7174 replies to this topic

[Master Inika]

Spoiler

Well, time for my standard wild speculation:

• Did it disturb anyone else that transforming a pony's cutie mark apparently causes them to immediately forget their past life and dedicate themselves to their supposed "talent"?  Does this mean that a cutie mark does not merely represent a pony's talent, but their purpose in life?  Do ponies actually have a say in following their talent, or does the cutie mark overwrite free will once it is discovered?  Does this effectively make all cutie marks the same as those gained through cutie pox?  Am I asking a ridiculous number of questions about a minute detail?!?
   

I assumed that the artificial memories were an effect of the spell, and that a cutie mark can't change naturally. Plus, since the Mane Six in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" all got theirs while doing something they enjoy, it can be assumed that a pony's special talent is something they like. It seems like a special talent is something a character is predestined to do, and, in any case, ponies seem to take more pride in fulfilling their destiny than any sort of free will (kind of like the Matoran).

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Spoiler

Did it disturb anyone else that transforming a pony's cutie mark apparently causes them to immediately forget their past life and dedicate themselves to their supposed "talent"?  Does this mean that a cutie mark does not merely represent a pony's talent, but their purpose in life?  Do ponies actually have a say in following their talent, or does the cutie mark overwrite free will once it is discovered?  Does this effectively make all cutie marks the same as those gained through cutie pox?  Am I asking a ridiculous number of questions about a minute detail?!?

Spoiler

The way I see it, a Cutie Mark is a symptom of one's destined role in life, not the cause of it. The way I see it, it's not that the ponies' destinies were switched because their cutie marks were switched, but rather the other way around-- the cutie marks being switched was the physical manifestation of their destinies being switched. It's not like getting a cutie mark would ever force a pony to do something they weren't well-suited to do (except the unnatural cutie marks generated by the Cutie Pox), because getting a cutie mark is a result of discovering your destiny. And on a side note, that lends them a very poetic sort of importance: the moment when you are fully aware of what your destiny is (and what it TRULY is, not just a hunch you happen to have at the time), that's when everypony else becomes aware of it as well.

And I think you could argue for hours over whether destiny is something that someone has control over, but I think what matters is that in this stage of their lives, the Mane Six are fully aware of their "true" destinies and are striving to fulfill them. When their destinies were switched, it re-framed their entire life's pursuits around the "new" destinies, but with the same level of dedication they would have had for their actual destinies.

Spoiler

I find it surprising that incantations would be part of the magic in the MLP universe.  The strangest part is that Twilight did not show any sign of effort either time she cast a spell this way.  Are incantations a completely separate field of magic than unicorn intuitive magic?

Spoiler

Probably so, yes, though it's possible that an incantation is much like the wand movements and incantations in the Harry Potter series-- a tool for focusing magical energies, which after a great deal of training a magically-inclined character can do without simply by relying on careful concentration. In that case, the complexity of the spell Twilight was using would probably necessitate the incantation.

Spoiler

Since Cadance effectively has the same job as Twilight, does this mean that Cadance underwent a similar test?  I know that she appeared as a "teenager" in Twilight's flashback, but it could easily be that she either has a different body type to begin with or she was transformed at an earlier age.  Hm...I wonder what kind of test would prove her talent at spreading love.  Perhaps her love spell is original?

Spoiler

Cadance may have undergone similar training, at a younger age. In fact, given the implied immortality of alicorns, we don't know how young she was when she was Twilight's foalsitter. She looked about as young as Twilight is now, but she could have been at least a few years older than her appearance implied. Her love spell could indeed be the spell she would have needed to create. It would fit with the implication that friendship is at the core of the most powerful magic in the series.

Spoiler

The sequence where Twilight visited the celestial plane was interesting, to say the least.  Perhaps it's Celestia's equivalent to Luna's dreamscape?

It was indeed a somewhat surreal part of the episode. I wouldn't know where to begin explaining it.

Spoiler

Why did Rarity's mark cause Applejack to make dresses, when the mark itself is a trio of gems?  Wouldn't it make more sense for her to go on a gem-hunting rampage?  Of course, she would probably actually be pretty decent at digging up gems, so M.A. Larsen probably stretched the meaning of the mark so that he could put Applejack in a miserable situation.

