What did the ponies in Hearth Warming Eve look like?

[cider float 2,539]

No doubt their personalities were congruent to the mane six but they probably looked different. And I'm talking about the pony leaders and their assistants.

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

I don't know. I think the point was to show that the mane six were just like them ponies in HWE

[SFyr 1,982]

There's a running theory that they essentially ARE the future image of the famous ponies, as something akin to a genetic ancestral successor of sorts.

 

But a more logical theory is that they're almost nothing alike visually, and maybe pretty different in terms of personality too. 

^{_{Wrote a huge thing on personality, then remembered this was about looks. Sorry.}}

 

- RD was aggressive and quarrelsome in the play, which may be fitting of a warrior pegasus culture. Someone like her would excel in their setup more than likely, and make it into a leadership position if they showed enough promise and success. Fluttershy on the other hand was timid and fearful of conflict, which is an almost opposite mindset that could allow her to devalue the beliefs of her people and seek peace. Which sets up her historic counterpart as a great candidate for their role in the play.

- Platinum was close minded and self absorbed on stage, which may be fitting of a culture based around refinement, perfection, and management. Meanwhile, Clover was an intellectual trying to approach things without bias and study them for what they are (from what I've seen), which is great for dissolving the airs of superiority and seeing past biases placed against the other two races. Again, makes for a great pony for her role.

- Puddinghead seems a bit frivolous and emotional, given to bursts of irrational behavior but possesses a strong presence all the same. For a small farming town-esque community, a personality like hers could come into power so long as they were competent as well. Smart Cookie would make a great counter mindset of stability and rationality, who could give the other races the benefit of the doubt where Puddinghead may be too quick to judge, or get swept up by her views/emotions.

...So yeah.  :grin2: Basically, I think the mane six are at least somewhat close, likely very different, but similar enough to portray or exaggerate some of their key characteristics that were important for their roles in the story. The mane six, in my mind, were just 'close enough fits', as Fluttershy likely would've had too little of a spine to be a competent officer/soldier to accompany their leader so closely, and Rarity is too generous and kind to have likely been such a full-of-themselves princess as depicted--and I doubt pinkie could successfully lead anything like what she did in the play, which makes me think the historic figure would've been more stable, if still eccentric.

 

 

EDIT: Oh wait, this was very much centered around their looks, sorry, haha. I highly doubt they're the same.     Parallelism that strong would be waaaay too unlikely without pulling some kind of stronger meaning to them being ancestrally or spiritually linked, or what have you. That said, some aspects of their design might be similar, as often artists choose appearance to match or emphasize character, hence Pinkie's innocent, round eyes, Rarity's feminine lashes and eyeshadow, and fluttershy's demure eye shape (all just some of the more noticable characteristics. Twilight's straight or solid lines in her manestyle help emphasize her orderly and bookish personality, for another example).

Edited August 22, 2015 by SFyr