| 1 | ->[[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Headscratchers Index]] |
| 2 | -->[[AC:Seasons:]] |
| 3 | --->[[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason1 Season 1]]\ |
| 4 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason2 Season 2]]\ |
| 5 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason3 Season 3]]\ |
| 6 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason4 Season 4]]\ |
| 7 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason5 Season 5]]\ |
| 8 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason6 Season 6]]\ |
| 9 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason7 Season 7]]\ |
| 10 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason8 Season 8]]\ |
| 11 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason9 Season 9]] |
| 12 | -->[[AC:Others:]] |
| 13 | --->[[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSetting Setting]]\ |
| 14 | [[Headscratchers/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicGeneralCanon General Canon]] (You are here.) |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | |
| 17 | * "I used to wonder what friendship could be…" Um, no. Twilight couldn't have cared less about friendship, before the spark. She was ''far'' too busy studying to wonder about things like ''friends''. |
| 18 | ** Well, maybe she tried to understand friendship and didn't get it. |
| 19 | ** She didn't have friends. Then Celestia told her to make friends. That's when she started wondering what friendship could be. Then she made friends with the mane cast and learned what friendship was. |
| 20 | ** Notice the past tense. When she was young she WONDERED (past tense) what friendship was. As she got more and more into studying and magic, she decided she could do without and didn't think about it anymore. Leading to the first episode where she's a tad stuck-up and believes she doesn't need friends, no longer wondering what friendship could be. |
| 21 | ** The first verse of the full version of the theme (so far found only on a Talking Twilight doll) makes the whole song much clearer: |
| 22 | --->"When I was young, I was too busy to make any friends |
| 23 | --->Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends |
| 24 | --->But My Little Ponies, you opened up my eyes |
| 25 | --->And now the truth is crystal clear, like splendid summer skies |
| 26 | --->And it's such a wonderful surprise" |
| 27 | ** The German translation renders that line as "Ich fragte wozu Freundschaft gut sein kann," roughly, "I asked (or wondered) what friendship could be ''good for''." |
| 28 | ** An interesting insight to this question occurs in "Look Before You Sleep". The adorkable glee Twilight displays at the prospect of her first ever slumber party hints that she might not have always been happy in her self-imposed exile. |
| 29 | ** All of this becomes quite interesting when you see the season 2 finale. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | * If [[MagicAIsMagicA friendship is magic]], and Twilight didn't have friends before episode one, than why was she able to use magic so well? Or at all for that matter? |
| 32 | ** Friendship is magic, but magic is not necessarily friendship. Celestia assigns Twilight to study the magic of friendship, whereas she had been studying, for example, the magic of unicorns. |
| 33 | *** This is true, considering that Trixie is also a skilled magician, but doesn't seem to have any friends, even if she ''is'' incredibly arrogant. |
| 34 | ** How about this for an explanation? Magic can function without friendship. It works on the connection that resides within all ponies towards everypony else. Friendship increases the power that a pony can draw on exponentially, though. |
| 35 | *** Apparently, any of TheFourLoves can become magic in Equestria. So far, we've seen that ''Storge'' and ''Eros'' (Family and romance, respectively) can have pretty much the same effect as ''Phileo'' (friendship). ''Agape'' (unconditional, self-sacrificing) has also cropped up, but mostly as the silent partner to the other three. |
| 36 | ** Keep in mind that she did have at least 3 close friends: Spike, Shining Armor, and Cadence. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | * Twilight seemed to want to go to the Great Galloping Gala to see Celestia. Why couldn't she have gone to Canterlot in her spare time? It's within cantering distance. |
| 39 | ** Celestia is implied to be pretty freaking busy most of the time, and given that Twilight's official assignment is to stay in Ponyville Twilight might have assumed that Celestia would frown on her pupil popping in all the time when she was supposed to be off doing other stuff. She wasn't just excited about seeing Celestia, but about spending some quality time with her, hence why she was so crushed when Celestia was basically forced to ignore her for a while. And there's also a bit of a difference between just hanging out, and attending a special, exclusive, once-a-year social function with someone. |
| 40 | ** Besides, Twilight arrived in Ponyville on a flying chariot. It's obviously not a trivial distance for anyone less than a PhysicalGoddess. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | * Apple Bloom spends three episodes to date trying to get a cutie mark, and she's asked many ponies for advice or help. She's talked to her sister, her sister's friends, her teacher, and her own friends about this frequently. Isn't it odd that we've never seen her ask her own ''brother''? |
| 43 | ** Big Macintosh might not have more to say on the subject other than "Ee-yup." |
| 44 | *** He had sound advice for his other sister that one time. |
| 45 | *** Maybe he did and like Applejack, 'Bloom didn't listen. |
| 46 | ** Because this is seen as a girl problem and maybe she doesn't think he'd understand... a more cynical response would be "That requires the writers to do more with Big Macintosh's character than say "Ee-yup". |
| 47 | ** [[http://csimadmax.deviantart.com/gallery/27895270?offset=48#/d36lh5a This is probably what would happen.]] |
| 48 | *** That only raises more headscratchers: In "Call of the Cutie", we see Twilight Sparkle's attempts to magic a cutie mark onto Apple Bloom fail as her flank immediately re-blanks itself. But is it just an anti-magic field, or do a pony's hindquarters also nullify any physical act of tattooing, or dyeing, or even pasting another image on? Is it just the fact that Twilight tried to change what markings Apple Bloom would have permanently, in which case only tattoos might be rejected? This is the sort of thing the Cutie Mark Crusaders should investigate. |
| 49 | *** Maybe it does the nullifying part in order to prevent cheating. Doesn't apply to putting race numbers on (as seen in Sonic Rainboom). |
| 50 | *** You have to think about what Twilight was trying to do. She couldn't have been casting a spell for drawing random images, or for specific images while selecting a new random image each time. She wasn't just trying to make tattoo by magic. She would have noticed the ethical implications of doing that, for one. "There, your life-long destiny is to act on this random picture I made." She could only have been trying to make a real Cutie Mark appear, to tap Apple Bloom's latent potential to have one. Since Apple Bloom hadn't earned hers yet, it makes sense what appeared were random possibilities the mark might have been, but which also didn't last. So, the evidence hardly suggests the ponies come with magic for wiping out images from their flanks. What they have makes the specific kind of images appear, and when invoked ahead of it time like that, it doesn't last. |
| 51 | ** Because the cutie mark is a metaphor for puberty, and boys and girls generally don't talk to each other about that. Even the parts that are the same for both genders. (Besides, even though the male horses get cutie marks too, the show is intentionally highlighting it specifically as relevant to girls. Can you think of anything that happens to human girls where they just wake up one morning and something significant to their adult lives has magically appeared and is visible to everyone?) |
| 52 | *** So, cutie marks are tits? That makes the show.... even more odd. |
| 53 | *** ^Breasts don't develop overnight/in an instance. The best answer is that there isn't a fair comparison between Ponies and humans. This troper found it easier to compare it to losing one's first tooth, because sometimes, it is seen as a rite of passage. (The episode actually reminded this troper of an old Arthur episode.) |
| 54 | ** Wouldn't it be more reasonable to assume that Twilight, the more-or-less adult pony in the situation, would only be doing it to prove a point to Apple Bloom? In reality whether or not Twilight could make a permanent cutie mark seems irrelevant, as she nows Apple Bloom needs to earn her mark honestly, and wouldn't make her a permanent cutie mark anyway. |
| 55 | ** Eh...I don't know if it's really a metaphor for puberty. It's more about finding your place in the world. |
| 56 | *** It could easily be both. Remember, Apple Bloom was upset that the other girls had their cutie marks and she didn't. Tell me, how common is it for real life girls to get upset that their friends have found their place in the world and they haven't? It easily ties into puberty as well as the concept of "finding yourself". |
| 57 | *** Definitely both. Remember what the party was called? a "Cuteceañera". This comes straight from the Spanish traditions of a "Quinceañera" (15th birth year), which is a gigantic celebration of upcoming womanhood. |
| 58 | ** OK, so cutie marks are a reflection of somepony's special gift and they get them around puberty. Yet the cutie marks, more often than not, coincide with their names, which apparently they get at birth. The Apple clan all have apple-related marks. So are the cutie marks completely dependent on a pony's talents, or are they guided by bloodlines? |
| 59 | *** My guess is that the cutie mark represents the pony's talent as the pony himself would express, and thus taking into account his preferences and upbringing. For example, there are numerous ponies with cooking-related cutie marks, many of them different and each apparently related to the bearer's upbringing. |
| 60 | |
| 61 | * Why does Twilight always seem frightened of Celestia and letting her down? I mean, this could be hero worship, but she always seems like if one little thing wrong, Celestia will rain the wrath down from the heavens, when in reality Celestia is a very kind, patient, VERY understanding, even when Twilight screws up royally. I mean, shouldn't she know of all people that Celestia is a LOT more Understanding than she gives credit for? |
| 62 | ** Well, Celestia did banish her own sister to the moon for a thousand years. You don't trifle with gods, no matter how friendly they act. |
| 63 | *** Keep your friends close, and your potential usurpers even closer? |
| 64 | *** To be fair, that's a very different set of circumstances entirely, given Nightmare Moon is also very powerful, and had to be stopped. Banishing her is preferable to other methods for stopping her from trying to bring down eternal night on Equestria. I seriously doubt Celestia would ever actually want to banish someone to the moon like that. If she was left with no choice, that would explain why she would do it. Twilight Sparkle (and Rainbow Dash, during one of her panic attacks in 'Sonic Rainboom') are far more afraid of Celestia than they should be. Celestia doesn't even bat an eyelid when Pinkie Pie eats one of Celestia's cupcakes right in front of her (although Mr. and Mrs. Cake end up going into a panic, and have to be trolled to calm them down). Celestia only got even remotely angry when Philomena went missing, but she was surprised to think that someone could think of the punishment Twilight Sparkle thought of (banished somewhere else and thrown in a dungeon). |
| 65 | ** True, but she doesn't really need to be frightened from where I stand, too. If anything, Twilight Sparkle is one of the closest people in Princess Celestia's inner circle as her apprentice, and would probably know the most about her before having come to Ponyville. |
| 66 | ** As [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Bill Watterson]] once said, and i'm paraphrasing: You die a thousand deaths before you even get punished when you're a kid. While Twilight's a bit older, she's also introverted and as much as she knows the princess, she's also awkward enough that she is scared that if she fails in doing something for the princess, that she'll fail the princess. While Celestia has shown endless patience of anything short of "trying to drown the world in darkness" and even then she was forgiving. Twilight, like a kid, flat out panics when the punishment is usually non-existent, it's just part of her personality. |
| 67 | ** Twilight doesn't just act that way around Celestia. She freaks out about possibly upsetting her friends in Boast Busters and The Ticket Master. Compare to, say, Rainbow Dash, who worries about failing and being mocked, but not her friends being disappointed in her. |
| 68 | ** Remember the episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' (an earlier project Lauren Faust worked on) where [[{{Satan}} Him]] made the girls' worst fears come true, and it was revealed that Blossom's worst fear amounted to, "If I weren't smart anymore and start getting questions wrong in school, then no one will love me anymore, and I will be cast down into Hell"? It's like that. Twilight's just as insecure about failing her beloved mentor, Celestia, as Blossom was about not being smart enough. |
| 69 | ** Twilight is kind of insecure. It's irrational, but since when has insecurity really been a rational feeling? |
| 70 | ** Plus, Twilight regards Celestia and their relationship highly for any number of reasons. Even if you know someone is kind and understanding, when you hold that level of respect, you don't want to fail them and disappoint them because -you- feel bad about it. |
| 71 | ** As the others have said, irrational fear and insecurity can certainly fit. I've been working at a rather industrial bread factory for several months, and while I don't ''panic'', I do feel rather self-conscious and uncomfortable about it any time I waste a bread's worth of dough, even though I know that every day several ''tonnes'' are thrown away. |
| 72 | ** Celestia saw fit to banish her own sister to lonely prison for a millennium, turned Discord into immobile, yet aware statue for even longer, and shattered Sombra's self, turning him into mere shadow of his former self, sealing his maddened form into ice. Kind, you say? It's hard to hind *villains* more ruthless at enemy disposal, and these are only cases we heard about. Twilight might well have legitimate reasons to fear her, no matter how diplomatic face Celestia presents in public. |
| 73 | *** Sending Luna to the moon was a last resort, either she banished her or the night would go on forever, killing everything. There is no evidence that Discord was aware the first time, just when Twilight and the others sealed him, and even then he only claimed to hear Celestia, not being completelly aware. Sombra was a mutual action between her and Luna(And so was imprisoning Discord, for that matter) |
| 74 | *** Well, being half a ruthless duo still makes you potentially someone to be feared. If Discord could hear Celestia the whole imprisonment, he must have been conscious and aware from the start, especially seeing he was supposedly ruler of Equestria. As for Luna being last resort, first, unicorns can raise the sun even if Celestia's power is tied nullifying her sister, second, why it had to be a millennium? Why not 20 years? 50? 100? Luna was still banished for extraordinary, extra long period and imprisoned in a place where she was banished to, just like Twilight and Fluttershy feared. |
| 75 | *** We don't know the exact details of how Nightmare Moon imprisonment came to be. If you're extrapolating and making assumptions to condemn Celestia, is just as easy to make them to defend her. Discord was "ruler" of Equestria in the sense that he did whatever he wanted and no one opposed him, until Luna and Celestia did. We don't know how many Unicorns are need to raise the sun/moon, but by the legend, is evident that if one sister doesn't lower the sun/moon, the other can't do it. Why 1000 years? Several reasons: It was the only way the spell worked, the prophecy said that's the time when Twilight and the others would be around to free Luna, it was punishment for the deaths Nightmare Moon caused... there is no canon answer, and anyone can basically think whatever they want. MY own personal opinion is that Celestia *had* to be ruthless to protect her subjects, and all the characters that she(and Luna) have defeated and sealed, ''deserved'' to be punished, how do you wanted them to react after someone threatened their kingdom and their beloved subjects? |
| 76 | *** The legend states that Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon forever, but the prophecy said the stars would aid in her escape. The spell Celestia used might have had a permanent duration (let's be fair, Luna was out of control, and the only options that didn't involve the apocalypse were kill Luna or banish her), but the stars would align in 1000 years allowing her escape. |
| 77 | *** Twilight fears Celestia ''punishing her''. So does Fluttershy, for that matter. And for what it's worth, I always assumed the stars aligning to aid in Nightmare Moon's escape referred to Twilight's cutie mark: she's got one star for each of the Mane Six, and it was their coming together that lead to ''Luna's'' escape, not from the moon, but from her jealousy-driven evil side. |
| 78 | *** Welp, its now the end of the fourth season and we've had every chance to observe Celestia's behavior under multiple circumstances, and even see the scene (in flashback) where she banishes Luna. Its quite abundantly clear that if Celestia has any flaws its that she's too prone to mercy and extending trust whenever she sees half a chance (even to ''Discord'', of all people), that banishing Luna was an act of desperation vs. an implacable and at least half-maddened foe that broke Celestia's heart like nothing else she's ever done, and that her love for Twilight Sparkle is wholly unconditional even when Twilight is doing things like going temporarily insane and mind raping all of Ponyville. Twilight's fear of the alleged consequences of her disappointing Celestia is ''entirely'' irrational. But, well, that's our lovable neurotic nerd alicorn for you. |
| 79 | * Anyone else notice that all the Princess' Guards are all white, male, pegasi? |
| 80 | ** Other people have noticed. A common theory around the fandom is that there's an enchant somewhere on the guard armor that turns their coat white, giving them a more uniform look. Though since pretty much the only guards we've seen are Celestia's personal guard, they could be hand(hoof?)-picked by Celestia herself. White, male pegasi might be what she likes. |
| 81 | ** The openning shows dark gray unicorn guards. People complained it was racist. |
| 82 | *** The gray unicorn guards also appear in Twilight's flashback in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". |
| 83 | *** So, the guard pegasi are white-coated and the guard unicorns are grey-coated. It has been suggested on 4chan that the armor which grants uniform coat coloration also grants uniform size and musculature. This would free up the recruiters to look for the most loyal ponies who are willing to fight and die for Equestria, even if they're not in the best of shape ala Steve Rogers, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. (This also means some of the guards might be [[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} mares in disguise]].) |
| 84 | ** This kind of raises the question, where does she find all these identical ponies? Does she have a breeding program? Do they all have the same cutie mark? |
| 85 | *** Fan-lore says the guards bleach. It'd be analogous to a uniform and a military haircut. |
| 86 | ** The unicorns don't seem to leave Canterlot, so my guess would be that the dark grey unicorns are palace guards or Canterlot city guards, and the white pegasi are Celestia's personal guard. |
| 87 | *** Pretty much this. Whenever Celestia goes outside Canterlot, the pegasus guards come with her because they can FLY and pull her chariot. Unicorns and earth ponies would not be able to do that, so that's the likely reason the pegasi accompany her outside of Canterlot. |
| 88 | ** It's to play on the LightIsGood aspect. When Luna makes her grand appearance in Luna Eclipsed, her chariot is pulled by dark-themed pegasus ponies, so it's probably for aesthetics. |
| 89 | *** Luna's Guards have leathery wings, so either there's some other kind of pegasi with different wings, or else some disguise magic is used as a kind of uniform. |
| 90 | |
| 91 | * So what ''is'' Twilight's relationship with Princess Celestia? She seems to regard her as a surrogate parent figure...except she has real parents whom she presumably keeps in contact with. Is Princess Celestia a mentor? Then why does Twilight seem to be ridiculously terrified at the prospect of disappointing or upsetting her, since Celestia has pretty much shown regularly that, at least when it comes to the Mane cast, she's very much a ReasonableAuthorityFigure? |
| 92 | ** Well she's definitely Twilight's mentor. Even though Twilight does have real parents, Celestia could still be a surrogate parent of a sort. It seems that Twilight has been living away from home and studying under Celestia for years. As for Twilight being terrified of disappointing her, don't kids usually want their parents to approve of them. Imagine for a moment that your mom told you she was coming to visit you and meet your friends (assuming of course that you live away from home). Wouldn't you be a bit worried and hope that she will approve of your friends? Compound this with the fact that Celestia is their ruler (and a god!), and I think that her worries, though irrational, should not be unexpected. |
| 93 | *** Also, Twilight has repeatedly demonstrated a tendency to catastrophize situations. While Celestia has always acted reasonably in the show, one of Twilight's character flaws is to assume situations are or will become far worse than they actually are. Note how Twilight Sparkle tries to sneak into the star-swirl the beareded wing of Canterlot's library when none of the guards would even consider denying her access, or how during Boast Busters she assumes her friends will hate her for using her magical talents to put the braggart Trixie in her place. She simply can't stop herself from catastrophizing whenever something the tiniest bit negative happens. |
| 94 | *** For those who have never had a private teacher, the relationship between teacher and student is something very different when the teacher has only one or a very small number of pupils. The teacher becomes not only a teacher, but also a mentor, older sibling and confidant. There are several examples of this kind of relationship in fiction: ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' (Paul and Gurney), ''Film/TheKarateKid'' (Danny and Mr. Miyagi), ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' (Usagi and Katsuichi) just to name a few. |
| 95 | |
| 96 | * Shouldn't Rainbow Dash be incredibly famous in Ponyville, if not in all of Equestria? According to series canon, she's the only pegasus to EVER break the sound barrier (the "Sonic Rainboom"), and she didn't do it just once, but twice! |
| 97 | ** She has a fanclub as seen in the mare-do-well episode. |
| 98 | ** Yes. Yes she should. If not in Ponyville than at least in Cloudsdale. I'd suggest that a future episode could involve her going back to Cloudsdale and learning she's a celebrity, but that would probably just be a repeat of "Green Isn't Your Color". Actually, all of the mane cast ''should'' be famous for saving Equestria, but chances are no one outside of Ponyville (besides Celestia and Luna, of course) knows that they were the ones who did it. The residents of Ponyville might not even know if they didn't bother tell anyone (but knowing Rainbow's personality, she'd probably let everyone know). |
| 99 | ** Moreover, shouldn't ALL 6 be famous for saving their world from Nightmare Moon? |
| 100 | *** Rainbow Dash doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would enjoy celebrity. She loves showing off and impressing people, but the things that come with it (expectation, lack of privacy, people telling her what to do, too many rules, not enough nap time) would drive her up the wall in the end. Her fame was likely dimmed by the fact that after Sonic Rainboom she just fled right back to Ponyville and continued doing odd jobs in what is pretty much the equivalent of Nowhereville, North Dakota, which is likely exactly what she wanted. Her desire to join the wonderbolts is pretty much so she can hang out with some awesome ponies and pull off sweet tricks, not fame persay. As for saving Equestria, I wonder if that wasn't entirely attributed to Twilight (who does seem rather well known), along with the actual details being mostly unknown to anyone who wasn't directly involved. |
| 101 | *** It wouldn't surprise me if there were an episode where Rainbow Dash is invited to perform with the Wonderbolts, but finds out it's a lot more work than she expected. Then again, we've already had an episode where Fluttershy learns she hates fame. And Ponyville is hardly Nowhereville. It was important enough for Celestia to visit the Summer Sun Celebration held there. Actually, seeing how close it is to the old castle, it could have been part of the capital before it moved to Canterlot (Is that in WMG yet?). And I doubt Twilight would let people give her all the credit and ignore her friends. If anything, people might assume Celestia showed up and saved the day. |
| 102 | ** There might be a factor of "no man is a hero to his butler" for Rainbow Dash. The citizens of Ponyville know she's amazing, but also know she's lazy and has a big head about things, so they don't treat her as a revered celebrity. The ponies of Canterlot are snooty and urbane enough to pretend to be unimpressed because she's an outsider. She probably would be pretty famous in Cloudsdale; but she doesn't spend a lot of time there. |
| 103 | ** From a Doyleist standpoint, the mane cast can't have normal lives if everyone treats them like celebrities. So they don't. |
| 104 | ** Perhaps Celestia engineered a cover-up to prevent evil beings from trying to get at the Elements. |
| 105 | ** They have two, not one, two separate stained glass windows in Celestia's palace depicting them, explicitly, defeating both Nightmare Moon and Discord. In addition, after the Discord thing, they had that big Star Wars-styled ceremony in their honor with lots of ponies in attendance. Yet, later, when Rarity is visiting Canterlot in "Sweet and Elite" and before she lucks into hanging out with Fancypants, and even afterward when the other five show up at the party, all of the upper-crust ponies are like "Who are these hick ponies rednecking up our fancy party?" And Fancypants himself just goes "I, for one, find them charmingly rustic" rather than more realistically being all "HOLY SHIT, you're the guys that beat Nightmare Moon and Discord and had that big ceremony honoring you the other day and have two separate stained glass windows in Princess Celestia's palace depicting your deeds WOW it's totally an honor and a privilege to have you guys attend our party here!" |
| 106 | *** Same reason for Mario's status in Paper Mario. Despite living near Toad Town, and of course, having saved the world countless times, people still treat him like a normal citizen, nor do they ever swarm him. I suppose being swarmed by crazed fans would interfere in one's job. |
| 107 | *** It's not a matter of being swarmed by crazed fans, it's a matter of being recognized ''at all''. In Mario's case, for the most part, the citizens of Toad Town and the like still at least acknowledge that, hey, look, it's Mario. Most of them have at least heard of him and are familiar with what he's done for the Mushroom Kingdom, even if they don't go into rabid foaming-at-the-mouth hysterics whenever he walks by. He's not (usually) regarded as just some random bum in a plumber outfit. Even Luigi tends to get a bit of recognition, even if half the time it's just people mistaking him for Mario or whatever. |
