The Last Thing I Don't Get About "Equestria Girls"... (spoilers, obvs) · 10:15pm Jul 28th, 2013
Okay, so. Evil Prom Queen Sunset Shimmer is standing in the hall, doing her little villain monologue to the camera, when out of nowhere she says something to the effect that Twilight Sparkle would regret ever having come to the alternate pocket universe... not that she'd have been any safer back in Equestria.
I have seen next to no analysis of this line, presumably mainly because it's easy to dismiss anything Sunset Shimmer says as cheap, looney megalomaniacal banter. But I can't quite let this line go. Does anyone understand what in Tartarus this line means in the context of the film? Or is this some sort of Season 4 foreshadowing? And if the latter, what gives? Is leveling up to alicorn something like leveling up in the Elder Scrolls series of games, where you go to sleep after unlocking enough doors and suddenly the world is inexplicably full of atronachs and daedra and crap? Does Twilight now attract boss-level mobs? Or is there a single pressing threat that Sunset Shimmer has foreseen that she didn't have time to communicate in the brief period between her cartoon redemption and the portal's closing?
And if that is the case, is it possible that Twilight's alicornication was premature on Celestia's part, because of threats massing against Equestria?
Discuss.
EDIT: The reason this is never discussed is that everyone else apparently leapt onto a logical answer which makes perfect sense, so the only real discussion topic remaining from the original post is how much of a moron the OP was to even waste anyone's time with a stupid question he really should have seen the answer to. Feel free to discuss this as well.
EDIT 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: Comment thread now contains S4 spoilers as well.
seems like your thinking to hard on this.
I assumed it was reference to Sunset Shimmers plan to invade Equestria with zombie high school students (a plan which the less said about the better).
EDIT: Argh I can't stand it. Serioulsy zombie high school students!? Against a magical land of ponies? How is this a plan? Even discounting 3 alicorns and the Elements of Harmony, I'm pretty sure the Royal Guard can take the student body of CHS. Heck I'm pretty sure an angry mob from Ponyville could take the student body of CHS. [rant over]
I thought it was because Sunset was gonna use the Element of Magic to take over Equestria using the army she would gather in Humanville, so with Sunset thinking she had won, she was saying that Twilight may as well have not come to Humanville in the first place
1244447 1244444
^ this.
Well, Sunset Shimmer's ultimate plan was to take over Equestria with her newfound powers. Ergo, Twilight would've been in danger no matter which world she was in.
Dis cuss. Stop cursing, people!
(Get it? /shot )
EDIT: Yeash, it was just a bad joke, people. Chill.
I think it's a reference to Sunset's ludicrous plot to take over Equestria, which as far as I understand it, went:
1. Steal Element of Magic.
2. Brainwash teenagers.
3. ???
4.
ProfitRule Equestria with an iron hoof. Or fist. I'm flexible.So, yeah, from Sunset's perspective, Twilight would be just as sorry if she had stayed home, since then she'd be facing the wrong end of Queen Bitch's pubescent army.
1244465
3. Print the T-shirt, though that is usually step #0. Alternately, "Then a miracle occurs."
1244444 Maybe the My Little Pony blindbag figures are at 100% scale, and they would have been GIANT zombie teenagers?
You're never too early to level up!
Besides, better mobs means better things to grind on.
Its not like Celestia needs the xp anyway. Or maybe she does, and all the low level mobs don't give her xp anymore, and now that she has Twilight she'll have a full JRPG party of three characters (or five counting Shining Armor and Cadance) and will finally be able to start gaining levels again.
I find it funny that everyone assumes the army of teenagers were going to be the only zombies. If it was my plan, they'd only be the first wave in preparation for more zombie conversions starting with the Crystal Empire ponies.
1244493 I also like this idea.
1244493
I approve of this theory.
The only foreshadowing they implied to my knowledge is that something drastic might happen when Twilight returns. If they come up with a sort of gimmick to give the crown that seemed powerless in the pony world, but was meant for say Human Twilight, who knows.
The line "My crown was able to unite with the ones who helped create them!" leads me to think they actually are bearers in the human world, but being human and not believing in magic, it could be that their powers will forever be dormant... Until Twilight came along and her crown united with them.
Far as the context of Sunset Shimmer saying those words, I think she mostly meant to disgrace and humiliate Twilight to all the humans so she wouldn't be able to show her face again. That or the epic bluff she tried with that mirror *shrugs idk... I didn't get that killer vibe from her.
Sunset Shimmer also freaked out when she felt she was being taken over by something, being infused with dark and evil desires that wanted to feed on her negative feelings and in turn brought out out the full darkness of her heart. As I see them both being potentially able to wield Magic, and that element amplifies emotions (which now confirmed, least in EG, to amplify negative emotions too) that Sunset Shimmer's desire to rule and be admired led to some unforeseen tragic miscalculation on Shimmers part.
