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One Mr.'s Opinion - MLP FiM -

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-=-= ISSUES IN MY LITTLE PONY =-=-

Okay, so there's a lot of gripes or taunts at the characters in Gen-4's pony world. Just to bide a bit of time while waiting for Season 3, I'll look over them in the order that they apparently started. (Of course, most of them relate to Celestia)

-= Luna's Banishment =-

Yeah, if I remember right, this started the whole Trollestia movement. Luna became so jealous of the attention that Celestia's daytime got, that something in her reacted and turned her into a wicked mare of darkness - Nightmare Moon! This monster was going to shroud the land in eternal night, had Celestia not utilized the Elements of Harmony to banish her away into the moon.

Okay, let's point out a few things. Permanent night means no sun. No sun means no warmth or plant growth. No warmth means neverending cold and no plant growth means eventual nationwide starvation. And even with this in mind, Celestia was reluctant to even think of banishing Nightmare Moon - after all, sealing Nightmare Moon away also meant sealing away her little sister. This must have caused Celestia a lot of grief.

Don't believe me? Let's fast-forward to after the Elements of Harmony dispelled the Nightmare Moon persona and Celestia approached the restored Luna. I know she gasped in a rather scared manner, but remember that when she was Nightmare Moon, she likely did a lot of wicked and possibly violent things to have her way. If anything, Luna was afraid that Celestia was angry with her about all that. However, the opposite showed - Celestia had already forgiven Luna. And now, she only asked if she was also deserving of forgiveness. Sure enough, the sisters' family love came through, and they received the heartfelt reunion a thousand years in the making.

{hands Pinkie Pie another hankie}

-= Ticket Master =-

Another event mistaken as a Trollestia warning? Celestia sent Twilight Sparkle two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala - likely for her and Spike. I don't think she anticipated that the other five ponies would want to go as well. Still, when Twilight sent her letter with the tickets and then received tickets for her and the other five...I think it was a combination of Celestia's gratitude AND a reward for Twilight Sparkle's first lesson-learned on friendship.

-= The Rash and Circumstantial Trixie =-

Okay, I'll be honest, I couldn't stand Trixie being on her high horse (or whatever you'd say in Equestria). She invited Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity on-stage just to one-up them in front of the audience! Say what you will, but that smug attitude does NOT fly with me.

But let's get to one of her biggest base-breakers - the Ursa Minor. True, Snips and Snails woke it up and lured it into Ponyville, but at that time, it was just cranky and irritable. It wasn't in a rage...yet. Trixie's attempts to "vanquish" it proved pitifully unsuccessful, sure, but her thundercloud spell...well, if the Ursa wasn't madder than a hornet then, it sure as buck was then! If Twilight Sparkle didn't step up, who knows how much damage the cub would've caused to the town.

Well, let's hope Trixie took the lesson in humility well and shapes up by the end of Season 3.

-= Delayed Visit =-

Okay, remember when Celestia said that she couldn't visit Ponyville (which was coincidentally wrecked by the parasprites)? She was talking about a "swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures" in Fillydelphia, and the five ponies spoke as if they got some sort of hint. Guess Celestia deduced from the parasprites that Pinkie Pie was luring away from Ponyville that they were having a parasprite problem, and figured it best to let them recover before she visited again. In any case, the princess was quite happy at how much Twilight Sparkle was learning from her new friends.

-= A Brunch with the Princess =-

Now, I know everypony was a bit too polite during Celestia's casual visit to Ponyville, but this IS the long-time ruler of Equestria. Of course they want to try their best to not be fools in front of her. Still, she didn't seem to mind Pinkie Pie swiping her cupcake. And she was getting a bit anxious from Mr. and Mrs. Cakes constantly refilling her teacup, deciding to break the ice and hint that they don't need to keep refilling. (Gotcha~)

Okay, let's continue with the other events in the episode, mainly regarding Philomena. From what she read in Twilight Sparkle's letters, she was informed that Fluttershy was very good with all sorts of animals. So, it was assumed that Fluttershy might know about phoenixes already - Celestia even showed regret that she should have told the little pegasus about it. And all that locking somepony in a cell in the place that she was banished to...that's just Twilight's nerves talking. Even in all the years that she knew the princess as her protegé, she still assumed that the worst could happen.

