Cardinal Sins

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Okay, so I've been (for some unknown reason) reading around on some random stuff, and came across the Cardinal Sins, also known as the Deadly Sins.

 

There are seven of these sins, each of which are supposed to uphold savage consequences when they're broken.

 

Then I came upon a thread on these forums about Rarity being kinda mean to Spike and stuff like that, so I began to liken some of the characters in MLP:FIM to the Cardinal Sins.

 

First, let's start with Lust. Lust is the sin of great desire of any object, be it money, fame, power, etc. It can easily be described in the pony world when, in the episode Lesson Zero, Twilight casts the 'need it want it' spell on the doll. Then, everypony that laid eyes on that doll lusted after it.

 

I likened this sin with Rarity, whom used her seductive powers to get something she wanted, not once, but twice, and as a filly, desired for everypony to glorify her costumes for the talent show. She also talked Fluttershy into modeling her dresses. You may think differently, but I think Rarity did this because she knew Photo Finish was coming, and wanted Finish to see her dresses. She therefor put her friend in the spotlight, even though Fluttershy hates attention, just to showcase her artistry, in a desire for fame.

 

Second, we have Gluttony. Gluttony is the sin of over-indulgence to the point of waste. As an example in the pony world, if you'll remember the first episode, Twilight stays for brunch, winds up eating too much, and then has a rather round stomach for a bit.

 

However, that doesn't mean that I chose Twilight as the representative of this sin, rather, I chose Pinkie Pie. In the show, she does eat quite a lot, and when she does, she's chowing down, eating as energetic as she parties. Which brings me to the other reason I chose her. She's always partying, nonstop. Gluttony doesn't have to be about food, and Pinkie shows it by over-indulging in both parties and cake. In fact, in the episode Party of One, Pinkie is so interested in partying again that she completely forgets her own birthday!

 

The third sin is Greed. I doubt I have to explain this one to anypony, but I will just in case. Greed is basically just the excessive desire for the ownership of material possessions. Just like when Spike went on his rampage in Secret of My Excess.

 

And you probably guessed that Spike is who I chose to represent Greed. Yes, I know it's cliche, but when there's a whole episode about his Greed, not to mention the fact that he's a dragon, which, by lore, are the greediest beings in the world, it really leaves no question to the matter. Not to mention the fact that when Spike was rampaging on, his memory clouded by Greed, he could've hurt his friends, not even batting an eyelash. Also, pretty much all the other dragons in Equestria show greed, the main example of this shown by the dragon in the episode Dragonshy, and all his wonderful riches.

 

Fourth of the sins is Sloth. Sloth is basically physical, mental, or spiritual laziness. A ponified example of this might be when Twilight used magic instead of physical brawn in the episode Winter Wrap Up.

 

But don't worry, it's not Twilight I chose. It's Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash is always being lazy. In the first episode, she doesn't bother to clear the skies until pushed by Twilight. In quite a few episodes, she makes an appearance shortly after napping. In the episode Mare Do Well, she puts off saving a few people until the last possible second, sometimes even being too late, and Mare Do Well having to save the day.

 

Fifth of the Seven sins is Wrath. It's also the one I feel I'm going to get a lot of hate from. Wrath is inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of anger. The best way to describe the pony version of this is the "new" Fluttershy from the episode Putting Your Hoof Down.

 

Onto why I'm getting hate for this one. I chose Fluttershy. I know, you're probably screaming that "Fluttershy is so adorable and cute, how could you choose her for this?" or something. I'll tell you why. Because out of all the mane six, she's the only one that ever had, or showed, Wrath. During the whole episode Putting Your Hoof Down, she exhibited Wrath, meaning that she was always capable of it. It just took the combined efforts of Iron Will and being undermined by others to bring it out. Seeing as how she is the only one of the mane six to have this sin, she gets it. Simple as that.

 

Six out of Seven is Envy. And there are only two ponies left. Envy, as we all know, is the coveting of a person because they have a desired object. An example of this is Twilight being envious that of her brother and Cadence.

 

So guess who gets this sin? Twilight. In the first season two finale episode, Twilight becomes envious of her brother's attention, I concluded this because of her lines and BBBFF. It may not seem like it to you, but to me, by becoming angry at her brother for not telling her about the wedding, she desired for him to give her his attention, so that he could tell her these things. She also slightly resented "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" for having her brothers attention. That's envy, ladies and gents!

 

Last of the sins is Pride. Last of the ponies is Applejack. Guess who? Anyway, the sin of Pride is to uphold yourself greater than others, or to desire to be more important/attractive than others. A ponified example of this would be Rainbow's excuses to try and get the tickets in the episode Ticket Master.

 

However this is Applejack we're talking about. How could she uphold herself in such a fashion, you ask? Well, in the episode The Last Roundup, Applejack's pride prevented her from showing her face back in Ponyville after she failed to win the competition. She couldn't come back to town to bring the knowledge of her loss to everypony. Also, in the episode Applebuck Season, her pride to complete the challenge Big Macintosh laid before her prevented her from doing the things she really needed, like sleep, and kept her from effectively helping her friends. It also led to a bunny stampede, which lead to the fainting of at least three ponies.

