Twilight Sparkle (Friendship is Magic): Difference between revisions

Twilight is kind, gentle, loyal, hard working, loving, caring, but also sometimes insensitive, unemphatic, snarky and even a little self-absorbed, albeit not in a conceited manner. Twilight is proud of her abilities and has admitted that she's probably the most skilled unicorn in all of Ponyville, but doesn't look down on others for being less talented. Instead, she treats nearly everyone with a high of respect and earnest compassion, from rustic mules to business owners.<ref name = PD1>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 30|Friendship is Magic #30]]</ref><ref name = PD2>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 31|Friendship is Magic #31]]</ref>

In her early years, Twilight lived in a modest sized house with her parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light respectively and her older brother, Shining Armor. She appeared to be on relatively good terms with [[Gizmo]], would later move to Ponyville. Despite knowing each other prior, they never interacted with one another in Ponyville.

As a filly, Twilight was incredibly intelligent and knew it. She adored teasing her big brother, [[Shining Armor]] as she was smarter than him and enjoyed messing with his crush, [[Princess Cadance]], who would become her babysitter before long.<ref name = ISSUE11>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 11|Friendship is Magic #11]]</ref><ref name = ISSUE12>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 12|Friendship is Magic #12]]</ref> Conversely, Cadance proved herself to be Twilight's intellectual equal, or at least smart enough to hold her own in their activities. Twilight also had a distinctly adventurous side to her in her earliest years, as she loved to explore the woods with her brother in order to track monsters they would meet along the way.<ref name = FFISSUE4>[[Friends Forever Issue 4|Friends Forever #4]]</ref> This adventurous side of hers would never be truly lost, but was locked away by her dedicating much of her childhood to studying and impressing Princess Celestia.<ref name = CCC>[[Cutie Mark Chronicles]]</ref><ref name = ISSUE40>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 40|Friendship is Magic #40]]</ref> Twilight was quite the geek as a filly, and she loved to play [[Ogres and Oubliettes]] with Shining Armor and his friends. This geeky side would more or less be list when Twilight grew up, but she retained a couple of geeky activities such as being a fanatic of ''Daring Do''. Twilight was quite rude, self-absorbed and condescending in her youth, which only grew worse when she attended Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorn's.

When she first attended Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, Twilight also had to pick up the burden of raising a dragon to her increasingly stressful life.<ref name = ISSUE40></ref> At first, she couldn't stand the dragon, never giving him more attention then she had to and never showing him affection or love. Although just a baby, the dragon picked up on her attitude and was deeply saddened by her low opinions of him. To make matters worse, Twilight often showed her toys, such as Smarty Pants, love and care, hugging it and calling it a good friend while venting about how much she hates dealing with the dragon...right ''in front'' of him. The yelled at the dragon frequently, and limited his freedom and playtime, often time yanking him away whenever he tried to run off. All of this cultivated in the baby dragon attempting to emulate Twilight's beloved toys to get her attention instead. Upon seeing this sight, Twilight realized her wrong doings and took the dragon for what it was, a friend in need. Ever since, Twilight and the dragon, who she would later name [[Spike]] became her very best friend who has stayed by her side through thick and thin.<ref name = ISSUE40></ref> Spike would continue to live with Twilight in her dorm until she moved to Ponyville. While living together, the two were close, but it's clear Spike wasn't always pleased with Twilight's friendless status and controlling attitude.

When she first moved to Ponyville, Twilight was friendly, but solitary and introverted.<ref name = TMB></ref><ref name = FRIENDSHIPISMAGIC>[[Friendship is Magic - Part 1]]</ref> She just wanted to be alone so she could study and research. Despite this, she was shown constant affection by the five mares who would become her dearest friends, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who took her as a spy. Regardless of any rocky beginnings, Twilight would bond well with the five mares and valued them as her very best friends shortly after. Twilight idolized [[Starswirl the Bearded]], considering the unicorn to be her hero. In many ways, Starswirl was similar to Twilight herself. Both were heroic, compassionate and unbelievely intelligent unicorns, but both were quirky, awkward and filled with odd, cartoonish quirks. The key difference between the two could be considered that while Twilight is embarrassed of her less-then-perfect qualities, Starswirl didn't mind them, even embracing them at times. During the ''[[Shadowplay (arc)|Shadowplay arc]]'', Twilight was said to hae possesed as much potentional as Starswirl himself.