While Rarity's cutie mark is a trio of gems, its meaning as expressed as early as The Cutie Mark Chronicles is that Rarity's destiny was to make things beautiful. Whether that means dresses in particular is perhaps open to interpretation, but having the ponies switch roles, not just destinies, helped to simplify things for the sake of the narrative.

I assumed that the artificial memories were an effect of the spell, and that a cutie mark can't change naturally. Plus, since the Mane Six in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" all got theirs while doing something they enjoy, it can be assumed that a pony's special talent is something they like. It seems like a special talent is something a character is predestined to do, and, in any case, ponies seem to take more pride in fulfilling their destiny than any sort of free will (kind of like the Matoran).

Yep, that's the implication I got as well. Though really, isn't that about how we think of destiny in real life? That doing what you're "meant to do" is, while perhaps not always fun, the most fulfilling thing you can ever achieve?

Of course, in our world, this is usually just a consequence of people not deciding something is their destiny until they feel that sense of fulfillment, but in a universe like that of BIONICLE or MLP:FiM, where destiny is a very real thing rather tahn just an abstract concept, it could easily be understood to work the other way around without implying any lack of free will among the characters involved.

Edited by Aanchir: Rachira of Time, Feb 17 2013 - 09:43 PM.

[Applejack]

If you take the first letter out of the first eight words in Life in Equestria, it spells "lies lies."
I think that's enough proof Twilight is in a changeling pod.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

If you take the first letter out of the first eight words in Life in Equestria, it spells "lies lies."
I think that's enough proof Twilight is in a changeling pod.

And if you do the same for "Morning in Ponyville" you get "mips mips"! Clearly Twilight just got back from our world, where she was enrolled at the Maharana Institute of Professional Studies in Kanpur! Star Swirl's spell didn't mess things up; Pinkie Pie just broke the fourth wall one too many times and all Tartarus broke loose.

[Lyichir]

Theory time: The whole scenario with Twilight becoming an alicorn was not explained much further than "Twilight creating new magic". What if, rather than referring to the writing of the spell, it referred to what the spell did? Perhaps the spell effectively "created" the high level of magic which would be needed for Twilight to become an alicorn? After all, creating new spells has to be something that has been done many times. Unless alternately, perhaps the writing of new spells is normally only something that can be done by alicorns, and unicorns can only perform existing spells; in this case, the spell becomes a much more logical test for Twilight's readiness; if she couldn't fix the spell, then it would effectively prove that she did not have the level of ability for the transformation to be completed.

[Applejack]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Aanchir: Rachira of Time" data-cid="505969" data-time="1361330456"><p>
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Rarity" data-cid="505867"><p>If you take the first letter out of the first eight words in <em class='bbc'>Life in Equestria</em>, it spells "lies lies."<br />
I think that's enough proof Twilight is in a changeling pod.</p></blockquote>And if you do the same for "Morning in Ponyville" you get "mips mips"! Clearly Twilight just got back from our world, where she was enrolled at the Maharana Institute of Professional Studies in Kanpur! Star Swirl's spell didn't mess things up; Pinkie Pie just broke the fourth wall one too many times and all Tartarus broke loose.</p></blockquote>
My goodness. This goes deeper than I thought.

XD so any guesses on when S4 starts?

[Master Inika]

Theory time: The whole scenario with Twilight becoming an alicorn was not explained much further than "Twilight creating new magic". What if, rather than referring to the writing of the spell, it referred to what the spell did? Perhaps the spell effectively "created" the high level of magic which would be needed for Twilight to become an alicorn? After all, creating new spells has to be something that has been done many times. Unless alternately, perhaps the writing of new spells is normally only something that can be done by alicorns, and unicorns can only perform existing spells; in this case, the spell becomes a much more logical test for Twilight's readiness; if she couldn't fix the spell, then it would effectively prove that she did not have the level of ability for the transformation to be completed.

I assumed that Celestia used her own magic to transform Twilight, and could have at any time, but was waiting until she was ready. Possibly the same thing happened with Cadence.

 

So what do you guys think of the idea that Celestia and Luna were once normal ponies until some even older alicorn bestowed them with princessness?

