My Little Pony Friendship is Magic

[Shyghoul]

my hair's getting out of control (I need a haircut),

More like a mane cut.

 

[Nabber]

This is the first time I'm looking at this thread, but why do so many people here like MLP???? :D

It's a long story, but basically, the recent My Little Pony episodes (by recent, I mean the latest generation of episodes) aren't as horrific as the pre-2010 episodes, so there's a pretty large internet fanbase of "bronies".

i kinda get the impression that you're calling the show horrific

I'm not calling the show horrific, I'm saying that the show seems to be going downhill.

but I definitely would call the Season 3 finale horrific

 

[Smashgoom202]

Because it looked like you're blaming M.A. Larson for something that wasn't his fault at all.

If you can give him credit for the good things he did in the episode, I can give him credit for the bad. Simple as that.

After all, why say you wanted to hit him over the head with a 6th grade biology textbook at all?

Ever heard that parable about the guy whom a dictionary fell on, and who suddenly learned every English word in the book afterwards?

I'm hoping the same happens here.

I still think you're putting too much emphasis on what he did, as if the alicorn thing was all his idea, instead of a decision could have involved the entire creative team AND Hasbro. I mostly didn't understand what you're getting at when you said "I rest my case", because I was all like "what case?!"

I'll give you this: perhaps Twilight didn't "need" to be an alicorn, but in the context of the Equestria universe, not to mention, since being a princess clearly entails certain things, I think the act of making her an alicorn makes sense, so I don't see the need to complain about it. I mean, being skeptical about what's to come is one thing, but after seeing Twilight becoming a princess, I feel like all the fears about it aren't as justified.

Then again, I'm of the opinion that Magical Mystery Cure was completely flawless, or at the very least, anything bad in the episode can be immediately overlooked or is relatively unimportant to the episode at hand. The only real problems I had were Twilight quickly coming to the conclusion that the spell she cast was what messed up her friends and apparently didn't think anything of it until that moment, or how quickly she seemed to figure out how to fix everything. But I can just assume that she's a clever girl and realizes her mistakes quickly because of all she learned from the past... This episode also made me realize that Keep Calm and Flutter On had some relevance to this episode because now the elements of harmony are with Twilight instead of in Canterlot with Celestia!

...I also thought it was wierd that the Apple Family didn't bother helping Pinkie but jumped at the chance to help Applejack, but I justified it in my head, saying they were probably fixing Pinkie's messes off screen while she was trying to do her own work. And again, it's pretty irrelevant, to me anyway.

Edit:

but I definitely would call the Season 3 finale horrific

WHOA, talk about awkward timing!

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

I still think you're putting too much emphasis on what he did, as if the alicorn thing was all his idea, instead of a decision could have involved the entire creative team AND Hasbro. I mostly didn't understand what you're getting at when you said "I rest my case", because I was all like "what case?!"

Touché. Well, I don't really know the inner workings of DHX Vancouver as well as you might. But from my experience, even in group decisions the head writer still has the pen in hand.

I'll give you this: perhaps Twilight didn't "need" to be an alicorn, but in the context of the Equestria universe, [...] I think the act of making her an alicorn makes sense, so I don't see the need to complain about it.

I might be misreading this, correct me if I'm wrong, but essentially just the "it's magic, it doesn't require explanation" explanation. I disagree, but respect your opinion.

not to mention, since being a princess clearly entails certain things,

Not to be rude or anything, but please do tell how having wings would help her draft laws, negotiate treaties, balance a budget, or assist in leading a country effectively? Because those are the primary duties of a monarch, are they not?

I mean, being skeptical about what's to come is one thing, but after seeing Twilight becoming a princess, I feel like all the fears about it aren't as justified.

I'm not skeptical about what's to come. Again, I friggin' love the idea that Twilight's a princess now. I just wish the writers could go back to middle school and lean how biology works.

 

[Time Turner]

I mean, being skeptical about what's to come is one thing, but after seeing Twilight becoming a princess, I feel like all the fears about it aren't as justified.

I'm not skeptical about what's to come. Again, I friggin' love the idea that Twilight's a princess now. I just wish the writers could go back to middle school and lean how biology works.

oh shut up you're watching a show with colorful ponies that can do magic and control the weather why do you care about realism

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

I mean, being skeptical about what's to come is one thing, but after seeing Twilight becoming a princess, I feel like all the fears about it aren't as justified.

I'm not skeptical about what's to come. Again, I friggin' love the idea that Twilight's a princess now. I just wish the writers could go back to middle school and lean how biology works.

oh shut up you're watching a show with colorful ponies that can do magic and control the weather why do you care about realism

"It's magic, it doesn't require explanation" explanation. Again, I disagree, but respect your opinion.

