Points of Canon: S5x21 - Scare Master · 7:35am Jul 14th, 2016
I’ve got an hour. And I know what to do with it.
This episode is a rare insight into what ponies consider fiction. As such, it’s quite far-reaching. In many cases, we can’t definitely say if recognizing characters and tropes ponies used actually means the entire work of fiction they are from is part of the pony world, let alone if it is the same as the one we know. It might even be an actual fact, because costumes are not strictly limited to fiction.
But it certainly gives us something to play with.
- Everybody already knows that a Nightmare Night (autumn by evidence, as red leaves are apparent on the trees) and a Hearth’s Warming episode (winter by overwhelming evidence) are in reverse order, but I just thought I’d point it out again. If there’s not an almost a year long gap between them – and there’s no reason to believe there is – episodes are out of order.
- Fluttershy has a portrait of a pegasus lady on the wall. And that pegasus lady is not her mother. I wonder who that could be.
- Fluttershy has a spider named Fuzzy Legs, who, I think, is one of the very few explicitly named animals. The only others I can remember are Angel Bunny, Elizabeak and Harry the bear.
- Fluttershy’s survival rations under the bed include a jar of peanut butter and canned food. I wonder where does she keep the can opener.(1)
- Sea Swirl is wearing a changeling costume. Next to her others are wearing other costumes which could be construed to be racist – a griffon costume, a dragon costume, and a timberwolf costume. Now, we know timberwolves are outright monsters because pretty much nobody bats an eye about destroying one, but since Slice of Life you would expect them to assign at least some equinity to changelings, and as far as we know, there are griffon citizens of Equestria… I mean, did anyone try to dress up as an American for Halloween? This is odd.
- Luna’s silhouette is a very prominent symbol in decorations this time around.
- Twilight’s castle is lit by candles most of the time. Which is interesting, considering they’re using a firefly lamp when actually telling the stories.
- A pony in a Sailor Moon costume is standing next to Carousel Boutique. And I’m not sure who the pegasus next to her is supposed to be, but I think it’s Jem of the Jem and the Holograms fame.
- The CMC waste toilet paper, which is a rare insight into pony views on sanitation.(2)
- Rarity’s “Vampire fruit bat? Definitely no.” clearly positions this episode after Bats! in the timeline.
- Rarity herself is dressed up as a seapony. Depending on whether the seaponies exist,(3) this might be kinda racist too.
- Rainbow Dash is wearing a spacesuit. See my arguments in RTAC #9 for how interesting this can get.
- The Mane 6 are playing the “pin the horn on the princess,” and it makes me wonder why the pin-the-something game is so popular in the first place, because being quadrupeds, ponies should be less dependent on the vestibular system than humans are.
- Autumn or not, some of Fluttershy’s bird friends are still laying eggs.
- Previously, Flutttershy was never shown to be using chairs. Whether they’re part of this particular party or a regular thing now remains unexplained, but in Keep Calm and Flutter On, they used cushions. The book club in The Hooffelds and McColts is likewise conducted without.
- The cutouts Fluttershy uses depict ponified versions of Sailor Moon, Ayanami Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Utena from Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Ranma from Ranma 1/2, and one other girl I don’t recognize for whatever reason.(4) It is patently ridiculous to suppose that full ponified versions of these shows exist, if only because of Evangelion’s episode 18.(5) So one has to wonder what the pony equivalents are like.
- The horse mask worn by Granny Smith has been previously used by theorists to suppose horses exist. Not that there’s much doubt they do, considering the horses in The Best Night Ever, but we also know that Saddle Arabians look like horses from Magic Duel. This prevalence of costumes we would probably consider racist makes me suspect ponies have a radically different view of what constitutes racism in the first place.
- Among costumes observed in the maze, there’s a pony in a ski mask clearly meant to be Jason of Friday the 13th, and Derpy wearing a Princess Twilight costume.(6) Sweetie Belle’s costume includes a mole, which is an indication ponies can have such skin/coat markings, even though we never see them otherwise.
- I’m not sure which particular monster Harry the bear is meant to imitate. But it’s too distinctive and detailed not to be a reference to something specific.
- Twilight can teleport multiple ponies without the glue they’re stuck to going with them. The next time someone chains her up, somepony should remind her of that.
- A pretty complicated cave system exists somewhere on Apple family land – one that has an entrance somewhere within a field and an exit up on a cliff. Did the CMC get lost in it yet?
- Fluttershy being perfectly capable of flying effectively while her wings are disguised as bat wings is one of those arguments against the existence of thestrals which I previously mentioned.
- Pinkie uses an object very much resembling a traditional battery-powered flashlight, which previously came up in Bats! They don’t show up often, and both times, they’re in Pinkie’s hooves…
There’s a large unexplored field of what pony fiction has to look like. Since we know that equivalents and very close matches of certain stories have to exist, someone should write a take on that…
P.S. Yes, Aporia is late. I’m stuck on poetry, mostly.
(1) With most modern canned goods not equipped with a pull tab, the best tool to use that isn’t a dedicated can opener is a file, or failing that, a stone with a flat, rough surface. You file off the folded edge on top and it opens smoothly. Smashing cans with heavy objects damages the food and using a knife is a perfect way to lose a finger and damage the knife. I wonder if ponies know that or not, because even most humans don’t, and even using a can opener has to be somewhat difficult for them.
(2) And basically implies pony front limbs have a range of motion even better than human arms do. What? They could have just as well used a stick with a sponge dipped in vinegar. Or a better disinfectant, since they definitely know their chemistry better than the ancient Romans.
(3) There’s My Little Pirate: Friendship Ahoy comics arc, where they do appear, and there’s that persistent rumor that they will show up in the movie… But Rarity’s costume doesn’t look particularly like the seaponies from the comics.
(4) Which is odd, because with my collection of ~750 individual anime titles, I should. Any idea who that is?
(5) In which, Shinji kinda kills his friend. While there’s no problem with a pony writing something of the sort – there is no reason to think them crippled in any way in terms of imagination, – I find it difficult to believe something like this would be popular.
(6) Recursion: see recursion.
I can think of at least two other named animals: Hummingway the hummingbird from "A Bird in the Hoof," and Constance the bird of indeterminate species from "Flutter Brutter."
The fifth anime character is a young Bulma Briefs, from Dragonball. And yes, the fact that these shows exist in some capacity says a lot about equine mental health and gender issues. At least, the issues in their country of origin.
Aside from the freckles on Applejack and Big Macintosh, a quick check on Derpibooru shows that Aunt Orange has a beauty mark. These sorts of things appear to run in the Orange family.
I believe Harry's costume was meant to emulate the Creature from the Black Lagoon. That, or a spawn of Dagon.
Fluttershy flying with those wing socks on is especially interesting given how they seem like they should block the airflow to her feathers, showing that the biological component to pegasus flight is rather minimal.
4090711
They don't move like they're much lighter than other ponies -- and if they aren't radically lighter, their wingspan can't be sufficient to fly. And they have no tailplane. It's all magic, entirely.
Actually... canonically, the reason ponies dress up during Nightmare Night is to hide from Nightmare Moon. Or at least that's the tradition. So costumes are less "monstrous" and more "disguises". Granted, since it is NIGHTMARE MOOOOOOOOOOON, there is a tendency to go for scary costumes, but it's equally acceptable to be a princess.
4090966
There's one little problem with that. You can't disguise as a different potential victim of Nightmare Moon. :)
I seriously wonder what would a visiting griffon say.
4091013
Well, Spike did go dressed as a dragon, and Twilight went as Starswirl...
I have buddies who have dressed up like stereotypical Americans for Halloween, with stats and stripes wifebeaters, dumb hats, and fake guns spilling out of their pockets. Similarly, I have dressed up as a Bavarian, complete with lederhosen and ginormous stein.
As long as you get it right, it's less mocking and more of a homage. Or just roll so hard into the stereotype you're parodying the parody.
4091417
Well, maybe...
Leaves two interesting questions open:
* ... What does an American look like? :)
* What would a griffon have to wear to dress up as a pony?
Great review as always Oliver. Three points:
Whatever the plot of animes in Equestria, what matters to me is Fluttershy has those huge posters ready to go, indicating she's an Otaku.
Second, there's some great character-building for Angel here. It's heavily implied that Angel came up with the plan for the big final scare, just like he came up with Fluttershy's plan to get Twilight's extra Gala ticket.
Finally, you talked a lot about racist costumes, but you missed the big one: Applejack in that lion costume. Did you ever see those old images of the Apple family dressed like the KKK to scare Zecora? That never made any sense, because KKK outfits are made to resemble ghosts, out of racist beliefs that African-Americans would think they were ghosts. But Zebras have no special reason to fear ghosts. No, someone looking to frighten or offend a Zebra would be more likely to dress like the Zebra's natural predator: the lion. Was Applejack committing a hate crime? We may never know.
4091429 an American can look like anything, luckily, what they wear can be narrowed down considerably. If you're familiar with that drawing of an obese American in a scooter shooting a gun whilst yelling "'Murica!" It's pretty much that. Maybe a cowboy hat too, but being obnoxiously patriotic is the most important part. Peppering your speech with excuses why that wouldn't work because you're special and different also helps. Loudly proclaiming your geographical illiteracy works too. "Keep your damn gubmit' hands outta my [government program]," is another good one.
A Gryphon masquerading as a pony needs a cutie mark, cloth-wrapped claws, fur/feather dye, and a mask that turns a beak into a muzzle. Maybe a wig for a mane. Not too difficult. Pepper conversation with "friendship, magic, harmony," etc. Coo appreciatedly at small woodland creatures instead of eating them, you know, basic stuff.
4091844 Would Applejack have the cultural knowledge to know dressing as a lion is a hate crime? Probably not, and as the token Zebra (in so far as she is the only Zebra within a couple hundred miles excluding Canterlot embassy staff), Zecora would probably let it slide.
Fluttershy is weeb trash and I love it.
4092624 Hehehe, thank goodness Cloudsdale houses don't have basements or Fluttershy would be living there!
4091844
4092624
Well, speaking of Fluttershy... Taken in totality, here's what I have concluded on the subject:
* Manga, that is, black and white comics with a certain traditional art style, exists. Anime does not, because no broadcast TV. The economic niche is long serial stories, because uncolored artwork is cheaper to print and can get new issues out of the door much faster.
* Whether Fluttershy had these cutouts already for some other purpose, or drew them in the space of an hour, she has to be a connoisseur.
* It's not an import. That is, for Equestria this is a local tradition, there is no Neighon or Nippony or Ziponyg, no matter how much we would love one to exist, or if there is, it is a formerly independent pony kingdom that is now part of greater Equestria, and there's a train route that goes there. Because the Undiscovered West exists. If an import is popular, the West (which has to be either halfway there or there itself, geographically) could never be undiscovered. And it is popular enough because Fluttershy is not the only consumer in Ponyville.
And speaking about potentially racist costumes... My entire point is that ponies live in a world with a large number of independently sapient species, some of which have their own cultures and some don't, and unlike humans, the physiological differences are tremendous even between their own three races. Down to dictating large chunks of culture and economics. Trying to assume that racial differences don't exist in their case is pretty much impossible, and we know that historically, at least for ponies, they were a basis of a caste system.
So they had to have evolved some means of making sure they don't cause strife, because we don't see any racial strife in canon, at least within Equestria, everything works out. For one, Triptych Continuum, while an excellent body of work, imagines a lot of pent up racism which canon ponies never seem to display. In such a universe, dressing up as a griffon would get a griffon to hate you. In canon, it apparently doesn't.
So what do they all really think? I'm not sure I know.
4092877 I agree with 90% of what you said. I was saying anime when I should have said Manga, of course. And Fluttershy is apparently a master manga artist, just like she is a master seamstress and knitter. I also agree that it is likely that whatever culture produces Manga, it's not a foreign country. Given that in Equestria, faux-Indian ponies are from "a city on the other side of Equestria," the only foreign pony government we've ever seen is Maritonia.
My only quibble would be with the idea that the "Unexplored West" categorically rules out the existence of Neighpon, or at least a Neighponese city in the North Luna ocean or the South Luna, similar to Trottingham in the Celestial Sea.
If you look at the map, both oceans have major Equestrian port cities on the coastline, Vanhoover in the north and Las Pegasus in the South.
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I think "Undiscovered West" is just a misnomer for the western area below Las Pegasus, where Appleloosa and the Buffalo are. The real undiscovered area is the "Mysterious South." Looking at the map, it suggests to me that early civilization in Equestria had a primary highway between Manehatten and Vanhoover, a straightforward route without any giant mountain ranges or killer forests in the middle. Pony civilization developed primarily along the eastern coast, down the latitude of Canterlot, which seems like the border of old Equestria. To a smaller extent, ponies moved south from Vanhoover to found Las Pegasus and things like rock farms. The newer cities like Ponyville, Dodge Junction and Appleloosa all seem a recent development of the southern interior.
The Undiscovered West is a giant land-bridge right between the two seas, but I don't see what prevents there from being an off-screen island of Neighpon in, say, the North Luna Sea, across from the fairly well developed port city of Vanhoover.
I love those stories too, but they assume pre-reform Diamond Tiara is an average pony, rather than a cruel exception. I don't really think Applejack is trying to commit a hate crime, I just rather enjoyed the coincidence.
4095017
Rules out entirely -- probably not, but it is what makes it exceedingly unlikely. "unexploring" such a large chunk of land, and yet still maintaining contact with an island further out, to the point of importing entertainment from there, seems silly.
Mind you, we still have no proper clue regarding pony attitudes towards seafaring. Horses are generally not known for swimming, and the only bit of canon we have regarding the sea is the My Little Pirate storyline. Which, notably, features no sailors who don't call themselves pirates...
...actually, the idea that a "pirate" is a generic word for merchant sailor and robbing each other for sport is how they keep themselves from going completely crazy in the inpony wasteland of the sea might have merit.
Oregon Trail...King Orion's Trail?4095034 You do have a point, but on the other hand Vanhoover looks like this big developed port city, right near by. There's not really a sensible answer I can think of, to be honest. Ponies aren't built for swimming as much as humans are, but they do have air ships, so it's rather weird.
Pony pirates being basically crazy seems likely, especially based on that comic. Attacking an alicorn, falling in love with a siren, all less than great ideas.
I love King Orion's trail, in honor of one of Chrysalis's first victims! I revise my statement on Trottingham though, it could be an independent nation after all, considering it's part of the "Griffish Isles," could be Trottingham is the pony-dominant city of a Griffon Kingdom.
4095061
Economically, seafaring is superior to airships where it can be used, because no magic is required for the construction of a sea ship -- while for an airship, some definitely is -- and pegasi can manipulate weather, which presumably involves wind, i.e. they can be at least as fast and reliable as trains. But we don't know. :)
I might use that, actually. King Orion's Timbucktu had been a center of pegasi trade, and they never say where exactly did their cloud city float most of the time. It could be that it would slowly drift on seasonally prevailing winds between what is now Manehattan and Vanhoover, making two trips per year. The road underneath, generally better explored and much safer in the chunk where the floating city is visible for obvious reasons is King Orion's trail, and important for migrating between coasts on hoof.
Wolverine jaws?
I would not be surprised [see other comment]
Pinkie can do quite a spin.
That Fluttershy perks up at its mention is also an interesting tidbit that you didn't mention.
Teleportation as cleaning-mechanism, garment-escape… [doesn't she do this in S5Finale?]
Except they don't bother to use the costumed-model for them until she starts apologizing.
…those exist for humans, you know. It's fairly easy to turn fingers(talons) into hooves, since you're reducing control variation; it's just ultrahardened mittens. A muzzle over a beak.
…uh? If we have seafaring, which is, admittedly, in question, sea exploration is super, super faster than land, if just because you can carry supply-bases farther.
The problem with this is pegasi, air-carts, and especially cloud cities/fortresses, which, if not immobile for some reason, mean you have very little that should be able to stop you at least mapping things out…but that also requires a huge outlay. Changelings are one threat that could viably keep a region unexplored, having a thing ponies don't [generally, five excepted]: flight + magic offense.
I think it's more that ponies don't have any Manifest Destiny going on, possibly a Celestial restraint. Ponyville happened…~100y ago, and Appleloosa just the last few, yeah? IF the map's scale is at all to be trusted [ha] that's a tiny advance of colonization over a century of development.
As for seafaring, the official map has ships on it, bays are primarily important for ships [Horseshoe Bay+Baltimare with ship in it hints at more…], Manehattan has what are obviously docks, Trottingham has no rail spur [though that intercontinental line to Griffonstone, jeez, who funded THAT?]
4312905
It’s dark? Narrator bias. :)
Mind you, we only know its results for one direction and don’t know, for example, how old Applewood is. The direction to the south is also marked “Arimaspi territory” and as far as we know, whoever this Arimaspi is (or whether there’s any more of them) he’s not friendly.
Our only clear examination of pony seafaring is Pony Point Of View though.
Good question. No clue. :)