Why, in-universe, did Twilight accept being a Princess? Is she really so fanatically devoted to Celestia she'll just accept whatever she says?

7225280
I think it's less fanaticism and more because it's the right thing to do. Plus, she knows Celestia wouldn't want her to be a Princess without a reason.

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7225285
What the Bricklayer said, however out-universe explanation is more important. Hasbro writing stuff's laziness. They originally didn't expect that show will create such massive following, so Twilight ascension was supposed to be a protagonist final reward without any thought put into "What will be after". Then from season 4 down the road they where just improvising.

7225280
...There's no immediate reason to assume she wouldn't enjoy politics?

7225280 I believe it is like that.

7225280
Honestly, the whole set-up reeks. Apparently Twilight and Co. have brought harmony (not peace) to Equestria, something that Princess Celestia has shown failing to do time and again. This somehow means that Twilight was ready to replace Celestia and Luna as the sole ruler of Equestria, even though she has very little (one might say zero) political experience, which is important when it comes to running a nation. Twilight is more of a "field agent" rather than a ruler and her successes were mainly achieved with the aid of her friends so rewarding her like this feels kind of empty. Also, Luna was imprisoned for 1,000 years and only recently returned so why is she retiring too? Does that mean Twilight has to take over her dream-walking duties as well?

If anything, Princess Celestia is the true villain of MLP. Think about it: she completely ignores her Princess Luna's feelings until it's too late and banishes her to the moon for a millennium, even going so far as to relegate her to the role of a legend and not doing anything to prepare for her return. Not one, not two but four villains from the past that she herself defeated ended up returning and it falls to the Main Six to defeat them. Then there's Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding where she not only fails to recognize that her adopted niece and fellow princess has been replaced by Queen Chrysalis but the changeling swiftly beats her in single combat, requiring the real Cadence and Shining Armor to defeat Chrysalis. Even if Queen Chrysalis was empowered by love, you'd think that the mare revered as an all-powerful sun-goddess would've put up more of a fight.

In "The Crystal Empire," she receives word that King Sombra has returned, a unicorn so powerful that it took the combined might of both her and Luna (and presumably the Elements of Harmony) to take down so what does she do? She sends Twilight to handle it even though there was the very likely possibility that she could've failed and King Sombra could've returned (being shown in an alternate timeline to be cunning and powerful enough to take over most of Equestria with just a small army of mind-controlled crystal ponies). And this was all so she could test Twilight to ensure that she was ready to ascend to alicorn status. Later on, it's revealed that Celestia has been manipulating Twilight's life since she was a filly, grooming her to one day replace her as Equestria's monarch. That sounds very sociopathic and speaks volumes of her own twisted morality. Sure, Twilight ends up becoming one of the land's six greatest heroes and prevents many atrocities but does that make it right?

In "The Ending of the End," Discord admits to disguising himself as Grogar and bringing the other villains together in an asinine plot to boost Twilight's confidence (which is so stupid I'd require a separate essay just to point out its idiocy). When the villains are defeated, she lets Discord of all people choose their punishment and doesn't give him any kind of retribution for nearly dooming Equestria in the first place. After all of this, the worst part is that Celestia gets away with it! No one ever calls her out on it and she ends up retiring to a beach to (presumably) live out her immortal existence living a carefree life. Despite how cutesy, wise and benevolent she is portrayed as being, Princess Celestia is the true villainous mastermind of MLP: FIM. But, hey, that's just a theory. A Film The-whoops! Sorry about that. Forgot that I'm not MattPat.

7225403
I saw all of this frequently brushed out by headcanon of Celestia's prophetic abilities.

7225439
That's...kind of lame. Doesn't excuse negligence of one's duties.

But that's just it. Twilight didn't choose to become an Alicorn. Or a princess. It was who she was meant to be; it's her destiny. If you pay close attention to the song from "Magical Mystery Cure", you'll notice that the magic for the transformation came from Twilight's heart, not from Celestia. Fate made her an Alicorn, and in Equestria, all Alicorns are princesses. Period. Twilight Sparkle didn't have a choice in the matter.