| 108 | *** Bear in mind, also, that the stained glass windows are in Celestia's palace. It's not a public area, so I doubt most of Canterlot's citizens have even seen them. In addition, even if they were at the celebrations, they might not have necessarily known what's going on or recognize them up-close. Bear in mind that in this setting, the most advanced means of wide information dispersal is the newspaper. At that level of technology, even the United States President would not be recognizable to most people if he just wandered to some faraway town all by himself. Even now, someone like Barack Obama would call attention to himself because there's a huge radius of security around him more so than his physical appearance or even his clothing. |
| 109 | ** Some episodes, not just the [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]], ''do'' acknowledge the Mane Six as Very Important Ponies. But come next episode, they'll merely be portrayed as small town hicks struggling to get by. The inconsistency of the Mane Six's notoriety or lack thereof is what gets to me. |
| 110 | * The first chapter book reveals that Twilight '''''is''''' very famous in Equestria even before becoming a princess. This one of the reasons she prefers to live Ponyville as she uncomfortable with her new status, a fact pointed out in Equestria Girls. |
| 111 | ** It's lovely that Twilight is renowned, but what about her friends? They're the reason she became a princess thus they should be at least almost as famous, especially Rarity and Rainbow since they actively seek admiration that they deserve. While the other three don't seem to have any use for fame and power, they still demand respect. I probably shouldn't be saying anything before Princess Twilight's first season even airs, but given the show's track record on this subject as discussed above, I am rather skeptical about the effect Twilight's princesshood will have on her Ponyville friends' endeavors and popularity. |
| 112 | ** Well, at the end of season four, [[spoiler:Twilight's treehouse turns into a castle and all her friends, including Spike, are given thrones, which inidicates that they ''are'' seen as almost important as Princess Twilight, so a lot of the above could be moot come season five.]] |
| 113 | |
| 114 | * This is a small one, but I've seen some people claim that most unicorns can only use their telekinesis on things directly related to their talents... But does the show actually say this anywhere? The closest thing I can think of is "Boast Busters", where Spike and Twilight mention that most unicorns only gain a small number of spells related to their talents, but nothing is mentioned about limits on their ability to move things with their horns. |
| 115 | ** Telekinesis does appear to be the default use of unicorn magic. Everything else is either spell-like abilities related to your talent / Cutie Mark, or spells learned and cast from books. |
| 116 | ** The "Cutie Mark Chronicles", when Rarity's magic was triggered, she found gems. When Twilight's magic was triggered, she did about fifteen separate things without meaning to and had to be stopped. They never say it outright, but it's pretty heavily implied that specific telekinesis is a given, while wide-ranged magic is... odd. |
| 117 | ** Rarity's Dumb Rock Event was her innate, talent-related ability to find gems going off. Most Unicorns innately gain their abilities related to their cutie marks. Twilight's talent IS magic, so her first big release was magical energy at its rawest, which could be shaped into whatever abilities could be conceived (As seen with the gem-finding spell in ''A Dog and Pony Show'') hence Celestia taking notice of her potential. All unicorns seem to pick up basic cantrips like simple telekinesis and light(Snails), but their strongest abilities come from their talents. |
| 118 | |
| 119 | * Why can't Spike fly? I think since G1 he didn't have wings, but I'd like to know if he'll grow wings when he grows up or what? |
| 120 | ** Spike may be a wingless dragon, in Twilight flashback in CMC we see picture of adult dragon of Spike race, it looked same as other dragons but no wings. |
| 121 | ** Alternately, Spike could merely have been enlarged by the spell, instead of matured, and he may grow his wings at a later age. |
| 122 | *** No, I was referring to that picture, not enlarged Spike. |
| 123 | *** It IS possible that the picture was just supposed to represent a young/baby dragon. |
| 124 | ** Fans have theorized that just like how there are different kinds of ponies (earth, pegasus, unicorn) there are also different kinds of dragons, each with their own skill and specialties. The wingless kind like spike are larger and stronger than others (let's call them thunder-lizards), horned dragons who have wings and can fly are more lithe and faster (how about... pterosaurs), and water dragons who look like eastern dragons and can control the elements (leviathans, maybe). |
| 125 | *** I assumed he was some kind of earth dragon with how well he was able to dig in the diamond dogs episode. I mean he even used his tail as a shovel and I dont recall many of the other dragons having a spade-shaped tail.(Then again I never actually looked.) |
| 126 | ** He eventually gets wings in season 8. |
| 127 | |
| 128 | * So, is it me or do the ponies don't age much. They're either small, chibi-like fillies and colts or their VagueAge pony versions. |
| 129 | ** Same reason Bart Simpson is still 10? |
| 130 | ** I didn't mean it like that. They're adults, but its like they only go through two life stages. They're either the former or the latter. |
| 131 | *** Filly Fluttershy looks older and ganglier than the other fillies, so there are in-between stages. |
| 132 | *** Don't forget Snips and Snails. |
| 133 | *** Pipsqueak is also different. He is smaller than any of the other kids (fillies/colts). |
| 134 | *** And there's also Granny Smith. |
| 135 | *** Flim and Flam seem to be somewhere in between the Mane Cast and Granny Smith in age, if their body shape and legs are anything to go by. |
| 136 | ** Mainly, it's probably just a result of the animators not bothering to work with so many body types. In the first season, there were basically "foal, adult, old" body types, because the animators had enough other stuff to do. That's also why the majority of adult ponies all have the same body types; Faust actually said at one point she wanted more variety, but it would have overworked the animators. When the second and third seasons roll around and their budget got a bump, there are far more different types of ponies. |
| 137 | ** In "Where The Apple Lies," Applejack gets a gangly preteen/teen-looking form as opposed to her shorter, more bodily proportionate filly form in "Cutie Mark Chronicles." |
| 138 | |
| 139 | * Ok about the elements of harmony, doesn't Rainbow Dash posses the element of "loyalty" and Applejack the element of "honesty" In my opinion Rainbow Dash is the most honest out of all of them (example : telling Rarity she was the laughingstock of Ponyville after her failed fashion show) and Applejack is more loyal (example : not giving up on Fluttershy in the episode "Dragon Shy" when Rainbow Dash wanted to leave Fluttershy behind). I really think the two ponies elements are switched. |
| 140 | ** In the first episodes, they fit their respective elements very well. I don't think a momentary laps of these qualities means anything. also, this might be Hasbro's fault as they denied the idea or a continuing story arc. some of the writers might have just forgotten as a result. |
| 141 | ** Heck, maybe the elements of harmony attune to people based on the actions they've performed ''that day'', rather than fundamental character traits. |
| 142 | ** Rainbow Dash is more honest because she doesn't think before she speaks rather than deeply engrained loyalty. Consider Party of One- Dash refused to give up on crazy Pinkie, but had no problem making up a story earlier. |
| 143 | *** That's called being blunt, honesty is more than merely saying the truth, it also involves having an open life, one that isn't hard to figure out, an overall straightforward attitude in conversations (no deceit, no misdirection, no manipulation) and a will to help others improve by pointing out their flaws. Applejack has issues lying when need be (which is her element's weakness), but being a better liar definitely does not mean Rainbow Dash is more honest. |
| 144 | ** One could also argue that in Dragonshy, Rainbow Dash was being loyal to her friends, since 1) Fluttershy didn't want to be there and 2) Up until she stared down the dragon, Fluttershy had been TheLoad and had repeatedly delayed their journey and endangered herself and Rainbow's other friends. |
| 145 | ** I agree with the original poster that their elements don't really fit them. In "Applebuck Season" Applejack even identifies herself as the most LOYAL and DEPENDABLE of ponies. Her line in the theme song is also "faithful and strong." In "The Ticket Master," Applejack's reasons for wanting to go to the GGG were helping her family; fixing the barn, replacing the plow, fixing her Granny's hip, while Rainbow's reasons were purely selfish. She wanted a chance to impress the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash always comes off as a little selfish. In "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well," she was more loyal to herself than the ponies she was actually saving. And her entire dream about joining the Wonderbolts kind of implies that if she was actually offered a position, she would leave Ponyville, and subsequently her friends, behind. |
| 146 | *** Applejack is loyal, maybe even more so than Rainbow Dash, but the opposite is not true. What's the alternative? That AJ becomes Loyalty, and RD becomes Honesty, which definitely does not suit her. Besides, she claimed her loyalty was to the princess, not her friends. As much as the current setting seems flawed, it's also the best, because the alternative doesn't make sense either. RD's loyal, blindly so at times, but that's.... really all she has when it comes to friendship. Recent episodes have shown facets of her personality that would make previous antagonists jealous by comparison. |
| 147 | *** The pilot shows her sticking with her friends instead of being the best, and Wonderbolts Academy shows she's willing to give up her dream to stay loyal to her friends and values. Also, she has been loyal countless times, like standing up to Fluttershy in the past, sticking for her friends and defending them from Gilda, saving Rarity after she made her more nervous than before, was only defeated by Discord by being divided by loyalties, meaning she was still being loyal to her home, being the most intent on getting AJ back in The Last Roundup, wanting to save Spike in Dragon Quest, and wanted Fluttershy to be with her and overcome her fears in Hurricane Fluttershy. |
| 148 | *** Shazzba had a really [[http://shazzbaa.tumblr.com/post/17644330485/my-little-pony-the-elements-of-harmony interesting theory]] about this. In short? The Elements represent what each of the mane six values the most about friendship. |
| 149 | *** I agree with this one the most, because its similar to the explanation for why the Digi-destined in Digimon Season one, had their crests, it represented what they needed, not what they possessed and both seem to fit IMHO. |
| 150 | ** Rainbow Dash is blunt, but she's not ''honest''. She's ''constantly'' hiding her insecurities and weakness behind bravado and puts herself on a huge pedestal. She isn't honest about how she truly feels if she thinks it'll make her seem weak, and also cheated in her competition with Applejack. Applejack is a much more ''genuine'' pony, and is a lot more ''honest'' with who she is. Also, Rainbow has had constant feats of loyalty, like sticking up to Gilda, saving Rarity, defending young Fluttershy in the past, being the most intent on finding Applejack, helping Applejack against the Flim Flam brothers even if they could give her cider, wanting Fluttershy to be with her and overcome her fears, etc. Also, Applejack rarely lies, and when she does, it's often by omission or telling the truth with logical loopholes. |
| 151 | ** Honesty is important and a value of life to Applejack, but to RD it's a personality trait/a passing care. |
| 152 | *** The above is correct. They're not their respective elements because they behave a certain way the most of any pony, but because those elements are a fundamental part of that pony's personal values. Applejack may tell lies from time to time but those lies eat away at her until she tells the truth because she understands on a deeply personal level that telling lies is bad and being honest is important. Rainbow Dash does not have that, she's happy to lie for as long as she can get away with it. |
| 153 | |
| 154 | * Why do so many of the Background Ponies have such stupid voices when they speak? Bon-Bon (though in her "Green" cameo she had a normal voice), Colgate, Carrot-Top, etc. |
| 155 | ** Depends what you call "stupid". For me those voices are not stupid. And the reason for this is that they are only extras with no set VA for them so they got a random available actor to record some lines. |
| 156 | *** Also, remember that voices for this cartoon are recorded before the animation is completed, and background ponies are almost always chosen at random (but they like using Bon-bon for some reason), so no one in the booth knows which background pony is going to say which line. |
| 157 | ** "Stupid" as in being at least very unusual. They always sound droopy, low pitched, slurred, and different from the other ponies. |
| 158 | *** Main characters are done by professional [=VAs=] - minor characters are done by random staff members. |
| 159 | *** Wrong. Background ponies are often as not just pickup lines from the main VA's (especially Libman, Ball, and Weseluck). They would use really crazy voices to avoid sounding anything like their principal characters. |
| 160 | |
| 161 | * Why do the characters refer to their manes as "hair"? |
| 162 | ** Because it's... like hair? |
| 163 | ** Because it's made of hair? |
| 164 | ** Because it ''is'' hair! |
| 165 | ** They do often simply say "mane" instead. "Hair" is probably a hiccup on the scriptwriters' part, like how sometimes they'll say "everybody" instead of "every''pony''" or something to that effect. |
| 166 | ** A tail is not a mane. Mane and tail is hair. |
| 167 | * How do Ponies age? Like our horses, right? |
| 168 | ** No, they are not like our horses, they propably aging similar to humans or maybe they had longer lives (look previous entry) |
| 169 | *** Any proof? I know in the original series the Earth Ponies are more or less just talking horses. |
| 170 | *** Well first off, we know that Celestia is over 1000 years old. I wouldn't be surprised if the normal ponies also age in a non-realistic manner, probably similar to humans. |
| 171 | *** 'Sort of' WordOfGod (Lauren seemed relucant to establish firm canon on the subject) is that they age faster than humans. Personally I'm of the '40 - 50 years' camp, but there's no real evidence. I doubt there ever will be. |
| 172 | ** Well, consider the fact that this is a world populated by sentient ponies who have developed culture, science, and magic. Humans today live MUCH longer than humans of the past because for hundreds of years, we've been developing treatments and cures for human ailments. It would make sense for ponies with our same level of intelligence and ability to do the same, but for pony ailments. |
| 173 | ** Granny Smith seems to be at least a hundred years old, based on how old Ponyville is. |
| 174 | |
| 175 | * is "bits" the name of Equestria's currency? it may just be slang like it real life but money in this show has never been called anything else. |
| 176 | ** It appears to be. Then again "bits" is an actual unit of money, just was never produced in the USA. A bit is 1/8 of the main unit of currency, like the dollar. |
| 177 | *** In the US, "two bits" is old timey slang for fifty cents. ([[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Shave and a haircut, two bits!]], for instance. |
| 178 | ** In ''My Little Pony Tales'' the money was called "Jangles", but considering they still lived in "Ponyland" back then, there's a chance the name of the currency has changed too. |
| 179 | ** This is probably another of the show's equestrian puns, it's just a little less obvious than most. In equestrian nomenclature, the bit is the (usually metal) part of a bridle that goes in the pony's mouth. |
| 180 | *** That puts a whole new spin on the phrase, "Putting your money where your mouth is." |
| 181 | *** There is also a photographer in "Green Isn't Your Color" (and other episodes) with a dollar sign for a cutie mark, as well as mention of dollars in a few scattered episodes (though I forget which). Filthy Rich's cutie mark is three sacks with dollar signs on them, and he wears a necktie with a dollar sign. (I cannot make out Stinking Rich's cutie mark.) On the other hand, Spike is paid in gems and pays for things in gems in "Just for Sidekicks." Equestria's currency either comes in many forms (this happens in real life too, with currencies from many parts of the world used interchangeably), or, more likely, there was never a consensus among the creative team about what they use for money so every writer has his or her own idea. |
| 182 | |
| 183 | * What is the level of Equestria's technology? most of the time, it seems Victorian era at the latest but then we have the brainwave monitor from "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and in "Call of the Cutie", Apple Bloom says that the Apple Family takes credit. the latter would seem to imply not only credit cards but scanners. |
| 184 | ** RuleOfFunny. |
| 185 | ** I was hoping for more of a straight-forward answer. |
| 186 | ** They obviously have some kind of SchizoTech, but it mostly follows the RuleOfFunny, as in, sometimes things just exist for a sight gag. There probably isn't a better explaination. |
| 187 | ** In fictional works, any modern society where magic exists tends to be farther behind technologically, or at least have only developed technology where magic can't solve all the problems. There's probably a trope for this, I'm just not sure what to search for. |
| 188 | ** "Credit" is a concept that's been around FAR longer than credit cards. In the old days, in small towns where everyone knew each other, it was common practice to allow customers to purchase goods on credit -- which, back then, usually just meant that the store owner could rely on the customer to pay them back at a later date. The term carried on into the 20th century, where it was typically used in reference to bank loans; this is reflected in the term "credit rating" which we still use today. |
| 189 | ** I'd agree that it's firmly in RuleOfFunny SchizoTech. At first, things seem to be a pony- and magic-filled version of, say, 18th or 19th century (Western) life. Then you have Twilight's EKG, Pinkie's pedal-powered helicopter, Rarity's non-pedal-powered sewing machine and hairdryers, the Crusaders talking about cannon and power tools ... |
| 190 | ** If you need an in-universe explanation, I'm gonna quote myself from higher up the page: Since a lot of the work can be done by magical means, most areas in the world probably have no use for technology. Only towns with a low population of one of the kinds of ponies would need technology to supplement their need. Because the need for this is so low, there is no centralized production and every town has to make the tech for itself, resulting in different levels of technology per town. In addition, each town we've seen is rather passionate about their identity, which would probably explain the massive cultural differences. And if you want a more meta reason: the settings are designed to fit the story, not the other way around. |
| 191 | ** Out-of-universe: WordOfGod has stated that writers should avoid using "modern" technology though it is not forbidden to include to make a story or joke work, as well as to establish some sense of familiarity to the younger viewer: hence why we have elements like flashlights. However, writers shouldn't be lazy to include, say, a washing machine when non-powered tech (a washboard) works for the same joke/story element. Lauren's also stated that if there ''is'' something electrical, just think of it that a unicorn mechanic put a whole bunch of magic into it in the past. |
| 192 | ** In-universe: steam power seems completely likely: we have the steam engine train in the S2 opening, there's the spa, there's Fluttershy's radiator, Spike uses up all the hot water for his shower, etc. Perhaps Ponyville, situated where it is near a large mountain range, sits on a geothermal pocket, which would make steam-driven mechanical generators to drive things like basic plumbing, hot water, and heat. Also a good source of wind energy (the windmill). All that could be made that, where appropriate, each home and building has a simple electricity generator running off steam for lights and other equipment. Not efficient if you translated it to a real world technology, but its not like Ponyville's suffering from global warming yet... |
| 193 | ** "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" establishes that Ponyville has a hydroelectric dam nearby. And they have modern construction equipment to build a multi-story building. |
| 194 | *** That episode is nothing but evidence for SchizoTech. The dam had some sort of artifice attached to it, but there's no evidence of any of the infrastructure necessary for it to be an electrical generating facility. Look at pictures of actual hydroelectric dams--there's a lot of utility lines leading from them. We've never seen powerlines in the show, either on the dam itself, or anywhere in Ponyville. I like the explanation somebody on Blog/EquestriaDaily came up with, that the dam was generating some other type of energy for some esoteric purpose. And that construction site is ''all kinds'' of wrong. The crane is ''wood'' ferfuxsake. I can't tell you it's outright impossible for a construction crane to be wood, but it definitely wouldn't look like the crane in the show. The building is too high for the type of wood-frame construction they show--actual buildings in that height range would be steel- or concrete-framed (today) or masonry (historically). The show has always been really loose in worldbuilding, often because they need to make it recognizable for the show's target audience. |
| 195 | *** Well, that would certainly explain why the half-finished frame collapsed so easily! |
| 196 | *** Electrical devices could be powered by magical batteries--think of AA-cell glowing crystals that last months or years in heavy appliances. Then the dam wouldn't need power lines because it's hydromagical rather than hydroelectric--all they need is regular shipping to cart away crates of magic-infused gems. |
| 197 | *** If you look closely, you see a couple of tesla coil-like structures next to the dam. Maybe the ponies perfected Tesla's wireless electricity transfer system. |
| 198 | ** Whilst many Bronies consider a Victorian level of technology as most likely for Equestria, this troper feels that between the mentioning of tanks in May the Best Pet Win, the existance of large, elabourate airships and early-model helicopters, several ponies owning mad-scientist-esque gizmos straight out of depression era pulp fiction (specifically Twilight's computer in Pinkie Keen, Pinkie's whirlygig in Gryphon the Brushoff and Flim and Flam's Cider Squeezy 6000 device), the hydro dam and construction techniques seen in Mare Do Well and the general existance of small, clean and conveniant (bakelite?) appliances, flashlights and other devices, this troper feels it is far more likely that Equestria's technology level falls somewhere around the equivalent of 1930s to 1940s Earth. If the extremely limited use of fossil fuel powered vehicles can be explained by a lack of avaliable oil and with fast pegasi rendering aeroplanes obsolete before they're even invented (whereas helicopters might still concievably be used to lift especially heavy loads), the only compelling question mark that hangs over this, in this Troper's opinion, is the complete absence of radio, and radio might simply not be workable in Equestria due to interactions with ubiquitous magical fiels or some other effect... |
| 199 | ** If it helps, modern technology such as scissors and other items that the ponies couldn't have possibly invented (think about it: Why would a pony invent scissors that clearly don't fit their hands? even while unicorns have telekinesis, non-unicorns and other animals don't get such a luxury) themselves are most definitely from the human world. they're just items that fell from the portal and into Equestria, then replicated and mass-produced. |
| 200 | |
| 201 | * It's been established that with the exception of ones whose talents ''are'' magic, a unicorn can only do magic in relation to what their talents are. so how can the fashion and decoration inclined Rarity open doors and levitate smores with her magic? |
| 202 | ** The common belief is that all unicorns are capable of basic telekinesis. |
| 203 | *** This is pretty much proven in the show. |
| 204 | ** As for the smores, the dialogue makes it pretty clear that Rarity is always obsessing over details in everything she does, whether it's making clothes or preparing snacks. |
| 205 | ** It may be that you can ''attempt'' almost anything, its just that actions outside your talent will be more difficult. So Rarity can do a few things outside of her talent so long as they don't require alot of power. |
| 206 | ** Or that learning any type of magic outside of the area of their special talent requires hard work and practice, while magic related to their talent is fairly easy to learn. |
| 207 | ** Later seasons would have Sweetie Belle (having trained under Twilight starting in "Twilight Time") using advanced spells despite having a special talent in something else altogether. Which would all but confirm that virtually any unicorn theoretically ''could'' learn magic outside their talent, but most of them simply choose to dedicate their lives to other things. |
| 208 | |
| 209 | * It's pretty much canon that Twilight is Spike's adoptive mother and while Spike's DeadpanSnarker traits are played for laughs most of the time, he does get the occasional dirty look for it and it has sometimes bordered on JerkAss. so is Twilight one of those parents that's afraid to be tough on their kids?**To be fair, she doesn’t treat him that well..some JerkAssy nature comming from him would be kind of understandable... |
| 210 | |
| 211 | ** I think she's actually more like aCoolBigSis big sister]] to him, and the way he treats her in the series seems to prove this. That's pretty much what being a big sis is about - sometimes you're a surrogate mother, sometime you're a ButtMonkey, while mother-son relationship would rather exclude the second part. |
| 212 | ** He's her "number-one assistant", not her adopted son. Though "little brother" and "friend" also work pretty well to describe the relationship. |
| 213 | *** He's referred to as her "number-one assistant," but remember that she hatched his egg and has presumably been raising him from infancy by herself. Also, consider that they live together and that they love each other. They may not be called mother-and-son, but it seems pretty clear that that is what they are in all but name. "[[http://img.ponibooru.org/images/36/3644d29056fbb9efbe182706019b83ce You know in your heart that this is canon]]." |
| 214 | *** WordOfGod is that Celestia's the one that raised him after Twilight hatched him. So... no, Twilight is not his mother figure. |
| 215 | *** The show eventually shows that Spike was considered a part of Twilight's family and was treated like a younger sibling, although they didn't outright say it while they were growing up. |
| 216 | |
| 217 | * Going with the above info, does Spike consider Twilight's parents as his own? "Cutie Mark Chronicles" shows that Twilight was charged with raising him, however we can assume her parents did most of the work as she was only a filly. |
| 218 | ** It seems highly unlikely that Spike had significant contact with Twilight's parents. Remember, he doesn't get gifts from them on his birthday. |
