Setting guesses, Main Character guesses, Secondary Character guesses, Villain guesses, Minor Character guesses, Future Stories guesses, Jossed guesses, Confirmed guesses My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW), My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Guesses about the Mane Cast.
- Gilda isn't a pony, therefore she did not live in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash probably met her on the racing circut or on a joy-flight after she got her cutie mark.
- However they originally met, we know they were at a flight school together because 'only for Dash' would Gilda recite the chant.
- I'm amazed this wasn't already on here. No one wants to see WMG taken over by pairings (because, let's face it, it could go on for pages) but it's certainly more valid than most ships.
- Another possibility is that Gilda has a crush on Rainbow Dash, but never said anything. That also expalins why she hates Pinkie Pie so much: She thinks Her and Rainbow are in a relationship and naturally wouldn't be happy with it. This also explains why Gilda looks down on everypony but Rainbow.
- Going on from that idea, Gilda was bullied at flight school too and her attachment to Rainbow grew from that. She has the same massive chip on her shoulder as Rainbow does only much worse, and is pointlessly aggressive to everyone save for her. Makes me wonder if they didn't have some kind of 'You and me against the world, screw the system, not gonna get us' kind of thing going, and that Rainbow might not have returned the feelings back then out of simple camaraderie and desire for affection. The problem is that Rainbow Dash has since acquired some actual Character Development and realised the whole world isn't out to get her, and that she doesn't have to project this bitch queen persona to defend herself (within reason, this is Rainbow 'I'm awesome, yay me' Dash). Unfortunately Gilda... hasn't.
- Perhaps Gilda has become so attached to Dash because she is one of the few, perhaps only, pony she's met who isn't intimidated by a big and rather scary-looking (from a pony perspective) griffon. We know Dash would face anything regardless of what anypony else would think. Trouble is Gilda doesn't know when to back down, has a temper, and doesn't want to share Dash. If so, one has to wonder how Gilda fares amongst her own kind.
- Suddenly, it's Sugar CRUSH CORNER! Rainbow has to fly back to the Library... which becomes the Fortress of Knowledge! PINKIE PIEEE!!
- Seems unlikely. This is the sort of thing Pinkie would probably be more capable of in her normal state of mind.
- To be sure, if Celestia has been around for a thousand years and has any living relatives, then statistically speaking it is overwhelmingly likely that everypony is related to her in about the same way, give or take a few links.
- Jossed by A Canterlot Wedding part one and two. Rainbow Dash is able to perform the Sonic Rainboom at will, now. It appears to take very little effort at this point, as well.
- Perhaps it's like the Patronus Charm of Harry Potter. The spell is cast by calling upon happy thoughts in order to combat creatures who suck those very memories out of your head. After a lot of initial difficulty it became one of Harry's signature spells that he could cast at will. In the same vein, if/when Rainbow Dash came to understand it was feelings of loyalty (protecting Fluttershy as a filly and saving Rarity as an adult) that triggered the Sonic Rainboom, she would merely have to learn to call on those feelings at will.
- Considering the main reason for gelding is to make a colt calmer and more manageable (and m-to-f sex changes involve castration) I'd say it's more likely she's a transstallion who just started testosterone therapy.
- This was Jossed; Rainbow Dash was shown, as a young child, to be female. Her bullies referred to her as female, she looked and sounded female, and she isn't that manly. In the episode where her parents are introduced, they refer to her as female consistently from the point where she is an infant.
- Rainbow isn't *that* much of a tomboy. Applejack is more of a tomboy than Rainbow is. Sure, at least in the early seasons, she hides her emotions, and puts on a "tough, emotionless" exterior. But she is actually pretty feminine even if she tries (and usually fails hard) to hide it. She has *plenty* of feminine mannerisms. Once she is more comfortable showing her feelings in later seasons, it's even more obvious that she's a lot more feminine than she wants people to think. Anyone who doesn't think it's obvious she's a girl (with absolutely zero exposure to the series before the first episode, not even knowing character names before they were introduced, this troper could tell within 2 seconds of her first scene) hasn't paid very close attention. TL;DR: Rainbow Dash is a girl, and very obviously always has been. As Jack Sparrow would say, "She's a woman. A girl. Of the female persuasion."
- This troper did an informal poll among a couple coworkers that not only hadn't seen the show, they weren't even aware of it, and weren't even from the US. The most gender-neutral picture of Rainbow available was shown (about to attack the dragon in Dragonshy, looking angry), along with her first scene in episode 1. The response was pretty much the same for both coworkers when asked "Do you think this character is male or female?" "What kind of question is that, she is OBVIOUSLY female."
- Spike is voiced by Cathy Weseluck (that is, a woman).
- Cross-Dressing Voices happen all the time in cartoons, it doesn't make them inherently feminine/masculine. Bart Simpson is voiced by a woman.
- She doesn't need to be a trans mare or trans stallion to be as aggressive as she is. I think she may just be more of a "boss mare" type pony.
- Rainbow Dash is how she is because that's how she is! a per-er, pony's personality has NOTHING to do with gender. A man can feminine and natural and straight just as a female can be masculine and natural and straight. She doesn't need to be a transgender to be who she is.
- Black Tornado?
- White Lightning?
- Lightning Flash?
- No you guys, isn't it obvious? Grayscale Dash.
- Ink Jet?
- His/Her name is obviously Monochromatic Standstill and is the complete opposite of Rainbow Dash.
- Then there's their cousin, Limited Pallete Average Speed, but everyone forgets about him.
- Lord Monochromicorn.
- I disagree. We've seen how honor is a large thing among pegasi from Hearth's Warming Eve, and one must note that Rainbow Dash is much more respectful than the bullies. She didn't like seeing a meek pegasus get bullied. If anything, Rainbow Dash does like being a heroine.
- Ah, but consider how Fluttershy reacts when Dash wakes her up at the beginning of "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000": she blushes and covers herself with her blanket. Now, granted, Fluttershy is a modest, timid pony, but she nevertheless normally has no qualms about walking around naked in public. In this case, presumably because she is in bed, and the two of them are alone, she reacts quite differently, rather as a human woman might react to being seen naked in bed by a man not her husband or lover. It's as though Fluttershy is aware, perhaps unconsciously, that Dash has, or at least had, a thing for her.
- Yet Dash's response at Fluttershy's reaction is just to frown and look annoyed, not aroused or embarrassed.
- Rainbow's tone as she declares her defense of Flutters' honor is one of excitement to tell the story, not one of "courtly love". Also, 1: It's the crack of dawn and her best friend, whom she might feel is like a sister, just leapt in through her window and woke her up. 2: STILL GROGGY. 3: Flutters is a shy, timid pony. She's just waking up; Flutters' fur might just be messy, which I'm sure you can proceed to overthink. Either way, your claims can be disproved with simple logic and a mind that isn't strapped down by stereotypes. Really, I'm sick of people making Rainbow a lesbian so much. It's preposterous. Lauren Faust herself basically flipped a giant sign saying "Rainbow is Straight" when she commented on the Tomboy=Lesbian stereotype.
- Rainbow and Fluttershy have been friends for a LONG time, as in since they were young children. Of course Rainbow is going to defend her. Plus, consider the fact that Rainbow was probably between 10-12 when the first Sonic Rainboom was done, it's unlikely that there were any "crushes" involved.
- The Wonderbolts are stunt fliers. Speed isn't as important to them as agility or technique. Dash's technique might still need some work despite her being the fastest.
- Seeing as how she's earned herself the nickname Rainbow Crash, Dashie might need a lot of work in that area. She's fast, but not exactly what I'd call graceful.
- It's possible that the Wonderbolts are, traditionally, a team of six, no more or less. There's just no room on the team for a seventh member. However, if/when one of the Wonderbolts retires/dies/suffers a career ending injury, Dash is the first one they'd call. Considering they've been around since Dash was a filly, they probably have had members looking to retire. I could see Dash having mixed feelings about replacing a dead/injured Wonderbolt. She might worry if her desire to be a Wonderbolt somehow jinxed the one she's replacing.
- Confirmed that the Wonderbolts were just waiting for an opening to enlist Rainbow Dash as a full member.
- Also, she has performed the sonic rainboom twice, the first time unintentionally, and the second time in extremis. She was not able to do it in practice. The Wonderbolts might love to incorporate the rainboom into their act, but how can they until Dash can perform it consistently on demand?
- Fixed by the Royal Wedding - it's shown that Dash can perform the Rainboom at will.
- Maybe they're already trying to induct her. It just requires a lot of paperwork.
- The Wonderbolts are FORMATION Fliers. The ability to coordinate as a team is probably more important to them than INDIVIDUAL stunt ability. Rainbow Dash has yet to demonstrate the ability to perform as a subordinate in a stunt group.
- On the other hand, she has demonstrated a tendency to crash into things. Even if her tricks are downright dazzling, it's entirely possible that she'd be an absolute disaster as part of a stunt team; there's too many other ponies, too close, and even just grazing each other's wings could cause them to spiral out of control and result in a mid-air domino effect that would result in the entire squad getting a faceful of cloud, and that's if they're lucky.
- I think this is the most likely explanation. Sure, she's fast, but she has little to no experience in formation flying - only alone. Even in Winter Wrap Up she's seen to be the captain, but does little flying of her own, just pointing the squads where to go.
- On the other hand, she has demonstrated a tendency to crash into things. Even if her tricks are downright dazzling, it's entirely possible that she'd be an absolute disaster as part of a stunt team; there's too many other ponies, too close, and even just grazing each other's wings could cause them to spiral out of control and result in a mid-air domino effect that would result in the entire squad getting a faceful of cloud, and that's if they're lucky.
- Also, she won the Young Fliers' Competition. It's possible ponies just don't join the Wonderbolts until they're older.
- I was just coming here to point out almost the same thing. I don't know about the girly mane, but I do believe that her hair is naturally a darker blue than her body, corresponding to the outline of her mane. It looks to me like she dyes it for the other colors to look cooler, seeing as all the other ponies have 2-3 color max. Actually, I'd be willing to bet that all - or at least most - ponies naturally have single-colored manes, and dying in a second color is just in style. Dash just took that to its logical extreme. (RD with an all blue mane actually does look a bit more feminine to me, actually. Look.◊)
- Jossed. As of season 7, we see her parents, and her hair color is a family trait. From her *dad*. She gets her coat and eye color from her mom. And Rainbow Dash is definitely her real name.
- As of the season 2 finale Rainbow Dash is capable of busting out Sonic Rainbooms at will, while flying straight up.
- Using the mach cone to calculate speed is bad idea, both because it doesn't act like a real mach cone and because Rainbow hadn't started causing the other signs of a sonic boom when it showed up.
- Debatable, as a hot air balloon has to be able to rise by itself, and does so by being lighter than air, so Fluttershy might have only had to deal with drag, while Rainbow Dash had to carry the actual weight of Rarity and Pinkie Pie (and let's not forget that Pinkie Pie might be heavier than she looks, given her fondness for desserts.)
- No, not really, because the drag caused by an entire hot-air balloon would be much greater. Compare running while towing, say, 300 pounds of weight on a wheeled cart versus running with a fully opened parachute behind you.
- So that means Fluttershy had to deal with more drag when moving horizontally, but Rainbow Dash had to work harder just to keep herself in the air due to the extra weight. The question is: which is harder?
- When flying, the easiest way to go faster is to fly downward, trading altitude for speed; having more weight on her doesn't really prevent Dash from doing that; having a buoyant hot-air balloon attached to her does make that a lot harder for Fluttershy.
- But there is no sign of Rainbow Dash attempting to do that. If anything, she seems to be trying to climb even higher - which would be made more difficult with extra weight.
- Rainbow Dash was trolling the others at first during the balloon chase scene- she was busy zooming around on a cloud for the first half of it. I think if Dash had decided to get serious, it would NOT have been anywhere near as easy for the others to catch her.
- She really COULDN'T get serious at that point. Discord had basically drained all her emotions by that point. And it's been pointed out in the show that magic is emotion based (and pegasus flight depends on magic). Rainbow was crippled by Discord at that point so she was nowhere near full power.
- No, not really, because the drag caused by an entire hot-air balloon would be much greater. Compare running while towing, say, 300 pounds of weight on a wheeled cart versus running with a fully opened parachute behind you.
- Well Duh! We know that already, but Atomic Rainboom flows better then Fuel-Air Rainboom.
