Thoughts on thestrals and bat-ponies · 4:39pm Jan 18th, 2019
As anybody who has read my stories knows, thestrals figure just slightly prominently. Five Stars had a thestral herdmate who later became a famous singer, Fell Flight has thestral eyes and ancestry in Firefly, and over in Nightmare Night...
Well. Anybody who reads that knows what's happening there. 
I enjoy giving them starring roles for two reasons: first, we've seen nothing of the bat-ponies in the show save for one appearance in the second season Luna episode, so they've been the subject of much speculation. Since they remain unexplored, we're free to do with them pretty much as we please. Second, I've been watching a whole lot of bat videos over the past year or so regarding rescues of fruit bats, or 'flying foxes' as they (quite wrongly) call them, down under. The MLP show itself gave a surprisingly poignant look at them in the Flutterbat episode, very accurately describing them and the issues they present. This remains one of my favorite videos:
Video links like these were shared among me and my prereaders, and over time we all got into them to the point that AJ_Aficionado developed some very impressive bat-pony lore regarding their history and subraces, specifically the light-furred, more day-friendly Lightborne or 'Highborne' as they call themselves (which Fell Flight draws her ancestry from) and the more numerous dark-furred Nightborne who were Luna's main soldiers during her war with Celestia. That lore is being explored in his story Foolers Rush In, which I edit and can heartily recommend for anyone who enjoys Unleash the Magic-type adult action. Actually, he's going for something that alternates heavy clop with Firefly-style combat scenes, so if you're curious to see how well they mix, give it a read.
Anyway, we--meaning myself, AJA and Denim_Blue--will continue to explore thestral lore through our stories; there are some *very* major plans for them in Flight of Firefly. However, that's not why I'm writing now. AJA has just written a blog post describing the plight of fruit bats in Australia, and request some help from them.
I second the idea. There are hospitals and individuals down there who care for them, and they have channels on YouTube. One of the greatest is Megabattie, who posts new videos of rescues and care every week. Their work is unending and at time quite taxing; they're basically sorely needed guardian angels to the flying foxes, who are vulnerable in so many different ways.
So in honor of the thestrals we enjoy reading and writing about, if you could spare a couple bucks for these folks, it would be appreciated. Recommended places to donate include:
Thanks in advance. In other news, the next chapter of Flight of Firefly is underway with the first 1000 words written. The climactic battle of Epsilon begins, and the plan is for it to be suitably epic. It'll be a while before the thestrals appear, but suffice it to say for now, they're aware of the invasion and aren't yet sure what to do. The choice of who to side with will be forced upon them sooner rather than later, however, and the Highborne/Nightborne rivalry will come into play.
I imagine Thestrals and Pegasi are a case of divergent evolution. Thestrals have better night vision than regular Pegasi, but worse weather manipulation abilities. They also have a slightly more omnivorous diet. Their fangs are also more to intimidate than to actually eat meat. Although I do headcanon Thestrals and Pegasi can eat fish, they consider it a delicacy.
4998862
Your blog post is pretty accurate except for the bit about how the Flying Foxes affected my thestral lore. It sorta implies a one-stage development. Thestral lore was developed pretty far prior to my discovery of Megabattie through your link to the Squeaky bat viral video. The first wave occurred in late 2015 on the back of A Gentleman's Price and gave us the hunter-gatherer, spear and crossbows wielding somewhat backwards ponies who live in thick forests and who fight using Pike and Shot tactics.
2016 was the year the election and got me thinking about some of the edgier side of politics and social order like interracial relations. We got a villain/victim sub-ethnicity of thestrals in the form of Highborne and a Slavitization of the darker more numerous Nightborne. I really was and still am inspired by the noble fight the Visigrad nations of Central Europe fight against the internationalization of Europe at the hands of Merkel and the western democracies within the EU. I see parallels between the perils that wildlife face against the neverending demands of encroaching humans with the plight of Old Europe and her struggle to remain free of the International Shopping Mall. God bless Italy, Austria, The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. You fight a holy war against the forces of empty, shallow, materialistic nihilism.
