Twilight's original home in Canterlot Twilight lived in Canterlot until Princess Celestia sent her and Spike to Ponyville to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and make some friends. Twilight befriends the rest of the main characters, and remains in Ponyville to continue to study the magic of friendship.
In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, Twilight says that Princess Cadance was her foalsitter when she was a filly.
Twilight tells the Cutie Mark Crusaders how she got her cutie mark in The Cutie Mark Chronicles.
She says that when she was a filly, she studied magic on her own and
wanted to attend Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. At the
entrance exam, Twilight was told to use magic to hatch Spike's egg, but her magic got out of control when she was startled by Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom. Princess Celestia took note of her magical abilities and made Twilight her personal protégé.
In Magical Mystery Cure,
Twilight Sparkle completes an unfinished magic spell with her deep
understanding of friendship. Princess Celestia tells her that Twilight
is ready for the next stage of her life. She is transformed into an Alicorn and crowned a princess.
Love of books
In Friendship is Magic, part 1, Twinkleshine
says Twilight is more interested in books than friends. Even after
Twilight becomes good friends with the rest of the main characters, she
continues to read and consult books. For example, she confidently joins a
marathon after reading several books about running in Fall Weather Friends.
Rationality
Twilight attempts to observe and measure Pinkie Sense omens. Twilight tries to be rational in unfamiliar situations. During the investigation in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, Twilight tells Pinkie Pie to stop making wild accusations, and they work together to find clues and solve the mystery.
However, Twilight can be illogical in stressful situations. In Swarm of the Century, she hysterically suggests building a replica of Ponyville in less than a minute before Princess Celestia can see the parasprite infestation.
Twilight tends to be skeptical of unproven claims, such as her friends' belief that Zecora is an evil enchantress in Bridle Gossip, and Pinkie's "Pinkie Sense" in Feeling Pinkie Keen.
Knack for organization
Twilight shows her knack for organization in Winter Wrap Up.
When the Winter Wrap Up becomes inefficient and uncoordinated, she
organizes the teams and ensures that winter is wrapped up on time. Mayor Mare gives Twilight the official title of "All-Team Organizer".
Twilight Sparkle is exceptionally talented at magic. In a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Princess Celestia tells Twilight that she has never seen a unicorn with so much raw ability.
As talented as Twilight is, her spells occasionally misfire or fail. When she casts a spell on the parasprites in Swarm of the Century so they won't eat food, they begin to consume items which aren't food, and subsequently destroy Ponyville. When she tries to assist with Winter Wrap Up by animating a plow with a "come-to-life" spell, she loses control of it and makes a mess. In The Return of Harmony Part 1, she tries to reverse Discord's strange effects with a "fail-safe spell", but it fails. In Magic Duel she has difficulty performing an age spell, which she says is only for "the highest level unicorns".
Twilight's horn glowing bright magenta.
In the first season, Twilight's horn usually glows white or a faint
shade of purple, and the objects she is manipulating glow white, purple,
or magenta. When she manipulates multiple objects at once, several
other colors are used as well, for example in the gem-finding scene in A Dog and Pony Show. Starting with the second season's third episode, Twilight's magic is uniformly depicted using a bright magenta glow.
Twilight and Spike in their hot air balloon. Twilight rides a purple hot air balloon in the title sequence, and uses the same balloon to fly with her friends to Cloudsdale for Rainbow Dash's competition in Sonic Rainboom. In The Return of Harmony Part 2, the ponies use it to fly with Fluttershy in order to capture the brainwashed Rainbow Dash. The balloon is also used on other occasions.
Family
Parents
Twilight's parents. Twilight's parents first appear in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. In a flashback, they excitedly nod their approval when Princess Celestia offers to make Twilight her apprentice. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, they attend Shining Armor's wedding and are moved to tears. They attend Twilight's princess coronation in Magical Mystery Cure.
Twilight Sparkle's mother resembles the notable G1 pony Twilight, also known as Galaxy in the original My Little Pony television series. Twilight Sparkle's father resembles the G1 pony named Nightlight, but gender-swapped.
Young Twilight and her brother, Shining Armor. Twilight reveals that she has an older brother, Shining Armor, in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1. She sings B.B.B.F.F. (Big Brother Best Friend Forever), a song about their close bond and how much she misses him after she moves to Ponyville.
Twilight and her friends in Equestria Girls In My Little Pony Equestria Girls, Twilight and Spike teleport to a human world to retrieve the stolen element of magic from Sunset Shimmer.
Twilight and Spike enter Canterlot High School and meet the human
counterparts of their Ponyville friends. When Twilight discovers that Principal Celestia
will award the crown to the Princess of the Fall Formal dance, she
decides to run for Princess. She wins despite a smear campaign
orchestrated by Sunset Shimmer, and receives the crown at the dance.
However, Sunset Shimmer takes the crown by force and transforms into a
rage-filled demonic creature. She hypnotizes the students, whom she
plans to use as an army to invade Equestria. When she attacks Twilight,
Twilight's friends shield her and inadvertently activate the magic of
friendship. They defeat Sunset Shimmer, who is remorseful for her
actions.
After the dance, Twilight and Spike return to Equestria. Twilight
feels more confident about being a princess than before. She bumps into
Flash Sentry,
who she encountered several times in the human world, and blushes.
Twilight's friends tease her for having a crush, but she denies it.
In the IDW comics,
Twilight Sparkle is depicted as a wingless unicorn even in comic books
released as recently as November 13, 2013; IDW editor Bobby Curnow had
not heard about Twilight becoming an Alicorn princess until the public
announcement in late January 2013,[5]
and wrote on the IDW Publishing Forums on May 27, 2013 "As of right
now, I have the same knowledge about Princess Twilight as any of you
guys. So it's not something I would want to touch in the comics until
after I better see how Season 4 handles it."[6] Twilight is depicted as an Alicorn in the preview of Little Brown's chapter bookTwilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell included in both IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #6 and My Little Pony Micro-Series Issue #3, on a display shown on My Little Pony Micro-Series Issue #8New York Comic Con exclusive Comics World cover RE, on a sketch card bundled with one of the deluxe hardcover releases of The Return of Queen Chrysalis[7] and shown in My Little Pony Art Gallery page 15, on a My Little Pony: The Magic Beginscover,[8] on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #12's Hot Topiccover, and on a My Little Pony Micro-Series Volume 1 cover.[9] She is to be depicted as an Alicorn princess in the comics from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #13 onward;[10][11]
Curnow wrote on the IDW Publishing Forums in late September 2013 "We've
got the season 4 scripts, and I've read a good chunk of them, and feel
like I have a good idea how alicorn Twilight will be handled."[12]
"A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I
realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about
you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my
friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by
the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the
sixth element: the element of... magic!"
"Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with
her friends, maybe even before she's met them. If you're feeling lonely
and you're still searching for your true friends, just look up in the
sky. Who knows, maybe you and your future best friends are all looking
at the same rainbow."
"A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia
sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship, which is
something I didn't really care much about. But now, on a day like today,
I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the
friendships I've made with all of you. Each one of you taught me
something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful.
Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you,
friends. Thank you, everypony!"
"The crown may be upon your head, Sunset Shimmer, but you
cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of
all: the magic of friendship!"
Twilight and her friends in Equestria Girls
