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wow celestia u just lost a follower
Based on what I heard happens in the finale. Not the epilogue.
Sure, if you judge it all by pure in-world intent and overlook the essential meaning written behind each of these events. While some may not have a redemption arch that brings their character to completion, there is - or would be - an intent behind each of these. While I may not have seen the leaks themselves and will be waiting patiently for an English release:
The show’s themes being centered on friendship and cooperation between individuals to achieve an ends, it would not have been from a thematic perspective for Celestia to have fixed Luna by herself. If she had, there would have been no purpose to the friendship side of things. The necessary condition of the conflict resolution to Luna’s restoration being the magic of friendship in multiple ponies and their own realization of that to not only overcome the evil represented by Nightmare Moon, but to expunge her and free Luna. To rationalize this with the narrative: Celestia did not fulfill the necessary conditions to finish this equation since she was only a factor of 1, and not 6 as the Elements of Harmony represent by their own virtue. The recourse of which was to yeet her to outer-space and wait for a better time.
What we see with Discord may be the same condition as the first principle, but doesn’t itself represent the completion of Discord at all as the show is concerned. Turning to stone the second time now that the show is completed is merely putting a pause on things until later, whether the show writers needed a moment to find a better redemption arch for him to impart something on it or fan-service which ever way I’m trying to read from the show itself in this case. The point of the matter is is that the second time he was turned to stone was not the culmination of his ending and that came with later reformation to continue the theme of the show from Nightmare Moon’s change back to Luna. The point still stands here.
Tirek and Sombra may really just stand out as the outliers since their inevitable demise may have really just been a thing for the flash and bang of it. Nothing inherently meaningful to the themes themselves. But as pointed out by @Background Pony #A373 Scorpan did offer Tirek mercy which was never taken. The return of Sombra may just be fan-service because his original destruction served the purpose it was intended for which was love triumphs because something-something Crystal Heart and Love Butt. Which ties into Chrysalis.
Chrysalis herself is an anti-thesis and her character trait can be summarized as someone who takes without giving back. A toxic friend without any worthwhile interpersonal relationships herself that don’t rely on negative qualities like force and aggression. In a way she acts as a bully by subtler and magical means and in her major acts embodies that, the mutual sharing of love as a powerful expression as well as the willingness to be open and to share love with others as a noble act that banishes her jealousy. To that for the conversion of the Changelings to Changedlings required realizing openness in their natures and on part of the cast a willingness to receive it from strangers. In a way: to lend an ear and give them a moment. The Changelings were by their nature a race that naturally fed on other’s love and the essence of the act to willingly give them in as a relationship changes their outlook and thus essence as persons. It doesn’t work as a Game of Thrones conflict which rely on whole other ideas.
The notions behind the Changelings feed into the resolution and in a way behave as a repetition of it with maybe some different angles. Stygius and Starlight both got a sort of psycho-analysis which went to and discovered the root of their problems as villains in order to provide what they basically needed. In Stygius’s way: to feel as an equal to the Pillars and be recognized for what he did to banish his jealousy and free him from the Pony of Shadows and for Starlight to acknowledge her abandonment and pull her out of that to give the sort of companionship she needed as an individual to become not a psycho-path and to discover mutual-aid.
And I don’t know what you’re trying to get at with “casual racism”. If by that you mean a social awkwardness around other cultures or races in the world of Equestria then it seems more as a way to create conflict which becomes overcome for whatever reason the episode needs and said racism becomes eventually removed. Ponies become more comfortable with dragons as they learn about them, Changedlings become more familiar as they just sorta exist as sharing beings, and the writers forgot the Zebras and Diamond Dogs ever existed. Thanks, McCarthy.
To say the way Tirek, Chryssalis, and Cozy Glow are treated as villains at the end is in line with what would be expected for the show is something that has lost base with the show itself, which the writers may have. Given this is the end, they may have just decided they needed an existential threat and needed to satisfy some ends with the fans before they do. By all means Chryssy need not have returned because it seems the show got through every idea they had. Tirek like wise and may be there for the same reason Grogar and Somber even existed: as a moment of otherwise empty fan-service to be used up; Somber’s utility being the fucking shortest because he just gets melted at the very beginning and swept under the rug. They writers it seems just wanted to produce a conflict, had nothing or no willingness to go anywhere with it beyond just creating something existential and stuck to it. Even Tirek who had the least to do with the thematic core of the show as a villain went on the meekest excuse of Twilight finding out she can lose her magic but she’s got friends, or something.
