Twilight Sparkle and The Crystal Heart Spell: The Thread

[Bellosh]

So, it turns out this book featuring my favorite pony was released a few days ago will be released on April 2 (silly advance copies). Do any of you plan on getting this book?

Since this baby has a few worldbuilding details in it, I'll list them as spoilers:

• Don't let the cover fool you: this story takes place after the Coronation, and thus the plot revolves around Princess Twi figuring out what exactly it means to be a princess. On that note, alicorns are mentioned as having the attributes of all three pony races, so yay earth ponies?
  
• Daring Do secretly suffers from ichthyophobia (a fear of fish), and in Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower asks several ex-adventurers like Professor A.B. Ravenhoof (based on Indiana Jones's mentor, Abner Ravenwood) on how to conquer her phobia for good.
  
• A muffin-eating pegasus makes a brief appearence and has a line of dialogue, but her name goes unmentioned.
  
• It's official: Cadance is Twi's Pegasister-in-law. You're reading that right, folks.
  

And now we have the most official backstory for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza yet. She was not born an alicorn, but as a pegasus instead. The infant Cadance was found in a forest one day by earth ponies who took her to live in their village. Then one day, a grumpy outcast enchantress resident named Prismia became so jealous of the love that everypony else in the village showed for one another that her special necklace took hold, and it made her drain the love away from the residents. Luckicly, Cadance was able to use her natural love and compassion for everypony to rehabiliate Prismia, and Cadance earned a trip to Princess Celestia's Magical Mystery Dimension in the process.

Adopted by Celestia to be raised as her royal niece, Princess Cadance didn't do too much at first other than attending Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, spreading love everywhere, and merely listen to suggestions and orders from other ponies. At first not confident that she could become a great leader, Cadance eventually figured out to listen to her heart and start making decisions for herself, which made the Crystal Heart Spell materialize. Utering the spell, Cadance realized that she'd be able to lead by showing Ture Love and Tolerance (you've read that right too) to all.

Enjoy your backstory dump of the day, ladies and gentlemen!

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Oh hey! Looks like I ordered this on Amazon awhile ago. So it'll be showing up at my house soon! Oh... oh wait. I ordered it with three other pony books (Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!, Under the Sparkling Sea, and Welcome to Equestria!) that aren't out yet. Shoot. Maybe I'll sneak in a Wal-Mart and just read it while I'm there...

[SteelEagle]

I thought it came out April 2nd?

Edit: It does. Someone got a hold of a copy and now we haz spoilers, but if you're ordering like a normal human being you won't be getting it just yet!

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Amazon says July, because apparently that's when at least one of the other books I ordered comes out.

[Bellosh]

Alright folks; apparently the book is out for real now...... so enjoy your Twilight fix!

[SteelEagle]

It's good for what it is. It's a simple story simply written with a simple goal- anyone here can knock it out in an hour of reading, possibly less. Some fun stuff is in it, good backstory.

[weesh]

What is the reading level?

Could a 7-year-old handle it?

[tacobob]

I found it on Sony's E-Book Reader store..So I'll probably get it..Unless it's a simple picture type book....And oddly enough, there's a rather high level of Pony fan fics on Sony's site..Which is kind of weird. :!:

[elsporko]

I wonder if they will stick to that backstory for Cadence. It is a good one

[SteelEagle]

What is the reading level?

Could a 7-year-old handle it?

Hmm, I'd say yes. Maybe one or two sections or a small subset of words that they may need help with, but it's definitely an easy enough read as long as we're talking about someone who wants to read/likes to read. I'd say 9-10 is the target range, but a seven-year old should be able to handle it.

@Tacobob- There is around 130 pages of actual pony story.

[tacobob]

More information on the other Pon books:

http://www.ew.com/ew...0687453,00.html

I rather like the art in the "Under the Sparkling Sea". The cover is a bit odd, but it's different.

The "The Elements of Harmony" book looks rather interesting..They're also putting out a mini figure guide as well.

[Lux]

I bought it yesterday from my local Barnes and Noble and read it cover to cover.

I was afraid that it would be watered down like some chapter books are, but thankfully it was not the case. The story was much in line with the show canon and it was a riveting tale indeed.

The part about Cadence's backstory wasn't really the main part of the story but a small one page background to her life. Still it was interesting. We also got to see two villains from the past, one we've seen in the show recently and one from season one.

My only gripe is that the cover on the book shows Twilight as a unicorn while in the book she had already become an Alicorn, but this was a minor problem.

All in all a great tale.

[weesh]

My only gripe is that the cover on the book shows Twilight as a unicorn while in the book she had already become an Alicorn, but this was a minor problem.

That is strange. Stranger still is that they used the most cliche Twilight pose. All they did was add a necklace. I guess cover art wasn't a priority.

[RarityDash]

Hmm, so I've read it now.

I liked it. Nice, breezy read. Of course, it did suffer noticeably from it's own format. The writing was rather simple and formulaic so as to easily be digested by the target audience. With the show and comic much of the storytelling is done visually, which makes it easier for all ages to take from it equally. The writing her however made it rather clear that this is a novel for young readers.

