Machiavelli's Little Pony

Machiavelli’s Little Pony: The Prince and Princess Celestia’s Reign By Wilbur Turuvuski Glossary of terms, concepts and important aspects of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Warning: The following essay contains spoilers for the first four seasons of Friendship is Magic Fridge Logic: o A phrase referring to the act of drawing conclusions based on actions or events in a show/film/book/what have you. It is important to note that this can lead to alternate interpretations of characters and events, and that it can never be considered fully accurate or representational of the character or event, as the audience may be missing information or context. Additionally, there can be considered two subsets of fridge logic: fridge brilliance and fridge horror. Fridge brilliance is essentially fridge logic that seems to add to the intelligence of an action/character or the world of the story. Fridge horror is a kind of fridge logic where the conclusion seems to indicate horrific things about the world/characters/actions of the show/film/book/what have you. o Examples: . In the episode ―It‘s About Time‖ we learn that a three-headed dog named Cerberus keeps ancient, evil, creatures imprisoned in a place called Tartarus. She expresses concern over his presence in Ponyville instead of Tartarus, stating that the ancient evils could escape in his absence before her friend Fluttershy is able to soothe the creature. Based on the information we are given above, one could use fridge logic to infer that Fluttershy could, if she so wished, conceivably release the ancient evils by soothing Cerberus while the evils escaped. Note that this fridge logic cannot be called a definitive statement about the world of Equestria because there are many factors we don‘t understand: Twilight Sparkle could be misinformed, there could be other security measures besides Cerberus, or perhaps Fluttershy‘s ability to soothe would not effect Cerberus if it was guarding Tartarus. We know that Celestia is over one thousand years old, as many of the enemies she‘s defeated were done so one thousand years ago (such as Discord, King Sombra and Nightmare Moon). This knowledge, combined with her relatively youthful appearance might lead one to believe that she, and by extension, her sister, are immortal. However, because this is an assumption, there may be information we are missing: It‘s possible that the elements of harmony—which she used one thousand years ago—have a life- prolonging effect, maybe Alicorns simply age far more slowly than normal ponies, unless influenced by magic. Word of God/Lauren Faust o The term ―word of god‖ refers to the idea of an author/creator providing a statement about a previously ambiguous or undefined aspect of their work. Essentially, an author clarifying an aspect of their work outside of the work itself. Example: Ridley Scott asserted that the character of Deckard is a replicate in the film Blade Runner. While this is left more ambiguous in the film, this assertion is widely accepted as a truth about the film, even if this fact is not stated in the film itself. o Lauren Faust was developer of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. In addition to writing the opening and closing episodes to season 1, she served as the executive producer for the first season and consulting producer for the second season. She has not been involved in the production of the show since—although season three did feature an idea conceived by her—and has offered answers to questions posed by fans. She has warned said fans against taking her assertions too seriously, given that she is no longer serving on the creative team, but due to her role in envisioning the world and characters of the show, many fans treat her notions as canonical unless otherwise contradicted by the show itself. Important Locations: o Equestria: the nation where most of the show takes place, Equestria is co- ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna . Canterlot: the capitol of Equestria, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna reside. (Shown left) . Ponyville: a small rural town where Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Spike reside. (Not Shown) o The Crystal Empire: currently located in the artic north of Equestria—its former location is currently clarified—the Crystal Empire is populated almost entirely by crystal ponies and tiny ewes. The emotional state of its inhabitants appears to bear some sort of effect on the state of Equestria; as Princess Celestia states something to the effect of ―If the Crystal Empire is filled with hope and love, those emotions will be reflected across all of Equestria, but if hate and fear are prevalent instead, Equestria will be effected negatively.