Animation Monday: Twilight Sparkle Becomes A Princess

By Nathan Young on February 18, 2013

So here is my review of the season three finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. When Hasbro revealed that Twilight Sparkle was going to become a princess; it caused a rift in the Brony community. Some people thought Hasbro was doing this to sell more toys. And some people were afraid that Twilight’s character would change when she earned her wings. But after watching the episode titled “Magical Mystery Cure,” it all turned out fine! Before I talk about this episode, watch it below!

The entire episode was basically one huge musical with seven songs! The most of any episode of the series so far. The first half of the episode involved a crisis when Twilight’s friends had their cutie marks switched. In the My Little Pony universe, a cutie mark is a unique picture-like symbols located on the ponies’ flanks or haunches and are often related to the personality, proclivity, or talent of the character. After Twilight sings Morning In Ponyville, she finds Rarity doing Rainbow Dash’s job by trying to control the weather. The morning gets weirder as Twilight finds her other friends Applejack (doing Rarity’s job), Pinkie Pie (doing Applejack’s job), Fluttershy (doing Pinkie Pie’s job), and Rainbow Dash (doing Fluttershy’s job) doing what they are not supposed to do. Twilight seems to be the only one who’s cutie mark has not been switched. All of her friends are just doing what their cutie mark is telling them to do, that it’s their destiny to do so.

Twilight and Spike frantically return to the library. Twilight explains to Spike that, the night before, Princess Celestia had sent her Star Swirl the Bearded’s spell book. The last page in the book contained Star Swirl’s secret, unfinished masterpiece, and Princess Celestia believes Twilight to be the only one who can understand and rewrite it. Twilight reads the spell out loud, inadvertently casting it on the nearby Elements of Harmony, causing their colors — and the cutie marks of their bearers — to be swapped. Twilight is upset and goes up to her bed and laments over her terrible mistake and how much misery she’s brought to both her friends and Ponyville.

Twilight suddenly gets a great idea. If she can’t remind her friends of who they are, she’ll remind them of what they mean to each other. She puts the Element of Magic on and places the rest of the Elements in a chest before heading out with Spike. Twilight goes to each of her friends to remind them what they are meant to do, and that was their destiny. Each pony glows and then gets their element put on. Then the ponies have a flashback of what their density really was. Also their original cutie marks appears as well! Twilight and her friends return to the library and Twilight rewrites the spell’s incantation. Suddenly the Elements of Harmony spark to life, bathing Twilight in their light, and she vanishes into thin air.

Then the episode gets really good. Twilight appears in a strange space full of stars and nebulae. She meets Princess Celestia, who congratulates her for accomplishing something even Star Swirl the Bearded couldn’t do because he didn’t understand friendship like Twilight did. Celestia sings a wonderful song called Celestia’s Ballad. Celestia and Twilight walks down showing all of Twilight’s biggest moments. Suddenly, a whirl of magenta light blankets Twilight, and she disappears. She’s ready to fulfill her destiny!

Back in Ponyville, Twilight’s cutie mark appears in the sky and floats down to the ground. Twilight’s friends watch as the light fades away and Twilight appears…with a pair of wings!

All of Twilight’s friends are marveled with her new look. Princess Celestia appears and says Twilight is a princess, explaining that since arriving in Ponyville, she’s displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and leadership that a true princess is known for. Twilight worries that this means she won’t be Celestia’s student anymore. Princess Celestia says she’ll still be there to help and guide her, but Twilight has just as much to teach now as she has to learn. Twilight’s friends and Celestia then bow to her!

The next day in Canterlot, a princess coronation ceremony is held for Twilight. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance preside over the ceremony. Celestia addresses the assembly of ponies, saying Twilight has proven without a doubt that she is prepared to be crowned Equestria’s newest princess. The audience beholds Twilight as she and her royal procession enter the throne room. Before the three other Princesses, she is crowned with a tiara modeled after the Element of Magic. On the castle balcony, Twilight waves to a crowd of hundreds of cheering ponies. Princess Celestia prompts her to say a few words.

In her first official address as princess, Twilight says friendship was at one time something she didn’t care much about, but she wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for the friendships she’s made. She expresses to her friends her undying gratitude, and considers herself the luckiest pony in Equestria. It was an emotional day for everyone including Twilight’s brother Shining Armor, who was crying with liquid pride.

In a reprise of the episode’s first song, the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle is brought out of the castle on a chariot before she jumps out to trot and sing alongside her friends. In a final shot of Canterlot, Twilight takes flight on her new wings and soars at the screen, proclaiming everything’s going to be just fine.

So bronies, was this episode what you were expecting? I thought the episode was rushed and it could have been easily split up into two episodes. I really liked all the songs in this episode. And yes, many people commented on the part where Twilight and Celestia were in the strange space full of stars and nebulae. A lot of people got a little emotional during that part! A lot of people commenting online were happy to see Twilight becoming a princess. And you have to think about this. Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor’s parents must be the proudest parents in all of Equestria. Not only is their son the king of the Crystal Empire, their daughter has also been elevated to being a princess of Equestria.

So what will season four bring? One, Meghan McCarthy announced on her Twitter page that the season three finale will have continuity into season four as it will be separated into three parts, with season three’s finale being served as the first part of a three-part story. Princess Twilight will have a lot of learn about being a princess. And we can not forget the other story plots. Will the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally get their cutie marks? Will Rainbow Dash get in the Thunderbolts? Why did Celestia wanted Discord to be reformed? There is plenty of material for the writers to put together. The My Little Pony franchise is going nowhere folks! Twilight and her friends are still going to be the same!

By the way, during the finale The Hub did a wonderful spoof of those The Most Interesting Man in the World commercials. This was well done!

Before I wrap up this post; I wanted to talk about two other things related to My Little Pony. First; a spin-off titled Equestria Girls is scheduled to premiere in 2013 on The Hub. This series will show the Mane 6 as humans attending high school. Not much else has been announced so far but when the series does premiere I will have a review here on Geek Alabama. Here is a screenshot of the characters from their pony-selves.

Also, a documentary titled Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony is now out on DVD. As you should know, the My Little Pony adult fan base is through the roof! This is a feature-length documentary film that explores the cultural phenomenon of Bronies. The film chronicles Bronies from around the world, each with their unique story, as they make their way to My Little Pony conventions in Germany, England, and BronyCon in the USA. The documentary also has interviews with show creator Lauren Faust, Twilight voice talent Tara Strong, and John de Lancie! To purchase the movie go to: http://www.bronydoc.com/ Here is the trailer to this documentary.