• Community Soapbox - Mirror Sombra, Canterlot Snobbery, and More!

    The soapboxes cvontinue! As always, these are the opinions of fandom members, not us here at EQD. If you'd like to submit your own soapbox, hit up this post for infos.

    Have some headlines:


    • The Best Gift Ever's One Big Issue
    • Twilight Sparkle- Canterlot Snob?
    • Will Mirror Sombra Return?
    • Soapbox Writers: Could We Be a Little More Interactive Please?

    And go read them below!



    The Best Gift Ever's One Big Issue
    By Alexrioponylover95

    Hello everycreature!

    So after watching Goldenfox’s review recently on The Break Up Break Down, I was reminded of the most infamous scene in The Best Gift Ever, the scene where Big Mac and Sugar Belle are nuzzling each other and a second later we see Marble Pie, all heartbroken at seeing this display… Now this might have been talked about earlier, but I think it deserves to be talked about again.

    So that scene with Marble Pie is the one big issue with The Best Gift Ever (Well I have a problem with the Flim Flam Brothers conning Fluttershy, but that’s a personal issue I have with the special) and well what’s worse is that it was never addressed, at least so far. I have to ask… Why did the staff and animators working on the special decide it was a good idea to include those extra couple seconds? In my opinion, it’s so cruel and heartbreaking, not to mention completely unnecessary, there was literally no point, unless there’s a future plan to mention that scene again.

    And yeah, you can tell by Marble’s expression that she’s obviously hurt because she wanted to date Big Mac. (A shipping I actually rooted for to happen) Of course there is the argument that if they were to do so, it would amount to incest and be illegal. However to that I say not really… Correct me if I’m wrong, but there was no actual confirmation the Apples and Pies are biologically related and unless the staff is going to confirm it, I say the Apples and Pies are not 100 percent related to each other.

    Anyway, back to the main point… The Best Gift Ever scene… I think one day the staff needs to address this major issue one day, maybe in the Season 10 comics. One option would of course be to confirm the Apples and Pies relation to each other. However another option would be to have Big Mac and Marble meet and clear the air between them, facing their problems head on instead of ignoring them. And maybe even have Sugar Belle and Marble meet each other, heck they might become friends. And another option would be to have Marble find someone else, get over the fact she lost Big Mac and finally be happy.

    And I really hope that the staff does get around to addressing this problem, Marble not only has to see Big Mac taken, but also has her sister, Maud, literally having a boyfriend and most likely has to sit down at the same table with the couple when Maud comes over. So Marble probably suffers even more now that her own 100 percent related sibling has someone and she doesn’t.

    Either way, I don’t really care how this problem is tackled, I just hope one day it will be, but what do you think about that one big issue in The Best Gift Ever!
     

    Twilight Sparkle- Canterlot Snob?
    By Oddball Tails

    My friend and I were talking about mlp the other night, and we considered an interesting topic- Twilight Sparkle may not have been the "ordinary" pony many thought she was when she first went to Ponyville. First of all, her family must have been fairly wealthy to live in Canterlot in the first place, and I'm sure the tuition fees for Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns are not cheap either. Secondly, in Gabby Gums, when Twilight reads the headline "Twilight Sparkle- I was a Canterlot Snob" she demands Spike how "he could say that?!"-She never said it was untrue!
    And third, her foal sitter was a princess. A princess. And her brother must have had some good connections to not only join the royal guard, but to become captain! This is a powerful family here- the captain of the royal guard, with the student tutored by Celestia herself, who was foal sat by a princess? Add this to the fact she lived in a library full of rare books?

    Even in the Human world, Sci Twi's family must be somewhat wealthy to send her to a Prep school. And the Crystal...City? Empire? Looks like a pretty rich neighborhood.

    I think our little Twiliy-in both worlds- may be a bit wealthier than people think!

    I'm Oddball Tails, thanks for reading! 