- I like the name: Massive Ordnance Air Rainboom AKA: Mother Of All Rainbooms AKA: MOAR!
- Oh god, do want!
- The first song in S2 was a duet between Rainbow and Fluttershy in 'May The Best Pet Win', and so it had a bigger singing part for Dash than any, IIRC, of the other songs. Perhaps a solo - if given a 'cool' enough excuse - isn't far off?
- Confirmed. It's "I'll Fly" from Season 5's "Tanks for the Memories".
- Eh, if Scootaloo does manage to become faster than Rainbow Dash, I could see Dash taking it as proof she's so awesome it's contagious. Which is the better boast, after all? Faster flier, or second-fastest, and I taught the only one who beat me everything she knows.
- That's assuming Rainbow Dash is secure enough in herself not to let her ego be bruised by Scootaloo's overshadowing. Previous episodes indicate that she isn't.
- Jossed. Rainbow is VERY supportive of Scootaloo, especially in the later seasons. And while she does still like winning, she is NOT willing to "do anything to win" if it comes at the expense of hurting someone else. She is willing to throw away her dreams (the Wonderbolts) and walk away if it means hurting someone. When a fellow pegasus that she has been paired with puts others (including her friends) in danger in the name of "competitiveness", Rainbow goes up to Spitfire, chews her out, throws her Wonderbolt academy badge on the ground, and walks away. She may have an ego, but it's extremely tempered by loyalty (loyalty is the core of her being after all), and, in the later seasons, genuine kindness.
- Alternatively, she would just be a very bad influence.
- Or she really would be a bad sister. Rainbow Dash is a good pony to look up to, but being someone's sister is different than being their hero; she'd feel worn down by Scootaloo's constant hounding, and might even take her bad days out on her. Rainbow Dash lacks the maturity that Applejack has (and Rarity tries to develop) in being a big sister. Some of her interactions with Scootaloo almost have a "Yeah, that's sweet…but don't get too big for your britches, or the kid gloves come off," undertone to them.
- Jossed. Rainbow takes a massive numbers of levels in kindness starting in mid season 2. By the later seasons, she is a genuine Nice Girl who is no longer afraid to show her feelings and be openly kind. She is also a Friend to All Children.
- Retroactively jossed? She clearly has a thing for pranks in "Griffon the Brush-off"
- At first she'll just act depressed and try to withdraw as usual, but somepony will follow her and just keep annoying her until she won't be able to take it anymore.
- She does seem like the kinda pony to want to destroy everything in sight when she's angry.
- Rainbow Dash is basically what happens when a pregnant pegasus indulges her Zap Apple craving.
- That is my new favourite theory
- Fan comic here
- Or like the Asterix comic, Rainbow Dash fell into a couldron of Zap Apple brew and now permanently has Zap Apple/Rainbow hair. She might even be the reason for a "CAUTION!: Do not give to new foals, pregnant or nurshing mares!" warning.
- Wouldn't the brew have dyed her skin rainbow-coloured too, though?
- Jossed. Her hair color is natural, and a family trait. It comes from her dad (and most likely his side of the family before that).
- Or maybe she's old enough, but the Wonderbolts want her to mature a little bit before she joins them.
- She tried drinking cider that had been spilled on the floor, how could she have wanted it any more?
- I don't think this will happen because one of the show's main goals is that there is more to being a girl then being obsessed with boys. Also, Rainbow Dash is probably the least likely one to be be caught up in romance anyway.
- At Shinning Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding, she's shown dancing with Soarin.
- This is most likely not going to happen in the series, only fanon. Soarin is shown to be a lot closer to Spitfire than Rainbow (the comics confirm that while they are friends, they aren't any more - in fact Rainbow acts more or less as a counselor for Soarin/Spitfire in the Friends Forever series).
- Seeing that it's been over three seasons and it's only been used once, likely not going to happen.
- She did use the phrase in an IDW comic, though.
- Jossed as of season 7. Her parents are NOT abusive at all. Quite the opposite. If anything, they love her a little too much. They were too supportive. Their constant support (for every tiny thing she did, including *hanging a towel*) over her entire childhood made her absolutely terrified of failure and did cause her a lot of self confidence issues, but they were certainly NOT abusive. They come to an understanding in season 7, and while it's clear that they did cause her a lot of stress (unintentionally), it's also clear that she does really love them.
- Probably not, or at least not to the same extent as the others. The pegasus race in The Cutie Mark Chronicles started with Rainbow sticking up for her, after all. In fact, she could have been sympathetic toward Fluttershy because she was always the one who stuck up for her.
- This could be like in Community's "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" where Jeff gave Neil the moniker of "Fat Neil" just to distinguish him from two or three other Neils. Everyone kept making fun of him and Jeff feared he could kill himself and wanted to make amends.
- Jossed in season 1 (Cutie Mark Chronicles). Loyalty is at the very core of her being. She was childhood friends with Fluttershy. She was the one that stuck up for her when she was bullied, she wasn't the one that did the bullying.
- Unlikely as the Wonderbolts invited Rainbow Dash, among many others, to take part in the Wonderbolt Academy for one week.
- There could be an episode focusing on this in a future season. Everybody thinks Dash is just habitually lazy, but when somepony (probably Twilight) tries to figure out why, they figure out that Dash is more hard-working than any other pony in Ponyville. They apologize for calling Dash lazy, dear Princess Celestia, roll credits.
- Also, when Rainbow Dash isn't working, she's training. Even if you are an Olympic-caliber athlete you can't do that all the time without needing to rest. So Rainbow Dash operates on the 'go until you can't go any more, then catch some Z's, then get up and go again' system... which also fits her temperament.
- Oddly, this was somewhat supported by the second season finale, where she performed a Sonic Rainboom on a curved trajectory. Maybe she's learned what the more efficient way to produce it is?
- Fluttershy often felt like a burden to her friends at times, but would still be naturally shocked by Rainbow Dash's sudden outburst especially after being there for her since they were both fillies. Bonus points if she tries to remind Rainbow Dash of the times when she tried to convince her that she did need her in episodes like Dragon Quest and Hurricane Fluttershy.
- If the rest of the Mane 6 are present or eventually find out, they would naturally chew her out for lashing out on Fluttershy.
- However, Rainbow Dash might then lash out of them and counter with a Shut Up, Kirk! speech claiming that Fluttershy had it coming for a long time. Fluttershy may then suddenly interrupt Rainbow Dash's rant telling her to leave Twilight and the others alone as they have nothing to do with this.
- This predicament may then culminate in a fight between the two pegasi with Rainbow Dash trying to attack her own friend and Fluttershy blocking, dodging and parrying almost her every move. The fight then ends with Fluttershy pinning Rainbow Dash down in hopes of calming her down. She then tells her that she understands why she is angry and is sorry for running away but fighting her own friends won't do anypony any good.
- ...What?
- The Wonderbolts are a performing group, so it's more likely that she's listed as a substitute Wonderbolt for now. If one of the full timers gets injured, she'd be called in to fly in their place.
- There hasn't been any evidence that Daring Do is anything other than a fictional character, so that somewhat puts a damper on this theory.
- We've already seen her father in a flashback. He's named "Rainbow Blaze" in the merch.
- It's now confirmed from the show's character designer that Rainbow Blaze isn't her father.
- All jossed. Her parents are named Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, and they show up in Season 7. They are regular pegasi living in Cloudsdale, and they are Happily Married. Her hair color is natural (coming from her dad). She got her coat and eye color from her mom. Rainbow's abilities don't come from a special family or deities, they just come from hard work, loyalty, and determination.
- Confirmed.
- Not only confirmed (she was BADLY bullied when she was younger, with her bullies calling her Rainbow Crash), but part of a serious Heartwarming in Hindsight moment in Season 6. When she joins the Wonderbolts, she is given the same embarrassing nickname the bullies gave her (though the rest of the Wonderbolts didn't know that). She then learns that ALL the Wonderbolts have embarrassing nicknames (based on the first embarrassing thing they did as part of the group), and accepts it. By accepting that as her official Wonderbolt call sign, her former bullies have now lost their ammunition.
- Alternatively, early episodes referring to Rainbow's desire to join the Wonderbolts put it as something she would need to prove herself worthy of. Now we've seen them as characters, as fallible but capable of learning from their mistakes (Spitfire does acknowledge they have already and could still learn from Rainbow). So instead Rainbow will need to find out whether the Wonderbolts are truly worthy of her; not just her evident talent, but her loyalty.
As for Gilda being in the Royal Guard and having met Rainbow Dash at boot camp... Well, her one appearance shows she doesn't know Fluttershy, thus they can't have met at Cloudsdale (as she would otherwise be at least familiar with her), and the military would be a likely place. That, and it would explain why she wasn't around earlier: she's in active service and posted away from Ponyville, and would have just got a leave she used to visit her friend instead that her family.
- Corollary: Her drive will end up steering them farther back into the military role they originally served, and consequently they won't get worfed as much.
- Jossed. Her father's name is Bow Hothoof. He looks exactly like an older version of "Rainbow Blaze". This troper thinks that "Rainbow Blaze" (who was never named in show and only shows up in a blurry flashback) is actually Bow, using a generic model. When Bow shows up in the present time in season 7, he was just given a background character to main character makeover/unique model. It's also possible that "Rainbow Blaze" is an uncle or something like that (as Rainbow's hair color is definitely a family trait from her dad's side of the family). But he has the same coat color, same eye color, and the same hair as Bow.
- This is unlikely. Rainbow has NEVER shown to have any interest in him, and in fact she was annoyed when she first found out he showed up, BEFORE he started acting creepy toward her. Wishful thinking on his parents' part.
- Dear god, this is Jossed HARD in season 9. It's Jossed so hard it goes up to eleven. She finds him the most annoying person she has ever seen. She is fully aware he is obsessed with her in a creepy way (he doesn't actually care about or even like her...Rainbow is fully aware of what he wants and it makes her want to puke), and just being around him makes her nauseous. His presence bothers her so much that she doesn't even offer to be friends. The element of loyalty doesn't even want to be his friend, let alone anything more. That should say something. As for Fluttershy's parents thinking there's something there...well Rainbow and Fluttershy are Childhood Friends, they probably just assumed she would date Fluttershy's brother when they grew up. Parents expect and are naive about that sort of thing.
- Twilight was using Teleport Spam to keep Applejack's attention. A pony randomly appearing in front of you in a flash of light would be surprising enough to keep AJ awake and listening to Twi'.
- Here's why this is true https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muVfidujxRg
- Well consider how light a pegasus must be. If they can fly using wings that small and stand on clouds, the must have a very low density. Earth ponies, on the other hand, are much tougher and heavier than unicorns or pegasi, which has been all but outright stated in-series. Exactly how high Rainbow was launched was exaggerated for comic effect. She was really only launched onto Twilight's balcony on the other side of town, and only because she had fallen over on the platform and wasn't able to control her flight.
- The counterpoint to this is air resistance. Suppose Applejack weighs as much as a regular pony and Rainbow Dash weighs a negligible amount. Since they're on a see-saw, Rainbow Dash cannot go up faster than Applejack goes down, this in effect puts a cap on her initial launch speed. Now if her mass is very low and her initial velocity is limited, her Kinetic Energy and Momentum are consequently very low. However Rainbow Dash still has the surface area of a normal sized pony, meaning she'll experience drag similar to a normal pony, who aren't particularly aerodynamic. Thus air resistance would rapidly slow her down if she wasn't actively applying thrust. Since the drag force is broadly similar to a normal pony and her kinetic energy is significantly lower.
- Well consider how light a pegasus must be. If they can fly using wings that small and stand on clouds, the must have a very low density. Earth ponies, on the other hand, are much tougher and heavier than unicorns or pegasi, which has been all but outright stated in-series. Exactly how high Rainbow was launched was exaggerated for comic effect. She was really only launched onto Twilight's balcony on the other side of town, and only because she had fallen over on the platform and wasn't able to control her flight.
- Maybe the father is just some ex-coltfriend AJ had in the pony-version of high school. Either way, its unlikely Hasbro would approve of any hint of teenage pregnancy in the show.
- Applejack only seems to be in her early twenties in the show (in human years), and Apple Bloom seems to be about eleven or so, just by how she acts and talks. Unless ponies can reproduce very early, this is unlikely, though something Applejack might do.