7225485
Right you are! So many people miss that, or choose to ignore it!

7225499
Indeed. I get annoyed and frustrated when writers believe that Celestia was the one who made Twilight an alicorn princess. As powerful as Celestia might be, she doesn't have the power to change one's species. Celestia was only there to help Twilight and brace her for the inevitable change. She even says, "to fulfill your destiny." How can fans even miss that?

Because the writers are hacks.

7225507
Aren't Alicorns a race, not a species?

But yes, I agree.

7225525
Yeah. My bad. Alicorns are a race, not a species. My point still stands: Celestia doesn't the magic to alter someone's biology.

7225403
I dont think, it took the Elements to beat sombra. He, Celestia and Luna seem to on roughly the same Level. Fully awakened Twilight seems to be stronger than each of them individually. If everything went acording to celestias plan, Twilight would have gained the powerboost from the Season 9 premiere in Season 3.

And noone seemed to know About the changelings Prior to their Invasion. When Chrysalis was revealed, Celestia immediately challenged her herself, cause unlike sombra, she had no Knowledge of her powers, and didnt know, if Twilight could have handled her.

Also, the royal Sisters startet ruling equestria at least 1111 years ago (at least they started Controlling the sun and moon and since that gave them their cutiemarks, the were About 10 at the time) this means that they ruled more than hundred years Prior to the Nightmare moon incident, which alone would justify retirement. Even if we dont Count the 1000 years on the moon, Luna would be About as old as granny Smith, if it werent for their eternal youth.

Yes Celestia is far from flawless, but who isnt.

I´m still both more horrified an amazed by the Action of the tree of harmony.

7225403
...oh yay, another Celestia is the Villain Theory. I thought we'd outgrown these several seasons ago.

7225700
There will always be someone who needs an excuse to pretend someone as nice as her is automatically a terrible person. The same way some fans just wanted to pretend everything after season 3 is objectively terrible.

Never mind the fact that she was able to at the very least keep Equestria safe and stable for at least One Thousand Years by herself before Twilight became the element of magic... funny how they ignore that in favor of pretending she's a terrible ruler.

7225753
People just naturally distrust authority, I guess.

7225507
Because the phrase itself is ambiguous. Did she mean capital D Destiny or was she being metaphorical? Assuming the former, did said Destiny explicitly refer to her becoming an alicorn or merely realizing her massive potential and creating the first new magic since Star Swirl the Fuzzy Chinned?

7225700
I believe he was being facetious, more poking holes in the writers’ inept execution and seeming inability to think of what implications their additions had.

7225700
When I say, "Princess Celestia is the true villain," I'm half-joking. I don't hate Celestia nor do I have anything against her. It's just that I feel as though the writers didn't consider the implications of what they were putting forth.

7225753
So do you disagree with everything that I'm saying? I don't any issues with Celestia per se. I just find it weird that everyone hand-waves her flaws.

7225881

This! ^

I feel like the Celestia that is meant, and the one we actually get is different. We are forced to hand-wave the blatant issues because we are told she is a competent, loving ruler.

7225925
And we are shown that she loves her subjects and wants the best for them but has shown herself more often than not that she's not as great as she's described as being, as I'd listed before.

7225929 I do not know how much we can consider them to be equivalents, but the Principal and Vice-Principal from Equestria Girls are implied to be straight-up incompetent.

7225932
That I can see. Still, I think having Twilight take over like that was a mistake.

7225846
I always thought that Celestia meant "to fulfill your destiny" as in "do what you were always meant to do and be". Like, Twilight's ascension was as inevitable as death. It was supposed to happen. Destiny itself isn't an entity, it's a series of events that need to take place. And I get the feeling that Celestia knew what would happen to Twilight. She knew, but that doesn't mean it's her doing.

