Jump to content
Banner by ~ Ice Princess Silky

Recommended Posts

Considering on the episode where the CMC get their cutie marks, AJ states "our parents would be so proud" this is usually a sign that the parents did die, what we do know is that Big Mac stopped talking after their death, (I don't remember if this was in an episode or something) and AJ was young when they died, think back to the episode where AJ lied in a backflash story, I do wonder if the flashback where the lie happened may have happened a little bit before their parents died, because in that episode she keeps telling Big Mac that he needs to be quiet and listen several times, and not once did we see Applebloom in that episode. So AJ was old enough to remember her parents so they had to have been on a business trip in that flashback. So I'm guessing the mother died of child birth, and the father died in a farming accident.

  • Brohoof 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm still going with the theory that they ate some zapapple pie that was made with the granny smith's missing dentures.

 

"never did find those things in all those jars of zapapple jam" -Granny Smith

  • Brohoof 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, PacificGreen said:

Or they're off on a really long trip. I believe it was a fan theory (or just something that Lauren Faust herself once suggested but never confirmed) that AJ's parents were travelling salesponies or something.

That's mostly speculation and has no solid evidence, though, so I think I'd agree that they're probably dead.

Lauren always maintained they were dead. She never decided how they died. No show staff ever contradicted her. The ''long trip" theory  was a fannon one. And yes she still influences the show according to Jim Miller. Sorry had to throw that sentence in because the mere invocation of her name invites screams of how she has no impact on the shoe. Thus is due to a mixture of youthful contrarianism and proactivity on people who claim the show is worse since her absence -- but I digress. 

Pear Butter and Bright Mac's fate is clear, if you are a grammar and narrative fiction junkie. Go back and listen to the Goldie speech about the parents. The line where she said, "All I know is your parents loved each other very much." That is beautifully executed confirmation. 

Follow that grammar logically through the episode and that is just as explicit as saying "they ded yo!" It's as clear as anything. If they got sucked into another dimension they would still love each other. If they were still alive then they would still love each other (again context eliminates divorce or anything stupid like that which would ignore everything else about the episode). No. Goldie didn't just use past tense, she used it in such a way that the past tense involved two third parties relating to only each other. That is a clever technical trick in narrative fiction and one of the things I was specifically looking for before I signed in to watch the episode. 

Technically, they could be assumed dead and not be, but if that was what they were going to do, this episode would not exist in this way. 

This is why story telling is such a great art form. Each sentence can tell it's own story if you know what you're doing. 

  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, silvermoon15000 said:

Considering on the episode where the CMC get their cutie marks, AJ states "our parents would be so proud" this is usually a sign that the parents did die, what we do know is that Big Mac stopped talking after their death, (I don't remember if this was in an episode or something) and AJ was young when they died, think back to the episode where AJ lied in a backflash story, I do wonder if the flashback where the lie happened may have happened a little bit before their parents died, because in that episode she keeps telling Big Mac that he needs to be quiet and listen several times, and not once did we see Applebloom in that episode. So AJ was old enough to remember her parents so they had to have been on a business trip in that flashback. So I'm guessing the mother died of child birth, and the father died in a farming accident.

Maybe they were on a trip that episode, Apple Bloom was born on the trip, the parents died in accident during the trip, but Apple Bloom survived? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Because Hasbro will not probably show death in a prepubescent children's show, I think this may be the last time they explicitly touch upon the Apples' parents.

A shame if you ask me. Kids need to learn that creatures die. Humans are no exception! :orly:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Ganondox said:

Maybe they were on a trip that episode, Apple Bloom was born on the trip, the parents died in accident during the trip, but Apple Bloom survived? 

My guess is they got home safely but the mother died the night after because of childbirth and it would be weeks later the father would die of a farm accident, basically because Applebloom never got to know her parents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Hierok said:

A shame if you ask me. Kids need to learn that creatures die. Humans are no exception! :orly:

Kids usually know this at an abstract level at a young age, once they reach that point of cognitive awareness of the progression of time they start to consider a dawning realization of mortality. 

I'm also going to use this as a great opportunity to suggest that one common reason given to show death of a show is ... to put it bluntly ... bullshit. Death in media doesn't prepare one for experiencing it in real life. I hear that proclaimed more often than any other reason. 

What can help is seeing that those who survive are able to cope, to heal, and to remember. That there is life for others after experiencing tragedy or death and things will get better. As Perfect Pear shows, you can send that message without a visual depiction of death. It's actually much more effective a teaching and healing tool when done how MLP did it. 