- In Apple Family Reunion the shooting stars seem to imply that AJ, Big mac, and Apple Bloom's parents are dead. Word of god confirms that was their intention.
- Applejack only seems to be in her early twenties in the show (in human years), and Apple Bloom seems to be about eleven or so, just by how she acts and talks. Unless ponies can reproduce very early, this is unlikely, though something Applejack might do.
- Alternatively, Apple Bloom is Big Macintosh's daughter, from a previously relationship with a mare who may now be dead.
- But can you really see that happening to Big Macintosh?
- Another possibility is that Apple Bloom is the daughter of Big Macintosh AND Applejack, they're just telling her that their siblings in order to hide the fact that Applejack got pregnant at a really young age, and they were forced to get married. This would also account for the fact that Apple Bloom's coat is a combination of Big Mac and Applejack.
- You'd expect that someone else in the small town of Ponyville would tell her that her "big brother and sister" are actually married. Incest would be slightly easier to cover up from everyone.
- Open secret, which is why Miss Cheerilee was extremely uncomfortable with the shipping of her and Big Mac by the CMC.
- Alternatively, Applejack is just barely old enough to be Apple Bloom's mother. Being at a time in her life when she was experiencing a lot of confusing changes and emotions, the only one she had to turn to was Macintosh. Hilarity ensues and Applejack discovers that she is pregnant. Her 'leaving' the farm was so that she could quietly have the baby, and come back with a new 'sister.' Since the age gap isn't great enough to be suspicious, (there is a similar age gap between Rarity and Sweetie Belle) they could pretend that Apple Bloom is their sister because that will allow her to have a normal life.
- They wanted an unattached Applejack for a broader appeal.
- Like the above WMG, Apple Bloom was going to be their daughter.
- ALSO. Luna is best pony. Applejack is best pony. Quid pro quo.
- But Newton never said anything about an apple, that was an example someone made later. Which means... Applejack doesn't really exist!
- This right here is my favorite Applejack WMG. I really hope it's canon.
- The fact, that in Polish dub they share the same voice actress, probably adds fuel to that theory.
- She was obviously made by other ponies for manual farm labor that no one else wants to do. That's why she's the element of honesty. Unless programmed to, a robot is basically incapable of lying. The episode where she was "tired" was obviously a malfunction in her processor that made her work and work at the expense of rest, which even a robot needs because most machines need to replenish their fuel reserves somehow. I'm guessing that AJ is solar powered and needs to "sleep" out in the sun to recharge her batteries.
- Alternatively, their surname comes first, meaning that Jack and Bloom are actually their last names, and that Big Macintosh and Granny also have the first name Apple.
- Her real name is Jacqueline Apples.
- On the other hand, this could be related to parents who refer to a child as 'your kid' when they misbehave and 'mine/ours' only when they are being good.
- Going along with a WMG above about Applejack being Apple Bloom's mother, then this could be an unconcious acknowledgement that they are not actually siblings.
- But that would mean Applejack has another sibling in Manehattan who was never mentioned.
- ...a really awesome earth pony who's the best cowpony ever and goes on to become the best farmer in Equestria.
- ...two strange creatures called humans who live in a garden and are told by their god not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. There's other stuff after that, but the plot got away from her.
- That is now my favourite WMG ever.
- ...a girl falling in love with a sparkly vampire. She got the title from somepony she knows.
- ...glaring spelling errors and typos, one-dimensional wooden characters and plot-holes big enough to drive a wagon through.
- The big dragging am winning again! I am the greetest! Now, I am leaving Equestria for no raisin!
- Wait does this mean Applejack is Tara Gillespie?
So yeah, Applejack is the new Neville Longbottom. Hopefully this means Applejack gets to pull a sword out of her hat.
- One of her focus episodes is called "Leap of Faith"...
- Furthermore, her relation to the Pie line might come from Granny Smith's side of the family. That would explain how Granny Smith figured out the seemingly-nonsensical methods to producing great Zap Apple jam.
- I mean, come on! Applejack and Rarity had more shipping moments than Applejack and Rainbow (both in the main show and Equestria Girls). The scene where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking in reality looked like this.
- This is almost necessarily true. Her accent is known as a Trans-Atlantic (Tidewater) or Mid-Atlantic accent, which simply does not occur in nature. It can develop if you spend a lot of time living in both the eastern American seaboard and in various parts of Europe, but most commonly it is taught specifically as a way to sound high-class.
- A continuation from this idea. We will meet her parents, and they will have some painfully hick accent that she's desperately tried to escape from.
- Or she just wanted to sound sophisticated.
- Assuming that she's from Ponyville too, I can imagine her natural accent being similar to Applejack's. Maybe that's why they didn't get along at first.
- And now we've seen her parents, her mother sounds like she's from Long Island and her father sounds like he's from Wisconsin
- A continuation from this idea. We will meet her parents, and they will have some painfully hick accent that she's desperately tried to escape from.
- Highly likely, given that Sweetie Belle doesn't share the accent.
- Keep in mind Rarity has a song actress
- She can't do an accent? Then again, people often lose their accents when singing.
- Rarity mainly lacked her accent as a Filly, when at that age your accent should more-or-less be set. She also looses her accent way too much to not be intentional.
- As I mentioned on the headscratchers page, her friends seem to be aware of this too. In the imagine spots in A Dog and Pony show, it seems the rest of the cast imagine her with a slightly more exaggerated accent than normal, such a caricature suggests they find it a bit silly.
- Well, judging by her parents, this seems pretty much Confirmed.
- In response to everyone above; What does where her accent is from have to do with its legitimacy?
- Mid-Atlantic accents are very, very rarely a natural accent. You learn it later in life, after you've acquired an accent.
- In "She's All Yak", Rarity trains Yona to have a fancier accent in order to become more "pony". This theory is all but officially confirmed.
Alternatively…
- This is plausible - a lot of people who go to college or boarding school out of state find themselves losing their accent or gaining the one from where they now live. I don't see why it would be different with ponies.
- Since she couldn't be sure that Rainbow Dash would be able to pull it of, calling this a brilliant plan is somehow inadequate.
- Gambit Pileup? There's no guarantees that she could get up to Cloudsdale, get herself entered in the tournament, or that her wings would burn up (if that even WAS part of her plan). I think it was more along the lines of… "she entered the contest to help her friend shine, she took so long in the dressing booth because she only knows how to make herself look fabulous, and really needed to try looking as she does." It may also be that when she flew up, all she was planning to do was pretend to faint, counting on RD's loyalty to come save her. The wings disintegrating may not have been part of her plan, and the entire thing felt like some kind of Indy Ploy from the time she agreed to enter the contest.
- Why would Rarity even think that desperation would allow Dash to perform a Rainboom? They don't hear about the circumstances of the first Rainboom until later, and even if Rainbow saved her, that wouldn't guarantee a Sonic Rainboom.
- Do Want an episode about!
- A. She's got a Mid-Atlantic accent, a hybrid of American and British used by people trying to sound "cultured", and she didn't have the accent as a filly. B. She was trying to say "wallow in self-pity" but wasn't exactly in her right mind. C. She's a fashionista.
- Will you stop trying to Joss all these theories!?
- A. Why does no one else have a Transatlantic accent?
- Because it's a fake accent that you need to apply yourself. No-one else has a reason to.
- Will you stop trying to Joss all these theories!?
- Ponyville is a fashionista?
- Maybe her eyesight just isn't that bad, so she can still see things okay. She has problems with fine details, which is why she wears her glasses when she works. Furthermore, it's a lot harder to make glasses for ponies that don't fall off, on account of the height differential between eyes and ears, which is why she doesn't wear them when she's out and about.
- Rarity has perfect eyesight, but wears glasses while she works because she feels more focused that way.
- Mh, let's see… most members of the Apple Family have their family name positioned before their personal name (Apple Jacknote , Apple Bloom, etc.). If we assume that this is common practice in Equestria and not just an eccentricity of the Apple family, shouldn't Rarity's full name be Sweetie Rarity?
- There's not really any evidence that this is a common practice in Equestria. It seems to be an eccentricity, as you put it, of the Apple clan to have apple-themed names as family markers rather than a specific family name; after all, many members of the Apple clan, such as Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Braeburn, Red Gallant, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious, do not have the word "apple" in their names at all, while Baked Apples has Apples as a last name. The norm seems to be that if there is any kind of surname at all, it is a family name, as with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, or as when Twilight is referred to as "Miss Sparkle" by one of the test administrators in "Cutie Mark Chronicles"; in other words, Equestrian nomenclature typically, although obviously not always, follows modern American norms and expectations.
- I always thought Rarity's surname was Carousel, for Carousel Boutique, and thus her sister was Sweetie Belle Carousel. Then again, that's not much justification, is it?
- Well, in the planning stages of the show, it was originally called Carousel Boutique because, in that plan, Rarity designed and made saddles and bridles like you see on carousel horses. But since they changed that, maybe her last name IS carousel. It sounds good as Sweetie Belle's last name.
- It's possible, but we see a lot of ponies with two names so it's hard to tell which ones are using their full name and which ones are only using first names that happen to have two words.
- There seems to be a certain amount of fanon going around that Rarity's father's name is "Magnum Fantastic" because of his glorious Selleck 'stache. So, Rarity Fantastic and Sweetie Belle Fantastic. And Mrs. Fantastic.
- Maybe ponies don't have surnames because all of their first names are so unique? They don't need surnames. Keep in mind that the ONLY family we ever hear called "the [blank] family" is the Apples, and that includes Aunt and Uncle Orange and Hayseed Turnip Truck (and in the toyline a pony with peaches as her theme name), who do sing that they're part of the "Apple Family" in "Apple Family Reunion". "Apple Family" simply means that most of the family is in the business of selling apples, not their surname or whatever. Rarity's family is not the "Belle" family nor the "Carousel" family (which not every store is named after the proprietor; it was probably named because the exterior looks like a carousel), nor is it the "Fantastic" family. She's Rarity and "Rarity's family". Some ponies just have two first names, and some don't, just like in real life, except for ponies, two first names is far more common than one which makes Rarity a, you guessed it, rarity. Just because humans have surnames doesn't mean ponies work the same way, especially when you consider that IRL horses don't usually get their owner's surname and often have two first names. It's a tiny bit of Fridge Brilliance.
- In "Where the Apple Lies", we learn that Spoiled Rich's name was Spoiled Milk, so yes, sometimes they do follow surnaming conventions like ours. The Cakes probably did the same thing. Equestria seems to be a melting pot of what to do with the family name: put it before, put it after, leave it off entirely; replace it when you get married, leave it as it is.
- Though I agree with the above, I like to think Rarity's full name is 'Fair Rarity'.
- That or she hadn't finished it yet/could not for the life of her get it right and was at home being melodramatic as she does. Exactly like with the nest Twilight made in Winter Wrap-Up. Because it was too fantastic to make properly, much like a Final Fantasy outfit can be to certain people. She just made it too awesome to actually make.
- I'd like to imagine that she designed most of the costumes worn in the episode. She made so many that by the time she finished her own costume, she became tired, fell asleep, and missed the whole event. By the time she awoke, it was morning, but Sweetie Belle left her a bag of candy.
- The financial side does come up plenty of times. In "Suited for Success", her friends talk about how the fashion show could get her a lot of business. When the fashion show results in disaster, she talks about how her business is ruined, not how it hurts her status as a fashion designer. (though that does come up) It's possible that she makes plenty of money from the dresses so doesn't usually have to worry about finances. And while finances don't come up as often, it's likely that Rarity cares about the art of the craft along with making money. And unlike Applejack, she doesn't have other people who depend on her business.
- This is supported by the fact that Rarity found the smells of the cooking very pleasant—"divine" was the word she chose—while she was still lying in bed, half-asleep. As soon as she smelled a little smoke, and raced downstairs to see that it was Sweetie Belle doing the cooking, she decided breakfast must have been ruined, even though it was probably only slightly burnt. The bubbling bowl of charcoal that Sweetie Belle called toast was probably just perfectly good oatmeal that had been slightly charred on the very top only; Sweetie Belle was probably being ironical when she said "toast." After all, her sister had just guessed that something that was obviously oatmeal was applesauce, and Sweetie Belle probably thought that Rarity was making a joke, and that she herself was playing along. Because if Sweetie Belle were so catastrophically bad a cook as to turn bread into a bubbling bowl of black goop while trying to make toast, there is no way she could have produced the pleasant scents that Rarity identified as pancakes and spiced warm apple cider.
