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
@Morning Star: Yes I did. And I thought that exact same thing, actually. I learned this because I was doing some research on bats for my Bat Pony story - it features them being studied by a zoologist, so I figured it would be a good idea to get my details on them solid. Among other things. For example, the bat ponies in my story have a Tapetum Luminae, which is a reflective film over the eye that makes it easier to see in the dark, but hinders daytime vision - that's what cats have that makes their eyes glow in the dark. Bats of course don't have this - they hunt by echolocation. their eyes are actually perfect - but suited to the daytime, so they can't see at night.
Nature is so Fascinating, as it were.
I think the real problem is that explaining it would be much aside from the point of the episode. Or rather, explaining the function by which bats relocate and potentially fertilize seeds would be a weird and kind of pointless sidenote. IT's more the kind of thing you'd see on an education nature show.
edited 28th Dec '13 6:33:17 PM by kegisak
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.![]()
See, that is an acceptable argument to me. Not the Viewers Are Morons thing.
That's not my argument. My argument is that a lengthy discussion of bat-poop would raise a few eyebrows from censors.
Except at no point was anything said about ANYTHING the bats did. just something about, the fact they didn't eat the seeds, meant that new apple trees would grow. Well, yeah but hat would happen without them at all. AJ could plant the seeds AND enjoy the apples as she wanted without them. They didn't give a single, solid reason why the bats were useful, or at least of more use then it would cost to feed them.
you know, the Saddle Arabians!
I distinctly recall Fluttershy saying that the bat spread trees would grow bigger and have better apples than normal planted trees
edited 28th Dec '13 6:52:35 PM by Blissey1
XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!How? Why? And again, this is an orchard, you'd want better control over how many trees grow, where they grow, and when, then you'd get just letting the bats fly around leaving the seeds everywhere. But that aside, all they needed to do was offer an actual reason for this and the ending would have made a lot more sense.
At no point was anything about that even hinted at. Fluttershy very specifically said, that somehow the bats not eating the seeds but spitting them back up. that whatever did it was the result of THAT action alone, not the bats living near the trees. And if that WAS the issue, then it would also effect the existing trees, not JUST the ones that grew from seeds from apples they had sucked dry.
It was, somehow, having the bats be the ones who 'planted' the seeds that would make them better, not them shitting on the seeds. I just really want would have liked some explanation for how, or if it was even true to accept that Fluttershy was in the right the whole time.
Well, for most flying creatures that eat plants, it's the fact that the seeds aren't digested, and come out in droppings. That's actually a reason why hot peppers evolved as they did; birds don't have anything to register the "heat" from capsaicin, and animals that would break down the seeds do, so avoid the peppers.
Anyway, since the bats aren't seen swallowing the sees, it must be a chemical or enzyme in the saliva in particular.
And I'm fine with that being the answer.
edited 28th Dec '13 7:06:02 PM by Enlong
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Easy. The bat's salvia is the fertilizer. Salvia of some bats in real life has special features as well, like salvia of Desmodus Rotundus is used as an component to treat apoplexy.
It's really not that much of a stretch that these bats's salvia is a fertilizer.
edited 28th Dec '13 7:06:20 PM by Luminosity
And all the episode needed to do was address that, explain some reason why it worked. not in depth, but at least something. Even then, it would have been fine if not for then expecting us to believe Fluttershy was right that in having AJ lose a fairly large part of her orchard, as well as risk the bats leaving their area and eating the rest of the farm, for something were never actually explained really was a benefit.
not to mention, again, the whole while it works in nature, an orchard needs better control over things then the bats would provide.
So other topic, Flutterfang, permanent change, or just one off joke?
not saying they can't, just if that WAS the case, the episode failed to explain that.
edited 28th Dec '13 7:10:40 PM by Seraphem
How far does it need to be explained to be believed?
Because I was fine wih accepting it when Fluttershy said that the seeds they spat would grow bigger and produce more (since she knows animals). I really don't think specifying that it was the saliva would have been the sticking point for me beleiving it.
edited 28th Dec '13 7:12:50 PM by Enlong
I have a message from another time...Wow, I finally got a chance to watch the episode. Thoughts:
- Holy one second sunrise
- Did Applejack just say heck?
- Rarity: When you go big, you really go for the double entrendres
- Song! Song!
- So they're all on AJ's side. That means F Luttershy must be right
- Is it me or was Pinkie grinning during the song unlike all the others?
- Twilight: The bad news is that this is the same spell I used on the Parasprites
- Is Fluttershy hanging by her tail?
- Looks like prehensile hair isn't limited to tails
- Twilight casts summon Scifi display
- The big apple is going to figure into trapping Fluttershy somehow
- Is she using the stare on herself unintentionally or soemthing? I thought she controlled it now
- Also Fluttershy, that is totally not how ecology works. But whatever, guess we need a win-win situation for the happy ending.
Overall a decent episode, thought not quite as good as Castle Maneia.
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play![]()
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It did address that, but a lengthy explanation would distract from the episode and make for a Viewers Are Morons moment.
edited 28th Dec '13 7:13:30 PM by Luminosity
You mean you didn't use a Master Ball? HOW? Teach me your secrets!
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's PlayWait really? I missed that.
Bunnicula got them.
That's not really a stinger, just an ending joke. It's not in the same style as the pony of shadow or the fluttervamp.
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's PlayIt occured to me. The vampire fruit bats behave similarly to the Wrinklers in Cookie Clicker. Gotta love fantasy ecology.
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's PlayNo it didn't, it was just a single line from Fluttershy, and no actual reasoning shown. At first, I wasn't even clear she was saying the trees would somehow be better. Simply that there would be more of them. All it would take is some actual, concrete, reason why bat planted trees would be better. And not just better, but better enough to justify losing a fairly large chunk of the orchard permanently. As well as go through the hassles involved with not having control over where and when new apple trees are planted.
really that last is my biggest issue aside from no reason given. How is having trees planted at random a good thing? you'd end up with to many trees, and trees planted in odd groups or without space around them for them to grow and to tend to/harvest them.
The episode was just to desperate to make Fluttershy be 'right' but it never provided a good reason why she was.

First off, children are not morons. They're ignorant of a lot of things, but they can learn. Heck, that's pretty much a full-time job for them.
Secondly, if they don't get something, that's what parental supervision is for. A TV show is not a nanny or a schoolteacher, and if some parent tries to use it that way, they're doing it wrong.
This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...