Theory Thoughts and musings on why the ponies go freaky sometimes.

[Mysterycat 27]

Y'know how sometimes ponies have that thing where they're eyes go crazy, they do a crooked smile, their voices go all funny, their manes are messed up and they start acting all OOC?
Like Twilight in "Lesson Zero", Pinkie Pie in "Party of One", and Fluttershy in "Best Night Ever"?
Well, a lot of people say that the ponies are "going insane" from the "stress", but psychological problems like insanity and stress are a bit heavy for a kids' show, especially the idea that something fairly common (like loneliness in Pinkie's case) could cause them, added to the fact that MLP is generally utopian and the fact that insanity doesn't just come and go.
My theory is that it's a certain psychological trait unique to those ponies when they experience a great deal of an emotion they do not usually experience.

For Pinkie Pie it was loneliness and for Fluttershy it was disappointment (she was disappointed that the animals were running away; the anger came later, possibly as a part of being in "freaky-mode").

Now, for a while I thought "but what about Twilight? Anxiety is an emotion she experiences on the regular", but then I thought maybe it wasn't the anxiety that set her into that state, it was desperation. When she was just worried, that didn't set her off but she got set off when she started getting desperate and doing things like putting the "want-it-need-it" spell on Smarty Pants. If the theory is true, then the state goes away when the emotion goes away. But I have two queries about this.

1. Would Applejack's craziness in "Applebuck Season" have anything to do with this? She did look out of sorts and was acting OOC, but did this stem from an unusual emotion and would, therefore, be in the same category or was she just tired from lack of sleep (ie had she been working at night etc and missed out on sleep?)
2. Could this be the reason for Luna turning into Nightmare Moon? Is this character change what could happen if the state went on for too long or the emotion was too intense or too out-of-the-ordinary? Or is it what happens when an Alicorn goes through it? Or is the Nightmare Moon thing completely different?

But, as many fan theorists say, it's just a theory. Or as Twilight might say "Just a hypothesis". Let me know your thoughts.

[Megas 27,671]

Sometimes mental breakdowns in cartoons are just funny

[Daring_Do 552]

The near-human intelligence of the ponies was bestowed upon them by the Tree of Harmony 1,982 years ago; The tree is a sentient being in itself, and experimenting with the animal populations in the land around it, effectively playing God.

 

However, the structure of pony brains is not *meant* to process advanced thought. This is why ponies remain relatively innocent and child-like even well into maturity, and why their "civilization" (such that it is) seems so basic. Some ponies (wild mustangs like Ms. Peachbottom) even remain mostly wild, and cannot cope with the artificial nature of civilization (the reason Peachbottom suffered intense claustrophobia when subjected to indoors environments).

 

Another harmful and terrible side effect of this forced "intelligence" is that their small pony brains simply cannot cope all the time. Occasionally, when experiencing particularly complex emotions, we begin to see seams and cracks in the "programming". If allowed to continue for too long, the Tree of Harmony's hold will be broken and these ponies will revert to the natural behaviors of their ancestors.

 

Cutie marks also likely tie in - The ponies are not truly fully capable of independent thought, and must be told (at least in a general sense) "what to do" in order to avoid suffering similar strains.

 

It is likely the Tree's meddling will end badly for the species as a whole; It has lately been doubling its efforts and trying to increase the pressure (accounting for the increasing amount of human-like technology, affectations and behavior in recent seasons). The Tree knows its hold is weakening, but its efforts to compensate may result in overloading the animals' tiny brains. Chaos, insanity and possible brain damage are the likely result.

[silvadel 1,393]

That they are a bit jumpy is probably due to their heritage.  Horses in general do tend to be a bit more jumpy than say apes.  Social Herbivore vs opportunistic omnivore.

[Jeric 46,851]

The near-human intelligence of the ponies was bestowed upon them by the Tree of Harmony 1,982 years ago; The tree is a sentient being in itself, and experimenting with the animal populations in the land around it, effectively playing God.

 

However, the structure of pony brains is not *meant* to process advanced thought. This is why ponies remain relatively innocent and child-like even well into maturity, and why their "civilization" (such that it is) seems so basic. Some ponies (wild mustangs like Ms. Peachbottom) even remain mostly wild, and cannot cope with the artificial nature of civilization (the reason Peachbottom suffered intense claustrophobia when subjected to indoors environments).

 

Another harmful and terrible side effect of this forced "intelligence" is that their small pony brains simply cannot cope all the time. Occasionally, when experiencing particularly complex emotions, we begin to see seams and cracks in the "programming". If allowed to continue for too long, the Tree of Harmony's hold will be broken and these ponies will revert to the natural behaviors of their ancestors.

 

Cutie marks also likely tie in - The ponies are not truly fully capable of independent thought, and must be told (at least in a general sense) "what to do" in order to avoid suffering similar strains.

 

It is likely the Tree's meddling will end badly for the species as a whole; It has lately been doubling its efforts and trying to increase the pressure (accounting for the increasing amount of human-like technology, affectations and behavior in recent seasons). The Tree knows its hold is weakening, but its efforts to compensate may result in overloading the animals' tiny brains. Chaos, insanity and possible brain damage are the likely result.

That is actually a clever aporoach.

 

The harmful effects of forced evolution is something I never thought I'd read as an explanation for the ponies wack-a-do moments.

