Bats, Rats, and Empty Vats!
Granny Smith,
Your granddaughter Applewhack told me the orchard had managed to survive another vampire fruit bat invasion. How many years has it been since they last cropped up? Twenty? Fifty? I want to say fifty is close.
That was a horrid time. I remember it well, and how you had written to me about these shameless creatures that would drain your fruit dry and leave wrinkled, pitiful cores about the orchard. They left no tree untouched, and had you not sent a letter to me, I have a feeling the last quarter of your orchard wouldn't exist.
I wish I'd have known about the infestation sooner, but since Dragonfire mail hadn't been established in Ponyville yet, your letter had to be delivered by regular mail. We both know why that took so long.
But there's, uh, something you don't know about that infestation. As you're aware, I did show up to drive away the bats before they got to the last quarter of the orchard. I'd brought the Royal Handler with me to corral them into a ball so I could sling them away.
Unfortunately, I missed my aim a bit and the sling ball of bats hit him--he was a Pegasus in the line of fire, so to speak. And by some sheer miracle of magic, he...
Well, he turned into a bat-pony thing. He didn't tell me about the transformation--I just caught him rummaging through the kitchen eating my apple fritters. Needless to say, we caught him, but that had been quite a few weeks after the infestation had cleared out. And during that time, he found... interested mares.
I won't go into the juicy details, but Luna's taken a liking to these bat-pony hybrids he had sired into this world, and introduced them to her Guard once I told her there might be some new ponies that might better suit her duties than my day guards.
The Royal Handler is still under close watch, but we let him roam free on weekends, and he always comes back to a big bushel of apples. I've forbid him from tormenting Ponyville, so you don't need to worry about that. We got him under control.
Anyway, I admired your resourcefulness to ration out what remaining apples had survived the onslaught. Even when the battle had been lost, you made sure to keep a level head, and the town survived to this day. Even if a few ponies had moved away to Appaloosa--which I suspect you're at to check up on those "loose ends" you referred to--the rest of the town stuck with it, and life had greatly improved.
Thanks to Princess Twilight, this recent infestation was handled with far less destruction than before, if Mayor's damage report is accurate, so rest assured the orchard is in good hooves upon your return.
But I should warn you--Mayor left a footnote saying she heard some hissing outside her window as she uncorked one of your vintage bottles of apple cider last night, so maybe all the bats haven't been introduced to that sanctuary yet. I'd keep a close eye on your cellar--I know I am.
Friends Forever,
Princess Celestia
Luna, are the pies ready?
Perfect, I'll get started on writing that letter to Discord... unless you want to write to him.
Of course you can! I mean, I'm offering. It's not like last time where you jacked it without permission. And no, I'm not bitter.
Here you go, then. Knock yourself out. NOT literally.
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And that's how the thestrals were born. Dunno why, but I thought that were involved the mangoes...
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5882600 it was stupid because Twilight decided to do what she did in Swarm of the Century. They are pests, but mlp has shown other pests and no one kills them. I'm surprised Celestia isn't mad at her for the parasprites!
I loved that book! But yeah, here's hoping Mayor Mare doesn't have to fight off Flutterbat!
To be honest, I liked Bats! except for the resolution. Teaching kids to keep invading species in a new environment is just harmful.
As for the rest, well... hmm, a "sheer miracle of magic" when a ball of bats was thrown at a pegasus resulted in thestrals. What?
Welp. That stalion found more than one "interested mare" for sure, if there's enough bat ponies in 50 years to form a branch of the guard.
5882676
Actually, just share the drink a bit. New flutter-friend acquired.
Benefits to be included (or not) at their discretion.
5882600
Thank you, finally. Bats is a good example as to why Fluttershy is worst Mane 6, but the writing keeps backing up her ridiculous "Kindness" which doesn't include her own best friends and only extends to animals.
Applejack's life and livelihood, and a principle supplier of Ponyville's food stock (therefore also Ponyville's lifeline and the reason they can remain independent economically), threatened by an invading species. Fluttershy tries to prevent anyone from getting rid of them because 'she thinks' they're cute and sweet. Not one iota of concern for Applejack, who spent her whole life tending those trees, and likely will spend the rest of it. But the writing ends up making Fluttershy right, every time.