- Well, there's also the common fan shipping of RariJack...
- Sweet and Elite shows the difficult balance in keeping her hometown friends and connections while developing connections with those that can buy her work and advance her career.
- Sisterhooves Social, while focused on Sweetie Belle, shows how an artist can get inspired by the most random of things like an organized drawer or a shrunken sweater.
- Green Isn't Your Color, shared with Fluttershy, shows how an artist can get envious of another's success, and how acceptance over envy looks to be the better choice.
- A Dog and Pony Show warns how if you try to steal another artist's efforts, that same artist will make your life a living hell as hilarious as possible.
- Suited for Success already had an interpretation before the assumed above theories. It was that fan-annotated MLP FIM episode on Youtube where it shows the different types of Executive Meddling an artist may have to confront in making their dreams concrete. It showed that while an artist should work and compromise to make his/her friends happy, the sacrifices should not go so far as to make the art suffer and take the artist for granted.
- Look Before You Sleep was more about personal relationships than professional artistry. Although if you were looking for one concerning artistry, Rarity's talent in topiary contributed to cleaning up the mess in the library, leading to never underestimate the skill set of an artist.
- Well, Rarity is a jeweler herself (her designs often include jewellery in one form or other; plus, she made a necklace with Spike's heart-shaped ruby), but she fairly often pays directly with gemstones, or even gives them out as tips.
- His crush could also shift to Sweetie Belle. They were dancing at the wedding, after all.
- Unlikely, she did pretty well in "Sweet and Elite" as long as no one knew she was from Ponyville.
- Not to mention she has a lot of Background ponies crushing on her, or at the very least she's able to charm them into helping her out.
- Pretty unlikely, Discord describe Rarity as beautiful despite his Trickster motif he probably wasn't being sarcastic. She also seduced the nerdy pony into give her asparagus and many ponies seem to flirt openly with her (I.E. Pony Joe) there where a few other case I can't remember. Also Rartiy's design is more aesthetically feminine then her friends(i.e. noticeable eyeliner). As for her being chosen over Fluttershy. Shy was a very popular model at the time. Imagine if you saw (insert famous celebrity or your favorite Musical Artist ect.) you would pick them out of the crowd and probably ignore an attractive person.Also, considering how much time and effort go into her outfits and how many toiletries she has and her prissy character she must be at the very least somewhat attractive.
- Not to mention she has a lot of Background ponies crushing on her, or at the very least she's able to charm them into helping her out.
- Sisterhooves Social shows that Rarity has about the same build as Applejack. While that hardly qualifies her as hideous, she doesn't have the delicate supermodel build that Fluttershy is supposed to have.
- It's more that Rarity is the girl who works a lot to get her looks(make up, expensive hair product and stylist) and would look "plain" without it, while Fluttershy is more naturally pretty, and using make up is a total stunner.
- Yet she's shown looking great when she does get dirty and has a dripping wet mane at the end of "Sisterhooves Social."
- Jossed as of "Sisterhooves Social".
- Course, it could just be a well-hidden secret that everyone sans Sweetie is aware of.
- Jossed as of "Sisterhooves Social".
- Jossed, but the reverse is true in Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity: Charity has a green mane, but at one point dyes it purple, while Rarity has a purple mane, but at one point wears a green wig!
- Rarity knows martial arts, not as a hobby, but for self defense. After being captured by the Diamond Dogs, she was worried about what would happen if she was ponynapped by someone who was not easy to manipulate. So she went to self defense classes.
- Even in the pilot, she attacked that manticore right away. That implies that she's been practicing since before the start of the series, and she certainly seems to enjoy a fight, even if she doesn't start them.
- There was also a possible Ship Tease with Fancy Pants. Possible Relationship Upgrade incoming?
Alternatively...
- Oddly, Spike might be better for social climbing. As well as traveling in all the same social circles as Twilight, his more social nature means that he actually tries to make connections. Additionally, he's actually on speaking terms with the fashion bigwig Hoity Toity.
In "The Cutie Mark Chronicles," we see her designing costumes for a school play. One of the foals on stage is clearly recognizable as a young Cheerilee. Now, if we assume that teachers in Equestria have to go through roughly the same sort of credential process that teachers in the United States do, Cheerilee would have to be at least 24 (human) years old. Now, Cheerilee might be a bit older than Rarity while still attending the same school (foals seem to look roughly the same until they suddenly become young adults), but that would still likely put Rarity in her early 20's. Additionally, of the Mane Six, Rarity is the only one who owns her own home and business. (The Apple family as a whole seems to own and run Sweet Apple Acres.)
Not that it makes any real difference in the show, but it might make some of the Rule 34 stuff a bit less squicky.
- Unlikely - Fluttershy is clearly the oldest of the group, just based on physical appearance. During their flashbacks to their cutie mark stories, Fluttershy is very obviously much larger than all the others, and now she's the same size as everyone else.
- As for the business and home, well...
- Twilight owns and runs the Ponyville library.
- Applejack may not OWN Sweet Apple Acres, but she's fairly obviously the manager of their business.
- Rainbow Dash owns a cloud mansion as a home. She's also the captain of the weather team - now, we don't know what "captain" actually means, but that is not an average job.
- Fluttershy owns the cottage and obviously has some kind of business in order to feed and home literally hundreds of pets. Her actions and the fact that she has stocks of pills in the episode with Celestia's phoenix suggest she may be a vet.
- In fact, the only of the mane six who DOESN'T own their own home or business is Pinkie.
- I agree at either Rarity or Fluttershy is the eldest of the Mane Six, and how old Cheerilee is in Rarity's flashback is the crux.
- Rarity has always struck me as the kind of person that would act more mature than she is. A lot of her image is a front. Even aside from her accent of dubious origin, she wears fake eyelashes and doesn't hesitate to manipulate the truth about her friends to look good. Really, there are a lot of times where her facade of maturity cracks, showing her to just as childish, if not more so, as the rest of the cast. Saying that she is older than the rest of the manes, is not really supported by her actions.
- The same could also be said for her downplaying her age, the same way women hoping to embrace the beauty of their youth try shaving a couple of years off their final tally. They often emulate youthful behaviors and surround themselves with younger friends. I could very well see this being the case for Rarity too (if she really is as beautiful as how she is treated then she could easily pass for being the same age as the Mane 6).
- Don't they seem too young?
- This troper noted that during Suite and Elite, Fancy Pants was presented as a father-figure role (and was very squicked at the possibility of them being shipped that episode). Fancy Pants at least, appears to be significantly older than Rarity.
- Picture it this way: You're a songwriter. You can find inspiration and go through the process of writing music all you want, but when you finally start to record - or maybe perform on stage - that's when you find it's all worthwhile and that making music is who you are. Seeing her creations on stage is probably what made it click that fashion design was Rarity's special talent. And besides, "seeing clothing being modelled" is not in anyway definable as a talent.
- You're basing this on Tertiary Sexual Characteristics? Which are just an animation hint in case Viewers Are Morons?
- It seems more likely she just plucks her natural eyelashes and wears fakes to replace them - sort of like how some women shave their eyebrows and draw them in.
- Anyways it might explain why she became a tailor in a society where nearly everypony just goes about naked. Picked up a passion for dresses before the transition.
- Additionally, her "gem" cutie mark bears no resemblance to any jewel so far seen except the one in Celestia's necklace, and its design (which somewhat resembles a sun) appears on the leaves of the Tree of Harmony in the proximity of those of Celestia, Luna and Twilight. This and a preponderance of other visual cues and thematic oddities pointing in this direction are collected here (or, in briefer form, here and partly in the author's other videos).
- There's a pretty gaping flaw in that. Rarity herself was trapped doing weather duty when she got RD's cutie mark, which by that logic would imply Rainbow's special talent is making weather patterns, when it's quite obviously not. It's more that Rarity and AJ had to do tasks that Rainbow and Rarity could actually help them with and fix so they could remember who they really are. You can't exactly fix an inability to find gems and remember who you are, especially since practically any unicorn can probably learn the spell. It's also plausible that AJ, as an Earth Pony, might not have any (or much) trouble gem-hunting. However, AJ doesn't have any sense of high-class fashion and you can raise a dress shop from the grave with good designs. Likewise, you can't fix somepony's inability to race or breach the sound barrier, but you can fix their really bad "weather patterns". There's also the fact that they were all stuck doing each other's job, not special talent. Fluttershy and AJ are the only ones whose special talent directly IS her job. Pinkie's talent is throwing parties, but her day job is that of an entertainer and occasional baker. Rainbow's talent is racing/performing Sonic Rainbooms but her day job is head of weather patrol. Twilight's special talent is magic, and her job is librarian. Rarity's special talent is gemstone finding, with her job being a seamstress.
- That might actually help explain Rarity's Emergency Edible Boots.
Beyond that, Rarity was with Cheerilee at all times while she was training, and thus had no displayed time where she trained. So, when she shows up fully garbed in wrestling attire to aid Cheerilee in a tag-team match, I have to wonder where this ability came from. The obvious answer is that she already had background and training in professional wrestling; there's no other way she'd have the ability to believably perform.
Not to mention, how did Rarity manage to slip through the bookers? While Cheerliee may have slipped through them because she looked so much like her sister, where's no way a professional booker would let anyone who couldn't demonstrate some ability in the ring to pass through. So how did she do it? Easy: She has contacts, which she used to secure a spot on the card.
Cherry couldn't have used her contacts, since any contacts in the business are unlikely to put an untrained individual in the ring even as a favor for a friend. Therefore, the only option is that Rarity has contacts of her own, which she would have had to have gained from previously performing.
But that doesn't answer why Rarity would even be a wrestler in the first place. After all, at the start of the comic, she displayed disinterest in the match that was happening at that time. While that is true, it's entirely possible that she didn't want to watch because she'd left the business. As to why she'd be wrestler I can only guess, but she does possess the hammy charisma required and has at several points demonstrated that she is physically inclined.
This may have led her into the business at one point or another. She also may have been attracted by the money. As to why she left, I couldn't say. Maybe she was injured, maybe she decided to retire early to focus on her aspirations as a designer.
- I mean, come on! Applejack and Rarity had more shipping moments than Applejack and Rainbow (both in the main show and Equestria Girls). The scene where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking in reality looked like this.
Like Twilight and Sunset, Starlight was a student of magic, (though not under Celestia I imagine,) but her talents always seemed to be second-best in her eyes. She tried to make friends, but finding ponies who could do amazing things that she either struggled with or couldn't do at all made for one bitter little unicorn. So in her town, there is no-one who could show her up again.
It's unclear what Starlight's true intentions were, but her dialogue about Twilight's cutie mark being useful would suggest it either isn't 'equality across Equestria' or wasn't actually going to stop there. Perhaps she intends to use the acquired cutie marks for herself. And as she escaped at the end of 'Cutie Map', maybe she still can…
In addition, she might try to outperform herself when she returns. Meaning she might try a spell to equallize all of Equestria at once. And for good measure she might even try to absorb all the aquired cutie marks into herself, only to realise after dominating and gloating over the Mane 6 for a short while (4-5 minutes), that there is something deeply wrong within her.
Maybe in her past, she was shunned for her special talent and fascination with soul magic (which is hypothetically illegal), even when she has proven to be a very magically potent Unicorn. This would lead to her resenting the idea of special talents as a whole, and founded the town as a way to try to do away with them altogether. As Magical Mystery Cure as well as Cutie Map has shown, Cutie Marks have at least some connection to a pony's soul. Maybe the Cutie Mark removing spell that Starlight cast was a spell that she had developed as part of her talent in soul magic.
But, if her philosophy is any indication, Starlight thinks other ponies will never really befriend with her if she don't give up all of that talent.
It sounds very similar to the situation that Twilight faced back in "Boast Busters", when she was afraid her friends would hate her if she displayed her real power. Maybe Starlight's talent did indeed alienate her from her peers. Maybe she was snubbed or even bullied over her accomplishments and decided to start hiding her gift.
The rejection of her talent caused Starlight to suffer from Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome and she decided that if she had give up her talent, then other ponies should give up their talents too, wanting or not. She created a spell that can remove Cutie Marks and block talents, but since she never removed her own Cutie Mark, she never actually stopped suffering CMFIS.
- This sort of works given that Starlight turned out to be a victim of one of the things Apple Bloom was afraid of - that her friends getting their cutie mark would separate them somehow.
