The soapboxes cvontinue! As always, these are the opinions of fandom members, not us here at EQD. If you'd like to submit your own soapbox, hit up this post for infos.
Have some headlines:
- MLP/Transformers Crossover Sequel Please!
- Was Fluttershy originally a tree?
- What would "Mean Spike" be like?
- Why doesn't Rarity wear shoes?
And get articles below.
MLP/Transformers Crossover Sequel Please!
By: Alexrioponylover95
Hello everycreature!
So before we get to my points, there will of course be spoilers to the MLP/Transformers crossover, so if you didn’t read it yet… Well what are you waiting for!?
So first, to give a little review of the crossover itself, well in a few words… It was great! A perfect way to do a crossover! I loved all of the interactions between the characters and while there were some inconstancies, like how Rainbow Dash and Windblade met, just like The Ending of the End, it had a big epic battle at the end, with a final magical blow from the heroes.
Now to get on with my point of this topic, the crossover ended with a cliffhanger and potential for a sequel to be written, just like how Feats of Friendship ended with open questions of what will happen next. The crossover ends with and I quote, Shockwave saying, “I did record the original coordinate data from the malfunctioning spacebridge. So perhaps, with your permission, I may begin an effort to simply bring their magic to us?” Indicating that the Deceptions are not yet done with Equestria…
Now the question remains, what will the sequel crossover be about? Well I have one idea I would like to share.
Since most of the first crossover takes place in Equestria, it would be interesting to see the second one take place in Cybertron, with the ponies being teleported to that world. Now you might be asking, how? Well the first crossover ended with Shockwave showing Megatron an image of Twilight’s castle, so it might be possible that the Deceptions might actually teleport the castle onto Cybertron, bringing along the Mane 6, Spike, and whoever else might be inside at the time.
The Deceptions capture those inside the castle and hold them prisoner while they figure out how the magic in the castle works exactly. During this time, the Autobots learn what happen and mount a rescue mission, freeing the Mane 6 and Spike. (And again, whoever else might have been in the castle at the time) And yeah it would be good to see the Autobots rescuing the ponies, because in the first crossover, the ponies were actually the ones who did more of the saving, like how Twilight caught Optimus Prime and Bumblebee or how Rarity gave Arcee a shield to protect her.
Now I don’t know what would happen in the middle of the crossover, it would probably consist of the Autobots showing the ponies around and encountering Deception threats while Megatron is desperately trying to figure out how exactly to use Twilight’s castle as a weapon. And with the ending, it would be another big battle of course, although this time I feel like the ponies are going to take more of a back seat, with the Autobots winning. And once the fight is done, the Autobots send the ponies and the castle back through a working spacebridge to Equestria, thus ending the sequel crossover.
So yeah, that’s my take on what a sequel could look like. What do you think a sequel crossover would like look?
Was Fluttershy originally a tree?
I know that this sounds like a silly question, but what if it isn’t? Back in the episode “Over a Barrel”, Fluttershy makes a very brief mention about how she wishes that she could be a tree. This line is often taken and treated as a gag by many fans, but later in the episode “Hurricane Fluttershy”, we see her hiding inside of a tree, hoping to avoid Rainbow Dash. Why a tree? Well, we may need to look at the episode “Make New Friends But Keep Discord” to crack this theory open. In it, we are introduced to a pony named Tree Hugger that Fluttershy has made friends with, since back in the episode “Three’s a Crowd”.
Now, I find Tree Hugger to be quite the interesting character, because while she is also treated as a joke among the g4 fans, one of her lines consists of an intriguing bit of dialogue between her and Discord:
Tree Hugger: Nice to meet you. I'm Tree Hugger. Blessings.
Discord: You have met me before actually! [snorts]
Tree Hugger: Cool! Like, in another life, maybe?
Though this conversation was rather short, I feel like there is a ton to unpack in what was said. First off, this is the first ever mention of “other lives” coming into play in this series. This ties in with rebirth and resurrection, and it just so happens that the butterfly’s (Fluttershy’s cutie mark) spiritual meaning is that of rebirth and elevation from earth matters/ transcendence to spiritual. Tree Hugger, with all her talk of seeing auras, feeling vibes, speaking of other lives, and extending blessings, seems to be a very spiritually tuned character- perhaps one that even has more knowledge of more spiritual beings and plane than we perceive. It would be no surprise if this was the catalyst to her and Fluttershy’s friendship, when they met on the trip to see the Breezies, and why there is such a connection between them now.
It could very well be that Fluttershy could have been a tree in her past life, which - unknowing to Fluttershy herself, could’ve prompted that bit of desiring to be a tree dialogue, before she had ever met Tree Hugger- and once they did meet, Fluttershy’s aura would’ve just needed to be read for long to be revealed.
But I think that there’s even more to this theory. I think to truly understand why Fluttershy wants to be a tree, we Lao need to look at her virtue, or her “element”- kindness. The origin of the word kindness is from the Anglo-Saxon kind or kin, which means family, as in kin, kinship, and kindred. That Saxon word, or German word, can also mean child, as in the word kindergarten. Kindness was gentle and caring affection toward a child, a family member, or even an animal. The Hebrew word “chesed” is used in the Old Testament to describe the loving kindness of God. Kindness is valued as a core ethic In religious views of all ilks. It is a virtue that is the foundation of what they call “tikkun olam”, which means the repairing of the world. Through chesed, through kindness, God repairs a broken world. So, the importance of kindness as a Fruit of the Spirit becomes much more meaningful when we consider the Hebrew background.
