Should Twilight Sparkle be a Wonderbolt?

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I was watching the newest episode and it had me thinking. You think Twilight has what it takes to be a wonderbolt? I mean she's slow and all, but from the season 4 opening, it seemed she was pretty amazing at flying within the short time she had her wings.

[Jorguil 54]

I think that would be a unfair advantage because she has magic and it can stop the other racers in their tracks in other words not really.

[hawkflame 3,315]

No.  If she's not a Mary Sue yet, making her a Wonderbolt will guarantee it. 

[Pastel 7,630]

She doesn't fly well at all, she's more interested in magic than in flying.

[Hive King 2,001]

@@hawkflame,

Mary Sue =/= Being Good at Everything

 

She could still be good at everything but not be a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is a character that is never challenged and Twilight is constantly challenged by her nervousness, her new status, and learning different magic 

[Singe 2,111]

Twilight wouldn't be able to make it past the their physical standard. Wonderbolts is reserved for the elite Pegasus fliers. Twilight hasn't even had at least a year's worth of flight time and her skill level would be no better than a child Pegasus.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

People think now that Twilight has wings, she's better than Dash. Not true, because in order for Dash to be that fast. She needs super cognition. It's why I don't understand why people make fun of the Flash and Spiderman as wise crackers. They're geniuses because of the information they can process so quickly. Dash might be more intelligent than Twilight.

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

She's a princess. The Wonderbolts were formed from a guard unit formed to protect princesses. It just doesn't add up, especially with the attitude toward her status displayed in the season premiere.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

No. I'm a Twilly fan myself (umm, can't everypony tell?) But! I firmly believe huge continuity issues would ensue, because of how? Why would she become a Wonderbolt and not RD?

[hawkflame 3,315]

@@hawkflame,

Mary Sue =/= Being Good at Everything

 

She could still be good at everything but not be a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is a character that is never challenged and Twilight is constantly challenged by her nervousness, her new status, and learning different magic 

 

I prefer to use the TV Tropes definition, myself:

 

"In other words, the term "Mary Sue" is generally slapped on a character who is important in the story, possesses unusual physical traits, and has an irrelevantly over-skilled or over-idealized nature."

[Hive King 2,001]

@@hawkflame,

By that logic, Goku, Superman, and god knows how many other heroes are Mary Sues 

[Singe 2,111]

People think now that Twilight has wings, she's better than Dash. Not true, because in order for Dash to be that fast. She needs super cognition. It's why I don't understand why people make fun of the Flash and Spiderman as wise crackers. They're geniuses because of the information they can process so quickly. Dash might be more intelligent than Twilight.

 

Rainbow Dash is the captain of the Pegasus of the area and handles the weather. There should be no need to question her intellgence.

[hawkflame 3,315]

@@hawkflame,

By that logic, Goku, Superman, and god knows how many other heroes are Mary Sues 

 

The key word is *irrelevantly* over skilled.  For Goku and Superman, anything short of their skill level, and earth would be destroyed, thanks to the level of threats they face.

 

If they gave Superman, say, a genius level intellect on top of that, *then* he'd be a Mary Sue.  And he was, in the silver age. 

Edited April 7, 2014 by hawkflame

[Hive King 2,001]

@@hawkflame,

Not really. In the Superman verse, there are much higher powers at play. Specter for example. Twilight is weaker than Celestia, Luna, Discord, etc. 

[Diva Pony 345]

I think that Twilight will become a better flyer as time goes on but she not only wouldn't want to compete with her best friend, she is not the athletic type.  I think someday she might have to fly fast to save a pony or maybe compete on a team if Rainbow Dash needs her (like Rainbow did with Fluttershy) but I don't think she has any design on racing for a career.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Diva Pony

[hawkflame 3,315]

@@hawkflame,

Not really. In the Superman verse, there are much higher powers at play. Specter for example. Twilight is weaker than Celestia, Luna, Discord, etc. 

 

I'm not talking about level of power, rather it's the "being awesome at EVERYTHING" element of her being wonderbolt on top of it all.  Does she really need to be a great flyer?