It's why you see her try to fight it for a brief moment and crying uncontrollably at the influx of dark magic coursing through her just before she unlocks her ascension.
Yeah, that annoys me at times. Somewhere at level fifteen, Skyrim is set upon by a grand plague of Cave Bears and the wolves and skeevers go into seclusion in response.
I use the Scaling Stopper for just such occasions. Though with enough mods, you don't even notice the cabbage any longer.
1244444
Well, I was gonna say this myself, but you already said it. Yeah, Sunset had designs on invading Equestria.
It's a good thing for her that, in the land of ponies, committing high treason only gets you a hug, at least if you say you're sorry afterwards. I noticed the same thing in Trixie's return episode: she locked the mayor in a cage and didn't even get jail time.
1244509
That said, since the portal apparently species-swaps you by its nature but does not confer proper motor skills, it's hard to see the invasionary force as being used as anything but a five-minute meat shield anyway, as the staggering zombified ex-teenagers now-ponies would just be shambling around tripping the hell over their own legs. This against trained Crystal Centurions with pointy objects? Sunset better have been hoping to fire off more domination magic almost instantly...
Personally, I'm not convinced that it was Celestia who transformed Twilight into an alicorn. Yes, it seems probable that this was the end she hoped for and was grooming Twilight for. And yes, we had the whole stroll down astral memory lane—literally—during Twilight's ascension with Celestia's ballad and her rising up at the end as if to raise the sun. But the only time Celestia's magic was active during Twilight's ascension was when she summoned Starswirl's journal. It appears to me that higher powers than Celestia were at work.
But as Equestrian history has shown, new alicorns seem to appear shortly before they're needed, e.g., Celestia and Luna to defeat Discord with Harmony and rule Equestria, Cadance to hold off Sombra with Love and rule the Crystal Empire. And Lauren Faust originally planned for Twilight to be Celestia's successor (though where would that leave Luna?), something that seems more likely than ever now that Twilight's an alicorn herself and with the season 4 teaser of Twilight appearing to experience the rise of Nightmare Moon from Celestia's perspective. So Skywriter's supposition isn't entirely without merit.
1244548
Maybe Sunset Shimmer saw a screening of World War Z, and hoped for similar results…
1244545
Ah ha! You've hit upon the reason Twilight didn't bring Sunset back to Equestria! She didn't want her to be charged with treason. Good job.
Trixie at least has the excuse of being corrupted by the Alicorn Amulet. Even if she did deliberately seek it out in the first place.
1244555
I agree. The purple alicornification energy came out of her own chest, note. I think Celly was just being theatrical.
1244563
Also Celestia's horn isn't glowing in that scene.
1244542
That link caused me to laugh much, much harder than it had any right to.
1244507
The season four premiere is actually going to be Celestia tasking Twilight with making another thirty friends so they can all team up to drive back Ragnaros the Firelord.
Well, the first half of the episode, anyway. The second half is the in-fighting over who gets their pants.
Honestly, what I didn't get...well, one of the many, many things I didn't get...what the hell was she thinking with the sledgehammer? "I shall now swing this sledgehammer at the magic portal...which will, being magic, just cause the sledgehammer to translate to Equestria, doing no actual damage to the non-physical barrier separating the two worlds!" I mean, yeah, she was bluffing, but even still...
1244548
Infinitely better idea than teenagers - Buy dogs. Big dogs. Lots and lots of big dogs.
1244563
I go with the "midwife," argument, i.e., an experienced, familiar, and reassuring presence during an otherwise harrowing event.
1244572
Oh, like that's going to work.
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120311212534/mlp/images/4/44/Fluttershy_rubbing_Cerberus%27_belly_S2E20.png
1244572
Now there's an actual plan. It might even work.
EDIT: Fluttershy's afraid of dragons. As long as you're smart enough to not directly threaten her friends you'll be okay.
Of course she's also best pals with Discord now....
1244454
Wat?
1244572
I just want to let you know that made me laugh.
1244555
I'm not even sure where people get the whole "Celestia transformed Twilight into an alicorn" thing from in the first place.
In the episode itself, not only is she not using her magic at that point, but the magic which powers the transformation of Twilight comes from within - it literally comes from inside her own body.
She made -herself- into an alicorn.
1244588 It was a bad, tasteless joke that I couldn't resist posting. All he ended with was 'Discuss', instead of something more... IDK, more. So I made a stupid joke by breaking up the word.
S'why I added '/shot'. I means that even I know that it was a bad, tasteless joke, and that it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. (Apparently, people are still taking it seriously, seeing as how many dislikes I have. Not that I don't deserve a couple.)
1244596
It was really the "/shot" that confused me most, though I was all-over confused with that one. I've never heard that one used.
