THIS IS THE FUTURE THAT PONIES WANT!

@Jonny Manz
 
I could see that, good take

Smolder + Dress = the best princess.

@Background Pony #050A  
Yeah her dress here looks similar to Cinderella’s AND IT’S FABULOUS!!

@Jonny Manz  
Silverstream seems to show the most vicious terror of the tyranny of the Storm King and while she’s often happy to extremes, she folds in when she’s afraid and seriously needs to know when to “grow a spine” and be brave in the face of danger, not naive and unwitting.
 
Gallus has what I refer to as “forced maturity” upon him due to Griffon lifestyle; he lives in the streets and had to learn to survive at a young age, however, he’s likely “too smart” for his own good and is too good at, say, stealing things or sabotaging other griffons and Grandpa Gruff chose to send him away because of the trouble he was causing. This has the backlash as he actually EASILY meshes with the other students, regardless of species. If you notice, he’s very witty and quite the problem solver, but also often the one to instigate a rebellious moment for the group.
 
Yona is a Yak and she is all the things Yaks are. What Rutherford likely knows with his ties to Pinkie is that Ponies and other creatures are not good at “sensitive” interactions. Gentleness and the ability to not “YAK SMASH” are rare for them.
 
Honestly, the Tree did a better job explaining why they were sent to Equestria than we may initially think.

@Daneasaur  
Yeah, I could see that - personally, I see it as something Thorax is also dealing with on some level (a fear of turning out like Chrysalis, and of all the damage the changelings caused in the past - especially since we know he participated in the invasion of Canterlot, whereas Ocellus was presumably too young - but when he saw her dealing with such a fear, he sent her off, not only to show her that she had changed, but to show that those changelings that embraced the change were forgiven, for the most part [and also on some level, to reassure himself of that fact]).
 
Of the five non-pony constituents of the Young Six, I feel I’ve figured out plausible, defensible reasons (or at least feel closer to discovering them) for why they’re representing their species for four of them. Silverstream, I figure, was the closest relative in the royal family who was itching to get out and explore more of the world above the waves, whereas I figure Grampa Gruff made the calculation that it would make more financial sense to send Gallus away, to be cared for by other creatures (since I could buy the theory that that’s what Grampa Gruff bases his decisions on). The only one I can’t figure out anything for is Yona.

@Jonny Manz  
Could be a similar thing for most of the students. Ocellus chose to hide and fears being a horrible tyrant or haunted by the past of her people, so Thorax saw it as a way for her to socialize and learn that she’s not a villain of any sort.

The tree made tantabus like nightmares in the waking world for each character, based on their fears. It was an awesome idea.

@Background Pony #B728  
Yeah, part of me can’t help but wonder if that’s part of the reason Ember chose Smolder as the dragon representative - she caught a glimpse of that part of Smolder, and so sent her to Equestria, which would allow Smolder to explore it and for it to be nurtured, rather than being snuffed out from staying in the dragon lands where it would be seen as a weakness.

@Background Pony #B728  
Indeed. Dragons leap at opportunities. Spike showed that early on and it isn’t a learned behavior, it’s nature.
 
 
@Background Pony #050A  
Smolder in a tea-time dress kicks the ass of all possible disney princesses by virtue of simply not being owned by disney.

New Disney Princess :-)

@Daneasaur  

I keep thinking about the story she told at Hearth’s Warming.  

Given that dragons are apparently quick to jump on any perceived weakness and enjoy stories where that happens, you have to think that there’s a good chance she’s never revealed this particular desire to anyone in her entire life.

Any dragon can breathe fire and terrorize the countryside…it takes a real dragon to wear something this frilly fru-fru!

If this happens to Dash then I’d be able to take it well, but when it comes to Smolder, it just felt kinda mismatched.  
I mean, of course this is not ooc because this is canon, but it’s just too random and out of place.

This was pretty cute and, actually, was the first thing to make me have any sort of positive view on Smolder since she showed up.
 
I mean, look at that, she’s even got her pinky finger raised. Ponies don’t even have fingers, yet she knows about tea party mannerisms. This is wonderful as it implies she’s been sitting on this secret for a LONG time.

I also feel nice when dressed up as a princess, Smolder.

@Cyborg_pony  
When she gets outta here in the real world, she’s gonna find these ponies in Canterlot and burn their mansions down!

Welp, there goes her reputation.

What a cutty.