How would you explore this idea? · 2:48am Jul 25th, 2014
Mind control. The points brought up in this video have some pretty awesome and scary implications. Firstly, Twilight abusing her power in the name of friendship. Her friendship specifically. While it is mentioned that canon Princess Twilight is not immortal, I'd imagine she'd still live for a pretty long time. Would she take to having look alikes of her friends being brainwashed into BEING her friends? Would she do that to the entire town of Ponyville? Have her own little perfect world the way she like it, for as long as she lived?
Or, the more disturbing implication, everything we know about Equestria is a lie. Celestia has been using mind control to totally subvert free will and alter history for her own benefit. Which would go hand in hand with all the theories on how Celestia keeps goofing up. The reason why she doesn't act like she has thousands of years of experience is because she actually isn't really that old. Also: Could she have mind controlled Luna into becoming Nightmare Moon? That way she'd have a valid reason to take complete control over Equestria. After a decade of single rule and getting fed up with it, she decides to bring Luna back. Or decide to make use of her discarded sister to forward her agenda with Twilight. Add a little more mind control in, and Luna pretty much does nothing once she comes back. Unless of course it's furthering Celestia's personal agenda.
Sorta just rambling, what are your thoughts?
Considering that Granny Smith is several hundred years old canon, I don't think the 'Twilight outlives her friends' is an issue even if she were immortal. At the end of however long the other five live, they could easily choose immortality if it were available, or Twilight could choose to give up hers. Also, I doubt mind control is actually as prevalent as it seems.
2313782 However, if you have a tyrannical Celestia, she could be using her mind control to fool... well... everypony. Including Granny Smith. She (both Granny and Twilight) might simply believe it's the truth. It could be that ponies only live to be around a hundred like us, and Celestia's just altering everyone's perception to support her "I'm a thousand+ year old monarch" lie.
Also, where does it say that the other 5 can choose to get immortality, or that Twilight can give it up. Totally curious here, because I never heard of this. Unless you count fanfiction. Otherwise, I haven't.
Also, I would like to point out you're sidestepping the whole "Twilight having a mental breakdown and mind controlling other ponies to act as her original friends" scenario.
I will also point out that the above video gives 7 instances where canon characters do in fact have some ability to control the minds or perceptions of others. There are a few more that I can think off the top of my head, like the Alicorn Amulet, Nightmare Moon depending on how you look at it, and the Elements of Harmony. It is late however, so if you do have questions about my suggestions I'll answer them sometime tomorrow. Assuming that my internet will stop playing red light green light long enough for me to answer.
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The problem with all of this is that it assumes things aren't what they seem, whereas Occam's Razor dictates that the simplest explanation - that everything is what it seems - is the truth.
As far as Twilight's eventual supposed mental breakdown...wouldn't it logically take less magic to walk into Elysium and visit her friends? If Tartarus has gates that someone can walk in and out of, logically so would Elysium, in order to balance the relative powers.
As for immortality vs mortality, that entire issue is based purely in fanfiction, as it will never be addressed in the show...meaning it's a non-issue as far as "What Equestria really is" beyond personal opinions. Although as far as in show goes, all it would need would be to turn the other five into alicorns...and Hasbro loves selling new toys.
I saw all the instances. The only ones I actually considered valid instances were Changelings and Cadence. In the case of the reformation spell, that would be rewriting a mind rather than controlling one, and it could very well be a spell that derives power from the EoH specifically to influence a Spirit of Chaos. Not a matter of power at all. As for the Want it, Need it spell, that's a classic succubus glamour as applied to an inanimate object. Again, not true mind control.
2314000 Hmmm... The issue here seems to be that you take a literal approach to mind control. If someone is not actively controlling someone's mind, then it doesn't count as mind control.
I on the other hand feel that anything that messes with the perceptions of the brain counts as a kind of mind control. That would include the Want It Need It spell, the supposed Reformation spell, the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon (depending on how Nightmare Moon works, I'm assuming she's a aspect of Luna's mind), Discord's Discording, the Stare, King Sombra's door, the Alicorn Amulet (it certainly had a hold on Trixie's mind in some way), Nightmare Moon again if she is some kind of outside entity that took control over Luna in a moment of weakness, and possibly others that I can't remember at the moment.
All of these spells or artifacts exert some kind of control over another being's mind, altering it, sometimes permanently. In my head, that all counts as mind control.
In regards to Tatarus... That is an actual prison, not the Underworld as Greek Mythology depicts it. I don't remember Elysium ever being mentioned canon-ly.
As for immortality vs mortality being a non-issue, this entire discussion counts as a non-issue. None of this stuff I'm proposing will ever be addressed in canon. I'm speaking of a hypothetical situation, outside of canon, but linked to it. If you want to point out this out and say this is why your arguments invalid... It kind of defeats the whole purpose of this. That goes the same for your Occam's Razor.
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Actually, my first point about Occam's Razor is why I find most stories and theories regarding this sort of thing hard to believe. It assumes far too much that isn't shown, and tries to reexplain things in ways that are mostly unnecessary.
2315142 I question why you think magical mythical ponies are easier to believe than magical mythical ponies with mind control.
But I do understand where you're coming from. There are a huge amount of fics floating around on here where it asks us to stretch a disbelief a little too far. And I respect your opinion if this idea is to [insert adjective here] to swallow.
But the purpose of this post was to have fun imagining something like this for fun.
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It's more in the sense that I don't find such ideas fun. It injects unnecessary dark overtones in an otherwise light world. There are plenty of possible ways to explore darkness in MLP without warping characters to something other than what they're represented as.
Besides, exploring the idea of Celestia as the mind controlling super ruler presents two problems.
Problem one is the "So what?" problem. This is a story that just presents the idea and reinterprets the events of the show through that idea. Unless it's a comedy story presenting it as humorous, it doesn't go anywhere...so, as the problem is called, "So What?"
Problem two is the "What then?" problem. This is where the mind control is addressed as a conspiracy and someone - usually Twilight - breaks the mind control and overthrows Celestia. The problem there is that the story then assumes everything will be fine once freedom reigns...or assumes everything is chaos, and Celestia ends up reinstated as the only one who can keep order, or Twilight has to enact it herself for whatever motives. The big question not addressed ever is what would happen to a society based on mass mind control when that mind control is purged? In essence, "What then?"
The main issue with these two problems is that there is no acceptable solution to them. They will always be the issues with this concept, which makes it difficult to accept.
Besides, if Celestia is mass mind controlling Equestria, how is that different than Chrysalis and Hive Mind Changelings?
2315422 Ok dude, from my perspective, the only reason you're responding is that you want to disprove or invalidate my supposed scenarios.
Again, to me, that makes you sound like a bit of a stick in the mud. I don't have a problem with you not liking the scenario. But please, if your not gonna go along with it, you've already made your point on that.
Now I do notice that no one else seems to have taken an interest either for one reason or another. So I'm just gonna stop it right here. I do thank you for showing interest, but this is not the type of discussion I wanted.
To be clear, it's not you (okay maybe a bit... or two) it's me. Again, thank you for the interest. It's just not the interest I wanted.
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Actually, the reason I made all my points was the title of the blog.
"Do you think this should be explored?"
Everything I rose simply the evidence, reasoning, and opinions behind my answer, "No."
2315878 *looks back at the title*
Ok you got me there. My wording didn't express my intention.
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Fair enough. And now my answer is, "I wouldn't."