-= Spike's Mother? =-

I'm sure there's concern about the origins of Spike's egg. What was Spike's mother like? Where did Celestia find the egg? Why did it require a magic surge to hatch?

Some have theorized that the dragon specie that Spike's a part of is more attuned to magic than other dragons. I wouldn't doubt it - warping fire, sudden monstrous growth triggered by greed...magic that you don't see in any other dragons. As for where the egg was...who knows? I'm currently working a theory that his mother was acquainted with Celestia, and lately she died before she could possibly hatch her egg, and thus she entrusted it to Celestia. With the right magic strength, a unicorn could hatch the egg. I'm sure Celestia would be able to easy, but decided to take the opportunity to gauge a worthy Element of Magic wielder.

-= Who Wants Cupcakes> =-

I'll just...set them here. Anyhoo, can you guess who this is about?

Yup, Pinkie Pie - or rather, Pinkamena, as she's called in her depressed state. Remember, her mane deflated when she believed her nagging thought of her friends abandoning her. Depressed. SAD. She wanted to share smiles, but she couldn't if everypony's avoiding her. So, she decided to pretend-share-smiles - even if a turnip bucket, lint ball, pile of rocks, and bag of flour can't smile on their own.

Even during this, Pinkie's resentment over the others ditching her still fumed. I'm sure thinking that must've broken her heart, and she's trying her best to cope with it. There must have been people in real life that talk to themselves, trying to reassure themselves that everything will be fine, even while noting the bad stuff that happened. Good thing her friends cleared things up in the end. Boy, she's so busy making others happy that she forgets her own birthday.

So...you still don't want these cupcakes? Okay, more for me, then~

-= Discord =-

Big one. Now, I agree that Discord is an awesome villain AND character overall. I mean, when you can bend reality, you may as well get silly with it! But I have to clarify one teensy thing...

HE'S STILL A VILLAIN.

I mean, if it wasn't obvious before...! Okay, let's start from the top.

The episode's beginning. Was the Cutie Mark Crusaders' arguing really what broke Discord free from stone? Nah, that would be too easy. Some garden worker grumbling about issues would be all it takes to free him before if that were the case. No, I believe that Discord was starting to break out at that time anyway - he was just having an...effect on the Crusaders. They were the closest friends in the group, so seeing them argue THIS violently is somewhat unusual. Also, Celestia said that because she and Luna lost their connection to the Elements of Harmony, their seal on him was bound to break in due time. That also explains why he was just left in the garden alongside the actual statues - if and when he broke out, no prison would contain him anyway.

Now onto Discord's plot to break the Element bearers. From what I've seen, he must not think that the six little ponies are any tougher than the previous bearers - who were practically goddesses compared to the commonfolk. Still, to be sure - and for his own amusement - he took the chance to distort them. Tricking Applejack with a "harsh truth", barraging Pinkie Pie with cruel laughs, tempting Rarity with a big "diamond"...If I were in Pinkie Pie's position, I probably would NEVER forgive Discord for that! 'Course, he underestimated Fluttershy's unwavering kindness and had to resort to the brute force method (with much disdain). And of course, by distorting her friends, Discord distorted Twilight bit by bit - he found it best to break her where it hurt most, her friendships.

As for everypony else in the distorted Ponyville, they're likely trapped in Discord's thrall. Yes, even Screwball. Sorry, Daddy Discord fans, but I'm being blunt here. I doubt any one of them had a clue what was going on at all. I can tell what kind of person Discord is - a selfish one. He truly only cares about his own amusement. This is backed up by Celestia's explanation of how he made life miserable for all the ponies. They wouldn't be miserable if Discord was trying to amuse them as well.

