Twilight Sparkle - My Favorite

If you've been with me from the start of my journey, you'll know there's one thing that most attracts my attention: magic. Unfortunately, that rules out a good number of candidates, but I would feel a little awkward if my favorite character didn't use magic after exhorting its virtues all this time. =]

Which leaves us with: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (Good/Evil), Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, Star Swirl the Bearded, Rarity, the Great and Powerful Trixie, Shining Armor, Zecora, Discord, Nightmare Moon, Flim and Flam, Pinkie Pie (quasi-'magic' abilities) and Prince Blueblood.

Some strong competition here, but one mare stood out above the rest, one pony that provided the majority of my entertainment from this series, and that would be....

Twilight Sparkle

"Ponyville's answer to a question nopony asked."

The story of Friendship is Magic is primarily about Twilight Sparkle and her friends learning and improving themselves through the magical bond of friendship. Twilight herself goes from a loner that did not even want friends to the go-to-gal for advice and help amongst her new-found friends.

I used to religiously watch The Simpsons, watching it on Sundays then twice on weekdays around dinnertime. (Annoyingly, the channel it's on for me has recently split up the two episode block by putting The Big Bang Theory in there) That's probably part of why I like Twilight so much, as she has some comparisons to Lisa Simpson. They're both smart, like science, skeptical, vegetarians, bookworms, and occasionally pretentious know-it-alls. Unlike Lisa, Twilight has a loving relationship with her big brother, Shining Armor.

Twilight is kind of a tragic figure in some episodes. She became the black sheep at her brother's wedding by sticking to her guns and professing Cadence's evilness, to everyone's disgust, even though she was right all along (not that she knew what Cadence really was..). She couldn't do anything right at Winter Wrap Up Day, and tried to use her verboten primary talent, magic, with disastrous results, but finally was assigned something non-magical she excelled at: organizing. When Trixie came to town, she was so scared every pony would hate her for using her magical gifts, that when she finally did, (saving the town from the 'rampaging' Ursa Minor) she gave us the heartbreaking line, "I'm sorry. Please, please, don't hate me."

Twilight has probably grown the most out of all the 'mane 6' characters throughout the series. From her beginnings as a reclusive, friendless, prodigy, she has become an almost-superhero supported by 5 really close friends that she couldn't see living without. After most episodes, she writes to her mentor about what she has learned and how it makes her a better 'pony'/person. These lessons are equally applicable to us, the viewers, and the world would be a better place if only we could all be 'Livin' Like Twilight.'

And that is what I really like about Twilight. Not only should we strive to be like her (okay, maybe minus the rage =] ) but we should all be thankful if we happen to have a Twilight of our own in our lives.

Twilight Traits

Magic
"And magic makes it all complete!"
 

Twilight Sparkle isn't just able to use magic, she sort of is magic, representing the Element of Magic. Her raw natural powers were also praised by Princess Celestia, causing her to be selected as Celestia's personal protege. I frequently call her the Anakin Skywalker of the Ponyverse, and it seems she is just that: the 'chosen one' destined to be a hero able to wield the Elements of Harmony, and super powerful in the 'force' aka magic, but prone to letting her emotions, especially anger, get the better of her sometimes.

Intelligence

"We can always learn from each other."

 Twilight is one of the most intelligent ponies, being well-read and educated in the finest schools of Equestria. Her 'street smarts' may be a bit lacking, and she is prone to naivety, but her passion for knowledge has helped save the lives of herself, her friends, and her countryponies. She even has her own laboratory in her home at the Library.

Inspiration

"It's the cold glitter of the attacker's eye, not the point of the questing bayonet, that breaks the line. It's the fierce determination of the driver to close with the enemy, not the mechanical perfection of the tank, that conquers the trench. It's the cataclysmic ecstasy of conflict in the flier, not the perfection of his machine gun, which drops the enemy in flaming ruin. Yet volumes are devoted to armaments; and only pages to inspiration."

Twilight is an inspiration not only to her friends and neighbors in the show, but to us viewers as well. No matter how badly things go, like embarrassing herself in front of everyone at her brother's wedding rehearsal or running away in tears on Winter Wrap Up Day, she perseveres and shows that where there's a will, there's a way.

Courage

"Moral courage is the most valuable and usually most absent characteristic in men."

General George S. Patton, Jr. distinguished  two types of courage: physical courage that enables a person to face bullets in battle, and moral courage that enables a person to stand up for what they believe in and for what they believe is right. Twilight possesses both in spades. She isn't afraid to put her own life on the line, and always stands by her beliefs. However, she usually isn't afraid to apologize and admit she was wrong if that's the case. *ahem, Twilight Worth*

Daring

"Daring is wisdom. It is the highest part of war."