| 219 | *** He grew up in their house and is considered part of their family, though his exact feelings towards them aren't made clear, he does see Twilight and Shining Armor as siblings. |
| 220 | |
| 221 | * With the exception of Cherilee and the Mane Cast, why are the ponies in town so awful to the CMC? In "Call Of The Cutie", as Apple Bloom is cornered and brutually teased, the entire room full of adults stands around smiling. In "The Show Stoppers", they laugh hysterically when an entire set falls down on three little kids -- yes, granted, they got up and smiled after, but there were visible nails sticking out of those boards -- and didn't seem to notice when they slink off stage with miserable expressions. |
| 222 | ** Ask a kid someday about how effective he or she thinks adults are when being teased (and depending on the age of the kid, wait for the string of bitter cursing to stop). |
| 223 | ** The performance was taken to be a comedy; presumably the audience assumed the set was ''meant'' to fall down like that and thus that there was no danger. |
| 224 | |
| 225 | * How old are the main cast ponies? Because the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" seem to be somewhere between 7 and 9 and they're called fillies by the main girls. Still, the main ponies themselves don't seem to be that old. I'd have to guess that they're upper teens (18-20), but it's really hard to tell. |
| 226 | ** This is been asked many a time, and the simple answer is "it doesn't matter". They've all passed all the relevant legal milestones to count as full adults, and beyond that it's a matter of opinion. Fluttershy being a year older than Pinkie is the only clear evidence we have, which along with her teenage appearance in Cutie Mark Chronicles leads people to believe she's the eldest, but even this is far from evident fact. |
| 227 | * so is Rainbow dash in charge of controlling the whether over ponyville or just a member of the team? |
| 228 | ** I think given her job at the Summer Sun celebration and the fact that she was team leader at Winter Wrap-up, she's probably in some sort of leadership position, though not necessarily at the top. She gets the orders then implements them in the field. |
| 229 | ** I think she is in charge of clean-up. Anytime we see her doing work (Summer Sun Celebration, Winter Wrap-up, first episode of Season 2) or her work is referenced (opening of Bridle Gossip) she's clearing the skies. So she'll be the pony that breaks up a storm and brings forth the clear skies for the sunny days. |
| 230 | ** "Hurricane Fluttershy" strongly implies that Rainbow Dash is numero uno in charge of the Ponyville weatherponies. |
| 231 | |
| 232 | * Why do the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash sometimes bother with flight goggles? When she gets up to speed to do a Sonic Rainboom her eyes just about start to water, otherwise their all fine without them. |
| 233 | ** Possibly to protect against anything else that might be in the air: dust, bugs, etc. |
| 234 | ** Probably for the same reason they wear those blue full body suits. It's just part of their costumes and looks cool. |
| 235 | ** One thing I've guessed is they wear them similar to pilots who have visors on their helmets, wearing them to help keep the sun from getting reflected in their eyes so they can see clearly. Given how the Wonderbolts' goggles have OpaqueLenses my guess is they serve the same purpose. |
| 236 | |
| 237 | * So is Scootaloo's inability to fly natural for Pegasus Ponies her age or is she behind in her development? Rainbow Dash was able to fly by her age if not younger, as shown in the flash backs scenes of The Cutie Mark Chronicles. |
| 238 | ** She's probably behind the curve. Someone needs to put her in flight school. Then again, Fluttershy was a crap flyer at a much older age, so Rainbow Dash may simply have been unusually talented. |
| 239 | *** There is also the two boys of similar age she was racing, and Fluttershy could at least fly (if sporadically) and it's stated and shown that she was a bad flyer. |
| 240 | ** Pound Cake is able to fly even as a newborn. But then, despite the fact that their abilities are merely played for laughs in "Baby Cakes", both Pumpkin and Pound Cake seem like they should potentially be considered as atypical genius prodigies concerning their abilities. In addition to Pound's ability to walk on the ceiling, Pumpkin Cake can phase through solid matter, for example. Unless you count Twilight's teleportation, that doesn't seem like something a normal unicorn can do, let alone an infant. |
| 241 | ** Scootaloo is disabled, that’s all there is to it. She’s like someone born with a limb that never correctly formed in the womb. She’ll never, ever fly because her wings are too small and weak to hold her off the ground. Her wings also probably have the wrong musculoskeletal build to let her fly. |
| 242 | ** I like to believe that it's a bit more symbolic of her being a late-bloomer. She hasn't been shown to have any disabilities (or at least obvious on sight ones) in her human-form, after all. |
| 243 | ** Scootaloo is both physically disabled (her wings didn't grow properly and magically disabled (her innate magic doesn't compensate for her smaller wings like Bulk Biceps does). |
| 244 | |
| 245 | * Why is Scootaloo being educated and brought up in Ponyville rather than Cloudsdale like other Pegasus Ponies? The flash back scenes of The Cutie Mark Chronicles shows young Pegasus Ponies being brought up in Cloudsdale. |
| 246 | ** Her parents decided to move to ground level, perhaps? |
| 247 | ** That's like asking why Rarity was brought up in Ponyville instead of Canterlot like most unicorns. Nothing in the show has ever said that ''all'' Pegasi are born & raised in Cloudsdale, just most. |
| 248 | ** Taking "Baby Cakes" into consideration, it's possible that Scootaloo's parents aren't Pegasi, which would explain why they don't live in Cloudsdale. |
| 249 | ** A simple explanation is that Scootaloo's family had moved to Ponyville in the past and decided to stay. (Also, the official map shows there is more than one city in the clouds--Las Pegasus is a hybrid cloud/ground city.) |
| 250 | ** Perhaps the fact that Scootaloo cannot fly was something obvious to her parents right out the gate. Given that clouds in Equestria dissipate if they are given a solid kick it doesn’t seem like Cloudsdale would be a safe place in the long term for a non-flier. |
| 251 | |
| 252 | * Why doesn't Twilight consider Spike a friend? Don't say she "does" because at the end of the first episode she does state very clearly that she didn't "know know what friendship could be" meaning she must not have had any one in her life she viewed in that light already. |
| 253 | ** Spike isn't the same as her other pony friends. She's had Spike as a live-in servant/confidant for most of her life (or, to be more accurate, the entirety of his). |
| 254 | ** Twilight hatched Spike from an egg and has presumably raised him from infancy by herself. Their relationship seems to be that of an adoptive mother and her adopted son. As close as they are, and as much as they love each other, they are not friends; they are family. |
| 255 | ** Actually, Twilight did call Spike her friend in ''Owl's Well That Ends Well''. |
| 256 | *** WordOfGod is that Celestia's the one that raised him after Twilight hatched him. So... no, Twilight is not his mother figure. Spike says so himself, he doesn't consider Twilight to be his "mommy". |
| 257 | ** Twilight treated Spike pretty badly in the first episode. She started treating him a lot better since then. I'd say that she considers him a friend. She just didn't until she moved to Ponyville. Also, she had her Big Brother Best Friend Forever, so she definitely did have at least one friend before that. |
| 258 | *** The key word there is brother. Sibling friendships are not really similar at all to actually friendships. Presumably that's also why Spike doesn't really count for friendship; because Twi had a similar friendship with Spike that she had with Shining. |
| 259 | *** Not intrinsically, no, but then again, even Shining merits an occasional "B.B.B.F.F." appellation. |
| 260 | |
| 261 | * So are Applejack's parents dead? |
| 262 | ** Her parents could be dead, living on another farm or just absent for some reason. Maybe one day there will be a WordofGod or an episode about her parents (or their death), but until then it’s nothing more than a popular Fanon theory. |
| 263 | *** It was thought that this was also the case for Rarity, but then we finally met her parents. |
| 264 | *** WordofGod is that Lauren Faust considers Applejack's parents to be dead, as said in a Q&A session. However, given that she's not on the writing team it's very possible that they could return. |
| 265 | ** With the Apple reunion episode and more Words of God, this is confirmed. |
| 266 | *** I know this was because of when Granny Smith said the whole family was going to be there and when Applejack looked at the two shototing stars in the sky, but why have them be dead in the first place if there can't be any direct mention because of the show's audience or what happened to them? I think it's half like making a promise you can't keep. |
| 267 | *** Some kids (like this troper) lose their parents when they're young. While the audience might find it interesting to know, it's not being disingenuous for the show not to discuss it beyond "Yes, Applejack's parents died. Sometimes that happens, and the chance for them to meet new people, and for new people to meet them, is unfortunately gone." It happened, it's sad, but unless they actually want to discuss death, it doesn't need to be treated as something that absolutely must be examined just because it was mentioned. You're basically saying "I was told there was a death, therefore I was promised a corpse." |
| 268 | |
| 269 | * if Apple Bloom wasn't born yet at the time of the flash backs in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, shouldn't Applejack's parents have been alive and well and waving her off when she left to live in the city? |
| 270 | ** Maybe they said goodbye in the house while the others did so at the gate. |
| 271 | ** Or Apple Bloom was born, the parents died, then AB was taking a nap when AJ left. This makes it even sadder for Granny Smith and Big Mac, as they've just lost two family members and are losing another. |
| 272 | *** Unless Applejack and Apple Bloom's parents were already somewhere else and hadn't died yet. |
| 273 | |
| 274 | * Sweetie Belle has her own room at Carousel Boutique, and often speaks as though Rarity is the main adult figure in her life, rather than their parents. What's going on with when she lives where? |
| 275 | ** WordOfGod says Rarity lives alone (not counting Opalescence), and Sweetie Belle lives with their parents. Proved in Episode 31 when their parents make an appearance. |
| 276 | |
| 277 | * If Apple Bloom is sisters with Applejack and Sweetie Belle is sisters with Rarity, then why isn't Scootaloo sisters with Rainbow Dash? Sure, Rainbow Dash is Scootaloo's idol, and she was trying to be a sister figure to Scootaloo in "Sleepless in Ponyville", but that's as close as they get. They certainly weren't at the Sisterhooves Social. Seriously, why not have all three Cutie Mark Crusaders be related to someone in the main cast? I wish Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were sisters. |
| 278 | ** Because it would probably seem a little weird. The CMC already kinda come off as the Mane 6 Gen 2 and missing half the team without them actually being the next generation. Also the three pairs actually work out well. You have Rarity and Sweetie Belle who are real sisters and have real sister issues. Apple Jack and Apple Bloom who pretty much always get along and are 'ideal' sisters and then you have Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo who are clearly share a sisterly bond that goes beyond blood ties. |
| 279 | |
| 280 | * Why keep making more episodes about the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying to get their cutie marks when they could help other ponies get their cutie marks after they get their own? This would be a great turning point for their character, especially since it would mean no more coming up with ideas for ways that they could try to get their cutie marks and [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption not get them at the end.]] I think that even after they get their cutie marks, they still have potential to be interesting by doing that. |
| 281 | |
| 282 | * How come Rarity will basically drag in strangers off the street just to dress up and restyle them, will lecture friends about etiquette..... but has almost indifference towards her own sister on such issues? Like in Stare Master when she doesn't even bat an eyelid when a sizeable chunk of Sweetie Belle's hair is cut off by the cat (remember how badly she reacted to Twilight's messed up hair in the first episode) or that she's perfectly fine with all the rough and tumble antics she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders get up to. I would have thought being Rarity's little sister would be like being somebody's {{Franchise/Barbie}} doll half the time.... but in fact she seems like a perfectly normal older sister, which, while nice, is still inconsistent with her character. |
| 283 | ** An upcoming episode will deal with the relationship between the two, hopefully we'll get to know more about them. For now, we can only assume she gave up on her sister just like she did with Applejack at first, or that she expects her sister to learn by herself. |
| 284 | ** Considering that Sweetie's mane was back to normal by the next scene, I'd either chalk it up to RuleOfFunny or Rarity fixing it in the split second she was off-screen. |
| 285 | ** Either that or Rarity used Sweetie Belle as a dress up toy so often when they were younger that she got it all out of her system or something. And we ''do'' see Sweetie get used as a model in "Ponyville Confidential". Presumably Rarity has spent so much time with Sweetie Belle that she no longer feels the needs to constantly give her makeovers. Yes, Rarity is into fashion, but she's not ''constantly'' dragging her friends in to play dress up. |
| 286 | |
| 287 | * Rarity's voice is all over the place. Sometimes it's rather deep, other times it's very high-pitched, sometimes she seems to be British, other times Canadian, and yet other times her accent is somewhere in between. What gives? |
| 288 | ** It's ''clearly'' meant to be an affectation, and one she hams up for effect at times. The fact her sister doesn't have a similar accent and it occasionally slips reinforces it. Interestingly, it seems her friends are at least partially aware of this, as the imagine spots in ''A Dog and Pony Show'' seems to portray her accent slightly more exaggerated than normal, suggesting the Mane Cast see it as a tad ridiculous. |
| 289 | ** It's called a Mid-Atlantic accent, IIRC, and it doesn't actually occur naturally. It's a completely affected accent that's meant to sound high-class. Or, to put it another way, it's just another thing Rarity's doing for her image as a designer (like only going by the one name), and all the evidence that it's an affectation (above bullet) is really just evidence that she hasn't perfected the act yet. |
| 290 | *** This is proved twice. In "Cutie Mark Chronicles", filly Rarity doesn't have the Mid-Atlantic accent yet (since she doesn't realize that beautifying is her special talent). And in "Sisterhooves", we learn that her parents both have thick Chicago/Wisconsin accents. |
| 291 | |
| 292 | * So are horses not sapient like ponies, mules and zebras, or just not the ones Twilight creates from the mice in "The Best Night Ever"? I wad amused actual horses didn't exist in their world until "The Best Night Ever". |
| 293 | ** Watch that episode again. You clearly missed the joke. |
| 294 | |
| 295 | * do all the wonderbolts all just coincidentally, naturally have manes that grown in that weird AnimeHair mock windswept style, or is it part of their uniform to get gelled that way? basically [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wkafsxFhuRE/TcYvT6l4W8I/AAAAAAAAEPU/e936a_a_93c/s1600/11428+-+gala+goggles+rainbow_dash+spitfire+wingboner+wonderbolts.jpg this.]] or [[http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2011/138/d/2/spitfire_brushed_hair_by_ponyvectors-d3gmel9.png this.]]? |
| 296 | |
| 297 | * It may be just me, but is Celestia a god to the ponies? The thought comes to me in the sisterhood episode, when Rarity states: "Celestia as my witness, I WILL have my sister back." |
| 298 | ** It's not just you. The terms PhysicalGod and [[GodEmperor God Empress]] are often applied to Celestia. The line you're referring to just kinda confirmed what we already knew. |
| 299 | ** Well, for one thing ponies probably don't pray to Celestia and actually expect to be heard. If they want something badly enough, they'll still write a letter or request an audience much as they might from a 'mere' mortal king or queen. That said, as far as ponies at large are concerned Celestia is ''the'' Princess -- sole ruler of Equestria and literal bringer of both day and night for a thousand years. (While yes, Luna is back now, that happy event is arguably still too recent as of yet to have left much of an impression on a public consciousness shaped by generations of pony ancestors who grew up, raised their children, and died knowing no other way the world could possibly be.) It's doubtful most of them would as much as seriously ''consider'' that any sort of even higher authority might exist, so if a pony makes a vow and really, really means it, invoking her name is kind of the natural thing to do. |
| 300 | ** Most likely, but either way it wouldn't really matter. Obviously she's powerful, but there's no worship of her or anything because, well, there's really no need for faith when your "goddess" is literally right there. |
| 301 | ** Well, then the question basically becomes: ''are'' you a god if nobody thinks of you as one? As much as they'd certainly have the raw ''power'' to play the part, not many people seem to consider, say, Superman or the Q Continuum actual religious figures in their respective settings... (As far as I'm concerned, 'god' is pretty clearly a ''social'' role as much as anything else and so the answer is no, but YMMV.) |
| 302 | *** Q avoids having a religion because he doesn't let too many people know that he exists, and those that he does interact with can't stand him because he's a {{JerkAss}}. And it was actually a plot point in the whole death and resurrection of Superman arc that after Superman died and returned from the dead Superman cults were coming out of the woodwork. Clark had to put in a nontrivial amount of effort to get them to stop worshipping him. But yeah, Celestia and Luna could have Equestria building them a Cathedral of the Sisters and burning sacrifices of grain to them every day if they put even a trivial effort into it; that they don't have things like this going on is almost certainly because they are putting deliberate effort into deflating their own mystique whenever necessary. This is supported by things like Celestia's deliberately pranking at her own tea party in 'A Bird in the Hoof', or allowing Gabby Gums to publish a photograph of her making a fool of herself with that cake in 'Ponyville Confidential'. (If Celestia didn't like the idea of that photograph being in general circulation, Spike would have been delivering a polite letter from the palace to the Foal Free Press saying 'Please don't do that again. Yours sincerely, She Whose Requests Must Be Taken Very Very Seriously.') |
| 303 | * Does it bother anyone that some of the antagonistic characters do not give the Mane 6 any respect in spite of being the Elements of Harmony, the one's who defeated Nightmare Moon, and are acquainted with the Celestia? |
| 304 | ** Not really. Most of the antagonists the Mane 6 meet are other species that aren't part of pony society and might not have even heard of the Nightmare Moon incident (Gilda, the Diamond Dogs, the Buffalo, and the dragons from "Dragonshy" and "Owl's Well..."), or monsters that might not be intelligent enough to grasp the information in the first place (the hydra, the Ursa Minor, the cockatrice). That just leaves Trixie and the three bullies from "Sonic Rainboom"; since the Mane 6 don't walk around wearing "I Stopped the Apocalypse (You're Welcome)" t-shirts, Trixie had no way of know who she was dealing with. The three bullies probably don't have any excuse, but that's a headscratcher for another time. |
| 305 | *** My guess is is that the information regarding Nightmare Moon was locked down to prevent the inevitable backlash from putting a would-be usurper (whatever her reasons) on the throne. Only Ponyville and Canterlot castle know the full story. |
| 306 | ** What annoys me is that nopony, antagonist or otherwise, seems to care. In Sweet and Elite, Rarity says something along the lines of her friends being the most important ponies to her, even if they're not really important. In The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Rainbow Dash lets the fame go to her head for saving a few ponies, as if it could even compare to the fame that ought to be brought upon by helping save the world twice. |
| 307 | ** There are two stained glass windows in Canterlot showing the Mane 6 saving the world. They were publicly awarded the second time. It is not secret. |
| 308 | ** The Nigtmare Moon incident might not have been seen as that big of a deal, considering that she was defeated within a few hours, at most, of her escape. To those unaware of what happened, they may have thought it an unusually long night or that Celestia forgot to raise the sun. The Discord incident is localized to Ponyville (and the Canterlot hedge maze), and nearly all antagonists originate from outside of Ponyville or Canterlot. It also was setlled in a pretty short time. That being said, someone who has criminal or sociopathic tendencies will most often back down only out of fear of punishment. They don't care who they victimize as long as they don't get in trouble for it, and folks like Trixie and the Flim-Flam Brothers clearly didn't have such worries. |
| 309 | |
| 310 | * How come there haven't been any new antagonists or intentional threats to Ponyville in season two? It probably sounds petty but really; Beyond the required BigBad beatdown of Discord, everything bad going on is either a miscommunication between the Mane Cast or a accidental disaster, also because of the Mane Cast. We're almost to the half-season mark, by this point in season one most of the VillainOfTheWeek and MonsterOfTheWeek episodes were aired. Lauren Faust even said she and the crew wanted more adventure stories in the series but exectutive and time constraints were stopping them. Now that they were given more freedom with the show I thought they would try to balance in more adventures along with the slice-of-life, but the exact opposite has happened. |
| 311 | ** The CMC didn't appear until episode 14 or so, give it time, there is still plenty of episodes for a monster to come and ruin everyone's day. |
| 312 | ** Looking back on this, the latter half definitely gave us a few new antagonists: The Flim-Flam Brothers ("The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"); Iron Will ("Putting Your Hoof Down"); the dragon teenage gang ("Dragon Quest"); Gustave Le Grande, Mulia Mild, and Donut Joe ("[=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express"), and Queen Chrysalis ("A Canterlot Wedding") Some of these guys are antagonists only in that they oppose whatever characters are in the focus that episode though (which would make Cranky Doodle Donkey from "A Friend in Deed" one as well) and are otherwise decent people. |
| 313 | |
| 314 | * So, [[RhymesOnADime Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria]], right? Well, doesn't that technically make her a queen, not a princess? |
| 315 | ** WordOfGod is that Celestia and Luna were supposed to be queens, but Hasbro said that they should be princesses because kids associate queens with evil and princesses with good. In-universe, it might have something to do with the fact that the two sisters rule together. |
| 316 | ** She's the absolute leader, and a goddess too, she can call herself whatever she likes. |
| 317 | ** It is worth mentioning that Celestia absolutelly hates her job as a ruler, only keeping it because she knows it is needed to keep peace on Equestria, being called a "princess" instead of "queen" helps to lighten things up. |
| 318 | *** When was this mentioned? She certainly doesn't seem to like spending every Grand Galloping Gala shaking hooves, but I don't see any reason to believe she hates her job. |
| 319 | ** There's another theory that her and Luna's parents are still around, so technically she can't call herself queen. |
| 320 | ** Plenty of nations historically have been ruled by princes or princesses. Technically speaking, Equestria could be called a Theocratic Principality (as Celestia and Luna are both princesses and goddesses). |
| 321 | *** [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Glorious Pony's Theocratic Principality of Equestria!]] |
| 322 | *** Yeah, Equestria could very well be Principality (you only get the title attached to your country) but from where the idea Celestia is a god came from? The show contradicts that literally everywhere. |
| 323 | *** It's probably the part where she's immortal (or at least, she doesn't age and is old enough to have been a fully matured adult well over a thousand years ago), twice the size of almost every other pony in existence, no one knows where she comes from, and her special talent is ''moving a celestial object''. If she's not at ''least'' a demigod, she's got a real funny way of showing it. |
| 324 | *** If 'Hearth's Warming Eve' is to be believed, it takes the collective power of the entire unicorn population of Equestria to do a job that Celestia can easily handle alone. [[note]]And if Hearth's Warming Eve is not a reliable source then maintaining the sun and moon in their courses is a job entirely beyond mortal ability, which reinforces the 'Yeah, she's a goddess' conclusion even harder.[[/note]] In your average fantasy setting, any single entity that can match the power of an entire nation full of wizards without breathing hard has people building temples to it. |
| 325 | ** Remember that Celestia feels she would love to experience the same things her subjects would, and be treated like yet another pony? I prefer to think that Celestia and Luna were originally queens, but demoted themselves to princesses to be less "high and mighty" from society. |
| 326 | |
| 327 | * Why are the other main characters friends with Pinkie Pie if they find her so annoying? |
| 328 | ** They find this one thing about her annoying. Are your friends all perfect? |
| 329 | ** This. I love my friends and family, but they all have annoying sides. |
| 330 | ** Your friends can be like that at times. Sides, maybe someone annoys you, but they make you laugh. I think some fanfics touched on this. |
| 331 | |
| 332 | * Why is it, that Spike is always left out of many of the ponies adventures? In season two, he is not at Twilight's birthday party/visiting Rarity, at Applejack's welcome home party, nor does he go with the others to find her. He also has been less active since Secret of my Excess,having little to no lines. Does Twilight force him to stay at the library while SHE goes out to have fun with the others? |
| 333 | ** I'm more bothered by the automatic assumption that Twilight and the others are forcing him to stay home. He's his own person, he probably was either at Canterlot again or just doing his own thing. |
| 334 | ** I bet he isn't forced to stay home (I was actually kidding when I said that), but there are many episodes where I feel he could be there. In Sweet and Elite, he didn't go to Twilight's birthday/ visit Rarity, didn't see the Cake's babies at the hospital, go to Applejack's welcome home party, or look for her. I'm sure he is his own person, but he's just a kid. Kids love to go outside, and be with their friends. Twilight and the others are his friends, so it's unusual to see him not hang around with them, with no explanation. |
| 335 | ** I think that Twilight just gives him a lot of chores to do. And it's just increased after Hearth's Warming Eve, making him very busy. So, his busy lifestyle is probably what's preventing him from spending a lot of time with his friends. Much to his dismay. |