7225403
BRAVO! :D

(You deserve a follower from me, knowing that I'm not the only one who hates Twilight's new role as Ruler of Equestria. Which I will still say: POINTLESS.)

7225960
Thank you! Also, I love the avatar. Not a fan of Cozy Glow but the picture is nice.

7225961
You're welcome :3 Besides, I am one of the major players at hating that Season 9 arc. ;)

Thanks :3 It's only temporary and I always change my avatar whenever a new transformation happens to me on FIMFiction. :3

And speaking of transformation.... shall we carry this conversation over to my profile page so I can thank you for favoriting one of my stories? :3

7225887
It's less about her flaws being hand-waved and more about the fact that everyone seems to like only complaining about what she's done wrong while pretending that she hasn't been keeping Equestria safe for at least a thousand years.

She passed on the mantle to Twilight because her student proved that she was the better person for the job since she had accomplished even more. so it was not pointless in any way.

7226169
Oh I know Celestia's done good and I like her as a character. It's just that her screw-ups cannot be ignored. Okay, maybe she saw that Twilight would be a better replacement since she's managed to correct Celestia's mistakes but how does fighting off the forces of evil equate to running an entire country? I see the point but it's not a very well-thought out one. All in all, I wasn't a fan of Season 9 in general. Don't get me wrong, it had its highlights but could've gone with better writing. Not have Celestia and Luna give Twilight sole responsibility of Equestria, cut out Discord's insane plot to boost Twilight's confidence, actually bring back the real King Sombra and treat him with more dignity.

Honestly, the real Grogar would've been an excellent pick for Season Nine's main antagonist. As he was originally depicted before the plot twist, he was a foe that was aware of the Main Six's teamwork and sought to match it by forming his own league of villains. That's interesting. Imagine an evil from the past that's been watching from the shadows, studying his enemies before making his move. I like Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek but having a new threat would've been nice. And I can't stand Cozy Glow. King Sombra could've been brought back to stick around instead of killing him off again to leave room for the familiar baddies and to build up the threat of a foe that didn't even exist in the first place.

Sorry for rambling. If it seems like I'm ignoring your arguments, then I apologize. You have your opinion and I respect that.

7226181

Okay, maybe she saw that Twilight would be a better replacement since she's managed to correct Celestia's mistakes but how does fighting off the forces of evil equate to running an entire country?

You seem to forget, it was because of her and her friends that the entirety of Equestria is now on better terms with the Dragons, Yaks, Hippogryphs, Griffins, Kirins, and Changelings, and given what we've seen in the epilogue, she's doing a damn good job keeping the peace.

And give whatt we've seen from the previews in the IDW season 10 arc, she'll be working to branch out even more.

I admit, there are aspects of season 9 that I would have liked to seen changed. But I still like it for what it gave me.

7226203
That's all well and good but none of that necessarily means that Twilight is politically savvy enough to run the country. That's like saying a soldier that's spent the last few years defending his nation is ready to be declared president. There's a lot more to ruling than that, such as skills in trading, socio-economics, diplomacy/negotiation, law/justice, etc. As we've seen, Twilight is extremely dependent upon a fixed routine and folds under pressure, unable to adapt to changes and even going insane if she has a problem that she can't fix. The only reason she's gotten to where she is is due to her friends and yet only she is given the reins (tee-hee) to Equestria's monarchy.

7226211

You're referring to pre-character development Twilight, as shown in future episodes, she has at the very least managed to count down her freak out and or find a proper solution.

And like I said, given what we see in the epilogue, she's done a fairly good job.

7226237

That's a fair point.

Years later, no doubt having gotten used to it. Does this mean that Twilight not only raises and lowers the sun and moon but also spends her nights patrolling the dream realm too? While she's running Equestria, does she and the other members of the Main Six still work to protect realm despite having their own personal lives going on? And what of Celestia and Luna? Will they spend the rest of their presumably-immortal lives hanging out on a beach while Twilight does everything? I know most writers want to avoid keeping things the same and steering clear of "the Status Quo is God" but is the ending we got really the best move?

