Twilight Sparkle... Element of Hope?

[MrBeatnikSoul 42]

Now this thought came upon me when I watched "Return of Harmony Part 2".

 

Twilight is the bearer of the Element of Magic, possessing an incredible amount of power and the spark required to activate the other Elements. However, I see something else in our little unicorn.

 

Take a look at the others: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. They're all positive aspects of how to live a life. Be honest, have kindness, share laughter, be generous, stay loyal... and then we have magic.

 

What? Magic? Magic of what? We can apply 5 of the elements into reality, but magic?

 

In the scene where Twilight loses her color and the Mane 6 separates, I saw Twilight losing something very different: Hope. She goes home, throws the Element away and packs her things to leave Ponyville. She shows despair.

 

And what's the opposite of despair? Hope.

 

When the other bearers fall into Discord's grasp, Twilight seeks to find the other elements and restore balance. Of course she did it because she was the only one up to task, but I saw that she was the only one capable of having the will to do so after losing hope itself. The letters Celestia sent did the trick, but those were all of Twilight's letters from the past. Through her own words and the lessons she learned, Twilight regains hope and the will to save Equestria. She goes on to find her friends, and basically installs hope into them. Applejack even said that she couldn't face the "truth" of her friends feuding in her visions, so she ended up telling lies. She basically lost hope in honesty, and instead took the path of desperation.

 

Now all of these are my own thoughts, but hasn't anybody thought that there was more to the Element of Magic than just... Magic?

 

Heck, it could be very well intended to be the Magic of Friendship. The element that brings others together as friends in harmony...

 

What do you guys think? What does the Element of Magic mean to you?

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

When people share their experiences and have fun with one another, it all symbolizes some sort of bond between them. This bond's strength can vary, but the atmosphere the friends create in turn generates something called magic.

 

Magic isn't just something that powers unicorns and make them dependent on survival. It's something to be shared and felt with everyone around you, and that is its most important function according to Celestia's ideals and teachings.

[XrosOver 613]

The Element of Magic is a versatile as some is willing to look into it. The Element of Magic always seemed like the magic of friendship and all that entitles. Friends give you hope, give you laughter, give you a feeling of honesty, and the will to be kind, generous, and loyal.

Edited November 19, 2012 by XrosOver

[Zygen 6,066]

I always have thought of the element of magic as being a bit strange, not that I dislike it just a bit hard to understand. The way i've always seen it I've thought of it as more of the element of friendship which is magic therefore the same thing(See where I'm getting at).

So while twilight is talented in magic, she is the element of the friendship of magic. Hopefully that makes sense.

Basically when she loses hope of her friends she loses the magic of friendship, thus she becomes gray.

Thats the way I see it, I don't see it as purely sorcery spells and stuff type of magic, but the magic of friendship.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

It makes sense, OP. Nice theory! At the same time, Twilight may well be considered the Element of Friendship. She is essentially the bond that holds the Mane 6 together. Her "discorded" form is the destruction of that bond. When she regains her resolve, she also regains the ability to turn the Mane 6 back into her friends, and thus enable them to combine into the Elements of Harmony. It also makes more sense in the context of the story as a whole, as Twilight's job is the learn and apply the qualities of friendship.

 

Twilight, arguably the main heroine of the series, has the responsiblity of holding the team together. It wouldn't be unreasonable to consider that she would have the broadest element.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

The Element of Magic is a vague as some is willing to look into it.

 

Operative keyword: versatile.

 

You're right, magic can mean anything. But what exactly is magic? Some force that unicorns rely on to conjure up spells? Yes, but that would be traditional spell-casting magic. What of the ties that ponies can share with one another? That creates something even more complex than anything anyone can really hope to imagine or comprehend. Hope fits in the category - you hope that your friends will be all right through thick and thin. Faith - you trust your friends to do things that they would normally doubt themselves for, or believing in yourself and those around you to complete a tough task. Any of these two examples I provided create a positive atmosphere which, in theory, is limitless in magical potential.

 

The truth is, there is no single answer. That is why the Element of Magic only awakens when the other five have been brought to life and thus can take on many forms - from then on, it's all up to the wielder to use the bond that their friends have created for them and to carry on.

[Clarity 3,094]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

 

Friendship = Magic

 

Element of Magic = Friendship

 

Twilight Sparkle's element = Friendship

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

yeah, ever since I saw the first episode I've wondered if they were going to explain more in depth what the element of magic is, and how it helps. Yeah I guess that could be a side attribute.

[MrBeatnikSoul 42]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

 

Friendship = Magic

 

Element of Magic = Friendship

 

Twilight Sparkle's element = Friendship

 

 

Yes... Friendship is Magic.

 

But I feel like it goes much deeper then that. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but that's like getting a Swiss Army Knife and saying it's just a knife even with the variety of tools. The Element of Magic may be friendship, but there's much more to it then just that. As Alfonso said above, Versatile is the key word. I may have seen a piece of it as hope, but that the idea. Just hearing the word "magic" fills one with wonder. What could it be? What can it do for us? There's so much we can relate to the Element that the list is limitless, as is the meaning of magic.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

I don't get why people don't like Twilight's element being magic. True she can do magic and it's something we can not do, but I feel like her element is not just her magic, but also the invisible force that can bring people together. Also the joys you feel with those people. That is the kinda of magic they are talking about.

[Clarity 3,094]

Versatile is the key word. I may have seen a piece of it as hope, but that the idea. Just hearing the word "magic" fills one with wonder. What could it be? What can it do for us? There's so much we can relate to the Element that the list is limitless, as is the meaning of magic.

That's what I said. Friendship is Magic. Thus, Twilight's element is Friendship, which is basically honesty, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and laughter combined in one. And it causes harmony.

 

That's what it's all about--friendship. It's not like "spreading joy and connecting with magic" or saying that the element of Magic represents wonder and whatnot. The show isn't going into that direction.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Clarity

[MrBeatnikSoul 42]

That's what I said. Friendship is Magic. Thus, Twilight's element is Friendship, which is basically honesty, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and laughter combined in one. And it causes harmony.

That's what it's all about--friendship. It's not like "spreading joy and connecting with magic" or saying that the element of Magic represents wonder and whatnot. The show isn't going into that direction.

 

Exactly. When I said "wonder" I meant hearing the word itself. I see it as something that reaches to many different roots, including harmony. I agree with what you're saying, just your initial post was rather vague.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

well i think what they mean by twilight being the magic is the glue that holds every element toghther the spark of frienship if you will the thing that makes talking with your friends funnier than talking to somone you dont know its the bond the final pice ect i rember looking at wika and finding out that rariys elment was going to the elment of inspiration but they didnt think the age demographic could understand that so they changed it to generosity proably the same here with twilight and the fact that friendship is magic implying that twilight is the main chracter

Edited November 21, 2012 by pinkieshyrose