Talk:Friendship is Magic, part 1/@comment-24791619-20170516143307/@comment-24245960-20170516200500

Hmm...

As I look at the transcript now I seem to recall reading a conversation here on the wiki some time ago that was in effect a speculative debate which eventually came to the tentative conclusion that the use of the word "permanent" in that introductory narration was possibly a mistake on the part of the writers, especially since not long thereafter in the same episode it is said: "...on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape..."

Unfortunately for some theorists, that initial narration is in Nicole Oliver's Celestia voice, making it difficult to argue that, at the time of the banishment by the Elements of Harmony, Celestia actually thought that her sister's imprisonment would be anything other than permanent.

My interpretation of the stars that aid in Nightmare Moon's escape which are mentioned in the legend Twilight reads to me suggests the eventual passage of time since stars have been used to measure the passage of time since even much more primitive eras. Thus the stars aiding in her escape would simply be a poetic way of saying that she will be released after a specified time has passed, in this case the one thousand years.

However, your interpretation makes more sense from a storytelling perspective, making events less coincidental. If Nightmare Moon's imprisonment was indeed permanent (or perhaps "indefinite" would be the more appropriate word) Celestia could very well have seen Twilight as the perfect pony to help her restore her errant sister to her former self (with the aid of friends and the same Elements of Harmony that had imprisoned her) and thus she released Nightmare Moon herself using the power of her own star, the sun.

Either way, this is a fine example of why I love this show. It can be rather deep and complicated for a show supposedly intended just for little girls.