And if so, can the mares use it to excuse bad behavior?

7294404 In the sense you mean? Probably not. For narrative, thematic, and in-universe reasons.

7294404

And if so, can the mares use it to excuse bad behavior?

Let's see it from the other side!

I'm not a rapist. I just had a boner.
That makes sense. Forgiven.
Can somepony help me walk home?

Probably. In my headcannon they do.

7294409
I mean...there are probably limits.

In terms on the show canon and the content Hasbro makes no. Because the heat topic is always center on the ratio of more mares then stallions which the series never supports.

7294415
Not if past uses of 'mares in heat' have something to say

But let's go straight up ahead this perverted road What does a boner excuse? Feeling them up? Some dry humping? 'Borrowing' a hoof?

7294421

But let's go straight up ahead this perverted road

Pls no.

Why the question is why, horses do so probably.

7294423
Not even just the tip?

7294404
In my headcanon ponies go into heat. But only alicorns use it as excuse for maiming someone.

7294404

And if so, can the mares use it to excuse bad behavior?

Thank you for adding this to my headcanon.

7294404
Not... really. To either scenario.

7294404
Yes, and not really, unless they have or want a reputation as either an airhead or a slut. Managing your cycle is a mare's responsibility.

7294409
Now, stallions losing control is seen as both more obvious/natural and less forgivable - the growth of equality in the formerly matriarchal Equestrian society is based around stallions training themselves to function normally around cycling mares (and mares' increased used of medicines which mean they don't have to,)

7294404
In my headcanon, yes they go into heat. However, they don't become crazed sex maniacs. They just become hornier, and might be excused letting an inappropriate comment slip but nothing more than that.

7294553
Similar to this blog post, which I take a lot of inspiration from.

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/309950/matriarchy-general

(Why is embed not working?)

7294618 You need to use the 'embed' function, not the 'url' function.

Replace the 'url' bits in your link with embed and it should work fine. If you want to use the tool, it's between the picture icon and the quote icon.

Also I'm not sure it works on blogs?

EDIT: Oh, I think I misunderstood. You're not trying to embed. You're trying to set up a link. My bad. Here:

[url*]https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/309950/matriarchy-general[/url*]

Alternatively I think just posting the link will work fine.

7294627
The embed tags were there, they just weren't doing anything (except, apparently, blocking the link.)

7294404
I don't think so because they are like people.
Humans don't go into 'heat'.

Ponies and Humans can get thirsty.
That's a different topic.

7294706
Do primates? Or are they always on like us?

7294404
Personally, no, I don't think they go into heat. They act just like us humans, so why would they?

7294759
I don't know.
This might depend on how the writers view equestrian ponies.

7294404

From a kid's show standpoint, no.

If we take out the act that this is a kid's show, then I would say yes. Most of the things they do are off-screen, so it not too silly to think that mares go into heat off-screen.

7294834

True, Equestrian ponies do act very much like humans, but it doesn't stop them from eating hay or sometimes acting in ways that a pony would, but not a human. How Twilight acted right before she charged at Nightmare Moon in part 2 of the season 1 premiere is a great example of her acting like a pony, not a human.

Mares going into heat is purely a biological thing, so if an Equestrian mare's body is biologically capable of going into heat and nothing is done to prevent it, she's going into heat when it's time, no matter how human-like she is mentally and emotionally.

7294869
Fair point, but what I meant was that they seemingly have a human-like brain. Whether an animal goes into heat or not is controlled by the brain, however, a human brain doesn't cause heat at all. Seeing that they seem to have a brain structure similar to humans, I do not believe they'd go into heat due to that not being present in human brains.

7294874

I could be wrong, but I think it's the Pituitary gland in the brain that triggers the chain reaction that make mares go into heat. Since the human Pituitary gland alone doesn't make us act like "humans", since there's more to it than that, an Equestrian pony's Pituitary gland could still be pony enough for Equestrian mares to go into heat.

EDIT: or it starts in the ovaries, in which case, how human-like an Equestrian pony's brain is to a human's won't matter.

7294869
There is something in-show that completely destroys the possibility of "mares in heat."

Birthday parties.

We know they have so many of them that Pinkie is busy basically planning parties for them all year round. If the concept of heat was valid, then all birthdays would amass on the same periods, with many sharing them. They don't, thus no heat.

7294834
From the standpoint of why it is a thing? Because then it's not rape. See, it's the equivalent of having a character getting drunk and losing their decision-making, but unlike sexing up a drunk person—which is seen NOT quite as favorably as it used to—it gives the perception of choice and consent. You know, even though it takes it all off.

Now you can have characters gangbang like crazy, AND it is in... sigh, 'in-character.' They do that because it's their heat. Or because they get affected by the mare's heat. And so on.