Starlight then decided to try her luck with pegasi, since that meant no magic at all to compete over. She made friends with Tumble Free, a bold and charismatic pegasus who was very much into aerobatics. Starlight loved watching Tumble Free perform and would always cheer her on. However, Tumble Free always degraded magic whenever Starlight brought it up, calling it a "lame cheat". Starlight tried to keep from doing magic or bringing it up around her friend. When Tumble Free was set to be in an aerobatics competition, Starlight decided to surprise her friend by casting a spell to give herself wings so she could attend the event. Instead of being flattered, Tumble Free insulted Starlight's wings (she was secretly jealous) and told Starlight off for using magic to give herself wings she didn't really deserve. Starlight flew home without even seeing the event.
Starlight made friends with another pegasus called Prism Dart who was a quick flier, but not as good at aerobatics and not nearly as arrogant as Tumble Free. Prism Dart was actually impressed by magic and would often cheer Starlight on. Everything might've been great if Prism hadn't met Tumble Free. Tumble Free convinced Prism Dart that she should only be friends with other pegasi and ditch the unicorn. She offered to teach Prism better aerobatics, on the condition that she stopped being friends with Starlight. Prism Dart avoided Starlight soon after. The friendship was over before Starlight even realized it.
Starlight thought earth ponies might be more down to earth. So, she made friends with a filly named Peanut Brittle. Peanut seemed nice and was a lot of fun. However, Starlight started to notice that random items would go missing whenever Peanut visited her home. Peanut would claim she had no idea what happened. When Starlight found missing items at Peanut's home, Peanut would claim it fell into her saddle bag by mistake and give it back. When Starlight caught Peanut shoplifting, she told Peanut's mother who grounded the filly, gave back everything she stole and apologized for her daughter. Even after the grounding was up, Peanut had to go to after school therapy sessions. This caused Peanut Brittle to resent Starlight and no longer be her friend.
Starlight then decided to make friends with Key Lime, a pony who was sort of the class clown. The two loved hanging out and laughing together and trading secrets. Then, Starlight found out Key Lime was telling other ponies her secrets and making fun of her behind her back. Starlight got sick of the teasing real quick and decided this was it, no more friends. What's more, she realized that many of her friendships ended over inequality.
The two ponies she's most likely to rekindle a friendship with are Sun Burst and Peanut Brittle. Sun Burst is now a professor at Canterlot University and occasionally wonders about the filly he used to know. Peanut Brittle now realizes she had a problem and really needed professional help. She now lives on a peanut farm where she makes honest money and now wishes she could both thank and apologize to Starlight Glimmer. As for the others: Blue Moon married a wealthy stallion and has two foals who are practically raised by a nanny. Blue Moon is a bored house mare with a small group of "friends" who are just as shallow and self-centered as her. Tumble Free is a professional aerialist who would rather have fans than friends. Prism Dart is Tumble Free's valet and personal lackey, not knowing how to be anything else. Key Lime is currently in hiding due to a string of firecrackers laid beneath the chair of the Prince of Yakastonia, whereabouts unknown.
Does that mean Starlight is a ...TIME LORD?!?
- It was both of the bullies. If they hadn't been making fun of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash wouldn't have needed to stand up for her.
- No, it was Rainbow Dash. If she hadn't stood up for Fluttershy, the race wouldn't have happened in the first place.
- Actually, it was Fluttershy. If she hadn't been there, she wouldn't have been made fun of by the bullies.
- Really, it was summer flight camp. If it hadn't existed, all the pegasi there would've been in different places.
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc?
- No, it was Rainbow Dash. If she hadn't stood up for Fluttershy, the race wouldn't have happened in the first place.
- Rainbow was being loyal towards Fluttershy by "defending her honor"
- Applejack had to be honest with her feelings and realize she belonged at the farm
- Fluttershy helped out the scared animals by being kind to them
- Rarity was generous because she was single-hoofedly sewing costumes for the school play
- Also she found a whole rock full of probably valuable gems and used them to make costumes she made others look nice rather than hoarding them or using them herself.
- Pinkie wanted to spread laughter to her family by throwing them a party
- And Twilight was just plain magical
- And, because Friendship is magic, she also met her first friend, Spike.
- Honesty: The wielder of Honesty can't consciously lie, but that doesn't prevent her from misjudging the situation and giving promises she can't keep (like in "Applebuck Season").
- Doubtful, she gave the most convincing lie in "Party of One". Unless you think she sort of botched that lie too.
- Look again; nothing she says in the entire episode is actually untrue, she's just selective with the truth. Not only that, Pinkie Pie clearly had the hardest time believing her excuse (which wasn't even technically a lie, and also quite in-character for Pinkie Pie, since she conversely buys Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy's "house-sitting for a vacationing bear" excuse without a second thought) if the intense stare-downs are any indication; Applejack came very close to cracking.
- Doubtful, she gave the most convincing lie in "Party of One". Unless you think she sort of botched that lie too.
- Kindness: The downside of Kindness is, of course, indecisiveness and shyness. (Maybe this point needs some further thought.)
- As of "The Best Night Ever", the downside of Fluttershy's Kindness is now proven to be a strong psychological need to be loved by the beings she cares about. *shudder*
- Laughter: As we have seen, the wielder of Laughter is prone to mental instability as soon as no one laughs with her.
- She also seems to have trouble taking things seriously.
- Generosity: In order to give, you first have to acquire. That's why Rarity is always in search for more gems. So yes, paradoxically, the downside of Generosity is Greed.
- Loyalty: Rainbow Dash's loyalty is permanently put to the test. For example, she dreams of joining another group (the Wonderbolts) that would most probably occupy all of her time. And what about her relationship to her old friend Gilda? The downside of loyalty is that you can't prevent it to be constantly challenged.
- Discord took full advantage of this one. The downside to loyalty is when two conflicting loyalties come to a head (The Mane Six vs. Cloudsdale in this case.)
- Magic: Hm, that's a tough one. Can't come up with anything right now.
- Inability to believe anything that she can't explain, maybe?
- The downside of Magic appears to be Social Awkwardness. It's hard to say how exactly those two things tie together though.
- Remember, Magic is also Friendship. And with Friendship comes the fear of doing something that might upset or offend your friends, losing them FOREVER — hence, social awkwardness. It feeds into what held Twilight back from challenging Trixie, or her inner turmoil over keeping a secret she saw tearing two of her friends apart — and then there was how she wanted to throw an absolutely perfect slumber party, and wanted to help out so badly during Winter Wrap-Up...
- A more fitting one. Twilight is often the Only Sane Pony and the one smoothing the group together. This means she's doomed to have to act as the Mediator and bear the burden of having to settle disputes from her friends and make choices over them (as in Ticket Master).
- "And Magic makes it all complete"?
- Think about things more akin to the theological argument that overabundance of a virtue is just as much a vice as a lack of the trait. Applejack is Honest, but Honest to the point where keeping the truth harms everypony more than taking back her word openly did in Applebuck Season. Fluttershy's Kindness makes her a great friend, but it leads her to either holding even the slightest criticism in or letting an overwhelming flood of critique out on request (see her discussion of Rarity's dress for her). When she tries to be kind to animals that want to sleep, it leads to a massive negative feedback loop. Pinkie Pie's obsession with Fun exhausts others (at the Gala) and leaves her in a very bad state when left alone (in Party of One). Rarity's Generosity leads to her giving away too much in Suited For Success, throwing her ideas, time, and a big chance away to fit the mildest desires of others. Rainbow Dash's Loyalty makes her fall apart when competing with friends, and prevents her from realizing when a friend is being mean. Twilight Sparkle's interest in Magic leads her to try solving problems with magic that should not be (see Winter Wrap Up), get overwhelmed when such doesn't work (see Feeling Pinkie Keen), and leap to explanations involving magic when she shouldn't (see how she judged a book in Zecora's first episode).
- So wait, the Mane Cast are Alphas? Best theory ever.
- There's a guess above that says that Twilight has Asperger Syndrome, which is a ball I'll roll with. I'm gonna rate her a 1, since she hasn't done anything that could hurt somepony. Also gonna say she has no trigger.
- I guess it is time to rate her 5, or even, 6. the compilation video of her being mentally unstable is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9ZRTIAA5g
- AND that episode does establish her personal trigger: the fear of failing and disappointing her teacher, Celestia.
- There's also one that says Rarity has OCD. I'll roll with that one too and say the unicorns got the long end of the stick. Again, rated 1 with no trigger.
- Applejack had that time she overworked herself and became sleep deprived. I don't know what to call this other than being too bullheaded for her own good. She probably wouldn't be hard to help if ponies caught on and stopped asking her to do stuff. It's also probably not a stretch to say her trigger (overly competitive) is not something you could easily pull on accident if you watch your tongue. I'll rate Applejack a 3, since she never did anything bad on purpose, but still did over propel that pegasus and practically poison plenty of ponies.
- Pinkie Pie is very obviously weird, but not so obvious until it rears its head is how reliant she is on her friends. When she got it in her mind that her friends didn't like her anymore, she completely snapped and made surrogate friends out of a bunch of stuff. Add that with the hostility she acted with when Rainbow Dash showed up, and I think we've got a pony with the potential to be legitimately dangerous. I'm gonna give her a 5, with a hard trigger unless she gets panicky like she did.
- I think that Pinkie Pie is more of a danger to herself' than to others when depressed; she's never shown honestly violent tendencies, and I'd say her reaction to Rainbow Dash showing up was less "bloodthirst" than it was thinly-veiled bitterness and resentment. What's much more likely is that Pinkie Pie would become a complete recluse, cutting off all contact with the world and perhaps negelcting to take care of herself.
- Fluttershy cannot stand the idea of animals not liking her. The way she acts when this happens is pretty damn unnerving, and it seems like she could accidentally hurt somepony over this fury. Fluttershy gets a 3, since it doesn't seem like she'd do anything bad out of actual malice. Her trigger is probably hard to pull, since animals (save the ones at the Gala) generally do like her.
- Rainbow Dash seems to rely on her ego to remain stable. When her ego was damaged in Sonic Rainboom, she had quite a panic attack. I think she'd be just as if not more demure than Fluttershy if her ego were eviscerated. I'll give her a 2, with a varying trigger (Rarity pulled it on accident, but it'd take a braggart capable of beating her to pull it on purpose) since it seems like she would hurt herself after a while.
- Rainbow doesn't actually have as big of an ego as it seems. She's a lot more complex than that. Her greatest fear is actually failure. Rainbow has an extreme lack of self confidence. She has self respect, she doesn't experience self loathing, but she does have a lot of issues with self confidence. What seems to be ego, is actually false bravado. It's a facade she puts up in public, and it's her way of trying to give herself confidence when she doesn't actually have it. This gradually starts to go away when she starts to gain legitimate confidence in herself. Rainbow is actually a totally different person on the inside than what her facade might imply. You see signs of her true inner personality all the time, but mainly when she is alone...she is kind, caring, quiet, and emotional.
- I'd bump her up to a 3, given that she moves with enough speed that there's a potential for her to cause, at the very least, a great deal of property damage were she to crash in the wrong place.
- You want to know why they're all such colorful (but potentially dangerous) nuts? They're time lords! We've even seen past regenerations of three of them: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Just look at them in the G3 videos. The same, but different.
Now, we know Fluttershy is the oldest of the ponies, and when the events of the sonic rainboom took place, she seemed like she was starting puberty, so i'll just say she's the oldest for now.
As for Applejack, we know that she had enough age to be allowed to go to live with a relative by her own choice. However, we know she was both a late bloomer (last on her class to get a cutie mark) yet younger than Apple Bloom when she left (Apple Bloom still obviously a Elementrary school child, and I would not say older than say 4th grade, so that restricts the age span between 6/2 or 10/3.1/3 age). Now, I'll assume a 9/3.0 age when she left, and that she probably spend a lot more of time that it was showed on the flashback with their Aunt and Uncle Orange. Let's say she lasted 1 Year/4 Months, so when the sonic rainboom happened she was 10/3.1/3 years.
