A thread to discuss My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the tie-in media.
All of the usual forum rules
apply. In addition, please remember that the thread is discussing a kids' show, and it's primarily focused on the work itself, not the fanfic — in particular, we don't want to see lewdness creeping in.
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM
Fun Fact: Today's ep WAS written by Merriwether Williams
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@Starscream: Ah, fair enough.
So, Ponies actually do have a cultural conception of vampires? And they do look like the bat ponies, huh? That means interesting things for my fic... makes me glad I cut out the story-in-a-story that opened up the comparison of the bat ponies to Mig-Mites(something I had made up for it; a dead pony that eats other ponies to reverse it's rot, but even as a 'live' pony still looks strange). Vampire is much easier.
I wonder what this episode means for the actual bat ponies, though? It's possible that Luna simply ascribed the qualities of a vampire fruit bat onto them for intimidation purposes, but Fluttershy was feral when it happened to her. Did Luna have to re-train them? OR are they still considered a different race? If there's a cultural conception of vampires, I'm gonna say probably the latter - I'd be willing to bet that Vampires as a thing came about because somepony saw a bat-pony and the stories got out of hand, like how unicorns are just Rhinos and Centaurs were just mounted soldiers.
Also, Fluttershy's fangs sticking around is interesting. I .hope they call back to that in the future, actually. It's also neat that they seemed to treat the Stare as actual magic, judging from Twilight's little diagram there.
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.I've considered The Stare actual magic for ages. And yes, I hope that the episode's ending becomes important later.
Flutters wasn't a vampire though. Closer to a werebat, only a pony instead of a human, so hengs instead of were.
Also, my headcanon is that the batponies are a tribe created by Celestia (partially as a welcome back present for Luna). This epsisode ... kind of supports the fact that using magic to channel batness into pegais has those kind of effects and that ... as I was saying ... Celestia is lucky it worked as well as it did in her case. (Also, in my headc anon, she used Spike's egg as a catalyst)
@ Gwen: Yeah, it's strange that it went to broadcast credited to Meghan. That was sloppy.
Good heavens, a Merriwether Williams episode! Has the fandom imploded yet?
I'm glad they went with the sanctuary plan in the end. It's really best for Applejack's profits in the long run. And it's not as though the trees whose apples are taken by bats die, either. In fact, the sanctuary is probably going to impact their sales less than thr contest with Flim and Flam did.
What do the bats do that makes their discarded seeds grow better, anyway?
I have a message from another time...@Sereg: Oh, so you consider them to be dragon ponies instead of bat ponies?
I'd actually considered that angle myself, in fact. It's kind of a neat idea. I dunno though. I still kinda like them as a unique race, or perhaps some kind of mutation or uncommon mutt. Given the... uniqueness of this situation, I'd say it's difficult to say how this fits into the canon of batponies, but maybe they'll touch on it again in the future. Who knows? It'd be cute to see Fluttershy bonding with the batponies, though.
And yeah, I'd considered the Stare magic as well, but it's cool to see it officially regarded as magic. Combined with the Pinkie Sense it kind of opens the floodgates for uncommon, unique magics. Or Magical 'talents', perhaps.
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IT's actually a fairly common function of the animal and plant kingdom. A lot of animals have enzymes in their stomach or saliva or feces that help to fertalize a seed, so one that's been through an animal's system winds up being healthier than one that just fell or was planted. My guess is the Vampire Fruit Bat's saliva has some kind of special chemical in it - which would be necessary for them to liquify apples that fast - that treats the seeds in a special way. A sort of super-gro thingy.
edited 28th Dec '13 1:34:01 PM by kegisak
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.The fandom is too distracted by Flutterbat to implode yet.
There's a whiner in the comments on EQD throwing the predictable "Waaah! Everything Merriwether Williams writes is crap!" hissy fit. And getting upvotes. *sigh*
I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat! Hey, come hang out!presumably they expell the seeds that helps fertilize the seeds and makes them produce slightly more apples.
And, if you get too close, they expel the seeds like a machine gun.
Well I didn't think the episode was that great so I guess I'm less inclined to defend her. Also I thought it wasn't that great while we still thought that Mc Carthy, in case you were thinking I shifted opinions with the writers.
edited 28th Dec '13 2:17:20 PM by Mio
I watched the episode and really liked it. I thought it was a great Green Aesop about how sometimes animals that seem to be pests can actually have a symbiotic relationship with the plants they seem to be destroying (spreading and fertilizing the seeds by pooping them out, or spitting them out in this case), and also a lesson about short-term vs. long-term solutions. Of course, I'm also curious to see whether or not Fluttershy's new vampire-ish traits stick or if it was just an ending joke.
