The real question is, why Flash for popularity. There's never really been any indication he's that widely liked, except beyond "I know that guy, he's nice"-ness.

Frankly, a relationship between Sunset and Flash would show more about Flash than Sunset, if only because there's so much more of him to reveal.

As it were.

Given Flash is known to be personable, maybe she was trying to get a foot in the door with the student body. "If Flash is dating her, she can't be all bad!" By the time her true jerkiness becomes known, it's too late.

There's a lot about Sunset's pre-rainbow explosion history unanswered, really. Largely because she comes from the Alpha Bitch School of Popularity, wherein the key to getting really, really super-popular is to be a complete and utter asshole to everyone all the time, therefore guaranteeing that people will fawn over you for how much of a despicable, unlikable, friendless shitbag you are.

The same place Diamond Tiara's popularity stems from, in fact. Before the reveal that she's basically Kilgrave.

edited 23rd May '17 9:12:46 PM by TobiasDrake

There wouldn't be people who see that as power from the inside if people didn't see it as such from the outside, and power is intoxicating, to wield it or simply be near it.

You don't need to be liked to have a choke hold on people's hearts and minds, especially when they're in reach right in front of you.

We don't really know that Diamond Tiara was an asshole to everyone all the time. What we do know is that she was an asshole to some people some of the time. Specifically, the CMC.

Of course, she did eventually become unpopular anyway.

Yeah, at first she was only a jerk to the CMC, which made her popularity among the rest of the class a bit more understandable.

Anyway, I'm going to bed.

Ruling through social terror works as a pseudo-popular for a finite period of time, especially if you can mix a carrot in with that big honking stick.

DT did have other settings than "terror" though, as shown by how she successfully sucked up to the CMC in Twilight Time.

Post of the Day #1832

Idle thought: we've talked a lot about Sunset and Twilight's ages. Does the portal de-age people? Are ponies just considered adults sooner? Are Twilight and Sunset somehow still teens? Etc. etc.

I just realized something. The only evidence we even have that the human forms of Twilight and Sunset are teenagers is that they're attending high school. They don't have birth certificates or parents or any kind of human ties. Twilight's only in Canterlot High because the portal spit her out there, and Sunset's probably not any different in that regard.

It's circular logic. They must be teens because they're going to high school, which they're doing 'cause that's what teens do. But, like, I've known women to be 24 and look 12. Twilight and Sunset aren't students at Canterlot High because they've studied hard and spent their lives working their way through the grades. They're students at Canterlot High because Principal Celestia has dangerously low standards of entry.

Human Sunset might not be a teenager. She might just age well.

edited 24th May '17 10:47:03 AM by TobiasDrake

I've always just considered the fact that the ponies mature somewhere between human and regular horse, and that 16/17 is considered an adult by Equestrian society.

Re CHS popularity: If Cinch's comment in Friendship Games is true, and CHS picks their FG team based on popularity, then the most popular kids in CHS are:

• The Mane 6 (easy to understand after saving the school twice that that point)

• Sandalwood, Microchips, Derpy (a hippie, nerd, and girl with a physical abnormality respectively, which in any other series would probably qualify them as unpopular)

• Flash, Lyra, and Bon Bon (who don't seem to have a mean bone in their bodies, siren mind control notwithstanding)

Which makes me think that being popular in CHS just means that you're really nice.

When Sunset first started at CHS, she acted nice and her true personality slowly began to seep out. Flash was effectively the last student to figure out, because he was blinded by his feeling for her/ she would accuse him of being a bad boyfriend when he questioned her.

Yes, I must always take the bait when it comes to EG discussions.

Speaking of EG, remember that question about if there's a Hell in Equestrian religion?

The above was inspired by thoughts of how Sunset or Twilight would react to somebody shouting "Jesus Christ" when their car broke down or they lost something.

First thought would be them turning their heads inquisitively and saying "who?"

edited 12th Sep '17 1:25:30 PM by fredhot16

The only indication they have a religion at all points towards some variety of Christianity, so it's not impossible. That said their image of hell would likely be a bit different than ours.

Did they hint at a religon? I don't remember. (Unless that was a comic thing.)

Assuming that the cosmology of the human world is like ours, Sunset Shimmer might have learned in a science and/or history class that the world she knows in Equestria, where the Sun is moved around the Earth by a magical being, would be seen as an old myth in the human world (ex. Greek mythology, which has the Sun chariot).

^^ I assume he means Sunset's transformation from the first movie being referred to later as a "demon," but demons aren't unique to Christian theo/mythology.

Are ponies just considered adults sooner?

That's how I interpret it.

Yeah, but she looked pretty close to a Christian demon.

Eh... kinda? She turned red, her ears got pointy, and she grew wings. Again, not exactly unique to Christian demons, while the most common element of Christian demons - horns - were absent. The most Christian thing about her demonic design was the flame motif, but that's an extension of her base design, so it's uncertain how intentional or significant it was meant to be.

Wait, she didn't have horns?

Show me a picture, please.

I feel like that has more to do with the design sensibilties of the crew than anything.

Pictured.

She basically looks like the product of a goblin and a vampire hatef*cking. The flame motif doesn't really count for much either because it's just an extension of her hair color.

edited 24th May '17 4:13:10 PM by TobiasDrake

Why do her wings have holes in them? And what's with the boots?

Because she got lost somewhere on the way to the 90's.

I'm much more partial to the design of - ugh - "Midnight Sparkle", seen here. Sunset's other, better super form is also pretty sweet.

That first one, which I crudely dubbed "Satan's Concubine"? Not so much.

Yeah, they do look MUCH better.

Equestria actually does have a hell: Tartarus.