Talk:Friendship is Magic animated media/@comment-27578467-20170316032036/@comment-24245960-20170316035659

I don't think you missed anything. I think the mind control issue in regard to this pair of episodes is simply inferred and assumed by many fans because they interpret what is actually seen in the episodes in different ways. As I think we can all agree, the cutie marks of ponies are a direct representation of their personalities. Therefore, it is my interpretation that by stealing their cutie marks Starlight was in effect stealing their very personalities, effectively achieving her goal of making them all equal by in essence making them all into "blank slates". While this made them all seem like mind-controlled zombies or robots, I think a better analogy is that they simply became like clones with no distinct differentiating personalities. But, while they were not actually being controlled per se by Starlight, the removal of their personalities also removed their will to be individuals and any desire they might have had to escape the situation on their own.