Hey! It looks like you're new here. You might want to check out the introduction.
Show rules for this event
Like Friends for the Friendless
There is an airship in the sky, and it is burning. It wheezes, coughs, splintering wood, a crackling sound in the distance, a sputtering engine, a howling exhaust. The first smoke is wispy and white, hard hot breaths in cold air. The ship is wheezing, trying to catch its breath. The hull seizes and swells like a beating heart.
Twilight watches from the ground, and for a moment she wonders if the airship is coming alive. She wonders if she is witnessing a genesis, the shaky first steps of a newborn.
And then there is a shriek and a scream. And then the smoke turns black and thick as coal. And then the ship is brilliant with the oranges and yellows and reds of fire.
The pilot, if there still is a pilot, is losing control. The ship twists. Little pieces fall away from its deck. They are heavy and solid, wriggling and spinning. From far away, their forms are indistinct. They could simply be bits of mast and lumber, someone nearby says.
Twilight reaches for them anyway. She does not think. It is an instinctual action, a great loose net thrown into the air. It is also pointless. She is much too far away, and they all fall through unhindered.
The ship sputters. A brittle thunderclap sounds out overhead, and the airship flips onto its side. It spirals down, tumbles end over end, disintegrating in the air. It loses from, becomes a storm of wood and fire and smoke, a storm raging furiously towards the ground. Behind, it leaves a trail of smoke. The trail holds its shape better than the wooden frame of the airship. The smoke is a tight spiral, and then stretches long and languid overhead, a snake uncoiling in the sky.
Twilight is running now, not away but towards the airship. Already she is doing the calculations. Size, model, and type of aircraft, total potential capacity, actual passenger capacity. Her legs are aching, burning. Her eyes sting with sweat. Her body is buffeted by ponies fleeing in the opposite direction. Angles of descent and velocities, wind resistance, actual speed and acceleration, where in Ponyville it will land, what will be crushed.
It is a passenger ship, likely able to accommodate upwards of two hundred ponies. It will crash just outside of Ponyville. Time until impact—not nearly enough.
Twilight knows she will not make it in time to make any difference. Mathematics is a cold and exacting art, as Twilight herself once was. Uncaring for the hundred-some lives in that fiery storm cloud racing towards the earth.
She runs faster anyway. She closes her eyes, but opens her mind. She searches for a spark in the fire.
This is something she knows, something she is good at, something she is intimately familiar with. First, as a filly, she learned to find the spark in herself. Then it was only a murmur, barely noticeable, but alive. Now it is an inferno deep in her chest, ready to be pulled out and thrown into the world.
Twilight reaches out, searches the falling airship, and she finds nothing. She remembers, unbidden and without warning, her entry exam for Celestia's school. She remembers the terror of searching for the spark in her chest and in the egg and finding the world barren, finding herself barren. She feels that terror again now, as she sifts desperately through the flames, and the airship nears the ground.
She remembers the sonic rainboom, when the spark ignited. She remembers the years of training in the school afterwards. The instructors taught her self control. They taught her to find the spark in the world around her. First in her fellow students, and then in the class pet, and then in the plants of the school arboretum.
She remembers finding it in her new friends in Ponyville. She remembers finding it in the bond that formed between them. She remembers watching that spark grow and strengthen, something like new life. She remembers the schoolmates who questioned aloud whether she would ever find a friend.
Twilight forgets everything else, and she reaches into the burning airship. She finds it—the spark. Only one. A flickering candle in a lit furnace. Twilight envelops it. She remembers the joy of finding a spark in a place all thought barren.
The airship collapses, explodes. The heat singes her coat as she pulls a single foal, unharmed, from the flames. She holds the spark close, never lets go.
Twilight watches from the ground, and for a moment she wonders if the airship is coming alive. She wonders if she is witnessing a genesis, the shaky first steps of a newborn.
And then there is a shriek and a scream. And then the smoke turns black and thick as coal. And then the ship is brilliant with the oranges and yellows and reds of fire.