1244572
As for the sledgehammer - if she struck the statue on the side instead of its portal face it would destroy the statue and presumable the portal as well. Since she was standing beside the statue at the time I assume that's what she was threatening (or bluffing as you say).
1244569
Aye, there are some things in this world that simply defy explanation.
i.imgur.com/kZ9dPIi.gif
This came from a villain who, after acquiring the macguffin, still planned to go through the whole "Get crowned as the prom princess" instead of just going straight into demon mode. For a student of Celestia, Sunny isn't the brightest.
1244563
Skywritter for that Elderscrolls quip ... I wub you with the power of a bass cannon right now. *70% serious*.
As for the Alicornification ... I'm not sold on crappy writing and a Hasbro shoehorn as proof that Celestia plotted it. After all it was an incomplete never finished spell. That was made when the EoH were under Celestia and Luna's power.
Could it have been an assumption? Yes! Could you extrapolate, alter destiny spell, unstable, and potentially dangerous. To mean EoH + Mental Conditioning = Alicornification? Probably being as old as she is. Do I buy the whole ... I planned all of this. You were groomed to be a princess and I knew it all along! ? No I do not. There was no logical reason to assume that Celestia master planned anything more than Twilight being the gun that wielded Equestria's most powerful defense strategy. To both saver her sister Luna [which according to season 4 snippets failed horribly.]
But outside of that piece of Canon dismissing, rant inducing, stupidity that was Mystery Magic Cure. I think that it's a Universal Law.
When you create a Power Vacuum, Something trys to fill that whole. Usually something more powerful than what was removed, or a zerg swarm of lesser ones that = the original big bad. After all the saying. It's better to deal with the devil you know rather than the one you don't. Is said for a reason.
Now with the EoH. They've used harmony to get rid of big bads constantly. Thus exponentially aggravating things by making a Vacuum that needed filling. But all in all it was getting to the point were things were leveling out. Because Nature, and Harmony abhor extremes and always seeks to achieve equilibrium.
But Twilight accessed that spell. Harnessed Destiny to warp to her will. And with the full power of Harmony, Augmented / Altered her body to her will. And since Celestia has always tended to Twilight's view of her. Always coming across as the lovely, second mother / secret crush, perfect teacher. Twilight wanted to emulate her. And with conditioning, tending, and pushing on a set path since filly hood molded Twilight.
Thus when destiny could be altered to fit what she wanted to be. It chose the route of Alicorn. Using the essence of the Element Bearers, the inherent power of each pony type, and the inherent power of each element of the EoH.
But that comes with a price.
If nature and harmony abhor Vacuum / Loss of Balance.
What happens when you introduce a new variable into the system? One that not only tips the scales more out of balance, but hits it with a freaking sledgehammer?
So yes the Elder Scrolls reference is fair. But instead of Doing it naturally she did.
~ SetLevel 40: Used the Glowy Star Cocoon to do a hard reset to get a massive Level up.
So rather than it being normal and graceful it was a massive system cheat code. And the game of life doesn't like it. So it's going to summon Malog Baal, Mahzor Runes [Sp?] Namira, and Boethia. And just get it on like Donkey Kong.
That's my opinion of course.
1244692
Sunny is a lot like Queen Chrysalis. Given the powers at her disposal there were much much better ways to go about her stated goal, which leads one to believe that she had the unstated goal "DAMNIT I WANT TO BE A BEAUTIFUL BRIDE TOO" which, depending on your interpretation of the character, was either a tiny personal side goal that billowed all out of proportion (as these things are wont to do) or the actual reason she even wanted to achieve the ostensible primary goal in the first place.
TL;DR Sunset Shimmer : being crowned Fall Formal Princess :: Queen Chrysalis : getting a perfect royal wedding of her own
1244998
Combine that with pre-Nightmare Luna's consuming need for respect and recognition, and every major villainess in FiM seems to suffer from crippling loneliness. Friendship is magic. Solitude is evil, or at least conducive to it.
Oh man, you have no idea how accurate Sunset Shimmer was, do you?
If Twilight hadn't come to Highschoolville, all Sunset would've done is take over Equestria. But because Twilight did come, Sunset takes over Equestria and teases Twilight.
Don't tell me Twilight didn't regret being teased, because we both know she did.
1244534
This is funny because Sunset Shimmers is (so far) the only villain who outright attempted to kill anyone.
Just before the crown "connects with those who helped create it" Sunset said something along the lines of "Twilight Sparkle has been interfering long enough," She followed this up with, a slightly inaudible, "She needs to die!" and tossed a giant flamey ball-laser thing at her.
Nightmare moon came close to attempted murder when she drooped the cliff from under them, but I think that she knew that they would be saved by the pegusi.
