Isolation Pone · 6:49pm Jun 11th, 2017
Just a thought that occurred to me after posting today's Friendship is Card Games that seems important enough to merit its own blog post. Credit goes to Maran for getting my mind to go in this direction.
One of the most notable aspects of "A Royal Problem" was that this wasn't just Starlight's first map mission, but also the first solo map mission ever.
... except it wasn't. Not exactly.
Oh, sure, Twilight wasn't called in to Canterlot, but that just meant that she meddled the exact amount that the Map, in its extratemporal wisdom, knew she would need to. She lacked the physical agency to stop Starlight from going full Glimglam*, but could still plant the idea of Nightmare Moon's return in Starlight's subconscious. Were it not for the dream that resulted from that idea, Celestia might have come out of her night shift with a feeling of smug superiority, which is just about the worst way the switch could've gone.
Long story short, the Cutie Map trolled Twilight for the greater good.
*Defined as reshaping equine psyches to fit her whim first and thinking about the possible consequences of her actions somewhere around tenth. cf. "The Cutie Map," "Every Little Thing She Does," "All Bottled Up," et. al. Yes, not even Starlight herself is safe when she goes full Glimglam
I can believe it. I just wonder if the writers did.
I honestly don't think the map cares, you gotta remember that all the rules surrounding the map were made up by Twilight, there's no reason she couldn't go along she just believes she can't because she wasn't called.
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I feel like the trip to Griffinstone clearly shows that only the ponies who are called should go. Because on that mission if Twilight had gone, her ability to teleport would have negated Gilda's need to repel down, and allowed them to get the idol, resulting in the wrong friendship lesson being learned.
Never go full Glimglam. (It had to be said.)
4568227 Or how Twi going to Manehatten would have just fixed the issue of the stage, but not helped the community itself.
Yep, this is an amazing bit of subtlety, and given the pineapple thing, I'm pretty sure the writer did it intentionally.
I think the map will try a different tack next time:
[in the Map Room]
STARLIGHT: I can't believe the map called me for a solo mission, again! Hey, where's Twilight?
SPIKE [shrugging]: I don't know. She was here earlier but I think she had to rush off somewhere.
[in a broom closet]
TWILIGHT: I can't believe the map called me for a solo mission!
Map don't give a fuuuuuck
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You can go part Glimglam, that's how you do the impossible. Just never go full Glimglam!
By that rationale the map also knew Starlight would almost be traumatized from the venture.
That map is passive aggressive.
Starlight is best worst overpowered flawed pony.
No seriously, I love how her propensity to go OTT and screw things up is precisely what was needed here to save the day. And I appreciate how she brings a less-saccharine edge to the magic of friendship.
Hail Map, master of Trolls.
4568223 Agreed. I'm really tired of a super-smart friendship princess taking orders from a glowing rock. I don't care how smart it is, it's just a rock/tree! Twilight should override it whenever she wants!
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That kinda expresses how I feel about the whole show. It rarely goes from sweet into unrealistically saccharine.
Sapient Cartography
Conspiracy
Double Agenda
Whenever a creature you control with one of the chosen names attacks, you may reveal a creature card with the other chosen name from your hand. If you do, the attacking creature gains all abilities of the card revealed this way and gets +X/+X, where X is the power of the card revealed this way.
The Map is playing four-dimensional chess.