• Community Soapbox #35 - Soarin's Anxiety, Ranking Ponies, Starlight and Applejack, and More!


    Expect these posts normally every Tuesday at 2:00 PM PST. To submit your own, see this post.


    Note: These soapboxes do not at all reflect the ideas of EQD. They are an open forum for anyone to post whatever crazy theory they want.

    • Does Starlight need to work off of Applejack?
    • Turning Fanfics into Real Stories
    • Pony ranking systems
    • Does Soarin’ have Anxiety?
    • The Relationship of Twilight and Apple Bloom
    And get your soapboxes below!




    Does Soarin’ have Anxiety?
    By: Games


    For years now I’ve wondered what the deal was with the bags under Soarin’s eye since he didn’t seem very old but after looking closer at his characterization, I think it’s because of anxiety.

    In Rainbow Falls he was upset at his team’s betrayal and In Rarity Investigates he snaps at and threatens Rainbow Dash as soon he’s put in his de facto leadership position, many construed this as him being a bully but to me this communicated that he couldn’t handle the pressure of his position or the situation, even when he eats pie in this episode he’s visibly unhappy and seems to be stress eating, Friends Forever #36 is for Soarin's the most interesting outing as it sees him go on a dangerous mission alone to try and prove himself to Spitfire after what happened in Rainbow Falls, this really puts his previous appearances into perspective since it shows a desperate desire for Spitfire’s approval and deep feelings for her, In fact, Soarin’s relationship with Spitfire is the crux of all of his featured appearances and his desire for her approval and inability to communicate his feelings with her consistently seems to be his biggest problem. I’m not saying this is a love situation but it could easily go that way, either way I believe Soarin’s bags are because of anxiety/stress which is linked to Spitfire and the job.



    An alternate explanation is the possibility of being a WB running in Soarin’s family since their memorabilia shows ponies similar to him and that the reason he’s second-in-command despite not being the most capable member could be because of his family ties and him actually being expected to be the leader, that’s just a theory though.


    Pony ranking systems
    By: Dan

    For some reason people like to rank the mane6 and sometimes even other ponies on a ladder. I admit i kind of was guilty of that too a bit. But is this a good thing? I don't think it is. I just noticed now what that ladder is often based on: each episode. Every time there is an episode featuring specific characters, those characters often go up or down the list. But why?. One day does not define who you are. Every single episode has a moral and often you will see one of your beloved characters do something wrong because the plot needs it. Is it really right to bring out the axe and de-rank them every time? Same for up-rank but with sugar instead of the axe. The best argument for why this is a bad practice is: there were many writers that had to write each character in turn and therefore turned them into pony Frankenstein over the years. You can decide for yourself if that is good or bad. For me it's kind of good. I think it's constructive and actually needed to say that you like or dislike a character based on how they were written in each specific episode but changing ranks every time?...No. At least do that once per season if you really have to.


    Turning Fanfics into Real Stories
    By: MegaSean45


    Fanfiction - using our favorite show's universe to make our own stories! It's good practice for making future stories that take place in it's own universe! Remember Fighting is Magic, a fanmade game that got shut down by Hasbro? What did the developers do after that? Make the same game AGAIN but using different characters and a different universe! Have you ever made a fanfiction with a ton of OCs you made and enough story to make its own universe? Why not do that? Why not make a full-on story based off your fanfictions? You can make money off of it, and Hasbro can't stop you because you're not using their characters or their universe!

    I used to make a pony fanfic, but things don't go so well with it, but after a while of sharing these OCs with a non-pony story, people started to love it! That's when I decided to make a full-on novel in a new universe with these same characters, just not in pony form anymore. I also have dreams of making an animated series outta it in the future, and with the story I got planned, it will completely PWN MLP! It will be the best animated series of the time! Fanfiction was just practice! :3

    So what do you think about people turning their fanfics into real stories outside the MLP universe? It would make all your headcanons come true, cause you made it, and you'll your own fandom that would make fanfics of your work! :D


    Does Starlight need to work off of Applejack?
    By: Nightmare Muffin


    Pairing the element of Honesty who holds morals in high regard, with a brutally blunt pony who needs honesty in her life, as regards to morals, could be just what Starlight needs. Applejack has been seen being brutally honest, but learning to be respectful of others’ feelings at the same time; she has been seen also at the opposite end of the spectrum, holding off on telling the truth in order to make others’ feel better. But honesty is what Glimmer needs, as she’s most often seen blatantly LYING to others and herself, and compromising morals left and right when it comes to magic. I would enjoy seeing AJ take a stance on magic bans with Starlight, as she did with Twilight during winter wrap-up, and getting Glimmer to THINK about the consequences before she uses magic on a whim, and how, like Twilight had her magic screwups in the past when she used it on impulse to solve a problem (Winter wrap-up, Bats!, Swarm of the Century, Lesson Zero), the same is said for SG (The Cutie re-mark, All Bottled Up, Every Little Thing She does, A Royal Problem). Is putting SG in the care of AJ the best possible thing to develop her character in the right direction?


    The Relationship of Twilight and Apple Bloom
    By: Brony250


    Since the first season of MLP FiM I have always enjoy seeing the interactions between Twilight and Apple Bloom. Since the episode “Bridle Gossip” I’ve noticed from seeing the two defending Zecora to Twilight protecting Apple Bloom from Zecora, I can’t help but feel that the writers were aiming to make Twilight somewhat as a mother figure for Apple Bloom. Even to when Twilight calls Apple Bloom “sweetie” both in “Bridle Gossip” and “Call of the Cutie” just seems motherly in some way.

    There are some other moments that make believe this is the case. Like in “Owl’s Well That Ends Well” we see Apple Bloom sitting next to Twilight and not with Applejack. Now I know that may not mean anything. But the fact, right from the first episode of the show, we can agree that Apple Bloom does look up to Twilight in some way. In episode 1 she hasn’t even known Twilight and yet she wanted her to stay, even playing the sad puppy dog eyes, it was like she was saying “Don’t go mama”.

    What do you guys think of the relationship of Twilight and Apple Bloom, should we see more of them together in future episodes?