The pilot, if there still is a pilot, is losing control. The ship twists. Little pieces fall away from its deck. They are heavy and solid, wriggling and spinning. From far away, their forms are indistinct. They could simply be bits of mast and lumber, someone nearby says.
Twilight reaches for them anyway. She does not think. It is an instinctual action, a great loose net thrown into the air. It is also pointless. She is much too far away, and they all fall through unhindered.
The ship sputters. A brittle thunderclap sounds out overhead, and the airship flips onto its side. It spirals down, tumbles end over end, disintegrating in the air. It loses from, becomes a storm of wood and fire and smoke, a storm raging furiously towards the ground. Behind, it leaves a trail of smoke. The trail holds its shape better than the wooden frame of the airship. The smoke is a tight spiral, and then stretches long and languid overhead, a snake uncoiling in the sky.
Twilight is running now, not away but towards the airship. Already she is doing the calculations. Size, model, and type of aircraft, total potential capacity, actual passenger capacity. Her legs are aching, burning. Her eyes sting with sweat. Her body is buffeted by ponies fleeing in the opposite direction. Angles of descent and velocities, wind resistance, actual speed and acceleration, where in Ponyville it will land, what will be crushed.
It is a passenger ship, likely able to accommodate upwards of two hundred ponies. It will crash just outside of Ponyville. Time until impact—not nearly enough.
Twilight knows she will not make it in time to make any difference. Mathematics is a cold and exacting art, as Twilight herself once was. Uncaring for the hundred-some lives in that fiery storm cloud racing towards the earth.
She runs faster anyway. She closes her eyes, but opens her mind. She searches for a spark in the fire.
This is something she knows, something she is good at, something she is intimately familiar with. First, as a filly, she learned to find the spark in herself. Then it was only a murmur, barely noticeable, but alive. Now it is an inferno deep in her chest, ready to be pulled out and thrown into the world.
Twilight reaches out, searches the falling airship, and she finds nothing. She remembers, unbidden and without warning, her entry exam for Celestia's school. She remembers the terror of searching for the spark in her chest and in the egg and finding the world barren, finding herself barren. She feels that terror again now, as she sifts desperately through the flames, and the airship nears the ground.
She remembers the sonic rainboom, when the spark ignited. She remembers the years of training in the school afterwards. The instructors taught her self control. They taught her to find the spark in the world around her. First in her fellow students, and then in the class pet, and then in the plants of the school arboretum.
She remembers finding it in her new friends in Ponyville. She remembers finding it in the bond that formed between them. She remembers watching that spark grow and strengthen, something like new life. She remembers the schoolmates who questioned aloud whether she would ever find a friend.
Twilight forgets everything else, and she reaches into the burning airship. She finds it—the spark. Only one. A flickering candle in a lit furnace. Twilight envelops it. She remembers the joy of finding a spark in a place all thought barren.
The airship collapses, explodes. The heat singes her coat as she pulls a single foal, unharmed, from the flames. She holds the spark close, never lets go.
For the most part this is a great job using show rather than tell, but some of the comparisons are forced on the reader: the beating heart, the comparison between a burning airship and the birth of a new lifeform. These are unnatural comparisons and I think the piece is better without trying to insert poetic language into what the reader should be imagining. Try to give the reader the sense of those comparisons without using the vulgarity of the comparison words themselves.
I don't understand the title.
I don't understand the title.
The concept is interesting, but it fails (for me) mainly in the inconsistent quality of the descriptions. They swing between being evocative and touching to being jarring, which breaks the flow of the story and consequently the immersion.
It can be very good and interesting, but it needs to be polished a lot.
It can be very good and interesting, but it needs to be polished a lot.
Story Review
Like Friends for the Friendless (11)
I've read this story twice so far and really enjoyed it. The visuals and tone of the writing are awesome. And that spark of magic? Lovely. That was really a clever and concrete use of something that was much more ethereal in the show. You really made that stand out as something critical to Twilight's nature, which of course it is.
