Thoroughly analyzing the Mane Six

[--Rainbow-Dash-- 37]

Many people choose their favorite pony without researching or analyzing their choices. I know that many peoples' choices are background, secondary, and very rarely appearing ponies, but in this topic I will research one pony of your choice decided by a google survey at the end of this post. I will go in the order of their elements in the first episode, starting with Applejack.

 

Applejack:

This is going to be the hardest one to analyze, knowing that she does not get as much screen time as the other 5. It will also maybe be the shortest, knowing that Applejack is the most "straight-line" pony. Now, to the point of the topic. Applejack, at first was my favorite pony. I'm southern and used to work on a farm of sorts myself. Noted, I don't have the signature 'Southern' accent, I have had a few similar instances as her. For instance, I really wanted to live the city life, so I took a trip to Manhattan, to scope the place out for myself. Turns out, I really didn't like the place, and when I returned from my trip, I was as content as could be. Now, lets get to who she is, and what she does

 

Who She is:

Weaknesses: Stubborn, On occasion: does a job too well.

 

Strengths: Strong, Persistent,

 

She is very hard working and helpful to anypony who needs help. She is slightly stubborn and has a hard time accepting help from people when she really needs it.

 

What she does:

She has worked on the apple farm her whole life, and apples have become her whole 'thing.' To fans and even non-fans, all they have to go off of is that she really loves apples. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxAJqvslV7M

She is one of the least explained ponies in the mane cast, and for a good reason. She, unlike the other five, has no aspirations, or goals. her cutie mark is apples, and she works on an apple farm. What could you possibly want if you are right where you want to be?

 

Anyways, moving on to

Fluttershy:

Whew, already a long post, by my standards anyways. Fluttershy also used to be my favorite pony because I am usually shy around people I haven't been around a whole lot. I have an example of this. I went to a star trek convention in Orlando, FL. Patrick Stewart, of course, was there. I went into the trivia room, and his photo op room was separated next door by a cloth wall. he peeked his head in, and asked a question about a Shakespearean play, and in the back of my head, I knew the answer was Hamlet, but because the only other people there, were other celebrities and Patrick, I got real shy, and didnt answer. That was the answer. 

 

Who she is:

Weaknesses: Shyness, Overly nice (The episode "putting your hoof down" will be discussed)

 

Strengths: The Stare, Can befriend nearly any animal.

 

She went to the same school as Rainbow dash but during a race, she fell off a cloud, and being a not very good flyer, she could not recover. she was saved, however, by a flock (herd?) of butterflies. she finds that she flies much better close to the ground and loves the animals.

 

What she does:

She is head of pretty much anything animal related in Ponyville. This includes, but is not limited to: music at the summer sun celebration, and waking up animals in the winter wrap up.

 

I find that her introverted personality goes perfectly with her element being kindness. I don't know if it is just because I live around these people, but most shy people I know, are much nicer than most extroverts. Another thing about her, is that she really HAS to be shy, because it helps her with her animals, and when she tries to be more assertive in "Putting your hoof down" she seems to go a might overboard. She then settles the conflict by using the stare, instead of being aggressive and mean.

 

And now, the one and only,

Pinkie Pie:

She tends to break the fourth wall, so... yeah

 

With pinkie, we were actually introduced to her parents in her cutiemark story. though we do not know their names, we know that pinkie pie's name is really "Pinkamena Diane Pie." the fandom tends to call her that when she goes into her crazy mode. when she gets really depressed, and before she got her cutie mark, she had straight hair and is mopey not bouncy.

 

Who she is:

Strengths: Not really afraid of anything, The ability to break the fourth wall, throwing parties within a moments notice. 

 

Weakness: Pinkamena Diane Pie

 

Although it is not explained how this came to be, she moved from her family's rock farm to ponyville and is currently the apprentice of Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She is head of nearly all parties in Ponyville. she can make anypony smile, and seems to break the fourth wall a lot.

 

Now, the majestic and beautiful

Rarity:

Many People LOVE rarity, such as http://mlpforums.com/user/20419-ghostfacekiller39/, many people HATE rarity, same goes for tom.

 

Rarity is a self-proclaimed dress designer. she, at some points, ignores and abuses her friends for fame and glory. but in the end she always comes around.

 

Who she is:

Strengths: Nice to everypony (example would be "Rarity Takes Manehattan")

 

Weaknesses: Sometimes overwhelmed by pride and self worth, takes on jobs too much for her.

 

Her parents dont get much screen time, but as we saw, they are very much different from rarity, and her dad might not even be a(n) unicorn. in her cutie mark story, she was a designer from a young age. she now takes a job as a dress and dress accessories pony in Ponyville. she does her job for passion, not always for fame. if she wanted to do it for fame, she could easily go to canterlot, or manehattan, but she doesn't. she seems to have a severe case of Automysophobia, or the fear of getting dirty.

