How evil can a pony be in equestria?

[SteveMorison 404]

While on the face of it the world of equestria seems like a world of smiles, rainbows and sunshine, when we look deeper we see this is not always the case and that Equestria infact might share some of the same world problems that we do, such as illness, death, depression, crime, war, weather disasters etc. The villains in the show are never shown as wanting to kill people (except nightmare moon wanting to kill celestia) but I wonder how evil can an ordinary pony living in equestria could get taking away the boundaries of being a Y TV show. Is it conceivable for a pony to murder another pony?

[Pastel 7,627]

I like to think it's possible, just like in our world, but that it's just never shown.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

I get the feeling that there are probably some criminal ponies out there in Equestria not afraid to kill in order to get what they want. We don't see them because this is a kid's show.

[pony.colin 156]

As evil as they want to be, within the boundaries of a Y-TV rating

 

On a serious note, because of external factors and cultural perceptions of what is perceived as acceptable and not acceptable for an intended audience, MLP:Fim is limited by what it can bluntly say, and what it can possibly metaphorically allude to.  

 

Theoretically some of the problems you've listed can happen in Equestria.  But whether they appear or are even metaphorically allude to will depend on what will be deemed appropriate boundaries and restrictions that the writers can work with.

 

 

 

Is it conceivable for a pony to murder another pony?

 

Probably not.  The backlash that would occur post an episode showing that would be immense.  (Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon wasn't murder - she gets up from the magical blast so we know she's fine after) (obvious blunt act of murder, not possible.  implied murder? maybe for dramatic effect in the case of Celestia).

 

What has been shown for our basic ponies that can be as antagonists: (note, only using regular ponies)

 

Babs Seed: social bullying and peer-pressure (same with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon)

 

Dr. Caballeron: Profit gain (it's only relevant because his original intention to sell to Ahuizotl would have had negative consequences to others)

 

Flim and Flam brothers: Deceit and dishonesty (more firm example in the latter episode of Leap of Faith) (same with Suri Polomare)

 

Trixie: Rogue unicorn (who somehow was able to purchase an all-powerful alicorn magic that literally heightened her own magical power that allowed her to manipulated Ponyville and out-best Twilight). 

 

Starlight Glimmer: Rogue unicorn and deceit and dishonesty (at last a mix of previous other negative characteristics).

[Untitled Goose Q 5,136]

A pony could certainly murder another, however it will never be aired, ponies are subject to the same failings we humans suffer from.

 

As to how evil a pony could be... evil is a point of view. A being we may consider evil would most likely not consider themselves evil, so the answer is "depends on your point of view".

[Lord Bradley 1,319]

As evil as they want to be, within the boundaries of a Y-TV rating

 

On a serious note, because of external factors and cultural perceptions of what is perceived as acceptable and not acceptable for an intended audience, MLP:Fim is limited by what it can bluntly say, and what it can possibly metaphorically allude to.  

 

Theoretically some of the problems you've listed can happen in Equestria.  But whether they appear or are even metaphorically allude to will depend on what will be deemed appropriate boundaries and restrictions that the writers can work with.

 

 

 

Probably not.  The backlash that would occur post an episode showing that would be immense.  (Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon wasn't murder - she gets up from the magical blast so we know she's fine after) (obvious blunt act of murder, not possible.  implied murder? maybe for dramatic effect in the case of Celestia).

 

What has been shown for our basic ponies that can be as antagonists: (note, only using regular ponies)

 

Babs Seed: social bullying and peer-pressure (same with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon)

 

Dr. Caballeron: Profit gain (it's only relevant because his original intention to sell to Ahuizotl would have had negative consequences to others)

 

Flim and Flam brothers: Deceit and dishonesty (more firm example in the latter episode of Leap of Faith) (same with Suri Polomare)

 

Trixie: Rogue unicorn (who somehow was able to purchase an all-powerful alicorn magic that literally heightened her own magical power that allowed her to manipulated Ponyville and out-best Twilight). 

 

Starlight Glimmer: Rogue unicorn and deceit and dishonesty (at last a mix of previous other negative characteristics).

Hey, you forgot one of the "Main" villains that most likely has committed murder aswell as another very serious crime against (Ponydom?). Slavery. Yeah, I'm talking about Sombra, and im very sure he has committed murder at some point in his tyranny, unlike Discord(Yes, I know he's not exactly a pony), Nightmare Moon, and All the antagonists you talked about. (And as for Tirek, i feel like he has done something like that, but I'm not too sure.) Anyways, Sombra is, or was, I guess, a pony. He took over an entire kingdom and turned its inhabitants into his slaves. In result to the last point, he most likely killed off a lot of the ones that refused to bow to him, probably publicly, so his other slaves wouldn't get any thoughts about rebelling.

