#mlp articles

If She Doesn’t, I’d be Shocked

Happy Belated Pinkie Pie Day! And for that matter, happy Canadian Thanksgiving and Oktoberfest (both big where I live)! With so much to celebrate, it’s only fitting to spotlight Ponyville’s premier party-planner, Pinkie Pie.

Today I wanted to dive a little deeper into that preposterous pink pony’s character, to the center of what makes Pinkie… Pinkie.

Abandonment issues! Hooray! *party canon blast*

More specifically, separation anxiety.

The Proof is in the Pudding

I think we can all think of times when Pinkie’s had a hard time saying goodbye. Twilight staying in Canterlot to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration meant she had to hug her one last time and send her care-package. Rainbow Dash leaving for the Wonderbolts Academy lead to waiting by the mailbox. Fluttershy leaving for a little while had her running alongside the train.

And that’s not to mention every time Pinkie’s gotten insecure. Her self-worth and her party-planning and baking skills are unbreakably linked. Heck, even her secret-keeping abilities can make or break an entire friendship in her mind.

To put it lightly, Pinkie can’t handle her friends being separated from her friends, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it’s that very loving, altruistic spirit that makes her such a great friend to begin with. A curse because her self-esteem and, well, coping ability goes out the window when her friends walk out the door.

I’ve always found this to be a pretty interesting aspect to her character because she left home at, presumably, a pretty young age. If not right after getting her cutie mark, then in her teenage years. Pinkie made the choice to leave for her own happiness, which is awesome, but it kind of makes you wonder why she has so much trouble with goodbye if she was able to leave her family.

And I think the answer is simple. Pinkie doesn’t have problems leaving, she has problems being left behind.

In a similar vein to her struggles with being disliked or ignored, the root of all these abandonment issues is a fear of rejection.

Which… makes a scary amount of sense from a writing perspective. Pinkie’s the most sociable character in the show, and you might expect Flutter “Social Anxiety” Shy to have more problems with rejection, but it’s because Pinkie’s so social that she can’t take it when her friends reject her.

And just look at her discord-ification in Return of Harmony. If Pinkie Pie feels she’s been reduced to nothing but a joke, she’d rather not laugh or smile at all. 

So, it seems to me our answer is clear: yeah, she does. As to the why?

That goes all the way back to mini-ponk: Pinkie’s cutie mark story. If you’ve seen the episode, you know Pinkie’s family ends up loving her party and actually---*gasp*---smiles for once. But the moments where Pinkie isn’t sure what they think of it are telling.

She pretty well immediately assumes they don’t like it. Given how different Pinkie is from her family, that honestly makes sense. Even from when she was small, Pinkie felt she had to justify her life’s purpose. If she could make others happy, keep them around, her parties and by extension Pinkie herself, was worth all the silliness.

It’s what she was meant to do with her life, as “frivolous” as it might seem to others. Pinkie Pride made it extremely clear that she finds a lot of meaning in her work, but I think perhaps too much for her own good.

For those of you who haven’t watched the movie and don’t want spoilers, skip the next section. It’s not necessary to understand this analysis anyway, so consider it a bonus.

Carrying the Emotional Weight

... Okay, we good?

THAT FIGHT SCENE, THOUGH.

Okay, okay, okay. So, back when I made that incredibly-overly-long post analyzing the trailer, I said I thought Pinkie looked like she wasn’t just going to be the comic relief, and how awesome that would be if true.

But not only was Pinkie not just the comic relief, she carried the heaviest emotional weight in the movie (next to Twilight, of course). They let Pinkie be a real character instead of a punchline delivery system. I just needed to appreciate that for a second.

And, okay, can we just take into account for a second how much more heartbreaking the line “I just can’t talk to you right now” is when you know Pinkie Pie? 

General audiences will be able to pick up on just how talkative Pinkie is from watching the movie, yeah, but when you know how deeply Pinkie loves her friends and how much it kills her when they reject her, you’ll know this might possibly be the worst moment of Pinkie’s life. 

She can’t even muster up a cartoony “Worst adventure ever.” She’s just too hurt.

Okay, Movie rant over. Just. Just needed to get that out of my system.

Don’t Go

So, with all that in mind, I think Pinkie’s biggest flaw is what makes her such an enjoyably deep character. It’s why we relate to her. Boundless optimism and hilarious quirks are pretty swell, but this is precisely why it’s so devastating when Pinkie’s sad. Because we understand the stakes are so much higher for her if someone she loves leaves, says something hurtful, or just doesn’t like her.

Truly, Pinkie Pie’s an emotional character. Highs and lows. And I wouldn’t change a thing. Although, for her sake, I do hope it becomes easier to separate her own value from her friends’ whereabouts, or what they like. As much as I love and relate to the emotional extremes, Pinkie deserves a little stability in the face of rejection, don’t you think?

Pony pony pony. More pony. Here’s more! I’ve got editorials and episode reviews! And lookie there, the last three things are right here for you:

Rarity, Hascon, and Sunset Editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image Wouldn’t Be Possible Without...

Pinkie in the Window by DashieSparkle

DashieSparkle makes gorgeously gorgeous vectors! Give them a look in his devintART gallery!

Great and Powerful Frenemies for Life 

Well, it was a little delayed, but I feel like if we avoided talking about Trixie altogether, she’d go insane. 

But, to be entirely honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to talk about with Trixie. She’s certainly the pathetically lovable jerk, in the sense that her ego puts her so far out of touch with reality that she ends up being cute when she finally comes around and gets something right. But what more can you say than she’s an entertaining presence?

Other than I ship her with Starlight like nobody’s business, but if I start basing all my editorials around my ships, you know I’m not ever talking about anything else (once you go shipping, you never go… whatever it is that’s not shipping).

