A few notes on the expanded Mirror World · 5:16am Nov 29th, 2014
In this blog entry, I'd like to take a moment to discuss some of the ideas I've come to regarding the Mirror World. Specifically the characters and how I intend to approach them:
Celestia-In order to distinguish Mirror Celestia from the main world version, I decided that even though she's redeemed, she should still have a bit of an edge to her. Hence, while Prime Celestia is kind and gentle, Mirror Celestia is somewhat snarky (especially in her dealings with her world's Discord) with a pragmatism that borders on being heartless. However, she does show a softer and more caring side around Luna, whom she deeply regrets betraying during the final battle with Sombra and the Mane 6. Finally, I don't think the reason she was originally evil was that she was possessed by her world's version of the Nightmare Force, but rather upon becoming an alicorn (in my headcanon, being an alicorn is not a birthright but must be earned, no exceptions) she allowed her power to go to her head and corrupt her.
Luna-Having her turn evil just because prime Luna was redeemed seemed a little too simple for me. That's when I got to thinking. What if mirror Luna was in love with Mirror Sombra as well? But because of his feelings for Prime Celestia she could never be with him. And what if Celestia saw what was going on and used her sister's jealousy and resentment to turn her? Now that she's been reformed, mirror Luna is overcome with feelings of guilt and is desperate to find and save Sombra.
Discord-Out of all the mirror characters, Mirror Discord was the hardest for me to characterize. Some of my ideas included making him a clone of Disney's Genie to making his Captain Goodguy persona akin to Usopp's Sniper King where he thinks noone knows his identity when they actually do. In the end, I resigned to making him a more toned down version of his Prime incarnation. He's more eccentric than obnoxious and deeply appreciates those who treat him with respect. You could even say that he was Sombra's best friend. He also has somewhat of a love-hate relationship with Mirror Celestia and the two serve as a foil to each other.
Chrysalis-In the mirror world, the changelings were originally a race of refugees who developed the ability to transform to hide themselves from persecution. Like their Prime World counterparts, they also feed on love but do it in a more passive way, absorbing the latent positive emotions around them rather than leeching off innocent victims. As for Chrysalis, the stained glass window in Sombra's castle labels her as the spirit of Love. So when developing her characterization I decided to make her a toned down version of Fluttershy; gentle and loving, especially in regards to children, but not quite as timid. As suggested in the flashback, she's also a bit of mother bear when protecting the other changelings from perceived threats.
Trixie-According to the stained glass window in Sombra's castle, Mirror Trixie was the spirit of Humility. And since she had become an Alicorn, I decided to make her the Mirror World's version of Twilight, having been trained in magic by Sombra and eventually becoming a princess herself.
Derpy-Not much to tell here. Since the stained glass window in Sombra's castle labelled her as the spirit of Wisdom, I essentially took the widely held fan interpretation of Prime Derpy and turned it on its head.
The Diamond Dogs-Mentioned in chapter 2 by Mirror Celestia, the Diamond Dogs are essentially the master engineers of the Mirror World. They might even make an appearance towards the end.
There's also mention of another ally in chapter 2, but I don't want to spoil the surprise just yet. Like the Diamond Dogs, he might also make an appearance towards the end.
And that's it. In the next chapter, the Mane 6 will finally appear, as well as a few other familiar characters, and a not so familiar one as well. Stay tuned.