More over, some of the characterizations just seemed clumsy or off the mark. Twilight thankfully seemed okay, but most of her friends were fairly one note. Cadance probably had the best voice, which leant to her scenes. Some characters who were used seemed slightly out of place and clumsily utilized. The story also didn't quite have enough buildup for me and just sort of ended without resolving many of the questions lingering about Twi's fate (though perhaps it is best that that is left for the show).

That said, I'd still say it was an enjoyable story. The Cadance backstory stuff was very intriguing. I also like how Rarity seemed so informed, and though I have some qualms about how they were utilized, it was good to see certain other characters show up again to add some minor conflict. The writing was simple, but it also kept me engaged and smiling all the same with all its fun little references to stuff from the show. I can't say this is as essential as the comic or the show itself, but all the same it was a pleasing enough read.

[Corsair]

I liked the story. The pacing and story made it feel like it could have been an episode. Yes, the writing was simplistic. but that's to be expected because it is a children's book. There were only a couple things that were off about it, and most of those can be attributed to the fact that the book was written before Season 3. Yes, Twilight is a Princess, but events from S3 that would have changed certain characters and events were not included. My only real beef with the book was the portrayals of Trixie and Gilda. They were both largely out-of-character, and completely pointless story-wise. And what were they doing hanging around Ponyville anyway?

[tacobob]

Looks like they'll be putting out a second book from the series in July. This time, it's Pinkie's turn:

Pinkie Pie has always been a bit different from her very serious family. When she plans a Ponyville "rock" concert to support the family business, Pinkie's family doesn't like the idea. They just want her to be serious, for once. This is a real problem! Read along as Pinkie gets a little help from her friends in this original and brand-new adventure!

Geez. They really love using those old stock vectors.

[sleeps]

So, it turns out this book featuring my favorite pony was released a few days ago will be released on April 2 (silly advance copies). Do any of you plan on getting this book?

Since this baby has a few worldbuilding details in it, I'll list them as spoilers:

• Don't let the cover fool you: this story takes place after the Coronation, and thus the plot revolves around Princess Twi figuring out what exactly it means to be a princess. On that note, alicorns are mentioned as having the attributes of all three pony races, so yay earth ponies?
  
• Daring Do secretly suffers from ichthyophobia (a fear of fish), and in Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower asks several ex-adventurers like Professor A.B. Ravenhoof (based on Indiana Jones's mentor, Abner Ravenwood) on how to conquer her phobia for good.
  
• A muffin-eating pegasus makes a brief appearence and has a line of dialogue, but her name goes unmentioned.
  
• It's official: Cadance is Twi's Pegasister-in-law. You're reading that right, folks.
  

And now we have the most official backstory for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza yet. She was not born an alicorn, but as a pegasus instead. The infant Cadance was found in a forest one day by earth ponies who took her to live in their village. Then one day, a grumpy outcast enchantress resident named Prismia became so jealous of the love that everypony else in the village showed for one another that her special necklace took hold, and it made her drain the love away from the residents. Luckicly, Cadance was able to use her natural love and compassion for everypony to rehabiliate Prismia, and Cadance earned a trip to Princess Celestia's Magical Mystery Dimension in the process.

Adopted by Celestia to be raised as her royal niece, Princess Cadance didn't do too much at first other than attending Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, spreading love everywhere, and merely listen to suggestions and orders from other ponies. At first not confident that she could become a great leader, Cadance eventually figured out to listen to her heart and start making decisions for herself, which made the Crystal Heart Spell materialize. Utering the spell, Cadance realized that she'd be able to lead by showing Ture Love and Tolerance (you've read that right too) to all.

Enjoy your backstory dump of the day, ladies and gentlemen!

This is just further pushed my head cannon of Princess Cadance being Sombra daughter who escaped from the crystal empire before it vanished and her father went mad with power. Though sadly I won't be able to pick it up at thhe moment since I have to write a 30 page paper on social politics with the trans Mexican border.

[MegaCookie]

I saw it and it looked pretty cool. I thought i would get it and read it for fun. And the Pinkie one is also coming out, so I might read that. The stories are pretty good ideas.

[Windwaker]

Sweet Luna, this book was horrendous!

1. Twilight doesn't act like herself. (Well, she does, but that dialogue where she said yuck after Cadence told Twi about her having a crush on Shining made me yell out loud, WHAT? That is so immature!)

2. Cadences backstory was awful.

3. Random appearance from Gilda and Best Pony. WORKING TOGETHER? Best Pony would be like "The Great and Powerful Trixie would not volunteer in such petty pranks!" And walk away.

4. They treat Gilda as a regular bully, BUT SHE ONLY APPEARED IN ONE EPISODE!

5. Canon Alicorn Twilight, automatically bad in my book.

6. They don't have proper references to Derpy. They just mention a muffin eating Pegasus, and don't call her Derpy.

2/10. One point for appearance of Best Pony, and one for a MLP chapter book existing