A Different Backstory for Starlight Glimmer · 3:25pm Nov 9th, 2020

Hopefully, this one will be less controversial than my last Starlight-centric post.

In my opinion, Starlight's backstory was...incredibly dumb. So what if her bestie had gotten his Cutie Mark before she did? They could have easily made it long-distance. If Cozy and Tirek can become pen-pals, why not Starlight and Sunburst? Sure, they could have easily drifted apart over time even if they did become pen-pals but I've drifted apart from some friends I made in school and you don't see me running a cult. Don't get me wrong, it's not the first time a villain's backstory doesn't justify their crimes but the thing is we're supposed to see her in a sympathetic light. I mean, it's okay that she didn't move on but is she was so hesitant about moving on, why did she accept Twilight's offer of friendship so quickly? I find it unrealistic that someone with her mindset would accept friendship so easily, especially since she is a grown pony. When you've been bitter for that long, you don't just get over it!

But I digress.

Now, rather than have her be bitter about separating from her friend, I'm gonna give a much more relatable reason as to why she became the villain she was in Season 5:

When she was a little filly, her parents would have argued a lot, enough to the point that they eventually split up. Oh, and she would have had an older sister that also frequently got into arguments with her mother.
She would be a student at the School for Gifted Unicorns, as a kind-of-way to explain why her power level is on par with Twilight. Unlike Twilight, however, she would have been a very sociable pony that had a knack for making friends. After all, how can you run a cult if you don't have the social skills for it? Unfortunately, her friends were prone to arguing and disagreeing amongst themselves. Sometimes to the point where Starlight would have been regularly forced to choose between a pair of friends. Wouldn't be too surprised if she drifted apart from whatever friends she had left, whether it's them changing or her. Most likely them.
Even as she became an adult, she was still a blank flank, which resulted in some of the more upper-class ponies in Canterlot treating her with scorn. Then after a row with her sister that ended with the sister bringing up her blank flank status, Starlight blasted magic at her sister's cutie mark that caused it to float away. While such a situation would be very comical, Starlight would be absolutely horrified by what she had done. And to makes matters worse, her action resulted in her finally getting her cutie mark.
Overwhelmed with guilt at what she did to her sister, Starlight ran away from home. Looking at her cutie mark and how different everypony else's cutie mark is, she came to the conclusion the only way for anypony to get along is if they're all equal. And the only way for everypony to be equal is for them to give up what makes them so unique, whether they're willing or not.
As for how she came across her village...well...it's safe to assume she had been on the run for some time now and, similar to how Lotso from Toy Story 3 came across Sunnyside and ruled over the toys there with an iron fist, she pretty much did the same thing. Not through force, mind you, but by using her charisma and knack for making friends.

So what do you guys think? Does this alternate backstory make Starlight a more tragic and dare I say complex figure? Or did you prefer her canon backstory?

Report Leondude · 191 views · #backstory #starlight glimmer

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