    Will Mirror Sombra Return?
    By Double C

    If there was anything that surprised use when the Reflections arc came out it was Celestia was in a secret relationship with that world Sombra. To separate the differences between the two fans call him Mirror Sombra since he is the opposite to his counterpart. It was good for Celestia to find someone that can make her happy but sad with the outcome. In order to save both dimensions especially that world Celestia and Luna, Mirror Sombra had to absorb their evil and became corrupted as a result. Both still had a piece of paper symbolizes their love but never will see each other again.

    But that didn’t stop some fans from finding ways to get them back together. The best one is Snoopy 7c7 who has made two different stories on YouTube with different plots but involves their reunion, follows her, and starts a family. The first one is shared with DisneyFanatic2364 universe called Welcome Princess Light Breeze while the second is based on her own original story called Life's A Breeze.

    But as for the main story by IDW, its unknown if they will ever bring Mirror Sombra back but most likely will not happen. Since she and her sister are now retired it would just create some dilemmas between them along with Luna. The other is that both the show and the comics showed their own views on how Sombra was defeated. So this made everything complicated maybe due to not communicating well or having disagreements between the show and comic departments much like in Japan with anime and manga series. So Celestia and Mirror Sombra may never see each other again only in the fandom which is sad because she had found someone who she can spend her life with.

    What do you guys think, should Celestia and Mirror Sombra be reunited?
     

    Soapbox Writers: Could We Be a Little More Interactive Please?
    By: A Shy Brony

    I don’t usually write soapboxes about things outside of the lore of FiM. Writing about things like what episodes I like or the fandom in general doesn’t appeal to me all that much. But this has been bothering me for a while.

    As a soapbox writer myself, it bothers me when I see other writers ask for thoughts from the readers, and then fail to acknowledge those thoughts.

    Now, I want to make it very clear that I will not be referring to other writers by name; only by the title “writer.” I don’t believe in using soapboxes to call out people by name, and this isn’t meant to be an accusatory soapbox anyway. It’s meant to be thoughts for how us writers can improve.

    In general, soapboxes here on Equestria Daily are expressions of the writer’s opinions, concluded by asking the readers what they think. For me at least, asking for other’s opinions is the central reason I write soapboxes at all. I have ideas I want to share, and I would like others to read and comment on what I propose. Often, reader’s thoughts have improved my theories, perhaps a reader brings up an idea I failed to consider for example. Readers who disagree are important too, they help me see a different side of the ideas I’m proposing.

    With this said, it saddens me to see many reader’s thoughts ignored by the soapbox writers. It seems that most writers here only upvote or reply to comments they already agree with, or with people they are personally friends with. I’ve seen two different reader’s post essentially the same thoughts, but the writer will then only upvote one of the readers’ comments. What’s worse are the rare times a writer downvotes a reader’s thoughts. These are rare yes, but ideally, they should never happen at all. If a writer asks for thoughts, they should expect opposing viewpoints: to downvote thoughts you disagree with after asking for thoughts is the definition of being hypocritical.

    So how can us writers improve our interaction with readers? Simple, acknowledge that you have read the reader’s thoughts, and appreciate the input. A simple upvote is enough for this, and a reply is even better. For example: “I never even considered that before, that’s an excellent point!” If a reader disagrees with you, don’t ignore them, reply to them asking why they disagree. If they already explained their stance, you could reply with something like “I appreciate your input.” If a reader misinterprets your message completely, it’s understandable to feel a little angry. Believe me, I’ve experienced misinterpretations several times. The right thing to do in this situation is not to stay angry, but to calmly reply explaining where you think the misinterpretation occurred, and what you were meaning to say.

    I understand that our lives are busy, and that it may be physically impossible to acknowledge every thought on your soapbox. My personal standard is that I will check the comments on a post with one of my soapboxes in it for 24 hours after the initial posting. I openly admit I can improve myself, but I put in the effort to acknowledge as many thoughts as I can. As writers, putting in effort is the least we can do for our readers.