Creative risk is essential to success in any enterprise with stakes worth winning. Twilight is always willing to take calculated risks, and sometimes not-so calculated, to accomplish the task at hand.
"Qui audet adipiscitur" - "Who Dares, Wins"

Leadership

"You young lieutenants have to realize that your platoon is like a piece of spaghetti. You can't push it. You've got to get out in front and pull it."

Twilight generally acts as the leader of her group of friends. She uses her obsessiveness to details to organize her friends and neighbors and try to keep them on the task at hand. Her friends often seek her out for advice, and Princess Celestia has full trust in her abilities, often leaving her in command of desperate operations, like fighting Discord, beating Nightmare Moon, evicting a dragon, organizing her brother's wedding, etc. She also became the de facto leader of Winter Wrap Up Day, salvaging the mess it had become and successfully completing their preparations, the first time it had been done on-time in years.

Dilligence

"L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace."

Twilight rarely gives up and surrenders, and if she does, you know things are FUBAR. For example, when her friends were infected by Discord, she soldiered on until she lost all her friends, and with them all her hope. Her own words about friendship, which Celestia helped her to recall, brought her back from the brink and she continued on, reclaiming her friends and sending Discord back to his petrified hell.

Patience

"There is a right time to make every decision. Trying to find the right time is the most important factor for all decisions. It is a mistake to make decision too early, and it is a mistake to make a decision too late. The biggest mistake is to never make a decision. Every old maid agrees with me!"

Let's face it, Twilight's friends and neighbors can be pretty irritating. Pinkie Pie's insanity, Rainbow Dash's brashness, Rarity's persnsicketiness, Fluttershy's fears of almost everything, Applejack's stubbornness, or the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their constant shenanigans... Twilight puts up with a lot. She takes it all in stride, though, and while she may snap sometimes, she usually lets their antics slide because she cares so much about them she can look past it.

Humility

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less."

Twilight is a paragon of humility, selfless and respectful of others, showing great bravery but also great modesty for her deeds. Despite all her success, including personally helping to save the world from evil at least thrice, she is still a very humble pony, and just 'one of the gals.' Her feelings were hurt when 'Gabby Gums' wrote a smear piece calling her a 'Canterlot snob,' although that may have been true at one point, she tries very hard to fit in with the other ponies of Ponyville.

Wrath

"Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will."

It doesn't take much to set her off, and she might even have a superpower related to anger like the Hulk, as seen above. Twilight is a 'pieceful' mare, if you know what I mean. The cops pick up the pieces after Twilight leaves the scene. Nightmare Moon was a badass, they all knew she was tough. She strutted around Equestria, a'shooting off her duff. She picked a fight with Twilight and then and there sealed her doom. Before you could shout, "Nightmare Moon, look out!" Twilight lowered the boom. The kingdom all turned out for Shining Armor's wedding night. Evil Cadence said, "Let's have some fun, I think I'll start a fight!" She wrecked Celestia, imprisoned the bride, and enscorcelled the groom. Quick as a wink, before you could blink, Twilight lowered the boom.

The Elements of Harmony

If she had to, could Twilight single-hoofedly save the world, like her mentor, Princess Celestia was forced to in the past? I think so.

Magic

Seeing how she is this Element and all.. Even if she wasn't, she is still one of the most talented Unicorns out there.

 Loyalty

Twilight is extremely loyal to her friends and especially Princess Celestia. A Bird in the Hoof was an interesting glimpse at this, as her loyalties were split between the Princess and Fluttershy due to Fluttershy stealing Celestia's pet.

Kindness

Twilight is almost always willing to help with whatever needs to be done, especially if it's her friends that need her help.

Generosity

The episode The Ticket Master was a prime example of Twilight's generosity, as she got so torn up over only having two tickets that she contemplated giving her own away. She also likes giving heart-felt gifts and gives away knowledge whenever she can.

Laughter

Twilight may not be as psychotic as Pinkie, but she loves a good laugh. Especially when she gets to laugh at Spike. She is also the cause of laughter, usually to her chagrin, due to various calamities affecting her, like when she first met Rainbow Dash.

Honesty

Twilight usually isn't afraid to let everyone know how she really feels. She also has the complete trust of Princess Celestia. She's honest to a fault, actually, as she can't be trusted with secrets and will try to spill the beans to the other involved party. She also isn't afraid to tell little white lies, if it means sparing some pony's feelings.