[Lyichir]

Theory time: The whole scenario with Twilight becoming an alicorn was not explained much further than "Twilight creating new magic". What if, rather than referring to the writing of the spell, it referred to what the spell did? Perhaps the spell effectively "created" the high level of magic which would be needed for Twilight to become an alicorn? After all, creating new spells has to be something that has been done many times. Unless alternately, perhaps the writing of new spells is normally only something that can be done by alicorns, and unicorns can only perform existing spells; in this case, the spell becomes a much more logical test for Twilight's readiness; if she couldn't fix the spell, then it would effectively prove that she did not have the level of ability for the transformation to be completed.

I assumed that Celestia used her own magic to transform Twilight, and could have at any time, but was waiting until she was ready. Possibly the same thing happened with Cadence.

 

So what do you guys think of the idea that Celestia and Luna were once normal ponies until some even older alicorn bestowed them with princessness?

I would greatly prefer to think that (or that they gained princessness without the involvement of existing alicorns), since it neatly eliminates the notion of alicorns being some sort of master race, as well as explaining the lack of alicorns at the time of the first Hearth's Warming. However, based on this latest episode that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems to imply that Twilight is the first unicorn to be granted wings in such a way. Still, I also don't believe that Celestia was solely responsible for Twilight's transformation; it seems to me that Twilight's own actions (specifically, Starswirl's spell) were essential to it in one way or another.

Also, only marginally related to that, I was amused upon watching video of the Pony booth at Toy Fair to see that the Hasbro staff there were wearing T-shirts with a picture of Alicorn Twilight reading "This Princess Earned It". A lot of people seem to think that Hasbro's toy division has no desire to reflect the show's values or canon accurately, but that shirt seemed to be yet another piece of evidence that they do in fact "get it". And now I kind of want one of those shirts.

[Master Inika]

Theory time: The whole scenario with Twilight becoming an alicorn was not explained much further than "Twilight creating new magic". What if, rather than referring to the writing of the spell, it referred to what the spell did? Perhaps the spell effectively "created" the high level of magic which would be needed for Twilight to become an alicorn? After all, creating new spells has to be something that has been done many times. Unless alternately, perhaps the writing of new spells is normally only something that can be done by alicorns, and unicorns can only perform existing spells; in this case, the spell becomes a much more logical test for Twilight's readiness; if she couldn't fix the spell, then it would effectively prove that she did not have the level of ability for the transformation to be completed.

I assumed that Celestia used her own magic to transform Twilight, and could have at any time, but was waiting until she was ready. Possibly the same thing happened with Cadence.
 
So what do you guys think of the idea that Celestia and Luna were once normal ponies until some even older alicorn bestowed them with princessness?

I would greatly prefer to think that (or that they gained princessness without the involvement of existing alicorns), since it neatly eliminates the notion of alicorns being some sort of master race, as well as explaining the lack of alicorns at the time of the first Hearth's Warming. However, based on this latest episode that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems to imply that Twilight is the first unicorn to be granted wings in such a way. Still, I also don't believe that Celestia was solely responsible for Twilight's transformation; it seems to me that Twilight's own actions (specifically, Starswirl's spell) were essential to it in one way or another.
Also, only marginally related to that, I was amused upon watching video of the Pony booth at Toy Fair to see that the Hasbro staff there were wearing T-shirts with a picture of Alicorn Twilight reading "This Princess Earned It". A lot of people seem to think that Hasbro's toy division has no desire to reflect the show's values or canon accurately, but that shirt seemed to be yet another piece of evidence that they do in fact "get it". And now I kind of want one of those shirts.

Another possibility is that Celestia and Luna are immortal and only revealed themselves post-HWE. It's possible then that Twilight and Cadence will have normal lifespans. Either way, factoring Cadence into this is really hard.

[The Phoenix]

Finally, Celestia had a song. She's got a beautiful voice. The songs in the finale were some of the best in my opinion. Especially the Find a Way song.

[Bfahome]

My alicorn theory is they're created by the Elements of Harmony.  Celestia and Luna were the first, and they originally brought order to the world.  They then inherited other responsibilities, and "control" of the elements was passed on to Twilight (and friends).

[Keizah the Kaleidoscope]

Another possibility is that Celestia and Luna are immortal and only revealed themselves post-HWE. It's possible then that Twilight and Cadence will have normal lifespans. Either way, factoring Cadence into this is really hard.

