Twilight Sparkle’s Princess Checklist · 8:04am Nov 26th, 2016
There are a lot of things that the other princesses have or do that Twilight doesn’t. Any of them could be an important part of a story or episode. Here are some items that could be in Twilight Sparkle’s Princess Checklist:
- Learn to raise the Sun and/or the Moon
- Learn to send/receive dragon mail
- Learn to teleport continental distances (like Celestia did when coming to Ponyville in Lesson Zero)
- Acquire and/or regularly wear complete regela (she sometimes wears a light gold crown with 5 gems, and wore gold hoof boots in her coronation. But Twilight needs a a petryal around her neck like the other princesses to complete her regela)
- Acquire signature armor
- Acquire one or more signature weapons/magic items (or just get the Element of Magic back as her crown)
- Acquire permanent castle staff (other than Spike)
- Have personal guards or a military unit permanently assigned to support her (I recommend assigning the Wonderbolts, they can stay in Cloudsdale and Twilight can call on them when she needs them)
- Preside over court, either in Canterlot or in Ponyville
- Govern an area (a principality or demesne)
- Give Celestia and Luna time off (be temporary ruler of Equestria)
- Represent Equestria abroad
- Judge someone in criminal court and/or pardon someone already convicted
- Create and/or sign an important decree or law
- Make an important political appointment
- Negotiate and/or sign an important international treaty
- Found or lead an important institution (like Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns)
- Lead a military campaign or a major relief operation (like after a natural disaster)
- Make a permanent change in the environment (for example: clearing the Everfree Forest of it’s dark taint)
What else should be on Twilight’s Princess Checklist?
What are some of the best stories that have dealt with these issues?
The following items on your list have already been more or less accomplished:
- Learn to raise the Sun and/or the Moon. Twilight managed to do it in Twilight's Kingdom. She needs practice controlling the orbs, however, and has yet to do so under her own unaided power;
- Learn to teleport continental distances (like Celestia did when coming to Ponyville in Lesson Zero). Twilight did this in Dragon Quest. Once again, as of that episode, she needed practice ending up at her intended destination, but may have managed that as of Every Little Thing She Does. Most of the locations she and Starlight teleported were recognizably near Ponyville, but the cave full of bats could have been anywhere;
- Acquire and/or regularly wear complete regela (she sometimes wears a light gold crown with 5 gems, and wore gold hoof boots in her coronation. But Twilight needs a a petryal around her neck like the other princesses to complete her regela). You've already gone into how "more or less" this has been accomplished;
- Preside over court, either in Canterlot or in Ponyville. The Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange isn't in either Canterlot or Ponyville, but presiding over it and ruling on disputes is explicitly a Princess's duty;
- Represent Equestria abroad. She represented Equestria before Griffonstone in Stranger than Fanfiction, and before Yakyakistan in Dungeons and Discords. Not as the senior princess, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything; she wasn't the senior princess at the Grand Equestria Pony Summit, and was still presented as doing most of the work and getting most of the credit;
- Judge someone in criminal court and/or pardon someone already convicted. She pardoned Starlight Glimmer;
- Negotiate and/or sign an important international treaty. See above, also Party Pooped.
- Make a permanent change in the environment (for example: clearing the Everfree Forest of it’s dark taint). This was all but accomplished by returning the Elements of Harmony to the Tree.
What's more, if the standard is meant to be what the other princesses do, having a signature weapon is a creation of fandom, and elaborate princess armor only shows up in the comics. Neither has, unless my memory's failing me, been shown in the show or the films.
4317790 Thank you for the thorough response. I had (obviously) forgotten several of those bits of canon. Replies on a couple of your comments:
- Learn to raise the Sun and/or the Moon. I should have added 'on her own'. Twilight did raise both in Twilight's Kingdom, but not, as you stated, using her own power. When Twilight can do this without Celestia and/or Luna, it will open up new possibilities for all of three characters. I still think there is a good story to tell here.
- Preside over court, either in Canterlot or in Ponyville. Agreed that presiding over the Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange is explicitly a Princess's duty. However, seeing Twilight on the big throne in Canterlot (possibly after raising the sun under hew own power) would be a seminal event in her life and could be part of a good story.
- Make a permanent change in the environment (for example: clearing the Everfree Forest of it’s dark taint). Returning the Elements to the Tree stopped the Plunder Vines, but as far as i know, it has not been explicitly stated that it made the Everfree any safer. However, given how much more freely the characters enter the Everfree now, I could see this as a part of what happened.
I also agree that the princesses' weapons are creations of fandom, and their armor has only been in the comics. I could see the armor being added to the show. I expect you are right that weapons will continue to be only seen in fanfic. Or possibly, in a Guardians of Harmony spinoff.