Now, let's zip ahead to the finale. Why did he react so nonchalantly? Well, again, his opponents this time aren't powerful goddesses like the previous ones. He believed that he could re-distort the ponies just as easily as before. However, Twilight Sparkle's magic had peaked since their last encounter, helping her and the others (and a patch of the ground) resist his magic. This wasn't enough to convince Discord that her friends grew any stronger. He seems the type that loves being on-top, and gets all comfy when he is. So when the Elements of Harmony ran at full power this time, this really caught him by surprise. He was practically paralyzed in terror. Just goes to show, pride is one of the biggest downfalls for any villain.

I still like Discord, don't get me wrong. But I also accept that HE'S A VILLAIN. Okay, continuing...

-= The Mare-Do-Well Fiasco =-

I see a lot of Rainbow Dash fans were upset about The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. I for one doubt that Rainbow Dash was out of character. Remember, she loves attention. So after a couple of daring fortunate rescues, the attention she gets starts getting to her head. It isn't long before she gets so much attention, she enters full-on attention hog mode. At that point, the other five ponies figured that she wasn't about to listen to a word they would say. So instead, they have to get through to her with action.

I understand what their goal was - as the silent, selfless, modest Mare-Do-Well, Ponyville finds a hero that they can respect and trust - and Dashie got mad because Mare-Do-Well was "stealing" her spotlight. She became so desperate to do well for the attention that she dramatically took on mundane tasks like opening peanut butter and mowing lawns.

Thankfully, at the end, the five "Mare-Do-Wells" gave the point of humility to Rainbow straight.

-= Crazy Pony Genetics =-

Now seriously, folks, I doubt a Rated-E show would have the Cakes cheating on each other. Not all genes are dominant, you know - two black-haired parents can easily have a blond-haired child, and a father with brown eyes and a mother with blue eyes can still have a kid with green eyes. Same with unicorn horns and pegasus wings. Carrot Cake stated that his family had unicorns, and Cup Cake's family had pegasi. So, it would figure that the two had some recessive unicorn and pegasus genes in them.

To clarify: NO INFIDELITY.

-= Princess Platinum =-

This is just random thinking here. Why was Princess Platinum sent to represent the unicorns at the summit instead of her father? Hm, perhaps the blizzard - combined with the famine - has driven the king bed-ridden...or worse. It would be a more credible reason for her disdain toward the earth and pegasus ponies. Still, this here's just a random thought.

-= Windigoes vs. Fire of Friendship =-

Okay, now for a bigger topic on Hearth's Warming Eve. Some complained that the only lesson was "Don't hate or the Windigoes will freeze you". Yeah, that's not the main point. Think of the Windigoes and the Fire of Friendship as analogies to real-world hate and friendship. It may be easy to be resentful and freeze yourself in hatred, but it's also as easy - and a better feeling - to accept and embrace others. Just as the Windigoes were a powerful form of hate, the Fire of Friendship is a just-as-powerful form of harmonious unity.

-= Iron Will's His Name =-

Now, lots of people call Iron Will an "antagonist", but I respectfully have to disagree. Dude was just doing legitimate business (especially compared to the Flim-Flam Brothers' mooching). True, he taught Fluttershy how to stand up and stop being a doormat. However, she started taking it too far after a while. And sure enough, Fluttershy realized that she isn't ready to handle that much assertiveness. But at least Iron Will was understanding about it all. He didn't even try to pressure her when she gave her valid reasons for not paying up.

Sorry, just...not an antagonist. He didn't try to run anypony out of town or try to humiliate them in front of a crowd. He was just doing business, teaching others to stand up for themselves. Fluttershy...was just too powerful to control it.

-= Shun the Gossipers...! =-

Yeah, I get that everypony was giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders (AKA Gabby Gums at the time) the cold shoulder. Considering that the three were still trying to find something to make a juicy article out (even if they have to lie about it, like most of the later issues), they were afraid to even speak to them. Most of them were expecting an apology, not a request for more info, and they weren't going to speak to the fillies until they confessed that they were sorry.