I am still trying to understand how the element turned her into a succubus really. I mean, I can understand that Sunset may have eventually learned how to manipulate her magic in her new form, but the element turning her into a demon mystifies me.
1244444
Makes about as much sense as the Tron Legacy invasion plan.
1245402 That was post transformation. I meant Sunset Shimmers before being turned by full on dark powers. She let Spike go. If she wanted, it wouldn't be hard to break a leg or snap Spike's neck if she was monster like that. The crown or your friend. Would of been interesting to see which she'd choose.
1244572
Infighting over pants? No, no, I'm sure a harmonious land like Equestria developed something like the SK system ages ago.
Getting back to the topic of EqG, I will always be partial to Harry Dresden's solution to the issue.
Alright, here's the thing I don't get about this whole plan. Sunset somehow knew the Element would work differently in the human world, and she somehow used it's new powers to transform herself into a demon. Since that's presumably a power exclusive to human world, would it even keep working once she went back through the mirror?
1244998
I don't get the comparison. Chrysalis was acting as Cadence during the wedding in order to weaken Shining Armour enough to lower the shield, not for fun. The wedding was already planned before she took Cadence's place, not something Chrysalis made up for giggles.
Granted, that still leaves a few questions unanswered (like why she couldn't smuggle in changelings if she was able to get behind the barrier herself, or why she didn't brainwash Shining into lowering the shield and then lock him away somewhere), but the wedding was going on anyway, and it was merely part of her disguise to go along with it.
1245170
Seems a bit of a double standard towards Chrysalis, in that case. Unlike Nightmare Moon and Trixie, she was simply thrown into the desert with her fellows scattered all over the place. And if you include the male villains, it seems a mite unfair that Discord gets a shot at redemption while Sombra is currently sixty pieces of crystal in a snowfield.
1244572
Best idea ever, hence it would never be used.
1244945
Watch the season 4 thing again, it's a memory.
1245170
Interesting observation.
1244548
Lack of military training would, indeed, be an issue, but basic motor skills? It's a heck of a lot easier for a biped to figure out quadrupedal movement than the other way around. The only reason most of us have a problem walking on both arms and legs is because our arms are too short in proportion to our legs to do so comfortably. Heck, every single one of us two-legged walkers learned how to crawl before we could walk.
Picking things up with your mouth might be a little awkward at first, but I've carried plenty of objects around in my mouth when my hands were full, so even that's not a huge leap.
1245781
Great—the High School Zombie Pony Army™ could walk and hold pointed sticks! That would still leave it exceedingly vulnerable to Equestrian pegasii air cavalry and unicorn heavy thaumatic artillery, since the zombie troopers wouldn't know how to fly or use magic. Therefore Sunset Shimmer would have to shield her troops until she could suborn enough Equestrian troops or Element Bearers to compensate for the inabilities of hers. Meanwhile, she'd have not one, but two alicorns with battlefield experience on the offensive to deal with. And since she would be invading right before the end of the gateway's active window (for another two-and-a-half years, anyway), she wouldn't have the option to retreat the way she came if she found she couldn't fight or teleport her way out of the castle. All in all, it was a really lousy plan.
1245710
I've recently watched the Season 4 Snippet. from ED. [I have an entire blog of it up]
You hear Luna gives a huge villains monologue than transforms into Nightmare Moon. While hot. That's the only villain they show but is still a biggy. You really need to clarify your response so that I know what you are trying to get at.
I'd love to chalk it up to anything other than Sunset Shimmer being a really lame villain. But... I can't. I was feeling zero threat through that whole movie. Yes, she clearly had plans for some sort of triumphant return to Equestria, powered up by a corrupted Element of Magic. But... she was just so pathetic that nobody can take it seriously enough to do anything but roll their eyes at the threat.
She's, like, a creepy thirty-something that took over a high school. At least the other arrogant, snubbed, magical unicorn antagonist we know had the guts to take over a town full of adults.
1244555
Add me to the ranks of those likewise believing that.
The EoH clearly had something to do with it. But Celestia, for all her manipulations to get Twi where she was, didn't have anything to do with the transformation itself. She was just playing welcoming committee. Personally, I'm thinking of it more like reaching satori. Twi hit some transcendent level of understanding about one of the fundamental forces of her universe. Cue enlightenment, now with added wings.
1245877
Some of the quirks in the dialogue have contributed to what has become the prevailing fan theory: Twi is either fully Quantum Leap'd into Celestia from a thousand years ago or is merely reliving those events from her perspective. Luna sneers about the "precious light," a line that makes much more sense if addressed to Celly, and boasts that there will be only one Princess (not apparently even acknowledging the existence of Janey-Come-Lately Cadance). It's not the only possible explanation but it seems to fit.
1245710, sorry if I stepped on your toes. Feel free to clarify if you meant something different.