A zoo exhibit to witness.

A certain Lady Gaga song is stuck in my head right now…
 
 
Pa-pa-Paparazzi!

@Tk3997  
>extremely common idea  
No, it really wasn’t. It was entirely a niche concept.
 
>never an alien concept to fandom  
I didn’t say it was, I merely pointed out that it was NOT the normal perspective, which is a fact.
 
>it became a fairly widely accepted idea  
Oh boy, not even close.
 
>not so much opposed to the very concept  
I don’t know where you were, but most sites I cruised through made that one of the most contentious points of debate once the official art showed up. A huge sigh of relief was felt all over the place when Tara falsely indicated that it wasn’t going to happen.
 
>It just wasn’t a good idea as executed  
This I can certainly agree with, and I’ll even go so far as to say I was personally hoping they’d find some way to make what sounded like a terrible idea actually work. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
 
But no matter how well it could have been pulled off, there would still be inherent problems with the alicorn part, if not the princess status as much.

@Millennial Dan  
I disagree with that assessment. It was an extremely common idea in fan fiction virtually from the start, there was fan art of it that wasn’t blasted, and it was widely speculated on. True, the idea got a significant boost when Candace came around, but the idea of Twilight at some future point becoming like the Princesses was never an alien concept to fandom.
 
Indeed I’d actually already seen it occasionally decried of brushed off as ‘cliche’ in some fan works before we even started getting teasers of season 3, it was that prevalent. After Cadance opened the door I think it became a fairly widely accepted idea that similar status had become the likely end point for Twilight’s development.
 
Of course that’s the key word end point. Even during the height of the drama I saw many people not so much opposed to the very concept, but deeply concerned with how it looked like, and ultimately how it was executed.
 
I have a sort of motto about stuff like this that I can’t even recall if I heard somewhere once or adapted or made up, but it’s pretty much to the effect of. “There is no idea in fiction so inherently awful that a skilled enough execution can’t make it work.” This includes Princess Sparkle, but the execution was, in my view, lacking for myriad reasons and hence why we’re going to be enduring significant rumination and grumbling about this for the rest of the shows run, like it or not.
 
It just wasn’t a good idea as executed, but the concept itself wasn’t inherently bad or good, much like any other.

@Background Pony #4576  
The vast majority of fans certainly did NOT expect Twilight to ever become an alicorn until official art started popping up for that around S3. One can be a leader without being exalted as thought they’ve reached some transcendent status of being. It’s a pretty long stretch to say that one will obviously lead to the other.

Meh Twilight was always the Hero and the leader, the hero and the leader in a group pretty much always get’s the biggest ‘reward’. He becomes the king, or legend, or whatever. It was made clear from the very start that Twilight was exceptional and fanon about her becoming an Alicorn in the future abounded long before MMC.
 
The problem wasn’t really the concept, but the execution. I frankly always figured she’d get the wings at some point, but I also expected it would happen as the finale for the entire series, or even not be shown beyond her just having them already in some manner of distant finale to bookend it.

@Background Pony #6199
 
You’re either trolling or serious. And if you’re serious… well, that’s just sad.

@Background Pony #6199  
>their own dreams
 
The sad thing is, Twilight never even hinted that she had the smallest inkling of what Celestia intended, let alone made a goal out of it. Alicorn princess status was just sort of plopped in her lap one day, and she was pretty much like “Okay, why not!”

@Background Pony #6199  
I more or less share your reservations, but you have to realize that at this point, it’s just opening old wounds for no real reason.
 
There’s no point complaining about it anymore.

@Background Pony #6199  
Life ain’t fair.

@DuskFox  
Okay then, tell me, what is so funny that Princess Twilight got the biggest reward that could possibly be achieved in Equestria and received all the glory and fame while her friends got nothing when they worked just as hard as her for their own dreams? It just shows they are not worthy for the same fame and recognition as her and they never will be. And because of this they are no longer equal to her and never again will they be. So please, elaborate me on how I’m joking and trying to be funny. Tell me how I’m being so hilarious feeling bad for five characters who will never be as good and recognized as Princess Twilight where this episode had just proven. Because I don’t joke around with dumbasses who don’t take things seriously and I’m not amused by your naive bullshit.

@Background Pony #6199  
that you’re joking

@Background Pony #6199  

@DuskFox  
Nope, I’m just speaking the truth.

@Background Pony #6199  
trying to stir up drama, eh?

And this is the episode that solidifies that Twilight (oh I’m sorry, PRINCESS Twilight) is more popular and just as important as her friends… Screw this episode…

@requiem-dirge  
More like:  
“Princess Twilight Sparkle: Still Just Like Us.”  
She was once a regular old unicorn, you know.

@requiem-dirge
 

 
Like teacher, like student.

“Twilight: Just Like Us.”

@SeraphimDawn
 
They’re also set to automatically take pictures, with flash, regardless on if there’s a window in the way or not.

i could’ve sworn i saw a filly that looked like one of my fanfoals…

It’s confirmed. It turns out that every fillies and colts in Equestria each posses a camera handy for use.

A bunch of paparazzi  
Popping out of nowhere  
Cameras in your face  
And then suddenly  
You’re on TMZ  
You’re on TMZ