 

The fastest Flyer in all of equestria,

Rainbow Dash:

Based on birthstones, RD was either born in January or November, becuase those stones represent Loyalty and Faithfulness, in that order.

 

Who she is:

Weaknesses: Overly self-confident, milks being loved too much, shows off.

Strengths: Perseveres, Fast, Agile.

 

She never lets her friends be in danger for her own personal gain. From a young age, she never wanted to be the fastest pony, but when she  went to race to bullies in her school, she found a need for speed and preformed the first ever Sonic rainboom. She preforms this a few other times in the show, once to save rarity, and once at princess cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. in a fan made work "Double Rainboom" she preforms a double rainboom and gets transported to the world of powerpuff girls. once again pinkie pie breaks the fourth wall out of the ball park in this one. Rainbow dash, is my current Favorite Pony.

 

The Student of Princess Celestia

Twilight Sparkle:

Besides the sort-of obvious joke that vampires in twilight sparkle, she is pretty much an open book (pun intended) she always helps her friends and looks out for them.

 

Who she is:

Strengths: Smart, Organized, Best magic pony.

Weaknesses: Goes a bit insane when something might be late. over-prepares for stuff.

 

She is the student of princess Celestia, and now has been turned into Princess Twilight, after learning everything and completely understanding how powerful and magical friendship really is. from the beginning of the story, she seems to not want any friends at all. but then she realizes that she really does need friends, and that friends are not only helpful, but they can help cheer you up and make your day just as sunny as on the summer sun celebration!

 

That's all, Folks! if you wish to recommend a pony for me to analyze, go to this link:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f-c4Vj02j_U_zUYdjDz4RZdnqMzZlLSqRQ8xEVRGWGU/viewform pick a pony that I did NOT already analyze.

 

REMEMBER

This is open for discussion below, share your opinions and tell if I did a good job or not.

 

(hopefully you didn't notice how my writing got worse slowly over time) xD

Edited January 9, 2014 by --Rainbow-Dash--

[Jokuc 8,172]

Well it does not really matter for me at this moment how much information I know about the characters. I don't really chose my favorite pony though some sort of analyzing, I just look at the show and think of the one I seem to like the most

 

This is a good text with some stuff about each of the mane six there, but again, it's not really changing my opinion.

 

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

It ain't changing my best pony Thanks for the shoutout, by the way.

 

Also, Rarity hate has been fading away lately, just thought I'd point that out; Since S4 started, many of her former detractors are starting to understand her a bit better

 

I have a bit of a problem with your analysis, though; it seems really stacked. It sorta feels like you glorified RD. I mean, the proof is in the OP;

 

 

She never lets her friends be in danger for her own personal gain. From a young age, she never wanted to be the fastest pony, but when she  went to race to bullies in her school, she found a need for speed and preformed the first ever Sonic rainboom. She preforms this a few other times in the show, once to save rarity, and once at princess cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. in a fan made work "Double Rainboom" she preforms a double rainboom and gets transported to the world of powerpuff girls. once again pinkie pie breaks the fourth wall out of the ball park in this one. Rainbow dash, is my current Favorite Pony.

 

Then:

 

Rarity is a self-proclaimed dress designer. she, at some points, ignores and abuses her friends for fame and glory. but in the end she always comes around.

 

Her parents dont get much screen time, but as we saw, they are very much different from rarity, and her dad might not even be a(n) unicorn. in her cutie mark story, she was a designer from a young age. she now takes a job as a dress and dress accessories pony in Ponyville. she does her job for passion, not always for fame. if she wanted to do it for fame, she could easily go to canterlot, or manehattan, but she doesn't. she seems to have a severe case of Automysophobia, or the fear of getting dirty.

 

 

 

She is the student of princess Celestia, and now has been turned into Princess Twilight, after learning everything and completely understanding how powerful and magical friendship really is. from the beginning of the story, she seems to not want any friends at all. but then she realizes that she really does need friends, and that friends are not only helpful, but they can help cheer you up and make your day just as sunny as on the summer sun celebration!

 

With pinkie, we were actually introduced to her parents in her cutiemark story. though we do not know their names, we know that pinkie pie's name is really "Pinkamena Diane Pie." the fandom tends to call her that when she goes into her crazy mode. when she gets really depressed, and before she got her cutie mark, she had straight hair and is mopey not bouncy.

 

Although it is not explained how this came to be, she moved from her family's rock farm to ponyville and is currently the apprentice of Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She is head of nearly all parties in Ponyville. she can make anypony smile, and seems to break the fourth wall a lot.

