• Community Soapbox - Chillin about Season 9/10, Celestia Needs Love, Glimmy's Backstory, and More!


    As revealed a while ago, soapboxes will now happen once we get enough submissions for it. Send them whenever, but also expect them whenever!

    If you'd like to submit one, hit this post up.

    This time around, your headlines include:

    • Why People Need to Chill About Seasons 9 and 10
    • The Stallion Six
    • Starlight Glimmer's Backstory - Rewritten
    • Celestia (Still) Deserves More Love  

    Get the articles below! 


    Why People Need to Chill About Seasons 9 and 10
    By Alexrioponylover95

    Hello everycreature!

    So fair warning before I go into this, this soapbox will be similar to my one about Pony Life, but this time for Seasons 9 and 10 of FiM. And I know some are going to say this, but I’m not afraid to call out specific people when discussing this touchy subject!

    So Seasons 9 and 10… Oh boy are there still people ranting very negatively on them… And it’s really getting on my nerves that people are still complaining about them…

    First off, for Season 9, some say like it shouldn’t be the last season and should continue on to season 10 (In full animated and not comic book form) or that it was garbage and needs to be rewritten entirely… Sighs…

    I would like to point out the obvious that the season is already done, nothing’s going to change about them, it has been finalized and Hasbro is moving to other things and preparing for the next generation of MLP. The creators, especially after working so hard already, can’t simply just erase the whole season and redo it! If you don’t like the season, there’s something called fanfiction! Go write your own season if you really want to!

    And so what if the season has its flaws? There are some things I even don’t necessarily like or agree with on season 9, but hey, I’m not one of the show writers, I have no bearing on what’s going to happen or not. However it’s not what I or any viewer want, it’s what the show writers want, it’s their vision and whatever they want, I can’t change it. I don’t understand how people, (Especially a certain someone with the initials of “NT”) can’t figure that out…

    Moving on to Season 10, which is in comic book form, rather than a full animated form. Obviously some very vocal ones wanted this to be done in the actual show, rather than the comics. However if done so, it wouldn’t make the final episode, The Last Problem that special, The Last Problem was the perfect ending to the animated show.

    And with Season 10, it gives the opportunity for much more, I mean just take the fact that Tempest has a major role in the first issue. If the show went on, unless Hasbro is willing to pay enough money for Emily Brunt to voice Tempest again, Tempest would never come back. And I’m very confident that as the season goes on, in comic book form, it’s only going to get better and give things that we never saw before.

    So yes, to sum it up, people really need to stop complaining, what’s done is done, no need to stay in the past and uselessly rant on about any problems you have because it’s not going to be heard, but ignored by everyone. Look froward to the future and what it will bring for MLP, maybe eventually you will have the things you wanted if you have the patience!


    The Stallion Six
    By Double C

    For years fans have been wanted to see at least in the comics an all-male equivalent to the Mane Six. They would be the incarnations of the Big Brother Ponies from Gen. 1 since it would be paying tribute to the original show. Like the Pillars are their reflections, the Stallion Six would be the boyfriends of the Mane Six since I’ve saw many fan art and stories. They also would act as Spike’s brother figures because he’s long overdue for some male role models to look up to. We all know that Pinkie and Cheese are officially cannon which mean Cheese Sandwich is officially in the group.

    Flash Sentry and Soarin are also automatic members due to them being popular for being the love interest of Twilight and Rainbow. I have already made Soapboxes of how FlashLight and SoarinDash can work so I don’t have to write them down.

    Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity are hard since each of the personalities makes it hard but there are some that fits.

    The ones for Rarity would be Thunderlane, and Ragamuffin. I’ve also made soapbox about Ragamuffin of how it work out with her. Rarilane is also good for both are the opposites, their dedicated of their career, and they are caring and sometimes oblivious to their younger siblings.

    The ones for Applejack would be Trenderhoof and Trouble Shoes. Even though she rejected him, that didn’t stop fans from enjoying it and finding ways for how it can work out better. Trenderjack shows how two got on the wrong side then worked things out with getting to know each other better. Troublejack would be a cowboy and cowgirl love story where they meet up at the rodeo or at Sweet Apple Acer.

    The ones for Fluttershy would be Thunderlane and Sandalwood. FlutterLane is my favorite Fluttershy ship because once again opposites attract to one another. Sandalshy was something I something I saw in Equestria Girls “My Secret Crush” and has many potentials. Both she and Sandalwood are great with animals which will be great for the animal sanctuary.

