Source: MLP:FIM, Season 5, Episode 24, The Mane Attraction
This week’s episode was about a popstar who’d been bullied and manipulated by her manager. Over time, Ra Ra had grown to doubt her own self-worth, but it was her love of charity that finally showed her the light, and the realization that it was a love her manager did not share.
When she sang from the heart, not as the Countess, but as herself – to further her own passions for making the world a better place, something magical happened. She touched the hearts of others with her music, and her cutie mark itself glowed.
This may seem like a small detail, but this moment is actually a microcosm for what the show is all about, and what this entire season has been building toward. Everyone in Equestria has a cutie mark that represents their special talent – the mark they make on the world. (That concept has always been shrouded in a certain mysticism and wonder. It is a magic integral to who ponies are as a people, and for a lot of us, integral to what we love about the universe.) There is, however, another level to it.
What happens when a pony uses that talent to help others – to make the world a better place? What happens when someone devotes a piece of their own soul to the betterment of those around them? A higher level of cutie mark magic is revealed.
I originally was planning to write a great big analysis detailing the development of these concepts from season one to season five, but that’s all stuff most of you have probably either heard, read, or thought of before. You need look no further than the “Crusaders of the Lost Mark” to see the perfect example of this, and it has already been thoroughly analyzed by pretty much everypony.
Instead, I’m actually going to talk about the fandom for a moment, because I think there are quite a few parallels. This show was a game changer for a lot of people. Sure, for a lot of fans, it’s just entertainment, and that’s okay, but it also encouraged thousands to explore their own special talents; to open up socially; to become better people.
How did it make such a deep impact on so many lives? I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, pony is essentially, a series of 22-minute Capra movies. Watching them, thinking about them, and reliving them through fanworks filled me with so much joy – so with optimism – that my heart got lifted up, and I soon grew thirsty for more. When I take those feelings and use them as fuel to keep a positive outlook – to be a better person, and a better friend, it’s almost like that Equestria Feeling never goes away.
Since 2011, this fandom has been using that ponyjoy to make the world a better place. I firmly believe that the charity work that goes on here in the fandom is the very heart and soul of what we are all about. Taking that magic we fell in love with and turning it into something real – something that leaves an impact on the world – something that concretely helps others – it’s a passion we should all nurture, and it’s a virtue that’s celebrated again, and again, and again throughout the series.
Yesterday, a remarkable episode aired. It centered around a charity concert, and featured some truly remarkable performances of truly remarkable music. In a stunning coincidence almost too good to be true, today (11/22), the fandom’s oldest charity, Bronies for Good, similarly reaches out to make the world a better place through music with the release of its sixth charity album, Building Bridges.
There’s an online stream and release party at 3pm EST at http://events.yoursiblings.org Donations up to $1000 are being matched too!
I hope you’ll join in, but if you can’t make it, you can still download the album at http://sok.yoursiblings.org All donations go directly to the Against Malaria Foundation, a highly respected charity that saves thousands of lives.
That’s real magic. Dozens of hardworking dedicated bronies came together to make this project possible. When you take that passion – that joy – and use whatever talents you have to make a difference, large or small, you shine. You may not have a literal cutie mark that magically lights up, but that spark is still there. All it takes to help make the world a better place is the belief that we can make a difference, and, of course, the willingness to try.
-Sprocket
You can also follow Heart Full of Pony on tumblr. http://heartfullofpony.tumblr.com And on FIMFIC https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Sprocket+Doggingsworth
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