After some thought, though, I decided I’d go a bit old school and talk about the rivalry between Trixie and Twilight. After all, we mostly saw that from Twilight’s perspective, and we were to believe she was in the right.

Which, I mean, she was, but going back and really looking at it, especially knowing what we do now about Trixie, I can at least sympathize with the ex-antagonist a little more.

So, without any further hullabaloo, here’s the case for one Trixie Lulamoon.

Exhibit A. The Rock Farm

While Pinkie might entirely appreciate Trixie’s tone when she talks about the rock farm, Trixie had a fair reason to be so bitter.

After all, even if it was Trixie’s fault for lying about the whole Ursa Major thing, the result of Twilight’s heroics still ended up meaning the utter destruction of Trixie’s career. And in Trixie’s defence, even knowing she actually hadn’t faced anything like it before, Trixie actually did try to defeat the Ursa when it came to town. 

She may not have been magically capable enough at the time, and again, not cool that she lied, but you gotta admit: when the boy who cried wolf actually had to face a wolf, he was a lot more cowardly. Trixie was terrified out of her mind, but tried anyway. She got no points for that, especially when Twilight was able to swoop in and actually be the hero.

The nasty way ponies responded to Trixie after that is on them, but Trixie’s image as an entertainer was ruined.

And quite frankly, you can make the argument that Trixie had every right to lie: she’s an entertainer. She was obnoxious about it, boasting, which is what makes it seem morally wrong, but we don’t expect most magicians in real life to be able to actually do all the tricks they appear to be pulling off with some sleight of hand. So long as she creates an entertaining story and experience for her audience, she’s actually just doing her job.

The ego got out of control, yes, but Trixie got called out in a career-ruining way. She had to rebrand herself to even try making a come-back afterwards.

It was pure coincidence that Twilight was the one to take Trixie down all those pegs since Twilight really wasn’t trying to, but if you look at Trixie’s background, it makes perfect sense why she’d hate her as much as she did.

Exhibit B. Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns

This is something that’s only been seen in the comics, but it was confirmed by Lauren Faust once upon a time that Trixie also went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns when she was growing up.

So, work with me here, okay?

Now, the last two seasons have shown us that until recently, Trixie hasn’t been very good at all with real magic and spells. 

And in the same way Sunburst felt frustrated and possibly even insecure when he couldn’t cast all the amazing spells he was learning, imagine how it must’ve felt for Trixie to struggle to perform magic in school when magic is what she got her cutie mark for.

Even worse, stage magic doesn’t seem all that respected in a world where real magic exists. I could even see Trixie seeing those who can do real magic as a bit elitist in that sense.

And who was at the top of that totem pole when Trixie was growing up? Twilight. 

It’s honestly more than understandable that Trixie would end up being jealous of Twilight like she admits she is to Starlight in No Second Prances. Twilight is better than her at “everything” according to Trixie in that episode, but I think growing up in an environment with so many expectations, being the Princess’s school for gifted unicorns and all, it would sting especially to know growing up or find out later that Twilight was none other than the princess’s protege because she was so amazing at magic.

And I think that upbringing sort of shows in how Trixie acts when she’s learning magic under Starlight. She’s both incredibly excited when she does a spell right for once, and overly prideful/nonchalant about it, like it was just expected that she would be (as it would be if she was in an elite school for gifted magicians).

Twilight is not only the pony that ruined her career as a stage magicians, but also the embodiment of all of Trixie’s failings as real magician. I think that’s partially why getting Twilight’s respect at the end of No Second Praces and even just accepting her apology in Magic Duel meant as much as it did to Trixie. Even if Celestia would’ve been kind to Trixie, I can’t imagine she did very well at that school, so to finally get mutual respect for her prestidigitation, that meant everything to her.

Of course, Trixie and Twilight might always still annoy each other every now and then, but they’ll always have that history together, and it’s all the richer when you stop to consider both sides of the story. 

The pony stuff continues! I’ve got most of season seven reviews here and editorials like this one over here! And just to be on the safe side, here’s the last three things I’ve done:

Sunset, Pinkie, and Applejack’s Parents editorials

Year of the Pony

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Trixie by DashieSparkle Twilight by Reginault Twilight’s Crown by Cheshire-Kaat Twilight’s Castle Background by EvilBob0

Go! Awesome artists await your eyeballs! Check them out, give them praise and support! You won’t regret it.

The Unfaithful Student

Yes! Woohoo! Sunbutt Jr. Day is upon us! 

It’s no big secret Sunset’s become my favourite character of the entire franchise. I’ve rambled on and on about her (and the more you get to know me, the more you hear about her), but today, I wasn’t quite sure what topic to cover.

So, I went for one of the big three. 

There are a lot of questions surrounding Sunset in the fandom, but the 3 most major ones, from my perspective, seem to be:

3. What was her family/homelife like back in Equestria? 2. What’s the human world Sunset like (if she exists at all)? and, of course 1. When is Sunset going to reunite with Princess Celestia?

The fandom’s been trained since day 1 to expect that the bond between Princess Celestia and one of her students is pretty much sacred. Which, admittedly, is mostly because Twilight idolizes her to no end.

And, to be entirely fair, Sunset definitely doesn’t have quite the same reverence for figures of authority that Twilight does. But, even taking that into consideration, we’ve seen glimpses of how much Sunset and Celestia mean to each other---whether in the comics or in the Equestria Girls series---which is why the fandom’s been so eagerly awaiting this reunion since Rainbow Rocks.

Which, at this point, is almost 3 years ago to the date.

So... what gives? Have we been misjudging how deep their bond really is? 

No, not really. You all remember that Sunset kept her journal from Celestia even when she was at her worst, because, and I quote, “a part of [her] wanted to have a way to reach out to [Princess Celestia].” 

