Points of Canon: Legends of Magic #12

The last one. Well, the storyline only properly concludes in Annual 2018, but at least this part is done.

I mean, the comics go on making a mess of the continuity, but at least this batch should be done. Continuing from Legends of Magic #11…

• “You’re all real! I thought some of you might be, but I never guessed every one of you was!” Star Swirl is fangirling over the rest of the Pillars. Take note.
• Celestia and Luna turn up – looking teenage indeed, and even Celestia has her hair mostly pink. Star Swirl told them that he’s leaving on a quest, and they still have mysteriously avoided meeting any of the Pillars. In fact, later lines by Star Swirl imply he deliberately prevented them from meeting them, but he never explains his reasons adequately: “Even if we are able to face some problems ourselves, it’s best if they don’t know this little group exists.” Why?
• “Princess Luna, there are no evil wizards.” Really. I mean really.
• Both Celestia and Luna teleport synchronously for no reason but to emphasize a line.
• “So explain this to me again. What’s wrong with this castle?” It’s supposed to be standing in the middle of a forest, for one, being the Castle of the Two Sisters. It isn’t, even though all the sources insist it was inside the forest all along, from the Journal, to the artbooks, to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Potion of Plot-Important Flashback. While Flash states that he had to fly through a forest to get there, we certainly can’t see it. Or the ravine.

• “Now Rockhoof, one thing I must know, is this the same shovel you always use or are they a series of shovels?”

  “Oh no, I make them all by hand, but there’s been a few. My first was burned by a baby cherufe.”

  • Hand?…
  • So which of them is the artifact shovel, then?…
  • This trip montage is basically there to explain how Star Swirl even knows the stories he tells in prior Legends volumes, which at least certifies that prior to this point they do not yet exist.
• “If they’re using all the ponies in town like batteries, the more we remove, the easier it could be to face the Dazzlings.” Notice the use of the word “battery.” Does this mean batteries exist at this point?…
• “I have been working on this theory. The best elements within us can spread light and virtue. When they’re combined, these elements can create a power capable of protecting Equestria from all manner of threats.” Even Flash noticed that Stygian had this idea before, but both require certain developments in philosophy to even exist, don’t they? Namely, the idea that virtue can manifest as a direct action. Stygian explicitly disclaims having any element to contribute, which is what gets everyone into this mess. According to Star Swirl, his element is “sorcery”, but in the ensuing discussion, Somnambula assigns “friendship” to Stygian, seeing magic and friendship as distinct and unrelated. Notice how narrowly we have escaped having seven Elements of Harmony. There’s a story in it for someone. That said, while this theory seems to be important in some way to the proceedings, it does not appear to get actually used at all: No talk of the Tree, no nothing, it’s just there without explaining absolutely anything pertinent.
• “I created amniomorphic magic as we know it.” This bullshit again.

• “I can change the shape of a pony, but I cannot change their mind.”

  • So all those reformation spells from Keep Calm and Flutter On or other mind-affective spells don’t exist yet? What about the Memory Stone from Forgotten Friendship?
  • Star Swirl claims to be capable of polymorph spells.

• “I’m a healer, Star Swirl. I’m not going to help you destroy these creatures, evil or not.”

  “Destroy? Something so drastic would only be a last resort. But I do not believe anything so drastic will be necessary. From what Stygian has told me, they feed on the magic of other ponies. All we need to do is separate them from magic.”

  • I.e. let’s make them some other world’s problem instead and let them destroy these creatures, right.
  • Notice that throughout this conversation, the Sirens are repeatedly treated as if they are ponies in nature.
• “I know of several lovely dimensions without the slightest hint of magic.” A very far-reaching claim from Star Swirl.
• “I will create a portal to one of these worlds and you’ll work together to push them through.” Star Swirl does not require mirrors or anything else to create such a portal.
• “First, Meadowbrook has created a potion for all of you which will allow you to withstand the magic of the Dazzlings for a short time.” Based purely on the description of the effects.
• “The only other option was to make you deaf and… then we wouldn’t be able to communicate.” There are so many ways to communicate without using your ears…
• The Sirens get pushed through the portal. Unlike the description of the events in FIENDship is Magic #3, we do not get a glimpse of the other side, so we don’t know just what happened to them afterwards.
• “But I think I’ve finally found something that can allow me to become a hero like my friends. It’s simple enough, I think. All I need is to borrow the symbol of each of their strengths. The ritual should allow me to something amazing.” Spelling intact, including the missing “do.” Notice that Stygian never tells us how exactly did he come up with the ritual.

Back to framing story

After so long…

• Stygian admits to personally delivering the above story to Sunburst. Notice, though that they refer to the story as a “diary,” when it does not otherwise appear to be one.
• “If things had gone differently, you could have been Princess Twilight.” Not sure how Stygian feels about hearing this statement.
• “Star Swirl misunderstood the Elements of Harmony. He discounted your contribution. He exiled you. He also dumped those sirens into a world where they nearly took over. And it’s probably because he locked himself away that Luna ended up becoming Nightmare Moon. What if Star Swirl the Bearded is the greatest villain in the history of Equestria?” Indeed.

I guess I’ll hold off on my analysis until I’m done with Annual 2018. I need a break.

Comments

[Cursed Quill]

” Star Swirl is fangirling

Did someone sneak in a gender change spell? Twilight implied such to be a feat of magic by including it in her fakery in "Magic Duel".

“If they’re using all the ponies in town like batteries, the more we remove, the easier it could be to face the Dazzlings.” Notice the use of the word “battery.” Does this mean batteries exist at this point?…

Magic-storing batteries having come up seems more likely to me.

“Destroy? Something so drastic would only be a last resort. But I do not believe anything so drastic will be necessary. From what Stygian has told me, they feed on the magic of other ponies. All we need to do is separate them from magic.”

Also, starvation is kinder than a swift death in battle, somehow.

[Oliver]

5016035

Magic-storing batteries having come up seems more likely to me.

This is mostly about the etymology of the word “battery.” The first user of this for electrical batteries is none other than Benjamin Franklin, who likened a collection of Leyden jars to a battery of cannons…

[howard035]

I think a fair amount of this comic can be explained by the fact that Starswirl does not consider himself to be raising children, he is training them to be warrior/rulers. Also, he is terrible with children and lacks all common sense, as has been demonstrated many times. (How many famous wizards occasionally do dumb stuff because of their weakness for dramatic flair?)

I wonder if Celestia's failure trying to train Sunset so she could redeem Nightmare Moon came in part because she was operating off what she learned from Starswirl.

Notice how narrowly we have escaped having seven Elements of Harmony.

Stygian could have been a decent Element of Empathy.

[DannyJ]

There are no evil wizards.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/4/15/874631.jpg

Only amoral ones. Which is all of them.

[Oliver]

5016817

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