7294876
Again, fair points, though keep in mind that I was referring to the brain as a whole to be human-like. Every piece of the brain at least resembles a human one, hence, the pituitary gland is irrelevant. However, apparently in dogs, it does start from the ovaries, though this is from estrogen production, which not only effects ones body but also their mind. Human brains don't go into heat when estrogen production is high, namely due to its structure. If a pony with a human-like brain were to produce estrogen in high volume, they too wouldn't go into heat. Again, though, all of this is speculation, seeing that we have no clue as to their anatomy at all. Hell, it could be magically induced in their world. After all, weather is manufactured by the Cloudsdale Weather Factory (or sometimes referred to as the Pegasi Weather Factory), the sun and moon not only rotate around their planet but only do so via magical intervention, and there's a literal god that can make things appear from out of thin air. In other words, pretty much every interpretation could be correct.

7294879
Hold on, I think you might have misunderstood something. Humans who force sex (no consent) are rapists, and ponies would be treated the same way. I don't believe that ponies go into heat at all (see responses to ThePinkedWonder). Even if they did, though, that'd still be rape. Just because a person is horny does that all of a sudden excuse them of abhorrent behavior? Heat is similar in that aspect. (I would like to say, though, that this might have been a reply to someone else and you simply miss-clicked, in which case sorry to take up your time.)

EDIT: Just read your response to ThePinkedWonder (I was a tad busy before), and I might have misunderstood something myself. From what I glanced over, I originally believed you were arguing that ponies DO go into heat, and that justifies rape (apologies for the misunderstanding). Also, I hadn't even thought about the birthday party thing. Damn, nice catch!

7294879

Oh, yeah. That fact actually slipped my mind.

In which case, there goes my headcanon of mares in heat, It was fun while it lasted.

7294879
Isn't heat a series of cycles, though? A mare isn't just on at one time of year - she's on and off throughout the entire warm season. And living in heated shelters may well have extended that.

7294874
I'll ask again, do our primate cousins have heats?

7294886
See above.

7294966

I'll ask again, do our primate cousins have heats?

As far I recherched, they get the menstrual period. But no heat.

7294966
What Crimmar is saying is that there are birthdays throughout the entire year (including the colder months), and they are all at more random dates, hence no heat.

7294990
And what I am saying is that the dates would be pretty spread out even with heat, and when do we see the colder months?

7295003
There are a number of episodes that show the colder months (I think about 8 or 9 including the holiday special). In the background there's a few birthdays if I recall (I think one or two), or some form of birthday celebration (not including obvious Hearth's Warming celebration, since that's for a holiday).
Also, Rainbow's birthday is seemingly in mid to late summer, which isn't when IRL ponies are born (they are born in spring and some in early summer).
Though, I don't believe the ponies within the show (not IRL ponies) go into heat at all due to factors I presented to ThePinkedWonder. The birthdays are just added evidence.

7295008
Pretty much none save for Hearth's Warming, and none depict a birthday that I can recall.

And if I recall, keeping equines in heated stables tends to extend their heats (and hence their birthing periods). Living in houses all year round could stretch them further.

And I'm not sure what factors you're talking about - your rather speculative take on their brain structure?

7295009
Based off of what we do know, their brains are structured similar to ours, and the brain plays a big part in heat (humans don't go into heat, thus that's why it applies). IRL ponies will only give birth between spring and early summer according to Horse and Hound. I remember seeing a party that appeared to be a birthday party in the autumn season during an episode. Anyway, feel free to dispute this, but I'mma head out now (kinda bored of this). Also, to make it clear, you're allowed to interpret the show however you want, I'm just listing my opinion (feel free to ignore it). Bye!

7295025

Based off of what we do know, their brains are structured similar to ours,

Is there a diagram somewhere?

and the brain plays a big part in heat (humans don't go into heat, thus that's why it applies).

Hence me asking if our animal relatives do.

IRL ponies will only give birth between spring and early summer according to Horse and Hound.

Rather, that's the best and most natural time for them to do so, but living unnaturally can change it.

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horse-care/horse-breeding/choosing-the-right-breeding-season-for-your-horse-39803#:~:text=This%20effect%20of%20season%20on,rates%20are%20likely%20to%20occur.

I remember seeing a party that appeared to be a birthday party in the autumn season during an episode.

Has there been any autumn-set episode besides Fall Weather Friends?

7294883

I originally believed you were arguing that ponies DO go into heat, and that justifies rape (apologies for the misunderstanding).

I was arguing from the POV of people who use heat for this as an example, so that was an easy misinterpretation.

7295028

Has there been any autumn-set episode besides Fall Weather Friends?