And if you’ve read the The Fall of Sunset Shimmer comic, you’ll know that despite standing by her decision completely, Princess Celestia instantly considered Sunset’s leaving “one of many” of the biggest mistakes of her life (in the same way she regretted needing to send Luna away to the moon, but knew she had to).

So, I don’t think we’re wrong to imagine all the extremely emotional reunions we’ve been writing out in fanfics or drawing in fanart. They clearly cared about each other... is it that they don’t anymore? 

I doubt it. That kind of bond can’t just be forgotten, even if you’ve built a life for yourself somewhere new. And as the fandom definitely knows, they left off on bad terms. The kind of bad terms Sunset spent the entire second movie rectifying.

It’s built into the foundation of Sunset’s character at this point to want to make amends, even if she’s grown past the guilt and shame she felt in Rainbow Rocks. So that really only leaves us with one option: She wants to, but hasn’t. Why?

I’ve had the thought before that this might be the case, but it was confirmed by the way Sunset acts in the Mirror Magic part of the mini-series. The writers use Twilight’s invitation for Sunset to come back to Equestria as an opening stinger, which is to be expected, but what’s telling is the way Sunset hesitates. 

Well, that, and the way she wants to leave almost as quickly as she came when she finds that Twilight’s not around. It’s in part just to avoid an awkward moment, not really knowing Starlight well at the time, but this is the first time Sunset’s been a pony in a while. Nearly a year since she stole the crown, and years since she left the first time. And... there’s not anything or anyone she wants to see again?

It’s not like I can’t understand just wanting to drop by to get the journal. But, given how it’s been so long since she’s seen her and since Sunset’s reformed, and as far as we know Sunset has no plans to return beyond that... well, it’s arguably telling. 

So the question remains, why avoid Celestia? 

Sunset’s arc has been pretty well defined throughout her run as a sort of co-main character with the Twilights in EQG. She’s not the guilt-ridden runaway she used to be, for sure.

In fact, at the moment, she has more in common with Celestia than she ever has.

The Prodigal Sunset

Celestia’s students have a habit of becoming her, it seems (but you can say the same thing about Twilight and Starlight, and we’ll see if that’s the case with Starswirl and Celestia and Luna). It’s absolutely becoming a trend. A really cute one.

In Friendship Games, Sunset is shown to be the leader of the group, and this is where we first see her guilt shift from her own past actions to the responsibility she feels to her friends and her school now. She’s fiercely protective to the point of making things worse, and spends the majority of her screentime focused on protecting them from magic.

Which is where she learns that she can’t, really, and in the very next movie, tries to embrace it instead. That also doesn’t go entirely well, but give the girl points for learning. In Legend of Everfree, she’s not just in the leader role, she’s very clearly in the mentor role, an important shift for any Celestia wannabe. She’s wise, warm, but still has a goofy sense of humour...

Almost like someone else we know.

Then there’s the Magic trilogy mini-series of specials... thing. Sunset’s role in the third story is to deal with things she can’t control. Of course, it probably would’ve been more satisfying to see her take control, and face it head on alongside Starlight Glimmer, but at least thematically I can see the value in imprisoning Sunset. She can’t do anything but sit, and wait, and worry, while the world she’s in literally crumbles around her and her friends because of the magic she brought to this world.

In that way, it’s a really smart special if a bit frustrating for those who don’t like Starlight’s solo heroics.

This mirrors the side of Celestia we’ve gotten to see more of recently: the maternal worrier. Celestial Advice is the easiest example, where at last see Celestia’s side of things when Twilight was growing up without friends and see how much Celestia worried over her student.

It’s more than worrying, though. It’s the reaction to the responsibility of caring for others. Sunset’s main concern is taking care of her friends and this world she’s come to love, and likewise, Celestia’s tasked with caring for her students, her younger sister, and her country.

And, on the subject of recent Celestia episodes, Daybreaker might just be Starlight’s imagination run wild, but she’s eerily similar to demon Sunset. Both power-crazed egomaniacs bent on ruling Equestria by themselves. The real Sunset and Celestia both care much more about those they care for than their evil counterparts, but I find it a neat parallel that they both always still want to take care of others.

At their best, it has nothing to do with power or glory, but protecting those they love.

So, I think Sunset’s ironically becoming more and more like Princess Celestia even though she’s no longer her protege. And she did it herself, with the help of her friends.

Which should mean now would be a good time to have a progress report back home, non? No?

Honestly, this should ultimately mean the end of Sunset’s current arc. Whenever she does make amends with Princess Celestia, it’ll bring everything full circle, drawing on her development from every Equestria Girls story (her anger and bitterness from the first, her guilt and shame from the second, her new leadership skills from the third, her mentor role from the fourth, and her sense of duty to protect her new home from Mirror Magic, and so on).

Which is why I can grudgingly understand the EQG team pushing it off for later, but I digress.

Exactly when it’ll happen is up in the air with the new Youtube Choose Your Own Adventure stories, the shorts, and who knows what else coming up next year in Equestria Girls’ 5-year anniversary, but I think that would be a good time to go for it.

Sunset’s forging her own path at this point, dealing with a host of new, unprecedented magic in her own world, but with the greater and greater focus on delegates from other nations and species... I still have to hold out hope that Sunset may become the Equestria ambassador to the human world. Which would be a great accomplishment to show to Princess Celestia.

Which is ultimately my running theory on why Sunset might be avoiding her old teacher. As I said, there’s gotta be a number of feelings that come up when Sunset thinks about the Princess these days, but given her acceptance of herself in R.R. and the My Past is Not Today music video, I don’t think guilt is the primary factor anymore. It’s certainly still a big one since she has yet to properly make amends, but we’ve come to learn that Sunset is a very direct person, so if she feels like there’s something that needs to be addressed, I think she would try to, even if it’s a hard conversation to have.