Oh, and on Rainbow Dash's angry downpours? Considering that she represents Loyalty, I don't think she can process betrayal as well as other ponies can. So of course, she was the most frustrated about it.

-= Chrysalis, the Faceless Witch =-

Here's an MLP villain I found most interesting. Her Changeling specie is pretty much a pony mixed with a locust and a succubus.

Let's start with real-world changelings. These are fairies that kidnap children and take their place, sapping off the parents' love for them. (Thank goodness that's just folklore) Pretty apt on what these Changelings do - they get near their prey by transforming into someone they love, and then they suck their heart dry, gaining power from the victim's love capacity.

Chrysalis herself is quite the tactician, in fact. First, she carried her plan out while the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance was approaching. She snuck in and trapped Cadance underground, taking her place. Then, she set supposed evidence suggesting an oncoming attack, which would prompt Canterlot's defenses - Shining Armor included - to be on full alert. They wouldn't have even known that the danger was safe inside...Then, during all this, Chrysalis slowly but surely drained Shining Armor's very vitality, steadily gaining power from his love for Cadance.

There were a few hiccups in the plan, but Chrysalis managed to shake them off. What happened to the previous bridesmaids (Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lyra), I think, is that they accidentally found out too much about the Changeling queen, so she drained them down to mindless slaves, then sent them underground so they could serve some use in keeping any other possible prisoners in. When she realized that Twilight Sparkle was onto her, Chrysalis banished her underground as well. More sinister still, she took the opportunity to TORMENT the unicorn into a blind rage. There was a good chance that Twilight would have taken out the real Cadance if the latter hadn't spoken up.

If that wasn't enough to illustrate Chrysalis's cruelty, then get this - she's the only villain to have KILLED somebody on-screen! That's right, when Cadance and Twilight confronted Chrysalis at the altar, the queen drained the last bit of life out of Shining Armor, reducing him to a lifeless husk. Rather heart-wrenching in retrospect...Also, she didn't even seem to keep track of how much strength she gained - even she was surprised when she overpowered Princess Celestia in a magic duel! In any case, this made her even more confident in her success. Nopony would dare try to approach her, knowing the power they're up against.

After taking Canterlot, the rest of Equestria would be easy pickings for the Changeling swarm. Chrysalis wasn't even fazed by Shining Armor's revival knowing this, since he still didn't have enough strength to repel the monsters. However, her failure to fully comprehend love was her downfall - she failed to anticipate Cadance and Shining Armor synching together and creating a protective charm with strength rivaling the Elements of Harmony, dispelling each and every Changeling from Canterlot and scattering them like dried leaves. I feel sorry for Chrysalis, really - she fed on love, but could never understand it...

-= Shun the Conspiracy Theorist...! =-

A big issue with Canterlot Wedding is the second-to-last part of the first episode. After Twilight Sparkle accused "Cadance" of her evildoings, everypony else gave her the cold shoulder.

Let's start with Shining Armor. Keeping the barrier around Canterlot strong has been taxing on his brain, giving him some killer headaches. It seems Chrysalis took advantage of even this - while sapping his heart, she added a placebo effect of "healing" his migraines. The combination of the two has added up to a lot of stress, so of course he was more verbally belligerent here. Seems "Cadance" had also told him some good cover stories for things like replacing the bridesmaids and her being short with the other ponies. And, uh...Twilight being all smug-faced while calling her evil didn't help the purple unicorn's case much. That just made Shining Armor see Twilight as selfish as the others saw her acting. He was clearly hurt by this - so of course he forbade her to show up at the wedding.

And the others? Well, Twilight's friends didn't know as much about the real Cadance as Twilight did, so they wouldn't have known anything really fishy about the impostor. They just thought that Twilight was being selfish and over-protective, so they decided to give her some space to think it over. As for Celestia...she wasn't being mean, either. She didn't have the time to notice "Cadance's" OOC behavior, since she and Luna were on constant tower-watch. But considering that Twilight has been studying friendship for a while, she expected that her student wouldn't be so rude and selfish when it came to her brother. So again, giving her space and time to think about what she did.

