The soapboxes continue! 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 Fire of Hatred by
- Why "Obsessing" over Famous Bronies is Good!
- The Dark Magic that cursed Stygian and Luna
- How Nightmare Rarity Could Have Appeared on the Show
And go read them below!
The Fire of Hatred by
Double C
The Fire of Friendship is a magical heart-shaped pink flame that does away with the windigos and their hate-fueled snowstorm. But what if there was an opposite of it that represent something like hatred. I got the idea from multiple sources from two different shows that we all grew up watching.
In episode 53 Chapter Thirteen: The Firebending Masters" of Avatar the Last Airbender, it explained of what fire can be used. Throughout history fire has been used in a variety of roles and purposes. As Aang said that the flame he heled felt like a heartbeat. In peace time it is used warm and light up homes and cook meals. But in either in natural disaster/war times it can cause destruction. So fire is a multi-role entity that can be used for both good and evil depending on the individuals that wields it.
In the two parts finally of SRMTHFG, one of the three essences to bring back the Skeleton King is called the Fire of Hate. If you all remembered what happen when Spark touched it, it turned in evil. As Gibson said that when he tried to touched the Ice Crystal of Vengeance, he felt the very essence of the Skeleton King himself. So if the Fire of Friendship can bring out the good in someone then the Fire of Hatred can bring out the evil. If the Mane 6 were to get near it, we might see the Mean 6 return but on steroids for it might make them more powerful then they first appeared.
So this is another what if there is an opposite idea that the comics will potentially explore in future issues. Friendship and Hatred are truly opposites of each other like yin and yang. I’ve always wanted to see the Fire of Friendship again and what other powers it also possess.
By Alexrioponylover95
Hello everycreature!
So quite awhile ago, there was a soapbox about why “obsessing over famous bronies is apparently bad, with the soapbox putting am emphasis on the Analysis community, which really set me to writing this, because it kinda of ticked me off…
First off, let me talk about my own personal experience…
As a fanfic writer myself, (And I hope I’m not sounding too entitled…) I have fans who enjoy my writing and give me lots of support and very good comments. However it’s not just so I can get the attention, I happen to rather enjoy creating content, expanding and showing my creative side to telling a story, plus it helps get me through the days and gives me something to look froward to. And well I’m not being paid at all to write my stories, but even if I did, I can tell you that I would still give my full devotion and commitment to my work.
And I think that pretty much explains the majority of the MLP fandom and its creators, who still are making various and different kins of content for others to enjoy. Now going back to the Analysis community, I can say that the things said in the other soapbox is mostly untrue, yes, there are a tiny minority who just do it for attention or money. However, it’s just not for most of the community.
People like Silver Quill, Dr. Wolf, Mad Munchkin, Lightning Bliss, GoldenFox, etc., who I watch regularly are clearly very passionate about what they do, giving very clear and smart arguments and points to the topics they address. And just like me, they work hard, but also enjoy making their content for others to watch. Yes, part of it is to make money, but they need to eat and pay their bills just like us, doesn’t make them any less human. Even still, considering this, they do deserve to get paid and if they didn’t… Well how else will they continue to produce content!
For an example, about a month ago GoldenFox, in collaboration with Lightning Bliss, released a review on Brotherhooves Social, which was well throughout, gave good arguments, and was funny. And to add on top of this… It was a review that was in production since 2015! That’s 6 years in the making! To me this just shows how much dedication the fandom has in creating its content.
Now again, there are some who are dishonest about their intentions, using the tools they have to bash the show or just to get fame and popularity. And yeah… It is unfortunate that such people commit to these bad goals, however again, it is a very tiny part of a big fandom that really doesn’t have any real support behind it. And I still urge every MLP fan to continue supporting famous bronies, they really deserve and earned it. And hopefully they’ll still continue to do so for years to come as G5 comes around!