Fluttershy embodies this “chesed”, this virtue of kindness to a T. She has done the most amongst her friends in “repairing a broken world”, through taming of Manticores, Draconequi, Cerberus, and many more monsters that inhabit the treacherous pony lands.
So knowing this, I don’t think that Fluttershy was just any old standard tree in her past life. No, I think that she might’ve been a very important tree- one that could’ve shaped pony history as we know it. I think that Fluttershy might’ve been the original tree of Harmony, and here’s why.....
Does anyone recall how the Pillars of Harmony had a “seed” that they were able to imbue with their strengths, for the sake of defending Equestria? It was recounted in “Shadow Play” by Starswirl himself. But the seed he speaks of looked much like a jewel- a sapphire, to be exact. Now given the composition of the modern day Tree of Harmony, it wouldn’t be a surprise, but that seed that the pillars had didn’t originate from the Tree of Harmony- it spawned it.
So, then, where did the “seed” originate? I think that it came from a divine source. Perhaps being the original Tree of Harmony that Fluttershy could’ve been in her past life.
Let’s take a look at Fluttershy once more- given her close tie in with the desire to be a tree, the origin of the name of her virtue, having a friend who can see auras and speak of past lives in a spiritual sense, do you think it is of any mere coincidence that we find that Fluttershy has a part that she named after a spiritual being- an Angel?
So what if Fluttershy- being the original tree of Harmony her past life- or rather, the Tree of Life that was created by the divine, (given her ability to “repair a broken world”, symbolizing renewal and rebirth, as her cutie mark depicts) was the mother of that seed that was given to the Pillars.
And furthermore, if Fluttershy was the original Tree, then that could explain why her modern self claims to have a fear dragons- and Discord. The etymology of “dragon” stakes it’s roots in the Greek word “drakon” (large serpent), and the Scriptures constantly depict the Devil as a serpent and dragon. Discord’s species, “draconequis” shares the root word as as a variant spelling. So is it any surprise that, in the context of Scripture, if Fluttershy was the original Tree in her past life, that she would hold to that trauma of being afraid of dragons, and the dragonic/fallen Angel-esque serpent, Discord?
I think there is plenty of in series evidence across many episodes that lends itself to this theory as to why Fluttershy may have originally been a tree and desired for her past life as one, in that one line of dialogue. But this is just my theory. Let me know what you guys think.
What would "Mean Spike" be like?
By: FlareGun45
Remember the Mean 6 episode? I know people in the fandom would want them to return someday - but let's say they somehow get resurrected since their twigs are still intact; and the Mean 6 made a Mean Spike to go with them? What would he be like?
Not like regular Spike, that's for sure! There are so many different options cause there were multiple different types of Anti-Mane 6 - not only the Mean 6 and Discorded Mane 6, but the ones from the Pony Waters comic! However, never once did we get an Anti-Spike. The closest thing we got is the Greedy Spike, but greed isn't his opposite, and we wouldn't want Mean Spike to be too much like Mean Rarity!
What is Spike's true opposite then? Acceptance? Reasonable? Helpful? Spike is the most supportive outta all of them, so Mean Spike would probably be manipulative, empowering, would gladly stab the Mean 6 in the back to get ahead and/or make them HIS servants!
So let's say the Mean 6 create a Spike to do their dirty work, be the "slave" everyone claims that the real Spike is, and he follows along until the evil Twilight leader is so close to winning - but knowing how smart Spike is, he would take his opportunity, betray his "masters", and take over himself! He'd be the greater threat than any of the Mean 6! Probably be similar to Cozy Glow!
He wouldn't be your typical evil minion! He'd be minion who's actually pulling the strings! Wouldn't THAT be a fascinating antagonist? He'd be probably show a side of him no one would ever expect that the real Spike keeps buried deep inside himself! Imagine how Twilight would react to the things he'd say to her that'd be worse than Father Knows Beast!
So would you wanna see a Mean Spike clone, or a brainwashed Mean Spike in the future, just to see what Spike's opposite would be like? How do ya think he'd be?
Why doesn't Rarity wear shoes?
By: FlareGun45
Remember the Dirty Hooves post last week? It talked about pony hygiene and how ponies are using the same limbs for walking and picking stuff up (and maybe even eating). I know ponies have cleaner mouths but gee-wiz!
My point is, it's surprising that somepony like Rarity doesn't wear shoes cause of something like this. Her in particular, somepony who's afraid to get dirty (or at least used to). She doesn't seem to mind walking in her bare hooves, risking dirt on them, regardless of how she feels about dirty stuff.
Maybe she'd eventually get over it, but this never happened. Plus, being a fashionista, we'd think she would wear shoes all the time. I know Applejack says ponies don't normally wear clothes, but lemme just point out "don't normally"; that doesn't mean never.
Need I also mention sometimes Rarity wears shoes on her front hooves but not the back ones, like in Best Night Ever?