[Overlord0909 479]

Hey, you forgot one of the "Main" villains that most likely has committed murder aswell as another very serious crime against (Ponydom?). Slavery. Yeah, I'm talking about Sombra, and im very sure he has committed murder at some point in his tyranny, unlike Discord(Yes, I know he's not exactly a pony), Nightmare Moon, and All the antagonists you talked about. (And as for Tirek, i feel like he has done something like that, but I'm not too sure.) Anyways, Sombra is, or was, I guess, a pony. He took over an entire kingdom and turned its inhabitants into his slaves. In result to the last point, he most likely killed off a lot of the ones that refused to bow to him, probably publicly, so his other slaves wouldn't get any thoughts about rebelling.

A pony doesn't need to kill to instill fear. Just show overwhelming amounts of power is enough. How many of you would rise up against a guy who could blow away everyone around with no sweat? Or something like that.

[SteveMorison 404]

As evil as they want to be, within the boundaries of a Y-TV rating

 

On a serious note, because of external factors and cultural perceptions of what is perceived as acceptable and not acceptable for an intended audience, MLP:Fim is limited by what it can bluntly say, and what it can possibly metaphorically allude to.

 

Theoretically some of the problems you've listed can happen in Equestria. But whether they appear or are even metaphorically allude to will depend on what will be deemed appropriate boundaries and restrictions that the writers can work with.

 

 

Probably not. The backlash that would occur post an episode showing that would be immense. (Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon wasn't murder - she gets up from the magical blast so we know she's fine after) (obvious blunt act of murder, not possible. implied murder? maybe for dramatic effect in the case of Celestia).

 

What has been shown for our basic ponies that can be as antagonists: (note, only using regular ponies)

 

Babs Seed: social bullying and peer-pressure (same with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon)

 

Dr. Caballeron: Profit gain (it's only relevant because his original intention to sell to Ahuizotl would have had negative consequences to others)

 

Flim and Flam brothers: Deceit and dishonesty (more firm example in the latter episode of Leap of Faith) (same with Suri Polomare)

 

Trixie: Rogue unicorn (who somehow was able to purchase an all-powerful alicorn magic that literally heightened her own magical power that allowed her to manipulated Ponyville and out-best Twilight).

 

Starlight Glimmer: Rogue unicorn and deceit and dishonesty (at last a mix of previous other negative characteristics).

"I have but one royal duty now, to destroy you" sounds like murderous intentions to me.

[pony.colin 156]

Hey, you forgot one of the "Main" villains that most likely has committed murder aswell as another very serious crime against (Ponydom?). Slavery. Yeah, I'm talking about Sombra, and im very sure he has committed murder at some point in his tyranny, unlike Discord(Yes, I know he's not exactly a pony), Nightmare Moon, and All the antagonists you talked about. (And as for Tirek, i feel like he has done something like that, but I'm not too sure.) Anyways, Sombra is, or was, I guess, a pony. He took over an entire kingdom and turned its inhabitants into his slaves. In result to the last point, he most likely killed off a lot of the ones that refused to bow to him, probably publicly, so his other slaves wouldn't get any thoughts about rebelling.

 

Whoops, forgot about him, my bad.  Yes, he pushes further in comparison to all the other antagonists I stated before.  The details about his rise to power and overall take over of the Crystal Empire can imply several things (that's about as close as I can see the show getting - and I'm not going to refer to comics because its disputable about whether they are canon, plus for the sake of consistency, will just refer to show canon only).  However, the on-blunt slavery is displayed without metaphor, so that's also considerable with his tyranny.  (It can't be shown that he put down some slaves that were resisting, but it could theoretically be implied as his display of brute power and control over the crystal empire was going to be absolute - until the princesses show up)  He does push the envelope more than our other antagonists.  (When referring to just regular ponies). 

 

 

"I have but one royal duty now, to destroy you" sounds like murderous intentions to me.

 

Oh, trying to prove the case of murderous intent.   That's a pretty good point to bring up - and would definitely have legitimate standing if this piece of evidence were to be reviewed in a trial.   That does push actually.  I guess I gave seeing a cadaver more impact if it was shown, but showing intent is also a good method as well to bring up.

[SteveMorison 404]

Whoops, forgot about him, my bad. Yes, he pushes further in comparison to all the other antagonists I stated before. The details about his rise to power and overall take over of the Crystal Empire can imply several things (that's about as close as I can see the show getting - and I'm not going to refer to comics because its disputable about whether they are canon, plus for the sake of consistency, will just refer to show canon only). However, the on-blunt slavery is displayed without metaphor, so that's also considerable with his tyranny. (It can't be shown that he put down some slaves that were resisting, but it could theoretically be implied as his display of brute power and control over the crystal empire was going to be absolute - until the princesses show up) He does push the envelope more than our other antagonists. (When referring to just regular ponies).

 

 

 

Oh, trying to prove the case of murderous intent. That's a pretty good point to bring up - and would definitely have legitimate standing if this piece of evidence were to be reviewed in a trial. That does push actually. I guess I gave seeing a cadaver more impact if it was shown, but showing intent is also a good method as well to bring up.

I never said Nightmare Moon murdered Celestia, she just wanted to, you're missing the point.

[pony.colin 156]

I never said Nightmare Moon murdered Celestia, she just wanted to, you're missing the point.