 

 

That's it. That's all that my brainwaves have to offer. xD

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

On Flutter's wrath... You can't forget about her incident at the gala!

I actually think you make some valid points in this. Good job.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

On Flutter's wrath... You can't forget about her incident at the gala!

I actually think you make some valid points in this. Good job.

 

Thank you. Being a spur of the moment thing, I'm glad it turned out the way it did.

[letterone 1,203]

Huh. Interesting. I knew of the Cardinal Sins (thanks to Fullmetal Alchemist), yet I never thought of this. You, sir, get a cookie.

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

I really don't think (debatable and partly controversial) Catholic moral theology is an applicable doctrine to pastel-colored ponies.

[Bronium 512]

Just before I say anything, I'm just going to say that I know you said RD was the sloth and not Twilight and I'm not in any manner implying you said so. I just have a slight issue with Twilight being called lazy in Winter Wrap up. I might be wrong and may be misinterpreting what you said, but from what I read (pertaining to this particular point) you were saying a ponified example of laziness would be Twilight using her magic in Winter Wrap up.

 

Twilight is physically incapable of doing work the traditional way (the way which I despise. That's another topic though). Twilight does want to work. She really does. She simply does work in a different form. She doesn't even try to do the work with magic straight away. She actually tries to do the work traditionally and uses magic as the last resort. Therefore it's not like she's trying to avoid physical inactivity but rather is unable to do it. So she uses magic in that sense to try and help and work. Remember magic takes skill and energy. She isn't completely inactive.

 

Let's give a real life example. A boy with no skill in a particular activity cannot perform a certain task, so he uses a machine to help him. Would you call that laziness? It's arguable if he had the skill and used the machine. But he doesn't have the skill. He still wants to do work though. I wouldn't call that laziness.

 

Yet, there's a perfect example of what is lazy though. Spike. At the beginning of the episode, Spike does not want to do any work in any shape or manner. He is lazy.

 

Just my issue with that sentence and that sentence alone. Other than that, that's a really good analysis.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Twilight is physically incapable of doing work the traditional way (the way which I despise. That's another topic though). Twilight does want to work. She really does. She simply does work in a different form. She doesn't even try to do the work with magic straight away. She actually tries to do the work traditionally and uses magic as the last resort. Therefore it's not like she's trying to avoid physical inactivity but rather is unable to do it. So she uses magic in that sense to try and help and work. Remember magic takes skill and energy. She isn't completely inactive.

 

Yes, but those are just minor examples, and I didn't want to use the same character for the minor example as I was for the actual choice so often. I see what you're saying, though.

 

Yet, there's a perfect example of what is lazy though. Spike. At the beginning of the episode, Spike does not want to do any work in any shape or manner. He is lazy.

 

That's not laziness, that's just being tired.

 

Twilight probably got up at around 4:30 or so. This was before anypony else in Ponyville. So how would you feel if someone got you up a couple hours before anyone else just so you could wait for the others to get up?

[Bronium 512]

Yes, but those are just minor examples, and I didn't want to use the same character for the minor example as I was for the actual choice so often. I see what you're saying, though.

 

 

 

That's not laziness, that's just being tired.

 

Twilight probably got up at around 4:30 or so. This was before anypony else in Ponyville. So how would you feel if someone got you up a couple hours before anyone else just so you could wait for the others to get up?

 

Yeah, just that example was a bit off for me.

 

And Spike being tired. True, true.

 

Actually can't think of anyone lazy besides RD.

 

Well, one could say Rarity was when she decided to go to all the Canterlot Events rather than finish Twilight's dress (which is arguably work). That could have been an example I guess.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Actually can't think of anyone lazy besides RD.

 

Actually, I was torn between Pride and Sloth for RD. I think she may be a bit of both.

[SonOfTheNorthe 412]

The only one I disagree with is Envy for Twilight. I don't think it belongs to any of the mane 6.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

I really don't think (debatable and partly controversial) Catholic moral theology is an applicable doctrine to pastel-colored ponies.

 

Eh, just think of this as my Magnum Opus of the In-depth area of MLP:FIM

[Elizapony 234]

Oooh, that's cool. I kindof agree with SonOfTheNorthe though about the Envy one. I mean, she's not necessarily going crazy because she's jealous, she's going crazy because Cadence/Chrysalis is evil. I mean, Twilight gets really excited about Shining Armor marrying Cadence, there's no jealousy there. It seems like not many of them actually ever showed Envy, except maybe in that episode where Fluttershy is a famous model. There's some envy displayed in that episode, a little.

 

But the rest of it seems spot on to me. Cool idea!

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

Eh, just think of this as my Magnum Opus of the In-depth area of MLP:FIM

 

Magnum opus means "My greatest work", not "My first work".

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

I really don't think (debatable and partly controversial) Catholic moral theology is an applicable doctrine to pastel-colored ponies.

 

On the next episode of My Little Pony, Rainbow Dash struggles with post-Vatican II natural law ethics.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Magnum opus means "My greatest work", not "My first work".

 

Magnum Opus does generally mean "The greatest work" of a person or persons, but sometimes it refers to simply "A great work" of a person or persons.