Now, Rarity Seems to be a similar age to Applejack or Fluttershy. As an adult, she seems to be one of the more mature ones (her NeatFreakness and occacional hamminess being a permanent aspect of her personality. Also note that despite Sweetie Belle's accidents related to her clumsiness, she takes it quite well. And in fact, she's quite supportive with her and the Cutie Mark Crussaders). Meanwhile as a filly, she was already old enough for be starting her own business (or at least being the one in charge of the school dresses) it seemed like she had being doing it for quite some time already, so I'll say, and since it's probably in the middle school/trimester year(more details on Twilight's guess) I guess she was 11/3.2/3 years old by then).
Now, as For Pinkie pie it has been stated that she's 1 year younger than Fluttershy. However, when most people talk about age differences, they tend to make big roundups, gennerally towards the lower number, so 1 year may be something between 9 months to 1 year and 9 months, in this case, I'm taking the wider option and say 1.7 human years and 5 pony years) and giving pinkie an age of 8/2.3 years and Fluttershy 13/4.1/ years, a good age for a girl starting puberty.
Rainbow Dash Was Starting on the Equestria's Junior Flyers Camp, I'll just take that as first grade of elementary school, 6/2 years.
And Finally, Twilight Sparkle. We know that when the events of the sonic rainboom happened, she was on the middle of her entrance exam, so I'll take it as that she was not on Elementary school yet. If you ask me that how did she learn to read and write if she wasn't on school yet, think about this; she was going to enter not on any school, bun on a high performance academy directed by the Goddess/Empress herself, so it is expected that any candidate has enough potential her/himself, so Twi probably learned at home and read a lot of books before ingressing (She probably started studying since age 4/1.1/3 when she saw Celestia and entered to kindergarden).
Now, in many important academies, the process would start with quite some anticipation, I am asuming the School system of Equestria also has the same ratio as the pony:human age, so a scholar cycle would last 1 year/4 months, that being said, I'm assuming they did Twilight's audition 1 cycle before starting her first elementary school year, at Age 5/1.2/3)
So also assuming 4/12 year passed since them, the actual human ages of the ponies would be:
Fluttershy - 8.1/3 - 25 years
Rarity - 7.2/3 - 23(almost 24)
Applejack- 7.1/3 22
Pinkie Pie - 6.2/3 - 20 (barely)
Rainbow Dash - 18
Twilight Sparkle 17
Also I got another guesses of other characters:
Trixie - 8.2/3 26(barely)
Big Macintosh - 9 - 27 years(almost 28)(he was already on the puberty when applejack leaved the farm)
Zecora - 9.1/3-28
Apple Bloom - 2.2/3 ->9(almost 10)
Scootaloo - 2.2/3 ->9
Sweetie Belle 2.2/3 - 9 (barely)
As for the Princesses, I am thinking a 1:100 ratio, that originally, Luna was "only" 300/3 years younger than luna, but when she got corrupted/sealed, she got age locked, and didn't age until released, while Celestia spend those 1000/10 years on the normal world aging. I also want to point out that 1000 is not their age, but the time passed since Luna's rebellion. I think they both were "teenagers" by that time at ages 1700/1400 respectively, and in the present and due the age lock of Luna, their actual ages are 2700 and 1400 respectively.
- Nope, sounds like a load to me. Word of God clearly states that their ages are between 12-18 (In human years, since these ponies age like us{Also Word of God).
- Word of God said they're young adults, but they're mentally 12-18 (Depending on what works for the plot, I guess). Also that they develop different than humans.
- That's very close to my guess, but I guessed Twilight closer to 24, influenced by the Grad student idea.
- I don't think it's a good idea to assume ponies age faster than humans. Even though Pinkie Pie is a year younger than Fluttershy, they look about the same in age. That would not be possible if 1 pony year=4 human years.
- As far as age goes, there's no reason the rather advanced Equestrian ponies should have the same life spans as wild ponies. Average human life spans are about double the average lifespans of bonobos, probably our closest relatives among the primates.
- I'm curious as to why you place Fluttershy at an age that's older than the other mane ponies. You don't really explain why Fluttershy is the oldest other than "she seemed" like it.
- Fluttershy flat out states that she is a year older than Pinkie Pie in "Griffon The Brush Off", and we assume that Pinkie Pie is roughly the same age as everyone else (granted, Pinkie might simply be younger than the rest).
- I know, but in this WMG, Pinkie is almost a complete 2 human years younger than Fluttershy. You wouldn't round 1.7 human years down to one; you would round them up to two.
- Fluttershy flat out states that she is a year older than Pinkie Pie in "Griffon The Brush Off", and we assume that Pinkie Pie is roughly the same age as everyone else (granted, Pinkie might simply be younger than the rest).
- That's good. However, I would have ordered them:
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash: 23 or 24. If Fluttershy was held back a year in flight came (likely), she would have been in the same grade as Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie is a year younger than Fluttershy.
Applejack: 22 or 23. She seems to be a bit younger, though this may be because she's always been the "little sister" and has a desire to prove herself.
Twilight Sparkle: 19-21. I always imagined her as the youngest of the group (though she's the cleverest). At the very least, she recently graduated or is still enrolled in Celestia's school, but is old enough to be trusted with responsibilities like helping prepare for festivals. It would also make sense that this is her first GGG (Grand Galloping Gala) (in season one), because students 18 and under cannot attend.
Also, Big Macintosh is probably between three and seven years older than Applejack, or old enough that he is a wise figure and she looks up to him, but close enough in age that their childhoods overalapped. The Cutie Mark Crusaders actually seem like they're eleven or twelve to me, both in the way they act and in the way they speak. Zecora seemed older, between her thirties and fifties, to me.
- While it gives no solid numbers, The Cutie Mark Chronicles could be interpreted as establishing the relative ages of the cast to each other: Twilight being enrolled in the unicorn school (presumably start of secondary education), Pinkie is "a year younger" than Fluttershy (beyond that no other clues to age), Rarity working on a school production, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash being at Flight Camp at the same time (all three presumably during their secondary education, possibly all same age) and Applejack old enough her family would let her move out on her own without any obstacle (she'd been established prior as the last in her class to get a mark, so late or maybe just-post school here). Based on a couple of assumptions this gives a rough order of the Mane cast's ages.
- I assume that for pegasi, flight camp is a big part of their primary education. They probably do study some academics, but learning how to fly is most important, and I wouldn't be surprised if some, perhaps even most, never spent any time on the ground at all. Rarity looked like she was in a class similar to the CMC's, but with a different teacher.
- Since it has the words "summer" and "camp" in it, summer flight camp is probably something outside of the usual pony academics. Since all types of ponies seem to go to school together, pegasi probably learn flight outside of school. It also could be skill-based rather than age-based, so Fluttershy could be in the same class with Rainbow Dash and still be a couple years older.
- Fluttershy is noticeably lankier than the other five, but she could have just developed more quickly, or maybe she was just that way as a kid.
- Fluttershy's proportions in the flashback are more like those of an actual young horse than any of the other ponies. Make of that fact what you will.
- It's puberty. During those years, children of the same ages can vary drastically in height and other developments. You see this in Cheerilee's classroom. So the different proportions in the flashback don't necessarily say anything about the Mane 6's relative ages.
- We have to remember, Applejack said she was younger than the CMC's currently are when she got her cutie mark. I don't buy Pinkie Pie being younger than her, either. My own guess (Kitch) would be, oldest-to-youngest: Fluttershy -> Rarity -> Rainbow Dash -> Pinkie Pie -> Twilight Sparkle -> Applejack
- Applejack also said she was the last student in her class to earn their cutie mark. She makes a big point of it in "Call of the Cutie." She was probably just exaggerating when she said she was even littler than the CMC. So Applejack is probably the oldest, and Rainbow Dash (who said she was the first in her class with a cutie mark) is probably the youngest.
- Spike was born the day the Mane 6 got their cutie marks. The CMC are somewhat past the average age in which ponies get their cutie marks. So the average age of the Mane 6 equals Spike's age plus the CMC's age minus however far behind the norm the CMC are.
- By my best guess, that's 13+12-1=24.
- This troper is going with the following ages for the first episode. Not going to try to get into how much time has passed in 9 seasons of the show (a LOT less than 9 years) since then, so just their starting ages. Also, comparing them to horses is pretty ridiculous, since it's obvious that we are dealing with sentient alien beings (some of which have 6 limbs) from another planet. That's actually WORSE than saying humans and Klingons are the same thing. They have very few equine traits (hooves, which don't work like equine hooves, and an equine-ish tail). Limbs are FAR more flexible and durable than what equines have. Their facial features, body language, and general body structure are more feline (though they are obviously not cats any more than they are horses). Comparing their lifespans to horses is also ridiculous, because all evidence points to them outliving humans, let alone horses. We only know that Fluttershy is "about" a year older than Pinkie. And we know Dash moved to Ponyville on her birthday, so it's likely she moved out as soon as she turned 16.
- Rainbow Dash: 16 (very recently turned 16).
- Pinkie: 16-17
- Twilight: 17
- Fluttershy: 17-18
- Applejack: 18
- Rarity: 18-19
- Rainbow Dash- Her love of flying but without causing a Rainboom would've caused a storm cloud with a red lightning bolt.
- Fluttershy- Without the Rainboom to focus her love of the ground would of decided to help all ground things grow and be health animals and plants resulting in Posies as her cutie mark with bonus points for a Mythology Gag.
- Rarity- After her magic brought her to the rock, instead of finding the gems she was inspired to make more eclectic designs, making her cutie mark needle and thread
- Applejack- Without the rainbow leading back to Ponyville, she found a passion for cooking apples, to help her get over her homesickness, her cutie mark became an baked apple slice
- Twilight Sparkle- Without the Rainboom, she failed the entrance exam and devoted her efforts to study, more so than before, resulting in an Open Book cutie mark.
- Pinkie Pie- Without discovering joy, Pinkamena didn't find what she was meant for until she was fully grown. Pinkie hit the bottle hard and her cutie mark is a bottle of Whiskeys.
- So how would they have been born? And if there was a mother, who was it? Princess Celestia?
- easy, the elements of harmony made 6 female ponies pregnant, not necessarily at the same time. this probably would made them half-sisters, but sisters at the end.
- We've seen both Twilight's and Pinkie's parents in "Cutie Mark Chronicles", and we have seen Applejack's grandmother. We know they are not sisters; they're friends.
- Yes, they have parents, but their fathers aren't the biological fathers.
- Holy crap, you guys. The mane six are Jesus!!!
- Or Anakin Skywalker...
- easy, the elements of harmony made 6 female ponies pregnant, not necessarily at the same time. this probably would made them half-sisters, but sisters at the end.
- A better Rarity example (for greed rather than vanity) might have been Dragonshy, where she was less concerned about convincing the dragon to move on and more about looting its hoard.
- I could think of a couple of Dash examples. Dash attempting to cheat in Fall Weather Friends, her being the ONLY pony not to immediately decline the ticket (But instead gloat about it, since she's the only one left) in The Ticket Master, her constantly trying to get away from Pinkie Pie at the beginning of Griffon the Brush Off, the "picking up the trash" line from Owl's Well That Ends Well, not listening to the Appaloosa side of the argument in Over a Barrel, or finding a way to get out of Gummy's after-birthday party in Party of One. There's a good reason for the latter two, but much like the Applejack answer above, she was still disloyal in a way.
- Twilight is tense around Princess Celestia because Celestia is her teacher, not her because she's a ruler or deity. Twilight isn't likely to lighten up around Celestia unless that changes.
- She said it was hoof-stitched, but she didn't say "I hoof-stitched them." She might have asked Rarity to make her costume for her.
- Sewing is easy to learn and hard to master. Most people could whip up a simple Halloween costume with some guidance from someone who knows what they're doing, but being able to make an outfit suitable for the Gala is on a much different level.
- Amusingly, this was jossed by the fact that AJ can't sew that well in "Magical Mystery Cure" but then confirmed in "Rarity Takes Manehattan", all five of Rarity's friends are seen sewing for her and the result is professional.
- Pinkie's mark has to do with her skill with parties, and when she thinks her friends don't like her parties anymore, her hair goes flat, she delusionally pretends inanimate objects are her friends, and completely rejects her real friends.
- Fluttershy's frustration and violent rage when the animals stay away from her happens because her cutie mark deals with the fact that she loves and is good with animals.
- I think Applejack enters a tunnel-vision sort of state where she MUST complete the task, under the conditions she's set, even though those conditions might be ridiculous. Unfortunately for her, her natural stubbornness and independence makes her predisposed to having to do it on her own.
