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
@Ike: I really liked it, apart from AJ doing a turnaround in the last 2 minutes. But still, the bulk of the episode was really enjoyable. I'm glad we finally got a half-decent AJ episode.
Reaction Image RepositoryFluttershy: We were just wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind leaving that really big apple alone?
\*bat spits out a barrage of seeds* (Translation: "Bite me, Butterfly Butt.")
I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat! Hey, come hang out!Okay, this is my take on it:
Applejack's main opposition to the sanctuary plan had more to do with her total lack of sympathy for the bats than realistic projections about how much damage they could do to the orchard. Her knowledge of the bats' capacity for destruction is second hand, and she is known to be hyperbolic and prone to extremes when it comes to the farm and her family. See Over a Barrel and Apple Family Reunion for examples. Although the bats do represent a clear danger to the apple crop, AJ is likely overstating it due to her prejudice against the bats (which, again, she only has second hand experience with).
Dealing with Flutterbat forced AJ to reassess her prejudice against the bats, since one of her friends was now exhibiting the same behaviors she despised the bats for, and it was partially her own fault for forcing Fluttershy into the situation against her wishes. Her sacrifice of the mega-apple as bait to save Fluttershy clearly demonstrates her change of heart. Having backed down from her kneejerk attitude toward the bats, AJ was willing to reassess the pros and cons of building the sanctuary more rationally, and with new-found sympathy for their nature. In the end, she decided the risk was smaller than she had initially thought, and was willing to take it.
Plus, if all else fails, she can get Twilight to appeal to Celestia to partially subsidize Sweet Apple Acres as a nature preserve. :P
Except, we see none of that. her caring for Flutterbat had NOTHING to do with the bat part, and everything to do with the Flutter part. We SAW just how much damage the bats did in just one day, and they were completely uncontrollable. Nothing happened to change any of these facts, and yet, we're supposed to suddenly believe this is a valid plan, despite again, having zero proof that anything had changed from when it wasn't?
@Wryte: I can see that that's what they were going for, but it came across more as AJ being pragmatic and Fluttershy being overly sentimental. It might just be because I have lots of relatives who are farmers, but a bad pest infestation can completely wipe out a crop if it isn't taken care of, so I didn't really feel like AJ was overstating the damage potential, especially if it had happened before. They were exaggerating her personal dislike of the bats (i.e. painting them as actively malicious rather than just hungry and inconvenient), but I never really thought that her assessment of the threat was particularly exaggerated. I mean, the episode takes place over like a day and a half, and a sizeable portion of Sweet Apple Acres was destroyed.
@Seraphem: To clarify again, my issue wasn't that Fluttershy was right so much as that she managed to convince AJ to see her side without presenting any real argument. Whether AJ or Fluttershy was right to begin with is up to interpretation and isn't really relevant to the episode. The problem is that AJ has X information and decides A, and then switches to B while still having the same info.
edited 28th Dec '13 8:42:05 PM by JapaneseTeeth
Reaction Image RepositoryI realize it's a bit of a joke now how AJ's barn is continually destroyed, but has anyone gone through and counted the number of times the orchard itself has been in serious jeopardy? I mean you have this episode, the Apples nearly losing it in a bet, Spike stealing all the apples and leaves, Pinkie nearly killing all the trees during her stint as an Apple, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.
edited 28th Dec '13 8:47:09 PM by IrishZombie
Yeah, I can't really fault AJ for wanting to be cautious, given how often the farm nearly gets wrecked completely.
Also Steamy humanized Flutterbat.
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No. Twilight cannot dance.
edited 28th Dec '13 8:59:47 PM by JapaneseTeeth
Reaction Image RepositoryAnyways AJ was legit worried that the stockpile for winter would have been decimated to the point where she'd need to ration food again.
Maniacpaint:human!Flutterbat (HOT)
edited 28th Dec '13 8:56:42 PM by AceOfScarabs
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!

@Ike: Read the last 2 pages.
We are all made of star stuff. Very, very weird star stuff.