Allegory in My Little Pony

[Sintanan 151]

I shall not sugar-coat it, but I believe Celestia, Cadance, and Twilight are meant to represent the Holy Trinity; Luna the fallen angel Lucifer; and the rest of the mane6 the apostles of Jesus Christ.  It is subtle, but there are religious undertones in this show.

 

It all stems from looking at My Little Pony through the lens of Princess Celestia being the Equestrian equal of the benevolent deity/ruler.  This is given credence from the first scene of the first episode where it is established her domain is the sun and she watches over the races of ponies.  In the second part of the opening tale we are introduced to the lesser of the two divine figures feeling unloved and her pride taking over turning her evil.  From here Princess Luna is banished to, and imprisoned in, the moon.  This definitely carries connotations to the story of Lucifer, the chief angel to God falling from grace for his pride and being banished from the realms of man.  Both Lucifer and Luna turn into monstrous manifestations of their selves, and both are sealed away by their good counterpart.

 

Furthermore when Nightmare Moon returns, the messenger of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, rallies suitable allies and stops Nightmare Moon's bid for power.  Thus broken and beaten, Princess Celestia then shows divine mercy on a being who (by all accounts) should not have been shown such.  But wait a moment, the messenger of God --such as a prophet-- rallied followers --apostles-- to overcome the evils of the devil.

 

The opening of Friendship is Magic definitely is a retelling of a tale as old as time, and firmly establishes Princess Celestia as God, Princess Luna as the fallen angel, and Nightmare Moon as the devil.  However we haven't established the roles of Twilight Sparkle or Princess Mi Amore Cadenza yet.

 

For a moment let us skip season 2 and fast forward straight to season 3.  Specifically the final episode of the season.  More specifically the last act.  Twilight Sparkle is blasted by the Elements of Harmony and leaves a star-shaped scorch mark upon the ground.  From here we cut to a star-filled void where Celestia greets her favorite student, runs a clip show of Twilight's life, and Twilight is returned to Equestria in a ball of light descending from the sky.  It is at this point Twilight unfurls her newly acquired wings in a halo of light.

 

Wait a second... was Twilight dead?  She left a scorch mark behind --a good possibility she was killed.  Then we find her in a void --Purgatory.  She's then greeted by Celestia --God.  Who talks with Twilight as the two run a clip show --Twilight's life flashes before her.  Twilight is then reborn in divine light as she descends from heaven where she reveals she has wings --resurrected and is now an angel.  Again, it is subtle, but this sounds a lot like the death and rebirth of Jesus Christ.  From here, Twilight (Jesus) sets about writing the wrongs plaguing the kingdom (of man) in season 4 and as we've seen in the trailers for season 5.

 

Finally, in the trinity the holy spirit is represented by a dove --a symbol of love.  Wait a second... don't we already have a divine being in the show (Princess) that represents love?  Oh, right...  Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.  It was through the divine love that evil was conquered.  As always, the references are subtle, but they are there.

 

In conclusion I don't want anyone to knock the show for these undertones and allegory, nor do I want those whom follow faith to feel the show is insulting them.  Many have read and watched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. In this series Azlan is an allegory for Jesus Christ.  No one has damned this story for its undertones and allegory, and I don't want to see that happen to My Little Pony.  I just want others to be aware of the allegory so they think on the stories they read and hear, rather than passively consume them.

[Tom Snyder 4,111]

I think you're over analyzing this, but i really don't see it.

[Pastel 7,627]

It's interesting but do you really think the writers thought of all that?

These are most likely coincidences.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Blobulle

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

It's a nice theory and you probably put alot effort into it, but i think that you overanalyze this.

[Sintanan 151]

It's interesting but do you really think the writers thought of all that?

The short answer?  No, the writing team has changed too much over time.

 

The long answer?  I think it is simply a case of the overarching story took a turn this way as things were assembled.  As I said, the original pilot is definitely a toned down retelling of the fall of Lucifer, but as for Twilight becoming an angel I think that was simply a coincidence that came up through the actions of DHX when Hasbro stepped in wanting a Princess Twilight.  With Princess Cadance, that is simply being over-analytic and looking for connections where there are none.  It does make for an interesting topic of discussion, however.

 

 

I think you're over analyzing this, but i really don't see it.

It's a nice theory and you probably put alot effort into it, but i think that you overanalyze this.

 

Ah, but it would be no fun if I didn't pick apart the very fundamentals of the show.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Sintanan

[Banul 3,831]

I really liked that part in the Bible where Peter was having a pest problem on his farm, and Jesus accidentally turned Mathew into a bat. 

Edited March 19, 2015 by Banul

[yeet 2,026]

I don't wanna come off as rude. But half the shit with theories (eg Shakespeare poetry n shit) are crap. They wouldn't have thought of all this shit when writing. But I'll give you an A for effort in this theory cause pones   

[Sommar 1,289]

Interesting observation. I agree there are Christian undertones in the show, but I think you are over-analyzing it like the other users above me said.

[ArcheoPony 76]

If the show even references any of that, it references it just like any other mythology. It's not trying to go into religious believes, but simply emulate ancient mythological stories.

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

The Bible has been so ingrained as a cornerstone of popular culture that it's possible to follow the pattern of Jesus without even knowing it, because it's been done in media so many times. You could do it under the illusion that you're just working under the inspiration of another film, TV show, or fantasy story. You can equally say that the stories of The Matrix, Narnia, and Tolkien's Middle-earth follow similar patterns, except they're more open about admitting it. I don't think MLP's writers had writing a Biblical allegory on their mind -- the only allegory they wanted to create is to how powerful friendship can be and how it can see people through the toughest times. However, just the thought that MLP is following the pattern of the Bible shows just how much of an influence it is, that other stories may be subconsciously following its patterns.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

While I guess I can see your point; overall I think they are missing the mark. You really can't compare Luna to Satan because in Christian doctrine Satan is esentially doomed; never to be redeemed and whille be cast into the "Lake of Fire" at the end of days. Luna, however, gets a redemption story and reintegrates with society.

 

Along with that, according to doctrine, Jesus was indeed killed and resurrected to be the one to save humanity for damnation. He wasn't trasported to Purgatory and then informed of his destiny; it was already set in stone as far as he was concerned. For Twilight; it was a lot less certain.

 

In the end I can't make the same connections as you do and as such; I can't see any Christian undertones in the media.

[baltosaa 86]

As some above me have said, it depends on how you look at it.

 

This does sound like a good idea though, but, of course, I think you're just over analyzing (Which is fine, of course...especially when it makes for an interesting idea. XD )