Time for the fandom to SPEAK! We have some interesting ideas on both the show and the fandom this time.
Expect these posts every Tuesday at 2:00 PM PST (3:00 EQD Time). To submit your own, see this post.
This week we dive into the following:
- A Case Against Lazy Writing: Don't Screw Up Applejack's Parents
- Why Do Bronies Exist?
- Simultaneous Acquisition of Cutie Marks
- Analyzing Button Mash
- Dazzling's Crystal
And get your soapboxes below!
A Case Against Lazy Writing: Don't Screw Up Applejack's Parents
By: Sirius Face
I’ve never been nervous about an upcoming episode of MLP, until I heard that we’d finally get some concrete information on Applejack’s parents. Now my fear is they may actually be alive.
Both the show and comics have hinted at the idea of AJ’s parents having passed, and it would be utterly lazy writing to have Applejack’s parents suddenly alive after six years of them being no shows. Slowly presenting the parents of the other mane six is understandable, but given that Applejack’s character is very family-focused, her parents should’ve been introduced all the way back in “The Cutie Mark Chronicles”, “Apple Family Reunion”, and certainly in “Where the Apple Lies”.
Even Lauren Faust is on record for wanting to say they passed away, but feared the idea wouldn’t be approved for a kid’s show. Here in lays my fear, that bad storytelling could be an excuse to shield kids from the idea of death, rather than provide a healthy lesson on how to cope with the inevitable. Big Jim’s tweet regarding this upcoming revelation was not positive, and the backlash that could come from this episode has me downright scared. I hope I’m wrong.
Don’t screw this up, Hasbro.
Why Do Bronies Exist?
By Fluttershypegasus
Before 2010, no one could have imagined that My Little Pony would get a significant, genuine following of adults, many of whom are male. Yet now things have changed completely in this regard. But why is it that this generation of MLP has become so popular?
Many people unfamiliar with the fandom have tried to attribute this solely to the "waifu" phenomenon-that male fans in particular develop feelings for the female characters. Whilst I feel this has been blown way out of proportion, I suspect that there may be a small grain of truth to that; it's hard coded into most humans to want to associate themselves with the opposite gender. This does not have to relate to sexual desires or anything like that, since merely associating with the opposite gender, fictional or not, even without sexual desires present, will still create pleasure.
However, I think that is a very small piece of the picture. I think there's a much bigger and more important reason as to why this series has done so well-it appeals to everyone. The mane six present such a wide range of personalities that it would be very difficult for someone to watch a few episodes and not feel themselves relate to a certain character-extroverts would feel closer to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash whereas introverts would feel closer to Fluttershy and Twilight.
Added to this, the vast array and variation of both the world and the stories play a huge role-we can see epic adventures against demonic entities but also calm, slice of life episodes. It reminds me of Tolkien's quote about the Last Homely House east of the sea in the Elven Kingdom of Rivendell:it was "perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all."
So that is, I think, the reason why mlp has become so popular-it appeals to all demographics and everyone who loves stories will be able to find a place in the fandom.
Dazzling's Crystal
by: PapyJr13
The jewels of Dazzlings, a kind of catalyst of negative energy which give their a wonderful voice. What if it was nothing ?
Yes, they can't absorb negative energy anymore but maybe they can sing again. What if crystals was a kind of applicator of their voices too ? So it was like playback or auto tune. Maybe they can sing again but with their true voice !
I wonder too if s it jewels of birth or is it an artifact. Maybe the Sirens are actually seaponies cursed by them ?
Also, some people say that their crystal is like a core which kept alive their. Now, its mean that they're mortal ?
Many questions but any answers. I hope that one of three EQG special episode talk it about.
Simultaneous Acquisition of Cutie Marks
By: Nightmare Muffin
We see 2 cases where ponies acquire cutie marks simultaneously- the mane6 from the SonicRainboom- a prophesied event believed a mare's tale, like NMM, and again with the CMC.
The musical reprise in "CotLM" showing the mane 6 and cmc's marks all together mean that each group is destined to solve friendship problems and identity problems with cutie marks. could there possibly be other instances where simultaneous aquisition of cutie marks have occurred?
In "the cutie re-mark", Twilight admits that "obviously, the long term effects of the simultaneous acquisition of cutie marks has yet to be determined, but I can speak for myself that the power of cutie mark magic is very real....The real question about cutie mark magic is who it seems to effect.-"
Could there have been other ponies who got their cutie marks simultaneously and have a shared destiny? Sunset Shimmer with other ponies, maybe?
Analyzing Button Mash
By: Musi Moon
Hey fellow bronies and pegasisters, it's boring introduction Musi (Mew-Sea) Moon
So now that seasons are once again premiering, the mane six are starting to be off the table for who I wish to talk about. This leaves me with background ponies such as Vinyl Scratch/Dj Pon-3, Time Turner/Doctor Whooves, Sweetie Drops/Bon Bon, etc. My personal favorite background pony would be Button Mash. To get one thing straight, I am a huge SweetieMash/ButtonBelle shipper, but Button is a character on his own. That's the biggest problem I have with Button. It seems like he's more known for being shipped with Sweetie Bell than he is known for a pony. The SweetieMash Chronicles by Justice4243 on Fanfiction.net is a great example of Button as a pony. I find it important to have characters with personalities over love interests. This would've helped Flash Sentry, who we all know was made for Twilight. So the next time you see an episode with a "ship confirmed" scene, think about the characters, the wonderful ponies they are, and not the ship.
Until next time