In Ponyville, Twilight first lived in [[Golden Oak Library]] with Spike and later [[Owlowiscious]], and briefly [[Peewee]]. There, she worked a librarian and loved her job. Twilight was popular in Ponyville, quickly befriending almost everypony and having an incredibly close knit group of friends who she loved. Twilight was very active in the Ponyville community, she participated in nearly every, if not ''every'' major town event and even some minor ones. She visited the talent show and supported her friends, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo while there and later played a pivotal role in the Hearths Warming Eve play, portraying the role of [[Clover the Clever]]. Earlier in her life in Ponyville, Twilight was elated to be a member of the Winter Wrap Up, even if she did mess it up. Twilight also participated in the [[Running of the Leaves]] race, and managed to beat Rainbow Dash and Applejack. In terms of competition, Twilight tends to enjoy a more leisurely paced, rewarding experience rather than a quick and exhilarating one. Despite what her friends tend to say, Twilight loves having fun but has it in her own little way. Her methods of fun are often considered weird by her friends, but they love her anyway.

Although more of a bookish nerd in comparison of her friends, Twilight is a very adventurous and outgoing mare with a strong sense of justice and right from wrong.<ref name = CRYSTALEMP>[[The Crystal Empire - Part 1]]</ref> These traits become more apparent in her later adventures.<ref>[[Daring Don't]]</ref><ref name = FIM15>{{F|15}}</ref><ref name = FIM16>{{F|16}}</ref> However, on a few occasions it's shown that Twilight's idea of right and wrong is somewhat slanted and inconsistent, sometimes she views using her magic to defend herself is fair, while other times she finds it to be immoral. Twilight will do anything to help her friends and to protect them from harm, such as traveling to the [[Dragon Canyon|Dragon Lairs]] in order to ensure [[Spike|Spike's]] safety or going at great lengths to protect her fellow [[Mane Six|Mane Six]] members from [[Queen Chrysalis]].<ref>[[Dragon Quest]]</ref><ref>[[Friendship is Magic Issue 4|Friendship is Magic #4]]</ref> Twilight would go on many adventures with her friends. These adventures could range from entering the swamps<ref>[[Feeling Pinkie Keen]]</ref> to braving the [[Everfree Forest]].<ref name = FRIENDSHIPISMAGIC2>[[Friendship is Magic - Part 2]]</ref><ref name = BRIDLE>[[Bridle Gossip]]</ref> In these many adventures, Twilight would grow a genuine resolve and unfailing sense of duty and justice.<ref name = FIMISSUE2>{{F|2}}</ref> Even on her first day of moving to Ponyville, Twilight was more than willing to confront Nightmare Moon and save Equestria from her night.<ref name = FRIENDSHIPISMAGIC/> These adventures would prove to just be the beginning of the life and times of Twilight Sparkle, however. Not to long after saving Equestria from the clutches of the chaotic Discord<ref name = RETURNTOHARMONY>[[Return to Harmony - Part 2]]</ref>, Twilight would clash with the truly despicable [[Queen Chrysalis]] multiple times, first in the capital city of [[Canterlot]]<ref name = CANTERLOTWEDDING</ref>[[A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2]]</ref> and the other in her own kingdom.<ref name = FIM4>{{F|4}}</ref> Shortly after, Twilight was officially anointed as the [[Princess of Friendship]] and became an alicorn alongside her mentors.<ref name = MAGICALMYSTERY>[[Magical Mystery Cure]]</ref>

...And even that proved to just be another beginning. As the alicorn of friendship, Twilight was tasked with even greater tasks and grander adventures. In the process, Twilight went from a well-liked but not particularly popular or well-known unicorn to becoming one of the most popular (and marketable<ref name = FIM28>{{F|28}}</ref>) figures in Equestria.<ref name = CRYSTALHEART>[[Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell]]</ref> She became a hero to those of Ponyville<ref name = GOH>[[Guardians of Harmony]]</ref>, mentor to foals and fillies<ref name = TWILIGHTTIME>[[Twilight Time]]</ref> and best friend to many.<ref name = FIM31>{{F|31}}</ref> Twilight's role as a princess was tested many times on may different occasions, and although she was filled with self-doubt and insecurities<ref name = CRYSTALHEART/><ref name = THROUGHTHEMIRROR>[[My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror]]</ref>, Twilight proved herself to be compassionate, pure of heart and more then worthy enough to be princess throughout it all. Twilight's heroic nature and morality has also been tested throughout the years. Perhaps the biggest testament to her moral nature was when she showed mercy and care for Discord, master of chaos, bargaining for his life over her own power, despite the Draconequus betrayed her for self-gain.<ref name = TWILIGHTSKINGDOMP>[[Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1]]</ref><ref name = TWILIGHTSKINGDOMP2>[[Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2]]</ref> With very few exceptions, Twilight has always shown compassion and mercy for her foes, almost never showing content and hatred for them.<ref name = FIM16/><ref name = FIM14>{{F|14}}</ref> Perhaps the only villain to invoke hatred in Twilight would be the cruel and wicked [[Queen Chrysalis]].<ref name = FIM4/><ref name = FIM34>{{F|34}}</ref><ref name = FIM35>{{F|35}}</ref> However, she showed [[Storm King]] no empathy either.<ref name = MOVIE>[[My Little Pony: The Movie]]</ref>

