How To Play:
On the Map screen, tap to select an available location. Once you see your chosen character on screen, tap and hold on the edge of the screen to walk. Look for red Challenge icons that will point you towards your next objective. Tap on blue door icons to enter classrooms. Tap on Ponies marked with a Challenge icon to speak to them. Once their stage select panels are displayed, tap on an available stage's Play button to begin that stage.
Equipping Pocket Ponies:
On the Challenge Preparation screen, drag and drop any available ponies onto the slots above. You can equip a maximum of 3 ponies. If a pony has fainted, they cannot be equipped. To revive a fainted pony, either use Bits or wait until their timer reaches 0 to restore them for free. Some Challenges only allow for Pocket Ponies of a certain level, color, or rarity to be equipped onto certain slots. If a pony does not meet the slot's requirements, they cannot be equipped. After equipping the maximum amount of ponies available, 3 Boost types are then displayed.
Boosts:
There are 3 types of Boosts that can be used to enhance a Pocket Ponies stats for the proceeding Challenge. Once that Challenge is completed, the pony's stats return to normal. The Health Boost increases a pony's health, allowing them to take more damage during a Challenge. The Power Boost increases the amount of damage a pony does to each enemy. The Projectile Boost allows a pony to fire more projectiles at a time. To use a Boost, simply drag and drop one onto the Pocket Pony you wish to enhance. Once you're ready to begin a Challenge, tap the Play button.
Challenges:
Challenges begin with 1 or more rows of enemies entering the game board from the top. The objective is to defeat all of the enemies before they can defeat your Pocket Ponies. Your equipped Pocket Ponies appear at the bottom of the board. Tap and hold on the middle of the game board to display an aiming guide. Line your shot up and release your finger to fire magic projectiles at the enemies. Once an enemies health bar is drained completely, they will disappear. If an enemy reaches the bottom of the board, they will attack the closest pony. If a pony loses all of their Health, they will faint and can no longer fire projectiles. Tap on another pony to use them instead. The key is to use a pony who's base stand is the same color as the enemy's base stand. This will allow you to deal more damage and earn more Experience Points for that particular pony. It will also partially fill that pony's Specialty Meter.
Specialties:
Each Pocket Pony has a unique Specialty. There are 6 categories of Specialty types, each represented by the color of a pony's base stand: red (power - Specialty deals high damage), purple (protect - Speciality shields your ponies from taking 1 or more hits), orange (hold - holds enemies in place and stops the clock timer temporarily), blue (push - pushes enemies upwards, allowing more time to defeat them), green (poison - poisons enemies, making them temporarily take damage every few seconds), pink (heal - recovers Health to one or more ponies). During a Challenge, each time a particular pony defeats an enemy of the same color, their Specialty Meter fills up a little bit. Once completely filled, you can tap the meter to unleash that pony's Specialty.
Bits, XP, & Gems
Each time a Challenge is completed, the player is awarded gold Bits and XP (experience points). XP is used to fill a Pocket Pony's circular XP meter. Once their XP meter is completely full, they can then be leveled up. Leveling up increases one of their 3 stats: Health, Power, or Projectiles.