| 336 | *** I don't think Twilight would overload Spike with that much work, and I doubt she would consciously leave him out of her birthday. I like to think he might simply have been ill at the time. |
| 337 | *** Twilight might just be overloading him with all that work, and might not even noticing how it's giving less time to be with his friends. And as for missing Twilight's birthday, I always thought that maybe he celebrated it with her back at the library. He stayed home because, Twilight would probably be the center of attention (it's her birthday after all), and wanted Rarity's attention to himself. And in the Secret of My Excess episode, he certainly did get Rarity's attention. What a lucky dragon. |
| 338 | *** Well, if Lauren Faust is to be believed and it was actually Princess Celestia who raise Spike for most of his life rather than Twilight it's possible that he was off visiting her during "Sweet and Elite" while the girls were at Twilight's party and Spike and Twilight did something smaller at home either before of after. In "The Last Roundup" He didn't go looking for Applejack because he had to stay in Ponyville to look after the Library and possibly Fluttershy's animals like he did in "Dragonshy," and didn't go see the Cake's babies because He's not that close to the family, being more like a friend of a friend of a friend. |
| 339 | *** Even if the writers go with Lauren's idea, he and Twilight still share a brother-sister relationship. So there really doesn't seem to be an excuse not to add him to "Sweet and Elite." They could've probably visited the Princess after Twilight's birthday, seeing as they were staying at the castle where she ''lives.'' Besides, I don't think anything would keep him from his sister and Rarity. Spike sees Celestia a lot. Especially since in, "Look Before you Sleep," it's shown that sometimes he's away on business in canterlot for the princess. So there's probably time to see her. Besides, he's still just a kid. Celestia wouldn't constantly have him go from Ponyville to Canterlot to do work while everpony else doesn't seem to. And as for "The Last Roundup," I think he should've at least appeared for the welcome home party, so we could see that he cared for Applejack. They also could've added a scene where he agrees to stay behind to watch the library, and see if Applejack comes back. That way we at least know where he is. As for "Baby Cakes," I agree with the above statement, that he really didn't know the cakes much. And besides, what kid would really want to spend a whole morning in a hospital looking at babies? It's not too exciting from a kid's perspective. But other than that, episodes like "Sweet and Elite," or the,"The Last Roundup," didn't really HAVE to give him major roles, just add him to the background and give him small lines, to show that he is spending ''some'' time with girls. It just seems a bit weak on the writers part, to not even address why he's not with his friends. Especially for events that friends usually go to with each other. There's the chance that he has male friends he hangs out with, but they're never mentioned, or even seen. He's usually with Twilight. Also, when he's not with them, he's at the library. Does he spend all his time there? What does he do? Sometimes, like in Episode 2 of Season 2 he was shown sleeping, but holding a mop, so it's implied that he was doing chores, and tires himself out. But that can't just be ALL he does. He may be Twilight's #1 assistant, and he likes his job. But he's also a kid. And we never really see him do any kid things, like play with fillies or colts his age, or even go to school. So it can be assumed that he is just a busy guy. |
| 340 | *** He ''has'' male friends that the mane six don't seem to know much about: Snips and Snails |
| 341 | *** The only time they ever interacted, was in "Boast Busters." Spike didn't really seem all that close to them. If anything if seemed more annoyed with them. And that was the only time they were seen with each other. After that, he goes back to being with the girls. |
| 342 | *** He seems to know Lickety Split well enough that the colt was willing to give him his ball for his birthday. |
| 343 | ** Yeah. They seemed like they were acquainted. But we never really see them hang out in the background, or have Spike ever mention hanging out with Lickety Split, after he appeared in that ''one'' episode. Maybe later on he'll appear more though. |
| 344 | ** Spike has said that he likes it when Twilight goes off and does things that don't include him, because then he can sleep more. But yeah, give the guy a line or two when everypony's celebrating. |
| 345 | *** If it counts for anything, Spike expressed annoyance at not being invited to The Crystal Empire in "Just for Sidekicks." In addition, he helped out in "Apple Family Reunion" whereas Twilight did not. |
| 346 | ** We do find out that he plays Ogres & Oubliettes with Big Mac, so that's at least one friend he does things with that don't involve the Mane Six. |
| 347 | * What is the name of the fat gray colt seen in the background of the CMC episodes? I've seen a few names tossed around but nothing really agreed upon. |
| 348 | ** He is now called, [[FanNickname "Truffle]] [[Film/TheGoonies Shuffle".]] |
| 349 | * The ponies constantly use items made for humans with fingers, such as bowling balls with three fingerholes, cups with handles, doorknobs, etc. I can understand the meta reason for this, but in-universe, why haven't the ponies replaced these items with ones operated using the mouth? It would certainly be easier for them. |
| 350 | ** Those probably work pretty well assuming ponies' hooves work based on [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/06/pony-hooves-explained.html granular jamming]]. |
| 351 | ** A Pinkie Pie clone in "Too Many Pinkie Pies" discovered that her front hooves have fingers. Somehow. |
| 352 | ** They're items that came from the human world that fell through the portal. |
| 353 | * Why didn't Spike and Twilight go talk to Zecora when Spike wanted to know where he came from? In ''The Secret of My Excess'', Zecora was the only one who knew what was going on with Spike. Surely she has access to other information on dragons like Spike. |
| 354 | ** Zecora may know about basic dragon biology, but that doesn't mean she would know anything about Spike's personal background, and I don't think information ''about'' dragons is what Spike wanted. He wanted to find his family, or at least establish a place in a society where he felt he fit in. That's not something a book can do. Spike wanted to ''feel'' like a dragon. |
| 355 | *** Not something a book can do? Then why does Twilight rummage through the library trying to find a book for it? |
| 356 | *** Because she's [[CuteBookworm Twilight Sparkle]]. Hitting her books for answers is what she does. |
| 357 | * Scootaloo's rather skilled on her scooter. You'd think she'd already have a scooter-related cutie mark, wouldn't you? |
| 358 | ** This troper thinks it might be because she doesn't think what she sees as just a hobby to be her special talent. Like how Sweetie Belle's a good singer but wants to peruse something else for her cutie mark, even though singing could be her special talent. |
| 359 | ** They're just kids, they haven't matured enough to accept that they can't get their marks so soon. |
| 360 | ** It may not be sufficiently specific. Rarity was already involved with dress-making but didn't receive her cutie-mark until after she discovered gem-finding. Or, perhaps it's not the scooter at all, perhaps she's meant to be an actual racer or something, involving their equivalent of a racecar. |
| 361 | * Does Dinky have a cutie mark? She had like, four in "Call of the Cutie" and then in season two most of her appearances have her as a blank flank. Is she gonna be a CMC? |
| 362 | ** Likely it's just animation errors. |
| 363 | * The sun and moon cannot be in the sky at the same time. In order for this to work, the sun and moon would have to stay on opposite sides of the planet. This would mean that the moon is always full. I don't know if a crescent moon has ever been shown, but there are certainly several examples of its imagery, such as Luna and Trixie's cutie marks. Does the rule that they can't both be up at once only apply to Equestria? Is their planet flat? Is half of the moon black and the moon not tidally locked with a 1:1 ratio like ours? |
| 364 | ** I don't get what you mean by "the sun and moon cannot be in the sky at the same time" (is it stated somewhere that this is a rule in Equestria, or did you just assume it from the implications?), but it's possible that the crescent moon in Equestria is the result of the moon moving through Equestria's umbra rather than moving so that the side furthest from the moon changes its visibility like around Earth. |
| 365 | *** Nightmare moon kept the night from ending by refusing to lower the moon. If the sun and moon were independent, all she would have done is messed with the tides. |
| 366 | ** Equestria's cosmology is something that hasn't really quite been addressed on the show and is the subject of much fan speculation. Given the role of the princesses and occasional other bit of circumstantial evidence, there's a very real possibility that the sun and moon of the setting just plain don't work like their real life counterparts ''at all'' -- yet the pervasiveness of the LikeRealityUnlessNoted trope seems to get in the way of thinking that all the way through for some people. |
| 367 | ** The Sun and Moon can both be in the sky at the same time as is shown in Princess Twilight. Also the flashback from that same episode shows that Luna refusing to lower the moon and Celestia banishing her to the moon is the sanitized version of what actually happened. |
| 368 | *** Yeah. Besides that, Solar Eclipses are a thing in RealLife too. |
| 369 | * Anyone else kind of weirded out by how the ponies are able to shake off traumatic events easily? In "The Return Of Harmony Part 1 and 2", the Mane Six are ''brainwashed''. I will say it again, ''[[NightmareFuel brainwashed]]''. Then, after Twilight un-brainwashes them, they defeat Discord and go on with their lives as if nothing happened, but if I was ''brainwashed'', I don't think I'd do that. Same thing happened in "A Canterlot Wedding". Let's see, Cadence was thrown beneath these caverns where nopony would have ever found her if Twilight hadn't been sent down as well. She also got replaced by some hideous, shape-shifting bug-pony monster who wanted to drain all the love out of her husband-to-be, and possibly [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil other things as well.]] Yet, after they defeat the Queen Chrysalis, what does she do? Party around happily with her friends as if nothing ever happened. |
| 370 | ** One of the best ways to shake off traumatic events is by doing fun things that make you forget about said traumatic event. |
| 371 | ** Also, who says the trauma didn't get to them? It certainly got to Twilight, if Lesson Zero is any indication. That episode came out after Part 2 of Return of Harmony after all. |
| 372 | * In Winter Wrap Up we hear that the Earth ponies of Ponyville have been wrapping up winter like this for hundreds of years. In Family Appreciation Day we discover that Granny Smith's family founded Ponyville. So is Granny a bi-centenarian? |
| 373 | ** It's possible that the tradition predates the founding of Ponyville. Granny simply brought it with her with her family. |
| 374 | ** I interpreted it that Granny is senile and invented half of her tale due to bad memory, while Twilight read about documented facts... |
| 375 | *** In season four, Granny was once again referred to as the founder... And Twilight herself seemed unaware of that. It looks like she was the one that made the mistake. |
| 376 | * This isn't much of a headscratcher, just something I'm curious about, but which of the Mane Six have interacted the '''least'''? |
| 377 | ** Good question. I'd say that it's Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. |
| 378 | ** In the episode with Gilda the Griffon, the two do a lot of pranking together. I'd say Pinkie Pie and Rarity. |
| 379 | ** I'd say either Pinkie and Rarity (the only episode that they're shown with each other but not in a larger group is Putting Your Hoof Down), or maybe Fluttershy and Twilight. Twilight is very bookish and doesn't go out much, whereas Fluttershy spends tons of time outside with animals and stuff. |
| 380 | * I have to wonder, does Pinkie's mane only wilt when she's more or less crossed the DespairEventHorizon, as in "Party of One?" She was pretty damn sad in "A Friend In Deed" and "Too Many Pinkie Pies," and also when Discord turned her gray, but her mane remained the same. |
| 381 | ** Because her friends still love her in both episodes. "A Friend in Deed" is about trying to be friends with someone who doesn't want to friend you, and "Too many Pinkies"is about trying to be with all your friends at the same time, in neither of those episodes she was at risk of losing her BFF's like she believe toin "Party of One". |
| 382 | *** And for her being "Discorded", her mane can tell if she's truly hit the DespairEventHorizon, but ONLY when she's not being brainwashed. |
| 383 | * How do Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy earn money? We know Applejack sells apples and Rarity sells dresses. It could be said Pinkie Pie works for the Cakes. I can even believe that Twilight might be receiving a stipend from Celestia. But what occupation would the two pegasi have that would earn an income? |
| 384 | ** Rainbow Dash does weather really, really well, and is probably paid for doing it -- otherwise she'd spend the time sleeping or practicing. Fluttershy might give pet advice or act as a trade interface between wildlife and ponies. |
| 385 | ** I think it's been more or less said that Rainbow Dash's JOB is related to handling Ponyville's weather. Therefore, she's probably employed by some larger company or another and gets paid to do it. |
| 386 | *** Or the government, who could also be paying Fluttershy to supervise animals and treat sick and injured creatures. |
| 387 | ** She's often been shown in charge of Pegasus teams handling weather in Ponyville. So it's not a stretch to assume she's basically a civil servant, handling weather deployment and distribution, much like a county-run road crew. |
| 388 | ** Perhaps petsitting/pet care for Fluttershy? She's also shown to be a handy conductor for large events, like the Summer Sun Celebration and Cadance's wedding. Perhaps she receives compensation for those services. |
| 389 | *** Fluttershy is clearly not the town vet, as we see the vet in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]]. Fluttershy seems to run an animal shelter/menagerie and has a songbird choir, so some kind of animal trainer and caretaker seems the most likely bet. Her being in charge of the animal teams during Winter Wrap-Up also suggests that she's Ponyville's animal control officer/forest ranger. She also keeps enough chickens to have lots of eggs to sell. |
| 390 | ** I doubt Fluttershy needs much money because her house is outside Ponyville so no rent issues. She can get help from the wildlife that live nearby and she is the kind to not need many fancy items. The only times we see her getting anything fancy is when she is with Rarity (and those may well be Rarity's treat) anything else could be covered by her pet grooming business. |
| 391 | * There's something that always bothered me. [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust]] had talk about the fate of Applejack's parents with them being dead, but either she, or the people who she worked with thought it'd be too sad in a childrens' cartoon, so they hand-waved the parents into being travelling salesponies. But in a Q&A interview with Lauren Faust, if I'm not mistaken, she pushed for the idea of having Scootaloo crippled (being unable to fly). Wouldn't that be just as sad in a cartoon? |
| 392 | ** And just as with Applejack's parents, it never really made it into the show. On the other hand, dealing with Scootaloo's disability could be a basis for a semi-relevant episode {{Aesop}}. Dead parent's don't really provide much of such opportunity, it'd just be sad for sadness' sake. |
| 393 | ** Yet in "Apple Family Reunion", it is heavily implied that Applejack's parents are dead. |
| 394 | ** Well, there's the death of parents used as a plot device, most notably with Batman. Also, I don't know about the extent of Scootaloo's flying abilities, but she's able to walk on clouds in "Hearts and Hooves Day" and float short distances in "Sleepless in Ponyvlle." |
| 395 | * So has a FanNickname been given to the pink Pegasus in the Wonderbolts Academy episode? I've seen artwork of her, but no name seems to have attached to her yet. |
| 396 | ** Derpibooru is mostly using Flowershine. Wildflower also sees some usage, as she seems to be a Wildfire recolor. |
| 397 | * What exactly is Twilight's Job in Ponyville? |
| 398 | ** She's a librarian and the local expert on magic. She's also really good at handling disasters and organizing things, which gets her asked for help in a few other situations. |
| 399 | * Did Twilight's family start out as nobles or did they earn that ranking when Twilight became Celestia's personal student? |
| 400 | ** It's currently unknown whether or not Twilight is of a noble family. Becoming the student of Celestia would not grant anyone involved noble status. It does seem likely that Twilight's family is either noble or otherwise high society, given their actions and who they know, but nothing concrete about their position has been revealed. |
| 401 | ** It's not even clear that Equestria ''has'' much of a formal nobility other than its princes and princesses. We've seen that it certainly has its own ''high society'' -- but how many of those ponies are actual nobles and how many are just rich, powerful, and/or snooty on their own merits hasn't really been revealed. For instance, Fancy Pants is obviously a positive example of a pony of wealth and taste and his opinion carries a lot of weight...but does he even have a title? |
| 402 | * What was the name of Stinkin' Rich's son if his grandson is Filthy Rich? |
| 403 | ** Stupid Rich? |
| 404 | * Regarding Pinkie's novelty Groucho glasses... exactly what significance would a human nose have to a pony... would they even know what it is? |
| 405 | ** Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. |
| 406 | ** Someone, not necessarily Pinkie Pie, designed a human nose and thought it was so silly-looking that nopony couldn't laugh at it. |
| 407 | ** She learned what humans looked like by being in the Hub promos? |
| 408 | |
| 409 | * How did Celestia and Luna found out they are princesses of Equestria? Because if you think about it, Twilight was "groomed" by Celestia for a quite some time to become an alicorn - so Celestia must have known that Twilight will someday become a princess (Twilight didn't know that until Celestia told her). But assuming that Celestia and Luna were a loooooong time ago mere ponies (like Twilight), they had to find out somehow that their destiny is to defeat Discord and bring peace and harmony to Equestria. How did they do that? And if Celestia knew that Twilight is going to be a princess, how come Discord didn't know that Celestia will become one? |
| 410 | ** Celestia and Luna usurped Chaos with the Elements because he's a jagoff. No need for them to have foreseen themselves doing it. As to Discord foreseeing it, he doesn't strike me as the planning type. He was totally convinced of his own omnipotence, why would he bother looking ahead? |
| 411 | ** Why would Discord know that Twilight was going to become a princess? Twilight only become one because Celestia gave her that title. It was never written on her name tag. |
| 412 | *** We don't really know that Celestia gave Twilight the title. At this particular point (someone correct me if I'm missing a character) I can't recall ever hearing anybody use the word Alicorn in reference to any of the Princesses. Yet all the Princesses (and arguably the one Queen) are all Alicorns (or close enough) having both wings and horns. Are certain that Princess isn't closer to a race than a title? Prince Blueblood and Shining Armor (who last I checked was never referred to as Prince) are the only people with royal titles who AREN'T Alicorns. |
| 413 | *** Wasn't it more like "Oh, sister, we have to stop the Disharmony in Equestria and bring peace to this world, using the elements of harmony". And later - "Well, if we managed to overthrown Discord and bring peace to Equestria, we can as well rule this land"? And since Twilight (and her friends) stopped whatever crisis there was twice (or thrice? Should we count the Crystal land too?), she was crowned to be (almost) equal to Celestia and certainly equal to Luna and Cadence (since we still don't know what Cadence did to become a princess). But this way, shouldn't Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinky Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash also be honored? At least as royalty? |
| 414 | *** As mentioned above it doesn't seem to work that way. Though how EXACTLY the magical upgrade works isn't particularly clear. Though ultimately I agree they should all be honored with official titles of some sort. Though as is mentioned in several other Headscractchers the writers clearly want this to be a day to day sort of story and that's how all of them have saved the world, multiple times, are portrayed no less than twice on Canterlot Castle, are personal friends with all three (original) princesses and it still seems like nopony recognizes them. Really they should be treated like the Beatles. |
| 415 | *** They got asked to step in as Princesses at the time of unification of Equestria by the founders [Puddinghead, Princess Platinum and Commander Hurricane] It's described in the Journal of the Two Sisters. |
| 416 | |
| 417 | * There have been a number of background ponies with sun cutie marks (i.e. Sunny Days/Sunny Daze in The Show Stoppers). As we know by now, Princess Celestia brings the dawn every day. So, what might another pony with a sun cutie mark do? |
| 418 | ** Maybe she's just got a sunny personality? Or may studies sunspots and suchlike? |
| 419 | |
| 420 | * So, Blueblood is Celestia's nephew according to Rarity. So does this mean Celestia has some other siblings we don't see besides Luna? |
| 421 | ** There are a few possible explanations. First off is that Lauren Faust mentioned how he's her umpteenth generation removed nephew on her mother's side. She might also be a nephew-in-law from a political marriage, him being descended from the sibling of whatever consort she or Luna might have had. Also, according to the Crystal Heart Spell, Cadance is Celestia's niece by adoption, so one of Blueblood's ancestors might have been extended the same courtesy. |
| 422 | |
| 423 | |
| 424 | * So, does Spike get a salary from Twilight,or is a "You work and i'll feed you and let you sleep here" kind of situation? |
| 425 | ** They're basically siblings, so it's basically the same answer as to where Twilight gets bits for herself, either Twilight parents send money, they get an stipend from Celestia, or both are paid for running the library. |
| 426 | ** He has enough money/resources to get the Fire Ruby for himself, and Rarity's reaction made it out to be extremely valuable. Seems like he's getting an actual salary of some sort rather than just a little kid's allowance. Keep in mind, Spike's job as Twilight's assistant is a full time job, so he's working enough to earn some dosh. |
| 427 | |
| 428 | |
| 429 | * Spike is constantly called a '''baby''' dragon,and is clearly younger than the Mane six.Isn't Twilight making use of child labor? There aren't laws against it in Equestria? |
| 430 | ** Again, they're basically siblings, and Spike prides himself in being Twilight #1 assistant. Spike likes helping Twilight, and it's not different than a parent giving chores to a kid(To give an example, it's the same as Apple Bloom helping at the farm or Sweetie Belle helping at Carousel Boutique). |
| 431 | ** While the siblings side works for them,they are not related,and is actually treated as a job,instead of "Darling,would you be so gentle too...".It doesn't seem odd to outsiders? |
| 432 | ** Perhaps, but we don't reall. Know their legal standing, perhaps Spike is legally Twilight's adopted brother, or she's her legal tutor. Remember that they're both under the wing of their God-Empress, so even if outsiders have a problem, the local authorities will be able to explain the situation. |
| 433 | ** Ummm,no,it's not the same thing at all.Rarity dreads the idea of letting [[TheKlutz Sweetie Bell]] help her,and Apple Bloom is rarely seen helping around the farm.Plus,they both go to school and spend ''a lot'' of time hanging out with Scootaloo trying to gain their Cutie Marks.Spike doesn't go to school(another thing i'm kinda unconfortable with) and doesn't seem to know well somebody other than Twilight's friends(check out his birthday,only them were present).As seen in "Owl's Well That End Well" at times he fall aspleep because he works too hard:it's very different that having your brother pick up his mess. Also,so if Celestia says so is suddendly ok?So ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem ? |
| 434 | ** Spike seems to be a legal adult, judging by how ponies treat him. |
| 435 | ** Are we watching the same show? Because they treat him as a kid.People don't go to adults to cuddle their cheecks and baby-talk them. |
| 436 | ** Well, from the Cutie Mark Chronicles, we've seen Twilight hatch Spike when she was just a little filly. By that, we could assume that, by pony standards, Spike would at least be a pre-teen, if not somewhere in his mid-teen years, since at this point Twilight and her friends are established to be young adults. Him being a 'baby' could only apply to him being a dragon, a species with at least one variety shown to (even if exaggerated a bit) be able to sleep for a century. Baby dragons therefore could have at least the basic intellect a pony in their teen years would have, which would lend to Spike being considered old enough, at least mentally, to work like a normal pony would, while him falling asleep can be explained by him still being a '''dragon''' baby. Even a baby with the intelligence of a normal teen would still sleep like a baby. Other than that, it isn't like he's asked or told to do anything particularly dangerous, and what he is seen doing, he doesn't act like he's being forced to. And while the Mane Six were the only ones seen at his party, remember that when he was walking around Ponyville, before his greed set in, he did receive some genuine gifts from Mrs. Cake and Cheerilee (Mrs. Cake in particular baked a sapphire-studded cupcake especially for him). As for schooling, while he hasn't been shown taking classes like Cheerilee's, there's always the possibility of home-schooling, which would be pretty easy to do since he '''lives in a library''' with Twilight. |
| 437 | ** [[ValuesDissonance Equestria appears to be an agrarian society.]] Which means it's highly likely that there ARE no child labor laws to speak of. Apple Bloom goes to school but there is no indication she doesn't also work Sweet Apple Acres to the best of her ability. As for Spike's age he's clearly younger than the Mane Six since we've seen his birth which given how slowly dragons age means he's probably closer to an infant or a toddler physically. Mentally he's clearly on par with adult ponies but he appears to exhaust easily which kinda makes sense because even if we don't see it he's growing rapidly. |
| 438 | ** I already heard this,how Twilight is supposed to be taking care of Spike's education,but in 65+ episode we still haven't seen her teach him a thing. Plus,about the age,think about it:the first episode of the series wasn't Spike's first day of the job. He was already doing it and,considering that he is rather skilled at it,he had probably started a considerable time ago:he started working when he was ''even younger''. |
| 439 | |
| 440 | * How did Luna and Celestia discover their cutie marks/special talents? Did they just decide one day "Hey, I'm gonna use magic to move the moon/sun for some reason!" |
