History YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E2TheCutieMapPart2

* WinTheCrowd: Scott Sonneborn ''really'' didn't have [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E17SomeponyToWatchOverMe the best first impression with the fans]], but this seems to be his "Wonderbolt Academy".

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The Season 5 premiere is one of the most famous examples of the trope, especially part two. Behind the cutesy pony terminology like cutie marks and friendship, Starlight Glimmer has formed a '''cult''', whose members join because they felt alone and troubled in their lives and she promised them a sense of belonging and acceptance. Being part of her village means giving up all signs of your former life and conforming to her standards of living, and anyone who dissents is locked up in a shack with nothing to do but sit and listen to Starlight's propaganda for hours and hours, until they agree to rejoin the community.

* HarsherInHindsight: The Staff of Sameness is revealed to be some random stick Starlight passed off as an ancient magical artifact. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Seems like she took a page from Twilight's playbook.]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Putting aside the politics of cutie marks themselves, it's a very effective cautionary tale on the dangers of cultism. In particular, the "settlers establish a small town in the middle of nowhere and attempt to build a society on the foundations of teamwork and equality, only to be corrupted by the egomania and paranoia of their leader" notion draws ''chilling'' parallels to the Peoples Temple.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Particularly in part 2, the show uses its magical setting to mask a deep discussion of the nature and problems of cultism and indoctrination.

* CounterpartComparison:
** Starlight Glimmer shows deep parallels to Amon from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', as both claim a philosophy that everyone is better off having equal abilities, and those with special powers/talents should have them stripped away; cutie marks in the case of Starlight, and elemental bending in the case of Amon. Furthermore, both Amon and Starlight secretly maintain the very abilities they seek to take away from everyone else, and in fact, use those abilities to "equalize" others. Going even further, both are outed by having a disguise washed away by water; Starlight's equals-sign mark, and Amon's purportedly-firebending-caused facial scars.
** There's also some comparing her to pre-HeelFaceTurn Sunset Shimmer due to being yet another Twilight Sparkle EvilCounterpart with a similar name. Whether she ends up like Amon or another Sunset Shimmer depends on whether she leans more towards a WellIntentionedExtremist [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans genuinely]] [[TotalitarianUtilitarian fighting for equality]] or a vain DarkMagicalGirl respectively.
** Starlight Glimmer is the leader of a town of ponies who she essentially forces to act the same [[{{Hypocrite}} while maintaining her own individuality]]. And, she wants to assimilate other ponies from across Equestria into her cult while not understanding (or even caring) that forcing everyone to be the same is a bad thing. Sounds a lot like the [[Franchise/StarTrek Borg Queen]], doesn't it?
** One could draw comparisons between her and Dolores Umbridge as well; both are soft spoken sociopaths who think their way is the only way, often have a sickeningly sweet demeanor that hides their true, evil natures, psychologically torture their subjects into submission and [[{{Hypocrite}} don't practice what they preach]].

** Heck, how ''everypony'' in that village came to join Starlight's cult is CanonFodder. Everypony has a story, and they're all begging to be written.

* BrokenBase: While reception to the episode has been mostly positive, some viewers have taken offense to it, claiming that it [[RetCon completely rewrote]] the established rules and lore about cutie marks (with the fact that one of the episode's writers was [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure M. A. Larson]] not helping this matter at all).

* LoveToHate: Starlight Glimmer is a hypocritical tyrant, she's been well-received as a villain in part because she's so good at what she does.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical:
** Starlight Glimmer preaches equality as the true means to ensure harmony by eliminating all disagreements, anyone who questions her is imprisoned and brainwashed into submission again, and the resulting society is one ruled by fear and oppression with no cultural identity. Parallels have been drawn to, among other things, communism, Marxism, and even cults.