 

Now, I may be tooting my own horn about this a bit, calling it "A great work" when it barely has 10 replies, but it's probably one of the more controversial topics I've created.

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Blue

[My little pwny 1,390]

This could be a two part episode with Discord! He switches the 6 elements of harmony with 6 (or 7 for spike) elements of disharmony!

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Six out of Seven is Envy. And there are only two ponies left. Envy, as we all know, is the coveting of a person because they have a desired object. An example of this is Twilight being envious that of her brother and Cadence.

 

So guess who gets this sin? Twilight. In the first season two finale episode, Twilight becomes envious of her brother's attention, I concluded this because of her lines and BBBFF. It may not seem like it to you, but to me, by becoming angry at her brother for not telling her about the wedding, she desired for him to give her his attention, so that he could tell her these things. She also slightly resented "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" for having her brothers attention. That's envy, ladies and gents

 

Sorry sir, but that's jealousy, not envy. Envy is an emotion wherein you are resentful of a person because they have a certain attribute (whether it be an item, a quality, or ability) that you lack. You bring up great points, though.

[Pinkie D Pie 1,035]

This is really amzing. Some great points, and I agree with them. Never really thought about this to much, but this makes me think of that and how they showed them even more thoughout the show.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Sorry sir, but that's jealousy, not envy. Envy is an emotion wherein you are resentful of a person because they have a certain attribute (whether it be an item, a quality, or ability) that you lack. You bring up great points, though.

 

 

She does have a bit of resentment in her voice, though. don't you think? :3

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXnLrzioq5o

 

She does have a bit of resentment in her voice, though. don't you think? :3

 

Not at all. You would be frustrated too if you knew your brother (whom is very close to Twilight) was suddenly getting married to someone you seemingly don't even know.

[Parties like Pinkie 385]

Not at all. You would be frustrated too if you knew your brother (whom is very close to Twilight) was suddenly getting married to someone you seemingly don't even know.

 

Eh, we all have our own opinions and understandings.

[NavelColt 22,876]

Always cool finding neat topics when I'm searching for a duplicate topic of something else.

 

Necro bump engaged.

 

While, at a surface glance, this is all completely unfound given the fact that none of the character exhibit any 'sin' like behaviors and never will, given the audience this is aimed for, I do think that, as a 'hypothetical' discussion, seeing what sins they match up to is fun to discuss. I play Dante's Inferno, which is quite literally all about traversing the Nine Circles of Hell, albeit those are organized differently than the classic Cardinal sins (Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Hersey, Violence, Fraud and Treachery).

 

Anywho, these are my thoughts basically mirror this, though it should be noted that I can see one or two of these being switched around:

 

 

Dashie is clearly sloth. She takes naps all the time. The bullies even taunted her about how 'Flight School had too many rules, and not enough nap time' for her. That said, Dash would also be a likely candidate for Pride, seeing she has the biggest ego of any of the Mane Six, even if a lot of it is self-insecurity from needing the admiration of others.

 

I see Twilight as Pride, mostly because while she is very modest about her abilities, even afraid to use them to show off in Boast Busters, it's also clear that she knows she's the Princess's prized pupil, she knows she's a huge asset to her friends and is someone who they will all turn to for help, and she knows she's one of the most powerful unicorns around. This is never something she says or does specifically, but it's a lot of observations I've made about her here and there. She's proud in herself quite a bit, is what it comes down to, even if it's completely healthy, deserving pride, it's still pride, which is what this hypothetical discussion is talking about.

 

Pinkie is obviously gluttony. Have you seen the things she eats, how fast she eats them, etc? She displays this much more than any of the other characters.

 

Rarity is Envy. Rarity has shown many, many times that she is accustomed to either wanting, or being used to being surrounded by attention from others. There's been a few times when she's demonstrated jealousy/envy, one of the key points being in 'Green Isn't Your Color'.

 

Spike is Lust. People can talk about how one of the ponies touches this one, and for one or two of them I can see the logic, but when it gets down to it, Spike is the one who has a gigantic crush, Spike is the one who would do anything for his crush, Spike is the one who is always tailing after his crush, etc. None of the other focused cast have something like this, so it's more by process of elimination that Lust fits Spike more than the others. It's also worth mentioning that Lust doesn't -need- to be sexual, it can be the lusting desire for anything...even say, material possessions. Secret of my Excess, anybody? It may have been a temporary condition but Spike is a dragon at the end of the day.

 

Applejack is Avarice/Greed. AJ gets this sin simply because she's the only pony ever talking about money more than the others. Money for the barn this, money for Granny's hip that, etc. While in reality she's practically anything but greedy, hypothetically, this would probably be her sin based on her personality.

 

Fluttershy is Anger/Wrath. I can see several other ponies getting this one instead and I'll probably agree. Fluttershy's several outbursts and her Discorded opposite, Flutterbitch, are the main reasons she gets this sin and not any of the others. Anger is defined as an intense often sudden occurrence that boils over, and honestly, timid, soft Fluttershy exploding into crazy angry Fluttershy fits that fairly well.

Edited January 14, 2013 by ~Chaotic Discord~