| 441 | ** Given that moving the sun and moon were what the unicorns of old did, that may very well have happened. Sun/Moon cutie marks may have been more common back in the day. They might have seen the group responsible for the sun/moon, said to themselves, "I wanna try that too" and did. As time went on, they may have shown themselves to be able to do by themselves what it took a large group of specially trained unicorns. |
| 442 | ** Alternatively they may have been born ridiculously powerful. It seems implied that it took teams of unicorns to raise the sun and moon previously. They do it alone. It seems possible they found that out early either intentionally just by trying or some sort of goof where they went before anybody else was ready. |
| 443 | ** It is explained in the Journal of the Two Sisters, apparently near the time of the unification of Equestria it took ten unicorns to get the sun moving and those ten would deplete their magic permanently. once ALL unicorns including Starswirl the Bearded were out of action they thought of asking the Alicorn there to try, she got her cutie mark, got empowered by it and repowered all the unicorns there... It also explain that alicorn get their cutie mark quite later in life than normal ponies so being an adult blank flank is not strange. |
| 444 | |
| 445 | * Why does Spike sleeps in a basket? It gives UnfortunateImplications: he isn't a dog or a cat. A crib would be less insulting. |
| 446 | ** It's possible that most baby dragons sleep in baskets and Spike wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably in a crib or regular bed. |
| 447 | ** I think baby dragons stay with their parents on the mountain.I strongly doubt they carry around baskets for them.It's even more strange because from "Look before you sleep" we know there is another bed in the library. |
| 448 | ** It's possible Spike doesn't find regular beds comfortable, but Twilight doesn't allow him to sleep on the floor... Or the basket is filled with gems and gold pieces for his comfort. |
| 449 | ** It's not clear how much contact ponies and dragons normally have but it seems to be fairly limited. Enough that even Twilight, the Smart One, didn't head off in ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' with the intention of dealing with the dragon as a sentient being that could be reasoned with. She brought Fluttershy specifically because Fluttershy has a connection to ''animals''. So its possible that either it IS racism/specism on the part of the ponies to mistreat Spike because they simply don't know better or perhaps Spike is special in some way that isn't clearly defined. That same thing that makes Scooby Doo different, it's not that dogs talk in Scooby Doo. They don't and it's never brought up. |
| 450 | |
| 451 | * What was Celestia thinking when she gave custody of Spike to Twilight? I mean, here we have a member of a kin ponies know nothing about,and she hands him to a filly? Even if we follow Faust's words and he was indeed raised by the Princess for the first years, how can they take care of him (how long must a dragon sleep? How much food is enough? What kind of food is right? What if some food is okay for ponies but poison for him? ETC.)? His birthday shows that letting him live with ponies without knowledge is a bad idea! In-story reason, why hasn't Celestia let Twilight become her student after the hatching and send Spike to some dragon couple? |
| 452 | ** Odds are Celestia, having had a millennium to observe the world, knows a thing or two about raising baby dragons. She also likely taught at least a few things to Twilight Sparkle before handing Spike over. The fact that Spike has lived as long as he has in perfectly good health (and not only fully literate, but with college-level vocabulary, at least after the pilot) means Celestia was right in entrusting Twilight with Spike. |
| 453 | ** If Celestia knows so much about dragons, why the hell do ponies still know nothing about dragon biology and there are no books about them? |
| 454 | *** I think the show has demonstrated that Celestia's record-keeping skills are less than stellar. The pilot episode showcased that the heroes didn't know that the Day Princess from the legend was the same pony that's been ruling for over a century, that Nightmare Moon was real, and no one knew about the Crystal Empire (Twilight is a bookworm with a love of all things academic, and yet she didn't know about this important historical territory). |
| 455 | ** Sorry, I digressed here: the problem isn't if Twilight is a good caretaker or not, but why Celestia chose to give away a dragon (which again, ponies know nothing about)to put away books, dust shelf and cook meals instead of using this incredible opportunity to study him. |
| 456 | *** There's a lot about Spike that can get really, really uncomfortable to think about if you go any further than the surface. If Dragons grow in proportion to their greed, having Spike become Twilight's assistant to do menial chores for her might be the only way to keep him small enough to fit in with Pony society. And given Celestia's tendency to work behind the scenes towards her own goals in secret, we don't know for sure that she hasn't been studying Spike through Twilight this whole time... |
| 457 | |
| 458 | * Does Spike know about Fluttershy's phobia of dragons?I mean,even if it doesn't extend to him, wouldn't be really awkward to know someone who is scared to death by your species? |
| 459 | ** He probably knows, but doesn't judge Fluttershy too hardly, as he himself has seen how awful dragons can be. Plus, Fluttershy has demonstrated that she can control it when it's only one dragon. |
| 460 | *** She also flatly stated her fear is of adult dragons. The huge, potentially town-destroying ones. |
| 461 | ** Which is still akward:I keep thinking if he isn't afraid she will scared of him when he grow up.And knowing someone is afraid of your species as a whole isn't exactly pleasent:it's like if Kirk was afraid of Klingons and Worf knew it. |
| 462 | |
| 463 | * Why is Equestria the only place to have something like the Elements of Harmony? Why doesn't any other country have them? And on that note, how come we've never seen an Alicorn outside of Equestria? |
| 464 | ** ... We haven't seen any other country so far, unless you count the Crystal Empire, and they have the Crystal Heart. Other places probably have similar things under their power. |
| 465 | |
| 466 | * Shouldn't Spike,you know...GO TO SCHOOL?Yes,I'm sure he learned to write,read and count from either Celestia or Twilight,but those are the skills of a seven years old.Shouldn't he have a more advanced education?What if he had to stop working for Twilight for whatever reason and had to look for another job?For that matter,how come Cherilee still haven't come to the library to ask:"Sooo...when are you sending him to my school?" |
| 467 | ** Other than Twilight, we haven't seen anyone pursuing a higher education, it's probable that they are based on apprenticeships instead of general education and Spike has already learned all he needed from Princess Celestia's School, and since he's Twilight assistant, he technically is learning from her, and as shown in several episodes, he is allowed to pursue other dreams if he feels inclined to. |
| 468 | ** Wanting to go with other dragons is one thing,since clearly they have no academic interests and live in the wild.But what can he put in a curriculum if he is searching for another job?And also,what?Only Twilight is pursuing a higher education?So no one has a degree in Equestria? |
| 469 | ** Of the ponies we have seen? Yeah, only Twilight. Cheerilee *might* have an education one... And Spike can put in his curriculum he has opposable thumbs, for example. It's not like other ponies have more varied skillssets. Plus, *why* would he be searching for another job? He is very happy being Twilight assistant. |
| 470 | ** Yes.he is,but he wouldn't be the first one that has to change job even if he likes it.Anyway,if his education if considered enough,why Apple Bloom is still in school instead of working full time at her farm?She can write and read(I'm not sure about counting,but considering her sister can barely count until six it's probably not so important).I mean,is he stuck doing manual labour for all his life?With a higher education ha would at least have better options. |
| 471 | ** Apple Bloom is being taught at the speed of a pony, she has Cheerilee as a teacher, and is not the only student. Spike, even if he's considered a "baby" is on par intellectually with Twilight Sparkle, was raised/taught by Celestia (or at least at the school for gifted unicorns) and is ridiculously long-lived (a 100 years sleep for a dragon is considered a nap). If he ever wants to pursue doing other things (or several) he literally has a lifetime to try them. Ponies are also long-lived (Granny being over a 100) and stay young a ridilous amount of years (Twilight's parent in the flashbacks look exactly as they look now) so it wouldn't be a problem for anyone else. |
| 472 | ** Having Spike being taught differently because he is not a pony completly break the Aesop from "Dragon Quest". |
| 473 | ** Spike has enough education to keep up with Twilight Sparkle, and even translates her TechnoBabble for other ponies. It seems like he's finished mandatory education. |
| 474 | ** I highly doubt it,considering that Faust herself confirmed he is the age of an elementary school kid,and he sure doesn't look smart enough to have skipped all those grades(He was shown to have problem reading and to have a small vocabolary,to crying out loud).And if he really is so smart,can we send him to college instead of using him as a butler? |
| 475 | *** Spike has never been shown having trouble reading and only had trouble with spelling a word once, something that didn't make sense even in the context of that episode. Spike being elementary age was apparently dropped by the time he was given a full time job. |
| 476 | ** In the pilot he had trouble with way more than one word. And I keep hearing this but I see no proof:when did they say they dropped the idea of him being elementary age? Because as far as i know only kids have so much trouble staying awake late or are baby-talked. Plus we have seen teenage dragons and he was canonically younger than them:you know who is younger than teenagers? ''Children''. And you can't say "Oh,they looked older because they fall victim to their greed...When Spike was their size because of his greed he was shown talking like the dumbest version of Hulk and trying to take everything he could:they were jerks for sure,but could talk just fine and showed no hint to be greedy. |
| 477 | *** CharacterizationMarchesOn. Maybe in the pilot he had trouble, but afterwards he never had any problems. Leastwise, none that come to mind. |
| 478 | *** We've seen how elementary school aged children are treated in this show. They don't have full time jobs that include going into potential combat situations. And Spike only had trouble staying up ''once,'' to watch a meteor shower that didn't end until late at night, and that seemed to be at least partly because of overwork. |
| 479 | ** He fallen asleep during the pilot,too(and that was despite Nightmare Moon's treath. I'm not sure how you sleep during something like that)and fallen asleep while doing chores in the second episode of season 2. Heck,he actually fall asleep multiple times during the episode with the meteor shower,despite oversleeping the next morning:either he wasn't allowed to rest for some days,or-again-he is a kid. And the fact that he is the only one so young seen with a full time job is kinda what the problem is about. |
| 480 | ** Oh,and he fallen asleep(twice),during the Winter Wrap-Up,now that I think about it. |
| 481 | ** Simple. Dragons don't go to school. |
| 482 | |
| 483 | * I really find forced the fact that ponies know nothing about dragons because they are to scary and dangerous.We have tons of animals in RealLife that can kill us in a heartbeat and yet we study them. What gives? |
| 484 | ** Dragons are sentient beings, and are violently territorial. It's hard enough to study a hippo. Now imagine if the hippo was the size of a building, could breathe fire, was nigh-invulnerable, and could track down your family and hold them hostage just because you walked near his cave. |
| 485 | ** Most humans also don't have magic abilites or are capable of Flying for fight back/escape. Your point? Also dragons don't exactly seem to be hunters: the giant green one from "Owl that ends well" stopped chasing Spike once he was out of his sight. |
| 486 | *** My point is that if the dragon doesn't want to answer your questions, he's not going to answer your questions. And if you continue bothering the dragon, he's going to be pissed, and considering one of those things could probably take a small army, repeatedly pestering him is probably going to end badly. |
| 487 | ** This really bugs me too. If anything the fact that they are sentient would make it easier to discover something about them.Just take a bag of gems, took them to a dragon and ASK him what you want to know in exchange of the food,offering to bring more gems for future chats. |
| 488 | *** The amount of gems required to bribe Spike is probably substantially less than the amount it would take to bribe a fully grown dragon, and it may get insulted that you tried to bribe them with what is tantamount to a cupcake crumb. Sure, cupcakes are delicious, but a crumb is hardly a meal. |
| 489 | ** "Dragon Quest" shows that baby dragon and "tall as a skyskraper" aren't the only two size a dragon can have. Several were human size,and probably you wouldn't need that many gems to bribe them. And anyway dragons are greedy: every little bit would count. |
| 490 | *** Again, your entire premise dependent on the dragon being willing to cooperate. Those dragons you mentioned were thugs, they'd probably mug you for the gems and not answer anything. And considering they were teenagers, they might have parents who would chase you off for approaching them. |
| 491 | ** Yes, they were thugs, but that doesn't mean they are idiots: keep the gems and answering the questions would mean the possibility to have more gems: it's just common sense. And anyway, we call them teenagers, but their age was never stated in the episode: heck, given how long dragons live, maybe be a teenagers for them means be 90. Also we don't see their parents in all the episode: maybe dragons aren't that great as parents. |
| 492 | *** They were called teenagers in the show, but the term is likely meant to be used colloquially, "adolescents" being more accurate. And again, you are assuming the adolescent dragons are willing to answer the questions, and won't feel patronized by your deal. Spike might be bribeable with gems like kids are with candy, but that's because he is a little kid, and older dragons might find that approach childish and insulting. Plus, given how territorial dragons seem to be, mugging the ponies for their gems would be a perfectly valid approach because it gets them gems ''and'' it makes the annoying ponies go away. |
| 493 | ** Why would they see this as ''insulting''? It's a exchange: you get something and you give something. It happens everyday. And there is a difference between being territorial and being a moron: someone is giving you food for basically ''nothing'', why would they stop that?It's like if I had a machine able to create gold but instead decided to destroy it to sell the parts and use the money to buy gold:it doesn't make sense. And since we are on the subject of assuming, you are assuming that those three are the standard for every dragon in the world. |
| 494 | *** The reason they might find it insulting is because gems more or less fulfill the role of candy among dragons. If we're dealing with violent, anti-social thugs, you are basically offering candy in exchange for information on them. Can you imagine a reporter trying that with Crips or the Bloods? That reporter would probably get shot at on general principle. And your gold example doesn't work because the dragons in this situation have plenty of gold already. And while yes, I am making assumptions, I am also basing this on the fact that just about every dragon aside from Spike wasn't friendly to outsiders. The Red Dragon blew them off until RD kicked him in the face, the Green Dragon tried to kill Spike, and we have the Dragon thugs from Dragon Quest (Steve Magnet is likely not a dragon because Fluttershy doesn't freak out in his presence, or if he is, he's not recognized as one). For all we know, dragons can be friendly, since the buffalo consider dragons sacred, but the ones that live in Equestria are not. |
| 495 | ** When it had been enstablished "gems equals candies"?Just because Spike really likes them doesn't mean they are sweets.Do that means that the two giant dragons we have seen with all those gems were two [[ManChild man children]]?In Dragon Quest Spike wasn't the only one to jump to the pile of gems,if I remember correctly.Also are you really comparing criminals that kill others to animals?Why wouldn't they want to answer,to not reveal the existence [[SarcasmMode of the dragon mafia]]? |
| 496 | *** Gems are an established food source for dragons, and the way Spike reacts to them it's obvious gems are pretty tasty, so associating them with candy is not an unreasonable assumption. Also, dragons are not animals, they're sentient beings, capable of pretty impressive feats of destruction if they felt like it. As for why they wouldn't want to answer questions: it's not that they mind answering questions, it's that they mind the fact that there's someone bothering them in the first place. |
| 497 | ** Right, sentient beings. That's my point: Ponyville is right next to the Everfree Forest, a place with [[BearsAreBadNews giant bears]], [[MixAndMatchCritters manticores]], [[TakenForGranite chickens that can turn you in stone by looking at you]], Timberwolfes, Hydras and insects able to devour whole towns, and yet no one has problems with that, apparently. And yet dragons, who are smart enough to have a conversation with can't even be studied? I'm really finding that difficult to believe. |
| 498 | *** First off, no one knew what a parasprite was except Pinkie. Second, we don't know much about any of those other creatures aside from their most basic traits (Ursas for instance, are giant bear whose babies are the size of buildings). People know to avoid cockatrices because they turn ponies to stone, they know to avoid hydras because they're big, nasty and vicious, timberwolves are also vicious but are also fairly [[GlassCannon weak]]. That's less than what we've seen of dragons (live in caves, eat gems, sleep for decades, territorial, breathe fire, many can fly, sentient and capable of speech). Twilight's conversation with Zecora was in the context of Spike's life cycle. We don't exactly know what happens with baby hydras. |
| 499 | ** You are just confirming what I said: for what little we know about those animals they can be as dangerous or more dangerous that dragons and yet they live really close to them with no problems. But dragons (of which we also know very little of..."Dragon Quest" would have been helpful [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot had they tried to show something instead of focusing on"Girs are good,boys are bad]])? [[UnfortunateImplications Oh please,let's stay away from those horrible monsters who have no good qualities unless they have passed their entire life surronded by ponies and girls]]. |
| 500 | ** Why do you insist on making Equestria look racist to dragons when that's not true? The ponies live close to the other creatures because they are all in the same spot. The dragons are not (and the everfree forest is next to Ponyville, so the creatures there don't have a choice). And we have seen in Dragonshy that they DO have good qualities. And are we seriously just going to take Twilight's word for it just because Twilight didn't have any books about dragons or assume that it's the ponies' fault about their lack of knowledge instead of think, maybe the dragons didn't WANT to be studied? (And "Girls are good, boys are bad" is not the lesson the teaching.) And this is now 2019, where we've seen good dragons and they are officially allies now. |
| 501 | |
| 502 | * The colors of the Elements of Harmony are kind of strange. There's blue for Pinkie, red for Rainbow Dash, pink for Fluttershy, purple for Rarity, magenta for Twilight, and orange for Applejack. The only one that makes sense is orange and AJ, but the others are just random. In my opinion, FS should have yellow, Pinkie should have pink, Rarity should have white, RD should have blue, and TS should have purple. |
| 503 | ** They're not that random. Applejack's element matches her coat as you said, Twilight's matches her magic aura (and cutie mark), Rainbow Dash's, Fluttershy's, and Rarity's match their manes (or part of her mane in Rainbow Dash's case.) And Pinkie Pie's matches her InnocentBlueEyes. They don't match the coats. But they do match something on their bodies. |
| 504 | ** Except for AJ and Rarity, an Element's color is in its owner's cutie mark. Applejack's is orange instead of red and Rarity's is purple instead of blue so they would not match Rainbow Dash's and Pinkie Pie's, respectively. So each Element is a different color, which is used in "Magical Mystery Cure" to show how they swap. |
| 505 | |
| 506 | * WHY IS SPIKE STILL IN PONYVILLE? First of all,he grew to giant size and tear down half of the town!I'm really supposed to believe that in a society that is so scared of dragons to not study them that no resident of Ponyville has problems with having as neighbor one that could became a vicious giant?Second:according to the doctor,ponies know nothing about dragon biology.Am I the only one scared at the idea of what would happen if Spike really gets some dragon illness?What are they supposed to do,just bury him? |
| 507 | ** Ponyvilleans are very forgiving of people who actually repents, and they're kind of used to their city being leveled(Parasprites, Ursa Major, Cerberus, Twilight Sparkle going crazy...) Even if some citizen of Ponyville does have problems with Spike, they probably know he's the assistant of Twilight Sparkle, who in turn is the protégé of Princess Celestia, so they might be more scared of bugging their goddess-empress. Even if they really succeded in getting rid of Spike, where would they send him? They know nothing of where dragons come. If Spike became truly sick(instead of going through puberty) I'm pretty sure that at the very least, Twilight would contact Celestia and Luna. |
| 508 | ** Yes,but most of those thing came from out the city(and I'm not even sure they realize it was Twilight that brainwashed them).This is a member of a species they are totally afraid of that live litteraly next of them and could potentially grow up again overnight:there is believing their world is more idealistic that ours and there is shattering my WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.And what would accomplish contact Celestia?She clearly is as ignorant as everybody else about dragons,or she would have told Twilight about the risks of Spike's greed. |
| 509 | *** And potentially make Twilight distrutful and paranoid of Spike? She's been alive for more than a thousand years, I'm pretty sure she has a vast knowledge not because she's powerful, but because she has been alive for so long.. |
| 510 | ** So you are basically suggesting that Celestia was fully aware of the dangers of Spike's greed but said nothing leaving the possibility of him growing,squashing her faithful student and the rest of the Elements of te Harmony,destroying a town and who know what else?It's something I'd expect from a bash fic,but not from canon.Also having a vaste knowledge doesn't means she knows everything... |
| 511 | |
| 512 | * Am [[Tropers/{{MsCC93}} I]] the only one bothered by the fact that Earth ponies don't have any unique abilities (granted it's their cutie marks that make them stand out)? I mean, Unicorns can use magic, while Pegasus ponies can fly. What about Earth ponies? I mean granted you never see any Earth ponies feeling sad bout not being a pegasus or a unicorn, but this is still mind-buggling. |
| 513 | ** I think they mentioned that Earth Ponies are stronger and have a closer connection to the land. |
| 514 | ** addressed in this comic: http://fav.me/d62mddr |
| 515 | ** I'd say Earth Ponies are the [[BadassNormal Badass Normals]] of the show. Technically there's not much they can do that Unicorns and Pegasi couldn't also do, but since they can't do anything else, they work a lot harder at those skills and excel in them compared to the others. |
| 516 | |
| 517 | * I'm very curious about the changelings ability to trasform: does it have limits?I mean,during the brawl with the Mane 6 they transformed in doppelaganger of them,but I was thinking:"Can't they change in giant dragons and squash them?".Or they can just transform in something more or less their size? |
| 518 | ** What is with you and thinking about dragons squashing ponies? |
| 519 | ** Not necessarily dragons, but if you can transform in anything, why choose ponies instead of dragons, elephants, rhinos or lions, just to make a few examples? |
| 520 | *** This was addressed in one of the comics (take it with a grain of salt if you must): changelings are limited to transforming into ponies. Before you say "well, why don't they just become giant ponies", they may only have limited size-changing abilities. |
| 521 | |
| 522 | * Luna and Celestia were once attuned to the Elements of Harmony, right? Did they have three each, or what? Because somehow it seems weird that someone who actually embodied any of the elements the way the Mane Six do would had it in their nature to let the whole Nightmare Moon thing get as far as it did. |
| 523 | ** [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust clarified]], that they indeed were meant to have three each, though until/unless we see an episode about that, it's not really canon. As to why they let the Nightmare Moon thing happen: people change. They may have once embodied the Elements, but probably soured over time. And as they were immortal, they had a lot of time for that. |
| 524 | |
| 525 | * Why is it that Celestia doesn't tell the ponies who ''hold'' the elements of harmony about some threat to Harmony until they show up? Surely, if these new threats are happening because of a power shift due to the Elements of Harmony changing ownership, then shouldn't Celestia be aware of what might happen and tell the mane six what kinds of dangers they might face? |
| 526 | ** Who said they happened due to the Elements changing owners? It's just a fan theory. |
| 527 | *** It might be some kind of correlation to all sorts of threats needing the elements, but even then, why doesn't Celestia tell the new holders of the elements what they might have to do, rather than "Oh, Discord ''just'' showed up." |
| 528 | ** Maybe Celestia just forgets about them. 1,000 years ago seemed to be a ridiculously turbulent time for their world, as Luna was attempting to seize Celestia's position while Discord ruled the world and King Sombra ran amok. Who knows how many more super-powerful threats there were? Another possibility is that Celestia runs on a need-to-know basis on these villains to avoid the risk of letting knowledge of them reach the public--Discord and Queen Chrysalis, at least, benefit from infamy (Discord because he loves it and Chrysalis because it'd provide more fuel). Certainly, the series has headed in the direction of preparedness, as by the time of "Magical Mystery Cure," the Elements of Harmony are now in Twilight's library, ready to use the moment they learn of a new threat. |
| 529 | *** If Celestia forgets about them, then somepony needs to show her a book labeled "Diary" or "History" so she doesn't have this problem! Justifiable as for why she wouldn't mention Sombra to the new holders - As far as ''she'' and Luna knew, Sombra was gone or good. |
| 530 | ** The only threat that Celestia knew about in advance was Nightmare Moon. She didn't know that Discord could escape until he did, she didn't know about Queen Chrysalis until she unveiled herself, and she was only warned about Sombra's return by mortal means. Princess Celestia is telling the Manes about threats once she knows that they are relevant, otherwise she'd be telling Twilight about everyone that she ever got in a fight with, and probably a bunch of random stuff besides. |
