Community soapbox time, where opinions from around the fandom are dropped down below for you all to discuss and debate! Expect these posts normally when not late every Tuesday at 2:00 PM MST And now Saturday at 2:00 PM MST. To submit your own, see this post.
Note: These soapboxes do not at all reflect the ideas of EQD. They are an open forum for anyone to post whatever crazy theory they want. Even contrarian opinions everyone would consider bad are welcome as long as they are written with some form of clarity.
Headlines for the week:
- Parent Putdown
- Cooperatives in My Little Pony
- Starlight Prequel
- Of Derpy's, Zebras, and Apu's
- Does Trixie in Equestria Girls Have Magic Now?
And get your soapboxes below!
Parent Putdown
By: Nightmare Muffin
After watching Horse Play, I came to the realization that Twilight is a real piece of work. And not in a good way. While many fans were focused on her discarding all of her learned friendship lessons of friendship and honesty, and not listening to the advice of the most level-headed/ secondary leader of the group of 6 to give something to Celestia, there’s one line in this episode that I don’t think many honed in on. In the third act, where Twilight and Celestia have their heart-to-heart in the clouds, Twilight says “I look up to you more than anypony I’ve ever met.” Yeah, that’s fine and all, but- WHOA, WAIT, that is some extreme snubbing to Twilight’s parents! Yanno, the stallion and mare who brought her into the world?! What the hay about them? I get that Twi idolizes her mentor. She always has. But to blatantly say that she looks up to her more than than anyone else- which would include her parents, is just wrong. So clearly, Celestia is put on a higher pedestal, then probably Starswirl, and most likely her parents come after her cherished idols right? Wow.
I wonder how good ol' mom and dad would feel if they had overheard THAT.
Starlight Prequel
By: Indiana
Plenty of people have trouble empathizing with Starlight so I thought I would write something to help with that.
At age 7 she is a lovely and playful filly who enjoys interacting with everyone. At age 9 she loses her best friend Sunburst and that makes her half retreat into a shell of fear. At age 10 her parents divorce and now she is often alone at home because her dad is at work almost all the time. The shell thickens. While still being afraid of relationships at school she decides that it's a good idea to stay inside all day when she is home and read all about magic and practice it really hard. At age 16 she is one of the smartest unicorns around but she also became a shut in with poor social skills and loneliness starts to become a real issue. One day she finds a strange book called The Equality Manifesto. From it she learns a few cutie mark manipulation spells and a strange philosophy in witch ponies live together and respect each other because no pony is above anyone else. At the age of 18 she decides to leave home and apply all the knowledge that she learned over the years only from books hoping that it will be the the key to the happiness that she had when she was a filly.
Character Development/Attention Balance
By: MegaSean45
The end of the show could be just around the corner, if the rumors are correct, and yunno what's been a problem on the show for a long time? Certain characters seem to get more development than others, and more attention. Everyone has their favorite character, so before the show ends, there needs to be more of a balance of character development between the main cast. There are certain characters like Pinkie and Rainbow who seem to get more episodes than others most seasons, leaving characters like Flutters and Spike to get the least amount of episodes, and not alot of time for their own development. I don't count Twilight in this scenario since she's the protagonist, and Starlight because she came in later. Now there are still ways to develop AJ - not so much of an objective point, but how certain things her family does that would affect her life, like Big Mac and Sugar Belle, or Apple Bloom moving out to spread cutie mark values. AJ's honesty arc seems finished. Rainbow, she needs more development with the Wonderbolts more than anything else. Not to mention Scoots with her family and disabilities, and Spike with his origins and destiny, and more of alicorn lore.
Now I'm not saying random slice of life comedic episodes are a bad thing, but if they could bring value to a story arc, it would really help with the character development balances! The writers might have one last chance to finish every characters' story arcs! I wish them the best of luck! End the show with a BANG, without making any main characters looking underwhelmed!
Of Derpy's, Zebras, and Apu's
By: Will
Here is what MLP fans need to understand. The show had a major backlash after the infamous Derpy episode in Season 2 as Derpy was considered a negative stereotype of people with disabilities. After that episode aired, it is obvious that MLP had to be more careful when depicting characters who could be considered negative stereotypes to marginalized groups including how they are represented in the show and who voices them. These characters include Buffalo, Diamond Dogs (they spoke in broken English), and Zebras (Zecora speaks with a thick African accent).
This is not just an MLP problem. The Simpsons recently had similar issues with it's APU character after it was outed as a negative stereotype and the tepid reaction to the "you can't please everybody" response that the show recently gave.
That said, Cartoon shows like MLP and the Simpsons thrive on eccentric characters and will continue to have them. Some satiric adult cartoon shows have even meant-to-offend characters like South Park and Family Guy. But being a children's show, MLP doesn't have that luxury. Thus, do not expect to see more Zebras (except Zecora) showing up any time soon.
Does Trixie in Equestria Girls Have Magic Now?
By: EnergeticRider
In "Forgotten Friendship" Trixie helps Sunset Shimmer by using her vanishing routine to transport Sunset through a locked door. Though it takes several attempts and in the end, Trixie is left in the room.
However, if you know even a little bit about stage magic tricks, you should understand that it's not how such trick would work. Stage magician "teleportation" is only an illusion while really performer just goes through some hidden door or use a stand-in on the other side of the obstacle. Thus if Trixie could transport Sunset by any hidden means, she could easily go herself. And without any smoke.
Thus, I conclude that "teleportation trick" in "Forgotten Friendship" was actually not a trick at all, but the Equestrian magic that Trixie got, most likely, from the portal leak.
(New!) Twitter: Sethisto