 

  • Brohoof 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now because nothing about their parents being dead was hinted or mentioned in the episode that also gives the possibility that they are still alive but it's simply a case of them going missing. Like they might be hidden away living in a small cottage out in the everfree forest and even possibly we may have the possibility of AJ's parents making a surprise appearance in a future episode. :)  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Jeric said:

I'm also going to use this as a great opportunity to suggest that one common reason given to show death of a show is ... to put it bluntly ... bullshit. Death in media doesn't prepare one for experiencing it in real life. I hear that proclaimed more often than any other reason. 

What can help is seeing that those who survive are able to cope, to heal, and to remember. That there is life for others after experiencing tragedy or death and things will get better. As Perfect Pear shows, you can send that message without a visual depiction of death. It's actually much more effective a teaching and healing tool when done how MLP did it. 

Fair point. Death in cartoons is indeed not gonna prepare kids to real life experience, but then why is Hasbro against it? If kids don't really care or get it, why can't it be in it? I think it was a nice oppurtunity to give one line as a fact that they are death, and with little creativity, they can hide it between the lines. ;)

How weird it may be, I hope they are death, because it's at dept in Apple Jacks character and you can get a little bit emotional. Some people hate that, but I love being a little depressed. Because if I am sad or depressed I can think clearly and I can completly calm. :lol:

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Hierok said:

I think it was a nice oppurtunity to give one line as a fact that they are death, and with little creativity, they can hide it between the lines.

Well you are in luck because that is exactly what they did.  The  episode  was crafted  with sublime subtleties through deft and purposeful dialogue. Those that do not come to the conclusion that Pear Mom and Apple Dad are deceased are one or a combination of the following:

Hopelessly obtuse, ignorant of both grammar and elements of style in fiction, edgy contrarians, creatively impaired requiring exposition over implication, instigators, or desperate for a happy ending at the expense of logic and unfortunate implications. 

In the episode the writers said Pear and Bright were no longer alive in the best way possible, through and artistic and creative use of language and symbolism. That, my friend, is what turns a PSA into a narrative masterpiece. 

  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Ganondox said:

Maybe they were on a trip that episode, Apple Bloom was born on the trip, the parents died in accident during the trip, but Apple Bloom survived? 

then how did new-born applebloom get back to sweet apple acres?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Jeric said:

Well you are in luck because that is exactly what they did.  The  episode  was crafted  with sublime subtleties through deft and purposeful dialogue. Those that do not come to the conclusion that Pear Mom and Apple Dad are deceased are one or a combination of the following:

Hopelessly obtuse, ignorant of both grammar and elements of style in fiction, edgy contrarians, creatively impaired requiring exposition over implication, instigators, or desperate for a happy ending at the expense of logic and unfortunate implications. 

In the episode the writers said Pear and Bright were no longer alive in the best way possible, through and artistic and creative use of language and symbolism. That, my friend, is what turns a PSA into a narrative masterpiece. 

I didn't even think about that. :lol: What a shame! It was a great episode tho! I've never felt so sad for the Apples.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, NotoriousSMALL said:

then how did new-born applebloom get back to sweet apple acres?

Someone else brought her home after the deceased parents were IDed. 

11 hours ago, Hierok said:

Fair point. Death in cartoons is indeed not gonna prepare kids to real life experience, but then why is Hasbro against it? If kids don't really care or get it, why can't it be in it? I think it was a nice oppurtunity to give one line as a fact that they are death, and with little creativity, they can hide it between the lines. ;)

How weird it may be, I hope they are death, because it's at dept in Apple Jacks character and you can get a little bit emotional. Some people hate that, but I love being a little depressed. Because if I am sad or depressed I can think clearly and I can completly calm. :lol:

I think it's because depicting death explicitly is considered too frightening. 

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(edited)

Honestly, they probably died due to natural causes.

A lot of people are speculating that Buttercup died due to childbirth with Apple Bloom. I'm okay with this theory considering that the Apples live in the relatively more rural area in Ponyville and that technology in Equestria has not caught up to their magical counterparts. Buttercup's death caused Apple Jack to leave Sweet Apple acres to find herself in Manehattan (Cutie Mark Chronicles). I'm pretty sure she was dealing with a great deal of internal turmoil and conflict when her mother died.

A lot of people are speculating that Bright Mac died shortly after due to a broken heart. I'm not really okay with this theory, primarily because of how strong the Apples are. I do realize that in the last episode (The Perfect Pear), this love story was probably the best love story in the MLP series so far, and that because Buttercup is no longer with us that it may cause some emotional distress for him not to continue living. However, all of the Apple family episodes show that the Apples stick close to each other and have strong family ties/relationship.

I highly doubt that Bright Mac died due to a broken heart. He would most likely transfer his love of Buttercup to his family, especially his children. I don't he'll leave his children to fend for themselves with Granny Smith.