Of course, the wrong impression that everypony got from Twilight came to Chrysalis's advantage as well. Even if Twilight made it out of the cave, nopony would take her claims very seriously. But Cadance's arrival foiled that part.

Now, everypony did forgive Twilight Sparkle for their misunderstanding. Applejack apologized on behalf of everyone, Celestia deeply thanked Twilight for her perseverance (which uncovered Chrysalis's plot and saved the real Cadance), and before leaving on the carriage, Shining Armor thanked Twilight again by saying that "None of this would have been possible without you". Quite so - if Twilight wasn't there, Cadance wouldn't have been found and he'd have still been Chrysalis's plaything. I'd say that's at least forgiveness. And who knows? He must have apologized before while preparing for the real wedding - otherwise, she wouldn't have been the best mare again.

-= Celestia's Stand =-

Now of course, I need to clarify something about Celestia in Canterlot Wedding 2. Her faceoff with Chrysalis was NOT meant in any way to say "ZOMG SHEZ SO WEEK". No, she was the only pony there brave enough to stand up against the Changeling queen. But nopony, not even Chrysalis, expected the princess to be felled. Celestia is a mighty defender of Equestria - she was one of Chrysalis's anticipated obstacles, which is why she hoped to get the wedding done with so she can drain Shining Armor quietly without anypony knowing that she's responsible for the Changelings assaulting the city. However, again, Chrysalis got so much power by devouring Shining Armor's very heart that she overpowered even Celestia with ease.

If anything, that part clarified how big a threat Chrysalis was.

-= Love Magic =-

While we're still on the topic of the Canterlot Wedding, let's talk about Princess Cadance.

I guess we'll start with her personality. The flashback alone shows that Cadance is a sweet and caring pony - not many would think that a princess would take up foalsitting. But that's what Cadance loved to do. Not to mention, she was a good friend to Twilight Sparkle - they even had their own cute little rhyme and dance. In fact, that same rhyme and dance was the indicator of the true Cadance. And let's not forget that she was marrying not just for Shining Armor, but for Twilight as well - they both wed for Twilight as well. Twilight Sparkle may very well be the reason the two became friends in the first place.

Now then, her magic. I don't think it's as simple as just calling it "love magic". I think it's more like...mending hearts. In the case of, say, Wild Fire and Lucky, she helped them resolve their argument sooner, possibly with a compromise of sorts. Time is better NOT wasted on bickering, y'know? And with the drained-dead Shining Armor (this scene makes me weep, especially when I consider this), she sparked some life back into him, breaking him out of Chrysalis's assimilation. Overall, I'd consider it "heart magic".

Given Cadance's apparent connection with the long-missing Crystal Empire, she must have some lineage with the crystal ponies. Guess we'll find out when Season 3 airs!

-= Who IS Derpy? =-

Okay, let's discuss the biggest background pony celebrity. What do we know about the pony nicknamed "Derpy"?

This gray pegasus's wall-eyes began as an animation error in the first episode, during the welcome party in the library. She did make many notable appearances among the crowds in later episodes - like in Applebuck Season, fawning over the fresh muffins. But her clumsiness was decided on in Feeling Pinkie Keen, where she officially bore the crooked eyes and accidentally dropped a bunch of stuff onto Twilight.

Lauren Faust did state that Derpy was meant to be the type that causes all sorts of unintentional havoc, even when she means well. Sounds understandable. In The Last Roundup, she seemed willing to help Rainbow Dash out, even though she was causing more damage to Town Hall.

Now, her traits as a muffin-enthusiant and a mailpony...Like with other background ponies, fans had to use what clues of their appearances they could find and put together the puzzle from there. She was one of the several ponies that said "Muuuuuffin~" when the muffins that Pinkie Pie and (a tired) Applejack were presented. After a while, people accepted that Derpy liked muffins. And it seems that the animators adopted this muffin passion as an official trait in Putting Your Hoof Down - her saddle-bags had a muffin buckle on them. As for the mailpony part...well, it might relate to Feeling Pinkie Keen, where she was working with a moving wagon, or a delivery wagon. It could be assumed from there that Derpy does some delivery work, mail included.

Relationships with Doctor Whooves/Time Turner and Dinky? Hm...well, her kinship with the Doctor was probably random fandom at work. But, the animators DID show the two in a scene together in Hearts & Hooves Day - so there could be some chance of their relationship being canon (even if he's just a time-keeper and not a time-traveler). As for Dinky...well, there's no canon hints yet, but it can be possible. Dinky was seen with Amethyst Star in the Sisterhooves Social, but what could that mean? If we wanted to assume that Dinky is Derpy's daughter AND that Amethyst is Dinky's sister, perhaps Derpy adopted Amethyst? There's also the assumed theory that Amethyst is a foalsitter for Dinky. Amethyst Star probably sits for a lot of little ponies (she was on a picnic with Tootsie Flute), but is close enough friends with Dinky that they're practically sisters. Who knows, there's lots that can be assumed about Derpy and Dinky.

So where do bubbles fit in with her special unique trait? Well, bubbles can mean a lot personality-wise. They could mean a bubbly personality (high-spirited), and/or even air-headed (a dummy). We can guess that Derpy may not be the brightest pony out there, but even that doesn't let her down. I think her very existence can be a lesson that even if you're not perfect, you can still have your hopes up and even be accepted by others.

-= A Magical World =-

Now for a theory on the geography of the pony world. I believe that it resonates and courses with magic energy.

We'll start with the sun and moon. They must run on parallel orbits around the planet or something. Unusual, right? Well, this is a fantasy world - there's room to say that this sun is one of the few that's actually a satellite like the moon. Anyway, they seem to move along their orbits by a magic push. In the Hearth's Warming Eve play, it was said that the unicorns moved the sun and moon around. I'd imagine it took a lot of them together to do so. Celestia and Luna are probably strong enough to move them along their orbits on their own. So...who moves the sun and moon across on the other side of the world? Who knows.

Next, I guess I'll discuss the Everfree Forest. The animal and plant life there is more advanced than anywhere else in Equestria. Why's this? Well...I did theorize that the world itself courses with magic energy, right? So I also theorize that the forest's magic flow is more accelerated than any other place. That can explain why the animals and plants there are more "evolved" than the kind outside. Ponyvillians today, being used to doing hard work with ease, seem to get suspicious of a place so automated. Zecora, though, found it to be a good place to perfect the art of remedy-making by studying the mysterious flora.

-= What is Harmony? =-

I think there's been some confusion between harmony and order. Order is the sense of knowledge and judgment, and chaos is a sense of free will and feeling. Put the two together, and you get the right balance - a balance known as harmony. You can't know without order, and you can't feel without chaos. Both are essential to reality's flow.

Yes, I just said that chaos is an essential half of the world. So why do I still insist that Discord's a villain? Well, he only cared about one half of harmony. He cared none for harmony as a whole. But if you have only pure order or pure chaos, it can't end well - pure order would be absolute restraint, and pure chaos would be a destruction of reality. If anything, Discord represents BAD chaos.

-= End of Report =-

Well, that's all I got for now. Might be more as Season 3 goes on. I might cover other topics later, so...later!

(Celestia's not a troll. Josh all you want, but don't try and say that it's canon.)
:iconcommentplz: Thoughts will be much appreciated.

Anyway, decided to compile all my thoughts on some issues throughout the two seasons of My Little Pony.

That said, this won't be the last "One Mr.'s Opinion". There's other topics I'd like to touch upon...

-= DISCLAIMER =-
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (c) Lauren Faust & Hasbro
© 2012 - 2024 UMSAuthorLava
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MagicMan001's avatar
I really like your views on these debatable matters, many of which I agree with you on. I always appreciate an objective view on issues that many people let their emotions cloud them on when looking at them.