I also liked the continuity nods and that it paired up Fluttershy and Applejack, because I don't think they've ever had an episode together before. I'd like to see more different pairings within the Mane 6 like this, and it's also a conflict I was curious to see them have. They both love to be outdoors and work with nature, but Applejack's approach is to "tame" or control nature as a farmer, while Fluttershy befriends animals as their equal. There were two other notable conflicts between them that I can remember. The first was in Applebuck Season, where Applejack treated rounding up the bunnies like rounding up cattle and ended up frightening them, although this was partially because she was too tired and impatient to listen to Fluttershy. The other was in Winter-Wrap Up where Applejack wanted the snow melted faster so that the crops could be planted, while Fluttershy was thinking more about the animals that lived in dens and holes and wanted to make sure their homes didn't get flooded. In general, Applejack tends to think of getting things done quicker/short-term solutions while Fluttershy is more patient and tries to take things slowly, which fits their personalities, too.
edited 28th Dec '13 2:58:32 PM by Rainbow
OK, time to watch the episode myself.
You know, this is the first episode for a while that I know nothing about bar the title. So I have no idea what to expect. Bat ponies? Fruit bats? Vampires? Normal bats? Baseball?
So, Applejack has herself some bad apples. I'm guessing fruit bats got them then.
Yep, fruit bats. Shame, I was hoping for some baseball.
Wait, Vampire fruit bats? "I want to suck your jam" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, if you ask me.
Fluttershy is now trying to reason with vampires. Well, It was nice knowing her. (Still, If you like vampires in your fanfics, I can see the basis for Fluttershy becoming one right now)
I'm fairly sure that spitting seeds at someone means no, Fluttershy.
A Song? This one is strangely relevant to one of the things I'm learning at Uni, the conflict between agriculture and nature. I'm kind of on Fluttershy's side on this one, wiping them out seems to be harmful in the long run if Fluttershy is to be believed, so finding ways to coexist should be a priority. Or at least finding a natural predator to keep the population size in check so they can't cause too much damage.
Damn, everyone is against Fluttershy on this one. I feel sorry for her... (Also, Pinkie's upbeat mugshot compared to everyone else's was surprisingly funny)
Now I expect the "fruitbat roundup" remix posthaste fandom!
RD still really likes that cider. Which I still think it alcoholic. Because it's funnier that way.
Twi has a plan! It just requires one of the greatest forces in Equestria... Still, Assuming it only stops them eating the fruit from AJ's trees, it's a nice solution.
I wonder just how important the apples are for Ponyville. It they are a vital food supply/trade good, then I can see why they are going for less peaceful method...
Now, Is this going to work, or is it going to be another Parasprite incident?
Wait, Do we have vampire-shy now? Because that's awesome! (Guess I was right about the vamp-shy fics coming in, but for the wrong reason.)
I'm kinda curious as to what these bats eat now that apples are out of the diet... Other fruit I guess.
Yep, Vamp-shy. Well, I'm pleased, since I love vampire stories. (Something something [[Twilight]] bashing)
It's funny that the spooky episode is aired at Christmas...
Ok, I love AJ's 'holy shit' face here. don't blame her, considering.
Wow, We have full on Vamp-shy here, bat-wings and all. :D
Vamp-shy sounds better that Flutter-bat if you ask me, Rarity.
They don't eat ponies? Aww... Well, It won't stop the fanfic writers anyway.
Man, she's going more and more bat.
AJ priorities friends over her apples. That's good to see.
I can't help but think that Fluttershy is thinking "Holy crap, what happened to my hair" when she stares at herself in the mirror here.
Rabbit Season! Duck Season! Wait, wrong show...
Yay, bat sanctuary! It's not like AJ has much left to lose while building it...
So, Flutters still has the fang? So much Vampire fanfic potential!
Well, Episode is over. That was fun. And I actually got vampires out of it, abet of the vegetarian kind. But that's OK.
TL;DR Rainbow Dash is an Alcoholic.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.I might have been imagining it, actually, but near the end did anybody else think that the others were looking at Dash kinda like, "This is a bit excessive, girl"?
Of course it's totally unlikely they'd ever legitimately treat Dash's love of cider as a problem, but its's still kinda funny to think of.
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.Twi has a plan!
Others: Good idea! (Translation: "We're screwed!")
I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat! Hey, come hang out!

@Kegisak Well technically The Nightmare Before Christmas does take place during Christmas so it's not that out of place really.
"Transform and Roll out!" Optimus Prime