- Twilight is difficult, 'cause her cutie mark has to do with her magic. But thinking about it, her completely neurotic and destructive behavior stemmed from the fact that she was about to miss an assignment deadline. Her fear about missing the deadline stemmed from the irrational fear that missing that one assignment was going to get her sent back to magic kindergarten, meaning she would fail her cutie mark.
- Rarity's cutie mark is related to the fact that she can sew epic stuff with gems. When this goes wrong, she falls into a state of self-deprecation, and wallows in... whatever it is ponies are supposed to wallow in.
- Rainbow Dash gets crippling fear and self-doubt when she starts worrying that she's going to mess up in her flying routine/not win the tournament.
- Twilight, who is normally level-headed and rational, starts freaking out and making ridiculous suggestions in "Lesson Zero" and "Swarm of the Century"
- Applejack, the most dependable of all ponies, is suddenly very unreliable in "Applebuck Season"
- Rainbow Dash, the confident show-off, is actually hiding in a corner in "Sonic Rainboom"
- Rarity, the sophisticated and regal pony, is whining and throwing an overdramatic temper tantrum in "Suited for Success"
- Fluttershy, who is normally quiet and reserved, goes all out PSYCHOSHY in "The Best Night Ever"
- Pinkie Pie, fun-loving and always happy, is depressed and, well, not having fun in "Party of One"
- Here's a thought: A lot of the Apple clan has "Apple" first. Maybe the original Apples hail from a region where it's customary to put the surname first, like Japan does in the real world.
- This would, of course, result in Apple Macintosh, which is kinda awesome, and Apple Smith, which isn't so much (assuming Pony names follow the same Marriage Traditions as Western and Central European and North American nations). Of course, Applejack and Apple Bloom are generally presented as a single word so that theory may break down slightly there.
- This is a cool idea, but I do agree with the fact that "Applejack" and "Apple Bloom" are one-word names. An alternative would be that the family's last name is Smith, or something. Big Macintosh could just be a nickname; his first name could just be Macintosh.
- Alternatively, Applejack is just a nickname, and her real name is Jacqueline Apple (she may have been in a class with five other Jacks/Jackies). Don't know about Apple Bloom — maybe she just wanted to be like her big sister.
- Based on the theory above (with their last name being Smith) Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom have a different surname than Granny Smith, but they just happen to be called the "Apple Family". Granny Smith's daughter (AJ's, Big Mac's and Apple Bloom's mother) married into the "Apple Family" from Appleloosa.
- Further proof, perhaps? When Rainbow Dash says "her middle name is danger," she gives her full name as then being "Rainbow Danger Dash." It's also possible that the producers just did this for the sake of it sounding better when she said it.
- Rainbow was just making a joke. It's no different from talking to a winning Formula 1 driver, and having them say "speed is my middle name". It's an idiom, not meant to be taken literally.
- Additionally, the Cakes. Mr. Cake's full name is Carrot Cake, and Mrs. Cake's is Cup Cake, probably meaning that one took the other's last name.
- Under a night that would last... FOREVER!
- Perhaps their spirits are part of a jāti in the style of The Years of Rice and Salt, always reincarnating together.
- Judging by the banner in the play, Princess Celestia and Luna were both present at the founding. Maybe Celestia recognised them, and that's partly how she knew where Twilight would find her friends/ the other elements?
- Pinkie Pie's offhand comment about "And that's how Equestria was formed"- maybe on some level, she really does remember?
- It would also explain Twilight's admiration of Star Swirl the Bearded. She remembers being taught by him on some level.
- Also, we will perhaps see the Windigos again because a) they were neat-looking Eldritch threats and b) they're just too appropriate for the show to be one-episode baddies.
- Well, that's why you groom them. Each lesson they learn is one less mistake they'll make when something big is on the line.
- Who ever said that they are being groomed as princesses?
- Mind you, she did eventually relent, and she wasn't behind every misfortune that came Dash's way (she had no way of knowing about the Flim Flam Brothers).
- Applejack is still coming to terms with being the functional matriarch of Sweet Apple Acres, preparing for the day when Granny kicks it and AJ becomes the official matriarch. (Extra stress since she's probably a little young for the job.)
- Twilight has just left school. She's still in a learning role, but it's more transitioning towards the real world.
- Rarity is focused on breaking into the fashion industry. When she was flirting with Blueblood, she just wanted to play with her more romantic side, and would have had a tough choice if it had actually worked out.
- Rainbow Dash just seems to not be interested. She has some maturing to do anyway, since nopony could probably match her coolness expectations.
- Pinkie Pie is just Pinkie Pie, and also has some settling to do for anypony to catch her attention in that way. She's probably more likely to start wanting her own children before she even starts looking.
- Fluttershy is probably the biggest exception. There is a small hope that someone could approach her in that way, but she's just as likely to spend the rest of her life just as she is. Kindhearted Cat Lover
- I was totally under the impression this was going to be a WMG about what type of feminist each represents. They really just show girls that they don't have to be super girly to be a girl, but if girly is your thing, werk it gurl. Allow me to explain:
- AJ teaches girls that they CAN work in a male-dominated field and kick all sorts of ass. She can be stubborn and hard-working, tomboyish and playful but she's still a girl. It's okay for girls to get more than a little dirty and uncouth; you're no less a girl for it. She teaches girls that a girl can genuinely like working, that it's okay for a girl to ask for help. A girl can have responsibilities and still have fun. A girl can be sloppy, a girl can be level-headed. A girl can be dependable, a girl can be loving and motherly.
- Twilight teaches girls that they CAN be smart, and don't have to dumb themselves down to be well-liked. Girls can be neurotic and insecure, girls can be excited over the silliest things, and it's more than okay to be a bit of an "egghead". Nerds can be girly, or tomboyish, it doesn't matter. She shows that it's okay to have people you look up to, it's okay to have passions, it's okay to just love to learn. It's okay to overreact, but you should also still be able to recognise when you're doing it before it gets too out of hoof. A girl can be socially impaired, a smart girl is allowed to be clueless.
- Rarity says that you can be a girly girl and that's just fine. She also teaches girls that a girly-girl doesn't have to have a man to exist. Rarity also teaches girls that a girly-girl can be her own person and support herself; she doesn't need her boyfriend to do everything for her. Rarity also shows girls that it's okay to get dirty, even girly girls. As Twilight points out in Rarity's first spotlight episode, a girly girl doesn't have to be weak. Even if she's physically weak, she still has her brain, wits, and voice (even if Rarity used her voice for whining, she still used her brain to weaponise her whine, seeing it as a weak spot). It's okay for a girl to want to be treated like a lady and to be dignified. Rarity is also the most prone to flirting, and shows girls that it's a-okay to be a little boy-crazy, while showing them that they don't need men. A girl can be independent, no matter how feminine she is. A girl can be hammy, a girl can like to act. It's okay for a girl to be a little greedy.
- Rainbow teaches girls that it's okay to be boyish and sporty, it's okay to have ambitions, and that hard work and perseverance can reward you. She tells girls that it's okay to be reckless, but to remember the risks. She tells girls that it's okay to be competitive, it's okay to like roughing it up, and that a girl CAN stand up for not just herself, but her friends. A girl is not weak. A girl doesn't have to wear a dress to be girly, and her Equestria girls getup shows that skirts aren't necessarily girly (considering that her skirt looks like it's made of the same material as sweatpants; me, I think she just finds that easier to move in than anything else). A girl can be confident, even arrogant.
- Pinkie Pie teaches girls it's okay to have fun, it's more than okay to be passionate, and it's okay to be kooky and weird. It's okay to adore your friends, and that insecurities don't define that. She also teaches girls that your insecurities are probably unfounded (talking about her insecurities in her friends in Party of One), it's okay to be girly and hyperactive, and that there's more than one way to be girly. A girly girl doesn't have to be dignified. A girl can be chatty, a girl can be odd, a girly girl can be sporty. A girl can enjoy silly things and have passions in the strangest things. It's okay to like parties and cake, and a girl is very much allowed to enjoy eating whatever she likes to, no matter how weird it might be. A girl can like eating. A hyperactive girl can enjoy calmness once in a while. She (along with Dash) teaches girls that it's okay to enjoy pranks, as long as you know the person being pranked will be able to laugh at themselves. A ditzy girl is more than capable of being very bright. A girl can love company.
- Fluttershy shows that a girl can be modest, meek, shy, soft-spoken, and quiet. A girl can be weak, a girl doesn't have to be extroverted. A girl can enjoy the company of animals more than people, a girl can love animals. A girl can work as a naturalist and zookeeper. A girl can be feminine and sweet. A girl can be innocent. A girl can be comfortable with the roles traditionally assigned to a girl. A girl doesn't have to enjoy the company of many.
- Confirmed by word of Faust
- Rather than a romantic couple, as some have speculated, Dash and Fluttershy are actually sisters. It's why RD stuck up for Fluttershy at flight school, why she insisted that Fluttershy was her number one flier, why she was so enthused to see Fluttershy unhurt after the incident with the Changelings. In fact, it may well have been her desire to look out for her sister that caused Rainbow Dash to leave Cloudsdale and move to Ponyville. After discovering her talent for helping animals, Fluttershy saw no need for staying in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash could have stayed and worked more on her flying to fulfill her dream to join the Wonderbolts. But her Loyalty to her sister drove her to move to Ponyville as well.
- Kind of the opposite of the usual older-younger sibling dynamic then? Considering how much taller Fluttershy was as a filly.
- Finally and thoroughly Jossed as off "Flutter Brutter", where it is confirmed that Fluttershy has a brother, and that Dash is the subject of his unwanted advances.
- They do not monopolize all the virtues (and vices) of Honesty, Kindess, Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, etc. Each can actually show traits that others are supposed to be examples of.
- Not likely. Celestia and Luna were able to wield the Elements on their own against Discord. They could always find someone else.
- When the girls are brainwashed by Discord into acting against their respective Elements, in most cases the effect is subtle at first: Applejack (Honesty) is a liar, but an even more transparent one than usual; Pinkie Pie (Laughter) becomes a grump, but is also The Comically Serious ("This may look like fun, but it's not!" she says while sliding around on the soapy roads); Rarity (Generosity) becomes selfishly obsessed with what she thinks is a giant diamond, but is at least willing to accept Twilight's help in carrying the rock around; and Fluttershy (Kindness) becomes mean and cruel, but initially limits herself to childish insults and pranks. As time went on and they slipped further into Discord's influence, they became worse and worse: Applejack stopped making her "poker face", Pinkie Pie became even angrier, Rarity refused to let anypony else alone with her precious "Tom", and Fluttershy became even nastier ("What's soaking wet and clueless? Your face!") Even Twilight Sparkle (Magic) tried to be true to her friends, but steadily became more cross and short-tempered with them, until the Elements of Harmony failed and she gave up on them completely. The exception to this pattern is Rainbow Dash, and that's only because she left the group and wasn't seen again until she was completely under Discord's influence.
Rarity: Also upper-class, but representative of "new money". Her family is presented as prosperous, but is seemingly not as highly-regarded as Twilight's. Given her Mid-Atlantic accent and propensity for glamor, she comes pretty close to a true caricature of her family's place in society. Her family has probably acquired its wealth within the last generation, probably in some sort of modern-ish business.
Rainbow Dash: Middle-class. The source of her/her family's place in society is not really hinted at, but it's pretty obvious that she is neither rich nor poor. She apparently lives in a rather-sizable house outside of the city and has both interest in and time for leisure activities. Her personality and lifestyle seem perfectly fitting of a stereotypical American suburban tomboy.
Applejack: Middle-class. Far from being the typical starving peasants or hick farmers, she and her family are hardworking, if rurally-cultured, businessponies. They own large fields of apples, which they always seem to be selling in some form. The cider line in "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" suggests that their family business is highly popular, and her relatives in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" appear to be already-wealthy, which seems unfitting for a poor family, and are clearly richer than the Apples as well.
Pinkie Pie: Working-class (or "poor"). Her family before her seems to have been poor farmers. She may be perfectly happy doing it, but she works a low-level job for other ponies' benefit. Her mannerisms and forms of entertainment also seem rather lowly, no matter how much she enjoys them.
Fluttershy: Similarly poor. Like Pinkie Pie, she is perfectly happy with her lifestyle, but that doesn't stop it from being rather meager. She lives like a hermit in the forest, and doesn't even seem to have a proper occupation. She has no given family background, so it is unclear whether this was her choice or her family's history.