[Jorguil 54]

People think now that Twilight has wings, she's better than Dash. Not true, because in order for Dash to be that fast. She needs super cognition. It's why I don't understand why people make fun of the Flash and Spiderman as wise crackers. They're geniuses because of the information they can process so quickly. Dash might be more intelligent than Twilight.

remember lesson zero at 9:00-9:09 stops rainbow dash on a dime with little effort, apple buck season 20:50-21:10 pick over 30 trees of apples cleans with her magic now put that together and you find the other racers are frozen in place while she flies casually along the track not a fair thing at all.

[silvadel 1,393]

There are many reasons that the wonderbolts might want to recruit Twilight Sparkle.

 

1) She is a force to be reckoned with when they do something of a military nature.  We have seen they are sent out thus as in Secrets of My Excess.

 

2) Having magic available for your wonderbolts shows makes some new tricks available.

 

3) Having an alicorn on the team should be a good publicity draw.

 

4) Having Twilight on the team would make the team more important to the diarchs.

 

5) Spitfire seems to be a win at all costs kind of mare and would see how good this could be politically.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

I'm going with no. Twilight doesn't seem to be the fiscal type. She can fly, but not at RD level.

[Castle Bleck 19,450]

She wouldn't be interested.

 

She's still a Unicorn at heart, after all.

[silvadel 1,393]

I'm going with no. Twilight doesn't seem to be the fiscal type. She can fly, but not at RD level.

 

Actually she is quite capable of being physical.  She was 5th in the running of the leaves and the way she climbs towers is godlike.  I would be panting in a pool of sweat after the run to her tower in Canterlot.

 

Of course she could be forced to turn in her nerd card and cease getting 10% off nerd supplies and accessories.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,339]

People think now that Twilight has wings, she's better than Dash. Not true, because in order for Dash to be that fast. She needs super cognition. It's why I don't understand why people make fun of the Flash and Spiderman as wise crackers. They're geniuses because of the information they can process so quickly. Dash might be more intelligent than Twilight.

I was thinking that too. They didn't go into it as deeply as I would have liked, but the episode did have Twilight discover that Rainbow processes everything in her surroundings totally differently than she does while flying. Much of it happens without her actually knowing she is doing it. Her brain would have to have a somewhat different order of cognitive ability to be able to use this immense amount of information in coordination with her superb reflexes, agility, and raw speed. It went unsaid, but Rainbow would also have to continually process wind speed and direction, temperature and even humidity. Changes in any would cause vast differences in flying conditions.

 

I also liked the fact that Twilight knows, and basically told Rainbow that there is no real correlation between intelligence and the ability to study. As Robert Heinlein once said in one of his books. "Genus makes it's own rules".

 

Twilight may someday become a very good flyer, but there is no way she would come near Rainbow's genius for it.

Edited April 8, 2014 by cuteycindyhoney

[pinkiefan1287 610]

 

 

Actually she is quite capable of being physical.  She was 5th in the running of the leaves and the way she climbs towers is godlike.  I would be panting in a pool of sweat after the run to her tower in Canterlot.  

 

Yeah, but that's because she took her time and didn't push herself until the end. Besides she got 5th place for running. The WB wouldn't care how well you run. They would only care about how well you fly and how fast you went. There all about speed and pushing limit's. Even if they did care about running, they wouldn't wast there time with the pony who got 5th. They would want the one who got first, second, or even third. They would send forth and fifth home.

 

Do you really see Twilight wasting her talents and powers on stunts and tricks? Twilight has a job as princess right now and other things.

[Jorguil 54]

Always thought of fast characters like this "moving at accelerated speed everything turned blurry and hard to deter in mere seconds I forgot the info I had interpreted only to go on a whim of what made sense in the moment my mistakes are a bit small but big on collision."

[Neon Fire 473]

Definitely a no for me.  I doubt she really would have any interest in it, because it seems she would rather be good at magic than being the best flyer.