 

 

She is very hard working and helpful to anypony who needs help. She is slightly stubborn and has a hard time accepting help from people when she really needs it.

 

What she does:

She has worked on the apple farm her whole life, and apples have become her whole 'thing.' To fans and even non-fans, all they have to go off of is that she really loves apples. Example: 

She is one of the least explained ponies in the mane cast, and for a good reason. She, unlike the other five, has no aspirations, or goals. her cutie mark is apples, and she works on an apple farm. What could you possibly want if you are right where you want to be?

 

Umm...

 

The Fluttershy one was more acceptable, but I think this was too subjective to be a totally acceptable comparison

 

I think the fact this topic is stacked is only proven by the fact you voted for RD in the poll

 

I just don't think this was a totally fair comparison, dude -_-

 

But hey, you did good on the Fluttershy and RD ones! Just try to be a little more objective next time; this is why I stay away from comparing the mane 6 to one another as much as I can. I'd make Rarity look like she's a few steps above the other 5, which wouldn't be a fair comparison, making them some what lessers. So I don't compare, and if I do analyze characters, I try to make it as objective as I can, even though I often fail at being totally objective, and I make sure not to do them side by side, or create a poll asking about it.

 

They're all 6 far too different and unique for 98% of this fandom to do a fair comparison, because 98% of the fandom doesn't completely understand each of the mane 6 I can go all day on Rarity, and I've got a great understanding of AJ and Fluttershy, although not on Rar's level; but if it were RD or Twilight, I'd struggle getting my point across and be correct, you know?

 

So, yeahh...this might be a bit stacked -_- Maybe next time analyze them all separately after some in-depth research and gathering opinions from fans of the ponies you don't understand as much? That's what I recommend. Later, dude!!  

[--Rainbow-Dash-- 37]

Hey, it was the least I could do, you gave me a shout out.

Ghost, I'll get a full fledged response to you tomorrow, I'm on my iPod right now, and don't feel like writing that much with my thumb.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

Hey, it was the least I could do, you gave me a shout out.

Ghost, I'll get a full fledged response to you tomorrow, I'm on my iPod right now, and don't feel like writing that much with my thumb.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having bias, as that'd make me a hypocrite

 

I'm just saying, do you have bias, like both you and me clearly have, I think avoiding a side by side comparison would be the best bet and doing them all separately Creating unique discussion for each pony and not making one seem like she's better than the mane 6 (at least, not to the point like it would be in a side by side, like this'n here ) 

 

Just giving a suggestion No need for a long response unless you totally feel I'm wrong, but I must say, the evidence is in my favor here

[Shanks 10,811]

While I am far from being free of bias, my opinions did grow and evolve over time. Applejack has always been my favorite pony and that probably won't change anytime soon, I really fell in love with her since I first started watching. As who chose a highly underrated pony as his favorite I became very outspoken in my love of AJ which prompted me to on many occasions to make my case for why I think she is a much more interesting and varied character than people give her credit for. Of course something rather unexpected eventually happend and Twilight Sparkle ended up tying with Applejack for my favorite, of course you wouldn't know that from how often I fanboy over AJ but something about AJ being so underrated never fails to activate my protective fanboy mode.

 

Pinkie Pie used to be my 2nd favorite pony in large part because she reminds me of my Dad, but although I still love her that honor now goes to Rainbow Dash due to her excellent character development in season 3. Fluttershy and Rarity have been for the most part toward the bottom at least with the mane 6, I always liked Fluttershy but not nearly as much as a lot of other people but Rarity took the longest of the mane 6 for me to warm up to. At first I liked Fluttershy better but now decided that I like Rarity better because I find her to be a more interesting character than Fluttershy and the inconsistent way Fluttershy has been written is seriously starting to annoy me and she is starting to grown on me a bit.

 

 

I have done some character anylysis myself, so far I have done all the mane 6 except for Fluttershy which I seem to be procrastinating on big time.

