Tenebrae

Hmmm. Maybe you are right. However a lot of popular MLP youtubers are fairly adamant about this so it felt like more then just a rumour. Not that I am complaining mind you I want the show to go on. However with Generation 5 in the works its quite obvious that Gen4 will end soon.

Well considering we went from possible DB reappearances, to DB's existence, to Celestia's past, to Equestrian physics, to NM's plot induced incompetence, to Human magic rules, to spoiler apologies. It kinda feels like we went off topic (just a tad ). Are you sure its just a rumour. I thought it was confirmed by the developers as they planning on releasing Generation 5 in a few years.

Alright then, back on topic it is (we really derailed there for a while eh? ) I don't believe that DB will return. She was just a fabrication of a ponies mind and even Celestia says she will never exist again. Perhaps if there more seasons past Season 9 I would change my mind, but with so little time left I am sceptical. Then again anything is possible. What do you mean by a rumour?

I apologise for that. I attempted to keep my answer as spoiler free as possible. I only meant to further to conversation, yet I realise that others do not appreciate any form of spoilers. I should have used the Spoiler tool option however I haven't been on this forum long and only realised too late that the feature was available to me. Sorry about that.

Only in the Human world which is confirmed to have a different set of rules regarding magic to the point where to even the magic of harmony is exempt. Such a thing on the other hand would be unthinkable in the world of the ponies, in fact the season 8 episode "The mean 6" shows that the Elements cannot be abused.

Like I said Magic in the Human world is very different. The Rules are no longer the same. Twilight was able to steal the magic of Harmony from the others are use it for herself. It seems that in the Human world one's intentions for obtaining magic seems to have an effect on the individual as it can corrupt them if their intentions are less then benign. Also the Tree has no jurisdiction on the Elements themselves once they have been removed from it. In actual fact the Tree by itself is not that powerful as without the Elements it beings to lose strength to the point where even Discord's magic could affect it.

Sunset also later comments that Magic doesn't work the same way in Human world. There is an episode where she attempts to understand it and ends up giving up. She had no reason to believe that they could wield them either. Not being at full strength could help to explain why she didn't go after Celestia immediately and why settled for harassing ponies. Still doesn't explain why she simply didn't go straight to the castle and "break" the elements. Its not as if she forgot the way.

I think it would be very strange if the Elements of Harmony could be used by a villain for nefarious purposes. Kinda defeats the whole point of it, what with their origin and all. Ah yes, I forgot that all the best villains had to graduate with A+ of their "grand entrance" exam NM didn't need the element of Magic, she just wanted to smash the elements which she did and she thought she won. So as far as we can tell that was her whole plan. Wasting her time harassing random ponies seems kinda counter productive, but hey maybe she also graduated A+ on the "idiot ball" exam XD.

The Sun and Moon in MLP don't seem to be necessarily the same thing as in our world; the rules in Equestria seem very fantastical. For one we know that Day and Night can occur at the same time. We also know that the Sun can be out during the night. Finally it seems that the Sun is unnecessary for life to flourish. In MLP I think Stars and the Sun are very different things, besides the prophesy goes that the Stars themselves will help NM escape. Celestia wouldn't need to be banished to the moon, though we do know that NM is capable of doing so. If NM was looking for the Elements then why did she make a grandiose appearance in front of Ponies where Celestia was supposed to show up. And then why did waste her time following Twilight and Co. when she could have just gone straight to the Castle. NM's actions make very little sense when one thinks about it.

Its nice to see you put so much thought into this theory. I'll admit its one I have never heard of until now. However just like any theory about Celestia's past I have a feeling it will forever remain but a theory. However I don't believe Celestia set up NM's escape as she have no control of the stars and we don't know from where the prophesy originated from. It may have been from Celestia, from a Seer or from the Elements themselves. No one will ever know. As for her 'disappearance' that is one of the big mysteries of MLP. Perhaps she was defeated by NM and sealed away. This makes sense as NM would have gone straight for Celestia as she was a primary threat. It would be odd if NM struts around like the owns the place and takes her time if she knew Celestia was still at large. The seal would have then being undone when she was blasted by the Elements, though that doesn't explain how Celestia arrived so quickly. So perhaps she was hiding under her bed.

Eh, I don't think we'll ever know much about Celestia's past. That said I don't see Celestia as being someone who wishes to acquire as much power as possible. Especially with her getting her ass kicked every season or so and seemingly okay with it XD. As for Midnight, I agree that its more of a learning thing yet the end result is still the same, actually she is far more voracious.

