Is Starlight really just a filly in the body of a mare?

[ManaMinori 4,146]

Something is bugging me, and it not just an op unicorn’s morally skewed use of magic that ends in disastrous results when used. No, this is something that was dropped way back in season 3, in “Magic Duel”. Some of you might remember it. This episode was about Trixie returning to Ponyville to square off against pre-alicorn Twilight in a duel to the death between unicorns- to once again gain pride and honor and crown herself queen of the Saiyan race with the bitter defeat of Twilight Sparkle…..

 

Yes, Twilight Sparkle….the pony who made it apparent to the viewers- and to Trixie herself, with this one line that age spells are highly advanced and not even SHE (Twilight) could pull it off-

Twilight: “An age spell? But how could you do an age spell? That’s only for the highest level unicorns!!!”

 

Now- while Trixie was able to pull off the spell when under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, I have to wonder if some other pony has done the same without it- namely, Starlight Glimmer. What if she used such a spell after her friend Sunburst got his cutie mark and went off to Celestia’s school? This would explain why she has kept her childlike mindset -even as an “adult” mare, and why she continuously falls back on her magic to solve a problem, and why it keeps backfiring when she does, in spite of supposedly already having learned not to, time and again.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Nightmare Muffin

[Star Petal 215]

There are plenty of adults who are more childish than others. The age you act is not really the age you really are. Starlight also had a very isolated childhood as 

far as how much contact with other ponies she had for the longest time. She is well into her adult stages of life, and now has just found her first friends. She simply just doesn't have social skills is all. 

[They call me Loyalty 1,951]

Mental age often reflects the time at which the experience of loss occurs.

Power abuse may be a result of this, rather than the cause.

[cmarston1 5,960]

Well that would make her super crappy backstory make a little more sense, but I doubt this is true.

[Marimo 555]

She and Sunburst are about the same age, and if Sunburst has become old enough to be an adult then Starlight should also be old enough to be an adult naturally.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Have you ever heard of autism, brah? That's probably what Starlight's got.

[Jeric 46,871]

@Marimo already pointed out the obvious flaw in logic with the theory. 

Nightmare Muffins, her lapses of judgment are more akin to having gaps in her social development. I suggest you read some Erik Erickson - and later developmental psychology that builds off of his ideas - to see how events can alter social development and decision making.  

[blackstarraven 142]

No...

But she MIGHT be autistic....

[Steve Piranha 29,453]

On 6/4/2017 at 0:12 PM, MegaSean45 said:

Have you ever heard of autism, brah? That's probably what Starlight's got.

Not necessarily. While most of us agree that Starlight's ascent to villainy felt poor and unconvincing, it was traumatic for her and was from fillyhood. Of course that led her to become a sociopathic ruler of an isolated town, obsessed with revenge once foiled, and a redemption later an awkward mare. From that point of view, makes sense that she has awkwardness of a teenager, despite being a mare, she didn't develop social skills growing-up 

[Meeps 298]

 

On 6/3/2017 at 11:04 PM, Nightmare Muffin said:

What if she used such a spell after her friend Sunburst got his cutie mark and went off to Celestia’s school?

Why would she do this, though? What purpose would using this spell have for her in this situation? 

As others have already said, her poor judgement likely has everything to do with being socially/emotionally stunted than with magic. She simply closed herself off and wasn't able to learn coping mechanisms as she might've has she had a more "normal" childhood (fillyhood...? whatever it should be called, lol).

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,982]

From a mental perspective, it could be possible to some extent. Clearly, she became entrenched by feelings of abandonment, jealousy and hatred when she was young and this could have been her main mindset for many years. This could have, inadvertently, caused her to miss quite a few things in her childhood, like key aspects of friendship and other things. Like her childhood was overlapped by her emotional problems. 

This is a character trait I wouldn't mind her having. It would give her good explanations for not only her social problems, but also her tendencies to jump the gun and having a very narrow cone judgement at times. It would also give her more complexity, without mary sueing her out the wazoo.