My complaints about this story are fairly minor:
- There are a couple of places where the feeling of what's being conveyed is countered somewhat by the logic of the words, such as in the second paragraph: it would be clearer if you made sure with just a word or two that Twilight is only thinking what she is because what she's witnessing is so surreal and unbelievable. As it is, it seems (to me) more like a statement of fact, and doesn't really convey the horror of the situation unfolding as well as it could. The rest of the story does this well, but you obviously felt this particular paragraph was important, so it should convey that sense as much as anything else, especially at the beginning of the story.
- I'm not sure yet how I feel about the repetition of the phrase "She remembers" (seven times). It's clear what you're doing, but the use begins to go over the top after the first few times. On first read, it didn't bother me much, but I really noticed it on the second read. Honestly, I could easily change my mind on this: I'll have to come back to this and see how I feel about it then.
- Lastly, the airship is never said to strike the ground; this is only vaguely implied at the end, and it really should be there in some concrete form.
- Like others, I don't get the title to this, either. It's too vague to confirm my suspicion, and is therefore a distraction.
This is the first story in my slate, so obviously you're at the top so far, heh. But I have high hopes for this one. :)
EDIT: After re-reading this, "She remembers" seven times is definitely overdoing that theme, for me. You could easily remove those words from a few of the sentences, and connect them thematically to others in the same paragraph. Having more than three of them is probably too much, and less than that doesn't provide the confirmation we need to reinforce the idea you're presenting when we reach the end. Otherwise, this story is still at the top of my list. :)
Like Friends for the Friendless (11)
I've read this story twice so far and really enjoyed it. The visuals and tone of the writing are awesome. And that spark of magic? Lovely. That was really a clever and concrete use of something that was much more ethereal in the show. You really made that stand out as something critical to Twilight's nature, which of course it is.
My complaints about this story are fairly minor:
- There are a couple of places where the feeling of what's being conveyed is countered somewhat by the logic of the words, such as in the second paragraph: it would be clearer if you made sure with just a word or two that Twilight is only thinking what she is because what she's witnessing is so surreal and unbelievable. As it is, it seems (to me) more like a statement of fact, and doesn't really convey the horror of the situation unfolding as well as it could. The rest of the story does this well, but you obviously felt this particular paragraph was important, so it should convey that sense as much as anything else, especially at the beginning of the story.
- I'm not sure yet how I feel about the repetition of the phrase "She remembers" (seven times). It's clear what you're doing, but the use begins to go over the top after the first few times. On first read, it didn't bother me much, but I really noticed it on the second read. Honestly, I could easily change my mind on this: I'll have to come back to this and see how I feel about it then.
- Lastly, the airship is never said to strike the ground; this is only vaguely implied at the end, and it really should be there in some concrete form.
- Like others, I don't get the title to this, either. It's too vague to confirm my suspicion, and is therefore a distraction.
This is the first story in my slate, so obviously you're at the top so far, heh. But I have high hopes for this one. :)
EDIT: After re-reading this, "She remembers" seven times is definitely overdoing that theme, for me. You could easily remove those words from a few of the sentences, and connect them thematically to others in the same paragraph. Having more than three of them is probably too much, and less than that doesn't provide the confirmation we need to reinforce the idea you're presenting when we reach the end. Otherwise, this story is still at the top of my list. :)
What this story teaches me is how to use that 3rd person Present Tense. The way the ship is described makes it feel like it's all in deep slow motion, distant and objective. We can see it all vividly, but it's so far away and huge with its own inertia, we are powerless to do anything about it. Very interesting effect.
However, it carries over to Twilight's inner conflict as well, and for me the story feels like it's working against itself. There's nothing wrong with the writing quality itself, it packs in a lot of imagery, but I think my instinct is expecting a contrast of tones here. Twilight's perspective is about memories and emotions. Subjective and weightless, fast-forwarding through all her experiences looking for a solution. All the opposite sensations of what I described above on how the Present Tense was working for me.