    Unknown how they will all come together but will start with Flash, Soarin, and Cheese as a trio since I’ve seen many fan arts on deviantart. Power Ranger Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, Jungle Fury, RPM, and Beast Morphers started with three rangers then grew to either five or six. This would be an easy way for IDW on how this group would get started as a trio then build up to having six. Flash will be the leader of the group just like his girlfriend is. They will have many adventures either with each other, the Pillars, and their girlfriends on spreading friendship and facing new threats. Like their girlfriends and future wives, they will have their own meetings once every moon.

    If you guys have your own ideas on who should be in just let me know in the commentary. But if you’re not into this, please don’t leave any mean comments.


    Starlight Glimmer's Backstory - Rewritten
    By: Honōnoken the Samurai

    Whether you like Starlight Glimmer or dislike her, there is one thing that fans on either side can agree on: her backstory and subsequent redemption in "The Cutie Re-Mark" didn't work at all. Ever since S5 ended and Starlight's role (and popularity) increased, I occasionally would brainstorm ways that her backstory could be redone to make her redemption more appealing to dissenters. Back in June, I posted a lengthy essay in a Nightly Discussion showcasing my personal revised version of her backstory to fill in some of the plot-holes the show left open. This is the slightly condensed version of what I've previously written:

    When growing up with Sunburst in Sire's Hollow, he was Starlight's only friend, and both were regularly targeted by bullies due to being blank flanks, like the CMC. As they got older, they developed interests in studying magic and Starlight, now with an inferiority complex due to said bullying, hoped to find her cutie mark in this field. Then, like in the show, an accident happens that results in Sunburst getting his cutie mark. Instead of Sunburst being shipped off to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns almost immediately afterwards, Sunburst's mother instead has him shipped off within the next week, resulting in Starlight beginning to retreat emotionally, shutting out her father.

    After Sunburst leaves, Starlight would sit by her mailbox every day hoping he'd write her. Of course, we know that Sunburst eventually flunked out of Celestia's school and became reclusive himself. However, unknown to Starlight, Sunburst flunking out resulted from him being overworked by his mother, meaning he never had time to write to Starlight even if he wanted to. Starlight tries to make new friends in Sunbursts absence, but her continuing lack of a cutie mark results in more bullying, leading to her hatred for cutie marks.

    The breaking point comes when Starlight lashes out at a group of longtime bullies and robs them of their cutie marks, which leads to her gaining her own. She then goes into hiding, continuing to study magic for several years, while also founding her village. Starlight would lure ponies (mainly travelers) there with promises of true equality, harmony, and friendship. From there, she hopes to turn her village into a movement to take over Equestria.

    Cue the Mane 6 being called to her village by the cutie map, and you know the rest from there. As for her parents, I pictured her mother dying while she was still young, so her father would be the only one to raise her.

    That should cover most of (if not all) the issues I originally had with her in-canon backstory. It makes more sense than what we ended up with, I know that much.


    Celestia (Still) Deserves More Love
    By IronYoshi


    Princess Celestia is one of my favorite characters. The kind, compassionate (former) ruler of Equestria has had many ups and downs, and she finally got some long overdue and much needed attention in the show in its later years. But it seems that the fandom hasn't caught up with that, unless you're a Celestia fan.

    Go look on any MLP fansite, and you'll probably see Luna everywhere. Heck, you might even see a handful of Cadence too. But barely anything about Celestia. This site is also pretty guilty of doing that too. With the exception of Celestia Day, poor Celie rarely gets any attention while Luna hugs all the glory. Personally I find Luna to be the most overrated character in the series, but I'll save that for a future entry.

    Back on topic, I also feel that Celestia has been the butt of too many jokes over the years. She's one of those characters that everyone always makes fun of regardless, always depending her as a dim-witted, cake-obsessed troll who loves mucking things up. And yet this is okay? If somebody makes fun of Luna, its seen as this heinous crime against bronykind. But it's fine to bash and poke fun of Celestia? That doesn't sound right. But again, this could be a future thing to talk about

    I know I've been a bit ranty and rambly, but honestly, I feel that Celestia still deserves a little more attention. While it is true that the intense scorn she recieved back then is pretty much all but gone, she's still overshadowed by Luna and even Cadence in a way. Celestia is still a great character in my opinion, and she definitely deserves some more recognition throughout the fandom. Perhaps she'll receive that someday.