... Unless she feels like she needs something first.

Sunset’s lost storyline in Friendship Games, while non-canon, is also still very much in her character, and points toward the reasoning behind this. 

Sunset ultimately doesn’t know what her place is, or what she’s meant to do. She’s found herself responsible for the magic in the human world, for sure, but as of yet she hasn’t really addressed where she thinks she belongs or what her real role is. Well, apart from feeling like she and her friends were somehow meant to have the Element-stand-ins/super-powered geodes.

Even the official Hasbro description of her from the last two movies onward both include this:

“Even though Sunset Shimmer is fully integrated into the Equestria Girls group, she still has insecurities about where she belongs, but the rest of the Mane 6 friends consider her to be one of them.”

In a similar vein to Twilight’s search for meaning, Sunset’s still figuring out she’s already where she was meant to be, but maybe when she finally has that personal accomplishment under her belt, she’ll feel more ready to talk to the Princess again.

Not because Sunset still craves the status of accomplishments, but because she still wants to make Celestia proud, and after disappointing her so deeply, being the failed student, I think Sunny feels like she needs a win.

Let her have it, Hasbro. She’s earned it. She’s earned Sun Mom’s approval and love.

I do MLP editorials and episode reviews when I can! In fact, take a look at the last three things I’ve done, to prove it:

Top 10 Lost Content, Rarity Editorial, and Hascon Coverage

Year of the Pony

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Princess Celestia by 90-Sigma Sunset Shimmer by Luckreza8

Go support those talented vector artists!

I’M SCREAMING

We’re 3 months away from this glitter-bomb and they gave us some stuff to scream about. I think I’ll do just that. I took my sweet time putting this together, I know, but there’s a fair bit to unpack and a lot to be excited about so, let’s go through it all!

Animation

Okay, so first things first: people are calling this a 2D movie and that’s not really that accurate.

It certainly has some 2D elements, like the backgrounds, but the style of animation only makes the characters look 2D, when in fact they’re 3D models.

You can tell in how they move. If I were to give you a still screen shot, you might guess that it was from a 2D animation, but in motion, you can tell what it actually is: cel-shading.

I had a hunch that’s what it was so I asked a storyboarder who worked on the MLP movie (and the show) if I was right and she said: 

The program they’re using is ToonBoom, which does rigs with 2D toon shaders, among other things!

You know, I don’t often call things, but I fucking called it. Let me have this. Just to give you a quick definition from Wikipedia:

“Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades.”

3-dimensional figure with cel shading, has the effect of making it  look 2D. Typically seen with thick outlines on the outside and little to no outlines on the inside:

(Team Fortress 2 itself isn’t normally cel shaded, but that’s a great example a fan made of what cel shading usually looked like when I was growing up)

Cel shading without outlines, as seen in Wind Waker. 

Like I said, just seeing this still image, it looks 2D, but watching it move, you can tell there’s a 3rd dimension to the character with the features and lineart mapped out onto the models to make it look 2D

Which by the way, is really unique for a major release! I don’t know about anyone else, but I was excited that MLP: The Movie seemed to be 2-D since there hasn’t been a domestic 2-D animated movie since Winnie the Pooh in 2011. 6 damn years! While I maybe would’ve ideally liked a completely 2-D animated movie, the backgrounds and the cel shading works in really neat ways, and it will definitely make the movie stand out 

The purely 3-D objects seem unfinished at the moment (but that’s not out of the ordinary, CGI seems to be one of the last processes). It needs texture or shading or something, and I can tell because most of the ship looks too soft (too much like a model) to be metal. I really think this will be fixed for the final product, but that’s probably the most jarring part of the style at the moment

Not all of the 3-D looks unfinished, but the best looking parts are still the painterly, 2-D stuff (look at those towers; they’re really stylized, but you can tell they’re 3D in a more 2D environment)

THAT DIGITALLY PAINTED VERSION OF CANTERLOT THOUGH:

The light effects are definitely 3-D in the fireworks and rainboom

Oh, and speaking lighting, so much of it looks so pretty! There are one or two times when the colours are slightly off, but the majority of the time it looks freaking gorgeous

You can kinda see by looking at Rarity that the shading is juuust slightly off here (kinda like they were for the teaser trailer), but then you look in the background and see this BEAUTIFUL background and Twilight all upset and worried about this invasion, and it feels like such a nitpick to worry about what will probably still be cleaned up before it hits theaters

We also get some really great expressions, so they’re not really limited by the 3D models underneath (if I’m right about that)

Also, just as one last little note here, the style is detailed enough to see little things about the characters we didn’t know up until now, like the fact that the spines on the side of Spike’s head are translucent, or that the colours of RD’s mane aren’t 100% perfectly separated

Overall with the animation, I’m so impressed not only by how gorgeous it is,but by how willing they were to take a risk and incorporate a 3D element in the form of  (I think) cel-shading. This only really matches the creative spirit of the MLP team, though. Whether or not you agree on how well they always execute everything, they always try to step up their game with every new season and push themselves to be and do better.

And while I will say that if some of the more 3D parts (yeah, I’m talking about the zeppelin/airships mostly) aren’t fixed for the final release, I would have a bone to pick with them, but I have faith that we’ll be seeing a much smoother integration of that 3D on the big screen.

Story and Character Details

I really appreciate that they didn’t outright spoil anything too big. It’s definitely a well-cut trailer! We basically only know about the same information we did before, with just a hint or two as to things like who the true villain is.

Just based on the focus given to these characters in the trailer (and what I know of the Storm King’s characterization in the first Movie Prequel comic that was just released), seems like he’s not as big of a threat as the commander of his fleet, Tempest. 