My theory is that Bright Mac might have died before Buttercup gave birth to Apple Bloom, meaning that it was probably some sort of catastrophe. My guess is Timberwolves or farming accident (maybe even an epidemic we didn't even hear about). I know it's not very creative, but the Apples are very practical people. I doubt their deaths were very spectacular.

Edited by joshyang908
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
On 22/06/2017 at 5:08 AM, Pinkie_Pi said:

Befitting of starcrossed lovers, her mom died in foal-birth, and her father died of a broken heart.

Buttercup died due to foal-birth (AJ might have a long lost sibling) and her father was so depressed eventually committing suicide not too long later

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sherbertlicious Music-Guardlicious said:

Buttercup died due to foal-birth (AJ might have a long lost sibling) and her father was so depressed eventually committing suicide not too long later

When he said foal birth he was referring to Applebloom. I know you have this odd incestuous fixation on Bic Mac and Applejack parenting Applebloom -- a concept that I find exceptionally disturbing considering the source material -- but it remains one of the more preposterous ideas I've seen. 

As far as Bright Mac, while I understand the general draw for teenagers and young adults to fixate on the macabre (albeit in a typically predicable and uncreative way), my first hand experience illuminates a more likely outcome if Bright Mac survived as a widower until his own passing. 

I lost my wife ( @Just Jessi on this very forum) due to complications after a transplant. This was less than a year ago. This is a real world example of how someone can process the untimely loss of his soul mate. While her death and subsequent absence has been as emotionally tumultuous as one can imagine, we had two kids together. They are also members here ( @Salty Sweetness and @Iggy ). The anxiety and depression were significant at times, but what my kids went through was far more apparent to an outsider. How does all that relate to Bright Mac, and the presumption that he took his own life? Simple. We aren't shit parents.

While there are certainly outliers in the real world in which a widower and father will commit suicide after the loss of his wife, the overwhelming majority do not. A strong family ethic, an unbreakable bond with your children, a strong support network of friends and family, and the knowledge that your wife will carry on through you and your kids typically carry a person through a gauntlet of hell's worst design. Many of those traits were on display in Bright Mac's brief appearance, and there are certainly qualities I have as well. To abandon your children is a near irredeemable and fucking unthinkable act of what would undoubtedly be the worst parenting decision that Bright Mac could do. He isn't a bad father. He wouldn't commit suicide over Pear Butter's death knowing what we know about him. 

I'm part of a widowed father's support group, and while I have seen the pain I feel mirrored on the faces of my colleagues in tragedy, none have abandoned their children who they all acknowledge desperately need them to be resilient now more than ever. That is by far a more powerful message than the selfish surrender to the desire to take your own life and orphan those that rely on you the most. 

 

To circle back around to Pinkie_Pi's theory, there is a medical condition that could back up the theory they mentioned. takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or colloquially called broken heart syndrome, is rare in young males and even more rarely leads to a fatal heart attack, but it does happen. The stress of a sudden event such as the death of a loved one can distort the heart muscle and cause it to balloon into a shape that looks like a small barrel on imaging (hence it's name). Though rare, you can indeed die of extreme sadness and a figurative (and literal) broken heart. 

 

  • Brohoof 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Jeric said:

I lost my wife ( @Just Jessi on this very forum) due to complications after a transplant. This was less than a year ago. This is a real world example of how someone can process the untimely loss of his soul mate. While her death and subsequent absence has been as emotionally tumultuous as one can imagine, we had two kids together. They are also members here ( @Salty Sweetness and @Iggy ). The anxiety and depression were significant at times, but what my kids went through was far more apparent to an outsider. How does all that relate to Bright Mac, and the presumption that he took his own life? Simple. We aren't shit parents.

I'm Sincerely sorry for your loss!

 

6 minutes ago, Jeric said:

To circle back around to Pinkie_Pi's theory, there is a medical condition that could back up the theory they mentioned. takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or colloquially called broken heart syndrome, is rare in young males and even more rarely leads to a fatal heart attack, but it does happen. The stress of a sudden event such as the death of a loved one can distort the heart muscle and cause it to balloon into a shape that looks like a small barrel on imaging (hence it's name). Though rare, you can indeed die of extreme sadness and a figurative (and literal) broken heart. 

 

I didn't know that was an actual thing.

I thought it was just an expression

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always thought timberwolves were a likely cause since Sweet Apple Acres is very close to Everfree Forest. With so many small children frolicking around now, I'm sure the imagination can come up with the illustration. But that's what I like about it not being confirmed, it's one of the last old secrets from the show that I can wonder about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Join the herd!

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...