====Family====

{{Main|Sparkle family}}

Twilight hails from the Sparkle family of unicorns. Although the exploits of her past lineage is largely unknown, the children of Twilight Velvet and Night Light have proven to be extremely successful in the land of Equestria, with Shining Armor marrying a princess and becoming the head of the Royal Guards, while Twilight has become a princess herself and a symbol of love and friendship throughout Equestria. The Sparkle family continues to grow with the birth of [[Flurry Heart]], the daughter of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. In terms of extended family, it is strongly implied that Twilight's Sister-In-Law, Cadance, is related to [[Radiant Hope]], though Cadance knows nothing of her lineage.

* '''[[Night Light]]:''' Night Light is Twilight's father. Despite his lack of screentime, he appears to be caring and supportive of his children, given his enthusiasm of attending Shining Armors recital and visitation of Twilight at [[Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns]].

* '''[[Twilight Velvet]]:''' Twilight Velvet is Twilight Sparkles mother. Much like Night Light, she appears to be a caring and loving parent.

* '''[[Shining Armor]]:''' Shining Armor is Twilight's older brother. Shining Armor is good-natured, friendly, caring, supportive, forgiving and makes friends very quickly. He's protective over Twilight and always jumps to her aid when she's in trouble, but is never overbearing. He respects his sisters intelligence and understands just how capable she is. Although the two love each other very much, their busy jobs keep them from spending as much time together as they would like. Shining Armor said Twilight was his family mare in the whole wide world, tied with Cadance of course.

* '''[[Princess Cadance]]:''' Cadance is Twilight's sister-in-law and former babysitter. The two are very close, they share a sisterly bond and would do anything for one another. When te two were looking through Sombra's old possessions, Twilight said Cadance ''was'' her sister, and that she will come to her aid whenever she needed it. Although Twilight briefly thought Cadance turned evil during the [[Canterlot Wedding (event)|Canterlot Wedding]], when she realized that it was actually Queen Chrysalis and not Cadance, she patched up her friendship with the Alicorn. The two enjoy teasing Shining Armor for his somewhat dimwitted acts.

* '''[[Flurry Heart]]:''' Flurry Heart is Twilight's niece. They have a close, loving relationship. Twilight loves to spend time with Flurryheart and dotes on her.

* '''[[Spike]]:''' Although not related by blood, Spike and Twilight are practically family in the truest sense of the word. Twilight raised Spike only months after he was hatched and the two have lived together ever since. Twilight has always acted in a rather maternal role towards Spike, instelling good manners in the young dragon, but also treats him like an older sister would treat a younger brother -- poorly that is. While she doesn't go out of her way to bully Spike, Twilight isn't above using him as a means to the end, though has since grown out of using him as she stayed in Ponyville. Regardless of the bad treatment, Spike loves Twilight and she loves him.