It’s a kind of villain we haven’t seen on the show or even in EQG, and not only that, but 

She’s got a fantastic voice actress behind her, so she can pull off the deliciously evil vibe well without, say, reminding us too much of Chrysalis or other powerful animated villains from Disney classics

Plus her design with the broken horn and her magic sparking up out of it is instantly intriguing to me: for such a powerful presence, it’s awesome to see her weakness (and most likely shady past) is always on display---especially for a commander character, that’s just really cool

Grubber seems to be pretty standard so far, nothing he’s done has really impressed me quite yet, but I’m hoping his best stuff is saved for the movie itself

The sky pirates (or skyrates) look like a lot of fun, and in context I can see how well the bipedal birb pirate blends with the universe (the bipedal designs were the ones I had the most trouble with)

On top of that, we have sea ponies at last! And they’re far more adorable than I ever could’ve hoped

The original sea pony designs from G1 looked a lot more like sea horses, with curling tails and fins on either side, but I think the meraid-ish look is both more marketable for Hasbro and more appealing to look at (the original sea ponies always seemed like a joke in the fandom to me, I admittedly never understood why people would actually want it in G4)

And a-ha! Good queens do exist! Poor Celestia and Luna. Always a princess, never a queen.

Oh, and Seaquestria? It’s freakin’ beautiful. I LOVE the rich blues and purples here. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 360 image of the underwater palace complete with an excellent piece of background music, treat yourself.

The Mane 6′s sea pony designs are pretty dang adorable. I don’t have anything interesting to say, I just like the cute water horses, okay?

Minor Details and Incidentals

I’ll start out by saying Twilight’s narration in the trailer is pretty standard, but still heartwarming (mostly because I already know and love these characters though). It sort of reminds me of the bits of narration from the How to Train Your Dragon movies, although those had a bit more character to them. 

The what could possible go wrong? line, though. It just makes me laugh thinking of all the flashbacks we could have to the series. 

I guess she’s talking about that festival specifically that she’s organizing, and in that way it’s a show of character development (in a similar way to the character development on display in A Flurry of Emotions, where Twilight is told she’s late and doesn't have a panic attack or worry about what could go wrong... too much), but it’s still hilarious to contrast the idea that nothing could go wrong in Equestria to... literally all of the show. 

AJ and RD protecting their friends even before the others have gotten over the shock of whatever they’re seeing tho

Starlight and Trixie get a bit of screen-time together and it’s adorable. Starlight might be stuck in Canterlot for the duration of the adventure, but I’m glad to see her included. Characters like Discord who might be too hard to explain to new audiences are understandable losses, but even if Starlight’s cameo is brief, it’s good to see her role acknowledged

In terms of music, Sia’s looking adorable so far, and Lukas Graham’s as of yet unreleased Off to See the World sounds pretty catchy (it’s the song at the end of the trailer), so they’ve got talent behind the vocals!

Jumping back to little details, it’s neat how sea pony magic has a very distinct look from unicorn/alicorn magic. Also, the bubbles are really cute

And, okay, I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate how serious this ponk is. Can we all just stop and take a look, because in this scene Twilight’s saying how she’s the one Tempest is after, and she should probably face this alone, which seems to be our Princess of Friendship’s big dilemma in this movie, and Pinkie’s clearly trying to tell her she’s crazy

Gotta love that they didn’t just go for hyperactive comic relief Pinkie Pie; they don’t seem to be boiling down these characters to just one trait (which is partially why I loved the moment where RD and AJ defend the girls; RD’s ego will no doubt be on display throughout the movie, but you’ll also see she’s ready to lay down her life for her friends)

And hey, lookie here! Canterlot got a make-over... and a contractor. There’s more pink than there typically is and it doesn’t necessarily match what we’ve seen of it in the show. Especially places like the throne room:

And you know, I’m a little torn on this detail? It’s beautiful, and I’m digging the starry night mosiac they’ve got going on back there, but it would’ve been nice to see the throne room we know and love rendered in this new style, you know? I’m gonna miss the deep magentas and the stain glass windows of the Mane 6′s accomplishments. I know that’s mostly the fangirl in me, but I like seeing continuity nods back to the show (like hey look: Cadence gets a cameo!)

Unless Canterlot gets destroyed and subsequently rebuilt in the season 7 finale, in which case I’ll shut my mouth

Speaking of which, I still have to wonder exactly when this will take place in the series, or if it exists slightly to the left of canon like the Equestria Girls movies (which, I mean, I consider canon, but still). I know there’s ties into the comics, but I wonder if/when the show will acknowledge the events of the movie... I guess only time will tell

And for now, I think that about wraps it up! All in all, I’m beyond excited to see this thing, as anyone could’ve guessed. 

It should also be noted that a lot of kids movie trailers focus on the fun, comedic portions of the movie, so while I do think it’s mostly going to feel like this, I’m also looking forward to the more character-driven feelsy parts. As we well know, you can never get the full scope of a movie from just the trailer, but it’s usually especially true for kids movies.

Even just from what we have seen, it looks like we’re in for a ride. Can’t wait to get on.

Hey, if you’d like more MLP stuff, you can click right here to see my editorials or here for episode reviews. And if those links don’t look pretty enough, have the last three things I’ve done right here:

Parental Glideance Review, Celestia/Daybreaker Editorial, and LGBT+ Editorial

Better Question: Is Dr. Wolf Right?

Some time ago @drwolf001 posted a theory that Sunburst could in fact be a young Starswirl the Bearded. This was in response to a trailer for the season 7 premiere that has since been given more context, but the idea was so fun that it stuck with me. Given that we’ve already had some crazy time travel adventures, we know for a fact this sort of story is possible.

Time Travel Logic

Starswirl’s time spell is the sort that loops. As in, if someone uses the spell, their interference in the past is what leads to the present they came from.

This is called a causal loop (or temporal causality loop which just sounds cooler). It’s where an event is the cause for another event, which itself is the cause for the original event. Yeah... loop is a good word.