We're watching the airship together with Twilight... not watching Twilight watch an airship. I think that's how I would craft this same story, from the way I'm understanding it.
However, it carries over to Twilight's inner conflict as well, and for me the story feels like it's working against itself. There's nothing wrong with the writing quality itself, it packs in a lot of imagery, but I think my instinct is expecting a contrast of tones here. Twilight's perspective is about memories and emotions. Subjective and weightless, fast-forwarding through all her experiences looking for a solution. All the opposite sensations of what I described above on how the Present Tense was working for me.
We're watching the airship together with Twilight... not watching Twilight watch an airship. I think that's how I would craft this same story, from the way I'm understanding it.
Wow. Extremely powerful descriptions. Gripping scene-setting. Tense and urgent throughout.
Nitpick: Twilight is not an art. (There's one line that reads funky and implies this.)
Nitpick: Twilight is not an art. (There's one line that reads funky and implies this.)
A lot of people were a lot more impressed by this than I was, unfortunately. Not to say that this was bad by any means, but while there is quite a bit of descriptiveness in here, some of it feels unnatural. “She wonders if she is witnessing a genesis, the shaky first steps of a newborn” just feels weird and out of place given the circumstances and events.
That said, this was a solid idea for a story, and I did like it decently, as well as the idea of Twilight rushing forward to rip someone out of the wreckage with her magic because she’s Twilight Sparkle. I just wasn’t in love with it, as some other folks were.
That said, this was a solid idea for a story, and I did like it decently, as well as the idea of Twilight rushing forward to rip someone out of the wreckage with her magic because she’s Twilight Sparkle. I just wasn’t in love with it, as some other folks were.
Great imagery, though a few moments are out of place, like the genesis line. The airship is crashing and on fire. I don’t know maternity wards you’ve been to, but the comparison doesn’t seem apt. Also, you may want to establish the temporal setting more concretely rather than just implying it’s pre-ascension by Twilight choosing not to fly. (Honestly, I’m still not sure if I have that right.)
Still, this is a beautiful piece for the most part. And I think I get the title. Twilight took it upon herself to be there when no one else was, both for Spike and for this foal… though the “Like” in the title makes me unsure about that interpretation.
Still, this is a beautiful piece for the most part. And I think I get the title. Twilight took it upon herself to be there when no one else was, both for Spike and for this foal… though the “Like” in the title makes me unsure about that interpretation.
Disclaimer: Comparisons in this comment are not to ridicule, but to illustrate my point. None of this is meant to offend the author or anyone else.
The language killed this one for me. I'm sorry to say that, but, while the conflict and depiction of Twilight's character are indeed intriguing, the short rapid fire of sentences used here is a stylistic tool that loses its effectiveness if used exclusively as it is here. I couldn't help but imagine this being narrated by some sort of sports commentator that's going into breathless overdrive during the final seconds of a game. Or an overenthusiastic salesperson pitching a new product: "A wheezing engine! A howling exhaust! And then there's smoke! Ka-boom! Whoosh!"
It's attention grabbing, yes, but that's why it's best used sparingly. Imagine you're walking down a busy street, and all signs flash and everyone is screaming at you. It just turns to one noisy mess that washes over, and sadly, that's what happened when I was reading this story.
The language killed this one for me. I'm sorry to say that, but, while the conflict and depiction of Twilight's character are indeed intriguing, the short rapid fire of sentences used here is a stylistic tool that loses its effectiveness if used exclusively as it is here. I couldn't help but imagine this being narrated by some sort of sports commentator that's going into breathless overdrive during the final seconds of a game. Or an overenthusiastic salesperson pitching a new product: "A wheezing engine! A howling exhaust! And then there's smoke! Ka-boom! Whoosh!"
It's attention grabbing, yes, but that's why it's best used sparingly. Imagine you're walking down a busy street, and all signs flash and everyone is screaming at you. It just turns to one noisy mess that washes over, and sadly, that's what happened when I was reading this story.
