@SirDerpsAlot  
Sometimes, it’s best to leave things unsaid.
 

 
The conversation here seems to have quieted down, which is really great, and I know I speak for all of the staff when I say thank you all for helping to keep this discussion both constructive and positive.
 
And, as I know has been said before, if you see something that you think breaks a rule please report it.

Im to scared to say something because i might start a freaking internet war

@cloudkicker108  
I don’t know how to say this in simpler terms, they still had free will, free will doesn’t just disappear because of something someone says or how they treat you, you have to choose to believe them which they did they chose to believe starlight and in order to choose you must have free will, they also chose to turn against her on their own upon gaining proof. You are trying to say they didn’t have free will when they absolutely did they had their own personalities and ways of thinking even the girl pony who wasn’t in sync in the dancing showed this, free will is always inherently there even when the freedom of choice isn’t.
 
The mane 5 on the other hand had their minds wiped they were not free thinking individuals anymore they were braindead, they did everything she said because they did not have the capacity to think anymore, which is why they took things so literally they could no longer distinguish certain actions they normally would because their minds were empty and blank, they were clinically dead till the end of the episode.

@Pagan  
The ponies of Our Town had no free will. Starlight had forcibly altered their mindset to accept her beliefs and reject all others. Even before Starlight’s betrayal, they did have proof that there was another way to live; they all saw how the mane 6 had a close friendship, despite the fact the six of them have cutie marks and different interests, and that they just argued with each other. That display, for all its unorthodox details, still failed to waver the beliefs of the ponies in town–sans Night Glider, Sugar Belle, and Party Favor, of course. Only the betrayal of their leader–the one who instilled those beliefs in the them in the first place–was a great enough blow to shatter their preconceptions.
 
Also, I’m not sure what you mean by “Starlight didn’t cast a spell on them”. The entire point of the town was that Starlight would remove their cutie marks with magic.

@Background Pony #4B3A  
Although Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and Party Favor did explain in secret to the mane 6 about how they missed having their cutie marks, they also expressed how unfathomable it would be to actually have them placed back on their flanks.

@cloudkicker108  
Yes! That’s what I’m saying they had the ability, even the other residents changed their minds on their own once they saw the truth Starlight didn’t cast a spell on them they made up their minds to turn on her on their own upon seeing proof, without proof no one has an obligation to believe anything that’s how life works, they still had their free will the entire time The mane 5 didn’t, they were practically killed and then brought back to life.

@Pagan  
Only Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and Party Favor expressed that desire. They were likely outliers in that sense to begin with. None of the other residents of Our Town even considered that until Starlight’s betrayal of their trust and values was displayed right in front of them.

@cloudkicker108  
If that’s what you want to think but it still doesn’t really fix her hypocritical issues and inability to want to change herself for the better. She helped because everything was at stake including herself so she had a vested interest in stopping the changeling’s, I’m still waiting to see her help someone without actually having too and without Twilight telling her she should.

@cloudkicker108  
Which is why Sugar Belle, Night Glider and Party Favor went to the Mane 6 prior to Starlight’s reveal to ask for help.

@Pagan  
To use your firefighter analogy, it would be more like recognition is given to both the firefighter and the man who got the firefighter’s attention and led him through the flames to the trapped individual.

@cloudkicker108  
But they still possessed the ability to think otherwise if they wanted to, we see examples of them doing so, they wanted their CM’s back, the mane 5 on the other hand had their identity literally dissolved and they were turned into unthinking drones, the only reason she undid the spell was because they took her commands too literally.

@cloudkicker108  
Sigh, yes, I’ve heard of relapsing and everything. Heck, I’ve seen arguments that this shows Starlight clearly struggling with a “clutch” (might have misspelled that), as in, a means she tends to overuse in order to solve all of her problems because she doesn’t know any other ways. In her case, magic, which is something she does yet again in “All Bottled Up” by magically bottling up her anger.
 
And you know what, I could accept this, if it was actually properly handled. But see, her making this mistake in and on itself is not exactly the problem (though it certainly doesn’t help). My main gripe with that episode was that she was forgiven for it all ridiculously easy - again - when that alone had been one of the biggest complains regarding the Season 5 finale. And then we have Twilight praising her for her growth when the very last time she stared in an episode all but stated that she had basically learned nothing.
 