We’ve even seen it in action. In It’s About Time, we see Twilight worrying too much because of future Twilight, only to find out that was the problem she went back in time to warn herself about. A causal loop. In this case, a self-fulfilling prophecy (which is a type of causal loop).

But, even in The Cutie Remark, we’re working with the same rules.

It’s thanks to something called the Novikov Self-Consistency Principle. Back in the 1980s, a physicist named Ivan Novikov came up with a bunch of fancy physics principles that (for our purposes) basically boiled down to a simple conclusion: you can’t change the past.

These two ideas go hand in hand in the MLP universe, when you think about it, so here are our hard and fast rules for time travel:

Causal Loop: If you go back in time, your going back is what causes the present you came from (which causes you to go back in time, to cause the present, etc.)

Self-Consistency Principal: You logically cannot change the past that leads to anything except the present you came from

The Butterfly Effect: In the event you do create a change that doesn’t lead to the present you came from, any small change can branch out to have untold consequences temporarily; BUT, don’t worry: because of the self-consistency principle, you logically have to eventually fix things, otherwise you couldn’t have come back in time in the first place (you would be a different person in the first place, different memories)

So, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike eventually standing to the side and not interfering with the past was inevitable in order for them to be who they are. The fact that Starlight’s version of the spell continually brought them back to the past until they got it right seems to indicate that to me.

Starlight also specified that she used the map’s magic to go to any time and place she wants (for as long as she wants, they could apparently exist there “for all eternity”), so in terms of the actual time travel spell itself, she isn’t operating under different rules. Meaning, she hasn’t changed the whole causal loop thing---they still go back in time and reenact what would lead them to the present they came from, it’s just a bigger loop, thanks to some more powerful magic.

So, a character getting trapped back in time and going on to live the rest of their days there is entirely possible. It just means they were supposed to, because it’s another loop. A much bigger loop.

But, beyond all that time travel mumbo-jumbo, we obviously don’t have anything close to confirmation for the Sunburst goes back in time to live out his days as Starswirl theory. It’s theoretically possible in this world, but possible isn’t proof.

But, let’s say, hypothetically, the writers wanted to go down this path. I for one would like to know how they could do it.

Perhaps this is better suited for a fanfiction than an analysis series (and by all means, please go write stories based off of this theory). All the same, let’s treat this as a how it could be done sort of thing, to build on this theory with what’s already established in-universe.

To do that, we’ll need to gather some “evidence” (and again, I use the word with the spirit of fun in mind, there’s nothing conclusive). The first is the time travel spell itself.

Clue #1: The Disappearing Time-Travel Spell

At the conclusion of The Cutie Remark, we see the nearly ripped time-travel scroll get... somehow mysteriously sucked away.

Now, Starlight said she was the one who designed the spell to take them back to the Rainboom again and again, so this may also be her doing, but it’s unclear what exactly is being done.

It seems to have some kind of shock-wave out, which I guess implies they’re out of the time-loop now, but that doesn’t explain where the scroll ended up.

All we know is the same time portal Twilight, Spike, and Starlight came out of seems to suck the spell up with it. But, not without first taking some magic from the map, which was what allowed the spell to be so powerful.

I’m not sure if that would enchant the parchment itself, giving it the same immense power to travel to any time for as long as the pony using it wants.

But the fact that it disappeared into a time portal, even if it appeared to be the same one they were ejected from, seems like something the writers left for whenever they need it.

Where did it end up? Was it supposed to do that, and if so why? We didn’t see anyone’s magic lifting it toward to portal, but was someone on the other side of that portal waiting? Does someone have the spell now (or better yet, will they)?

Clue #2: Starswirl “never understood friendship like [Twilight]”

In the past, we’ve seen supplementary material portray Starswirl in a variety of different ways. From Celestia and Luna’s point of view in the Journal of the Two Sisters, to his own in Legends of Magic, to a 3rd person, more objectively told story in the Reflections arc.

But in the show, what little we know of him comes from and in relation to Twilight. In particular, a line that always stuck with me.

That he was unable to complete his cutie mark restoration spell because he didn’t understand friendship. At least, not like Twi.

Which is a bit saddening, given that he mentored Luna and Celestia. Luna did end up feeling isolated, so perhaps Starswirl’s lack of expertise in friendship played a role in that.

It seems he was still focused on teaching them magic and writing his many spells. Even if he loved them as students, which I suspect he did given his B-canon portrayals, he evidently didn’t do enough to save them from their fate.

Does Sunburst not understand friendship? He and Starlight have reunited now, but then again, you certainly couldn’t say he’s an expert in friendship (and in the same way Twilight focused on her studies, Sunburst did focus heavily on the study of magic instead of, say, visiting Starlight). He’s still studying magic in the Crystal Empire so he might very well still be a borderline shut-in.

Now that he’s Flurry Heart’s magic adviser, perhaps that’s starting to slowly change. Then again, if Starswirl could not understand friendship and still be Celestia and Luna’s mentor, couldn’t Sunburst theoretically also miss some crucial understanding about friendship while looking after Flurry Heart?

Clue #3: Sunburst’s Talents with Magic Theory and Starswirl’s 200+ Spells

Here’s one of the more compelling coincidences.

Sunburst can’t perform any of the magic theory he’s been studying his whole life, but he’s a damn fine magic theorist. I might even wager a guess that Starlight’s habit of combining spells comes from Sunburst, as that’s something he’s been shown to do in The Crystalling Part 2.

We know for a fact that Starswirl was the “father of the anmiomorphic spell,” “the most important conjurer of the preclassical era,” and that he “created more than 200 spells”... but we don’t actually know if he could perform any of that magic himself.

