Is Sci-Twi The Better Version of Twilight Sparkle? Or At Least the More Relatable Twilight? · 12:36am Aug 8th, 2021
Let me be clear: I don't think the pony princess we've come to know and love is a bad character: she's funny, adorable, and she does have her own story arc that is compelling. But for several reasons which I will explore, I don't find pony Twilight to be a very relatable character, and not just because she is a magical pony princess fro a pony world.
But watching Friendship Games, I found myself identifying more with Sci-Twi. Yes, she does come from a world where human beings are candy colored and have a weird fixation with horses, but I found myself sympathizing with her issues more than pony Twilight.
Pony Twilight Is A Pretty Privileged And Popular Pupil of a Princess
Even before becoming princess, Pony Twilight really had it made by Equestria standards:
* She was blessed with magical talent, with her cutie mark being the very symbol of magic.
* She was the student of a princess, and had all kind of benefits associated with it, including access to a forbidden library.
* She had her own tower in the castle where she lived and worked.
* Her brother was the Captain of the Royal Guard.
* Her babysitter and surrogate sister was herself a princess, and whom her brother would later tie the knot with.
* Her parents are also pretty well-to-do, with Twilight Velvet (possibly) being a Daring Do novelist.
And while pony Twilight was indicated as being anti-social, in the very first episode, she had ponies inviting her to come to a party, ponies waving at her, and even admiration from the royal guards. For somebody who claims to be uninterested in friends, she has had quite a few options to be social.
Human Twilight Was the Real Loner
Human Twilight, by constrast, has had none of these benefits. While Princess Twilight has a quasi-aristocratic background, Human Twilight is somebody who, despite being a science prodigy, has zero priveleges and nothing comes easy for her, to put it mildly.
* Human Twilight doesn't easily find companionship: her classmates didn't like her, her ostensible teammates treated her like a burden, and even Sunset treated her with contempt initially due to her recklessness. In one of the EG books, Twilight said she had never even been invited to a slumber party.
* Her only constant companion is a dog.
* Her own principal blackmailed her, and Twilight didn't report this to anyone, indicating that her other teachers weren't particularly supportive of her either.
* I get the impression that Human Twilight's family life isn't all that great. I think the human version of her parents are deceased, and Shining Armor and Dean Cadence seem to neglect her: they send her to a school where nobody likes her, they force her to compete in a contest she has no interest in, they don't support her desire to do an independent study program, and she doesn't tell them that Cinch is blackmailing her. I explore this in my fanfic Vanishing Act.
Human Twilight has had it a lot rougher, and that's even before she transformed into a dimension-destroying she demon. I think her transformation was driven in part by her not-especially-fun existence.
Conclusion
Yes, Pony Twilight is an enjoyable character.
But if you were writing a story around a character is described as an anti-social loner who doesn't understand friendship, Sci-Twi seems to be the better fit, owing to a life where nothing comes easily to her.
I have to agree that Sci-Twi is more relatable than Pony Twilight, or rather Alicorn Twilight.
Wow, just... Wow.
Twilight the pony used too be relatable, she was a socially awkward nerd who was an introvert with tons of stress and got panic attacks all the time. She looked for easy solutions and went ahead without thinking. Twilight overworked herself all the time and she could lecture and bore ponies and act like she knew everything. She had to be forced to see an outside world view diffrent from her own. She could be insentive to the needs of others or how they were doing even though she cared for them. Out off all the characters she was the most like me and I related to her a ton. Then she became a princess and her character arc was seen as over. This meant to the writers all her flaws were gone unless they had to be overblown for comedic effect. So I would say this, Sci Twi is more relatable then Twilight because Sci Twi is what Twilight is supposed to be and was.
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Oh yes, I agree Pony Twilight could be flawed.
But Human Twilight doesn't have flaws, but a world that is seemingly out to get her, and does not offer her happiness on a silver platter.
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Thats a good point, but I think there is a value in showing a character who had an easy life making their own life hard. Personally I have a loving family and a good economic station, I also have depression and make myself miserable, so a character who is "born lucky" but still has many problems is a character i can relate to more then a character with a terrible life. But that is just me.
Not gonna lie those are pretty good points
Speaking of Vanishing Act, when will that story continue? We feel so close to the end and I'd like to see how it all comes together.
I have to agree with this statement.