Twilight's friends need compensation for not helping her save the day

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

You know, I've noticed a recurring trend in the My Little Pony show.  Back then, it was always Twilight's friends who helped her save the day, at least in Friendship is Magic and Return of Harmony.  But then, as the series progressed, Twilight resorted to somepony else other than her friends to save the day, starting with Shining Armor and Cadence in Canterlot Wedding, followed by Spike in Crystal Empire, and then *SPOILERS* her friends' humanized counterparts in Equestria Girls.  It's as if the five mares are growing more and more useless, and even easily replaceable, which in the comics was what Rarity herself feared before becoming Nightmare Rarity as a result.

 

Granted, the girls did help her finish Starswirl's unfinished spell, thus turning her into a princess even without them realizing it.  I also remember Crystal Heart Spell, where Twilight's friends gave her ideas on how to lead Equestria, while helping her resist the bad advice given to her by Gilda the griffon, that she should never listen to her friends and do whatever she wants with her own kingdom.  However, those were slice-of-life moments, and for once, I'd like to see them save the day, even if it means going without Twilight's leadership to help them.

 

When season four comes out, I hope they create a situation that has Twilight kidnapped by a malevolent force, probably for her status as alicorn princess or something, and that Twilight's friends have to save her while dealing with their lack of her leadership to guide them.  That way, it can easily, easily compensate for all the moments Twilight temporarily replaced her friends with Shining and Cadence, Spike, and her friends' humanized counterparts.

 

After all, there were moments where other teams of heroes went without their leaders.  Codename Kids Next Door was one example; in the season one finale, Nigel Uno, the team's leader, was turned into an adult by the Delightful Children From Down the Lane, forcing the team to work without him for a little while.  There was also that one episode of the 1987 TMNT show that had the ninja turtles fight without Leonardo's leadership.  And let's not forget about Glenn Murakami's Teen Titans, where the team actually fought their own leader, Robin, after he betrayed them to the villain, Slade/Deathstroke.  Hell, Gurren Lagann was another example; Kamina was the original leader of Team Dai-Gurren, but by the time he died leading his army to victory, the team was left without a leader, and all hope seemed lost (though Simon eventually succeeds Kamina as the new leader of Team Dai-Gurren).

Come on, everypony!  Every time I write threads like this, I'm always met with no responses!  Why can't you respond to what I talked about on this thread?

Edited June 17, 2013 by Commander_PonyShep

[fimdash 1,197]

Yeah, it would be nice to see Twilight's friends rescue Twilight in season 4. A common complaint about Twilight these days is that she's too overpowered, or that she's eating up all the spotlight time. Also, one of the reasons why people seem to dislike Equestria Girls is that it's really Twilight centric, and renders the other members of the Mane 6 as background characters. (I haven't seen the movie, but that's just what I've heard.)

 

Unfortunately, all signs point toward a Twilight centric season 4. She's just recently become a princess, and I'm sure season 4 will spend a lot of time focusing on her. It's also likely that Twilight will be the one to save the day again. Still, I'm hoping we'll get to see a lot of the other members of the Mane 6. I like your idea about Twilight getting kidnapped by an antagonist who wants her for her princess status. I can imagine Twilight's friends feeling lost at first, but remembering all the lessons they've learned together, and finding a way to rescue her.

[hawkflame 3,315]

That's why I've always felt that the best way to allay fears about Twilicorn is to have right from the get go a plot where the rest of the Mane Six *matter*.  They don't have to dominate the show, Twilight should still be the main character a la the two part premiere.  But just like in The Elements of Harmony, they should really all have moments where they really get their due.  If any one of them was not present in those first two episodes, they could not have defeated Nightmare Moon.  And not just in using the elements at the end, but when they went through the Everfree Forest , they all had moments where their unique skills or personality helped save others or avert obstacles in the end. 