Twilight considers the Apple Family to be apart of her honorary family<ref name = SUPERSPEEDY>{{E|The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000}}<br>'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Um, Miss Mayor! Are honorary family members allowed to help in the competition?<br>'''Mayor Mare:''' Well, I'm not sure... Flim, Flam, would you object to honorary family members helping?<br>'''Flim:''' Are you kidding?<br>'''Flam:''' We don't care if the whole kingdom of Canterlot helps. It's a lost cause.<br>'''Mayor Mare:''' Hm, I guess it's okay. Applejack? What do you think?<br>'''Applejack:''' I think I'd love to have the rest of my family helpin' out.<br>'''Mane Six:''' All right!<br>'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Okay, everypony, we're not gonna let those smooth talkers take our friend's farm.<br>'''Mane Six:''' Yeah!</ref>, a view she shares with all of her closest friends. Twilight acts like a concerned and occasionally doting older sister to her friends, worried about their safety at the drop of a hat and always praises them when they do something worth praising. She acts this way especially towards her particularly young friends, like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who she treats like little sisters, always caring for them, giving them advice, encouraging them and helping them with their issues. During the Ponyville Days debacle, she considered all of Ponyville to be like family to her<ref>{{F|30}}<br>'''Twilight Sparkle:''' I was only gone for one day! All this is happening because of a commorative plaque? I just spent the last day in Canterlot bragging about how Ponyville is special. How we all look out for each other. How we're more than just friends or neighbors. That we're family.</ref>, and while the town was decided at first, much of its residents decided to help Twilight out with care and admiration for their princess.<ref name = FIM31>{{F|31}}</ref>

In many ways, Twilight seems to view Princess Celestia as a motherly figure, or at least a role-model.<ref name = FIM40>{{F|40}}</ref> When she was a filly, Twilight idolized Celestia above all else<ref name = COTC>[[Call of the Cutie]]</ref> and the alicorn seemed to take a special liking to Twilight as well, letting the filly sleep on her<ref name = FIM40></ref> and gave her special lessons. Over the years, the two grew very close and although Twilight still idolizes her, she's began to treat Celestia more like a dear friend or family member rather than a force of law or nature.<ref name = MOVIE>[[My Little Pony: The Movie Adaptation]]</ref>

====Name and nicknames====

Twilight's name is derived from her parents names. "Twilight" is taken directly from her mother, Twilight Sparkling while "Sparkle" is likely a reference to her fathers name "Night Light". In addition, her name shares similar nomenclature with other unicorns, as being a combination of a word describing the sky or celestial objects followed by a synonym for light or similar concepts ("Sunset Shimmer", "Starlight Glimmer", "Night Light").

Twilight has a variety of nicknames and titles she's been called throughout the years, often as good-natured teasing by her best friends and family.

* '''Egghead:''' Rainbow Dash often calls Twilight "Egghead" as a good-natured tease.

* '''Twi:''' A common shorthand for Twilight, often used by Spike or other friends.

* '''Weirdo:''' Applejack called Twilight a weirdo during their stay at [[Canter Creek]].

* '''Mare of the Apocalypse:''' When she was apart of Rainbow Dash's pirate team, she was a member of the Mares of the Apocalypse along with Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

* '''Twylie:''' Twilight is sometimes affectionately called "Twylie", usually by her big brother, Shining Armor, but also sometimes by Spike.

* '''Empress Twilight Sparkle:''' When Twilight was taken over by the [[Ethical Cancer]] virus, she deemed herself the harsh, but fair empress of Ponyville and all of Equestria.

* '''Princess:''' Her official title, though Twilight doesn't like being referred to it.

====Education and teaching====

Twilight was educated at [[Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns]], and was taught by [[Professor Inkwell]]. Although Twilight's grades were initially mediocre due to raising Spike and the stress that came from it, Twilight eventually became a star student and was known as Celestia's "Most Dearest Student". Twilight appeared at the school until she moved out of Canterlot and was rather anti-social at her school, rarely attending her peers parties or ever really hang out with them. After moving to Ponyville, Twilight's education seemed to stop, although she ws still in contact and did assignments for the princesses, she mostly did her own thing. Twilight would teach fillies and foals in Ponyville in little, but meaningful ways and appeared to be an active supporter of [[Cheerilee]]'s school, helping out with school projections such as talent shows and field-trips.

Twilight prides herself on her ability to teach others using self-proclaimed, old-fashioned methods. Indeed, her methods are generally very traditional and clash with her friends more abstract, playful, even methods. Her style relies primarily on reading and studying in a more traditional sense, using a pen to highlight useful, special information and separate it from irrelevant info. Although her method works wonders for some, it does not for others. Twilight learned this throughout the events of "''[[Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3]]''" and it appears to have stuck with her as in [[Twilight Time]], she structures her teaching methods around the individual strengths and weaknesses of her students.