‖ (S3E1) It is currently co-ruled by Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Species of Pony o Equestria seems to be populated largely by several different species of ponies. Alicorns: Ponies with both magic horns and wings. If what we have seen in the show is representative of the world that Friendship is Magic takes place in, they are taller, capable of performing more powerful magic than a normal unicorn, and are royalty. We know for certain that Princess Celestia is over 1,000 years old, so it is commonly assumed that all Alicorns are immortal, or do not age, though this has not been specifically stated. Unicorns Ponies born with magic horns. Unicorns and Alicorns both posses the ability to actively manipulate magic, usually through a kind of telekinesis, although certain ponies— notably Twilight Sparkle—can cast spells capable of producing a wide variety of effects including: teleportation, locating precious gems and moustache growing. That being said, most unicorns seem to be unable to perform most spells, either because they have not studied magic, or because said spells do not relate to their talents or interests. Pegasi Pegasi are ponies that are born with wings, and typically posses an ability to fly and walk on clouds, which earth ponies and unicorns cannot do. The flight abilities of a Pegasus seem to vary from pony to pony; Rainbow Dash demonstrates great speed, agility and skill, whereas Fluttershy appears to be competent in flight, but not as capable as Rainbow Dash. Pegasi are also commonly associated with weather due to their unique ability to manipulate clouds, often maintaining fair weather or creating rainclouds, snowflakes or rainbows. Earth Ponies Earth ponies are born without wings or horns, but Lauren Faust has stated that they have a different kind of magic: a strong connection to nature, animals and plants. As such, earth ponies are well suited by nature to farming, gardening or caring for animals, as indicated by the character of Applejack, who‘s who family works as farmers. However earth ponies still pursue a wide variety of careers. For example, Pinkie Pie ends up leaving her family‘s rock farm and makes her living working in a bakery. Crystal Ponies Crystal Ponies are inhabitants of the Crystal Empire, and appear to be earth ponies that tie their manes back with ribbons. Their magic presumably ties into a powerful artifact called the Crystal Heart, as they once used their ‗light and love‘ to cause the Crystal Heart to either banish or destroy King Sombra (It has not yet been made clear) Glossary of Characters Princess Celestia: o The subject of this essay, Princess Celestia is a royal Alicorn who, besides ruling Equestria, also has the ability and responsibility of raising the sun every morning. She has demonstrated great magical prowess; teleporting large distances, negating a ―Want it Need it‖ spell affecting a large group of ponies, negating Twilight‘s wild magical burst and raising the moon (traditionally the job of her sister, Princess Luna) for one thousand years. She has mentored Twilight Sparkle in her magic and friendship studies and shows both a desire to connect with her subjects on a deeper, more personal level and a more mischievous side. She has ruled Equestria for over one thousand years. Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon o The sister of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna (pictured below) is a royal Alicorn who ruled alongside Princess Celestia until she became jealous over the fact that all of Equestria‘s inhabitants played during the day but shunned the night and slept through it. Eventually this bitterness caused her to refuse to lower the moon—keeping Equestria in a state of eternal night. The bitterness she felt transformed her into the malicious Nightmare Moon (pictured above), whom Celestia imprisoned in the moon for one thousand years. After the one thousand years were up, she escaped the moon but was restored to her normal self by Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the mane six. Since then she has chosen to rule with her sister once again. Presumably, she shares her sister‘s immortality and proficiency with magic. Princess Cadance o Celestia‘s adopted niece, Princess Cadance is also a royal Alicorn who married Twilight Sparkle‘s older brother Shining Armor (S2E25). She is commonly associated with love and currently co-rules the Crystal Empire with Shining armor. Shining Armor o Twilight Sparkle‘s older brother, Shining Armor is a unicorn that serves as the captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard. Currently, he co-rules the Crystal Empire while somehow managing to keep his position as captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard. Twilight Sparkle o The central protagonist of the Friendship is Magic series, Twilight Sparkle has been Celestia‘s student in both magic and friendship studies. Her unique aptitude for all things magical, combined with her hunger for knowledge and regular practice, has resulted in her possessing staggering magical power that she is capable of applying to a cornucopia of spells.

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