The Dark Magic that cursed Stygian and Luna
By: FlareGun45
So we've seen the magic that has consumed Princess Luna and Stygian - it MIGHT be the same magic, I have no idea. Whatever dark magic it is, they seem to be very attracted to their negative emotions, which seems to really set them off. Makes me wonder where this magic came from that made Luna turn into Nightmare Moon, and Stygian turn into the Pony of Shadows, and mayhaps Celestia turning into Daybreaker if it ever happened!
We know Stygian has been jealous with the Pillars, being left out cause he has very little magic strength to help them, so.... did the dark magic find him, or did HE find the magic? Like, what if he was looking for ways to make him more powerful to prove himself useful to the Pillars, but little did he know that it was corrupted magic that turned him into the Pony of Shadows instead? Then we got Luna, and how she turned into Nightmare Moon. Did Luna want to get to the bottom of solving the Pillar issue, but ended up getting affected by the leftover dark magic that affected Stygian? That, combined with the negative emotion she had in her, she too got corrupted.
That's not the only thing - remember A Royal Problem, when Celestia fought her evil self in Starlight's dream? Celestia said, "you're not real, and you'll never exist again"! Why would she say "again", if Daybreaker never existed in the first place? That doesn't make sense. So that seems to imply that Celestia had a similar problem to Luna, but somehow she was able to beat it. Of course, she probably had help - I would assume Clover the Clever was still around at that time to help her. If Clover is the apprentice of Starswirl, then he's younger than him, which means he was still alive after Starswirl's disappearance.
Who's to say that dark magic is even gone? Sure the Pony of Shadows got banished, but there's always a chance for a leftover to remain, like the one that affected Luna, and maybe Celestia. Midnight Sparkle was originally gonna have a part in the series finale, so I wonder if the comics are gonna bring her back at all? If she does, then of course this dark magic has to remain to turn her into it! But then there's the question: what negative emotion would Twilight have to empower it?
How Nightmare Rarity Could Have Appeared on the Show
By: Hononoken the Samurai
Early in the FiM IDW series' run, there was an arc set between "Magic Duel" and "Magical Mystery Cure" about Rarity being brainwashed into becoming the next Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Rarity. The arc may or may not have been based on an early idea that Lauren Faust had for FiM, that Luna was turned into Nightmare Moon by a malevolent force, appropriately known in the comics as the Nightmare Forces. Now, that idea was thrown out the window by the show writers after Faust left, and Luna's transformation into NMM came by her own actions.
It's a shame we never saw Nightmare Rarity in the show proper, since she was probably the most well-received thing to come out of the IDW series. Of course, if Rarity actually did turn to a path of villainy, it would take a certain character flaw to push her down that path. For Luna, it was her jealousy and growing bitterness to all the attention Celestia got from their subjects. In the Nightmare Rarity arc, Rarity was coerced into being the Nightmare Forces' vessel when they preyed upon her hidden fears of being abandoned and seen as useless to everyone. It was an idea I don't think the show ever thought of, but it's still an interesting avenue to explore.
But there could be an additional factor similar to the Nightmare Forces that could turn Rarity into the most fabulous villain in Equestria. When "Shadow Play" aired as the S7 finale, it is established that Stygian bonded with a symbiotic, shadow-like force in Hollow Shades after being abandoned by the Pillars in order to become the Pony of Shadows. This sounds awfully similar to how Rarity originally became Nightmare Rarity in the comic.
With that in mind, I imagine it happening in the show via the following scenario. Rarity begins to feel that her generosity towards her friends is unappreciated. After a fight with the rest of the Mane 6 over the issue, she leaves Ponyville by herself and decides to move to Manehattan, feeling her talents would be more appreciated there (particularly from Coco Pommel). But on the train ride there, the train breaks down at Hollow Shades, and Rarity is attracted to the Well of Shade. The darkness pulls her into the well and convinces her to bond with it so that everyone in Equestria will appreciate her gifts. Thus, Nightmare Rarity is born into Equestria as the Pony of Shadows was before her.
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