 

[Smashgoom202]

Touché. Well, I don't really know the inner workings of DHX Vancouver as well as you might. But from my experience, even in group decisions the head writer still has the pen in hand.

Well in that case, wouldn't you be more upset at Meghan McCarthy, who's the current Story Editor of the show?

I might be misreading this, correct me if I'm wrong, but essentially just the "it's magic, it doesn't require explanation" explanation. I disagree, but respect your opinion.

It's not so much a "it's magic, it doesn't require explanation" thing, so much as "they're setting up how things work in Equestria", at least that's how I see it. I'm pretty much open to new concepts for magic, so long as it doesn't contradict what's been previously set up (magic A is magic A and all that) or it's not stupid or relies on the aforementioned "it's magic, *bleep*" explanation.

Not to be rude or anything, but please do tell how having wings would help her draft laws, negotiate treaties, balance a budget, or assist in leading a country effectively? Because those are the primary duties of a monarch, are they not?

You forget that Celestia has been slowly but surely leading her into a leadership position, having her learn more lessons regarding that kind of thing, like in the Crystal Kingdom two-parter...

...Oh, wait, you're saying why is it necessary to have wings to be a princess? ...I dunno. All the princesses so far are alicorns, clearly being an alicorn means you have a lot of power, not just politically but in terms of magic (remember the alicorn amulet?). To me, becoming an alicorn shows that Twilight has truly become a master of her magical craft, something no other unicorn could obtain. In the end, though, I THINK we're going to have to see that season 4 two-parter premiere Megham McCarthy mentioned in order to really see what being both a princess and and alicorn entails.

For me, though, I don't think it's pointless, so much as it just makes sense in my mind.

I'm not skeptical about what's to come. Again, I friggin' love the idea that Twilight's a princess now. I just wish the writers could go back to middle school and lean how biology works.

You're going to bring up biology in a world that has unicorns and pegasi in it. :|

Seriously, though, I don't know what you're getting at with a comment like that. I GET that you don't understand why she needs to be an alicorn, but are you honestly trying to imply that it's because they don't understand biology? Give me a freaking break!

And it's not so much "it's magic, I don't have to explain it" so much as it is an accept suspension of disbelief.

 

[Specific Neptune]

Spoiler

Rank Character
1 Flim
2 Flam
3 Applejack
4 Rarity
5 Spike
6 Discord
7 Queen Chrysalis
8 Trixie
9 Apple Bloom
10 Scootaloo
11 Sweetie Belle
12 Rainbow Dash
13 Granny Smith
14 Twilight Sparkle
15 Braeburn
16 Princess Cadence
17 Zecora
18 Photo Finish
19 Babs Seed
20 Silver Spoon
21 Fleur de Lys
22 Iron Will
23 Spitfire
24 Soarin'
25 Snowflake / Horsepower
26 Fancy Pants
27 Twist
28 Gilda
29 Fluttershy
30 Cheerilee
31 Big Macintosh
32 Shining Armor
33 Berry Punch
34 Octavia
35 Vinyl Scratch
36 Colgate
37 Derpy
38 Rose Luck
39 Pipsqueak
40 Bon Bon
41 Lyra
42 Diamond Tiara
43 Carrot Top
44 Caramel
45 Hoity Toity
46 Flitter
47 Cloud Chaser
48 Lightning Dust
49 Dr. Whooves
50 Prince Blueblood
51 King Sombra
52 Pinkie Pie
53 Princess Celestia
54 Princess Luna
55 Nightmare Moon

what does this mean

 

[SonicMario]

I think in Equestria. Princesses seem to have to have Wings and a Horn (Plus I think some kinda book said they also have the strength of heart of an Earth pony) so they have a connection with the 3 main types of Ponies. While if Twilight was still a Unicorn but still Princess she'd have a harder time being able to see the Pegasi. I know she has the Cloudwalking spell, but it's much easier for her to have Wings so she can properly help govern whenever flying up to Cloudsdale or any other Pegasi inhabited areas.

It just seems that in Equestria to be Princess you have to be an Alicorn. But this is all speculation. I'm afraid we don't have a clear answer until Season 4 starts. I'm sure the Season 4 opener will have the answers on alot of questions plus the details on how exactly this effects the relationship with her friends.

