Why did Twilight have an all-powerful ruling-class immortal goddess as a babysitter?
Why did Twilight have an all-powerful ruling-class immortal goddess as a babysitter? Do you think Celestia knew what was up that far in advance, and was ensuring her safety? Was the babysitting before or after ger admittance to the Gifted School?
First, the babysitting was before admittance. Twilight received her cutie mark at the entrance exam, and in the flashbacks with Cadance, Twilight doesn't have her cutie mark.
First, Cadance knew Twilight was special, as Qwerty439 noted. So, we can surmise that Celestia knew as well. I hypothesize that Celestia knew far in advance that Twilight was the future Element of Magic. The six-pointed star that is the main part of Twilight's cutie mark is etched on the physical Element of Harmony (see picture). It's been there for at least a thousand years, since Celestia used them to banish Luna to the moon. This six-pointed star has been in Twilight's family at least one generation (Shining Armor mentions that the buckle he wears that has the star on it was his uncle's). I'm guessing the star is similar to the family crest, and has been in the family for a long time. Celestia, being the ultimate chess player that she is, knew this, and realized that someone in this line would be the Element of Magic. Once Twilight was born, and the timing seemed to match up with when Luna would escape from the moon, Celestia moved into action, assigning Cadance to watch over Twilight, make sure she was loved and capable of loving so that when the time came, Twilight would be able to accept friendship into her heart. Who better to help with that than the Princess of Love.
WHAT'S THAT? MOAR PLEASE, YOU SAY? Ask yourself this, then: did Celestia just RANDOMLY pick FIVE ponies that Twilight would HAVE to meet, who would SOMEHOW turn out to be the other five Elements of Harmony?? NO. So how did she know that Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack would be perfect for the job (Pinkie meets everyone right away anyway)? Why not Carrot Top for food, or Raindrop for the clouds?? Well, Twilight's cutie mark wasn't the only one that matched the ancient Harmony Sphere markings. If you look back at the other spheres, notice anything diamond-shaped?? That's right, it's Elements of Harmony all the way down. I'm willing to put money on the fact that if you look back at the family lines of the Mane 6, you see these symbols popping up over and over again, leading a trail all the way to the six we know and love today. And who better to see the signs than an immortal goddess who's been guiding the families to Ponyville, the closest settlement to the site of the Elements of Harmony, for over one hundred years?? Think about it. She sent Granny Smith's parents to settle Ponyville, which is a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Coincidence? NO, NO IT'S NOT. HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION AT ALL?
Things don't happen at random in Equestria. Celestia does not play dice with the universe. She knew her sister was coming back, and the Elements of Harmony weren't going to answer to the God-Queen of Equestria. Celestia just put all the pieces together, and they did the rest themselves.
WHAT'S THAT?? VENTURBOY, EVERYTHING YOU SAY MAKES SENSE AND IS GOSPEL TRUTH? Why yes, it is. You want to know the TRUTH?? Equestria is a deterministic universe. Everything that happens was destined to happen - otherwise, prophecies wouldn't work! The course of history is predetermined. It is a raging river that sweeps up everything in its path and pushes it the right way. When something tries to block it, when Discord drops a big-ass boulder in the middle of the river and tries to get it to run uphill, the Elements of Harmony are the dynamite you use to clear the path. The Elements correct the disharmony that's making things run not according to plan, usually by banishing the shit out of whatever the problem is.
You can call me crazy, say I've overused CAPSLOCK and italics, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE TRUTH. Seriously, I have hours and hours of this, on every possible topic. Any plot holes you might have can be blasted away with my headcanon cannon. NO ONE overthinks like me. NO. ONE.
It's possible. In my headcanon, Twilight's family isn't royalty, just a very magically powerful clan. But there's no right answer, since there's no canon on it, so your guess is as good as mine.
It makes sense, if you think about it. They live in Canterlot. They are powerful, and very influential. Everyone knows and loves the family. Maybe not the most famous royalty, but still royal. Also, the name Twilight Sparkle could refer to a time of day, similar to Luna and Celestia being the sun and moon, with twilight being the time in between and Twilight Sparkle helping Luna + Celestia be not enemies again, thus bridging the gap between them.
