There seems to be a bit of a kerfuffle in the reviewer/analysis community over the implementation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Some people seem to think that the writers have handled her poorly thus far, and as Silver Quil’s joke in his latest video states, “Don’t worry if you forgot she was an alicorn, so did the writers.” Quite the knee slapper. I did get a little chuckle out of that. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find some problems with the way people are looking at this issue.





The issue gets touched upon, usually rather snarkily, and let go. But other times it’s really criticized and whined about by some of the big guns in the community. These folks wouldn’t be doing their thing if they didn’t bring up issues like this. But I’m disappointed that they bring it up, then don’t follow through to a conclusion. Ultimately I’m a big proponent of “lets wait and see.” We’ll have another pony drought to dissect this season and go over details in retrospect. However, there are some things I feel should be touched upon right now.





In Daring Don’t, most folks had a big problem with Daring Do being real. However, Antony C was unconcerned about this. Instead, he talked about the problem presented by having an alicorn princess right there, and yet do nothing. She could have stopped the thugs right then and there. “A PLOT CONTRIVANCE!” he dramatically yells. Fair point, but… then what? Say Twilight Sparkle magics her way into the situation and resolves it, neatly and quickly. The episode ends right there. Nothing to do when Twilicorn is on the job. She has the power to solve everything. This is a problem for the narrative. It would be akin to Princess Celestia being front and center, using her known powerful abilities to save the day. There is an entire discussion to be had on whether that is even a fair comparison, that Twilight is anywhere near Celestia’s level of power or knowledge, even though Celestia considers her an equal now. But we’re not going to talk about that. We’re going to focus on the complaint of the Twilicorn plot contrivance.





Daring Don’t as it was written, would have ended with Twilight’s intervention. So, it shouldn’t have been written with such an oversight in the first place. They should have taken into account Twilight’s status as a princess. This is the main issue people seem to have. In BATS! and in Rarity Takes Manehatten, nobody seems to notice she’s an alicorn.





But lets assume she was noticed in Rarity Takes Manehatten, and that she was able to get Rarity a cab. Why couldn’t she just teleport Rarity across the city? Why did she need to depend on Rarity to get tickets to the show? She’s a princess, she could demand it herself. For every allowance the writers give to Twilight, the detractors will bring up something else. If she’s powerful enough to do this? Why didn’t she do that? Why isn’t she wearing regalia all the time? What about her guards? They’re just going to let her roam around undefended? No plot hole too small shall escape their eyes.





It would appear that there are contrivances in these episodes the way they are currently structured. They don’t allow for Twilicorn to be implemented in a satisfying manner. Again, playing devil’s advocate, the episodes themselves should be reworked to properly feature Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle. Now, there is a reason I don’t just say Twilicorn here. The reason is that Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle denotes certain qualities and aspects. Aspects such as her power, her status, her power, her knowledge, her power, her regalia… I feel like I’m forgetting something. Oh yes, her POWER. This is where the analysis stops, and it shouldn’t. I don’t know if the brony analysts consider things like this. Perhaps they do, and simply don’t include it in their videos? This is the next step, the continuation of examining the issue.





With Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle as the focus, all her attributes and power are now at the forefront of the narrative. These are now considered when framing each episode that she appears in. Or, in other words, the narrative and plot are elevated in such a way as to synch up with Twilight’s character traits. It’s like Super Man. The Man of Steel is challenged by facing down enemies that are at or above his level, such as Darkseid and Lobo. However, now that narrative is synched with Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle, where does that leave the rest of the mane 6? With Twilight on the field, how are Applejack & Rainbow Dash expected to solve problems without creating a plot contrivance as to why Twilight didn’t intervene? The entire nature of the show would have to change to facilitate Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle. Those slice of life episodes that everyone just LOVES? Buh-bye! Or, the mane 6 would need to be brought to Twilight’s level somehow. But we’ll come back to that later… The only way slice of life could continue is if Twilight wasn’t present for many of the episodes. This is an argument that has credence in season 4, and I’m not totally against it. However, a staple of the show is having ALL the mane 6 engage in slice of life episodes in some form or another. That includes (Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparke + _____ mane 6 pony(s)). In this new framework, slice of life would either be completely gone from the show, or severely cut down in number of appearances. With not even halfway through the season, and seeing videos complaining about the lack of “meaningful” episodes in the show. This new formula would likely cause many bronies to lose interest. And hey, if that was their thing they liked about the show, it’s only reasonable.





Now we come to the big question. If the show would have to go through so many contortions for Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle. Contortions that would simply turn it into an entirely different show than what FiM originally was, then why make Twilight an Alicorn Princess at all?





This question is ignorant and absurd. It demonstrates a crippling lack of perspective of show and the show’s intended goal. It is ignorant because it implies the writers made the choice, rather than having it thrown in their laps. This show is a toy commercial. All your favorite moments in the show? All meant to sell toys to little girls and teach lessons. It’s increasingly distressing that bronies seem to forget this. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a well made, well produced, (mostly) well written, and well realized toy commercial. But at the end of the day, that’s all it is. To continue to criticize decisions like this based solely on the writing staff is absurd. They’ve never had that much creative freedom. And that reason is likely a contributing factor in why Lauren Faust chose to leave. This is not a cop out answer. It is the reality. We are a tertiary audience, all we can do is sit back and see how they implement decisions. But I have to ask, if that kind of thing bothers people, which seems evident from some of their posts and analyses, why are they still here? Perhaps it’s because they’re willing to tolerate a few hiccups, and watch how the writing staff handles whatever curveball Hasbro decides to throw at them. Which brings me to the current implementation of Princess Twilight.





The way she is handled now is very close to they way I envisioned it happening. Not exactly what I predicted, but close. It seems that the bookend two parters will touch upon Princess Twilight, and possibly the episodes focussed around her will as well. Given what they were dealt, it makes perfect sense for writers to go this route. It can cause some small problems here and there, but largely is not an issue. Also, it leaves room for possible actualization of Twilight’s role near the end of the season. Remember when I posited that bringing the rest of the mane 6 to Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle’s level was a possibility? Now we’re into pure speculation territory. In the finale, if and when the chest is opened, what if the Rainbow Power gave the mane 6 powers (in some way) on the level of Princess Twilight? With season 5 now confirmed, this might be a way for the writers to integrate a sort of equilibrium between the ponies in terms of their power. When those adventure themed episodes come up again, things might be on an even keel. It’s unlikely the show will change too much, but it’s something to consider. What will really happen? Only time will tell.



