New New Synopsis

Well. Now we have more details, and it alleviates some of the concerns I have- the idea of self-actualization is much better than status being conferred.

However, it raises some interesting questions.

If Twilight becomes an alicorn by creating a spell (or magic, I'm going to lean towards the latter, since she's used several kinds now), is this where Cadance came from?

Since Twilight and Cadance look different from Celestia and Luna, was the process different, or is it merely age?

Starswirl The Bearded. I think he created spells or magic, right? So did he become an alicorn? Or is there truth to the Discord rumor?

This blows apart the possibility of an egalitarian society, though. I don't see any way for a Pegasus or Earth Pony to become an Alicorn if this is the ascension method. It seems Unicorns are destined as the source of the ruling class.

Comments

[Georg]

I'm going with the following:
Cadence is a "natural" alicorn, with a more-or-less natural lifespan, presuming that occasionally one gets born just through random (or fate[1]-driven) selection.

(Hasbro) Celestia is an "Original" alicorn, with some sort of divine creation method after the 'Hearth's Warming' event, which goes with the original Elements of Harmony.
(Me) Celestia was an ordinary unicorn who "Ascended" during the life of her parents, who were King and Queen of Equestria.

(Hasbro) Luna is the first "created" alicorn, who's gift over the night made her Celestia's 'sister' if not by blood, then by related gifts.
(Me) Luna was actually Celestia's sister, and "Ascended" at the same time as her sister (triggered by?) roughly 1500 years ago. They kept the title of Princess, because neither wanted to step into the horseshoes of their dead parents.

(Hasbro) Twilight is a "created" alicorn, fated to spread friendship all over the land. Although not *all* over the land, because we'd have to draw all kinds of new backgrounds and create all kinds of new characters, and that's expensive, so we're leaving her in Ponyville, which is already drawn, and cheaper, unless we need to sell more toys, in which case she's going to visit somewhere photogenic.
(Me) Twilight was going to burn out like a fuse if she kept channeling the Elements, so Celestia and Luna decided to give her a higher-amp upgrade. Of course, if she starts to burn this one out, they may have some problems.

Sound good?
-Georg

(1) "Fate" being Celestia's middle name.....

[Featherprop]

884738

Interesting, seeded with some some cynicism that mirrors my own. :)

Actually, I found an interesting blog by Ponydora Prancypants, reviewing one of the short novels, that seems to have background on Cadance: [url=Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell]http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/135886

The 'burning out' part wasn't really in my own headcanon- we've seen a surprising and frankly Mary-Suish buildup of Twilight's abilities through the series, so I hadn't considered that angle, but... interesting. If you replace 'being given' with 'being maneuvered into through decades of chess-like preparation' and I'd agree with you, I think that's what Faust originally had as the background for why Twilight and the other Bearers end up in Ponyville at the right time.

If they ever get around to creating a tiered system, where Twilight and Cadance have essentially normal lifespans and some actual freakin' limits on their powers, that would go a LONG way to making this direction palatable. The whole "I've achieved super powers, but I'm still going to just be a normal ordinary Pony" tripe leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. IT will work fine for the intended audience, kids will love it, I know that. But from the standpoint of an older viewer, one who found the overarching mythos developed in the first two seasons engaging and fascinating, it's not a good storytelling element.

Folks say to have faith in the writers and all, and I do, to a degree- but there's a limit to what you can fix or make great. To use absurdity to make a point, you can't take the storyline of 'Cupcakes' and make it a happy, family-friendly story. If they're handed a story element and a character who don't fit, there's only so much they can do to make a good story with it, and that's what concerns me about the series moving forward.

*shrugs* It's nothing I can change, so all I can do is watch and hope.

[Georg]

Well, they've taken care to give 'Hooves of Clay' to all the alicorns: Celestia was beaten by Chrysalis, Cadance/Cadence was nearly beaten by Dark Smokey, Luna was beaten by herself and had to go sit in time-out for a millennium, and Trixie can boast that she defeated Twilight before she was an alicorn. It can be argued that all of the alicorns run at fractional-throttle settings, but that would imply Celestia threw the fight to Chrysalis, even if it does explain the Everfree as radioactivemagically contaminated battleground area where Celestia and Luna fought.