* LoveToHate: Starlight Glimmer is a hypocritical tyrant, she's been well-received as a villain in part because she's so good at what she does... [[spoiler:At least until when she came back and we find out ''why'' she was evil in the first place, among other things]]

* VillainHasAPoint: Starlight's crusade against Cutie Marks may seem pretty evil, especially with what we're told about them, but given all the problems caused either through pseudo-class warfare between those who have it and those who don't, entire societies screwing up because someone had the bright idea to swap Cutie Marks, or even those who have ''no'' idea how their Cutie Mark works, it's pretty easy to see why Starlight can have a beef with them.

* LoveToHate: Starlight Glimmer is a hypocritical tyrant who may become a recurring villain of the series. But she's been well-received as a villain in part because she's so good at what she does.

** When Applejack gets her cutie mark back, the first thing she says is "Finally I can buck like a five-bit snake herder at an Appleloosa ranch house again!" It isn't immediately obvious to most viewers what bucking has to do with [[FreudWasRight snake herding]], or why a snake herder's services might be needed at a ranch house...but see also GeniusBonus below.

** Starlight Glimmer preaches equality as the true means to ensure harmony by eliminating all disagreements, anyone who questions her is imprisoned and brainwashed into submission again, and the resulting society is one ruled by fear and oppression with no cultural identity. Parallels have been drawn to communism, Marxism, and UsefulNotes/{{Socialism}}.
** Starlight Glimmer's town carries more insinuations of a cult or malevolent autocracy, as many have pointed out that Communism, Marxism and Socialism are about sharing wealth and resources, not the suppression of individual identity. Most of the oppression under communist states was mostly in a political sense so the ruling parties could keep power, but still not too far off from Starlight's demeanor.

* SomeAnvilsNeedtoBeDropped: Putting aside the politics of cutie marks themselves, it's a very effective cautionary tale on the dangers of cultism. In particular, the "settlers establish a small town in the middle of nowhere and attempt to build a society on the foundations of teamwork and equality, only to be corrupted by the egomania and paranoia of their leader" notion draws ''chilling'' parallels to the Peoples Temple.

--->'''Starlight:''' The staff is a piece of wood I found in the desert! It's ''my'' magic that makes all this possible! You'd all still be living your miserable lives thinking you're better than everypony else if it weren't for ''my'' magical abilities! ''I'' brought you friendship! ''I'' brought you equality! ''I created harmony!''

* {{Narm}}: Double Diamond's voice isn't so bad when he's TheDragon, but after his HeelFaceTurn it becomes rather hard to take anything he says seriously when he still sounds like a surfer lunkhead, or someone from a (different) little kid's show.

** TheReveal about Starlight Glimmer has led to this. Did she genuinely believe in her philosophy, and was being sincere when she said she only kept her cutie mark to carry out her plan, or was she just a hypocritical dictator who simply wanted power? [[spoiler: The season five finale reveals it to be the former.]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedtoBeDropped: Putting aside the politics of cutie marks themselves, it's a very effective cautionary tale on the dangers of cultism. In particular, the "settlers establish a small town in the middle of nowhere and attempt to build a society on the foundations of teamwork and equality, only to be corrupted by the egomania and paranoia of their leader" notion draws 'chilling' parallels to the Peoples Temple.

* SomeAnvilsNeedtoBeDropped: Putting aside the politics of cutie marks themselves, it's a very effective cautionary tale on the dangers of cults.

** TheReveal about Starlight Glimmer has led to this. Did she genuinely believe in her philosophy, and was being sincere when she said she only kept her cutie mark to carry out her plan, or was she just a hypocritical dictator who simply wanted power? [[Spoiler: The season five finale reveals it to be the former.]]

** TheReveal about Starlight Glimmer has led to this. Did she genuinely believe in her philosophy, and was being sincere when she said she only kept her cutie mark to carry out her plan, or was she just a hypocritical dictator who simply wanted power?

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: TheReveal about Starlight Glimmer has led to this. Did she genuinely believe in her philosophy, and was being sincere when she said she only kept her cutie mark to carry out her plan, or was she just a hypocritical dictator who simply wanted power?

%% BaseBreaker: Fans have no idea whether Starlight is supposed to represent a Communist, a Cultist, a Social Justice Warrior, or none of them. All of the above is also an acceptable answer.