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Description
Original sketch from June 21st.
A couple of months ago I watched the first episode of My Little Pony: Make your Mark, the 3D take on the G5 of the franchise. Technical issues aside, I think it’s pretty good, especially the character dynamic. What I really didn’t expect (and the whole reason why I made this comic) was that, like the film A New Generation, it was adressing some of the biggest issues I had in Friendship is Magic.
I love how Posey Bloom was written in that episode because she brings up a lot of logical points that weren’t adressed in G4, in the same way that A New Generation adressed some issues that weren’t questioned in G4. A pony that questions the use of magic seems reasonable in a post-Friendship is Magic era. One of the main issues I had with the show (and why it took me so many years to finish it) is that it has a very strong status-quo nature. What I mean by this is that, once a character learns something at the end of one episode, that character would forget it in her next episode, repeating the same shenanigans all over again. This is why some characters like Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were written the way they were.
You can probably see where I’m going with this.
In Friendship is Magic, when Starlight intentionally manipulates someone, Twilight will accept her apologies without getting more severe as a teacher. She could accept her apologies a thousand times without questioning her and Starlight will keep finding arbitrary reasons to manipulate or trick someone, like in Uncommon Bond, Road to Friendship, All bottled up, A royal problem and Starlight the Hypnotist. There was a cause, but no effect. There were literally no consequences for the pink unicorn.
In Generation 5 (both the movie and this new TV show), not only there were ponies actually worried and afraid of how magic can be used by a pony (especially considering the events of Friendship is Magic), but the magical stones can actually crack and shatter when there are huge vibes of negativity, hatred and toxicity.
The G4 writers have tried to figure this out with highly debatable results, including Starlight’s magic as an easy way out. So the fact that the new writers figured this out in G5 is a big deal. I can even argue that the G5 writers are more self aware about this type of issues than the G4 writers ever were, even in some of the most self aware episodes like Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Luna Eclipsed and Putting your Hoof Down.
When I saw that in Make your Mark, I instantly appreciated it as a creative decision. Someone told me that then the ponies would be forced to like each other, but I don’t think that was the point of the episode. The point was that, instead of finding a reasonable solution for everyone, Posey Bloom used that as an excuse to make other ponies hating each other. That was her mistake. She used her personal problems to create more problems out of spite. I don’t think it’s that complicated to understand in the first place. In fact, I’d argue it’s very believable because most of the time, when we get frustrated for something that’s unfair, we create problems out of spite instead of calming down and then making logical decisions.
I love when a writer actually commits to show consequences on the actions of someone, whether is the main character, side character or an antagonist. It’s a pity that it’s not as frequent as I wanted in visual media, possibly because people don’t want to see real consequences or real self awareness in fiction. But Gravity Falls, Steven Universe and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are great examples of giving more meaning to the consequences of someone’s actions. It’s not like these stories trick the audience. You can’t play the genocide route of Undertale and then say “it was Chara’s fault, not me”.
So, for those G4 purists from the hardcore fringe who kept saying since 2021 that “the ponies without magic are not fun” as an excuse to diminish G5’s value, this is the reason. This is exactly why they wanted to focus more on characterization than magic: To prevent an issue that G4 had in the last 4 seasons. These decisions are the reasons why I trust the new writers. They’re fully aware of some of the problems Friendship is Magic had.
The TV shows where nothing neither changes nor evolves have always existed and they will always exist, but nowadays there’s no excuse for the writers to not create stories that reward the audience for paying attention to little details.
I’m assuming the next episodes and specials will have this type of continuity. In fact, I heard that the official My Little Pony YouTube channel changed the order of the Tell your Tale episodes. These are now numerically marked by apparent chronological order, being the first one Sisters take flight instead of A home to share. This is a clear sign that the new writers want to give a sense of continuity. Why is A home to share the first episode in the first place then? I don’t know, but I think it can be a reason related to pipeline, schedules, production and probably deadlines, since part of the whole production (especially post-production) was planned in the middle of a pandemic, including the film A New Generation.