Hmmm... interesting theory, although as you have said it is very circumstantial. However this did remind me of Midnight Sparkle's hunger for magic.

The very fact that something that big was retconned makes the canonicity of the rest of the Journal of secondary value. Horse Play does indeed use elements from the book (which I enjoyed). Though they did change one aspect in that it is specifically mentioned that it was only Starswirl and 5 other Unicorns while in the Journal it was Starswirl + a dozen unicorns (correct me if I am wrong). I am aware this sounds like nitpicking though. The show creators can still make use of it as reference material for future episodes (as they have just done) but we also know that they can and will change the events to their liking.

You are correct. Daybreaker is just a dream, an imagination of what Celestia could be if she turned into something akin to Nightmare Moon. Whether or not she spawned from Starlight's fears, Celestia's fears or a combination of both is unknown. As for the introduction thing, I could see that happening but then I would have expected Celestia to react more like: "You!"

While it is never explicitly stated, the show pretty much tells us that no pony had ever been born an Alicorn prior to Flurry Heart. Rarity states that Alicornhood is something that must be earned (which Megan McCarthy also confirms). Besides the Journal of the Two Sister is no longer canon. "Shadow Play" shows us that the show designers are perfectly okay with retconning several elements written in the book, hence I do not believe it is a valide source of information anymore. To answer the question: NO

Yeah that's basically what I meant. To me it makes no sense that Daybreaker would need to introduce herself to Celestia if she had existed prior to that point in time.

I am well aware of that. But it is what makes the most sense as otherwise Daybreaker would have had no need to introduce herself to Celestia. This proves that Daybreaker never existed before this point in time; coupled with Celestia saying: "You are not real, and will never exist again" and I think the answer is pretty clear.

Confirmed several times? You are going to have to back that up, because I don't see any evidence of such. Besides how could they not understand the capabilities of a newborn Alicorn if they themselves were natural alicorns.

So to summarise: Luna and Celestia were "connected" to the elements but were not they're true bearers and could only use them at full power when together as they were able to turn Discord to stone. However should only one of them use the elements they're effectiveness will be reduced hence why NM was only temporarily banished instead of purified. Is this what we are going with more or less?

I seem to remember Celestia specifically saying that she was no longer "connected" to them. As for their shapes, I think you may be right in the sense that they were not the true wielders. The Tree was originally made with the magic of the 6 Pillars, so it makes sense that the Elements were destined for 6 wielders that each represented a single element that was derived from a Pillar. Though that does not explain how Celestia and Luna could use them then. I am aware that both their cutie marks are on the tree, but did those markings appear before or after the princesses obtained the elements from it. It is also possible that the Tree mearly lent the elements to them as it waited for the true bearers to arrive. Or something. Consistent lore and worldbuilding is not MLP's strong suit. As expected of a kid's show after all.

I figured as such. Its just that when they used the Elements on Discord each of them had 3 elements. So I find it odd that Celestia could use all 6 together. I guess the most logical conclusion is that both Celestia and Luna were connected to all 6 elements but needed to use them together in order to use the elements at full power. But then why are the elements no longer connected to Celestia and Luna? Is it simply because they are now tied to the new element bearers?

I just wonder why the EoH didn't purify Nightmare Moon the first time around. Is it because Celestia was not a true wielder of the Elements and so their full power was diminished?

I assume this could be due to the Moon serving the same purpose as the sun. Perhaps the plants can grow from moonlight. Remember this is the same setting where day and night can happen simultaneously and the Sun can be out during the night.

Less than Mach 1 when flying normally and past Mach 1 when performing a Sonic Rainboom. All this Mach 10 rubbish is based on calculation that are fundamentally flawed as they are attempting to calculate the physics of flight in little girl's show about magical ponies where physics is very often thrown out the window. A Sonic Rainboom is just a fancy Sonic Boom hence the name. As for dodging lightning, well it appears to not be particularly fast in the first place. Besides if one could actually dodge lightning then they would be unbeatable. The show takes liberties because its a cartoon.

After looking around for a while I have to the conclusion that MLP's world is as fantastical as it gets. For one both Day and Night can occur at the same time. Next the sun can be out during the night. As for the sun's size, while I care not about what Amy says as she no longer works on the show, Celestia did confirm that moving the Sun with her magic is more difficult then moving the Moon with Luna's magic. Whether this implies that Sun is bigger or is simply different I do not know, but the idea that they are simply 2 balls in the sky seems to fit with the rest. Another thing of note is that it seems that the Sun is unnecessary for life to thrive in Equestria as seen in the alternate timeline with Nightmare Moon on the throne.