 

http://mlpforums.com/blog/456/entry-3070-character-analysis-1-applejack/

 

http://mlpforums.com/blog/456/entry-3310-character-analysis-2-rainbow-dash/

 

http://mlpforums.com/blog/456/entry-3340-character-analysis-3-rarity/

 

http://mlpforums.com/blog/456/entry-3374-character-analysis-4-pinkie-pie/

 

http://mlpforums.com/blog/456/entry-8724-character-analysis-5-twilight-sparkle/

[King Sejong 858]

   I am a philosopher and anthropologist, but I can also be an analyser too, I could thoroughly critique the story and everypony on MLP-FiM; however with critical dissection it can be quite easy to forget to enjoy the scenery. I have seen bronies on YouTube analyse and review episodes, and each characters role in the narrative, at least half of the reviewers think too hard and want to change the story to comply with typical literary structure. The ponies also give us an emotion too, although we may overlook that looking for the plot, for to see our main characters or our favourite character puts us in a position we have been in or would like to be in, we share much in common with the ponies either with personal connection or character similarities, some bronies have been in situations and predicaments like the mane six, thus we can see ourselves as though we are the pony character and feel an emotional bond with that character. For anyone analysing the mane six, or the story as a whole, I can suggest that you balance the critiques, with little to no bias, and express what that story means to you, even if it's on a personal level, if it was a fun episode just sit back and enjoy the view, so convey that to the audience so they could feel about the narrative in an way the may not have ever thought.       

[Stellafera 3,835]

If I knew nothing about the show and read this, Rarity would be my favorite (as indeed she was at the start of my viewing), as her description is easily the most interesting and provides the most traits for me to sink my teeth into. So that's where I voted.

 

Applejack's description makes her sound... really boring. I didn't know I could dislike Applejack. 

[Scootalove 10,684]

I don't really go into detail with analyzing the characters, but I can't exactly say that my opinion on Rainbow Dash has changed. I'd have to say that analyzing characters can be a good thing I guess.

[--Rainbow-Dash-- 37]

Not gonna lie, I had a hard time NOT using the r34 joke about how twilight has the best plot. I'm happy to see all these replies, thanks guys.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

Sorry this pony stole parts of my heart along time ago...

(I hope she didn't bake it into cookies.)

 

There is allot more to each main character that you can analyze. 

 

 

 

Also why is Pinkamena her fault she didn't even do anything... if anything insane twilight was far scarier in a since that something would happen. Her fault isn't Pinkamena cupcakes is not  canon...

Not to say she doesn't have faults it is just not that.

Edited January 9, 2014 by pinkieshyrose

[hawkflame 3,308]

Great idea for a topic, though I think it would be best if each was analyzed in their own thread. 

 

One of the things that I like about Rarity that you missed was that Rarity can be very self aware of her weaknesses.  While sometimes the other ponies need to be called out on their actions, I like her ability to often call herself out, whether it's in being overly dramatic, jealous, or what have you.  I go into a little more detail in the Rarity analysis I uploaded to Youtube.

 

Also, one other point that I'd like to add is in relation to Pinkie Pie.  I think that her greatest strength, and possibly her greatest weakness, is the value she places in pleasing others and making sure that all her friends are having a good time.  But the problem is, in doing this to the extent that she does, she seems to define herself by how she relates to her friends.  So when she gets cut off from them in some way, she either becomes riddled with self doubt, or becomes paranoid. 

[--Rainbow-Dash-- 37]

the mane reason I did this topic is so that you could read a short summary of the character and not anaylises (analisi?) that are long as this whole post on one pony.

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

Honestly this is what I'd say for the mane 6:

Applejack- down to earth, a good friend who's always honest and hardworking, but at the same time has faults of being dishonest and not accepting help sometimes from her friends as seen in the Applebucking episode.

 

Rainbow Dash- loyal, a friend who's always willing to be there for her friends, but at the same time sometimes worries if she shows off too much or seems a little arrogant.

 

Fluttershy- kind and sympathetic to everypony and every animal, but sometimes has issues standing up for herself and defending herself from bullies.

 

Twilight Sparkle- a good friend who sometimes can worry about simple things that aren't worth worrying over.

 

Pinkie Pie- cheerful and loves to make people smile, but can sometimes worry she'll lose friends with low self confidence.

 

Rarity- generous and willing to help everypony, but worries her generosity will be taken advantage of as seen in Rarity Takes Manehattan.

 

Hope I analyzed them all correctly.

Edited January 11, 2014 by MLPFanatic34

[Nature's Spell 526]

Wanting to determine who's best is natural I guess, but I've always felt it goes beyond having a favorite, or least favorite, and implies superority and that the other ponies are superfluous. I see them as equal and all are needed for the show to function at a high level, plus it's so subjective. Still, I appreciate the fact that you wrote so much OP and thought about it. Who's best? All of them are best pony, but for me Princess Twilight is the most fun to watch.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Nature's Spell

[Lavenderrose359 1]

I have this question, does pinkie pie break the fourth wall to study? I came up with this because in Equestria girls, she knew about something most ponies didn't know, not even Twilight. She also knew about the parasprites in swarm of the century when most ponies didn't, even Twilight. I am guessing that she somehow breaks the fourth wall and gets answers from the fandom instead of where she lives.