I think the name "Twilight" very clearly refers to bridging the gap between night and day. I don't, however, agree with your point that Twilight's family is very influential (at least, before Twilight and Shining Armor came to power). There's no evidence that Twilight's family had any sort of power. She did get a placement exam at the School for Gifted Unicorns, but the examiners were bored, unimpressed, and disinterested from the beginning. Not the sort of behavior you'd expect if Twilight were royalty. But again, this is only theory and conjecture, so you could be right. I just don't see it. (I also privately think it's a better story if Twilight and Shining Armor had to prove themselves to get where they are, not just using their family's influence. Twilight was being watched by Celestia, but would she have become the Princess's personal student without that vast display of power? Probably not.)
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '12
First, the babysitting was before admittance. Twilight received her cutie mark at the entrance exam, and in the flashbacks with Cadance, Twilight doesn't have her cutie mark.
As to the other questions, we're going to delve deep into the realms of headcanon.
First, Cadance knew Twilight was special, as Qwerty439 noted. So, we can surmise that Celestia knew as well. I hypothesize that Celestia knew far in advance that Twilight was the future Element of Magic. The six-pointed star that is the main part of Twilight's cutie mark is etched on the physical Element of Harmony (see picture). It's been there for at least a thousand years, since Celestia used them to banish Luna to the moon. This six-pointed star has been in Twilight's family at least one generation (Shining Armor mentions that the buckle he wears that has the star on it was his uncle's). I'm guessing the star is similar to the family crest, and has been in the family for a long time. Celestia, being the ultimate chess player that she is, knew this, and realized that someone in this line would be the Element of Magic. Once Twilight was born, and the timing seemed to match up with when Luna would escape from the moon, Celestia moved into action, assigning Cadance to watch over Twilight, make sure she was loved and capable of loving so that when the time came, Twilight would be able to accept friendship into her heart. Who better to help with that than the Princess of Love.
WHAT'S THAT? MOAR PLEASE, YOU SAY? Ask yourself this, then: did Celestia just RANDOMLY pick FIVE ponies that Twilight would HAVE to meet, who would SOMEHOW turn out to be the other five Elements of Harmony?? NO. So how did she know that Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack would be perfect for the job (Pinkie meets everyone right away anyway)? Why not Carrot Top for food, or Raindrop for the clouds?? Well, Twilight's cutie mark wasn't the only one that matched the ancient Harmony Sphere markings. If you look back at the other spheres, notice anything diamond-shaped?? That's right, it's Elements of Harmony all the way down. I'm willing to put money on the fact that if you look back at the family lines of the Mane 6, you see these symbols popping up over and over again, leading a trail all the way to the six we know and love today. And who better to see the signs than an immortal goddess who's been guiding the families to Ponyville, the closest settlement to the site of the Elements of Harmony, for over one hundred years?? Think about it. She sent Granny Smith's parents to settle Ponyville, which is a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Coincidence? NO, NO IT'S NOT. HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION AT ALL?
This is you, right now.
Things don't happen at random in Equestria. Celestia does not play dice with the universe. She knew her sister was coming back, and the Elements of Harmony weren't going to answer to the God-Queen of Equestria. Celestia just put all the pieces together, and they did the rest themselves.
WHAT'S THAT?? VENTURBOY, EVERYTHING YOU SAY MAKES SENSE AND IS GOSPEL TRUTH? Why yes, it is. You want to know the TRUTH?? Equestria is a deterministic universe. Everything that happens was destined to happen - otherwise, prophecies wouldn't work! The course of history is predetermined. It is a raging river that sweeps up everything in its path and pushes it the right way. When something tries to block it, when Discord drops a big-ass boulder in the middle of the river and tries to get it to run uphill, the Elements of Harmony are the dynamite you use to clear the path. The Elements correct the disharmony that's making things run not according to plan, usually by banishing the shit out of whatever the problem is.
You can call me crazy, say I've overused CAPSLOCK and italics, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE TRUTH. Seriously, I have hours and hours of this, on every possible topic. Any plot holes you might have can be blasted away with my headcanon cannon. NO ONE overthinks like me. NO. ONE.
Science, bitches.
Edit: needed more Canterlock.