| 531 | |
| 532 | * Has Granny Smith always been named Granny Smith? Because if she was, she must have been teased a lot as a filly. (I did notice that her backstory in "Family Appreciation Day" was careful to never let mention of her name.) |
| 533 | ** The Granny Smith apple is cultivated from the Granny ''Ramsey'' Smith plant; then of course there's the [[http://www.fruit.usask.ca/apples/edith_smith.html ''Edith'' Smith apple]], so either could be applicable, but such thoughts cross over quite quickly into WMG territory. |
| 534 | |
| 535 | * How come when The Crystal Empire was restored Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, Shining Armor and Cadence became Crystal Ponies/Dragon but is later episodes/movies when they go to the Crystal Empire they do not become Crystal Ponies/Dragon. |
| 536 | ** They were transformed by a sudden surge of energy from the Crystal Heart, but the effect worn off quickly, and seemed to only affect their outward appearance (they didn't become ''actual'' crystal ponies/dragon). The surge was a single event, and later there was nothing that would keep transforming people. |
| 537 | ** It's possible this is an effect that only includes outsiders during the Crystal Fair, when the heart is "recharged," if you will, by the citizens, thus releasing a surge of power. So if the Mane Six attend the Crystal Fair annually, Rarity can enjoy a crystal coat one day a year for as long as she attends. |
| 538 | ** ...they were transformed? I thought what happened was something more comparable to say, glitter fallign rom the sky and landing in their fur. [[ClingyMacGuffin You know how glitter is...]] |
| 539 | |
| 540 | * We've seen dragons other than Spike breathe fire- why doesn't their fire send... whatever they breathe it at to Celestia? Come to think of it, how does Celestia send letters back through Spike? Does she have another dragon with teleporting fire on her end? |
| 541 | ** I don't remember the source, but I'm pretty sure [[WordOfGod it was said]] that Spike's ability to send letters is a spell he was taught by Celestia. We've seen that his fire doesn't always send things. I'm also fairly certain we've seen Celestia sending letters in one of the episodes (although probably not to Spike): she casts a spell on them and they disappear. |
| 542 | |
| 543 | * On the map of Equestria, there's a place called Gelding Glen. How do you suppose it got its name? And does this imply that geldings are, or at least were, part of Equestrian society, particularly the royal court, as eunuchs in service to a queen or princess would be in ancient times? |
| 544 | ** There is no "Gelding Glen" in the official map. The Gelding Grotto is from the comics, which are probably not meant to be canon. What status geldings would have in Equestrian society is unknown since it is doubtful that they will ever be mentioned in the actual show. |
| 545 | |
| 546 | * I noticed the question comes up a lot in Headscratchers about why the Mane Six aren't seen as heroes or celebrities despite defeating a number of great accomplishments: Have they not seen any other animated sitcoms? It's very common among them to have the main characters do a number of noteworthy (not necessarily heroic) things and still be treated completely normally, particularly those willing to dive into more surreal plots:\ |
| 547 | \ |
| 548 | ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Eric Cartman has assembled an army to commit genocide, almost reclaimed the Confederate States for himself, saved the world from a guinea pig attack, and averted a war between atheists. He still has to introduce himself whenever he meets new characters.\ |
| 549 | \ |
| 550 | ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Members of the Simpson nuclear household have been a rising music star paralleling Music/TheBeatles (Homer), stopped ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' from airing (Marge), apprehended a man about to kill a big celebrity (Bart), and created a new sensational toyline (Lisa). Every significant event in Springfield is either started or solved by one of them. They are given no special treatment whatsoever and are often scorned by their fellow townsfolk.\ |
| 551 | \ |
| 552 | ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Timmy Turner has fended off an alien invasion at least three times (the aliens often blow their cover), helped the Fairy World stop corporate takeovers from the Pixies at least twice, and has outwitted a malicious genie at least twice, whom even fairies fear. If anything, this would give him notability among fairies, but he still needs special permission to enter from Cosmo and Wanda.\ |
| 553 | \ |
| 554 | ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Every episode has a villain attempting to do something big and destructive, whom Kim invariably stops. The best she gets is beig able to hitch a ride with anyone she likes, and this comes crashing down in "Team Impossible."\ |
| 555 | \ |
| 556 | ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': Deathklok band members frequently battle demons and ghosts, and any concert they play in ends with the audience dead or dying. They are the most successful and popular band in their universe.\ |
| 557 | \ |
| 558 | ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' (added bonus: this and MLP:FIM share some key creative members): No one notices Dexter's HumongousMecha fighting giant monsters, nor do they see him rushing to the scene to fight smaller ones. In Japan, such attacks are considered common, and everybody has a Humongous Mecha ready. The spinoff ''The Justice Friends'' takes it a step further with the premise of three superheroes who constantly have to defend their town from all sorts of supervillains but can only afford to share an apartment together.\ |
| 559 | \ |
| 560 | ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': Even the most trivial things Rigby and Mordecai do get them into cosmic trouble. Few other characters invoke such incidents nearly as often. Everyone else sees the two of them as groundskeeper grunts at the park.\ |
| 561 | \ |
| 562 | ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'': Spongebob has beaten Neptune in a fight and has also retrieved his crown. He has also beaten the Flying Dutchman in a fight and is friends with him. Aside from that, he is just your ordinary frycook at The Krusty Krab.\ |
| 563 | \ |
| 564 | So what's the big deal here? As an animated sitcom, the same forces driving all of those protagonists into obscurity despite their noteworthy actions apply here too. |
| 565 | ** Because those other examples don't have a huge, developed world to live in, with consistently-seen people who live there and have clearly independent lives that don't involve the main characters. It's easy to just accept the episodic nature of most shows because anyone who isn't relevant to the goings-on is either non-existent (Dexter's Lab, Spongebob), played for laughs or completely disdained (South Park, Metalocalypse, pretty much any show that assumes the average person is an idiot). In MLP, we're fully aware the Ponyville is full of ponies who, while not in the spotlight, are still individuals who matter and aren't just interchangeable {{NPC}}s. It's harder to let that go when you can look at a background pony and know for sure that they were there for whatever event. |
| 566 | *** That applies to any show with recurring background characters. And most of the recurring backround ponies are literally characterless cutouts that can be cloned at will. Any character was invested by the fans. |
| 567 | *** The "invested by the fans" part is the important bit. MLP has background ponies that people notice because the character designs themselves, even when they're just interchangeable clones, are still interesting and fun to look at, and on top of that, they come with a ready-made template for viewers to fill in the blanks themselves. We pay attention because the creators have given us a reason to do so: ''every'' pony has a cutie mark and special talent, we know that, even if we're not shown each one individually. That gives them a level of individuality that most other shows don't have. Yes, some of them ''can'' be cloned at will, that's one of the benefits of animation as a medium, but that doesn't mean they have no meaning at all. And more to the point, many of the background ponies do have established designs and official names, there are whole wikis devoted to keeping track of them. Other shows just don't invite that much investment. |
| 568 | *** Considering they have a ready-made template, that would logically mean even LESS effort is required than normal to make background characters (and it looks like when a crowd is particularly large, they just copy and paste), so if they have some level of individuality and each have a name, that's marketing appealing to collectors. My original point was, however, why fans of this show seem to expect the gang to become world-famous and treated as national heroes when this has almost never happened in western animation, and when it does, is typically a single-episode affair, like with ComicBook/BoosterGold in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' or even on-and-off like with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', who toggle between stardom and obscurity on a seemingly weekly basis. Both of those shows also have a large number of recurring, named, and notable-looking background characters, and they all have unique models. Yet you don't hear that hubbub about "Why aren't the Warner Brothers known to everyone far and wide?" or "Why does S.T.E.E.L./The Huntress/Ambush Bug/Captain Comet/Red Tornado have to earn respect from everyone every time they do something?"\ |
| 569 | \ |
| 570 | Come to think of it, I may have answered my own question: Considering the representation this show and its products have around anime-related and comic-book-related stuff, a good chunk of this fandom probably DON'T have much background watching western animation. They're probably used to the serial nature of anime and comic books and go into this show with a serial mindset, and those narrative media often actually have their main characters earning fame and keeping it. However, the writers for this show are experienced in the episodic nature of most western animation, which, until the rise of digital streaming, HAD to be episodic in case the network reruns in a random order (as is what happens with ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', making it impossible for me to catch up through Cartoon Network). Even the idea of rising fame and world-notability would cause problems for viewers if they watched it in a random order. They--the writers AND the viewers--are fortunate The Hub actually reruns ''Friendship Is Magic'' in production order. Any further discussion on this is welcome though, since these explanations are interesting. (Naturally, ''my'' background is western animation, so I had tot ake notice when these fans get bugged about something I've become very accustomed to.)\ |
| 571 | \ |
| 572 | One final thought: The Simpsons are finally getting some recognition from the world at large--mainly through LampshadeHanging and throwaway jokes (as FOX airs ''The Simpsons'' in random order, that's all they can afford to do), but it actually started happening in Season 19 with "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E10EPluribusWiggum E. Pluribus Wiggum]]." I almost forgot about this. |
| 573 | * I don't think that's necessarily the case. A lot of fans are well within the age range that would have at least as much experience with Western animation as any other. Animaniacs was a show-within-a-show; the Warners were famous actors who also acted in their own show, and what the viewers saw switched between the show they were acting in and their "real" lives. Either way, network syndication did contribute to the StatusQuoIsGod trope and MLP doesn't go with it, plus the world-building gives the entire setting a degree of consistency that most cartoons just don't have. And maybe more to the point, the Mane Six aren't superheroes with secret identities who only show up when they're needed, they're citizens of Ponyville that everyone knows and has to interact with on some level; Applejack provides their food, Pinkie Pie is sort of a wandering party hazard, Twilight runs the library, Rarity makes their clothes, Fluttershy takes care of their pets, and Rainbow Dash does heroism as a hobby. They're a constant, significant presence in Ponyville even at their most basic core concepts, so it feels weird when no one comments on it, especially the background ponies we see observing their various events all the time. I think what it boils down to is that when people get invested, they notice things that they think are off somehow more than if they didn't care. And people really, really care about MLP! |
| 574 | |
| 575 | * If friendship is magic and everyone can make friends, why can't anyone with friends use magic...? Can only unicorns/alicorns truly befriend anyone? And what does it mean that none of the Elements actually ''do'' anything except the element of Magic? |
| 576 | ** Friendship is Magic. Friendship is not the ability to ''use'' magic. Even if everypony with friends is generating magic, not everyone knows how to use it. Also consider that the most powerful magical items in the setting are powered by or related to friendship. Friendship might be a fundamental or extremely powerful form of magic, which not just anypony can use. |
| 577 | ** In other words, Friendship is like [[Franchise/StarWars the Force]], powerful, vaguely defined, and difficult to use. |
| 578 | |
| 579 | * Why doesn't Fluttershy have trouble talking to other sentient species? The dragon in "Dragonshy" was treated like an animal despite his sentience, and she doesn't seem to see Discord or the Breezies as animals but she's still always been comfortable talking to them and even [[spoiler:assuming authority over them]]. What is it about her own species that makes her clam up? |
| 580 | ** Most likely with the arguable exception of Spike who seems to wander this strange line between pet, little brother, indentured servant and friend the animals are not her peers. Even if they are sentient they still don't matter in quite the same way as ponies do. It's like how some children are perfectly chatty with adults but quiet around kids their age. No adult is ever going to invite them to a sleep over or make fun of their braces. Similarly some of those same kids can easily give speeches to large crowds because there is a world of difference between a crowd of largely nobodies watching you and being one on one with Chris. Similarly Fluttershy isn't going to die alone if every dragon on the planet shuns her. |
| 581 | |
| 582 | * Am I the only one that thinks the Earth Ponies are getting shafted for representation in the royalty? I know unicorns are meant to be Equestria's elite, but if it's not to present them as being all three Pony types in one body, why does a princess ''have'' to be an Alicorn? If a Pegasus had all the necessary qualities to be a princess, would Celestia give her a horn? If it was an Earth Pony, would Celestia give her a horn ''and'' wings? Or is magic ability the cornerstone of high authority in Equestria and no one ''but'' a unicorn/born alicorn, if they exist, would ever be considered in the first place? |
| 583 | ** Apparantly, the princesses being taller than regular ponies(Fleur De Lis notwithstanding) is the representation of the earth pony part of the alicorns, as Twilight did became a [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130724211757/mlp/images/thumb/a/a1/Twilight_walking_with_Applejack_EG.png/640px-Twilight_walking_with_Applejack_EG.png bit taller]] and [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130724212148/mlp/images/thumb/8/8d/Applejack_%22no_reason_to_fret%22_EG.png/640px-Applejack_%22no_reason_to_fret%22_EG.png more stylized]]. And The book "Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell" states that Cadance was born a Pegasus and became an Alicorn later, so take that as you want. |
| 584 | *** Taller and thinner doesn't really gel with the idea of Earth ponies, they're built tougher than the other pony types. Alicorns certainly aren't physically stronger than Earth ponies, at least, even though they have more powerful magic and bigger, stronger wings than unicorns and pegasi. If anything, physically speaking, they're much weaker. |
| 585 | *** Unless Celestia and Applejack had a hoof-wrestling contest that I don't know about, we don't really have a baseline for comparison. For what it's worth, in "Luna Eclipsed" Luna stomps her hooves hard enough to shake the ground, which implies pretty impressive physical strength. Not to mention that alicorns explicitly have the powers of all three pony races, which implies that they ''would'' be as strong and durable as earth ponies. Just because they're taller and thinner doesn't mean that they're physically weaker. Also, the S4 premiere implies that Earth Ponies have a degree of earth control magic of some sort (AJ notes that it's weird that the earth ponies can't get rid of the vines, implying that normally they'd have an advantage). |
| 586 | *** They didn't have a hoof-wrestling contest, but Applejack and the others were all strong enough not to be physically overpowered by them. Luna, Celestia, and Twilight all were. That would suggest that Luna's earth-shaking is Earth pony passive magic, not physical strength; and on top of that, Celestia gets her butt kicked all the time. |
| 587 | *** While I'm aware of the "deeper connection to nature" thing, I actually interpreted that comment about earth ponies being unable to pull out the roots being regarding their physical strength. |
| 588 | *** Funny that hoof-wrestling should be mentioned. In [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW the IWD comics]] Big [=McIntosh=] actually did hoof-wrestle Celestia. She was effortlessly holding him back despite him visibly straining to move her. |
| 589 | *** Based on what (I admit is very little) I've seen of the comics, they don't really do well with canon. But now that I think of it, where ''does'' it say that alicorns have all the qualities of all three pony races? I can't remember seeing that anywhere, it just made the most logical sense. From what I can observe in the show, they have a super-powered version of all three races' unique traits, not just those traits on their own. Alicorn magic is greater than unicorn magic, Alicorn wings are greater than Pegasus wings... it would make sense that the super-version of the Earth pony physique is the Alicorn physique: tall, slender and beautiful in addition to Earth pony strength and stamina. |
| 590 | *** I don't know where the idea that they have traits of all three races comes from either or even where it's truly confirmed that Earth Ponies have any special power at all. The closest we come is Hearth Warming's Eve's explanation of the three races and how they originally worked together and if the story was close to accurate and modern members of the races are anything like their ancestors unicorns might be too prissy to work the earth and Pegasai to concerned with the weather. Both of their unique traits would easily explain why earth ponies are viewed as stronger. Unicorns can use magic to avoid physical labor (telekinesis seems to come standard) and Pegasai can fly and seem to most of the time so they'd naturally have weaker legs from lack of use. |
| 591 | *** It comes from [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ Lauren Faust apparently]]. Dunno whether it's official canon though. |
| 592 | *** Don't overlook that in Hearth Warming's Eve there is a scene where Smart Cookie makes a tiny sprout she has picked up with her hoof (along with soil) grow a bit larger. It's pretty much canon that Earth ponies at least have the magical power to improve plant growth. |
| 593 | |
| 594 | * The tree of harmony. I know it was pretty much made up for season 4 just as Cadence and Shining Armour were made up for season 2... but why was something this obvious never discovered before? Why didn't Celestia or Luna mention it? Somebody was sure to ask "Princess Luna/Celestia, where did you and Celesia/Luna get the elements of Harmony?" |
| 595 | ** Because Princess Twilight wasn't special enough and we needed a new magical thing to put her cutie mark on. |
| 596 | ** I'm not so sure that anyone ''would'' ask; as of the show's pilot, it looks like Twilight and Celestia are the only ponies who know of them. They aren't common knowledge until after NMM's defeat, and even then it's never clear if the public knows about them or if the information is contained to the Princesses and the Element Bearers themselves. It also seems to be that messing with the Tree of Harmony could have some pretty serious consequences, so it makes sense that Celestia and Luna would keep it under wraps. |
| 597 | *** [[FridgeBrilliance Which is why Celestia no longer represents the element of honesty... because of her inability to stop giving a casual lie of omission.]] |
| 598 | |
| 599 | * Given what we know about dragons, what makes ponies grow? Because it isn't time: Granny Smith is older than dirt and we know what she looked like as a youngster, she was never tall, but Luna goes from "taller than normal pony" to "equal to Celestia" through anger and jealousy and back again, but she and Celestia are both the same size a thousand years ago that they are now. So what makes ponies grow? Anger? Jealousy? Power? |
| 600 | ** Granny Smith is a normal pony, and Luna is an alicorn, so I'm not sure if you can compare them. Twilight grew a bit when she became an alicorn, so it's possible that alicorns' sizes are dependent on their power level or something. Luna was Celestia's equal, got temporarily depowered by the elements (and shrunk a bit) then regained her full power. |
| 601 | *** Luna was never Celestia's equal. She's the same size in all the flashbacks as she is after being transformed back from being Nightmare Moon. And then there's Fleur de Lis, who has the height and thinness of an alicorn but is apparently a normal unicorn, and Prince Blueblood and Big Macintosh, who have a similar build but Mac is much taller... I am genuinely confused by this. |
| 602 | *** Much of the Canterlot elite too, not just Blueblood. The Watsonian explanation is that different ponies have different heights the same way humans have different heights (with alicorns being special cases, I suppose). The Doylian explanation is that the characters were designed with the sizes they have to better reflect their traits: Mr. Fancypants is taller to make him appear imposing to Rarity, Big [=McIntosh=] is larger because he's strong, etc. |
| 603 | * Why is Princess Luna so small? Originally fanon seemed to have settled on Celestia being one thousand years older than her because of her entrapment in the moon as of "Princess Twilight Sparkle" we know that's not true. |
| 604 | ** Maybe she's small because she's small. Not all ponies are created equal. Suppose this carried over when Luna and Celestia ascended to Alicorns. |
| 605 | * How long is supposed to have passed in the show by now? They seem to have have two separate winters but Celestia is points out at the beginning of Season 4 that this is the first time she can claim to be happy about the Summer Sun Celebration which if I'm not mistaken is an ANNUAL event. |
| 606 | ** Why can't it be a year? Considering Season 1 had a winter episode right before a fall episode, I can safely assume the episodes are not in chronological order. Besides, how many Christmases have the Simpson family and Springfield gone through while Bart remains 9 years old? |
| 607 | *** The Simpsons can do that because they're frozen in time themselves, but they're still held to a certain degree of chronological order (Bart is 10 forever but he still only gets one Christmas a year.) MLP actually has characters grow and change without resetting the status quo, and the seasons explicitly change on schedule (Winter Wrap up says Winter lasted three months, in fact), so they do have an observable timeline, and from season 2 onward, we have observable milestones (Other ponies sending the Friendship letters, for instance) that can put things in a general order. It can't have been a year because there have been at least two winters since Nightmare Moon was defeated, the one in Winter Wrap-up and the one in Hearth's Warming Eve, and both have consistent places in that timeline. |
| 608 | *** If it was a single year it's one of the oddest combinations of status quo is god and constant progression I've seen. Obviously in shows like the Simpsons they have multiple Christmases and winters but MLP has actual milestone marks. S1 has what looks like a goof with Winter Wrap-Up preceeding Fair Weather friends but we know Ticket Master, Suited for Success and the Grand Galloping Gala are in the proper order and separated by at least a few days if not more. Season 2 gives us Baby Cakes and the Canterlot Wedding (not necessarily in that order mind you but probably). Season 3 gives us Bad Apple and Apple Family reunuinion necessarily in that order because Apple Bloom knows Babs Seed and greets her as her favorite cousin. Season 4 also has to be in order since they are now visiting the Castle in Everfree apparently at will. The show has too many fixed points in time for the typical status quo. |
| 609 | ** Perhaps, she meant she's happy because it's her first time doing the event with her sister instead of alone. |
| 610 | *** That's what she said. The question is about if one season roughly equates to a year, a fact somewhat supported by the winter episodes and other progression in the story, why is this the first Summer Sun Celebration since Princess Luna's return. Call me crazy but I think the Summer Sun Celebration would have been a much better coming out party than Nightmare Night. |
| 611 | *** Several reasons could have happened: Luna took a loong time recovering/was in observation/was ashamed of herself/had massive guilt and it took until nightmare moon "last year" for her to be comfortable around her subjects, and this is the first Summer Sun she has attended since her return. |
| 612 | ** The seasonal episodes can ''not'' have occurred in the order that they were aired or produced. ''Winter Wrap Up'' and ''Hearth's Warming'' were before ''Fall Weather Friends'' and the cider episode, respectively. ''Luna Eclipsed'' is dated as fall because pumpkins are an autumn harvest, and was placed before Spike's first birthday in Ponyville, so it had to occur before either of the winter episodes. The rest of the episodes seem to take place during the summer regardless of where they are relative to the winter and fall episodes. They were either out of order, in which case placing the two winter and three fall episodes together is acceptable, or they just plain don't reflect the passage of time. |
| 613 | *** It's even possible (as of Season 4 it's all but confirmed) that Hearth's Warming and Winter Wrap Up happened in the same year which actually makes more sense than the alternative. For narrative reasons you only do one Christmas/Winter episode a season same with fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving but in actuality these are all annual events and Twilight should have been introduced to each of them in the same year the same way a foreigner in America would experience all the holidays in one year. However the original question makes an assumption, that the Summer Sun Celebration is annual, that at best is only partially supported. First it may very well be something akin to the Olympics or other events that don't actually happen each year but rather every few (which seeing as season 4 has given us our second it's possible this was the next one) and we know that the series opener marked the first time it had been in Ponyville in years. We know of several other cities (Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Crystal Empire, Saddle Arabia just to name a few) it may be that this SSC taking place in Canterlot is simply the first time the sisters have done it together since ancient times. (Which doesn't quite explain her line about it being a bad reminder in years past but it comes close.) |
| 614 | *** The Summer Sun Celebration comes on the summer solstice. Having it be anything other than annual would need support. Actually, wasn't the Celebration said to be the thousandth one? That would confirm them being annual. |
| 615 | ** Celestia's exact words are: |
| 616 | -->"I must admit that it is wonderful to actually be looking forward to the Summer Sun Celebration. For my subjects, it has always been a celebration of my defeat of Nightmare Moon. But for me... it was just a terrible reminder that I'd had to banish my own sister. But now it has become a wonderful reminder of her transformation back into Princess Luna, and our happy reunion." |
| 617 | ** This does ''not'' say that it is Celestia's first Summer Sun Celebration with Luna in over 1000 years. The language can be interpreted to mean that is simply a ''relatively'' new state of affairs. Consider an ordinary person saying "It's wonderful to actually look forward to going in to work. My job has always been soul-crushing and I dreaded waking up every morning. But now, with my new boss, my job has become a wonderful opportunity to use my talents and creativity." Nothing about that statement implies it's the first happy day, simply that the now-happy days are a recent turn. Likewise for Celestia, ''especailly considering her age'', "now" could easily refer to the past five Summer Sun Celebrations. |
| 618 | * Concerning Star Swirl's spell...it's the only spell used to date that actually has a verbal component. What's the deal with that? |
| 619 | ** It's extremely powerful magic seemingly unaided by artifacts. Also unless Pinky Pie was just being Pinky Pie it's not the only spell with a verbal component. The Multiplying Mirror required verbal components as well. |
| 620 | |
| 621 | * What would happen if [[EndlessDaytime Ahuizotl]] and [[NightThatNeverEnds Nightmare Moon's]] respective EvilPlans had ''both'' succeeded? |
| 622 | ** Either eternal eclipse, something like what happened in the opening of season 4 where both existed simultaneously, or their effects would only be localized to their respective territories (Equestria for Nightmare Moon, the Whatitscalled Valley for Ahuizotl). |
| 623 | ** I figured for Ahuizotl, it would have just been the valley - he mentions that he wanted to plunge the valley into eternal heat, rather than Equestria. |
| 624 | *** Possibly. Equestria however has real fuzzy borders to say the least though. In the pilot Apple Jack declares that the Everfree Forest isn't part of Equestria. If the various maps we've seen are cannon though the Everfree Forest not being part of Equestia is problematic at best. |
| 625 | ** Ahuizotl's plan would have produced eternal ''heat,'' so it probably would have resulted in a very hot night around those parts. |
| 626 | |
| 627 | * Are [[LonersAreFreaks loners freaks]] in this universe, or what? The magic of friendship is the best thing ever, the movie makes a point of telling Sunset Shimmer that she can't handle the Element of Magic because she doesn't have friends, and so on. Zecora is treated like a freak, but then the Mane Six become her friends, so it's all good again. Even Cranky, the only character who even ''wants'' to be alone, has to have Pinkie badger him until she finds his love interest before he can have any time to himself. So, at least in Equestria, ''can'' anypony just be cool to be by themselves, without implicitly having no virtues to speak of? |
| 628 | ** Yes. Zecora is treated like a freak but the clear moral of that story was about prejudice and judging people you don't know. Since then she's proven herself to be a valuable member of the community. Cranky didn't want to be alone, he wanted Pinkie Pie to leave him alone (which most people would). I think it's also worth defining virtues. The virtue taught in 'Putting your Hoof Down' was about self confidence, I don't think anybody would accuse any of our villains (sans Babs Seed) of lacking confidence. |
| 629 | *** I would. I don't think they have confidence as much as they have arrogance, except possibly Discord post-reformation, and even then it's not confidence as much as "sitting on a big pile of all the fucks he doesn't give". But the end result is that they stop being considered an anomaly once they make friends, and people without friends are usually villains (or at least, need some kind of fixing). |
| 630 | *** The difference between confidence and arrogance is often entirely subjective. The original question however asking is it impossible for loners in the MLP universe to have virtue and the obvious answer still seems to be yes. Zecora as far as we know didn't change much if any upon making friends. She had her virtue all along and it was the citizens of Ponyville who were in the wrong there. Queen Chrysalis quite obviously cares about her subjects. Trixie to her credit at least took a shot at the Ursa (minor) when fleeing first, last and always was in her better interest. They are still "bad" ponies but claiming they are without virtue isn't accurate. |
| 631 | *** It's subjective, maybe, but the difference does exist. Zecora doesn't count because she makes friends around the same time she's introduced, so she's not a loner. Chrysalis doesn't count because she has subjects in the first place, she's not a loner either. And Trixie's example would suggest that being a loner really does mean having no virtues: she took a shot at the Ursa Minor because she wanted to play hero like she'd been doing all along, not because she was actually trying to protect anyone she cared about. The show seems to have the idea that, if you had any qualities of being a good friend, you'd ''have'' good friends already, or at least you wouldn't have any trouble making any. |
| 632 | ** This is a television show isn't it? So of course it's going to abide by the LonersAreFreaks stereotype - a show about Friendship is certainly not going to glorify ''loners''. That would be teaching the kids to accept introverts as simply wanting to be left alone, and we can't have that, can we? |
| 633 | ** Just to point out, you can have friends and still be a loner. Zecora has at least seven (The Mane Six and Applebloom) friends but still chooses to live in the Everfree Forest and spends most of her time alone. No one begrudges her this, and she only comes into town on errands or for celebrations like Nightmare Night. Difference between Zecora and Cranky is that while Zecora is alone because she enjoys solitude, Cranky was only alone because he would rather wallow in misery for what might have been rather than spend time with other ponies...that pronoun kinda loses meaning in a multi-species society doesn't it? |
| 634 | |
| 635 | * What were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon named ''before their cutie marks appeared?'' |
| 636 | ** They, and their parents, are extremely vain, and their highly superflous names became a SelfFulfillingProphecy. Their cutie marks match their names, [[FridgeBrilliance meaning that the thing the care most about is themselves]]. |
| 637 | ** If its like the Apple family them maybe their parents named them after their family theme, like Diamond Tiara's are jewelers, and that being kids only see the bare surface of what there cutie mark means (wearing a tiara and being rich) and are lashing out at other with better cutie marks. |
| 638 | *** This is a good theory, the only problem is that to get the cutie mark they have to discover what they're good at. Find their purpose in life so to speak. |
| 639 | *** Diamond Tiara's father, Filthy Rich, and great-grandfather, Stinkin' Rich are businessman. Filthy Rich owns "Rich's Barnyard Bargains". |
| 640 | ** Diamond Tiara could have easily become a jeweler. Silver Spoon could be a door-to-door flatware salespony. Cutie marks and names can be interpreted pretty creatively. |
| 641 | ** What about that rainbow-maned pony named Rainbow Dash whose talent is flying so fast she makes rainbows appear? |
| 642 | *** Considering the Generation 3 version of the character, Rainbow Dash could be taken in a lot of ways. |
| 643 | |
| 644 | * Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. What in God's name is their special talent? Being huge snobs? |
| 645 | ** Probably not quite. Diamond Tiara is the daughter of Filthy Rich who's special talent seems to be business acumen. Given the above discussion about how much Destiny is apparently involved in the names ponies receive it wouldn't be a shock to find out that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's special talents revolve in someway around being rich and spoiled. |
| 646 | *** How can anybody be ''really really good'' at being rich and spoiled...? Cutie Marks confuse the hell out of me. |
| 647 | *** Paris Hilton and the Kardashians make a fairly good case for being rich and famous for being rich and famous. Which is what seems most probable for for those two. At any rate their names and cutie marks make more sense than Snips and Snails. |
| 648 | *** Snips and Snails make perfect sense to me, although mostly it just characterizes them as the joke they are. "Snips and snails and puppy dog tails" is from the nursery rhyme about what little boys are made of (as opposed to "sugar, spice, and everything nice" for little girls). And in a less meta sense, their cutie marks are scissors and a snail; they could be amazing at haircuts and... mollusk studies, or something. I know "being born with a silver spoon in your mouth" is a euphemism for being born into a wealthy family, but shouldn't that mean her cutie mark should have shown up when she was born? And I don't even know where diamond tiara comes from, if it comes from anywhere. |
| 649 | *** For Snip and Snails, their cutie marks could represent their personalities and low intelligence. Snails are slow, and when people are called snails or slow, they are mostly being referred to as dumb. Not entirely sure about Snips, though. |
| 650 | *** If the show doesn't go the passive-aggressive, "people I hate have worthless talents" idea, then possible contenders include leader or jeweller for Diamond Tiara, and chef, food critic or silverware designer for Silver Spoon. |
| 651 | *** Cutie Marks are also a metaphor for puberty so no Silver Spoon wouldn't have been born with it anymore than Apple Jack was born with hers despite being born to take over Sweet Apple Acres or Rarity who's special talent quite literally dragged her across mountains and valleys before revealing her Cutiemark. And LOTS of ponies have if not outright useless talents certainly sub-optimal talents. As far as we can tell the Apple Family (the best example of a group) are either cripplingly over specialized to the point of most of them cooking only a single dish or (more likely) the family has so much overlap that their cutie marks and names are really just color coding for our convience and not really indicating a special talent. |
| 652 | *** I know they're a puberty thing, I'm just saying that a cutie mark that designates someone as being super talented at being ''born'' rich, they can only do that once, so if it's gonna show up at all, there you go. That does make me want to have an OC pony whose cutie mark is a soppy trash bag and their special talent is being a real asshole. |
| 653 | ** We don't know the talents of most of the cast. Even with the Manes, we only have confirmed talents for a couple of them. And given what we know about cutie marks, they don't always connect to a specific talent. |
| 654 | |
| 655 | * Why is Twilight the authority on friendship charged with teaching her friends (and all of Ponyville_ about it, when she learned everything she knows ''from them'' and has only had functioning social skills for a couple of years? |
| 656 | ** Share the wealth? She'd have learned from one person, but others might not have that same knowledge, so she'd be teaching it to them. |
| 657 | *** She doesn't really have a wealth to share. She still knows the least about friendship of anypony in the Mane Six, it's just that now she delivers the lesson of the day to them as a teacher (and kind of condescendingly, if she's the OnlySaneMan that episode) instead of reporting to Celestia. |
| 658 | ** So far, she hasn't done any teaching. Maybe she's going to have a class at Celestia's school? |
| 659 | *** Not in a classroom, no, but she seems to be giving out the lessons of the day to the other ponies, when it's about the group and not somebody's day in the limelight, and it's not something ''she'' learned that day, it's something she's imparting to the others. |
| 660 | |
| 661 | * Why do all ponies seem to get their cutie marks at roughly the same age? If each pony has only one special talent that could be literally anything, and they don't know what it is until they've done it, and they have free will, there must be a few whose talent happens to be something they're not interested in, or something so bizarre they wouldn't consider trying it. For example, what if one pony's talent was harvesting maple sap, and he never lived within 5000 miles of a maple tree? Since it's impossible to make a list of all potential cutie marks and try everything in alphabetical order, it should be possible to completely miss one's talent well into adulthood, perhaps for a lifetime. So where are those unfortunate freaks? Do they commit suicide at the age of 20 or what? |
| 662 | ** Real Answer: Because it's a metaphor for puberty and represents a natural change in a pony. In-Universe Cutie Marks seem to have a lot less with a pony's special talent than the show likes to imply with the CMC. All of the Mane 6 got there marks at the exact same time and even with capital F Fate being in play hardly make sense for the them. Rarity's talent for example is clearly dress making or beautifying, but her cutie mark and spell are gem finding, and she certainly wasn't trying to find those gems at any (rate her horn literally dragged her for what appears to be miles). Fluttershy was rescued by Butterflies and learned she could communicate with animals. Twilight was already in Magic Kindergarten (and hence trying what her special talent would eventually be) when she had an uncontrolled burst of power, Pinkie saw a rainbow in the sky and threw a party. As is mentioned higher on this page the Apple Family either all have very general cutie marks that cover apple farming, or they are cripplingly overspecialized. |
| 663 | ** Also, a cutie mark doesn't only tell what kind of occupation, but can also tell their personalities. Fluttershy's three butterfly's symbolizes her shy and timid nature; Pinkie Pie's three balloons symbolize her party-animal personality; Rarity's three gems could symbolize her desire to shine, or make other things shine. |
| 664 | *** Oh yeah, that's soooo much better than not knowing. "Capital-F Fate has revealed I don't have the slightest bit of natural talent for anything, just a shy and timid nature that I cannot ever overcome because it's written on my body!" The suicide hypothesis seems less cruel somehow. |
| 665 | ** Cutie marks are a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy, they get them when they find something they're very good at and actually like doing, so it is natural that it would happen as soon as they can form coherent thoughts and decide and express for themselves what they like and what they don't. We have seen several ponies interpret their cutie marks as whatever they like, and we have seen ponies with cutie marks dedicating their lives to something different that what their cutie mark would indicate: Twilight Sparkle's talent is magic, but she loves being a librarian and reading in general, Pinkie Pie(Either throwing parties or bringing happiness to others) works as a Bakery and seems to be very competent making all kinds of pastries. Short Answer, Cutie Marks don't limit the pony at all, they can dedicate their lives to whatever the hell they want. |
| 666 | ** That's nice, but you never told me there's at least one adult blankflank in canon: King Sombra. [[HitlerAteSugar Make of that what you will.]] |
| 667 | |
| 668 | * So why exactly do Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hate the Cutie Mark Crusaders? It's one thing for the duo to mock CMC for their blank flanks, but half the time it seems that they, Diamond in particular, outright want to totally ruin the Crusaders' lives. |
| 669 | ** Bullies often don't have a reason, or at least not a ''good'' one, especially in children's media. At this point, DT is just being the quintessential AlphaBitch. |
| 670 | ** They're bullies. It's what they do. |
| 671 | ** In the episode where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were first formally introduced, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon don't seem to even recognize the two despite the fact that they should be sharing classes with them. It may have originally been a vendetta against Apple Bloom, and the others got more and more flak as the trio became more and more inseparable. |
| 672 | |
| 673 | * I've seen almost everywhere how everyone believes that Silver Spoon may be friendlier than Diamond Tiara, and that Spoon may one day either leave Tiara, or convince her to be more friendly with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Admittedly, there have been a few times when we see Spoon's sincerity (such as when she clapped at the end of Granny Smith's founding of Ponyville story), but for the most part, she is quite as malicious as Diamond Tiara with the bullying of the CMC and making fun of Scootaloo's inability to fly. I think a better way to show Spoon's kindness (if there is any) would be for her to show doubt in their "cause", or try to reel in Diamond Tiara from her more malicious moments; probably something as simple as "That's a little harsh." |
| 674 | ** While I think the fandom is just trying too hard to make her into a "good" character, she gets off easier, because she's clearly a follower. She doesn't even seem like the type who would engage in the behavior without a leader. |
| 675 | ** Then how would Silver Spoon act like if Diamond Tiara wasn't around (at the moment)? Would she actually be nice with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or hardly even acknowledge them? |
| 676 | |
| 677 | * It's very strange that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have only ever been showed bullying the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's older sisters helped save Equestria three times, and were publically honoured for doing so at least once (Equestria in general may not know the full truth of the Nightmare Moon incident, but the citizens of Ponyville certainly should), and this is on top of their individual achievements. The Mane Six are (or should be) celebrities. Diamond Tiara is a spoiled brat, but she was never shown even trying to suck up to the CMC for access to the Six. |
| 678 | ** It's even more stupid with the revelation that Diamond Tiara's parents get a fair amount of their money from reselling the Apple Family's Zap Apple Jam. Which Applebloom helps make. Which is probably one reason why Filthy Rich forces Diamond Tiara to behave when they visit Sweet Apple Acres. |
| 679 | ** That's probably ''why'' Diamond Tiara bullies the CMC. They actually have it better off than she does. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are related to two of Equestria's national heroes, and they're close friends with Scootaloo. Their relationship with the Mane Six puts the CMC on casual terms with Equestrian royalty. Rarity is a prolific fashion designer with clients among Equestria's elite. The Apple family helped found Ponyville, which in turn has played a role in helping Equestria prosper. Filthy Rich...is rich and owns a market chain, and that's about it. So really, Tiara's behavior could be more out of jealousy toward the CMC. |
| 680 | ** The interactions between Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Applebloom, and Twist in Call Of The Cute seem to indicate the former have been picking on the latter for some time. This seems more like it stems from some longstanding animosity between Applebloom and Diamond Tiara than mere jealousy. |
| 681 | *** It must also be pointed out that NO-ONE seems to remember the Mane Six's achievements. "Sweet and Elite" being a big example, where the Aesop revolves around Rarity's friends being a bunch of rustic noponies shunned by Canterlot's High Society, despite consisting of Celestia's personal protogé, Equestria's fastest flyer (who twice achieved speeds of mythical level), a former fashion model, and a prominent landowner whose family founded an entire town. And Pinkie Pie. |
| 682 | *** All of whom defeated TWO DEITY-LEVEL THREATS in the recent past. |
| 683 | ** As of "Twilight Time", we get sucking up to the CMC for access to ''Twilight''... though that's because she's a princess, not because she's one of the Six. |
| 684 | * What is the obsession with making all of the main 6 characters perfect representations of their Elements of Harmony? It just comes off as an unusually high standard to expect '''anyone''', especially young women in their teenaged years or early 20s, to have the emotional maturity necessary to '''never''' lie, or '''always''' be loyal, or '''always''' be kind, etc. I doubt even Celestia would be capable of that. What's wrong if they have moments of weakness? So what if Applejack doesn't always tell the truth? Even honest people lie sometimes. So what if Pinkie Pie isn't always happy? Even cheery people get sad. |
| 685 | ** Yeah, this is something viewers need to remember. Especially since Princess Luna is a former wielder of the Elements of Harmony, and in a depressive rage tried to bring about the apocalypse. Being an Element Bearer doesn't mean you're going to adhere to it 100% of the time, doesn't mean that every action you take is in furtherance of the idea your chosen Element, nor does it mean you will deserve to hold this position in perpetuity. |
| 686 | ** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne What]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 are]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 you]] talking about? |
| 687 | |
| 688 | * Given that as it stands Princess is a race and title turned into one does it come with the raw power boost that Celestia and Luna seem to have? It's an important question because if I watched S4E1 "Princess Twilight Sparkle" properly the plunder seeds were expanding from Everfree and probably creating those wacky clouds somehow. The sun and moon however were both up because Celestia didn't get a chance to lower the sun and Luna apparently raised it and expected she could get 'Tia to do her half and then got snatched as well. Regardless as far as we know none of the unicorns nor most importantly Twilight Sparkle attempted to fix the situation, which should have been amongst the first things they attempted. If the Plunder Seeds hadn't returned Luna and Celestia could Cadence and Twilight even actually step in successfully and do their jobs? |
| 689 | ** There has been no mention or implication of Twilight Sparkle receiving a power boost. That said, the unicorns used to turn the sun and moon themselves, so an organized group ''should'' have been able to take control, assuming that anyone other than the Royal Sister knows the spell. The series has never really explained why the unicorns don't take care of the sun and moon anymore. |
| 690 | *** Since they already have two alicorns (or one alicorn during Nightmare Moon's thousand-year banishment) who could take care of raising or lowering the Sun and the Moon with relative ease, I suppose it meant the unicorns responsible for the Sun and the Moon weren't needed anymore. Besides, the start of the series takes place well over a thousand-years since unicorns were needed to raise or lower the Sun or the Moon; techniques like that are bound to be forever lost. Now, I can imagine Celestia possibly teaching a select a few how to raise or lower the Sun or the Moon should something happen to her or Luna, but how often would something like that happen, and on such short notice? |
| 691 | *** Over just the four seasons we've seen we know of at least three threats Nightmare Moon/whatever changed Luna, Discord and Chrysalis who seem to be credible threats to the Royal Pony Sisters. King Sombra might have been a threat and there could be other things. Raising and lowering the sun and moon are a bit vital. While it would be perfectly in character Celestia and Luna would be quite remiss not teaching at least Twilight and Cadence how to do it unless it's less technique and more brute strength that's needed. |
| 692 | *** Well, "Twilight's Kingdom" let Twilight get some practice in re: raising the sun, although her performance level suggests that giving her a couple more practice runs before her next solo flight would be a good idea. Then again, she was on a power boost for that, so she might still need some time to grow back into the size needed for the job naturally now that the boost is gone. Still, it does clearly show that Twilight's alicorn body has the ''capability'' to channel that much power safely, even if we're not sure if she can generate that much power on her own yet or not. |
| 693 | * What exactly ''are'' the Wonderbolts supposed to be? I assumed at first that they were basically a group of performers, maybe even similar to sports stars. But between ''The Wonderbolt Academy'' boot camp episode and general fanon, they seem to come across more as an actual military of sorts. ''Testing 123'' implies that they were just perfomers to commemorate the formation of the EUP, but the same episode reveals that Wonderbolts of the past had actual military titles such as General Firefly. So are they just performers who simply run things in an efficient, military-esque fashion, or an actual standing army expected to fight in war zones? |
| 694 | ** The Wonderbolts are basically the Blue Angels for Equestria. They are military flyers whose primary duty is being entertainers today. Given the Secret of my Excess shows them engage Spike they are definitely a formal part of what ever passes for the Equestrian military and not only a performance troupe though that is probably how they are used more often than not. Threats in Equestria seem to only have to levels, nearly nonexistant and we need the Elements/Crystal Heart/Princesses. |
| 695 | ** The original Wonderbolts were recruited from the military. The modern ones don't seem to require joining the military, and Rainbow has at least tried to join them without anyone even implying military enlistment. So, the modern version had and might still have ties to the military, but doesn't seem to still be part of it, although at least some Wonderbolts are willing to help out in a crisis. |
| 696 | ** And if anyplace has a legitimate excuse for being MildlyMilitary, its a magical kingdom that apparently hasn't had any war in the past thousand years. |
| 697 | ** They might be something like NASA, where they have ties to the military and a lot of former military personal, but are, technically, a civilian organization. That would account for their military origin while not requiring Rainbow to join the EUP. As for some of the Wonderbolts attacking Spike back in the second season, aside from the fact that the civilian Manes have helped out in emergencies, it isn't unreasonable for some former military fliers to try to help. |
| 698 | * Has anyone noticed that in the pilot episode, when the Elements of Harmony are portrayed in the book, they appear as red, blue, yellow/orange, pink, green and purple, yet when we see the physical elements themselves, there is no green element. Instead both Twilight and Rarity's elements are purple. Why the change? |
| 699 | ** The books is an inaccurate fairy tale. It has Luna and Celestia standing at the same height and Celestia with pink hair instead of her rainbow mane. Hearth's Warming Eve has similar inaccuracies with the flag founding Equestria portraying the Royal Pony Sisters who weren't born/in Equestria at that time. |
| 700 | |
| 701 | * Why does the Apple Family have different accents from the rest of Ponyville? It can maybe be excused for Granny Smith, but the Apple kids have lived in Ponyville their entire lives, so they should have the same accents as the other Ponyville residents. |
| 702 | ** Maybe they like Granny Smith so much they deliberately cultivate it? |
| 703 | ** In a S2 episode, Granny Smith explains that she came from another county and her family founded Ponyville. Maybe she came from the South, and the rest of the inhabitants came from Canterlot/surrounding counties. |