If there hasn't then that doesn't mean there are no birthdays in the fall, but simply not enough episodes to show us birthdays in the fall. If you're looking for a positive to the existence of heat, then you would need to find an example of multiple ponies having their birthday in the same day.

However, you're also missing the cultural element. Ponies take birthdays as a singular event for an individual, which would be hard to exist if the norm was for mares to coincide in their births. In that case, we would probably see a vastly different celebration or at the very least we might see something alike to ponies coalescing their close birthdays together if the 'non-natural' living had changed their biology to this point (culture takes a lot to change, and there would be remains of that stuff if there had ever been). Sorry, but as long as all birthdays are for a single individual, there is no possibility of heat.

The thing is, if you're going for heat, we simply don't have a single positive for it. The best that can be said that goes for it is that in earlier seasons there were far more mares (or only mares) in crowds. It does equalize later on, however, so the answer is super obvious that this is because of existing models.

The second best positive for heat is them being equine, which is frankly retarded. You belong in the Great Ape family, you don't eat ticks from your significant other, do you?

EDIT: also, notice how the article you link doesn't give the change happening because of living in heated or more secure habitat, but artificially extending 'light' hours using specific ways. And even then, we're talking about a small, relatively, change. For ponies to be able to give birth all year long, Celestia would have to go crazy with suntan hours.

7295068

Sorry, but as long as all birthdays are for a single individual, there is no possibility of heat.

Depending on the cycles, there could still be significant spread. And even when humans share birthdays, they don't often celebrate them together unless they're twins.

And I'm not looking for any kind of positive evidence - merely a lack of contradictory. And I do not find your "birthdays" point sufficiently so. If ponies can be different enough from their wild versions to have no heats at all, they can also be different enough to have them over half or more of the year, at least as an aggregate.

7295074
If the best non-contradictory you can is: they can give births at any time of the year, but they still have heat, then you're doing it wrong. This is like arguing that they are all robots but they are so advanced and have hologram technology that they appear for all intents of purposes to be flesh and blood. You're simply tacking an extra with the condition that it is not detectable or able to be contradicted.

7295083
But it's not "any time of the year", though - due to the show's general omission of winter and late autumn, we can discount them as birth seasons. Heck, early spring too - I'll bet you that any birthday depicted in the show features green, leafy trees in all exterior shots.

7295110
Then it's an issue of lack of episodes, not a positive for heat or lack of birthdays in those times. Also, you discount Pinkie Pie. I don't remember which episodes, but she does say she plans birthday parties all year round.

7295113
Indeed, just a fluke of episode placement, but it leaves a big enough hole to fit heats in. Not a positive, but an abscence of negatives.

And Pinkie has plans for her parents' five hundreth wedding anniversary.

7295125

but an abscence of negatives.

You shouldn't be so sure of that... Just because you go "I don't accept that negative," it doesn't make them go away. You got birthdays, you got how the brain operates, you got how heat doesn't even work like that in real animals, you got humanity as an example to how such things don't transfer, and so on. You have a bunch of stuff that says heat is very possibly not a thing vs not a single thing that even hints that heat is a thing.

7295155 To be honest, even if heat were a thing, it wouldn't work like it would in all the porn.

That's why I said in my earlier comment 'in the sense you mean'. It's not like humans don't have sex impulses. It's just that we control them. By all indications, it seems that the ponies would, and do, control them too, so even if there is a cycle thing going on behind the scenes, it... doesn't matter? They still don't turn into crazy sex freaks.

7295155
We've covered birthdays, we don't know how their brains operate, and someone said primates don't do heat anyway.

7295180
Porn amps up a lot of things. For instance, did you know most major takeaway pizza chains do not accept alternate payment in blowjobs?

7295190

We've covered birthdays, we don't know how their brains operate, and someone said primates don't do heat anyway.

And again, we've covered birthdays and we got a negative for heat. We don't know how the brains operate save from the fact that they operate and think exactly like people, so that's a lean towards negative for heat.

someone said primates don't do heat anyway

Which is wrong. The higher primates don't, but others do. Which is a hint towards no for heat in higher evolved equine as well. Also, it serves as another hint towards no because it destroys the notion that primal behaviors carry on to more sapient species.

7295207
We got a null result, not a negative. No word on out-of-season birthdays at all.

And I'll have to look into the primate thing.

Edit: a quick skim suggests that not only do all the great apes experince an estrus cycle, it's not conclusive that humans don't.

7295215

We got a null result, not a negative.

You'd need a few positive hits to get a null. Negative points + nothing does not equal zero.

7295237
But there are practically no negative points, because unseasonal episodes are rare and geberally all focused on the same date.