That does make a certain sort of sense, but wasn't the entire point of Twilight's mentorship under Celestia to raise an heir to the throne?  Would it really make sense to raise an heir with such a relatively short lifespan?
 

My alicorn theory is they're created by the Elements of Harmony.  Celestia and Luna were the first, and they originally brought order to the world.  They then inherited other responsibilities, and "control" of the elements was passed on to Twilight (and friends).

This raises an interesting question: Assuming that Twilight now has Celestia and Luna's lifespan, what will happen when her friends die?  Will control of their elements pass over to Twilight somehow, or will they have to find new bearers for all the elements besides magic?  The series won't expand on this for obvious reasons, but it's interesting to think about.

[Bfahome]

My alicorn theory is they're created by the Elements of Harmony.  Celestia and Luna were the first, and they originally brought order to the world.  They then inherited other responsibilities, and "control" of the elements was passed on to Twilight (and friends).

This raises an interesting question: Assuming that Twilight now has Celestia and Luna's lifespan, what will happen when her friends die?  Will control of their elements pass over to Twilight somehow, or will they have to find new bearers for all the elements besides magic?  The series won't expand on this for obvious reasons, but it's interesting to think about.

I don't think it's necessarily the same situation each time.  Twilight probably won't get Celestia and luna's lifespans, since those two were charged with maintaining the day/night cycle.

[The Phoenix]

Two things:

 

1: Any opinions on the Pop Culture Collab?

 

2: I'm making an Amnesia Pinkie Pie toy, and any tips would be useful.

[Applejack]

You guys hear about the Vegas con? Crazy stuff.

[The Phoenix]

You guys hear about the Vegas con? Crazy stuff.

No. What happened?

[Applejack]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="The Phoenix" data-cid="508421" data-time="1361847927"><p>
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Rarity" data-cid="508132" data-time="1361820168"><p>You guys hear about the Vegas con? Crazy stuff.</p></blockquote>
No. What happened?</p></blockquote>

The voice actors got kicked out of their hotel rooms, and the last of the con was cancelled.
They(everfree I think) didn't have enough money to pay for the con, which is why the hotel kicked them, and they had to auction stuff, and take donations. I heard someone took off with the money which is why they didn't have enough.

[Coob]

As far as I know, the con organizers (not EFR) miscalculated their funds and did not have enough money to pay for the hotel rooms of special guests like the voice actors and some musicians. Apparently the organizers got cold feet and left the sinking ship, so EFR, EQD and a lot of other Brony media groups took the wheel and raised 7,000 $ in a matter of hours to keep the con going for the last day.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

So on a less tragic con-related note, anyone going to Cloudsdale Congress? I've decided I'm going, particularly since I'll likely miss Bronycon (sucks that the year it moves reasonably close to my hometown in Virginia it also coincides with Brickfair).

[Applejack]

Anyone going to nightmare nights con?


Faust joined Mane 6 and new EqG image. Thoughts?

[The Phoenix]

I may be going to Sweet Apple Acres Con. Has anyone here been?

[The Lord Of Wednesday]

 

Yeah I would love to go to a con, but I don't have the money to do so.

[Andrewnuva199]

I don't really care for any convention that isn't a Star Wars Celebration, San Diego Comic Con, or LEGO-related at this point in time, so I don't think I'll seek any out in this catagory.

[The Lord Of Wednesday]

Not sure if you guys found out yet, but I am sure you know that Fighting Is Magic was stopped by Hasbro, however what you may not know is that Lauren Faust is now a part of Mane6 and writing characters for them to make in their new game (the game is non-MLP, but hey it has Faust on it so it is definitely worth looking at.

 

I also heard that Lauren Faust is also helping out with Equestria Girls, but I am not 100% sure on this one.

[Valenti]

Ponies: the Anthology 3 has been announced.

[The Phoenix]

Ponies: the Anthology 3 has been announced.

What's that?

[The Lord Of Wednesday]

Here is an interesting part of the plot that does not seem to be common knowledge yet, but I could be wrong, regarding Cadance and her being an alicorn.

 

It turns out that in one of the novels...

