Twilight Sparkle
Twilight Sparkle is a fictional character from the My Little Pony franchise and the protagonist of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, a 2010–2019 animated children's television series. Voiced by Tara Strong, she is depicted as a unicorn from the fictional country of Equestria who later becomes an alicorn and a princess.[a] She has a dragon assistant named Spike and five best friends: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity.[b] Collectively, Twilight and her friends (known as the Mane 6) represent the six Elements of Harmony. She eventually becomes the Princess of Friendship,[c] finds a student in Starlight Glimmer,[d] and opens the School of Friendship.[e] In the distant future, Twilight is depicted as the ruler of Equestria.[f]
| Twilight Sparkle | |
|---|---|
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic character | |
| First appearance | "Friendship Is Magic, part 1" (2010) |
| Created by | Lauren Faust |
| Voiced by | Tara Strong Rebecca Shoichet (singing) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Twi Twily Sci-Twi (Equestria Girls) |
| Species | Unicorn (seaons 1–3) Alicorn (seasons 4–9) Human (Equestria Girls) |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Student of Princess Celestia (seaons 1–3) Librarian of the Golden Oak Library (seaons 1–4) Princess of Friendship (seasons 4–9) Principal of the School of Friendship (seasons 8–9) Ruler of Equestria (season 9) |
| Affiliation | Mane 6 |
| Title | Princess |
| Family | Night Light (father) Twilight Velvet (mother) Shining Armor (older brother) Spike (adopted younger brother) |
| Significant other(s) | Flash Sentry Timber Spruce (Equestria Girls) |
| Relatives | Princess Celestia (aunt-in-law) Princess Luna (aunt-in-law) Princess Cadance (sister-in-law) Prince Blueblood (distant cousin) Flurry Heart (niece) |
| Nationality | Equestrian |
Twilight first appears in "Friendship Is Magic", the two-part series premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. She is depicted as the student of Princess Celestia, the main leader of Equestria. She predicts that Nightmare Moon, the corrupted evil sister of Celestia is about to return. Celestia responds by sending her to the town of Ponyville to learn about friendship. She makes her five best friends and defeats Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony, turning her back into an uncorrupted Princess Luna.
Outside of Friendship Is Magic, Twilight Sparkle appears in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, My Little Pony: The Movie, My Little Pony: Pony Life, My Little Pony: A New Generation, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, and several other animations. She also appears in the My Little Pony comics by IDW Publishing.
Fictional biography
changeTwilight Sparkle was born as a unicorn in Canterlot to Night Light and Twilight Velvet. She grew up with her older brother Shining Armor, who was her best friend.[g] At a young age, she became interested in magic and enrolled in the School for Gifted Unicorns. At her entrance exam, she had to hatch a dragon egg. She struggled to do so at first, but seeing a sonic rainboom created by Rainbow Dash unleashed her magical potential and allowed her to hatch the egg, giving birth to Spike.[h] Spike was adopted as a little brother to Shining Armor and Twilight[i] and went on to serve as Twilight's assistant. Twilight spent several years at the school, becoming the personal protégé of Princess Celestia.[j]
During her time at the School for Gifted Unicorns, Twilight developed a rivalry with her brother Shining Armor to compete for the title of "Sibling Supreme".[i] She also became friends with Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Moon Dancer, and Lyra Heartstrings, though she was not very close with them because of her social awkwardness.[k]
Equestria Girls variant
changeIn My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, there is a human version of Twilight Sparkle. She is known in the fandom as "Sci-Twi," a portmanteau of "science fiction" (shortened as "sci-fi") and "Twilight" (shortened as "Twi"). Sci-Twi and Twilight Sparkle from Friendship Is Magic are canonically different characters, but they have similar personalities and have met each other.[1]
In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Sci-Twi is indirectly mentioned by Pinkie Pie, who recognizes Twilight Sparkle as "not familiar" and asks if she has a twin who lives in the city and has a pet dog named Spike. Twilight, unaware of Sci-Twi's existence at the time, answered "maybe" to Pinkie Pie's question.
In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks, Sci-Twi appears briefly in the post-credits scene, where she is depicted investigating the magical occurrences happening at Canterlot High School.
In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, Sci-Twi makes her first full appearance. She is depicted as the star student of Crystal Prep Academy and a socially awkward nerd. She is drafted Principal Abacus Cinch to represent Crystal Prep at the Friendship Games, a competetion against Canterlot High. Cinch later peer pressures Sci-Twi into using magic against Canterlot High, which turns her into a monster known as Midnight Sparkle. Sci-Twi is stopped by Sunset Shimmer, who offers forgiveness and friendship. Sci-Twi accepts Sunset's forgiveness and transfers to Canterlot High to learn about friendship.
In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree, Sci-Twi serves as the protagonist. She and her friends go to Camp Everfree, where Sci-Twi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over her transformation into a monster in Friendship Games. She gains the magical ability of telekenesis and finds a love interest in Timber Spruce. By the end of the film, her friends help her overcome her PTSD and she uses her powers to save the camp from Gloriosa Daisy.
Appearances
changeTelevision appearances
change| Year | Television series | Voiced by |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–2019 | My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | Tara Strong[l] |
| 2017 | My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Summertime Shorts | |
| 2020–2021 | My Little Pony: Pony Life | |
| 2022 | My Little Pony: Make Your Mark |
Film appearances
changeReception
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In 2011, The Mary Sue praised Twilight Sparkle's character for having a mixture of maturity and nerdiness.[2]
In 2019, Theresia Sitinjak claimed that Twilight Sparkle represented American values of individualism, altruism, and industry.[3]
Related pages
changeNotes
change- ↑ As seen in "Magical Mystery Cure"
- ↑ As seen in "Friendship Is Magic"
- ↑ As seen in "Twilight's Kingdom"
- ↑ As seen in "The Crystalling"
- ↑ As seen in "School Daze"
- ↑ As seen in "The Last Problem"
- ↑ As seen in "A Canterlot Wedding"
- ↑ As seen in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 As seen in "Sparkle's Seven"
- ↑ As seen in "Friendship Is Magic"
- ↑ As seen in "Amending Fences"
- ↑ Singing voice provided by Rebecca Shoichet
- ↑ Singing voice provided by Rebecca Shoichet
References
change- ↑ Sethisto. "Princess Twi Vs. Sci Twi: Differences and Comparisons". Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- ↑ Polo, Susana (2011-05-10). "For the Herd: Why The Internet Loves My Little Pony". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ↑ Sitinjak, Theresia (July 21, 2019). "American Cultural Values As Reflected In The Character Of Twilight Sparkle In Jayson Thiessen's My Little Pony" (PDF). Diponegoro University.