 

Huh? I am agreeing with what you said, but I think I might have written my response poorly, so I'll re-try that again.

 

Pointing out murderous intent from NMM is a serious point to consider and would be something worth bringing up if talking about how "evil a pony can get".   I was just saying that I'm too narrow-focused on expecting the act to have already been committed rather than if a pony could mentally motivate and imagine themselves, OH WAIT, that's what you meant.  Yeah okay, it's conceivable for a pony to think like that. 

Edited May 4, 2015 by pony.colin

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Well I certainly think most are capable of being evil, it just doesn't happen there as much as here. The social conditions are just generally better in Equestria, not perfect but even I'll admit it's clear which reality is the more ideal one.

 

Yeah, I certainly think a pony could murder, they have free will and we've seen that regular ponies are capable of some pretty heinous deeds. It would however, be the greater exception that proves the rule that most don't.

[Fractured 2,683]

While on the face of it the world of equestria seems like a world of smiles, rainbows and sunshine, when we look deeper we see this is not always the case and that Equestria infact might share some of the same world problems that we do, such as illness, death, depression, crime, war, weather disasters etc. The villains in the show are never shown as wanting to kill people (except nightmare moon wanting to kill celestia) but I wonder how evil can an ordinary pony living in equestria could get taking away the boundaries of being a Y TV show. Is it conceivable for a pony to murder another pony?

When it comes to the overworld of Equestria, I tend to take things at face value. Yes, they do have illness, death, depression, etc, just nowhere near as bad as ours. Sunshine and rainbows, indeed/

 

However, I believe it's entirely possible for one pony to murder another, simply because ponies both have the same range of emotions that we have, and the physical ability to kill another pony. It just seems to be something that's exceedingly rare to almost non-existant; ponies never leave their doors locked...

[SteveMorison 404]

Huh? I am agreeing with what you said, but I think I might have written my response poorly, so I'll re-try that again.

 

Pointing out murderous intent from NMM is a serious point to consider and would be something worth bringing up if talking about how "evil a pony can get". I was just saying that I'm too narrow-focused on expecting the act to have already been committed rather than if a pony could mentally motivate and imagine themselves, OH WAIT, that's what you meant. Yeah okay, it's conceivable for a pony to think like that.

Sorry, I interpreted your previous post as sarcasm, no probs mate.

[Cwanky 17,459]

Well if Sombra was capable of outright slavery and oppression

 

 

The sky's the limit.

[Saroth 102]

Well, Nightmare Moon wanted to bring about eternal night, resulting in crops not being able to grow (proved by Hearth's Warming Eve), resulting in the starvation of everyone in Equestria, or maybe even the entire planet. I think murdering an entire country/planet is a pretty evil thing to do.

 

Of course, this depends if Luna was just dumb as a brick while thinking up her plan and didn't realize that she'd kill everyone, but I doubt that.

[TraceOfAmber 12]

Are we counting Starlight Glimmer's blocked laser at the end of the premiere as an attempt to cause grievous bodily harm, given that we saw her using the same spell to blow up bridges only moments ago?

[Mr. Mustang 647]

Hmm, I think ponies can at least get up to Dr. Eggman levels of evil, perhaps going so far as to change the reality of the universe.

 

But, if it's possible the sky's the limit, then the sky's the limit.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Mustang D

[Steve Piranha 28,783]

There are people so vile in real life that sometimes, we can't help but wish death on them at least, and FiM emulates real life in many ways, so, I doubt ponies so repulsive are non-existent in Equestria, they just aren't shown 

[simba86 1,541]

in the context of the show, no i don't think they can murder, if it was in the context of ponies in real life then yes i think they could

[silvadel 1,393]

Sombra kind of shows that anything is possible.  There is no inherent "be good" message ringing in the ears of the ponies.  Voldemort level evil is possible.

[ciphersplash 57]

While on the face of it the world of equestria seems like a world of smiles, rainbows and sunshine, when we look deeper we see this is not always the case and that Equestria infact might share some of the same world problems that we do, such as illness, death, depression, crime, war, weather disasters etc. The villains in the show are never shown as wanting to kill people (except nightmare moon wanting to kill celestia) but I wonder how evil can an ordinary pony living in equestria could get taking away the boundaries of being a Y TV show. Is it conceivable for a pony to murder another pony?

 

Well they won't show that in the show

 

but if mlp was real

 

You have a massive jail full of ponies

 

just like our world, but with ponies

[Glaive9Gko 82]

I think its safe to say that Tirek did try to murder Twilight, and the chimera did try to eat Apple Bloom. Sometimes ponies, or at least sapient creatures in that world, go for the throat.

[ciphersplash 57]

 

 

Tirek did try to murder Twilight

 

There should be a plot where all the Background Ponies go on a nice rampage

 

me as the leader of course 

[Prince Firemane 309]

Well... don't read this if you haven't read Sombra's FIENDship is magic issue, but...

 

But Sombra quite blatantly murdered Princess Amore. He turned her to crystal and shattered it.