the rest of the time stuff only you have to do it up in the sky for some reason and while you two are casting it [[RefugeInAudacity Azalea and Luna would have a climactic sword fight on top of a zeppelin to win Twilight’s love once and for all]] and then Star Swirl is fatally wounded but [[DyingDeclarationOfLove he gets to tell Luna he loves her one more time]]. Then Twilight will be all ‘[[TemporalParadox oh no, but time!]]’ and [[LatexPerfection Azalea will reveal that she’s been the real Star Swirl all along]]! Then [[BreakingTheFourthWall our readers]] will be all like ‘I have no idea what’s going on and I love it!’”.

* HilariousInHindsight: In December 2013, Eakin posted a blog post concerning an announcement trailer for the film ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'', starring Tom Cruise, and how it was effectively ''"Hard Reset: The Movie."''
** Spike's "Well, that didn't work," would be the first thing that he says [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E25TheCutieRemarkPart1 when he and Twilight arrive in the Changeling Timeline while trying to stop Starlight Glimmer.]]

** Spike would later say, "Well, that didn't work," in "The Cutie Remark", a time travel story.

* CrazyAwesome: Pinkie's suggestion for what will happen if [[spoiler: both copies of the Element of Magic]] were ever to touch

* AngstWhatAngst: Averted. While Twilight for most of the story takes her many deaths in stride, she delivers a scathing rant to Celestia about how horrible dying is when it's suggested that her friends died well, [[spoiler: and winds up committing suicide when Luna gets killed]]. After breaking the loop it's made clear that she's suffered immense psychological trauma from repeatedly dying, the stress of being trapped in a time loop, and seeing her friends die over and over. She ends up experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, becomes terrified of making a bad choice with no way to correct it, pushes her friends away and starts turning into a recluse.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: During ''A Stitch In Time'', Azalea was criticised for being a somewhat ShallowLoveInterest, a flaw that Eakin later acknowledged. The reveal (actually a {{retcon}}) of her being [[spoiler:a transformed former changeling]] in ''You Can Fight Fate'' did a lot to fix this, as did the increased focus on her in ''Changing Lives''.

* HilariousInHindsight: In December 2013, Eakin posted a blog post concerning an announcement trailer for the film ''Edge of Tomorrow'', starring Tom Cruise, and how it was effectively ''"Hard Reset: The Movie."''

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: During ''A StitchInTime'', Azalea was criticised for being a somewhat ShallowLoveInterest. The reveal of her being [[spoiler:a transformed changeling]] in ''You Can Fight Fate'' did a lot to fix this.
* {{Squick}}: ''The Reign of Queen Twilight Sparkle'' is tagged with a warning that gruesome things happen during it, and it's warranted

* HilariousInHindsight: In December 2013, Eakin posted a blog post concerning an announcement trailer for the film Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cryise, and how it was effectively "Hard Reset: The Movie."

** While it's implied that Twilight's death immediately resets the loop, one can only imagine how terrible it would be for Celestia [[spoiler: in the loop where Twilight commits suicide, if the loop doesn't immediately restart. Right after having lost her sister, she leaves for a while only to find out her beloved student has now killed herself]].

-->'''Pinkie Pie''': “Omigosh! I totally know what would happen!” I say. Twilight and Star Swirl look over at me. “I bet there’d be a big magical explosion and you would swap bodies or something! And then you’d try to hide it from everypony else because obviously it’s funnier that way and you’d both have to go back to Canterlot to fix it for some reason. Then Star Swirl would look like Twilight and Princess Celestia would think he is Twilight and she’d ask you for a friendship report and you’d have to make one up on the spot but you’d have an epiphany about how amazing friendship really is! And while Star Swirl’s doing that Luna will find Twilight who looks like Star Swirl and she’ll be all ‘come to bed, lover’ and Twilight would get to bang Luna again, and it would be super awesome but you’d end up with all sorts of gender confusion issues because at this point I think you should just go ahead and try to collect all the different kinds of mental problems one pony can have. Plus then you and Azalea can make up but she’ll find out somehow and she’ll be like ‘how could you? We were only taking a break,’ and Twilight would be all like ‘you’re the one who left me!’ Then you two would start casting the spell to fix the rest of the time stuff only you have to do it up in the sky for some reason and while you two are casting it Azalea and Luna would have a climactic sword fight on top of a zeppelin to win Twilight’s love once and for all and then Star Swirl is fatally wounded but he gets to tell Luna he loves her one more time. Then Twilight will be all ‘oh no, but time!’ and Azalea will reveal that she’s been the real Star Swirl all along! Then our readers will be all like ‘I have no idea what’s going on and I love it!’”.

* AngstWhatAngst: Brutally averted. While Twilight for most of the story takes her many deaths in stride, she delivers a scathing rant to Celestia about how horrible dying is when it's suggested that her friends died well, [[spoiler: and winds up committing suicide when Luna gets killed]]. After breaking the loop it's made clear that she's suffered immense psychological trauma from repeatedly dying, the stress of being trapped in a time loop, and seeing her friends die over and over. She ends up experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, becomes terrified of making a bad choice with no way to correct it, pushes her friends away and starts turning into a recluse.

* AngstWhatAngst: Brutally averted. While Twilight for most of the story takes her many deaths in stride, she delivers a scathing rant to Celestia about how horrible dying is when it's suggested that her friends died well, and winds up committing suicide when Luna gets killed. After breaking the loop it's made clear that she's suffered immense psychological trauma from repeatedly dying, the stress of being trapped in a time loop, and seeing her friends die over and over. She ends up experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, becomes terrified of making a bad choice with no way to correct it, pushes her friends away and starts turning into a recluse.
* NightmareFuel: The entire time loop; being forced to relive an invasion over and over, dying painfully in the process and repeatedly watching those you care about getting slaughtered.