Mathematics is a cold and exacting art, as Twilight herself once was.
This is a fantastic line marred by a subtle grammar goof: By making "art" the object of the first half of the sentence, your second clause is saying that Twilight used to be an art. I would suggest: "The art of mathematics is cold and exacting, as Twilight herself once was."
Overall, the descriptions here are vivid and gripping, which made for a compelling read and almost but not quite saved this from its structural flaws. For instance, you've got an unfortunate overlap between using the word "spark" for the life force of a living being and the fact that the airship is literally on fire. Also, you identify the airship as a passenger model and talk about the hundreds of people on board; hint strongly that ponies are jumping off of the burning ship and falling to their deaths; and lampshade that the airship is going to fall into Ponyville (presumably wiping out a city block and causing massive carnage). And yet the ending seems to celebrate saving the single inhabitant of the ship? I can't square that on a number of levels. (Not to mention that Twilight "reaches for the spark" and then the airship apparently explodes, which made me think at first that she had blown it apart in midair to save the lives of everyone on the ground, which ... wasn't the case, and would have been a bigger act of heroism.) If your intention is to focus on the one life she could save at the expense of the ones she couldn't -- and that was probably your intention because the tragedy writ large and success writ small is a powerful effect -- this should be more explicit in Twilight's acknowledgement of the ponies for whom it was already too late, and it really needs to lampshade why (A) she's so desperately searching for life inside the airship when it's apparently empty and she has literally seen hundreds of ponies jump overboard, and (B) why she's not trying to save them. Or Ponyville, for that matter. She spends an awful lot of effort not doing either of those two things, and right now it comes across to me as idiot-balling, and I'm sure that her actual reasoning was the exact opposite and just isn't being communicated to me clearly.
Tier: Almost There
>>wYvern
Imagine you're walking down a busy street, and all signs flash and everyone is screaming at you.
You don't have to imagine. That place exists.
[img]https://a.travel-assets.com/mediavault.le/media/e610267eeec8dbf76528a8eff6c4891ccc8fdd69.jpeg[/img]
>>horizon
Confound your accursed logic; I got so sucked-in by how vividly everything was described that I overlooked the inconsistencies in how many ponies might be in or under the airship.
Author, forgive me; this was a lock for my top spot but I might have to dock it a little for that.
Confound your accursed logic; I got so sucked-in by how vividly everything was described that I overlooked the inconsistencies in how many ponies might be in or under the airship.
Author, forgive me; this was a lock for my top spot but I might have to dock it a little for that.
>>CoffeeMinion
I actually found it "meh" because, and I warn you, this will sound horrible, she only saved a baby. Unless it's a prophetic baby or something, babies aren't really "worth more" than foals or adults. Anypony can make another baby, you know? Plus, now it's an orphan, which is in most parts of the world at most slightly better than being dead. So while I approve of Twilight's actions, it didn't hit me in the feels quite as much as it could have, because I am apparently a terrible, terrible pony. :raritydespair:
I actually found it "meh" because, and I warn you, this will sound horrible, she only saved a baby. Unless it's a prophetic baby or something, babies aren't really "worth more" than foals or adults. Anypony can make another baby, you know? Plus, now it's an orphan, which is in most parts of the world at most slightly better than being dead. So while I approve of Twilight's actions, it didn't hit me in the feels quite as much as it could have, because I am apparently a terrible, terrible pony. :raritydespair:
I would just like to echo what Horizon said, because I had pretty much the exact same thought. I think I get the effect that you were going for (that considering all the death and destruction, it's a miracle that Twilight managed to save somepony, and it's a mark of what a truly great pony she is that she would risk her life like this). But the feeling is somewhat marred just by the sheer scale of the disaster -- though I also think that even simply having her spare more of a thought for all the ponies she couldn't save would go a long way towards fixing this. It would make the life of the one pony she did save seem all the more special and miraculous.