So in the end, that anyone can be just turned to stone and nothing acknowledged about that. Cut to cheers or whatever and roll the credits comes off as strikingly different from the rest of the show. To again acknowledge Game of Thrones, a series that started from its world reacting to wider social trends as minor as the popular Ned Stark getting his head cut off to the interplay of religious fanaticism in the world to end up at a point where… No one cares when something major happens it’s all about the characters doing things now without anything broader happens weakens the whole of the series. By the same measure the way in which they finished Cozy Glow becomes a bruh moment in the wider context.
I feel as though the government system would not matter in Equestria, so long as the elements of harmony/tree of harmony were still around. I suspect it is because of them that determined just punishments for NightMare Moon and Discord, and thus a sense of justice in the land, leading partially to harmony. Not to mention the countless friendships it tries to creates.
However, remember that King Sombra destroys the tree of harmony in the season 9 opener. And after Discord has revealed his plan in EP 24, it is questionable if he intended for it to happen. It would explain why BOTH princesses considered using his punishment instead of any forms of reformation on ANY of the villains in EP 25. It could also be said, because of this, that the seeds of chaos has been planted since now nothing can, theoretically, stop him.
In the end, Discord won; For it was chaos that corrupted the absolutism of Princess Celestia and Luna.
Tirek WAS given a chance: By his brother, Scorpan. Scorpan initially helped his brother steal magic from ponies, but came to appreciate Equetsria’s harmonic ways, and even befriended Star Swirl the Bearded himself. He tried to convince his brother that stealing magic was wrong, to give back the magic and to abandon his plans to conquer Equestria. Scorpan gave his brother a chance at friendship, but Tirek refused, because he only wanted power.
And I dream of an absolutism.
A society built on friendship that
In the end, Twilight’s work helped push Equestria into a time of greater harmony and understanding, but if you don’t show any sympathetic traits, they will put you down. Bar none.
Discord was Harmonized into stone. The only normal spell we’ve heard about turned you into stone and put you to “sleep”.
Anyway, Cozy Glow is fully conscious of her actions - hell, she helped push Tirek and Chrysalis a couple times. She wasn’t like, say, Diamond Tiara or Starlight Glimmer. She chose to be the villain and relished in the power.
And you say, “despite what she did” but actually think about what she’s done. Attempted murder (knew magic would fail, sent non-flyers to the weather factory anyway), manipulated an entire student body, attacked an official, attempted to permanently trap the heroes of Equestria in Tartarus, tried to remove magic from the world (something that the entire world depends on for life), was willing to let whatever would happen to the Student Six and Starlight happen with the portal, threatened to go elsewhere and do it all again, helped manipulate the pony tribes against each other (she specifically helped manipulate the pegasi), attacked the princesses and drained their magic, helped destroy Canterlot, helped bring back the Windigos, attacked the heroes of Equestria again, and once again threatened to do it all again for power. No possession, no sob story - just greed and rage.
If there was a line in the sand, Cozy Glow crossed it about twenty miles back and was planning to keep going forward.
I’ve made comparisons to Robert-François Damiens when talking about what happens to Cozy Glow. Essentially, from what I know: she’s given a very public and a very painful “death” so to speak. She’s punished in a way out of personal anger which is strikingly out of character for what is or should be a society built on friendship, and critically is out of character. To make another pop culture comparison it’s like how basically everyone took the stupidifying ray to the face in Game of Thrones at a certain point so the plot could get to where it needs to go. Though, this to points to the inherent issues of having set schedules or even a point where you have to finish and there’s no way to go beyond it.
Because really: the show could have taken a bit more time to actually do it in character and in theme. But it never did, and now we’re more-or-less done opens up its own weakness since the end of season 2, and that is with a rotating staff and rotating executive producers, and a lack of clear direction throughout the seasons the show is… well a mass. The staff could have in a way found a way to psycho-analyze Cozy Glow and just never did such otherwise waste of time episodes as Last Laugh or the cheerleader one so that when it does end it could so more in character, find some part of Cozy Glow - or make one, given how otherwise under-developed she is - to have mercy in punishment. And not put an otherwise not super-natural being through something as harsh.
Don’t recall Tirek ever being given a chance (though admittedly it’s not likely he takes it) and Cozy Glow is a child. For a forgiving friendship society it’s pretty bizzare to condemn a child (despite what she did) to be imprisoned in stone. Discord suggested back when he was freed to reform that he was fully conscious in that prison. There’s not even a real world equivalent or anything close.
But they already sent her to Tartarus the first time around without a second thought so this is less shocking.
You know, I was a little salty about that too. Then I thought about it, and realized, yeah, they totally got what they deserved. Each of them were offered a chance at friendship multiple times, and rejected it each time. Because they are power hungry monsters who only want destruction.