Twilight as Eos? · 3:52pm Jan 17th, 2023
So I was doing some Wiki-walking scholarly and respectable research, when I stumbled across Eos the Dawn Goddess of Greek Myth. Aspects of which were eerily familiar.
Blog Number 217: Dawn Sparkle Edition
Just look at these extracts (emphasis mine):
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (/ˈiːɒs/; Ionic and Homeric Greek Ἠώς Ēṓs, Attic Ἕως Héōs, "dawn", pronounced [ɛːɔ̌ːs] or [héɔːs]; Aeolic Αὔως Aúōs, Doric Ἀώς Āṓs)[3] is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home at the edge of the river Oceanus to deliver light and disperse the night.
Pretty much what happened in the Season One premier.
In Greek literature, Eos is presented as a daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, the sister of the sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene.
I'm aware she's not literally the third sister, but give or take Cadence's presence, even before Twilight's ascension there was an obvious trinity with Celestia ("Day"), Luna ("Night"), and Twilight (in-between).
Although primarily associated with the dawn and early morning, sometimes Eos would accompany Helios for the entire duration of his journey, and thus she is even seen during dusk.
Which allows a less antonymous route from Dawn to Twilight, and highlights Twilight's closeness to Celestia as her student.
Is this just a fortuitous coincidence, or could it have been an actual guiding principle behind Twilight's character design, you think?
Although regrettably, we did miss out on this.
And this.
Source: https://manebooru.art/84932
That's all for now. Impossible Numbers, out.
Mm. Good observations. I like them!
And given Faust has indicated, if not outright said, that the plan was, if she had been allowed to do more serialized storytelling on the show her way and thus stuck with it, that Twilight would succeed Celestia, you never know about that name connection theory. I’ve seen far crazier and less likely fan theories in my time, that’s for sure!
All the art here was on point, but that last panel of royal guard Twilight facing down the Hydra was especially on point. The little details like the shield disc on her armour and Canterlot in a bubble in the background are what really make it.
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Ooooooooooooooooooooh... now I get it! Twilight succeeds the day. I see what you did there. 😉
I didn't even notice those details, and it took me a while to spot the shield. Good eye.
I mean, we sort of get the Hydra battle in Season One. Say what you will about that particular episode, the Hydra bit was a pretty amusing action interruption ("What would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do?"). Although I do like how the last piece of art in the OP pushes the Hydra design a bit closer to the Disney Hercules version (and say what you will about that film, too!
).
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Oh yes, absolutely.
That’s totally what I was going for. 
Absolutely, one-hundred percent intended, and definitely not an unintended pun, no siree. 
Nothing to see here, moving along. 
Even with less adventure episodes than Faust had intended (done more for her writing staff and the episodic nature favouring slice of life stories on their schedule), Season 1 still manages to have quite a bit more adventure and action bits than nearly all other seasons. I suppose when you are still having most of Equestria have the potential to be dangerous, it’s easy to seamlessly slot in an action set piece, like a big chase from a hydra, into an episode like this.
Still beggars belief the hydra never really returned in the show, almost as much as the same being true of the Parasprites (“Magic Duel” cameo excepted).
I mean, we both like the film, so I won my say much negative! Even for all that the hydra and it’s battle isn’t really in the scrappy comedy wheelhouse the film is clearly most interested in and best at, and the CG and its composition are… ambitious, to be polite, yet rather unconvincing, I do retain a soft spot for it. Nostalgia and a classic Greek Mythology monster, what can you say? Even if burying it alive in a rock avalanche isn’t quite as iconic a winning move as cauterizing its severed necks to prevent them regrowing.
That’s Greek Mythology, always blunt in the physicality of the tales.
What do you know... another FimFic blog post I wish could be added to a “Favourites bookshelf”!
Neat discussion.
Perfect Fit!
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Certainly an interesting idea, if we could arrange an anthology of blog essays...
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Oh, the irony. You ought to read the rest of the Wikipedia article on Eos. That goddess was pretty sexually liberal, for one thing.