Just my 2 cents. I’d like to see what the specials and next episodes are gonna be like.
Nobody said Twilight was ever a really good example of a protagonist. Both Purple Smarts had very glaring issues in terms of writing and favoritism.
Yeah except anyone can use technology. Advanced magic was, especially in G4, available to only a few ponies.
Typical Bronies/Brony Analysts. 😒
Everything is ruined.
Indeed.
Never change Ringteam; never change.
Edited
Or Sparky recently as an “accident”
Sounds incredibly risky, with a low chance of success (if Twilight enchanted the crystals properly). I’m also guessing that Opaline is very egotistical - in other words, I’m guessing that, 100%, that’s her plan.
Hm, maybe she attempted to force herself to become an Alicorn using some forbidden spell, and in the process her mind was corrupted.
Maybe she plans to untangle magic from the crystals so magic can’t be shut off. That’s what I would do.
The comics state she was a unicorn. That’s another can of worms by itself. Otherwise, Opaline isn’t the cause. The catalyst yes but not the cause.
I’ve seen a theory that it’s meant to measure the general harmony or discord amongst ponies cumulatively, so that it couldn’t be undone by just a simple disagreement (so when ponies are generally harmonious, and acting kind towards one another, the crystals are fine, when the score is right around zero, that’s when glitches start happening, and then when it enters discordant territory, that’s when the real trouble starts). I can see that, and I think the reason it seemed like any disagreement would cause it was the fact that, due to the budgetary and time restrictions the special faced, the scale felt much smaller than it’s meant to be, so every action seemed of greater importance.
Its not just Sprout’s mom. I’m talking about general knowledge the earth ponies have about other tribes that was passed down from generation to generation. Even their very schools teach them this knowledge. Their media and movies teach them this knowledge. Phyllis had nothing to do with those things. She was exposed to that kind of knowledge herself just like every other earth pony.
No one was a victim or abuser here. Its all a matter of culture. Its the earth ponies culture to fear unicorns. There’s probably a reason behind it like how its related to their magic.
Yeah sprout’s mom definitely messed up his mindset and the fandom doesn’t talk about it enough and some puts all the contempt on sprout
Sprout’s fear of unicorns is very interesting. Look at how he sees them as a kid. They shoot horn lasers. They read minds and fry brains. A kid who has never seen a unicorn his whole life would not make that up. But to us who know what unicorns can really do, its not far fetched. They sound like stories told to little kids by their elders but I bet in g5’s in universe history, there’s truth to those stories when the three tribes fought each other.
Edited
Unless you count the IDW comics where Sunny is anything but hostile to her legends. Including Discord.
Every image involving her has been nothing but excuses with no definitive proof or any evils she did since S6. And that season is pretty much the only one that details the entire redemption process since everyone else only needed an episode or even a minute. Furthermore, of every choice of character he uses, he chose to pick those to suit the irony rather than because they fit better. Luna was an ex-villain chastising Twilight for bothering to even save her enemy in the first place than killing them or worst, Sunny suddenly saying g4 is lame even though that was her driving force in the first place, Twilight not considering talking to her enemies? All to spite Starlight. Shadow Play would have turned out different if the latter didn’t suggest Stygian can and could be saved in the first place. Stygian would’ve rotted in Limbo if that thought never happened. So by bashing Starlight, he undermines the other characters too.
Let’s see Trixie, Twilight, Sweetie Belle, nah, the list is infinite.
It’s really equivalent to a death sentence for simply littering. The Crystals do more harm than help. As quoted by the Spirit of Chaos. Who may or may not have possessed some real guy already cause that’s exactly his shtick. Twisting the facts and being an unreliable, not to trust narrator.
If anything, I think they prefer to just forget about her. Of course these other guys can’t forget or forgive because they can clearly remember every lesson that’s meant to perfect yourselves. Forgiveness is key in bettering yourselves and others, empathy too, which they lack and finally we’re not computers, we can’t remember the good lessons sometimes. Fluttershy said she even forgets the Aesop from time to time.