 

They don't have to dominate the show, but at least give them a major moment in the spotlight.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

I'm all for it as well. How centered on Twilight the premiere and finale episodes tend to be has always nagged at me a bit, and this would be a wonderful way to give the rest of the main characters the spotlight in the episodes that are more relevant to the plot.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Agreed wholeheartedly. My biggest problem with A Canterlot Wedding was how useless Twilight's friends were. It was all about how Twilight and Princess Cadence saved the day, when the show's focus prior to that was always based upon the friendship of the six mares. Sadly, five of those mares were near useless in the entirety of the plot, save for the brief moments when they fought off some changelings. The Crystal Empire was a similar case, but the Mane Five did make some contributions to the plot, yet in the end it was Spike and Cadence who assisted Twilight in a much more vital way.

 

I too would like to see Twilight's friends help Twilight for once instead of Twilight being the one to save her friends and play the hero. We know Twilight is an excellent leader, but it would be interesting to see how her friends would co-exist in a difficult situation without Twilight's guidance and organization. It would deepen the bond between all six of the mares in an interesting and engaging way.

 

EDIT: Commander, I know it's frustrating to see your topic go overlooked, but it might help if you made yourself a bit more noticeable. Maybe find yourself a nice avatar and spice up your signature. If people on the forum get to know you a bit better, they'll be more inclined to read your topics. And unfortunately, the shorter your post is, the more likely people will read it, based on my experience on this forum.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[Wingnut 7,018]

I've read the opinions of SC, DF, and Hawkflame and I concur with everything they said.  And I don't think the lack of attention to Twilight's friends in most major save the world story arcs has escaped the writers' attention either.  I have a hunch that the next premiere or season finale will show that, despite being a mighty alicorn now, Twilight will have a moment when her friends save her in a big spot. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

While I do agree with you somewhat, I think the reason many may not respond to your threads, is because 1. You have a history to make the same topic over and over again and perhaps it has gotten old to many, hence they avoid threads started by you. 2. You also tend to overthink things. I mean, you REALLY overthink certain things. Even simple things within the show you seem to over-complicate.

 

This particular topic, I see your point though. The fact is, Twilight has been the 'main' character over these 3 seasons of the show. All of this lead to her becoming a princess and thus, her story arc is essentially wrapped up, for what it is. There will obviously be more episodes that focus on Twilight, maybe even entirely, but I have a strong feeling that once they let the princess thing die down a bit and get it well established within the show, they will focus on the other characters more. 

 

In terms of 'saving the day', this one is tough to answer. Really, the Crystal Empire was the only major catastrophic event that made Twilight's friends seem fairly useless and I do think that is the case. I view it the same way I view MMC though. Both of those were major stepping stones for Twilight to become a princess, so I can excuse it. I still think the other mane 5 could have been a bit more...important in The Crystal Empire, but I can live with it. The other major events, Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis, were a bit different. Nightmare Moon and Discord both kinda ended the same way, but her friends were needed for victory. Twilight was still a heavy focus but again, she has essentially been the main character this whole time. With Chrysalis, she was a focus point again, of course, but the true victors were Cadence and Shining armor, since they defeated Chrysalis. 

 

So, basically, I agree with you to an extent. Even though Twilight is now a princess, I have no fear when it comes to the other characters. Once they establish the princess thing well, the possibilities for the other 5 are near boundless. All we can do is wait and see at this point.  

[Veylon 255]

I think this should more-or-less be taken head on. I'm not a fan of Twilight being kidnapped, though; haven't enough aspersions been cast on the guards as is? It ought to be some deliberate choice on Twilight's part.

 

I can see starting out an episode with Twilight reflecting on how she can best emulate her mentor. We'd see various stained glass windows and statues demonstrating all the amazing things that Celestia's done over the years and Twilight gets it in to her head that she needs to stop relying on others in order to prove her worth. So when the next challenge strikes, Twilight goes it alone. As a sop to her conscience for leaving them behind without telling them, she tells herself that she's protecting them. There could even be brief symbolic scene where she grabs the Element of Magic and leaves all the rest.

 

She gets in way over her head in a hurry. The Mane Five come in after her, easily overcoming the obstacles that Twilight struggled with and rescuing her. If we wanted to really drive the point home, they might even defeat whatever it is that needs defeating without her. And to bookend the thing, she'd read up a bit - or have explained to her - that Celestia couldn't do what she did without countless ponies supporting her.