Also, there were some pretty dodgy descriptions in this. For instance, I had a hard time imagining the airship beating like a giant heart, plus there was the line about 'witnessing a genesis', which, like others have said, felt very unnatural. Also, be careful of describing Twilight as 'finding herself barren', since it makes it sounds like she can't have kids or something... unless that was the whole point? The heavy focus on finding new life makes me feel that might be the case, especially the line 'She remembers the joy of finding a spark in a place all thought barren,' right before pulling a living, breathing foal right out of said place. Either way, it needs work: if it was intentional, then it needs to be clearer that this is something Twilight actively worries about, otherwise the whole metaphor has little impact; if it wasn't intentional, then it needs to be toned down to stop schmucks like myself from reaching entirely the wrong conclusion about your story.
But! For all the problems I had with this, I also enjoyed it, and I placed it near the very top of my slate. Like, it's not perfect, but it's better than a lot of stories which are technically perfect... if that makes sense? There's real emotion and excitement here, plus when you get the descriptions right, they're extremely evocative ('The smoke is a tight spiral, and then stretches long and languid overhead, a snake uncoiling in the sky'). Plus I found the ending touching, and I disagree that there needs to be something special about the foal to make their life worth saving. It's enough that they're still alive -- that alone makes them special.
Also, there were some pretty dodgy descriptions in this. For instance, I had a hard time imagining the airship beating like a giant heart, plus there was the line about 'witnessing a genesis', which, like others have said, felt very unnatural. Also, be careful of describing Twilight as 'finding herself barren', since it makes it sounds like she can't have kids or something... unless that was the whole point? The heavy focus on finding new life makes me feel that might be the case, especially the line 'She remembers the joy of finding a spark in a place all thought barren,' right before pulling a living, breathing foal right out of said place. Either way, it needs work: if it was intentional, then it needs to be clearer that this is something Twilight actively worries about, otherwise the whole metaphor has little impact; if it wasn't intentional, then it needs to be toned down to stop schmucks like myself from reaching entirely the wrong conclusion about your story.
But! For all the problems I had with this, I also enjoyed it, and I placed it near the very top of my slate. Like, it's not perfect, but it's better than a lot of stories which are technically perfect... if that makes sense? There's real emotion and excitement here, plus when you get the descriptions right, they're extremely evocative ('The smoke is a tight spiral, and then stretches long and languid overhead, a snake uncoiling in the sky'). Plus I found the ending touching, and I disagree that there needs to be something special about the foal to make their life worth saving. It's enough that they're still alive -- that alone makes them special.
>>horizon
I don't think that the airship was coming down in Ponyville, but outside of it; the story made that pretty clear, I thought, with:
I do have to echo your (and >>Lucky_Dreams 's ) feeling that Twilight, as a capital-H-Hero, seems like the sort who would save more than just one pony, and would regret that she failed to.
I don't think that the airship was coming down in Ponyville, but outside of it; the story made that pretty clear, I thought, with:
It will crash just outside of Ponyville.
I do have to echo your (and >>Lucky_Dreams 's ) feeling that Twilight, as a capital-H-Hero, seems like the sort who would save more than just one pony, and would regret that she failed to.
Twilight knows she will not make it in time to make any difference.
Here's a thought:
Teleport.
Okay, with that out of the way, on with the rest of the review.
Overall, I liked it. Although there were a few... inelegant lines, the writing and the language were used to good effect.
I liked the idea of young Twilight trying to find a spark in Spike's egg, but I feel that all of the talk about lessons and... plants... that surrounds it just distracts us from it. Not to mention how long it pulls us away from the
>>Everyday
I didn't read that as a flaw. Twilight has never teleported very long-distance, and we've never seen any other character on the show teleport, not even Starlight Glimmer (if you look very closely). That fact was the basis for that one story I wrote and deleted before Blink sniped the idea.
The closest we've come is in "Do Princesses Dream...", where the moment Twilight sends a letter, Luna appears at the door. But in that case it makes more sense (to me) that Luna was already headed to Ponyville and the timing was coincidental.
