When did the Tree of Harmony become sentient?

[Azureth 687]

I don't get it. If it was always sentient then why did it not say anything when Discord's plant things were reeking havoc on it? Even if it needed the EoH to counteract it surely it still would have had enough power to communicate it was in trouble.

[Midnight Solace 5,132]

Yeah, I was surprised when it impersonated Twilight. It only started to communicate 4 years after originally introduced.

[Jeric 46,854]

It wasn’t always sentient. There is dialogue that states it is constantly evolving. Probably due to the success of the bearers and Twilight’s mission. 

[Fhaolan 4,484]

Interesting question.

First thing I noticed, was that Celestia and Luna removed the Elements from the tree over a thousand years ago, and they didn't get returned to the Tree until after the Plunderseeds had turned into those vines and attacked everything. Only when the elements were returned did the Tree start acting on it's own volition (It seems like generating the mystery box was it's first act of 'agency')  Then it had a season to sort itself out before they unlocked that box and triggered the creation of Twilight's castle and the Cutie Map. And even longer period of time from that to the when it *really* started to act like it had awareness with projecting a Twilight hologram and the like.

So... maybe the tree itself isn't Sentient. Perhaps the *elements* + Tree is. So whenever the Tree gives up the elements (or has them taken) it's giving up that Sentience. And it's only able to truly 'grow' when fully assembled.

Oh, here's a thought. The Sentience itself may even be a copy, or based on a copy. When the Elements were reformed back in the first Season, they took on the shapes of the various Bearer's cutie-marks. And the Bearer's personalities and cutie-marks got scrambled when the Elements were shuffled magically. Maybe the Elements took on an imprint of the Bearers' minds when they reformed, and when they got shuffled the *feedback* is what messed with the Bearers. When re-integrated with the tree those imprints would give the tree a 'shape of sentience' that it could grow into?

Dunno. Just spitballing here...

[PoisonClaw 8,165]

I wrote a fic about this, actually. My idea was that the Tree became sentient thanks to the Mane 6, both when the Elements were returned to it and then when the box was opened, both times granting it a spiritual connection to the Bearers. It's only been recently that it developed the ability to create a projection of itself like it did to the Student 6. 

[Will Guide 21,362]

In S6's "Spice Up Your Life" which is the first Cutie Map episode since Starlight used it with Starswirl's time travel spell to try and get her revenge, notice how the Map needed to be "recharge" by Twilight and Starlight. Well, right after that, instead of instantly picking two ponies and a location, the Map started to randomly flashed two marks over a random location before finally settling on Rarity and Pinkie Pie being sent to Restraunt Row in Canterlot.

I always took that to mean that because the Map which is connected to the Tree itself as Twilight herself said in S5 Finale, "Cutie Re-Mark", the random mark jumping is basically the Tree itself "awaking up" after half a season and it was likely thinking to itself, "Oh dear, the girls are expecting me to send them somewhere but thanks to that meddling with time thing, I've been unable to communicate for a while!" Essentially, I saw as a funny moment where the Tree via the Map was trying to get itself "readjusted" and was basically panicking a bit like what Princess Celestia was doing when it was time to send Twilight to Ponyville.

To me, the Tree always had a little bit of sentience since it grew from the seed the Pillars of Equestria planted before they were to put themselves and the Pony of Shadow in Limbo. In S4's premiere when we were first introduced to the Tree, two characters said two important things:

Celestia (before they would imprisoned Discord): Even without the Elements, the Tree will contain a powerful magic that will contain all that grows here.

Discord (after revealing the vines were part of an old plan to capture the Princesses back when he was selfish and evil): It seems the Tree had enough magic to keep [my plunderseeds] from growing big and strong.

In other words, the Tree was able to protect itself without the Elements up to a certain point. It was all simply a matter of time before it needed some help by having the Elements brought back. Every time the Map sent our heroes somewhere and had their marks glow on their flanks before and after the mission, I always saw it as "Harmony" herself saying, "My Little Pony, you are needed" and "Mission accomplished, My Little Pony" (My Little Dragon, in Spike's Case)

Edited December 6, 2018 by Will Guide

[Twilight Luna 31,414]

3 hours ago, Jeric said:

It wasn’t always sentient. There is dialogue that states it is constantly evolving. Probably due to the success of the bearers and Twilight’s mission. 

The returning of the elements to the tree may have attributed to it as well.

Edited December 6, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[Goat-kun 2,527]

Welp, time to drop another truth bomb against the friendship globalists!

 

It is one branchy Marker. It's not gaining sentience. It's just waking up. Its true nature is revealed once the local creatures start exhibiting increasing dependence on its powers. The Everfree grew the same way a granuloma forms around a foreign body or an invading organism. That's why it took so long for it to truly begin its grand work. Nature is its mortal enemy that can disrupt many of its abilities. The Pillars are not telling the whole truth, though you should not blame them. In their dazed minds, they did create that thing.

 

P.S: Do yourself a favor and only drink mountain water that's coming from very high places. Get your bottled mountain water in your local item shop. It's cold, it's fresh, it's crystal parasite free.

[Literatel 144]

When the plot called for it to be sentient.

[Scootaloo90747475 140]

On 12/6/2018 at 2:15 PM, Literatel said:

When the plot called for it to be sentient.

and it scary and awesome at the same time The tree of harmony has alway been sentient and it spirit (aka astral Twilight )  and it took   the form of twilight sparkle  and that it alway has been Sentient from the begining when it was a seed to a tree 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Scootaloo90747475

[abronymouse 5,598]

I love the tree idea. The tree was like a baby and it grew into its sentience. When exactly I dunno, but it greatly accelerated once it found ponies who believed in friendship.

[sweetolebob18 728]

Probably in Princess Twilight when the Elements were returned to it

[FlareGun45 2,221]

I still wanna know why and how did Spike get connected with the Tree? He was part of the final climax in the finale, so there's gotta be some explanation for it.

[nightshroud96 124]

On 1/29/2021 at 6:52 PM, FlareGun45 said:

I still wanna know why and how did Spike get connected with the Tree? He was part of the final climax in the finale, so there's gotta be some explanation for it.

And the fact how did it call on Spike even though he doesn't have a Cutie Mark.
 

[Petrograd Capital 155]

On 12/6/2018 at 4:01 AM, PoisonClaw said:

I wrote a fic about this, actually. My idea was that the Tree became sentient thanks to the Mane 6, both when the Elements were returned to it and then when the box was opened, both times granting it a spiritual connection to the Bearers. It's only been recently that it developed the ability to create a projection of itself like it did to the Student 6. 

by the way, very interesting fic. if you look at everything in general, then this is the most truthful version of all. i believe that she answers the question of the the topic-starter. 

 

[Misty Shadow 7,940]

Exact excerpt from What Lies Beneath, how Twilight describes the tree. 

"And though it has been at the "root" of magic and friendship from the moment it was planted, its ways are mysterious. Almost as if it has a mind of its own."

I'm pretty sure it was always sentient and I would not go so far to call it an asspull to establish its sentience in the later seasons. Recall that the early seasons of the show introduced Timberwolves, wolves literally made out of tree branches. 

[nightshroud96 124]

On 12/5/2018 at 8:01 PM, PoisonClaw said:

I wrote a fic about this, actually. My idea was that the Tree became sentient thanks to the Mane 6, both when the Elements were returned to it and then when the box was opened, both times granting it a spiritual connection to the Bearers. It's only been recently that it developed the ability to create a projection of itself like it did to the Student 6. 

I wonder if the tree has anything in store for Luna and Celestia?
The sisters were apparently chopped liver due to losing their connection to the Elements(and the issue not being addressed at all)