Either way though, I don't care what anybody says. I loved Magical Mystery Cure, and I like that Twilight's an Alicorn now. We have no idea how Celestia, Luna, or Cadence (Unless you want to count the Crystal Heart book as her backstory) came to be Princesses and whether or not they were once normal ponies or born Alicorns. At least with Twilight we get a sense that she's earned this because we've seen her have a major part in saving Equestria more then 3 times now and her Magic reached levels that was unimaginable even for Early Season 1 Twilight. Princess Twilight gives us the oppurtunity to learn how exactly Princesses work in Equestria. And I find that interesting.

And I don't about you, but I think Twilight looks good with Wings. It might take a little while to get used to and might be a bit jarring when rewatching the episodes before Magical Mystery Cure and also seeing the episodes after. But either way, AliTwi's still looks good designwise.

 

[Smashgoom202]

Thanks Northern Verve. I really find myself at odds explaining how I feel about somethings, or justifying why this makes sense to me or this doesn't, but I like they way you explained yourself.

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

Touché. Well, I don't really know the inner workings of DHX Vancouver as well as you might. But from my experience, even in group decisions the head writer still has the pen in hand.

Well in that case, wouldn't you be more upset at Meghan McCarthy, who's the current Story Editor of the show?

You just said exactly the opposite of what I said. If McCarthy added the wings, then so be it, but until proven otherwise I always hold the writer responsible for the writing.

I might be misreading this, correct me if I'm wrong, but essentially just the "it's magic, it doesn't require explanation" explanation. I disagree, but respect your opinion.

It's not so much a "it's magic, it doesn't require explanation" thing, so much as "they're setting up how things work in Equestria", at least that's how I see it. I'm pretty much open to new concepts for magic, so long as it doesn't contradict what's been previously set up (magic A is magic A and all that) or it's not stupid or relies on the aforementioned "it's magic, *bleep*" explanation.

My main problem with the whole wing thing is, in order for it to have a fucking point, you need an "it's magic, bleep it" explanation. As far as I'm concerned, Twilight has no practical reason for being an alicorn. Plus my response to your next blurb, but I'll get to that later.

...Oh, wait, you're saying why is it necessary to have wings to be a princess? ...I dunno.

EXACTLY.

All the princesses so far are alicorns, clearly being an alicorn means you have a lot of power, not just politically but in terms of magic (remember the alicorn amulet?).

Of course being an alicorn means you have a lot of power. You've got both a fucking horn and badass wings. Dunno what that has to do with governing a country, though.

To me, becoming an alicorn shows that Twilight has truly become a master of her magical craft, something no other unicorn could obtain.

Which is why she graduated from Pony college and became a princess. Again, dunno what this has to do with being an alicorn.

You're going to bring up biology in a world that has unicorns and pegasi in it. :|

Hell yeah, I am.

Seriously, though, I don't know what you're getting at with a comment like that. I GET that you don't understand why she needs to be an alicorn, but are you honestly trying to imply that it's because they don't understand biology? Give me a freaking break!

First of all, she's sprouting wings out of her fucking back like it's fucking Alien: Equestria edition

Second, even if you overlook that, here's a little tidbit I sent to SM:

Traits such as horns and wings are determined by specific alleles. Each allele codes for a specific trait (i.e., "H" means no horn, "h" means horn). In order to have a horn, since "Baby Cakes" proved that horns and wings are both recessive traits, you'd need two little h's and no big H's. Meaning that Twilight's genotype was previously hhWW or hhWw, and a pegasus would have Hhww or HHww. An alicorn, having both a horn and wings, would be hhww.

In order to go from a hhWw to a hhww in that 25-second (I counted; it was 15:47 to 16:12) scene, Celestia would have had to pinpoint the locus for the wing trait, cut apart, or "splice", Twilight's chromosome, force in the desired trait either physically or via lentiviral infection (because Twilight is no longer an embryo), wait for Twilight's cells to respond to the new codon, and twiddle your thumbs for the wings to SLOWLY develop. If they develop at all.

Even if Twilight isn't killed by the process, there's a whole slew of problems that could go wrong, including severe risk of genetic defects and deformations, injury of vital organs, or drastic personality alteration. The whole process might not even work at all anyway, since Twilight's fully-developed and too ingrained in her "Ww-ness"; you'd have to wait for her offspring to carry the trait. And I don't care how "magical" you or the writers make the process, because here that excuse won't work. No matter how you cut it (pun intended), the basic process would boil down to this.

And it's not so much "it's magic, I don't have to explain it" so much as it is an accept suspension of disbelief.

As I just described above, it's not magic. It's genetic engineering, pure science. Which requires an explanation, please.

 

[Nabber]

or you could go with my conspiracy theory that they're all robots designed by Bruno for science and friendship

 

[SonicMario]

No offense Toad85, but I think you're taking the whole pony genetics thing a little too seriously.