| 704 | * Why does Applejack have two mane-ponytails in the videogame? Doesn't she have just one? |
| 705 | ** Probably it was based on a toy with molded hair that sport the same double ponytails. |
| 706 | |
| 707 | * Also about the Elements: why does Rarity represent generosity? Pinkie Pie definitely fits that description better (Exhibit A: the smile song. Pinkie works her rump off just to brighten up other pony's days), and it seems like Rarity is only ever generous when the episode focuses on the elements. If I had to pick a word to represent Rarity, I'd choose imagination instead, since she's always coming up with ideas. |
| 708 | ** Speaking as someone who does art for a living, and on behalf of all those who make creativity their careers: ''bite your tongue''. Rarity is constantly designing and tailoring outfits for her friends, allowing others to use her materials (which are literal ''gemstones'' a lot of the time), and considers it a personal failure when she ''doesn't'' put doing so ahead of her other personal projects. She has ''entire songs'' about it! She's constantly being generous! She gives of her time, her talent, and her resources, and never asks for anything in return. Art of the Dress in particular has the other ponies tell her to make sure their dresses stay within their budget, but think about it: she makes ''ten dresses'' for them in total, the ones she designed and the ones that she ''very generously'' made for them even with all their difficult, nitpicky, ridiculous changes. Their budgets obviously could not include two dresses each, or they wouldn't need to specify a budget at all. Rarity ''ate'' the cost in materials and never even mentioned the cost to the others, not to mention she ate the cost in ''time'', too: unlike the others, Rarity is a popular known professional who sells goods she makes by horn and she works alone. Her time is ''extremely valuable'', but she never hesitates to throw all of her effort into making things for her friends (and when she doesn't, she feels ''really bad about it''). Rarity is the ''epitome'' of generosity, you're just not taking into account the worth of the things she gives freely. |
| 709 | * Why is laughter an element of harmony? The rest of the names of the elements produce harmony, but laughter does the opposite (if it's dark laughter), or is produced by harmony (if it's light). IMO courage, trust, or perseverance would be better choices to represent an element. |
| 710 | ** Laughter is one of the elements because together they create the Element of Magic. The show's name is "Friendship is Magic" so really, the Element of Magic could equally be referred to as the Element of Friendship (and friendship in turn, is what creates harmony). Therefore, laughter is a perfectly fine element as it's part of what makes a good friendship. In other words, if you can find someone who is honest, loyal, generous, kind and makes you laugh, you have the makings of a good friend. |
| 711 | ** While that is true, it is weird by being the only other not plot-related element that's not a character trait. And if you look too much into it, it make the weird implication that friendship is only abut the good moments(sharing laughter) but not about the bad ones(Supporting someone when it's sad). "Empathy" would be a better fit for Pinkie, as all she is about is making other people feel happy, even if she's not always accurate in her approach("A friend in need" "Filli Vanilli") |
| 712 | *** I think the implication with the Element of Laughter is friends will always make you feel better; that no matter how sad you are or what happens, being with someone who supports you will make you happy. The Element of Laughter is just another way to say “happiness” or “joy” or “cheer”. It doesn’t mean you can’t auppoet someone who is sad or be empathetic. It just means that your mere presence makes someone’s day brighter no matter how bad it is. Also just want to point out that they’re the Elements of Harmony, not Friendship so “Laughter” has no bearing on friendship. The “Laughter just means happiness” does work for the whole harmony thing. You can’t have harmony without happiness. |
| 713 | |
| 714 | * Here something I don't get: Rainbow Dash got her cutie mark by flying at high speed, winning a flying race and making the Sonic Rainboom, but when Rarity had RD's cutie mark her swapped task was to control the weather which has nothing to do with RD's cutie mark-earned skills but curiously RD's cutie mark is a cloud with a rainbow lightning which is more related to weather control than to high-speed flying. How could you explain that? |
| 715 | ** It's both. Lightning is weather, but it's also referring to ''lightning speed''. Rarity is compelled to do weather control because she's physically incapable of flight. |
| 716 | ** With the themes of the episode, I thought not only their cutie marks were traded, but also their "fates", so basically, they traded jobs too, it's just that Rainbow Dash is the one least regarding her talent. |
| 717 | *** They not only traded "fates" to some extent they must have traded history as well. The Apple Farm was a much bigger mess than a couple of hours with Pinky should have produced and one would expect that the Apples and Cakes at the very least would be trying to get their proper pony back not watching the wrong one botch things up. |
| 718 | *** We've seen Spike cause that kind of damage with only a few ''minutes'' back in ''Secret of My Excess'', so it isn't like the orchard being destroying and fixed rapidly is a new idea. Also, ponies literally change the season from winter to spring in the course of a single day. Being able to cause that kind of change in a short time is part of the setting. |
| 719 | *** As for the Cakes... We've seen what kind of trouble Pinkie can cause. Assuming that Pinkie was having one of her friends stand in without warning is not unreasonable. |
| 720 | ** It might also be that the change was merely cosmetic; the entire problem was that their "destinies" had been changed without the skill and desire changing with them. I.e. Applejack didn't get any of Rarity's talent or drive, but because she had Rarity's cutie mark, she felt like she had to fill Rarity's ''role''. |
| 721 | ** When they swapped cutie marks, they swapped jobs. We never saw them try to explain their cutie marks, but given that the spell didn't give them any job experience, they probably didn't get memories of how they got their swapped marks, either. |
| 722 | ** Hardly anypony did what their cutie mark should have been “telling them”. According to S1, their special talents are taking to animals, producing Sonic Rainbooms, sewing gems into clothing, throwing parties, and running the farm. So of the five, only two did what their “cutie mark was telling” them- Pinkie and Rainbow (“these animals don’t listen” means she’s tried talking to them so she’s at least trying to adhere to her cutie mark). AJ was halfway there. She just needed to use gems in her designs. Fluttershy was actually acting on the Element of Laughter and not Pinkie’s talent so she should have been planning or hosting a party. Rarity should have been running on the ground trying to be fast enough to produce a Rainboom. She doesn’t need to fly because the Rainboom isn’t a weather phenomenon as far as I recall. It’s a phenomenon. Rainbow being unsure she could cloud bust made no sense because even Fluttershy can do that. She’s a Pegasus, too. |
| 723 | |
| 724 | * Aside from the fact that a temporary loss of focus would result in falling to your death is there anything stopping unicorns from flying? Twilight can carry and Ursa Minor, with a lot of difficulty but she can do it. Rarity can carry dozens items at the same time as and combined everything she was lifting in "Art of the Dress" must weigh at least as much as a pony. It doesn't look like it's easy long term but it looks more than sufficient for at least limited flight. |
| 725 | ** It might be a matter of point of reference; whenever somepony levitates something, it might be in reference to their own location. I.e. when Twilight picks up a rock, the rock's location moves relative to where ''she'' is. Picking up oneself with telekinesis would be like trying to pick yourself up off the ground and float. |
| 726 | *** Unicorn levitation doesn't seem to transfer weight to the unicorn, but holding themself up is probably disorientating. We've only seen a baby having random surges of magic and Twilight Sparkle use auto-levitation, and Twilight didn't do it often. |
| 727 | ** Weight and endurance is probably also a concern. Aside from Twilight Sparkle, most unicorns don't carry heavy weights with their magic, and even she doesn't carry things with her magic for long. Only being able to hold themselves in the air for a few seconds, badly, isn't worth the effort in most cases. |
| 728 | * When will the CMC get their cutie marks? I'm tired of having my heart broken every season. |
| 729 | ** End of season five, maybe? The writers seem to be in the habit of shaking up the status quo at the end of a season. |
| 730 | * How do you suppose Silver Spoon would look as a senior citizen? |
| 731 | ** Presumably like Granny Smith, just differently colored. While they have slowly gotten more body types into the show the vast majority of ponies have identical body types to every other pony in their age group. |
| 732 | * How rare are alicorns? This is partially raised from a headscratcher from Rainbow Rocks and Equestria Girls where Celestia mentions that the princesses take turns guarding the portal mirror. The problem is for the last thousand years there seems to have only been Celestia for MOST of it. Cadence in the flashbacks appears to be a teen when she's foal sitting Twilight so she's probably only a few years older than Twilight. More importantly nobody seems to freak out much over Cadence or Twilight. Which would make sense if alicorns are rare but not very nearly unique. Cadence foal sitting Twilight not seen as particularly special. Certainly not one of (at the time) only two alicorns in the entire world. The other being a thousand plus year old God Princess. If Cadence on the other hand is the first alicorn born in Equestrian history (remember Celestia and Luna came from some other land after the founding of Equestria if the story we heard in Hearth's Warming Eve is accurate) she should be a much much bigger deal than she is. |
| 733 | ** It's all but said that Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle are the only alicorns in Equestria. (In ''Twilight's Kingdom'' Celestia, Luna and Cadance give their power to Twilight, after which Tirek demands "all the Alicorn magic in Equestria" from her.) Before that we have word of Faust that originally, Celestia and Luna were planned to be the only alicorns; and even before, we have an introduction video for Princess Celestia, which mistakenly claims that Celestia is the only pony with both wings and horn. |
| 734 | * Where do the sun and moon go exactly when Celestia and Luna aren't using them? Do they just store them? |
| 735 | ** Perhaps it's similar to rotation, except they rotate the sun and moon instead of the Earth? When Luna needs to raise the moon, Celestia sets the sun to the other side of the globe, and Luna does the same when Celestia must raise the sun. |
| 736 | * Is there any sort of punishment for criminal offenses in Equestria? Ponies seem to forgive a lot and that's why I can let stuff like "Lesson Zero" slide but there are things like what Trixie or Discord had done(After he was brought back to be reformed), that an apology alone wouldn't make better. Considering the society that doesn't seem to be the kind for prisons, the more old timy feel the society also has and that being thrown in a dungeon is treated as an unrealistic panic-induced fear, I would say that likely punishments are community service, public humiliation(like put in pillories or something like that), or CorporalPunishment. Then again, I always felt King Sombra being KilledOffForReal was a premeditated execution based on the fact there is no indication it was an accident. |
| 737 | ** I think you're vastly underestimating the power of 'I'm sorry' in a world where everything seems to snap back to normal immediately. Discord and Trixie respectively did nothing that wasn't repaired fully by the end of the episode. In addition it's easy to forget that Discord is incredibly powerful and for the most part seems to be keeping himself in check. It's also often overlooked but all three times Discord has been defeated he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trolling Celestia and Luna (and might not have known what the Elements were), he literally invited the Mane 6 to hit him with their best shot and Tirek blind sided him. So Discord might get a pass because he's just that powerful. |
| 738 | ** Fixing what you did doesn't mean you can forget about it and Discord doesn't always apologize. Plus, this question was more about ''if'', there was a form of punishment for these offenses(considering it would probably never be shown but some would still think that there should be one), what would it be? |
| 739 | ** If we want to take Nightmare Moon's banishment and Tirek being sent to hell into consideration, it seems the only consequence is a form of exile. |
| 740 | * Inconsequential question, but why ''doesn't'' Gummy have any teeth? Is he just a baby alligator or something? I suppose that there are not many canon clues so this is just pure speculation. |
| 741 | ** Yes, Pinkie calls him a baby alligator. |
| 742 | ** Course real alligators are born with teeth, so the question remains why Gummy has spent so long without them (and why he has the tongue of a lizard, he is clearly no normal alligator). |
| 743 | * Why are the CMC trying so hard on looking for their talents to get their cutie marks when foals' cutie marks are actually based in their names? (For instance: Featherweight's one is a feather, Diamond Tiara's one is a tiara with diamonds, Twist's one is a candy cane) |
| 744 | ** That's just kind of convenient, ponies as a whole seem to ''usually'' get names and cutie marks that work together but it's far from written in stone. |
| 745 | ** The creators seem to be doing this a lot to the background and guest ponies, rather than to the mane ones (for example, Pinkie Pie's cutie mark is neither pink nor of a pie; yet we have ponies like "Sweetie Drops", "Featherweight", "Cherry Jubilee" and "Bulk Biceps"), so perhaps this is true for only a certain fraction of the ponies? Or, as has been speculated, ponies earn a nickname in addition to their real name when they get a cutie mark (e.g. "Golden Harvest" and "Carrot Top"). |
| 746 | ** It is indicated that ponies can change their names to better suit their marks. Further, what the mark means and what it looks like may not be obvious (ergo knowing what your mark will approximately look like may not help you know what your special talent is). |
| 747 | * If Zecora were humanized, would she be a black woman? On the one side, she's clearly from the equivalent of central Africa. On the other, she's a zebra, an equine, and the human analogues of ponies normally have skin tones that match their hair. So would Zecora, if she passed through the portal, be black, or striped? |
| 748 | ** The Equestria girls have skin colors that match their pony equivalents (Rainbow Dash, for example, is still blue), so human-Zacora would probably have stripes. |
| 749 | * What happened the Journal that Twilight and her friends were recording their friendship lessons in? I don't think it appears or is mentioned after the season four finale. Does the show even do friendship lessons anymore? |
| 750 | ** Friendship lessons are indeed still part of the series but aren't recorded the way they were before. The journal still exists, as we learn in season 7, but it had seen better days thanks to how rough the ponies were with it and presumably due to it being in the Golden Oak library when Tirek destroyed it. |
| 751 | * The show suggests Celestia doesn't particularly enjoy all the adoration from her subjects because it results in them fearing her (to an extent) and forces her to fake happiness for their sake, even when she feels awful. Luna was jealous because she felt unloved and wanted the adoration her sister had. My question: Why didn't Celestia ever tell Luna this before she was forced to exile her for a millennium? Unless she somehow never picked up on Luna's feelings (which is hard to believe), why didn't she at some point tell Luna being "perfect" sucks? You could argue Luna wouldn't believe her, but at least she would've tried. |
| 752 | ** As Starlight pointed out, the sisters are simply not very good at communicating with each other. Presumably Celestia didn't notice Luna's issues or didn't take them seriously enough, and Luna didn't speak out until it was too late, at which point she was beyond reasoning with thanks to her corrupted form. |
| 753 | ** There were a lot of miscommunication and assumptions that lead to Luna's fall from grace. As the episode 'A Royal problem' shows the sisters not only don't have the best communication skills with each other but don't seem to interact much at all a lot of the time due to running opposite shifts. And they always have to run those specific shifts because the nature of their magical abilities is too specific: Celestia is completely unable to do Luna's job. As a result both are left to assume how difficult their sister's duties are and both assumed their sister got the easy job so they're also underestimating how stressed out the other is on top of their communication issues. It's basicaly a snowball of problems that rolled downhill for years until one of them snapped. |
| 754 | * How did Equestria avoid a massive villain pile up. I mean given what we know about Nightmare Moon and Discord we have a few choices. They knew him BEFORE coming to Equestria or this whole pillar thing was shortly there after and the Sirens, Tirek and Sombra were packed in before the Nightmare incident or you know just like now Equestria was a bloody mess for a few years only it's protectors all had to take the sacrifice win because they didn't have the benefit of plot armor. |
| 755 | ** As you answered yourself, most likely, just as in the current time period, the villains didn't all come at once but over a period of years and with a variety of motivations and causes for them showing up. |
| 756 | * So in some episodes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders get punished quite harshly for what they do. Not too bad on its own, but there's a problem I have with this. Characters such as [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Twilight Sparkle]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E5TanksForTheMemories Rainbow Dash]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof Fluttershy]] and even [[HeelFaceTurn previously villainous characters]] such as [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Trixie]] and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 Starlight Glimmer]] [[KarmaHoudini have been excused from any sort of consequences]] for much worse things than the CMC have ever done because they had [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic "sympathetic" reasons]], [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin yet the CMC have to face the brunt of punishment for relatively minor offenses]]. To name a couple examples,[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E23PonyvilleConfidential spreading gossip in a newspaper column]] [[DisproportionateRetribution gets them publicly shamed]] and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple trying to retaliate against a bully whose actions got increasingly cruel]] led to them thinking they were the bullies and their aggressor getting away scot-free. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E6AppleoosasMostWanted Applejack even refused to absolve them of responsibility for sneaking out of Braeburn's hooves just for doing the right thing]] even though, as mentioned, [[DoubleStandard the others have gone unpunished as long as they had a "reason"]]. Since the CMC are clearly innocent children, shouldn't they be given somewhat more leeway and a warning while the more adult characters who should know better get the harsh treatment instead? |
| 757 | ** There is definitely a DoubleStandard, but this may also have to do with who the punisher is. In the examples of Twilight and Fluttershy you mentioned, Celestia is the one who would've punished them. The show has made it clear as long as you're willing to [[HeelFaceTurn turn things around]], Celestia will forgive you. This is the pony who forgave her sister for ''trying to kill her'' out of pure jealousy, and returned her title and authority as princess without a moment's hesitation. Twilight is the one who forgave Trixie and Starlight, and it's not far-fetched to assume she picked up that forgiving attitude from her mentor. On the other hand, Applejack has been shown to be stubborn/strict in views she has, so if she were the hurt party in the other examples and had that authority, maybe they wouldn't be forgiven. |
| 758 | ** not sure that that is the right answer. Celestia was clearly about to Punish Twilight in "Lesson Zero", so, by your logic, Twilight would occasionally decide to punish and Trixie and Starlight wouldn't have friends to rush in and take the blame for them. and there are things like Rainbow Dash being put on probation in "Newbie Dash" but those are such an exception to the rule, it breaks suspension of disbelief. |
| 759 | *** Honestly, I don't think Celestia was going to punish Twilight, at least nothing beyond getting lectured on her behavior. She just took the others' interruption as a chance to expand the lesson to all of them. |
| 760 | * How was Luna able to co-rule peacefully with Celestia for about a century (according to the sisters' character page on here) if her jealousy was bad enough for her to become Nightmare Moon? To be able to rule together that long with few problems, if any, it seems unlikely Luna held a 100-year grudge. If by some stretch of imagination she did, how did Celestia go 100 years without noticing something was aggravating Luna? "A Royal Problem" established they don't communicate well, but surely, their friendship would've broken down within 100 years (likely much less) if Luna was that angry and/or Celestia was that oblivious to it. |
| 761 | ** To my knowledge the initial concept Faust had for Luna's corruption was that it wasn't just her inferiority complex but that an outside dark force influenced her at some point. Its admittedly unclear if the show will ever explore this, as thus far they have treated her transformation as entirely her own doing (though they've never explained what the mechanics are behind her developing a entirely new persona that doesn't even answer to her original name). Also, to my knowledge, we don't actually know how long Luna and Celestia ruled together. Their character page presumably assumes that because Celestia has been raising the sun for 1111 years, and Luna was banished for a 1000 years, then they ruled together for around a 100, but its also possible that when they say 1000 they are just rounding down (many events are stated to have happened a 1000 years ago, but its unlikely they all happened in the same year). Luna could well have been in the moon for 1100 years for instance. |
| 762 | * How exactly does Luna's circadian rhythm work? She patrols dreams during the night, when everypony is asleep, so it's easy to assume that she's nocturnal. However, several episodes show her out and about during the day with no issue. "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep" starts and ends with Luna asleep, so it's not like she's up and about 24/7, though that same episode shows her able to immediately react to Twilight's scroll during the day (as in, she teleports there immediately after it's sent to her). "A Royal Problem" tries to have both; when the conflict is being set up, Luna is shown utterly shattered after her DreamWalker duties, to the point she can't give Celestia the time of day. But once the cutie marks are switched, she's wide awake for Celestia's duties, only conking out once it's time for Celestia to take the night shift. I'm not sure how to make sense of it anymore. |
| 763 | ** Luna sleeps during the day, but that doesn't mean she sleeps for the entirety of daylight hours. Luna may not need many hours of sleep. "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep" showed her already aware of the tantabus's escape from her dreams, so she may have been awake because she was troubled about that (hence her panicking upon arrival). As for "A Royal Problem", Luna isn't really "shattered" so much as she is cranky. Celestia's cutie mark may have helped her be energized during the day or she may have used a spell to refresh herself. Finally, the episodes where we see her out and about during the day are either special occasions, a crisis, or a quick scene (ex: her flying in to see the photo of the cutie mark crusaders that Celestia receives). It's not too hard to believe we simply don't see much of Luna on a regular day because that'd be boring. |
| 764 | * This has probably been asked before but I'm too lazy to check and I want to avoid spoilers. So IIRC the Elements of Harmony bring the PowerOfFriendship to life, right? Does that mean friendship has not always been magic, and the Elements are only an amplifier? |
| 765 | * So weird question about Changelings and possible hybrids. Say if Ocellus and Sandbar fell in love. They've been married for the past couple of years and want to try for a foal, but there's no record of Pony-Changeling hybrids. So, Ocellus turns into a Pony mare. Would this make their baby a full on pony? Or a Changeling because that was it's moms, and therefore it's, original state? Or would we get an actual Hybrid? |
| 766 | ** Most likely none of the above. odds are they can't cross breed at all. |
| 767 | * "Surf and/or Turf" and "The Washouts" strongly imply that Scootaloo has all but given up on ever flying normally. Meanwhile, we've seen multiple examples of heavier-than-air flight technology: Apple Bloom in a hang glider, Tank with his propeller backpack, and Pinkie Pie and Cherry Berry in pedal-powered helicopters. One would expect that someone should be able to hook her up with some piece of assistive technology with which to compensate for her condition and get flying. Even if her flight situation isn't completely hopeless,[[note]]Even her adult body with foal-size wings is up for interpretation - Bulk Biceps can fly despite having much smaller wings on a much larger frame.[[/note]] getting her a hang glider to play around with would have made things feel much less tragic, both to herself and to the audience. Yet that idea was never even briefly discussed anywhere in canon. What possible excuse could there have been for that? |
| 768 | ** The excuse is that Scootaloo wasn't interested in any of those things. She only cares about flying as far as her own abilities go and is otherweise perfectly happy riding her scooter when she wants to do tricks or go fast. Flying wasn't necessary for her lifestyle so once she made peace with her lack of natural ability she let it go. |
| 769 | *** "Surf and/or Turf" had her get all excited over swimming underwater as a sea pony, believing it to be like flying. Yet that was no closer to "her own abilities" than flying with the aid of technology. Though she didn't have anything strapped to her there, so maybe that doesn't ''entirely'' contradict that theory. |
| 770 | * How do ponies survive inside a changeling cocoon? When we see Celestia or other ponies imprisoned by them, they appear to float inside, meaning they contain fluid, which must presumably fill the whole thing as there is also no visible waterline dividing this fluid and possible air reserves. That means ponies' nostrils are submerged, and for spans of time that would suffocate them. |
| 771 | ** Whatever (possibly magical) stuff the goo is made of, it permits [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing liquid breathing]]. |
| 772 | * Why was the Castle of the Two Sisters never rebuilt after Nightmare Moon's banishing? Was it a case of Celestia not willing to be there anymore without her sister,or was there simply too much damage to even bother attempting to repair it? |
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