Thriving Through Pony -- CWLTP 2017

hOI!!!

The following is the second draft of what I will be presenting along with Doodle Noodle and Saphy this year. Let me know what you think. I'm quite open to suggestions and questions as I really want to make sure we make a strong impact this year. :)

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THRIVING THROUGH PONY:
By: Matthew S. Palumbo / Yosh E. O’Ducky

Trauma plays a huge role in our lives. It is how we perceive these traumas that can ultimately make the difference between building our self-confidence or feeling like we are victims of life itself.

What may often make the biggest difference in our perceptions of our life experiences is our friends, family, and overall support systems. This is why it is very important to see people beyond what a first perception may provide.

For example we’ll talk about the friendship between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The pair that we may notice now in Season 7 is far different than the one we came to know in Seasons 1 and 2. Season 1 had episodes like “Dragonshy” and “Sonic Rainboom” that had Rainbow Dash appearing to not have a whole lot of faith in Flutters. However the events illustrated in “The Cutie Mark Chronicles” show that Dash has always had a soft spot for helping those who may appear in need of someone to stand up for them. This aspect is also shown to us in “The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone” where Dash looked out for a young Gilda who was the sole griffon at the Junior Speedsters Flight Academy.

By Season 2 we learned how Flutters has long held on to the trauma of being teased for not ever being the stereotypical Pegasus. We also see her start to take interest in not allowing herself to be pushed around through the episode “Putting Your Hoof Down”. This episode set up for what we’d start to see in Fluttershy’s development in future seasons as it connected well with her actions at the beginning of “Dragon Quest”, where she stood up to Rainbow Dash, and “Hurricane Fluttershy”, where Dash started to not be as rough on Flutters by holding back her frustration and focusing on more supportive statements and actions. It can also not be forgotten how Fluttershy was the one who had to support Rainbow Dash in “Tanks for the Memories” by being blunt about about how Dashie would need to let Tank hibernate despite Rainbow’s desire for him to not do so.

Dash and Fluttershy show how friendships are two way streets that work best when each individual can support the other in good times and bad. They flourish as they grow over time to best know what makes the other happy and sad. They further grow when it can be known how best to respect the unique differences each possesses towards creating a bond that is greater than each individual alone.

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There is also the situation where you may not realize how you are thriving despite the traumas in your life. Starlight Glimmer is a perfect example of this.

The loss of her best friend, Sunburst, set into motion a strong hatred towards everything she felt lead to the loss of her friend. However her determination to do something about it, albeit not a positive way of handling the trauma, earned her a Cutie Mark and made her so good with magic that she can rival the Element of Magic, Princess twilight Sparkle!

For Starlight it required someone to genuinely take notice of her, acknowledge her feelings, and try to show her how there were better ways of coping with the trauma she had not yet begun to recover from since childhood. Thanks to Twilight being that individual to see Starlight as not so much evil as emotionally distressed allowed Starlight to acknowledge her abilities in magic, no longer despise Cutie Marks, and start building genuine friendships.

What makes Starlight’s adventure in healing from her trauma is how it put her in position to help Trixie cope with hers. So Starlight shows how one should not look back on time lost as a result of negatively coping with a trauma. Rather one should be proud of having attained a point of recognition that allows them to see all that has happened in their lives as a learning experience in which can be shared with others in a potentially endless chain of healing, thriving, and friendship.

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There are even some who naturally thrive through trauma but need reminders of how special they are despite situations in which may make them look more deeply on a negative than the positive. Spike and Scootaloo exemplify this aspect very well.

Scootaloo has never viewed herself as less than a Pegasus as a result of her wings being too small unless it is outright brought to her attention or something comes up where she is made to realize she genuinely can’t fly. Any other time she is using her tiny wings to propel herself on her scooter or merrily flutter during times of extreme joy. She’s even figured out how to use her talents with the scooter to help her friends travel at much faster speeds from point to point by hooking the scooter up to a wagon. So she is very creative in finding ways to work around her limitation or use it to her advantage. Should a time come where she is down about her inability to fly all she needs is support from Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle or her mentor, Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo also tends to pay the kindness forward that is shown to her with one of the best examples being to Gabby Griffon from “The Fault In Our marks”.

Spike, like Scootaloo, tends to not dwell on how he is far different from those around him or may be left out of certain activities. he typically does not mind unless a situation comes up to question his usefulness or why he may not be invited to be a part of something the other characters are doing. But, like Scootaloo, he just needs the supportive reminders from his friends to get back on track. Some notable examples come from the episodes “Owls Well That Ends Well”, “Dragon Quest”, “Spike At Your Service”, and “Power Ponies”. Examples that may not be so obvious come from “Suite and Elite”, which is where Spike is not invited as a part of twilight’s birthday party and is later seen having a picture of the party where he cut out a picture of himself to include in the image. Another is in “Lesson Zero” where Twilight asks for six cupcakes for a visit with her friends. However Spike is not obviously considered as he would make for the seventh friend. One final example of a lesser realized incident of being left out is from “Saddle Row and Rec” where he is completely not involved in aiding Rarity in setting up her latest boutique in Manehattan. With his notable crush on Rarity and desire to help her whenever and however he can makes being left out while every other pony is involved would be quite devastating. Fortunately Spike tends to do very well in not seeing himself as a victim of life circumstances by finding ways to self acknowledge his accomplishments, as in “Princess Spike” where he treats himself to a bowl full of gems for aiding an exhausted Princess twilight, and A Flurry Of Emotions” where he stays back at the hospital to read to the sick foals after a hard day of trying to keep Twilight on schedule.