This isn't exactly confirmed, but it's generally considered that an Alicorn is a pony that exemplifies the traits of all three pony races. And given we know it's a status to be earned thanks to Magical Mystery Cure, a Princess at least after the Hearth's Warming Eve event told in the play (Because Rarity's character she plays in in Hearth's Warming Eve was definitely only a Unicorn) only those worthy of it were given the status to rule. We have no idea how Celestia and Luna came to be, since as Spike said the Hearth's Warming thing was before all that. (We don't know if the Royal Sisters were born Alicorns or not, but maybe this will be explored in Season 4). We just have no confirmed chain of events that followed after Hearth's Warming and when Celestia and/or Luna were born.

I'd take a gander that if Celestia and Luna became Alicorns and weren't born Alicorns. Celestia was probably the first and we'll probably have to learn how she achieved it. But it seemed to have been received well because Celestia now had a trait of all 3 of the Main races and maybe was seen as a symbol of the Unity of the three types of Pony that started from the Hearth's Warming event. She probably have already proven herself worthy as well. But until we get Celestia's backstory that's something we can only make blind guesses as to what she did. I'm sure it's more then just "Celestia learned how to control the sun all by herself"

 

[Smashgoom202]

You just said exactly the opposite of what I said. If McCarthy added the wings, then so be it, but until proven otherwise I always hold the writer responsible for the writing.

I'd like to think the showrunner and the story editor would be in charge of something major like that. I DO recall Meghan McCarthy commenting on it, but I forget what article it was...

My main problem with the whole wing thing is, in order for it to have a *bleep*ing point, you need an "it's magic, bleep it" explanation. As far as I'm concerned, Twilight has no practical reason for being an alicorn. Plus my response to your next blurb, but I'll get to that later.

Again, I think we need to see that two-parter Meghan McCarthy mentioned on Twitter in order to get any kind of deeper meaning behind that, but I honestly don't see the alicorn thing as a big deal. I don't view it as pointless, even though I don't see what kind of practical use it has... All I know, or at least assume and speculate, is that being an alicorn is obviously a big deal, and that it denotes how powerful you are. Twilight's transformation represents that she's achieved that level of power.

Of course being an alicorn means you have a lot of power. You've got both a *bleep*ing horn and badass wings. Dunno what that has to do with governing a country, though.

Good God, you're really on about this, aren't you? You really need to have SOME kind of justification for this? ...You know, I'm reminded of Marvel's Thor, and that the type of helmet you have denotes how you rank among the other Gods. Thor has wings on his helment, while Loki has horns. Odin has both on his helmet, and that show's that he's the leader... I think. I see this as the same way, seeing as the alicorns are a race of superior beings, it might be that the fact that they ARE alicorns are the reasons they're rulers to begin with. Because they're so powerful and all. Really, I GUESS I felt this went without saying, but when I think about it, I really don't see it as being pointless, nor do I see the need to stress over it's practical uses.

Which is why she graduated from Pony college and became a princess. Again, dunno what this has to do with being an alicorn.

Maybe being an alicorn is what you need to do to BECOME a princess?

First of all, she's sprouting wings out of her *bleep*ing back like it's *bleep*ing Alien: Equestria edition

Second, even if you overlook that, here's a little tidbit I sent to SM:

Traits such as horns and wings are determined by specific alleles. Each allele codes for a specific trait (i.e., "H" means no horn, "h" means horn). In order to have a horn, since "Baby Cakes" proved that horns and wings are both recessive traits, you'd need two little h's and no big H's. Meaning that Twilight's genotype was previously hhWW or hhWw, and a pegasus would have Hhww or HHww. An alicorn, having both a horn and wings, would be hhww.

In order to go from a hhWw to a hhww in that 25-second (I counted; it was 15:47 to 16:12) scene, Celestia would have had to pinpoint the locus for the wing trait, cut apart, or "splice", Twilight's chromosome, force in the desired trait either physically or via lentiviral infection (because Twilight is no longer an embryo), wait for Twilight's cells to respond to the new codon, and twiddle your thumbs for the wings to SLOWLY develop. If they develop at all.

Even if Twilight isn't killed by the process, there's a whole slew of problems that could go wrong, including severe risk of genetic defects and deformations, injury of vital organs, or drastic personality alteration. The whole process might not even work at all anyway, since Twilight's fully-developed and too ingrained in her "Ww-ness"; you'd have to wait for her offspring to carry the trait. And I don't care how "magical" you or the writers make the process, because here that excuse won't work. No matter how you cut it (pun intended), the basic process would boil down to this.