Look, I swear to you, I know I may come off as a hater, but believe it or not, even after what was easily for me the worst handled and most rushed redemption of MLP, I still wanted to like Starlight. I wanted to give her a chance. The Crystalling was “meh”. No Second Prances was “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Keep this up and I can see myself liking her.” That Christmas Carol episode I was like… “Does this even count as a Starlight episode?”. Every Little Thing She Does made me downright angry. And To Where and Back Again, eh… honestly, not even sure what to think, it was rather enjoyable, but mainly thanks to Trixie and Discord. That introduction with Twilight praising Starlight had already lowered my standards, and while Starlight didn’t actually bother me in any way during the episode, she failed to endear herself to me. The finale decided to focus on her capability to lead and take action, which I couldn’t care less about. I want to see her caring for others like she had grown to care for Trixie in “No Second Prances”, to show empathy and a desire to do good for others, but other than having the arbitrary “save the world” plot, none of that was in display there.
 
I’ve given her chances, but Starlight’s writing is all over the wall. I said it in another thread that at this point, I don’t know if her character is salvagable at all. There’s trying to fix what’s broken, and then there’s trying to fix what’s beyond repair. I can’t say for certain where Starlight lies, but at this point, I’d really wish the writers would just count their loses and put her in the metaphorical bus, since I honestly feel like her presence has done more harm than good. The promos for Season 7 suggested that it would finally happen, but ultimately they adverted it on the last minute just ‘cause, meaning we’re likely going to get yet more episodes staring her and this debacle amongst the fandom will continue on and on. Starlight might have earned some fan’s loves, but like it or not, she won’t gain over the whole fandom like the Main 6 has until she’s better writen. If you want people to like her like you do, you should bouch for her getting better writing as well.

@Background Pony #4B3A  
The Our Town ponies only rebelled because everything they had been conditioned to believe was shattered right in front of their faces. Even when the mane six tried to argue to the contrary, they did not sway at all from their beliefs. Had the mane 6 not shown up, they would have likely continued living like that for the rest of their lives, completely detached (literally and mentally) from their past selves and unaware of the existence of opinions that don’t align perfectly with Starlight’s.

@Nightweaver20xx  
Too much free times.

@cloudkicker108  
I’m not denying that, she helped for sure but Thorax was ultimately the one who saved the day not her, it’s incredibly selfish to imply she should get the glory when it was Thorax’s contribution that mattered the most, you don’t give the medal to the person who said there’s someone trapped in the burning building and someone should save them you give it to the firefighter who actually saved the person.

@Nightweaver20xx  
Passion.

Well nobody’s going to answer my question so I’m going to head out now. Feel free to keep complaining about stuff you can’t change.

@cloudkicker108  
Because the ponies in our town still had the ability to think about what they wanted to do hence the ponies telling the mane 6 they want their CM’s back, they still had their minds. The mane 5 in ELTSD were stripped of that they became lifeless and asked how they could serve Starlight and whatever she said they had to do not out of fear but because they literally were incapable of saying no, I find that far worse to have your free will stripped away where you can’t even think for yourself anymore. All this because Starlight wanted to prove that socializing was bad and brainwashing was more effective after telling Twilight she regretted doing it in the past.

@Pagan  
Thorax was the final piece, but it was Starlight’s quick thinking the whole way and in that moment that managed to even get them that far.

@cloudkicker108  
The ponies in ELTSD had no free will, they could only do what Starlight told them and nothing else, they were slaves to her will. With the Our Town ponies they could rebel, which they did.

@Background Pony #6D4B  
or just for the lulz

@Derpy Whooves  
Aw, you’re no fun.
 
… seriously though, there’s literally no other point to this image other than to try and rustle Starlight fans’ jimmies.

@Pagan  
I never said that what Starlight did in ELTSD wasn’t bad or a horrible decision. I was simply pointing out that she wasn’t simply copying what she did in Our Town.
 
Also, how is the hypnosis of ELTSD worse than the brainwashing of Our Town? The remane 5 were still ultimately themselves, but the Our Town ponies had everything from their past identities stripped away.

@cloudkicker108  
So it wasn’t iron man, hulk, captain America, black widow and hawk eye that saved the city it was nick fury because he instructed them to do so. Credit where credit is due and it wasn’t with Starlight she didn’t do it Thorax did.