@ModularPon  
I’m okay, but some people are not okay with me being okay, and that’s not okay!

are y’all okay here

@Background Pony #A6F6  
It really doesn’t! I myself would have liked a lot more consistency and forethought from FIM’s worldbuilding over the years, but the other side of that coin is that the more open space there is in the history and rules of a fictional universe the more room there is for fan interpretation, which drives not only fan art and fanfic but constant debate and fandom interaction, and I’d argue that’s been overall a huge benefit to us all. If a story gives viewers all the information, they’re not left with much to contribute themselves.

@TexasUberAlles  
Limited information != contradictory information. It is perfectly fine for a setting to have fairy tale style magic where it’s this mysterious thing that just exists. It’s when you do get into the details that rules need to be there. It’s one of Harry Potter’s biggest problems as a series. Mlp has characters studying magic in schools, so it needs rules.

@Background Pony #A6F6  
L. Frank Baum never once explained a ding-dong thing about how magic worked in OZ, so no, “you wanted details you didn’t get” is not the same thing as “incompetent author”. Dishing out limited information about a setting is a literary concept that’s literally as old as literature.

@TexasUberAlles  
Or literally any competent author out there.

oh no there are some sweaty nerds who care a WHOLE LOT

That’s not how the Force works!

@MezzoDragon  
Yes, which means you get to make up the magic system! :D

@JP  
Christianity hated magic so much they invented science.  
At least that’s what Jewish relatives say.

There are book which explains how it works and how to use it. They’re called grimoires.

But we need to know how and why it works. Otherwise science ceases to exist.

Maybe not to this extreme, but I really wish a lot of people reviewing episodes would keep the MST3K mantra in mind when complaining about how this or that writer “broke” the “previously established” magic rules.

@FanOfMostEverything  
I also care about how magic works. Of course, in series like MLP, there is no real rule set for how magic works.

*raises hand* I do.

Six years earlier: