Mythril Moth's Pet Peeves of Fiction: Issue #3 · 11:37am Jul 29th, 2014
In recent weeks, I've made blog posts about some of my pet peeve plot tropes and cliches in fiction in general.
Now, I'm going to list some of my pet peeves specific to MLP:FiM fanfiction.
PONIES AND EATING MEAT
One of the most annoying floating trope (and I've even slid on the edge of this one myself once) is ponies' attitudes about meat.
Horses eat meat.
By nature horses are herbivorous. But by habit? They're omnivores. And they like meat. It's incredibly bad for them in any sufficient quantity, but they do like the taste and WILL eat it if it's available to them.
Now, it's reasonable for Equestrian ponies to be upset about eating beef, because cows are sapient in Equestria. But it makes no sense for ponies to have an all-out "OH MY GOD EATING MEAT IS MURDER YOU SICK BASTARD" attitude, and here's why:
1. There's ample evidence within the show that Equestrian ponies do, in fact, occasionally eat meat. Most of this evidence is related to pork and turkey.
2. There are carnivorous creatures in Equestria, some of which ARE sapient, so the concept of eating meat is not exactly alien.
3. If the meat didn't come from a sapient creature, it doesn't make sense for ponies to react with horror and scorn.
COROLLARY: Fluttershy and carnivores
Fluttershy cares for a number of carnivorous animals. This means she has seen them eat other animals on occasion, and in all likelihood has, at some point, fed animals to other animals. Because that's the circle of life, and Fluttershy understands the circle of life. Therefore, it doesn't make sense for Fluttershy to freak out or have a hysterical sobbing fit in mourning of an animal that has died to feed another.
SCOOTABUSE
There is simply no evidence whatsoever that Scootaloo is either (a) an orphan or (b) abused in any way, shape, or form. Just because we've never seen her parents doesn't mean she doesn't have parents. It just means we haven't seen them. The only thing wrong with Scootaloo is she can't fly. Period. (Well, and she may or may not be half-chicken.)
TIMELINE CONFUSION
The season 4 premiere has confused a lot of people.
Folks...Twilight's been in Ponyville a LOT longer than one year.
Just because the Summer Sun Celebration wasn't addressed between seasons 1 and season 4 doesn't mean it never took place. It just means it was never addressed.
The seasons have changed significantly often enough between seasons 1 and 4 to indicate that at least two years passed between Twilight's arrival in Ponyville and her ascension. Possibly longer. Three seems more accurate.
I'm sure I'll have more to come.
Pinkie Pie mentioned hotdogs, Rarity made eggs for breakfast, and Fluttershy fed worms to her birds (and fish to something else, I think).
Specifically on the Scootaloo part, I'd like to point out that there is no evidence supporting she ISN'T being abused and is an orphan. I don't personally care either way for either side, but it's like conspiracy theories: you can't disprove them because we simply don't know. We can say that there is no way 9/11 was an inside job, but how do we know for sure? We can't. The more you fight it, the deeper down the rabbit hole you go until you eventually just give up.
So I agree it's stupid to go as far as some people have, but you also have to realize that they can, justifiably, make that leap because we simply don't know.
Of course, Scootabuse is simply stupid. Her being an orphan was bad enough, but that? Yeah, that's a little out there.
Thank you.
Seriously, you just keep shooting down all of my pet peeves. Thank you very much, Moth. I can only hope people take all of this to heart.
Well, except the "Scootaloo won't ever fly" thing. I disagree with you there, but that's a matter of opinion. As is all of this, I suppose, but some of the opinions are rather foolish.
I believe that, due to a lack of proper excerise, or the correct way of excersie, Scootaloo can't find, so Rainbow will have to train her.
Also, I either have Scootaloo's parents be alive, or that they were members of the Royal Guard, who, alongside AJ's parents, were stationed in a border station with Griffonhala, and sacrificed their lives, activating the self destruct, insuring a large number of griffon raiders, which had attacked the outpost, couldn't enter Equestria. And Scootaloo was living with her aunt, and Flash Sentry, who is her cousin
2325706 Yeah...every bit of what you just said is dumb.
2325714 Basically, Scootaloo has only been trying to lift, and not trying to keep herself aloft, and to actually move, so it isn't like she has a disease, she's just a late bloomer, and needs proper wing care, such as preening.
2325759 I was talking about the rest of it, actually...
2325792 about the orphan part, well, if she is an orphan, I have either Twilight, Rainbow, Luna, Fluttershy, or some pairing of the four adopt her. They'd probably make the best mothers.
2325811 OK, now that I'm done doing what I was doing earlier and can take a moment to respond, I'm going to dissect your original comment.
Exercise has nothing to do with it. Scootaloo's wings are noticeably stunted. Also, this assumes she doesn't have pegasus parents (which is an admitted possibility) and that such things aren't instinctual for pegasi.
...why would apple farmers be in the Royal Guard? Why would a married couple of apple farmers FROM PONYVILLE with THREE CHILDREN be in the Royal Guard?
This is about the only thing you've pulled out of your ass that's actually plausible.
Kinda like with Applejack's parents. For some weird and bad reason, I can't help but hope that one of the episodes has a line involving Applejack's parents, indicating that they're alive. I enjoy the NOs of all the bronies and all that other stuff.
Then again, I would have a taste of my own medicine if CheerileeXBigMacintosh was never meant to be. I dunno. I'm weird and bad, like you say.
Have a random clip:
Because I cannot shut the hell up........Vote for pomegranates...
2325858 Ok, I get it, anyway, the outpost was to keep bandits and illegal immirgatns out, and to warn either side of raiders
2325588 Eggs aren't technically meat, but they are an animal byproduct.
2326056
Just...just stop. Please.
2326079 Anyway, I agree with your meat section, I always make ponies omnivores in my fics
2326052 AJ's parents have been confirmed to be dead
2326095
When? Which episode? Which comic?
2326111 Apple Family Reunion, those two stars that fly by the house have been confirmed to represent her folks, by Word of Sibsy
2326165
*deadpan sigh*
Hey Mythril, i found this really sweet, yet dad, fic, abut who Scoots' mom might be http://www.fimfiction.net/story/143922/1/fluttershys-second-greatest-secret/dont-ask-what-the-third-greatest-is
Yeah the whole pony eating meat thing is overdone. Not to mention Fluttershy has either killed fish, or fed live fish to animals before. Also, when Rarity got ahold of that book she turned the kids party food into horderves, one of them being shrimp.
The only evidence that Scootaloo has a different living situation than the other ponies is that she lives in a different style building than everyone else. But this could mean just about anything. Maybe it's an apartment complex.
Even if it were a public building, it could still be Mayor Mare's place, making Scootaloo her daughter (wouldn't that be a twist, given all the mischief the three get into).
2326178 Actually. that's the one thing he's said all day that's true. It's been confirmed that those two stars were meant to represent AJ's dead parents.
2326288
Really? Wow. Confirmed by who?
2326302 Either Larson or McCarthy, I forget which.
2326313
Huh. Didn't know that. And this is coming from the guy who told him to please stop!
I have only drafted on fic where there was signs of ponies of freaking out about meat consumption but that's because it was a pony who was being eaten by another.
2326331 Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
2326364 ...yyyyyyyyeah, cannibalism is a whole other thing entirely.
As far as the Scootabuse thing goes, I fully agree with you. (Except for the half-chicken thing. For some reason, I've never cared for that.) You may or may not be interested in giving this story a look - Those Who We Admire.
As far as the timeline confusion, I'll admit I was one of the ones who was under the impression of Twilight only being in Ponyville for a year. However, I have recently had a conversation with someone that you may or may not care to read. If, and only if, you happen to be interested, here's the link to the story where that conversation took place - The Secret Room. (Mostly between me and DWK)
2326411
You have a talent with words.
Translate the following:
Re: Scootaloo...
My take on her that she's pretty much like Lor from Weekenders: the sole filly in a family of colts. It would have cost nothing to plagiarize Disney thusly and thus end it.
Sweetie Belle: How do you NOT know how many brothers you have?
Scootaloo (exasperatedly): I can't count'em! They keep moving around!!!
2326079 At least he says he agrees with your meat section!
I'm thinking of a cookout later this week, y'have some frozen chicken breasts in stock?
In regards to that third one: THANK YOU! I don't understand WHY it's so difficult to assume that all of the events of the series have happened over multiple years!
Thank you for all 3. I think based on what we seen Ponies are Ovo--Pisco Vegetarians, i.e. they won't eat red meat but they are perfectly comfortable gulping down eggs, and probably have a certain amount of fish and shellfish.
The Scootabuse is depressing, although she I'm quite sure Scoots is at least 50% chicken. I think my favorite all time background for Scootaloo is where she leads a happy life with her parents in Fluttershy's coop.
Almost every TV show ever kind of assumes 1 year=1 season, unless it's like 24 or something. I would just assume each season is a year, with occasional time skips to keep things on track.
I agree with most of these, but the scootabuse one is slightly off. Sure there is no evidence that Scootaloo is an orphan, but there is also no evidence that she isn't. Same thing with her parents, there is no evidence that she does or does not have parents. The only thing we know for sure about Scootaloo is that her and Rainbow share a sister like connection. So, I really don't mind the occasional orphan Scootaloo fics, in fact some of them can be really good.
I'm with you on most of this, but Pinkie's "Gotta share, Gotta care" song did specifically say "both our diets, I should mention, are strictly vegetarian", so it's not like people who follow that idea are pulling it completely out of their misinformed butts. I'm not personally familiar with any direct contradictions to the idea of them being vegitarian in the show. I mean, even their "hotdogs" are hot carrots in a bun. I'm not saying there aren't contradictions, just that I haven't noticed them.
You specifically mention pork and turkey, would you mind clarifying what you're referring to?
2328591 In "A Bird In The Hoof", there's a ham sandwich on the table next to Applejack.
In "Fall Weather Friends", Applejack makes the remark: "Trussed up like a turkey." The only way a pony would even make that comparison is...well, you know.
Also, again, note that I said horses (and ponies) are herbivorous by nature, but will eat meat if the opportunity arises. It's not that they're omnivorous, it's that they tend to eat things that look/smell tasty even if they really shouldn't.
FINALLY, somebody gets it about horses and eating meat. Nature is NEVER so simple as "pure herbivore" or "pure carnivore" or "pure predator" or "pure scavenger" whenever it comes to large complex animals and their diets. Nearly all animals are opportunistic omnivores and there are dozens of videos online of horses and cows and deer and such eating small birds to prove this. Not to mention that ponies already eat some non-vegan foodstuffs such as dairy and eggs (which makes sense, since sentient species need fats and protein to fuel their big brains), so the occasional piece of fish and non-sentient meat shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Also, it's good to see you mentioning Fluttershy in all this. She's definitely not some kind of wuss who'd cry at the very concept of carnivory, ESPECIALLY since she's been shown giving fish and worms to some of her other critters. Fluttershy probably understands the circle of life better than most of the other ponies in town.
On a related note, I agree with you in regards to Scootabuse and the Timeline of the show (I've known Twilight had entered her second year of residence in Ponyville ever since the second season). Hell, Scootaloo is shown to have a legit home and room in Ponyville in "Flight to the Finish," though it is my personal headcanon that her inability to ever truly fly is more the result of a magical disability rather than a physical one. If even Bulk Biceps can fly, I don't think the physical size of a pegasus' wings are too much of a limiting factor when it comes to achieving lift and propulsion. Hell, even a normal pegasus' wings are pretty dang small when proportionally compared to the rest of their bodies, so it's my theory that the ability to fly is more because of a personal magic field emitted by the wings (which explains why the non-magical Griffons have much proportionally larger wings compared to the magical pegasi).
On the day of the season four premiere, I just about punched my friend in an attempt to convince of that very same fact.
I know how you feel. I absolute HATE that fanon, along with the 'Lyra's obsessed with humans' fanon. My preferred canon dealing with her parents is that she has one parent, her mother.
I will, however, make that exception with Spellbound Fireflies because that story is awesome.
I am in the midst of writing a humanized scootabuse fic (though its more of a scootabelle fic), but I at least had the right mind to put an 'AU' tag on it.
Also, I have to ask, what kind of pet peeves do you have with grammar and spelling? Because I can think a lot of my own pet peeves dealing with grammar, spelling, and the lack of capitalized titles.
2328992 If I started rattling off my pet peeves with grammar and spelling, we'd be here for years.
2329075
Okay, so top three pet peeves on grammar and spelling?
2329111 #1: People doing this:
Instead of this:
#2: "Defiantly" used in place of "definitely".
#3: Comma and semicolon abuse.
2329135
I haven't read anything that has done the first two, but I can definitely say comma and semicolon use is a problem within this hobby.
However, because a case of writer's block combined with boredom drove me to read the grammar handbook in my dictionary, I can definitely say I have a grip on semicolons. Commas, though, are still a little tricky.
Also, I wanted to say that your comments regarding the "Ponies Eating Meat" thing in relation to Fluttershy reminded me of this comic (took me a while to finally find it, though):
fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/021/4/e/what_if_mane_six_watched__slaughterhouse_video__by_gashiboka-d736ixt.png
2329245
It's not just that we never saw another Summer Sun Celebration, though. It's also that in her scenes at the start and end of the season 4 premiere, Celestia is really very clear that this is the first Summer Sun Celebration when she can celebrate that Luna has returned, and that every Summer Sun Celebration before then was a sad reminder of Luna's absence.
2329429 Yes, but that is NOT meant to be taken as an indication that only one year has passed between "Friendship is Magic - Part 1" and "Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1".
2329560
I'm not sure what you mean? Unless you're suggesting that maybe the Summer Sun Celebration doesn't actually happen every midsummer, the first Summer Sun Celebration since Luna's return would be one year after Friendship is Magic.
2329584 And THIS is exactly what I was talking about.
The whole thing about the Summer Sun Celebration in the season 4 premiere, and Celestia's lament? That was some VERY poorly planned writing. Because it's obvious, from WATCHING THE ENTIRE SERIES UP TO THAT POINT, that AT LEAST two years have passed between season 1 and season 4.
Using that whole spiel as an argument that only one year has passed between Twilight moving to Ponyville and Twilight becoming a princess is failing at analytical thinking in general.
2329640
Okay, let's say this then: if you have to rewrite what's been directly said or shown in the show in order to make sense of it anyway, why rewrite that particular thing? We can probably rewrite other, less overt points instead that would have the same result with less revision of solid facts.
The various changes of seasons can be compressed by assuming that the episodes happened in a different order than they're shown. From the beginning of season 2 the lessons are not limited to once a week; the vast majority of episodes take place during just one day, and multiple episodes showcasing different characters could conceivably be happening simultaneously.
I just don't see that it's that big a problem fitting it all into one year. Fitting it all into one year also explains why every single other seasonal event, every holiday and every special occasion has never come up more than once, and makes it easier (if not actually easy) to accept that nobody, including the babies, has grown noticeably older over the course of the show. And that doesn't require you to rewrite the heartfelt words of the demigoddess.
You can call it a failure of analytical thinking. I call it an acknowledgement of the facts of the text.
2329712 Then we're at an impasse, and you're also still wrong.
2329712 Oh, also...
If you're determined to go strictly by spoken dialogue in the show as a measure of actual passage of time? Then more than NINE years have passed between the first episode (which took place during the Apple Family Reunion) and the episode "Apple Family Reunion":
So yeah...