Twilight Sparkle - Friendship is Magic
Source: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Type: Aspergers/High Functioning
Status: Minority Headcanon
No where in canon or otherwise is Twilight Sparkle actually identified as autistic. There are actually many ambiguously/potentially autistic characters from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, such as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but there is only one who I’d consider an autism spectrum disorder to be the best explanation for their behavior. That would be Maud Pie, where the only realistic explanation I can find for her all consuming obsession with rocks is that she is on the autism spectrum. However, it’s pretty obvious she’s not actually intended to be autistic, and she’s just the foil to Pinkie Pie. Most her “autistic” traits, such as her monotonous voice and bluntness, are just to make her be more like a rock. It stands that cartoons are not realistic, so it’s okay for an ordinary character to only like one thing as long as they are meant to be flat, not rounded. It’s really a good thing that she isn’t the token aspie, as not only is she rather flat and likewise not a very good representative of the autism spectrum, but considering the moral of episode she appears in, some people might get the wrong idea. Essentially it explained that you aren't going to friends with everyone, even if you share similar interests, but that’s okay, and you like them. The problem is if Maud is interpreted as being autistic and the only autistic character, it may send the message you can’t actually be close friends with autistic people on a personal level, and can only admire what they do. So, considering all that and the fact Maud has so far only appeared in one episode, she’s a poor example to discuss.
So why, of all the ponies, am I writing about Twilight Sparkle? Aside from her being the lead character, interpreting her autistic directly complements the overarching plot of the series. If any character was meant to be autistic, it would be Twilight. The central premise of the show is that Twilight Sparkle, the personal protegee of the princess-regent/sun goddess Celestia has been sent to the town of Ponyville to study friendship. Essentially, despite being extremely smart academically, she’s lacking in the social department, and is being instructed in social skills. This is an expirience that may resonate with autistic people who may have attended specialized social skills classes in school. It certianly had an impact on me. Prior to seeing the show, I was embaressed of the fact I was autistic, especially the fact I had to take social skills classes, even long after I had gotten out of them. Seeing Twilight Sparkle, a genuinely likable lead character, in a simular situation taught me that I didn’t need to be ashamed and that when people said they liked me, they meant it. Later in the series she becomes the Princess of Friendship, which while not a typical expirience for people with autism, sends a powerful message if she’s interpretted as being socially disabled:just because someone is autistic doesn’t mean they can’t be a great friend (and yes, autistic people need friends just like anyone else), and that even someone disabled can end up excelling in an area that most people would find impossible without certain abilities.
Aside from that, she doesn’t really show any significant social impairment; the only real autistic traits she demonstrates are the class B criteria, basically what the internet seems to think Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is. She rigidly follows schedules, needs everything to organized, ect. And yes, these are actually symptoms of autism, not OCD, though the traits are common among people with OCD. It’s debatable if this impairs her daily functioning or is otherwise clinically significant enough to merit diagnosis, but even it is, she doesn’t show the more specifically autistic traits of stimming or a single all encompasing interest like Maud’s rocks. While that doesn’t rule out autism by any means, when with the relative lack of social impairiment Obessive Compusive Personallity Disorder seems to be a more appropriate fit. Still, I think she could be written as autistic without changing her personality at all. Aside from being female and a rounded character, she doesn’t exactly break any Aspergers stereotypes. While certainly not every autistic person fits the stereotype, there’s nothing wrong with that as many autistic people do in fact relate with her, and there needs be more autistic role models, especially female ones as autistic girls do in fact exist.
Despite the benefits of having her become officially labeled as autistic, I highly doubt the writers would do so even if they accepted the possibility. This is because mental illness and developmental disorders are essentially taboo in children’s entertainment. A perfect example of this has actually been demonstrated within the show, where a character initially came across as mentally disabled, but was then completely altered. I included a clip showing the change below. While there were some problematic elements with the scene, the change essentially sent the message that mentally disabled characters should not be represented whatsoever, which is much worse. Okay, stupid characters drawing from mental disability stereotypes are allowed; as long as they are male, as seen with the charaters of Snips and Snails. Apparently, girls aren’t allowed to be disabled, they have to be “perfect”, though the fact the stupid male trope exists solely to cause problems and be the butt of jokes doesn’t help either. The show did later having an episode alluding to physical disability, but even that was never directly mentioned. But even if she will never canonically autistic, she can still serve as an excellent role model to autistic people and othes, and if someone chooses to think that she is autistic in order to better relate, that is perfectly fine.
EDIT: Shortly after this was published, the episode “Testing, 123” came out, which suggests Rainbow Dash has ADHD, though of course it didn’t state such, so it is a possiblity the show may intentionally portray characters as autistic in the future. Then in one interview, someone asked if they had plans for an episode where the characters help a pony with autism, and they said they passed that idea around. I find that particular premise somewhat problematic, but it does go to show this type of stuff IS on their radar.