The modern third-wave of thestral lore is built on the backs of the Flying Fox rescue videos and fleshes out thestral society, government, and culture for the Nightborne while the Highborne largely remain trapped in their 2016 form outside of the work you've done on them in differentiating their combat stylings.
2018 thestral lore stays away from the 2016 with its focus on racism or ignores it to a large degree and draws inspiration instead from the MLP fandom, particularly the gay art aficionados in the R34 side of things as it pertains to male reverse estrus, to form a reverse, gender hierarchy that resembles European-style soft-patriarchy — Woman following the lead of the man and all that — to contrast them with their more feminized pony cousins.
I'm very thankful you've chosen to mirror my blog and lend your support for those facing true oppression. We joke a lot about special snowflakes and people who cry about crap who really have it all and just seek attention but we have lived long enough on this earth to recognize real suffering when we see it.
Thank you to all those who have felt compelled to give.
4999019
I'm, sorry?
4998862
My thestral headcanon is a long time to explain so I'll nutshell it. There are three different orders of life which exist in Equestria: pure flora/fauna untainted by chaos or order, cats, dogs, trees and the like, the children of chaos created by Discord, and the Titanic Creations and their creations.
In the beginning there was more or less evolution as we know it which created ancient Equus' biodiversity including the forerunners of modern ponies and the intelligent races. I call this "The Primordial Age". It ended abruptly when the clash of Light and Dark bathed ancient Equus in nether, transforming all lifeforms into pastel-colored magical lifeforms, including the sapient ponies This had the unfortunate side-effect of attracting Discord...
Primordial Equestria was then dominated by the demi-god Discord who came from beyond the Twisting Nether which connects all dimensions — it's composed of raw, uncontrolled mana or magic — and entertained himself by jamming random animal groups together to get pairings of the two. Even ancient forms of humanity existed which were utilized to create minotaur and Changelings. Bugbears, flyders, and all the other examples of mashed-up canon animals that lack sapience are also examples of Discord's influence and make up the second wave of Equus evolution and more or less throw Evolution via Darwin out the window as supernatural beings take over from here. I call this the Age of Discord.
Thestrals by contrast were formed by ancient aliens called "The Titans" taken from World of Warcraft Lore which created thestrals from the bats they discovered within the ancient forests of Thestralslovakia and the primitive ponies living there during the third major period of Equus evolution I call "The Age of Order". Having created them they set them with the task to keep the Discord's creations in line within their borders which included the Everfree Forest at the time. The Titans took immediate disgust with Discord and managed to lock him away within his own Chaos Dimension which exists on the border within The Twisting Nether and the Realm of Dreams. Not only did they create thestrals but the original Alicorn (Fausticorn) and were responsible for dividing the pony races into three subraces, fusing some with the flight of birds, some with the strength of the earth, and some with the ability to harness the primal arcane magic of Equus. This alicorn inherited the Titan's obsession with order and perfection and are reflected in the micromanagement ponies take into everything they do from controlling the weather to waking the animals each Spring.
Having brought order and justice to Equus the Titans departed, their lone Alicorn left behind to govern the planet's fate from a distance. To this day she circles the planet in a satellite made from ancient Titan technology occasionally intervening as she sees fit.
I failed spectacularly to nutshell this headcanon.
Sidenote: All life was affected by the Nether which struck the planet, some to a greater degree than others, including those not modified by Discord or the Titans.
4999035
OK, and, you're telling ME this why? You're putting WAY more thought into your headcanons than I ever do into mine. I can't help but feel like you're under the impression I'm someone very different.
4999028
Sorry? Why do you think you're supposed to be sorry?
4999036
Dude, chill the hell out. I was sharing a headcanon not offering my hand in marriage.
4999052
I'm just very confused.
4999054
I have no idea why. You posted on an open forum and I replied. It kinda comes off more like you just don't care what I've posted and that's fine. No worries. I would advise in the future that if you don't care, just don't reply and not try to make the guy on the other end feel like they've done something horrible. Have a nice day.
4999055
Sorry, sorry, it's just been, a weird day and I wasn't expecting such an extensive response to my just adding my metaphorical 2 cents. Wasn't expecting a response, much less such a well thought out one.
I'm reading this despite my reading of another one of Firesites Fics... lol.