My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was one of those shows I was a little unsure about watching. I mean, I watch anime, play video games, cosplay, go to conventions, etc. but…My Little Pony…Really? REALLY?
I didn’t get into the show until after one year at Anime Weekend Atlanta. We were hanging out watching all of the formal cosplays go into the gala. While we were watching, I really and truly saw some of the most breathtaking My Little Pony cosplays. There is so much creativity in the Brony community. It really impressed me and made me curious about the show.
After the con, I watched all three seasons that were available on Netflix and LOVED it. The writing was pretty good, the characters were so likable, and the show did a good job of telling an interesting story without having a whole lot of drama. It was refreshing and encouraging to watch a well done show where characters were building each other up instead of tearing each other down for entertainment value. The show is so positive without feeling forced or fake.
The pony I admire most in the show is Fluttershy.
She represents kindness in the elements of harmony. I think I am so drawn to her because she has so many qualities key to Christianity that I personally wish would come easier to me. She is patient, understanding, merciful, compassionate and, of course, kind.
My favorite episode is the two-parter “The Return of Harmony.” I think Fluttershy’s character really shines in that one. In the episode, the ponies face a new enemy, Discord. After he is released from his imprisonment in stone by absorbing the power from an argument between three ponies, he steals the elements of harmony. He then has the Mane Six run through a labyrinth that tests each of their elements. He separates them, and then confronts them individually to manipulate them into going against the element they represent and their friends. Applejack (honesty), Rarity (generosity), Rainbow Dash (loyalty), and Pinky Pie (laughter or joy as I like to think of it) all chose to go against their elements. He did not manipulate Twilight Sparkle (Magic) as the power of her element comes from the combination of the other elements. Only Fluttershy could stand against Discord.
Each time he tries to manipulate Fluttershy into hating or resenting her friends, she disarms his statements with understanding, trust, and appreciation for their actions and friendship. After multiple attempts to convince her to turn against her friends, he gives up.
In his frustration, he finally uses magic instead of manipulation to sap the power of her element.
The fact that meek, timid Fluttershy could stand against Discord, this master of chaos and deception who easily brought down the rest of the ponies, is so powerful to me. It makes total sense because in real life, kindness overcomes discord.
There is a certain kind of power in kindness that’s different from what would normally be considered powerful. It mends instead of conquers, inspires instead of controls, and heals instead of destroys. Even though Fluttershy can’t stand and fight like the other ponies, she has the power to calm and bring harmony to a situation.
We can see this power the first time her element manifests itself in the second episode in a simple, yet effective, scenario. After all of the other members of the Mane Six try and fight a giant manticore and get knocked down, Fluttershy tries a different strategy. She finds out the beast is hurting and helps him by pulling a thorn out of his paw. Twilight Sparkle stands in awe at what she believes to be intuition, but Fluttershy explains that it was merely an act of kindness.
Twilight Sparkle: How did you know about the thorn?
Fluttershy: I didn’t. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.
I wish I had this automatic response. When I run in to a chaotic situation with people who are less than pleasant, my first response is usually anger. I want to defend my side, my point if view, my own interests, but the answer isn’t always to fight. I would say the answer is rarely to fight because other people are not our true enemy and that is not who Christians are called to be anyway.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12
I think if I took a second to stop and actively chose to be kind regardless of the actions of the other person, I would get along a lot better in my walk. Fluttershy seems to have that down pat. That’s why I admire her so much.
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Editor’s Note: Check out Taylor’s wonderful series of posts about My Little Pony and Christianity.
“The fact that meek, timid Fluttershy could stand against Discord, this master of chaos and deception who easily brought down the rest of the ponies, is so powerful to me. It makes total sense because in real life, kindness overcomes discord.”
This is probably the most powerful thing there is. The triumph of the will, and the triumph of nobility and kindness, over that which breaks it down and attempts to destroy it. All stories are about the success or failure of man at this task. That’s because active kindness of the kind Fluttershy possesses is very, very rare and a difficult road to follow Kindness without action can be meaningless, but kindness with action is Love.
“Fairy tales do not teach children that dragons exist, for children know that already. They teach them that dragons can be beaten.”
Watching her turn the normal idea of what “power” is or what “strength” is inside out inspires me. I’ve always thought of myself as a strong person,but seeing things like this makes me realize I haven’t been where it counts. What she does takes real strength.
Reblogged this on Zyrogate Faine.
WOW i’m not a huge fan of MLP but i’m a huge fan of moral values in anime. I am soooo going to watch this, or at least a few episodes 🙂 really nice post
Thanks! There are so many more examples that I did not talk about in this post. I think you will really like it.
MLP truly does have a lot of good things going for it. In addition to my Christianity and MLP series Charles linked at the end of this post (thanks!), I also have a more recent article about how MLP promotes unity and friendship between different types of girls (prissy, tomboyish, etc.) whereas many other stories often make these characters enemies. Unity and kindness are really strong themes in the show.
It is such a refreshing change from the normal girl-targeted shows. I’ll have to check your post out!
Gonna be honest didn’t think i’d see a post about MLP on here.
^^ TWWK was nice enough to let me post one.
ah its not like im opposed to or anything, i’ve just had mixed experiences with the show.
Oh, I was unsure about doing it myself :). What experiences if you don’t mind me asking?
well … while some of the plots are incredibly deep for a kids show, there are a ton of moments that i found that the entire episode was “fanservice” as in stuff that bronies like. there are times when I really liked the plot, but there were plenty of times that i just watched. I also started reading a few fanfics… yeah… lets just say that i’d never heard of R34 until i watched this show.(oh yeah and i obsess over stuff way to easily so I had to stop before i went off the deep end.)
Well, any show that is aware of its audience will usually cater to them…but I can’t really see a show like MLP getting perverted or too adult. o__o
I don’t mind a show having a few “play” episodes as long as they keep the good stuff. But…yeah…Rule 34 ruins everything…in more than one fandom.
Just practicing “tolerance.” 😛
Fluttershy is my favourite pony for the EXACT SAME reasons that you have 🙂 I think it’s awesome that you found a way to link MLP and Christianity together 🙂 I’ll definitely be reading more of your posts and following! Thanks for sharing! ❤️👍
Thank you for the kind comment!
Reblogged this on adequately awkward and commented:
Such a beautifully written and powerful message/post about the power of kindness shown through an awesome show called My Little Pony. Follow her blog for more great posts like this! I love Fluttershy, but Jesus is my homeboy and He always comes first, so I was super stoked to see that you can pull so many Christian values and morals out of “My Little Pony”. Each episode is packed with powerful, lessons that both kids and adults can understand and relate to 🙂 That’s why I believe this show has such a kind, wonderful and HUGE fanbase 🙂
Enjoy!