 

Spoiler

Cadance was also transformed into an alicorn rather then born as one. Originally she was a pegasis who faced an amulet corrupted pony. The amulet the pony was wearing was one that magnified emotions and Cadance somehow hijacked it to resonate love instead of envy and hatred, she was then taken to a celestial plane similar to Twilight where Celestia adopted her as a royal niece.

 

Granted I could have gotten something wrong, but that is how I remember it being summarized.

[The Phoenix]

Here is an interesting part of the plot that does not seem to be common knowledge yet, but I could be wrong, regarding Cadance and her being an alicorn.

 

It turns out that in one of the novels...

 

Spoiler

Cadance was also transformed into an alicorn rather then born as one. Originally she was a pegasis who faced an amulet corrupted pony. The amulet the pony was wearing was one that magnified emotions and Cadance somehow hijacked it to resonate love instead of envy and hatred, she was then taken to a celestial plane similar to Twilight where Celestia adopted her as a royal niece.

 

Granted I could have gotten something wrong, but that is how I remember it being summarized.

*Epic inhale* WWWhhhaaattt???

[Andrewnuva199]

It turns out that in one of the novels...

Back it up right there. I wasn't even aware they were producing novels of any sort.

Googling so far brings up something about an official guide book, but nothing beyond that.

[Coob]

It turns out that in one of the novels...

Back it up right there. I wasn't even aware they were producing novels of any sort.

Googling so far brings up something about an official guide book, but nothing beyond that.

It's called "The Crystal Heart Spell" and should be released sometime around early April, if that helps.

[Andrewnuva199]

It turns out that in one of the novels...

Back it up right there. I wasn't even aware they were producing novels of any sort.

Googling so far brings up something about an official guide book, but nothing beyond that.

It's called "The Crystal Heart Spell" and should be released sometime around early April, if that helps.

Ah.

Wait, if the book's contents are already known, did Europe get first dibs on things again?

[Kung Fu Rahkshi Destroyer]

Hay

 

Hay gaiz.

 

What if the Mane 6 were Power Rangers?

 

They'd make it to the Elements of Harmony as usual, but discover that the elements are really morphers. Fluttershy is the Yellow Ranger, Rainbow Dash is the Blue Ranger, Pinkie Pie is the Pink Ranger, Applejack is the Red Ranger, (cuz apples), Rarity is the Black Ranger, (cuz irony), and Twilight Sparkle is the Green Ranger. (Cuz shut up.)

 

So they morph, and start kicking Nightmare Moon's butt, until Nightmare Moon eats a mushroom or something, I don't know, and gets really big, proceeding to wreck up the place. They summon their Zords, Rabbit Zord for Fluttershy, Turtle Zord for Rainbow Dash, Alligator Zord for Pinkie Pie, Dog Zord for Applejack, Cat Zord for Rarity, and Dragon Zord for Twilight.

 

The Zords provide some serious firepower somehow, but still aren't enough, so they combine to form the Harmony Megazord, which uses it's Friendship Cannons (both of it's arms are guns) to easily blast away Nightmare Moon's evil, returning her back to being Luna. Rest of the episode proceeds as usual.

 

I'm just saying.

 

Man, am I tired.

[teslakana]

(Rainbow Dash is best pony)

no...

twilight is best pony

end of

[Coob]

(Rainbow Dash is best pony)

no...

twilight is best pony

end of

Sir, I like the way you think.

 

Also, the way you quote 1,5-year-old posts to reaffirm universal truths.

[Ryuujin]

1.5 years later and I still hold my position that Rainbow Dash is, indeed, best pony

[Coob]

1.5 years later and I still hold my position that Rainbow Dash is, indeed, best pony

Blasphemy! *loses monocle and shakes fist vividly*

[The Phoenix]

I personally like Derpy best, but all ponies are love worthy.

 

Except Blueblood.

[Bundalings]

I think Rarity&SweetieBelle is best pony.

[Valenti]

My favourite pony is still Twilight Sparkle.

 

Got two new blind bags today.

 

Minuette (aka Colgate) and Cherry Spices.

 

Two Twi molds.

 

also, Cherry Spices' colour scheme is VERY similar to that of Babs Seed.

[Applejack]

So... Double Rainboom is airing right now.

Kinda sucks so far.