Now that’s a stretch, but when you think about it, it holds true for just about everything we know about the things Starswirl’s done. Even when Starswirl banished the Sirens to the Equestria Girls dimension, it wasn’t like he made those portals with his own magic, he found them (at least, according to the Reflections arc).

And in Legends of Magic, he seems to know combat magic, but then again, he makes his escape off-screen, so we never see him cast much of anything.

For all we know, Starswirl might be a great wizard, maybe the greatest, but not necessarily a powerful one. His talent lies in writing spells.

Clue #4: Very Important Wizard

Okay, this one’s just neat from a story-telling perspective. We’ve been introduced to Sunburst as someone whose insecure about not being a very important wizard. That’s how we know him, a resourceful but ultimately powerless magician.

If, in fact, he were to turn out to be the most important wizard of them all, even despite his lack of natural talent for magic, that’s just... wonderful, don’t you think? That he found ways to be influential in the magic world despite the handicap of not being able to use magic?

He became the most important wizard of all time, even despite his problems performing magic himself.

Clue # 5: A... Changing Appearance?

Starswirl actually doesn’t have a consistent eye-colour or look at the moment. We’ve seen him with gold eyes, grey, and even purple.

And, most recently blue, in Legends of Magic.

I suppose if we were explaining how Sunburst could turn into Starswirl, his entire coat would have to grey completely (if we’re going with the depictions of Starswirl with a white or grey coat). A pony’s coat can grey in real life, so perhaps it’s possible in this world. Or we could guess that Sunburst would knowingly disguise himself as what he knows Starswirl to look like via some kind of spell, if he had a reason to assume that role.

Speaking of purely cosmetic similarities, I would also like to mention that in a manner of speaking, “Starswirl” and “Sunburst” are kiiiinda synonymous with each other. In the same way the Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer are supposed to parallel each other, it’s roughly the same name.

A sun is of course a star, and both a burst and swirl suggest an outward projection.

Another neat coincidence, I guess. Just like the fact that both of them wear capes and grow beards.

That’s what we’re left with when theory crafting something like this. Coincidences that can help us imagine fantastical fanfiction, but can’t ultimately take us any closer to knowing who Starswirl the Bearded actually was, whether Sunburst or just pony of a long-gone era.

One thing that still intrigues me, though, is that according to the comics, Starswirl didn’t die. He went missing.

And there are elements in play like his mysteriously vanishing time spell scroll that are available for the MLP staff to act on whenever they so choose.

So, perhaps we’ll never know who Starswirl was, outside of B-canon and the legends we’ve been told thus far. Or, maybe we’ll get to learn who he is someday, and some or all of this will come into play. Who knows? This pony has both a past and a future that’s shrouded in mystery. So much so that this theory is only one of many, and will continue to be until we meet again.

And until that day, I hope to share many more theories together.

MLP content? Sure, I’ve got some of that! Here’s my editorials and my reviews! I’d of course recommend checking out Dr. Wolf on Youtube. And for the heck of it, here’s the last three things I’ve done:

Fluttershy Leans In Review, Forever Filly Review, and New Fluttershy Editorial

Year of the Pony

Special Thanks to...

Original Theory by Dr. Wolf Sunburst Vector by ChainChomp2 Starswirl Cave Background by MysteryMelt

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Wolf, so I loved building off his ideas! If you somehow never have, you’ll thank yourself for checking out his channel. I’d also recommend checking out these talented vector artists! Without their hard work and willingness to share it, I wouldn’t be able to make the headers.

Yes, I Mean Aside From the Fact that She Doesn’t Exist

Before you say it, you observant fans you, Daybreaker is just a product of Starlight’s nightmares. Not even Celestia’s herself, which could arguably reveal some deep perception of her greatest faults, but in fact Starlight’s imagination run wild.

I chose the title knowing I’d get that sass (and people who comment before reading), and I’ve made my peace with that.

What I really wanted to examine this summer solstice was, as FimFiction’s Dusk Raven put it, how to break the day (by the way, the topic of the editorial was definitely heavily inspired *cough cough* by the premise of that story, and while I’m going to avoid just straight up ripping off Dusk’s idea for how it could happen, I suggest you check it out if you’d like a good read).

What would break Princess Celestia? How has she stayed strong for so many years in the face of tragedy, heartbreak, and was there ever a temptation to give into those feelings?

Celestia’s a Loser

I of course mean that in the Guardians of the Galaxy sense: a character whose lost a lot.

Only Luna’s isolation could rival Celestia for just how tragic she is. I said in this editorial that in a show called Friendship is Magic, exile is the worst punishment imaginable, but the sheer number of ponies Celestia’s had to lose that were important to her is heartbreaking.

Her mentor, Starswirl the Bearded. Her sister, Luna. Her lover, the Good King Sombra (in the Reflections arc, which I seriously need to stop bringing up...). Her (unfaithful) student, Sunset Shimmer. 

And, to a smaller but still meaningful degree, her most faithful student, Twilight.

And lest we forget the fact that being immortal and/or having a long lifespan inevitably means the loss of thousands of friends.

I think more than anything else, these losses are what taught Celestia the value of friendship. 

She first seemed to know friendship in The Journal of the Two Sisters, during the time when she and Luna first became princesses and came under Starswirl’s tutelegde. Here, we the see the emergence of her sense of duty to her subjects, something that sticks with her throughout her entire life.

Later, the first issue of Legends of Magic depicts a young (seemingly teenage) Celestia: arrogant, insensitive, and hesitant to show the love and respect for her sister and mentor that’s really there. Quite the jump, but then again, teenagers have a lot on their plates and usually develop quite a lot from when they were younger.

So, while earlier depictions in The Journal of the Two Sisters actually heavily imply she was more like Twilight when she first took the throne (a worrier by nature, yet excited to take on the responsibility with a reverence), here we see an older Celestia whose perhaps a bit too used to her tiny crown and little shoes.