I didn't read that as a flaw. Twilight has never teleported very long-distance, and we've never seen any other character on the show teleport, not even Starlight Glimmer (if you look very closely). That fact was the basis for that one story I wrote and deleted before Blink sniped the idea.
The closest we've come is in "Do Princesses Dream...", where the moment Twilight sends a letter, Luna appears at the door. But in that case it makes more sense (to me) that Luna was already headed to Ponyville and the timing was coincidental.
>>Trick_Question
Sunset Shimmer teleports. Whether or not she counts is entirely up to you.
The farthest I can recall Twilight teleporting is in Ticket Master. While this distance is unspecified, it's also only the second time she teleports and is clearly still learning how to do it.
By the next episode, Applebuck Season, she demonstrates much greater control with several short-distance teleports in a small time frame.
By Crystal Empire, Part One, she's able to do rapid-fire teleportation with ease.
(There's also Twilight's Kingdom, Part Two when she teleports all over Equestria randomly, but I think we can safely exclude that.)
In summation, Twilight gains proficiency in teleportation fairly early on in the series. Even if she can't get within range of the airship in one teleport, she could use several and likely take less time and exert herself less than running the same distance would.
I didn't necessarily view it as a "flaw," per se. It's just the thought that occurred to me as I read. There are several instances in the show where I think disaster could be avoided if the unicorn(s) present simply used their magic. However, this, of course, would rob the episode of conflict. Here, I suppose, it would dampen the story's drama and tension.
Sunset Shimmer teleports. Whether or not she counts is entirely up to you.
The farthest I can recall Twilight teleporting is in Ticket Master. While this distance is unspecified, it's also only the second time she teleports and is clearly still learning how to do it.
By the next episode, Applebuck Season, she demonstrates much greater control with several short-distance teleports in a small time frame.
By Crystal Empire, Part One, she's able to do rapid-fire teleportation with ease.
(There's also Twilight's Kingdom, Part Two when she teleports all over Equestria randomly, but I think we can safely exclude that.)
In summation, Twilight gains proficiency in teleportation fairly early on in the series. Even if she can't get within range of the airship in one teleport, she could use several and likely take less time and exert herself less than running the same distance would.
I didn't necessarily view it as a "flaw," per se. It's just the thought that occurred to me as I read. There are several instances in the show where I think disaster could be avoided if the unicorn(s) present simply used their magic. However, this, of course, would rob the episode of conflict. Here, I suppose, it would dampen the story's drama and tension.
>>Everyday
That's true! I did forget to mention Sunset. I'd say she counts. It's interesting they never had Starlight do it, even though she's powerful enough to levitate herself (which Twilight can't seem to do, she fell helplessly many times before getting the wings).
I tend not to overanalyze Season 1, since they retconned a bunch of stuff afterwards.
That's true! I did forget to mention Sunset. I'd say she counts. It's interesting they never had Starlight do it, even though she's powerful enough to levitate herself (which Twilight can't seem to do, she fell helplessly many times before getting the wings).
I tend not to overanalyze Season 1, since they retconned a bunch of stuff afterwards.
>>Trick_Question
I feel like Twilight has levitated herself before, but I can't recall for certain. She definitely has levitated full-sized ponies before, though. (Probably the largest thing she's ever levitated was the Ursa Minor.)
On the topic of teleportation, Discord also teleports. (In the original post, you did use the phrase "any other character".) There's also implicit evidence, though. King Sombra had an enchanted cage that unicorns can't teleport out of. Unless he designed it specifically for Twilight, we have to assume that a sufficiently-talented unicorn is capable of teleportation.
I feel like Twilight has levitated herself before, but I can't recall for certain. She definitely has levitated full-sized ponies before, though. (Probably the largest thing she's ever levitated was the Ursa Minor.)