- Fluttershy is debatable: She has a rather big country house outside the town, and seems to own the lands surrounding it, not to mention the fact that she takes care of a rather sizable amount of animals(Both local and "exotic") as pets, and has other creatures under her care, like chickens. Either she is rich, has a profitable job on the side(Or has profits from stuff made by the animals, like eggs and honey) or is somehow endorsed by the government.
- Fluttershy is a vet. A vet in private practice can typically earn $110,000 per year. I would guess that she would be a Self-Made Pony, in that she probably built everything up herself. ( purchased the cottage, however she gains the animals...) which also explains how come she could offer such a wide variety of pets to Rainbow Dash- Fluttershy also functions as the Equestrian equivalent of an animal shelter.
- Fluttershy is explicitly not a veterinarian. We've seen Ponyville's vet, and it isn't her. Fluttershy's cottage probably didn't cost too much. It's far from town, and right next to the Everfree Forest, which can't be good for property values. She does seem to be running an animal shelter/pet adoption center.
- Fluttershy is a vet. A vet in private practice can typically earn $110,000 per year. I would guess that she would be a Self-Made Pony, in that she probably built everything up herself. ( purchased the cottage, however she gains the animals...) which also explains how come she could offer such a wide variety of pets to Rainbow Dash- Fluttershy also functions as the Equestrian equivalent of an animal shelter.
- Rarity is also debatable, as the show never presents her or her family as particularly well off. She has wealthy clients, yes, but has no helpers or assistants beyond her friends, implying that she is still a struggling newcomer. While Rarity would probably prefer to do as much of the construction on her own as possible, she doesn't have anyone to help around the shop or even to help dig up gems on a consistent basis. Her parents also fail to display any sign of wealth, seeming to be nothing more than a pair of small town hicks. The interactions between Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara also imply that Tiara is, or thinks that she is, on a higher socioeconomic level.
- I would peg Rarity as self-made as well- Rarity isn't exactly a newcomer at the beginning of the series (Rarity was in charge of decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration- she is at least locally known) while she is gaining prominence as the show goes on (Rarity was tasked with Cadence's headdress, not something to be trusted to just anypony...) As for Diamond Tiara, she's stereotypical New Money- especially idiotic in her case, since it was her father who made the money. ( Filthy Rich earned most of his money by reselling the Apple Family's Zap Apple Jam. He also knows it, being unfailingly polite to the Apple Family. (I'm guessing he doesn't know his daughter is a bully, and that he married someone after his money, as otherwise Diamond Tiara's behaviour makes no sense)
Rarity and Applejack: Both are workaholics without time for much socializing. Applejack does spend time with her family, who are also her coworkers, which precludes the need to socialize with others. Rarity spends little time with her family, who kinda sorta epitomize the aspects of Ponyville that she wants to leave behind.
Twilight Sparkle and Spike: Twilight is too busy studying to go out and meet people. Spike is too busy helping Twilight to do much socializing, but seems to have met at least a few people despite that.
Pinkie Pie: Her manic extroversion scares people off. She appears to be on good terms with everyone in town, but doesn't seem to meet with anyone outside of parties.
Rainbow Dash: Has a very off putting personality to anyone that doesn't get to see her good points. She was also completely unaware of how unpleasant Gilda could be to others, which means that she either hung with a very different crowd in the past or didn't have other friends to compare her to.
Fluttershy: Obviously, too shy to meet others of her own volition. While she did attend the same flight camp as Dash, Dash's lack of familiarity with Fluttershy's quirks make significant contact unlikely. Additionally, she and Gilda didn't seem to know each other.
Rainbow Dash: Captain of the Guard.
Applejack: Chamberlain.
Rarity: Lady in Waiting.
Fluttershy: Chief counselor.
Pinkie Pie: Chef.
- They have their own lives to lead, and not ones which necessarily fit with working with one pony princess (would Applejack abandon her family's farm, Rainbow sacrifice her progress towards joining the Wonderbolts?). Plus the idea of Twilight's closest friends becoming her servants seems a little...wrong, no matter how casual Twilight might be about the whole Princess business.
(Though far-fetched because of the "elements of harmony" thing, since extending that would be very difficult to explain.)
- May I suggest the element of humility with the bearer being Trixie?
- If you're going for irony maybe.
As support for this theory, notice that in Magical Mystery Cure a new version of Twilight's cutie mark is shown - one which has six stars instead of five.
- Addendum to my guess: Maybe not the Element of Humility, but Trixie indeed sounds like a prime candidate. Though I'd suspect she'd first become a recurring antihero, like Discord.
- Rainbow Rocks has brought up a new possibility: Sunset Shimmer. Given how prominently she was featured in this movie, and how popular her character became with the fans, it seems likely that she would eventually visit Equestria again (if only to unite with Celestia) or even come back permanently. Also, the whole "only six elements of harmony" is no longer a concern because they're not technically bearers anymore.
- Half-confirmed with the addition of Starlight Glimmer, who is indeed a unicorn, she just isn't an element.
- RAINBOW DASH: During the race at flight camp she got a wing cramp and fell to the ground where Fluttershy's normal story takes over.
- FLUTTERSHY: Bullied for being a week flier she became a class clown to get them to stop.
- PINKIE PIE: The Rock farm was so grey and one day she found an apple, she hadn't seen color like that before.
- APPLEJACK: When she was living with the Oranges the upper crust life didn't suit her and she wound up getting a job, she liked the lower class citified ponies and connected with a down to earth fashion design job.
- RARITY: The Sonic Rainboom didn't break the rock but it did inspire her to make art out of the weather.
Also, when you think about it, Chrysalis and Sombra were defeated by Cadance, not Mane 6. Nightmare Moon and Discord were defeated by tools Celestia left in place - on their own, Mane 6 stood no chance at all. Maybe other ponies act indifferent not because they are rude, but because Mane 6 rank rather low in terms of accomplishments and coolness among Equestria's champions? Look at how much cooler Power Ponies are - Mane 6 don't even have ave-inspiring unforgettable alter ego like Daring Do or Trixie have.
- Rarity: For the love of Luna, her special talent is gemstone hunting. It's not fashion. It's not got anything to do with fashion directly. Recall in "Cutie Mark Chronicles", she says that unicorn magic doesn't happen without a reason, and states that her horn is taking her to her destiny. Twice in that episode does she say that. Twice. A quote for you: "A rock!? That's my destiny?! What is your problem, horn!?" Keep in mind that you have to acknowledge your special talent before you get your Cutie Mark (this being why the CMC don't have theirs). Rarity probably wasn't sure gemstone hunting was her special talent until she saw how happy it made everypony. When she realised it made the audience happy, she realised it must be her talent. Rarity can use the sewing machines and whatnot because the magic she uses with them is probably no more powerful than a mere levitation spell. Being a seamstress is just her job, but I'll get to the job thing in a bit. The three gemstones on her flank represent that she is good at finding them.
- Applejack: She states in "Call of the Cutie" that she's destined is running Sweet Apple Acres, and as soon as she realised that was her special talent/destiny she earned her Cutie Mark. Applebucking is Big Mac's special talent, based off the fact that "Applebuck Season" makes it sound like he does the bulk of the work applebucking, if not all of it by himself, without getting tired. Applebucking is just part of the job for her. The apples represent the family business.
- Rainbow Dash: Racing. Her talent isn't Sonic Rainbooms, it's racing. She says says that she earned it "when she discovered racing" and that flying at full speed felt good. Sonic Rainbooms are to RD as applebucking is to AJ. It's only part of her talent. The cloud and lightning bolt represent that she's faster than light itself and physically light as a cloud.
- Pinkie Pie: Her special talent is the only one not verbally given in "Cutie Mark Chronicles", but considering that she didn't get it until they were midway through the party and that it's three balloons, her talent is party-throwing, not entertaining which is, well, her job because even Pinkie probably can't just throw party after party after party day in and day out. Entertaining is just part of her job with the Cakes.
- Fluttershy: Her special talent isn't exactly caring for animals, it's communicating with them. She says as much twice. Once in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" and once in "Magical Mystery Cure". Caring for them is, you guessed it, her job. Her Cutie Mark of three pink butterflies represent the first creatures she encountered and communicated with (albeit via screaming as she fell to her near death).
Now, back to the job thing: I know somepony is going to say "But OP, remember Magical Mystery Cure!" and I'm ready for you. I noted above already that what they actually do in MMC is the other's job, which is particularly glaring in the fact that Rarity is working with weather, which no matter what you believe her Cutie Mark represents (racing or Sonic Rainbooms), isn't her special talent.
- "I'm in love with weather patterns but the others have concerns/For I just gave them frostbite over top of their sunburns. I have to keep on trying, for everyone can see/It's got to be my destiny, and it's what my Cutie Mark is telling me."
- Likely the biggest reason they completely failed at their new "destinies" is they completely misinterpreted their Cutie Marks, and like the CMC when they try to do something that isn't their special talent, were trying way too hard. On a good day, Rarity can probably manage the weather just dandy in an emergency; also, part of her problem was likely that her true talent isn't geared towards weather, meaning her magic outside it is limited which may have also factored in. "Rarity Takes Manehattan" shows that AJ is more than capable of sewing (though not designing), we saw in "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" that Pinkie Pie is pretty good at catching falling apples and "Applebuck Season" showed she's more than capable of taking apples out of trees; since Pinkie is probably pretty good with animals she shouldn't have had a problem with the chickens, either and Pinkie can make truly bizarre inventions, which makes it odd that she couldn't fix the water chute. These three were, quite simply, trying way, way, way too hard to do these jobs. Failing at something when you try way too hard is something that's consistent with the show. An incomplete list would be: "Winter Wrap-Up" (everything Twilight does), "Suited for Success" (Rarity trying to please her friends), "Feeling Pinkie Keen" (everything Twilight does), "Sonic Rainboom" (the titular event), "The Best Night Ever" (the only Mane 6 who doesn't suffer this is Twilight), "Lesson Zero" (Twilight again), "Luna Eclipsed" (Woona trying to be liked), "Baby Cakes" (Pinkie Pie foalsitting), "The Last Roundup" (AJ's turn at the helm), "A Friend In Deed" has traces of this (as Pinkie only gets what she wanted when she stops trying too hard), "Putting Your Hoof Down" (oh, Fluttershy), "It's About Time" (Twilight once more), "Too Many Pinkie Pies" (Pinkie trying to have fun with all of her friends), "Apple Family Reunion" (AJ trying to organise the titular reunion), "Spike at Your Service" (most everything Spike does), "Bats!" (AJ trying to get rid of the bats), and nearly every single CMC episode except "One Bad Apple". It was, simply put, a bad mix of trying too hard and misinterpreting a cutie mark. Rainbow and Fluttershy were also trying too hard, but they were also doing jobs they could probably never do because of their personalities.
- Dana/ "Generosity": Rarity, obviously
- Sila/ "Morality", "Self Discipline": Applejack
- Kshanti/ "Patience": Fluttershy
- Virya/ "Energy", "Enthusiasm": Pinkie Pie
- Dhyana/ "Focus", "Concentration": Rainbow Dash
- Prajna/ "Wisdom": Twilight Sparkle
- We're halfway there with pages for Pinkie pie, Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike
The arguments between these two often seem way to bitter to be caused simply by having different hobbies and interests. My theory is that they were both in the same class when they were younger (it's implied that they've both lived in Ponyville pretty much their whole lives) and perhaps they didn't get along at the time. In fact one of them may have even been a bully to the other (like Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara?). Perhaps Rarity teased A.J for being working class or A.J teased Rarity for being prissy (or possibly both).
I imagine this stopped when Applejack's parents died (A.J would be too distracted to continue the rivalry and Rarity would be considerate enough to leave her alone), but rather than become friends, they just go their separate ways.
The discovery of the Elements and their sisters becoming friends leads to them both burying the hatchet to an extent, but there are still some old scars that haven't been properly healed. As a result, these resentments occasionally bubble to the surface, but they try their best to put the past behind them and move on.
Pinkie Pie: May 17 (World Baking Day) or October 7 World Smile Day
Applejack:(October 1st) or early November
Rarity: August 5 or September 13
Rainbow Dash: February 1st
Fluttershy: November 13 (World Kindess Day) April 29 (Arbor Day) or April 22 (Earth Day)
Spike: February 19 or January 16 (During Chinese New Year)