• Pony Community Soapbox #113 - Human Elements Vs Pony, Friendship U Blackmail, and more!


    Community soapbox time, where opinions from around the fandom are dropped down below for you all to discuss and debate! Expect these posts normally when not late every Tuesday at 2:00 PM MST. To submit your own, see this post.

    • The Elements of Harmony in Equestria and the human world are not the same
    • Ahuizohtl is the most terrifying villain
    • Friendship University: Blackmailing Twilight was Premeditated
    • The Washouts: The Perfect competition for the Wonderbolts
    • When music and animation sync

    And get your soapboxes below!




    The Elements of Harmony in Equestria and the human world are not the same
    By: MegaSean45


    When we're talking about FIM and Equestria Girls, even though I do think they're both canon to eachother, they're still 2 different stories with 2 different teams, and I think the same rule applies when it comes to the Elements of Harmony. Here's what I believe: in Equestria Girls 1, Twilight's crown pretty much created copies of the original Elements of Harmony to give to the Humane 7, including the new Empathy for Sunset! How does this apply to the Elements in Equestria? It doesn't.

    Equestria's elements were in the Tree of Harmony still during which the necklace copies were made for the Humane 7 (which don't really look the same as the elements in Equestria), and if there is ever a 7th element in FiM, it might not be Empathy! Sunset created her own element back in the EG world! When I read Dr. Wolf's theory on the 7th element, it makes a whole lota sense, and is very much needed! Go ahead and check it out! If we're supporting Dr. Wolf's theory, then that means we can't follow the EG pattern for FiM, and why would we? FiM is FiM and EG is EG. No need for them to go on top of one other, otherwise it'll get confusing!


    Ahuizohtl is the most terrifying villain
    By: Nightmare Muffin


    When it comes to villains, FiM has certainly had its fair share. There were a few who weren’t so threatening, such as Discord and some who were moderately so, such as Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek. However. I think that, by far, the medal for “most terrifying” villain would have to go to Daring Do’s nemesis, Ahuizohtl. Sure, the guy acts like a joke, and has really only been played for comedic relief as a bumbling buffoon, but Aztec mythos paints him as a truly terrifying creature. He has a liking for human flesh (or pony, in this case), and a particular preference for their nails, eyes, and teeth. As if that wasn’t gruesome enough, the hand on his tail snatches his victims into the water to drown them, and if that person is ever found- comes up with their preferred parts missing.


    Friendship University: Blackmailing Twilight was Premeditated
    By: ElementofFaith


    I already posted this theory in a comment on a commentary on Friendship University. And this theory may be obvious, but I figured it's still worth sharing here.

    Twilight's act of investigating the legitimacy of Friendship University led to Flim and Flam accusing her of sabotage out of jealousy. But was it a random opportunity to catch her in the act? Let's look at the following: The door to Flim and Flam's office was open slightly ajar. Twilight stuck her head inside, made her presence known, and closed the door behind her. She then reads the papers on the desk put out in plain sight that seem to confirm that Friendship U might be legit. But when she wonders where the scam is, Flim and Flam appear out of nowhere and they take a photo of her to use as blackmail. But here's the thing, they never opened the door to get into their office. This indicates that they were already there, hiding with a camera, to blackmail Twilight. They also didn't say "no" when she said "unless somepony says it's not" okay to come in and look around. Based on this, it's fair to say that not only did Flim and Flam blackmail Twilight, they also premeditatedly set her up for it.


    The Washouts: The Perfect competition for the Wonderbolts
    By ShadowWriter45

    After seeing the episode The Washouts, it has become one of my favorite episodes of season 8. Not because of how the episode was structured nor the return of Lightning Dust, but the thing that I've wanted for the Wonderbolts: Real Competition.

    I've always wondered if there are other flight teams like them in Equestria but there has never been any indication that they have any competitions. But with the Washout's debut I feel that we are getting the competition the Wonderbolts needed. While the Washouts aren't made up of the best fliers but rather pegasus ponies who were kicked out of the Wonderbolts and likely aren't going to make the cut anytime soon due to spots as official Wonderbolts not being open. Yes the Washouts are very reckless and have no real regards for their lives but the danger that they put themselves in makes them all the more exciting like Twilight said.

    I would like to see more of the Washouts expand in season 9, if not there then in the comics since they are a group that could very well rival the Wonderbolts somewhere down the line because the Wonderbolts may-are becoming boring a bit.


    When music and animation sync
    By:TrianguloY

    There is a hidden pleasure when a PMV syncs a rhythmic pattern with the beat of the music, like Pinkie Pie jumping or Rainbow Dash flapping wings. The opposite also applies.
    On the show you can notice that the animators try to do it too, maybe not always and not perfect but the intention is visible. However there is more, if you take a closer look you will find that there are more animation-music links, especially on the Equestria Girls films. The musical instruments are animated almost matching how a real one should play (hand position, rhythmic tapping) and sometimes even other sound cues, most notably one on Rainbow Rocks 'Shake your tail' when Rarity is dragged away from the microphone and her voice decreases too.
    Sure there are other shows that does this better, but it's not so common they try in the first place, and I'm glad that the animators at mlp do a fairly good job. That's why it bothers me so much that in the end of 'We got this together' from the mlp movie, the cannon isn't in sync with the final beat. Only me? Ok.