Don't even get me started on Filli Vanilli or the reformation of Discord. Especially that last one, ugh. Beaver starts killing AJ's orchard, she calls it a varmint, it cusses her out, and Fluttershy makes APPLEJACK apologize and appease the beaver. Fuck that.
Luna's probably loving what they're gonna do to Discord.
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Granddaughter
Nice title. Loved the books and too few seem to know about them.
Hmm i wonder if the Royal Handler is related to Fluttershy.....
5882791
Well, we know that magic + fruit bats + pegasus = bat pegasus from the episode. Thus, Celestia's magic + fruit bat ball + flying pegasus stallion = bat pony sire.
Granted, this is an oversimplification, but the concept is there.
5882898
Technically, the only reason this episode even went down like this is because Twilight used magic to try and please everyone. The bats don't eat apples, but they can stay instead of being driven away. Satisfies the butter and the orange, everyone walks away happy.
Had Twilight not helped with magic (the one thing she just can't seem to resist doing), this episode would have gone with the moral that some destructive creatures simply aren't worth the kindness given to them, but it's their show. I just run with what I'm dealt with.
5883221
Yeah, but then she is the element of Magic and one of her friends kinda pushed her to do it.
5882809 Seeing how "exotic" he'd be, thats a reasonable asumption... ether that or he just had a lot of children, which then had a fair amount of children. 50 years is enough time to reasonably asume quite a few grand children to be at ages 15-25, wether he had many mares or just a large family we might never know.
Oh and its just Luna's personal guard, not an entire corp. 8-20 should be enough.
...
...
...
... Okay, I couldn't find any pic for this one. Here have banana jack
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5882898
I'm pretty sure fluttershy wantes both sides to be satisfied, so she couldn't side with her friends to do that.
5887240
That headcanon is not supported by the actual canon. I could see where you might think that, though. Problem is there - if we use your headcanon, that she holds pests to be of the same importance as the ponies who she's risked her life alongside. You've probably lived a normal, cushy life, but anyone who's had my back has my gun when they need it. You don't put your life in someone's hands then fucking pass them off as equal to some invading pests who are all up screwing up their hard work. That's not kindness, it's not thoughtful, it's not considerate, it's not friendship and it's not sane. Worst friend. Worst Mane 6. Not worst pony.
5887282
but they haven't been through something like that...ssure, there was danger, but not like what you're talking about, fluttershy just didn't want the bats to be exterminated, it's not like she was forcing them.
5889215
They weren't going to BE exterminated. Just moved away from Sweet Apple Acres. Scared off. The entire point was Applejack not wanting them eating her crops, which she feeds her family with, and makes money from by selling to Ponyville, which all of Ponyville eats, and likely exports.
Think about it this way. Do you want people coming in and walking off with your money five bucks at a time? No? How about when you try to stop them or send them away, you have a friend who says they deserve to have that money because they're cute and have families? Well, now you have troubles providing for yours, now YOU have trouble eating. And all your friend cares about is that these people take your fuckin' money so they can have it for themselves.
A: Be a pussy, do what friend says.
B: Punch friend in throat and send them to a psychiatric ward for being insane.
And yes, they did face death together. Lauren Faust confirmed on her dA Q&A years ago that Nightmare Moon was a genocidal-level villain. Eternal Night would have been the end of the world, everyone dead. The creator said this herself, Word of God.
5889249
ok then.
but I'm pretty sure fluttershy wanted to make sure no one got screwed. And if I remember correctly, wasn't it a vote or something? Whatever, her kindness applies to everything, yes, her friend is important, but she didn't want them to be screwed, even though it would hurt her friend I guess, idk.
5889261
That's not kindness. From a psychological viewpoint, she's an exceptionally cruel person. This is even supported by canon. Her key activated when she put her hoof down and evicted those Breezies harshly. THAT was kindness. Being weak and cowardly and choosing rapacious critters over your friends is not a virtue. Granted, that's probably why she isn't Loyalty.
Celestia was once the bearer of Kindness. That should help put things into perspective. She's self-sacrificing.
5889271
yep, especially the NMM incident.
And rarity can be greedy too.
maybe they are also the elements of calmity/chaos? Kindness/cruelty generosity/greed loyalty/abandonment? (I forgot that one so...) laughter/sadness? Honesty/deception.
