Quick Thought on Equestria Girls and the Eco-Geeks · 2:04pm Sep 9th, 2014
I was watching Equestria Girls again, and I noticed that the Cliques of Canterlot High School are clearly meant to be stand-ins for the Kinds of Equestria. Except that, of course, there are a lot more Cliques in CHS than there are Kinds in Equestria.
Or maybe not. Because of three things: (1) Ponykind actually comprised five (rather than three) main Kinds back 6000 years ago (Pegasus Ponies, Unicorn Ponies, Earth Ponies, Sea Ponies and Flutter Ponies), (2) some of those Kinds then changed either by evolution or magical transformation, and (3) Equestria's population, and the population of the world in which it is located, includes more sapient beings than just Ponies.
One identification is obvious. The sports kids are the analogues of the Pegasus Ponies. This is made obvious by the presence of Rainbow Dash, and Cloud Kicker among their number (I was hilariously amused that they gave Cloud Kicker lines and that she got the classic "sultry bimbo" voice which makes it obvious that somebody was paying attention to Chengar Qoradath's fanon on this). The others are hazier, and one Kind might conceivably form more than one clique.
Fluttershy, of course, defies this. Though she's a sports fan (specifically, a Rainbow Dash fan, which makes sense because her Pony analogue loves Dashie), but she really doesn't fit in with them (any more than Pony Fluttershy really fits in with most of the other Pegasi). With which clique would she be if she wasn't with the Humane Five?
Obviously, the eco-geeks. In fact Fluttershy probably does more for animals herself than most of the eco-geeks.
Then I thought: "Who are the Eco-Geeks?" They're obviously analogues of some Kind who were oriented around protecting Nature and ... oh.
The Flutter Ponies.
But wait! On Equestria's side of the Mirror, there are no Flutter Ponies. Though Pony Fluttershy acts a lot like a Flutter Pony ... in my fanon because she is half descended from what the Flutter Ponies became ... the Changelings ...
Oh.
This led me to thinking about the nastier side of environmentalism, the side that wants to control and limit Humanity to a very small compass of behavior, supposedly in order to protect the environment. Which makes me wonder -- are the Eco-Geeks Flutter Ponies? And are there, hidden among them, Changelings?
Great. New headcanon has begun to boil and rise within me. It almost makes me giddy with excitement.
An interesting thought, certainly, though there doesn't seem to be much overlap between psychovorous shapeshifters and eco-terrorists. Aside from jocks and pegasi, I honestly don't see many parallels between Kinds and Cliques. Let's see, how did Fluttershy put it?
Oh dear, that's six already. And many of them are subcultural groups that are far too specialized to encompass an entire subspecies. Some of them even occupy niches that don't seem to be present in Equestria.
So, yeah, I think you may be drawing nonexistent parallels here. To put it in the parlance of RPGs, it's the difference between race and class. Not all elves are wizards, not all orcs are barbarians, and not all unicorns are dramas.
2440829 I agree. No Race is defined by one class.
Except Dwarves.
This is a beautiful concept.
Okay. I'll admit. Seeing it from this side. There's something elegant about seeing you taking stuff like this and working it into you canon. Bravo. *claps*
2440829 Yes--I wish it worked, but it doesn't really. The Wondercolts are mostly drawn from Pegasi--the ones that are recognizable, that is. Many of the students don't have a corresponding pony and vice versa. Spitfire's the Captain in Dash's freshman year. But I know that some people were saying that they couldn't understand why it was soccer and not something a bit more flight-centered. I'm positive it has something to do with Bend It Like Beckham.
For what it's worth, though, Flash's band has a representative from each group, I think--a rocker, a geek, and an eco--though I can't remember what the last one is. The overall message is the same, though; we all have to work together, whatever our differences.
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Sadly you're right -- I need to re-think this, though I still think some aspects of it are still applicable. And I like the idea of Changelings Infiltrating (or being invited to attend Canterlot High ... it has potential.
2441267 Well, we'll see. Without getting TOO spoilery, it's just possible that something otherworldly is going to make an appearance.
I do agree with some of the others that you're over-simplifying the cliques. If anything, they represent personality types and interests (note that while the athletes are primarily pegasi most of those pegasi are themselves athletes in Equestria).
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Oh well if you like the idea of changelings infiltrating Canterlot High, I know I saw a story with that idea somewhere. It's a Sunset Shimmer centered story, not sure how you feel about that, but here you go:
http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/extracurriculars-mlp.300704/
It's pretty good, though unfinished. Here's Sunset Shimmer explaining her need to keep her nature secret:
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I'm sure the popularity of Soccer teen sports movies helped decide the sport, but what do you mean by flight orientated? I don't know of any high-schools with parachuting or hang-gliding clubs and they aren't quite the same kind of physical sport soccer is, anyway (piloting is even worse). Rainbow Dash in Equestria is very much a physical athlete, practicing moving her body in certain ways better, so it's no surprise her human counterpart is the same. I would have probably picked track and field as her specialty, personally but I don't think there's anything really appropriate that's 'flight orientated'.
2441905 Track and field. I think they meant speed. But Bend It Like Beckham in particular is such a girl power movie that it has to have been on their minds.
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And then the Humanoid versions of Scooby, Shaggy, Frank, Daphne and Velma will show up! Yay!
But please, no Scrappy!
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It occurred to me that Bend It Like Beckham may not be the only reason.
Thinking about it, Soccer has one major advantage over running events-- It's a lot easier to show off with soccer skills. You can learn fancy tricks with the ball and wow people, which you can't really do with sprinting or cross-country. Showing off is a major part of Dash's character, which and the two best common sports for that are probably Soccer and Basketball.
I agree with Jordan179, Scrappy Doo wasn't as likeable a character as the main gang of Scooby Doo. Yet interesting concepts by the way