On the topic of teleportation, Discord also teleports. (In the original post, you did use the phrase "any other character".) There's also implicit evidence, though. King Sombra had an enchanted cage that unicorns can't teleport out of. Unless he designed it specifically for Twilight, we have to assume that a sufficiently-talented unicorn is capable of teleportation.
>>Everyday
She can levitate other objects but she's never levitated herself, not even when she was about to die (Wonderbolts Academy for one, S1E2 for another). She's also surprised by the fact that Starlight Glimmer is able to levitate herself, suggesting she didn't even know it were possible.
We don't have to assume that. Maybe the cage just inhibits magic spells in general.
She can levitate other objects but she's never levitated herself, not even when she was about to die (Wonderbolts Academy for one, S1E2 for another). She's also surprised by the fact that Starlight Glimmer is able to levitate herself, suggesting she didn't even know it were possible.
We don't have to assume that. Maybe the cage just inhibits magic spells in general.
>>Trick_Question
Twilight has levitated herself, briefly; she did it in Magical Mystery Cure along with the rest of her friends. She hasn't used it to save herself from a fall, but admittedly that may be more difficult or require concentration she can't manage in the situation.
Twilight has levitated herself, briefly; she did it in Magical Mystery Cure along with the rest of her friends. She hasn't used it to save herself from a fall, but admittedly that may be more difficult or require concentration she can't manage in the situation.
>>Bremen
That wasn't active magic. She had no control over it. (Unless I misremember.)
That wasn't active magic. She had no control over it. (Unless I misremember.)
>>Trick_Question
Pfff… No need for magic: Pinkie can levitate herself by breathing a sufficient amount of air!
Pfff… No need for magic: Pinkie can levitate herself by breathing a sufficient amount of air!
>>Trick_Question
Uhm, Princess Celestia teleports all the way from Canterlot to Ponyville in Lesson Zero. And Sunset does in EQG1. There's probably at least one other instance I am forgetting of, but those ones are definite!
Uhm, Princess Celestia teleports all the way from Canterlot to Ponyville in Lesson Zero. And Sunset does in EQG1. There's probably at least one other instance I am forgetting of, but those ones are definite!
>>Everyday
>>Bremen
I'll have to rewatch it. Twilight is completely taken aback by "somehow, she's able to levitate" in the S5 finale. I don't think what you're saying is accurate—I suspect you're describing the effect of a specific spell, not controlled levitation, but again I need to rewatch.
>>Bremen
I'll have to rewatch it. Twilight is completely taken aback by "somehow, she's able to levitate" in the S5 finale. I don't think what you're saying is accurate—I suspect you're describing the effect of a specific spell, not controlled levitation, but again I need to rewatch.
>>Trick_Question
You're thinking of something completely different.
During the ending of the "True, True Friend" song, Twilight levitates herself into the air and then levitates all her friends over to her in a flying group hug. She's not doing any other magic at the time.
You can just watch the song on Youtube instead of hunting down a copy of the whole episode.
You're thinking of something completely different.
During the ending of the "True, True Friend" song, Twilight levitates herself into the air and then levitates all her friends over to her in a flying group hug. She's not doing any other magic at the time.
You can just watch the song on Youtube instead of hunting down a copy of the whole episode.
>>Morning Sun
Nightmare Moon teleports herself and Twilight in the premier. Given how Twilight seems to have a thing for imitating magic she witnesses, I always figured that's where she learned to teleport; she does it soon afterwards when fighting NMM, and seems surprised when she does it in Ticket Master.
Then again, the fact that Sunset Shimmer can do it might indicate that it's something Celestia teaches her students. Could go either way, I'd say.
Nightmare Moon teleports herself and Twilight in the premier. Given how Twilight seems to have a thing for imitating magic she witnesses, I always figured that's where she learned to teleport; she does it soon afterwards when fighting NMM, and seems surprised when she does it in Ticket Master.
Then again, the fact that Sunset Shimmer can do it might indicate that it's something Celestia teaches her students. Could go either way, I'd say.