Okay, no offense, I didn't read most of that. That's WAAAAAAY too much for me to take in. I know suddenly growing wings DEFINITELY would have been considered weird, not to mention, they didn't really dwell much on that aspect at all in the episode, but I just figured this is all just, you know... magic. It's a magical process, not a biological one. Again, you're talking about a KIDS show. You can have deeper and complex personal or social issues in those kinds of shows, plus jokes and concepts only adults would get, but when you get into THIS kind of stuff, and GENUINELY hold is against the show, then you my friend have just acsended into ultimate tooldom. No offense, but get over yourself.

...Not to mention, if you want to get into the biology of the ponies, then technically their bodies would be too small to fit all their organs... Not to mention, all the slapstick that goes on could have killed them ten times over, plus things like butterflies catching filly Fluttershy and whatnot, but that would be getting into physics and not biology.

As I just described above, it's not magic. It's genetic engineering, pure science. Which requires an explanation, please.

Again, ultimate tooldom. I usually stress out over little details too, and I don't like having to say this at all, but in this case ( keep in mind, I don't do this that often, or at all), you really need to go over the MST3K mantra:

Just repeat to yourself, it's just a show
I should really just relax.

 

[BowserJunior]

Yeah, this is a kid's show with magic in it. Saying "It's not magic. It's genetic engineering, pure science," shows that you're really missing the point here.

 

[Nabber]

Well, I may as well post my conspiracy theory here again.

Spoiler: Professor Layton and the Curious Village spoilers

Everyone in Ponyville except for Derpy Hooves, Twilight Sparkle, and Diamond Tiara are actually real working robots with actual personalities. The technology for this is provided by that guy in Professor Layton (you know the one I'm talking about) who has accessed Equestria via Cave Johnson's multiverse technology (oh yeah, he's here too and is also a pony. For science.) Celestia is using these robots to set up Twilight in friendship situations so that she can learn more about the magic of friendship or give Celestia a good laugh (whichever comes first.) The exceptions are Diamond Tiara, who has been inane by these robots turning her into an obsessed Alpha Bitch (who is completely adorable) and Derpy Hooves, also driven insane.

Plausible in theory, except for a couple things.

If they're specifically designed to challenge Twilight's friendship, then how are episodes like "Stare Masters" and "Sisterhooves Social", where she barely appears at all, possible? And if they are, why are they fully scripted, acted, and worthy of air time?

Furthermore, we know from Curious Village that even the butler Ramon requires regular maintenance. With the kind of occupational hazards that dog Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, they'd need to be back in Bruno's shop constantly. Don't you think Twilight would get suspicious of their mysterious disappearances after a while? And would Cave need to keep the portal open 24/7? Where in Equestria would it be placed that's safe from Twilight?

There's just too many questions this door opens for me to confirm it.

Well, we know that Bruno's bots do what they want, right? They don't actually know that they're bots and think they're full-fledged beings. So, episodes like the Staremaster and Sisterhooves Social would still be plausible, as they have their own friendship problems. Why are they aired? Why not? Not everything in the show has to be part of the conspiracy.

As for maintenance, I mentioned Cave Johnson, didn't I? Ever see Portal bots in maintenance? Cave can make improvements to the bots to make them better. Also, we've seen quite a lot of episodes where someponies don't appear in, so that's when any possible changes to be made are made.

Why would Cave need to keep the portal open 24/7? Not that he can't, because it's a portal and those don't require any effort from the user to keep open. And we all know from Portal that Aperture is a giant underground facility - MILES underground, farther than somepony like Twilight could ever hope to find.

 

[BowserJunior]

But if they don't know they're bots, how do they go in for modifications?

 

[Nabber]

Bruno and Cave and Celestia personally take them in for modifications of couse

 

[BowserJunior]

And they don't notice?

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

MST3K Mantra card, abandoning thread.

 

[Time Turner]

MST3K Mantra card, abandoning thread.

do you even like this show

 

[Nabber]

And they don't notice?

The robots? No, they return with no memory of what happened.

 

[Smashgoom202]

MST3K Mantra card, abandoning thread.

Good riddance. I'm normally not this mean, but in this case, take your insane standards somewhere else.

 

[BowserJunior]

Okay, now this is plausible.

 

[SonicMario]

By the way guys, there is an official dub of Friendship is Magic that comes out pretty soon. While I'm not one that watches Japanese dubs of anything, for those that do it might be interesting. The voice actors for Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity are all fairly new voice actors with little to no notable roles.

But for the Dangan Ronpa or Lucky Star fans it might be interesting to note that the voice of Touko Fukawa is Twilight, the voice of Hiyoko Saionji is Pinkie Pie, and for Lucky Star the voice of Kagami Hiiragi is Fluttershy.