[TBD 17,254]

Everyone have a mental break down "once" in while. I think the one that i find it funny is  Twilight going in her freakout mode. She's seems like a perfect mare, but tif she doesn't get what she wants...best to stay out of her way.

and you all know what episode I'm talking about

Overall,  it's really nothing serious, it just in for comic relief and shows that not everyone is "perfect".

[Mysterycat 27]

It's not funny, it's scary! Especially the evolution theory, 

[Widdershins 9,959]

@@Daring_Do,  That is Lovecraftian levels of conspiracy theorizing, but nonetheless entertaining I'll grant you. Very befitting the exploits of your namesake!

 

  

 

Well, a lot of people say that the ponies are "going insane" from the "stress", but psychological problems like insanity and stress are a bit heavy for a kids' show, especially the idea that something fairly common (like loneliness in Pinkie's case) could cause them, added to the fact that MLP is generally utopian and the fact that insanity doesn't just come and go.

 

   But that's just it. It's not.

   A little madness here & there is entirely natural.  It is common to get a bit bent out of shape every now & again, to reach the end of your rope & fray thin when you've pushed yourself a bit too far. It isn't healthy to keep yourself to such high standards & believe that you shouldn't EVER have bad days. Think that's what the lesson to Lesson Zero was. That its alright to feel bad, to not succeed & maybe make things blow up in your face worse than if you had just left things better off alone. Loneliness wasn't common for Pinkie, that's why she freaked out. She thought it was abnormal & that she was doing something wrong & couldn't stop it.

   Is it heavy for a kids show? Perhaps, but it's handled well. That's the show indirectly telling its audience that its okay to fail, to not be the hero & protagonist every moment of every day. Madness DOES come & go, that's why its madness. It's all about keeping a balance. Knowing yourself well enough to know when you'll dip down low & just try your best to not go... too overboard with it... and, you know... harm somebeing else.

 

   It's only natural to go mad! ...Well, for me it is!

 

 

   Do believe that's enforced by the fact that I think each of the Main Six have had their breakdown episode. You mentioned AppleJack's pushing herself to make the crop in time to where she started endangering her friends with her fatigue.

  Rainbow had her day at the tryout competition (that one where she saved Rarity & pulled off her first adult Rainboom) where she broke down into stage fright & even sabotaged by switching her number & order with other contestants. Which is probably the best out of these examples; RD may talk a big talk, but she only likes showing off on her own terms! NEEDING to preform on cue is too much pressure for her.

  Can't think of one specific Rarity episode, but we have seen her very, very frequently be bed-ridden, bedraggled, bemoaning bad behavior & binging on bon-bons. We do know her for a drama queen, but what she lacks in severity she gains in frequency!

 

   Think that's why it speaks to so many older audiences, it doesn't talk down to its audience regardless of age. Sort of tells me that its okay to be weak.

 

 

 

  Side Note: Deja Vu, feel as if I've touched on this subject before in a much shorter, older topic. If any Devs wanna track it down, there might be some thread merging to do.

[sweetolebob18 728]

The near-human intelligence of the ponies was bestowed upon them by the Tree of Harmony 1,982 years ago; The tree is a sentient being in itself, and experimenting with the animal populations in the land around it, effectively playing God.

 

However, the structure of pony brains is not *meant* to process advanced thought. This is why ponies remain relatively innocent and child-like even well into maturity, and why their "civilization" (such that it is) seems so basic. Some ponies (wild mustangs like Ms. Peachbottom) even remain mostly wild, and cannot cope with the artificial nature of civilization (the reason Peachbottom suffered intense claustrophobia when subjected to indoors environments).

 

Another harmful and terrible side effect of this forced "intelligence" is that their small pony brains simply cannot cope all the time. Occasionally, when experiencing particularly complex emotions, we begin to see seams and cracks in the "programming". If allowed to continue for too long, the Tree of Harmony's hold will be broken and these ponies will revert to the natural behaviors of their ancestors.

 

Cutie marks also likely tie in - The ponies are not truly fully capable of independent thought, and must be told (at least in a general sense) "what to do" in order to avoid suffering similar strains.

 

It is likely the Tree's meddling will end badly for the species as a whole; It has lately been doubling its efforts and trying to increase the pressure (accounting for the increasing amount of human-like technology, affectations and behavior in recent seasons). The Tree knows its hold is weakening, but its efforts to compensate may result in overloading the animals' tiny brains. Chaos, insanity and possible brain damage are the likely result.

 

Have you ever read David Brin's Uplift novels? (Startide & sequels).  You are saying the Tree is the Ponies' Patron & freak outs are Stress Atavism.  According to this Universe, the goals of Uplift are to imbue a species  with abstract reasoning  & tool use (defined as being capable of building starships & performing Uplift on others.)

[Daring_Do 552]

Have you ever read David Brin's Uplift novels? (Startide & sequels).  You are saying the Tree is the Ponies' Patron & freak outs are Stress Atavism.  According to this Universe, the goals of Uplift are to imbue a species  with abstract reasoning  & tool use (defined as being capable of building starships & performing Uplift on others.)

No, actually. I did once read a short fanfic that had aliens giving intelligence to ponies, though. Maybe that was inspired by these novels? (That fic didn't include anything similar to stress atavism, though, and it wasn't my inspiration here)

Edited March 6, 2017 by Daring_Do

[cmarston1 5,959]

This reminds me of the whole Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome that took off as a meme a while back in the fandom.