Starlight Glimmer · 5:06am Apr 5th, 2015
So I guess there's a new season of ponies or something. Guess I should say something about that.
I found a lot of interesting stuff about the Season 5 premier, but I'm either still thinking about what it means or too tired right now to explain it all. However, I will say I'm intrigued to see where this season's story goes because of one Starlight Glimmer. (Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen it.)
To summarize previous major villains from the show:
-Nightmare Moon: Powerful alicorn, former ruler of Equestria, defeated twice by the Elements of Harmony in epic showdowns
-Discord: Spirit of chaos, former ruler of Equestria, defeated twice by the Elements of Harmony in epic showdowns
-Queen Chrysalis: Changeling queen, wanted to rule Equestria, stopped by the Power of Love during epic showdown/musical numbers
-King Sombra: Evil unicorn with Nightmare Moon-esque powers, former ruler of the Crystal Empire, defeated by Celestia/Luna/Crystal Heart in epic showdowns
-Tirek: Evil centaur, former ruler of Equestria, defeated by Rainbow Power in MOST EPIC SHOWDOWNS
-Starlight Glimmer: Unicorn with cutie mark-stealing abilities, foiled through trickery and teamwork but escapes
Huh.
What interests me about Starlight is that aside from her cutie mark-stealing ability, she appears to be nothing more than an above-average unicorn. In that regard, she stands out to me from all the other major villains. She's not some legendary creature requiring MEGA MAGIC to stop. In fact, based on the conversation she and Twilight share toward the end of part two, she seems to be a possibility of how Twilight might have turned out without friends (and if she was evil, obviously). I'm looking forward to see how Starlight plays into the rest of the season, learning more about what her goals are and how she came across this weird cutie mark-stealing magic. Maybe she has other cults scattered across Equestria, or perhaps she's in cahoots with some mightier power.
Or she might never show up again. That would be disappointing.
On the subject of her cutie mark-stealing. Unless I'm forgetting something, this is the third instance of cutie mark-altering magic we've seen in the show. The first was "Magical Mystery Cure," where the Mane Six's marks get scrambled. Second, when Tirek absorbs everyone's magic, they also lose their cutie marks (as to Celestia, Luna and Cadence when they give Twilight their powers). Third, Starlight steals cutie marks and replaces them with =, which has a negative effect on the abilities generally and special skills/talents specifically. There's a theory to be cobbled from that, but I haven't done it yet.
Finally, "The Cutie Map"? Is that what they called this? Seems a bit... dull.
The Apple Bloom thing. Where she had a million "cutie marks."
2947559 Oh yeah. Thanks for the reminder!