7226286

Does this mean that Twilight not only raises and lowers the sun and moon but also spends her nights patrolling the dream realm too?

Raising the Sun and the Moon is a definite yes, however interacting with others within their dreams is still Luna's job.

While she's running Equestria, does she and the other members of the Main Six still work to protect realm despite having their own personal lives going on?

Yes, they are still the Elements of Harmony and they even made time to save the world before then. Besides, they still have assistance in the form of the Student 6 and the Pillars of Equestria, both of which act as secondary sets of Elements Of Harmony. Heck there's a stained glass window depicting the student 6 fighting a monster, so it's clear that the Mane 6 aren't the only Defenders of Equestria anymore.

And what of Celestia and Luna? Will they spend the rest of their presumably-immortal lives hanging out on a beach while Twilight does everything?

Most likely they'll spend time touring Equestria and seeing the sights. Maybe retire to an island somewhere for 1000 + years. Who knows, maybe they'll come out of retirement much later.

I know most writers want to avoid keeping things the same and steering clear of "the Status Quo is God" but is the ending we got really the best move?

It's not perfect, but it still shows that our heroes have managed to keep their land peaceful and make sure the Next Generation has something great to look forward to.

Raisin the Sun and the Moon is a definite yes, however interacting with others within their dreams is still Luna's job.

Is it? Because last I checked, that was the duty of the Princess of the Night and Luna retired. I doubt she's still doing that.

Yes, they are still the Elements of Harmony and they even made time to save the world before then. Besides, they still have assistance in the form of the Student 6 and the Pillars of Equestria, both of which act as secondary sets of Elements Of Harmony. Heck there's a stained glass window depicting the student 6 fighting a monster, so it's clear that the Mane 6 aren't the only Defenders of Equestria anymore.

Okay, I will concede with that one.

Most likely they'll spend time touring Equestria and seeing the sights. Maybe retire to an island somewhere for 1000 + years. Who knows, maybe they'll come out of retirement much later.

Touring and seeing the sights? They're (presumably) immortal mares considered goddesses and they're just lazing about letting others protect the realm. They have a duty to Equestria and even if they retire from ruling it, the very least they could do is aid in its defense. There's no indication that they ever plan on coming back and if they do, they'll just waltz back up to Canterlot and say to Twilight, "Hey listen, I know we kind of dropped the ball on retiring earlier and leaving you and your friends to protect Equestria, but do you think you could let us take over for you?" They turned their crowns into one for Twilight and left for as least ten years. From what the show indicated, the two are done.

It's not perfect, but it still shows that our heroes have managed to keep their land peaceful and make sure the Next Generation has something great to look forward to.

That's a very hopeful sentiment and I do like it. The idea of a united Equestria in the future and a new generation to enjoy the fruits of the Main Six's labor is nice as well. It's just the journey of Season 9 that I take umbrage with. So many wrong turns and missed opportunities. I'm not saying that it's Game of Thrones-level bad (that's going too far, even for me) but it could've been handled better. All in all, I think that it was okay. Not great, not terrible but okay.

7226343
(You forgot to hit the reply icon)

Is it? Because last I checked, that was the duty of the Princess of the Night and Luna retired. I doubt she's still doing that.

She probably found a way to do it in her spare time.

They're (presumably) immortal mares considered goddesses and they're just lazing about letting others protect the realm.

To be fair before Twilight in the others came along she was the only line of defense between Equestria and certain ruination.

From what the show indicated, the two are done.

There's nothing to say that they can't assist from the sidelines.

And as I said before, the comics will be giving us a 10th season that details what happened before the epilogue, so it's not like they're done just yet. We get to see more of their Adventures expanded upon.

7226453
All fair points. Well, I think I've finished disputing this. It was nice debating with you and thank you for the calm and rational argument. It's nice when you get those instead of crazed cussing and sidestepping the issue. Hope you have a good one and I will check out your work very soon.

7225280
As royalty she no longer has to pay taxes.