#cat's been difficult to write tonight anyways and alina's quiet so

[starsweepers]

it isn't uncommon for people to equate the g5 ponies to their "counterparts" in g4, but i have to say i don't agree with the fandom's general view that hitch is apple jack's counterpart and misty is flutter's. not that i fully disagree - i can see entirely where the viewpoint comes from, but in my opinion it makes more sense to flip flop them. misty is apple jack's counterpart and hitch is flutter's.

in the way most people view it, i imagine it pertains more to their personalities and that the elements they represent still fit: hitch is a sheriff so honesty is obviously critical to uphold in order to find justice, and then misty's kindness was what made it too hard for her to truly be opaline's perfect student.

however here's my two cents ( and this is entirely a matter of opinion and ultimately not important but i have this on the brain and it kind of encompasses some thoughts on misty i have ).

hitch being kindness/the counterpart to flutter is not only represented in his affinity with animals, but in the overall core of his character. in the movie, it isn't honesty he seeks or even cares about. he wants to just protect ponies and protect sunny, thinking she's taking herself on essentially a suicide mission. it's his kindness to sunny that keeps him linked to her. his loyalty, really, but zipp is the better role for that, a spiel i'm not going to go into here. hitch's compassion he displays for others is what helps him relent to sunny's cause, even when he still quite clearly doesn't really believe her on the unity crystals and magic. however, he does believe in being good and doing what's right, in making sure everyone is being treated fairly. it's kindness and patience that allows him to be a good sheriff, to take care of sparky, and to be a loyal friend. honesty imo just isn't really his click overall.

as for misty, had years of lies and deceit and being tormented, living in an honest world is something vital to her. and the story of the one who was lying and being a "traitor" to the group representing honesty is a good spin in my opinion. because really she was seeking honesty, she was trying to pursue what she thought was the truth. and it was by learning the actual truth that her tune started to change, and she realized what she wanted to stand for, who she wanted to be, and what friendship really was. honesty is so integral to where her mindset now is, and while she still "lies" on occasion with her nervous flubs, i think ultimately she would always come back to the truth and do what she could to make it known and understood. she doesn't like when the others use underlying tactics to accomplish things and prefers more straightforward approaches, or even being upfront. in one of the comics, if i'm recalling correctly, she even tries to confront an "enemy" head on while her friends craft a trick to catch the foe, believing that being honest and forward would get the result needed instead. she very much becomes a voice for "don't lie" amongst the group.

but yeah anyways, this really isn't an important concept in the grand scheme of things lmao. but it was on my brain and so i wanted to ramble about it. i'm not even fully positive what the creators imagined the counterparts to be, just going off all the fanart things. so yeah, in my take, if the elements were to be the same between generations ( but i think new elements also work for the group ), i think misty reflects honesty more than kindness.