Well I do believe that Star Swirl was based off of Merlin, but Canterlot was basted off of a Castle in Lord of the Ring.
Kinda off on that. True, it was Clovers magic that was used to save the day, but it would not work with out the help from the earth pony and the pegasus. So why are they not getting to rule and why are the other 3 rulers getting fired from their jobs? It would just work a lot better if they stayed united and worked in as a group. The story just sounds off to me if a unicorn is the ruler in the end, because it shows that they are better than earth and pegasus.
Still the idea might work, I'm just not believing it tell something in the show or comic happens.
You do bring up valid points. My personal headcanon regarding the design of Canterlot based off of the LOTR castle, is that it's specifically the design used, and not the actual history of the castle (more for looks than anything else). The big reason I consider there to be relevance to Camelot is the amount of times Starswirl is brought up in the show or alluded to.
As for the three species coming together like that, yes it is true that each species had a big part to do in defeating the Windigoes. However, if we're to take the play to be literal in several ways, then Clover has a display of magic that is very similar to that of Twilight's (super-mega-powerful) and the Elements of Harmony, and we also know that, because of Twilight's abilities, she eventually ascended to become an Alicorn with the help of her friends. (people have actually expressed similar issues with this, saying they prefer if Twilight stay the way she were instead of "rising" above her friends)
The connection I made was this: Clover has reason to become an Alicorn. However, we only know of one other Alicorn that could ever match the description, that being Celestia.
Of course, you're right in saying there isn't enough evidence to say if this is true or not, so we'll just have to wait and see if there's any merit to this theory at all (hopefully with that evasive backstory episode).
Discord is what remains of Celestia's and Luna's *father*.
It's still possible to blend the two theories together, if you assume that the Hearth's Warming Eve tale is leaving out what the author thought was 'irrelevant' or politically dangerous information, like Clover the Clever actually being an alicorn rather than just an unicorn. And Starswirl being Clover's *father* rather than just her mentor.
Of course if you want togo weird places with other non-cannon information; earlier generations of MLP toys had a Star Swirl, but as a mare. My thought being that she disguised herself as a stallion (why it's always Starswirl *the Bearded*, rather than just Starswirl), to get the respect she needed. In which case maybe Starswirl did manage to ascend to alicorn-hood, and was the *Princess* in the love poison fairy tale. That wouldmake Starswirl the princesses' mother, of course...
Those are some pretty interesting theories. The one that I have a slight issue with, is that Starswirl was female and needed to disguise herself as a male to gain respect. Granted, it's entirely possible, but from everything we've heard so far Equestrian society seems to be the complete opposite in regard to the value of a certain gender's social status. Aside from the fact that we haven't seen a single male Alicorn in the show, there's also the case of mares running the majority of jobs in the workplace (with a few exceptions).
However, it could be explained if there was a radical shift in cultural views over the last thousand years (possibly due to Discord?).
Personally, I like to believe that Starswirl couldn't become an Alicorn because one, he wasn't female, and also because he wasn't as in-tune with the concept of "Friendship is Magic". Then, if I were to expand this theory into conspiracy territory, I would say he was consumed by the desire to become an Alicorn, but with the solution to his spell always just beyond his reach, he chose the next best thing: The Spirit of Chaos.
Though one thing does intrigue me (going off a little bit on what you originally said). One possible theory is that there was actually a generation gap (I believe it probably would only be one generation, seeing as we don't know of any other rulers of Equestria besides Celestia), it might solve several holes in this theory. It could be that Celestia (as well as Luna) is actually Clover's daughter, after Clover herself became an Alicorn. This would establish the theory that Celestia and Luna were born as Alicorns, and have always been Alicorns, as well as the possibility that they were born right around the time of Discord.
What would make it even more interesting is if Discord was in fact Starswirl, and that he was once married to Clover. Clover had Celestia and Luna without Discord's knowledge, making it so that Celestia and Discord had no true idea that they are in fact related, and that Celestia was never fully aware that Discord was in fact Starswirl. Of course, as amazing as this sounds, it seems it might be a little dark and mature for a kids show, (as well as complex) but who knows? The show has surprised me before.
(BTW relating to the theory that the unnamed princess could be involved with the story, it is definitely possible. However, I have heard somewhere, i'm not sure where, that making her an Alicorn was actually an animation mistake. Again though, it's possible, (might've even been done on purpose) because we know that the staff will almost flat-out lie about certain things if it means not revealing spoilers.)
But there is one thing that might, just might,speak against your theory.A thing that has been established as a strong factor in the show sincethen. Not even to mention, that the writers possiblydidn't have any concept for the wholebackground at that time.
Destiny.
Every stronger characterized pony appears to have a hint in its name if it goes for special talent and destiny. Of course, Celestia could only be Clover's title/name as a princess. But something tells me, that Celestia and Luna have always been Celestia and Luna. Just without wings and ethereal manesbut with their cutiemarks in the beginning. That they knew Starswirl personally is a thing that is most likely true. How else should Celestia have gotten his scrapbook? It is the most likely way.
It is true, that Clover doesn't seem to quite fit as the name of Celestia. However, we aren't actually aware of what Clover's true talents were, or her destiny, because ironically enough it was Twilight that played her in the play. If, for whatever reason, (be it Celestia didn't want others to know of her past, specifically enemies, or another reason) Celestia wanted to change her name in the history books, Clover the Clever could be a good Pseudonym.
Also, I personally like to believe that Lauren Faust thought the history of Equestria out ahead of time, and that it's only up to the writers to think of creative ways to implement the stories into the show. Because if that weren't true, then there would most assuredly be huge continuity gaps in the future of the series. Thankfully, evidence so far has shown minimal conflicts in canon, so we can assume that there is an actual established storyline from the creation of Equestria, up until the point of the return of Nightmare Moon.
Edited by TheGr3ml1n
