A lot of people were confused at what exactly "Letters to the editor" is, and I realized that sort of thing doesn't really exist in the internet world that most of us have grown up in... including me! I had the definition wrong, and it was misleading. My bad.
"Letters to the editor" is now "Pony Community Soapbox". The rules are still the same, but this should clarify that you do not need to address us or articles we write in any way. This is simply a way for you to provide a mini editorial for people to read and hopefully react to.
All are welcome, express your opinions in 200 words or less and fire it off to submit! Get the exact rules for that over here. All opinions welcome
And below the break, the following topics from five different people. I think that will be our go-to number each week if we get enough. We can always increase it if a flood of good ones come in.
Today's topics:
- Mares in the Equestrian Royal Guard
- Apple Bloom ascends to an Alicorn!?
- "Every Little Thing She Does" made me a Starlight Glimmer Fan
- It's a Cartoon, It's Not Meant to be Taken THAT Seriously!
- Why Sunset Outshines Starlight
Mares in the Equestrian Royal Guard
By: James
Couldn't Equstria Daily cover the subject of female members of the Earth pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus (EUP) Guard of the Protective Pony Platoons? I know that the Equestrian Royal Guard is predominately male in composition.
A few possible examples:
Prince Blueblood is personally guarded by female ponies who are technically EUP Royal Guards but in practice are his personal companions.
Twilight Sparkle has an aunt who still serves as a Royal Guard, and she and her younger sister (Twilight Sparkle's mother Twilight Velvet) and Twilight Sparkle's father (Night Light) served together in the same EUP unit.
Rainbow Dash has an older brother (Alexander Dash?) who serves in the Royal Guard.
Moon Dancer decided to join the Royal Guard sometime after the season 5 episode "Amending Fences."
Apple Bloom ascends to an Alicorn!?
By: Brony250
It does seem unlikely to happen in the show but out of every episode that Apple Bloom has been in thus far I can't help but feel as though she could likely become an Alicorn. You know how in "Magical Mystery Cure" when Celestia mentions the traits on what makes a true princess? well, I believe that Apple Bloom also shares those very traits. I mean just look at "Bridle Gossip" for example you see how she and Twilight were the only two ponies that were willing to give Zecora the benefit of the doubt even to the end of the episode itself now that might mean nothing but here's my question, why include Apple Bloom in the story? I mean couldn't Fluttershy been the choice to also support Zecora being the Element of Kindness? Nope, it had to be Apple Bloom, so why? I could go on and mention other episodes like "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" where she shows compassion over her most hated enemy DT. Plus she also shows great leadership to the CMC group. There are other things I can point out that would make Apple Bloom a potential Alicorn but do you think it's possible?
"ELTSD made me a Starlight Glimmer Fan"
By: Selfproclaimed
So prior to last week's episode, I was a bit on the fence of my opinion of Glimglam. I was neutral at best in regards to her character, and I considered myself in the boat of "wish she wasn't reformed". Her appearances in Season Six prior were certainly not bad, and at times promising, but very few of those moments really left a large impression on me.
Every Little Thing She Does changed that.
It was here that Starlight showed that she's genuinely struggling, not for lack of wanting to be a better person or feeling like she should go into old ways, but because she doesn't have experience otherwise. We saw this a little in No Second Prances, but I feel that ELTSD accomplishes what I'm talking about to a much better degree.
Starlight is an incredibly gifted spellcaster, rivaling even Twilight's capabilities, and falls back on that power that she's relied upon her whole life whenever she meets a roadblock. In a way, Starlight is having trouble recovering from the position of power that Twilight was afraid of reaching in Boast Busters and partially delved into during Lesson Zero.
It's a Cartoon, It's Not Meant to be Taken THAT Seriously!
By: Algernon
I've seen people bring up questions of morality and apply them to episodes, or people attempt to analyse each specific action of the characters and apply some sort of hidden meaning to them as if they're in a college literature class studying Moby-Dick. I've also seen people focus on the flaws of an episode while refusing to acknowledge any positive aspect of it.
This is like watching Flash Gordon but expecting to see 2001: A Space Odyssey. You're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you put up these insanely high standards for each episode, or treat it like it's some artistic masterpiece layered with symbolism or amazingly complex characters and lore.
This show is just a cartoon about magical ponies. To tear it apart because it does what almost any humorous animated series does (relatively simple stories, comedic sociopathy, ignoring physics or logic for the sake of a joke) is, to me, ridiculous.
Make no mistake, there are flaws in this show, like any other show on TV. The fandom is just taking it far too seriously.
Why Sunset Outshines Starlight
By: Sirius Face
It can be argued that we are our weakest when we are alone. Friends and loved ones bring out the best in us. If there is any magic in friendship, it is the willful transformation to become better people for the sake of others.
We see this in Sunset Shimmer. While Silver Quill has gone into length about her success, I will boil his ten-minute video about her down to a single sentence: Sunset Shimmer’s successful redemption is the most inspirational story in MLP.
Would that the same could be said for Starlight Glimmer.
Like Sunset, we meet Starlight as friendless, caring only for power, control, and driven by a selfish agenda she believed would make her happy. Her loss of friendship made her the worst she could be. In the end, she surrendered, and never said she was sorry for her past actions. Combine that with her lack of representation this season, and the differences between these two similar characters are obvious.
Time may change this, but until that happens, Starlight Glimmer comes across as a plot device, rather than a developed, relatable character. It will take more than checklists to teach Starlight what Sunset has already learned.
