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. Collectively, Twilight and her friends (known as the Mane 6) represent the six Elements of Harmony. She eventually becomes the Princess of Friendship,[b] finds a student in Starlight Glimmer,[c] and opens the School of Friendship.[d] In the distant future, Twilight is depicted as the ruler of Equestria.[e]
| 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) Princess Cadance (sister-in-law) Princess Flurry Heart (niece) |
| Significant other(s) | Flash Sentry |
| 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.
Fictional biography
Twilight 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.[f] 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.[g] Spike was adopted as a little brother to Shining Armor and Twilight[h] and goes on to serve as Twilight's assistant.
Equestria Girls variant
In 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[broken anchor], 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 friendship and transfers to Canterlot High to learn about friendship.
Reception
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]