Twilight takes great pride and joy in teaching others and goes out of her way to find what her students are good at and tries her best to tend to their needs. When she realized Rainbow Dash wasn't resonating with her method, she accepted Fluttershy's, Pinkie's and Rarity's help and when she finally realized how Dash learned, she organized all of Ponyville to help her study. Twilight is shown to really care about her students and values their learning process greatly. Although she set up "Twilight Time" as a method to teach the Cutie Mark Crusaders personally, she didn't mind teaching all the foals and filles in Ponyville, but was worried she wouldn't spend as much time with her three favorite fillies.

====Jobs and careers====

Throughout the first years of her young-adult life, Twilight didn't have a proper job. Instead, she was a student at [[Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns]]. Since her arrival in Ponyville, Twilight has had a numerous amount of jobs, occupations and roles in community events.

* '''[[Librarian]]:''' Twilight worked as a librarian at ''[[Golden Oak Library]]'' with [[Spike]] as her assistant. She would make her living at this job for a considerable amount of time and typically had a blast at doing it. Twilight would derive a simple pleasure the rudimentary task at the library, such as shelving books and recommending books for all the ponies who would attend.

* '''[[Adventurer]]:''' Although not an actual job in the traditonal sense, Twilight has had to take up the call to adventure on countless occonsions, such as traveling to the [[Changeling Kingdom]] in order to safe the [[Cutie Mark Crusaders]] from the clutches of [[Queen Chrysalis]], or the time when she had to travel to the [[Moon]] in order to free Rarity from [[Nightmare]]. Twilights adventures and exploits far outweigh even the most seasoned of royal guards, as she has had missions involving traveling to entirely different universes such as in "[[Reflections]]" and in "[[Friendship is Magic 6th Storyline|the 6th storyarc]]". In addition, Twilight has been instrumental in saving both her world and the Reflections Reality from the evil Reflections Celestia and has saved Ponyville and all of Equestria countless times.

* '''[[Marry Man]]:''' While in a Robin Hood-lie world, Twilight had to become a "Marry Man" and aid Pinkie Pie in saving "[[Raritunzel]]".

* '''[[Explorer]]:''' While visiting the [[Daring Do (Storybook Reality)|Daring Do]] reality, Twilight became an explorer on her way to save Daring Do.

* '''[[Sailor]]:''' Twilight briefly became a sailor when visiting the reality of a unnamed Romance Novel.

* '''[[Warrior]]:''' In "[[One Worm To Fool Them All]]", Twilight was ironically clad in viking-like warrior armor. She, with her party was tasked with traveling to "[[Mt. Worm]]", however at "Twenty-Five pages of nothing but walking later", Twilight ended up in a frozen tundra almost unable to continue. To make things more interesting, Pinkie Pie decided to create a horde of zombies to follow the group.

* '''[[Pilot]]''' and '''[[Astronaut]]:''' Within the "[[Universal Rainboom]]" reality created by Rainbow Dash, Twilight became a blueshirt-wearing pilot of an [[Rainbow Dashes Spaceship|unnamed Spaceship]]. When the spaceship came in contact with an organic, asteroid-like lifeform, Twilight suited up in astronaut gear to investigate what they came in contact with.

* '''[[Criminal]]:''' While in [[Dial S for Sassy]], Twilight took up the name "[[Tweezers]]". She was "da brains" of "the operation", a crime group she ran with "[[Pips]]" and "[[Bolts]]". According to [[Helga Bugart]], Tweezers had "her sticky little hooves keeping track of every cherry in every pie from here to [[Horseshoe Bay]]". Like with Twilight, Tweezers was not only very punctual and organized but perspective.

* '''[[Lawyer]]:''' Twilight briefly worked as a lawyer during ''[[The Good, The Bad, and The Ponies]]'' after she kidnapped another lawyer to take his place. While impersonating the lawyer, she attempted to trick the [[Cattle Rustin' Gang]] into signing a false deed.

====Health====

For the most part, Twilight has stayed healthy and has only been seriously injured on rare occurrences. Despite clashing with the biggest baddies in Equestria and beyond, Twilight typically comes out on top and in peak condition. Still, Twilight getting injured or sick isn't an impossibility. During her clash with Queen Chrysalis, Twilight was left exhausted and passed out as a result of it. Other times, Twilight has fallen quite ill. When Ponyville was at the mercy of an unknown disease, Twilight was among the ones infected and needed to be cared for by Spike and Zecora.

====Element of Magic====

====Princess duties====

As a Princess, Twilight is tasked with several duties that she never had to deal with as a mere student of Celestia.