Would it be too on the nose to make comparisons to Icarus? ... Probably.

Next in the order of events, Discord takes over, and I think given the timing, it was Luna and Celestia’s love of their subjects and their kingdom that gave them enough to bond over to use the Elements. 

Discord may have initially taken advantage of the fact that at this time, the sisters would’ve been drifting apart---after all, it can’t be long after that Luna becomes Nightmare Moon (both were banished/trapped in stone for one thousand years). So even if their sisterly bond wasn’t as strong as we know it to be, they still managed to come together thanks to a love of how Equestria used to be before their lives got flipped, turned upside down.

Speaking of Nightmare Moon, I know some fans prefer to believe Nightmare Moon is 100% Luna’s fault, no nightmare forces or environmental factors about it. And while I think the choice and the blame should ultimately fall on her, there was a part of the original myth in episode one that was left out. How much Celestia noticed to growing bitterness and depression before it was too late.

Her Legends of Magic depiction implies that even if that teenage arrogance was a just a phase, Celestia’s inability to support her sister only contributed to her eventual downfall. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t supportive or kind at all, just that she couldn’t/didn’t help when Luna needed her.

Most of the blame absolutely still falls on Luna, but given the usual themes of the show, this makes sense as a cautionary tale of what can happen when love and friendship aren’t offered in someone’s time of need.

It’s still my thought that Celestia was able to use the Elements of Harmony by herself because she was acting for what was best for her sisters and her subjects (not just that she’s a one-pony friendship god who doesn’t need others to use the elements). The act of using the Elements of Harmony completely alone makes me think her reasons for using them were why she could pull that off.

And if that’s the case, it seems the biggest lessons she’s had to learn in friendship are how to let somepony go for their own or the greater good.

Just thinking about how many of her loved ones she’s lost or said goodbye to out of a sense of duty, you start to wonder what more could be done to break her spirit (or maybe that’s just me).

Humanize that Horse!

It took us 7 years to get a proper Celestia episode... 7 long years...

For the vast majority of the show, we’ve known Celestia as Twilight knows her. The wise, mysterious, kind, (if mischievous and cake-obsessed) mentor and leader to all Equestria. Because of that, we’ve relied mostly on her backstory and the hints scattered about in her appearances to infer the depths of her character.

She’s played such a nurturing role as a teacher that she’s become quite beloved in the fandom, but the demand for an episode always went hand in hand with the demand to further develop her character.

So, this season we began from a familiar place: her student-teacher relationship with Twilight. But for the first time since Celestia’s Ballad, we got to flip the perspective, and it was so refreshing! 

We’re so used to seeing Celestia put trust in Twilight to handle dire situations that it can be easy to assume she never worried about her or their relationship, but it’s heartwarming to know just how much Celestia loves her student. And that she even can get that worried, even if she knows Twilight (whose cutie mark is on the Tree of Harmony) could ultimately be somebody she places a lot of faith in.

In the past, I’ve felt that the IDW comics have often captured more emotion behind the royal sisters than the show has, but with this move, it’s starting to feel like a better balance.

Especially given her next appearance, in A Royal Problem. Here, the sisters have fallen back into the habit of unknowingly neglecting each other’s feelings because of their duties, but this time on a much smaller, less serious scale. 

Their sibling rivalry bond elevates it into a fight when it’s brought to their attention, but the solution of A Royal Problem is quite excellent in addressing the flaws fans are fed up with, and the true strengths of both of the royal sisters.

Celestia and Luna not doing enough has been a complaint in the fandom for a while. Even though they’re the countries leaders who by all means should be protected (the vast majority of world leaders aren’t on the battlefield), since they seem really powerful, we want to see them kick ass! Be heroes themselves! If they have the ability to help, it’d be a nice way to show they care at the very least.

But not being the focus of most of those types of stories... well, you’ve watched the show. Finding roles for them can be exceedingly difficult without either taking their power away to prove the severity of the threat.

But here, even when they can’t rely on their powers, Celestia and Luna prove a love for their subjects and for each other gives them the strength to fight on until the day is won. That, more than anything else, is Celestia’s greatest strength. As I’ve said in past editorials, she’ll do what’s right for her subjects and loved ones even at great cost to herself.

So, they’re proactive, capable, and ultimately extremely caring. Throw in a few kick ass show of power (which were illustrated by the dreamscape counterparts at least) and you have exactly what fans have been dying for for years!

Perhaps even more importantly, Celestia and Luna are given the freedom to be characters. They’re allowed to be a little bitter, they’re allowed to be a little anxious, and have minor, silly problems that they need perspective on. They’re both self-centered in their approach to connect with the other, which causes the conflict. Even immortal princesses are still ponies.

So, pardon the phrasing, these two episodes this season have been extremely humanizing. So, coming back to our question at the top, we now know very well that Celestia isn’t a perfect, untouchable goddess, and that things---whether they’re as big as losing a student or as small as her sister not having pancakes with her---can hurt her. She can feel broken.

But unlike the imaginary Daybreaker, Celestia’s managed to keep focus on what would really be best for her subjects by putting them before herself. Because of the sacrifices she’s had to make again and again, Celestia’s learned what it means to be a truly great leader.

What? Editorials? Pony editorials? Oh yeah, I’ve got those! I also have episode reviews (though they’re a biiit behind), and to split the difference, here, have the latest three things I’ve done:

Starswirl Theory, Dr. Wolf Reading of Theory, and Parental Glideance Review

Year of the Pony

Header Image Would Not Be Possible Without...

Daybreaker by Light262

Extremely talented artist right here! Known best for the kickass comic Timey Wimey, Light has got well composed, well-shaded art to spare. So if you’re in the mood to appreciate good pony art, go check out Light’s gallery!