5889326
No, I've thought about this. They're not... Avatars of Harmony. They're normal ponies, who have the BEST qualities of their particular virtue available to them.
Dash can be disloyal, but she can also be MORE loyal than anyone else. Applejack can lie, but she can also be the most honest pony you'll ever meet (honesty is more than just telling the truth anyway). Likewise, Fluttershy has the capacity for a crazy amount of Kindness, and most of the time just doesn't use it. It applies for all of them, including Rarity. There are times she can be exceptionally greedy and selfish, but if it were a contest no one could be more generous than Rarity.
Celestia was Magic/Generosity/Kindness back in the day, with Luna being Loyalty/Honesty/Laughter.
5882612 i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/001/779/hnnnnng.jpg
5882600
This explains everything!
Bat ponies are awesome. As said by every mare he's rutted.
5887282 Urr, I don't fully understand what you mean about how Fluttershy is cruel. Yeah, she was kind when she was telling the breezies to go back, but what I don't understand is how she's apparently not kind when it comes to choosing the critters over her friends. Applejack wants to get rid of the bats for her orchard's survival, the bats want (or need, as some might say) a source of apples, so Fluttershy wants both her friend and the bats to get what they want. So, yeah. How is she exceptionally cruel?
I could've missed something important you said so forgive me if I seem to not acknowledge a crucial piece of information that has been highlighted already.
5882600 Actually they are not parasites. They have a mutualistic relationship with the apple trees. Which also implies that they are actually native species, but migratory. They do suck the juice from the apples, but in turn they spread the seeds, creating more trees. This is beneficial to the trees as their sole goal is to propagate their species. So NO THEY ARE NOT PARASITES!!! Just because something does fit into the plans of a farmer, worker, or whoever is bedning nature to their will, does not mean it is a parasite and should be destroyed. A parasite is something that harms its host. Like fleas, ticks, lice, bedbugs, and mites. Appplejack was not the bat's host. The apple tree was. The apple tree was not harmed by the bats. Applejack's profit and livelihood was. Dangerous for her but not to the trees. Hence, Fluttershy's defense.
Honestly, Applejack's thinking was similar to that of farmers in North America, especially the southern United States, who decided that since the wolves ate their sheep and livestock they were evil. And killed them all. Now there's an overpopulation of deer and coyotes are practically invading everywhere. And those Celestia-damned critters have no fear of anything. They also enjoy your pets. For dinner. And again, can't really be scared.
the episode wasn't the greatest though. But hey. It WAS written for KIDS. Not for adults, teens, or anyone over the age of 7. It did its job. Which was to show the angers of thinking in the short-term and not the long-term. After all, if the bats diet consists solely of apples, there is a very real chance that they are actually the natural propagators for apple trees in that region or the entirety of Equestria. Also, they could be a major part of the diet of predator species. There's no telling what the ecological impact of messing with the bats could have been. Sort of like introducing cane toads to Australia to eat the weevils. Or pushing wolves to the verge of extinction, only to have the largr prey species overpopulate, destroy most of the fauna they eat and starve to death...which isn't good for the plans that really on them. Welcome to the ecosystem. Outside of TRUE PARASITES..... NOTHING can be wiped out without casing a very nasty ripple effect. And nothing can be introduced either(i.e. water hyacinth, pampas grass, KUDZU, english ivy, ferrets, snakes, rabbits, certain species of goldfish, a species of parakeet, the list goes on...)
6568618 except the argument has fridge failure, because Applejack runs an orchard: you don't just plant trees willy-nilly if you run an orchard. Also, pony orchards might be a bit different, but human orchards rely heavily on grafting.
Further problems come about when you remember how over-domesticated the plants and wildllife of equestria usuaully are: "the animals take care of themselves" is one of the frightening qualities of the Everfree forest.
Granted, that last bit could be fridge brilliance: Applejack is fine with this because ponies in general are so keen to take care of all the animals, but the episode veers away from the elephant in the room: explosive breeding. Without dealing with that, the episode's solution doesn't hold water.
6022317 Bow Chicka Bow Wow!
I wasted a few minutes trying to figure that episode out, when I first watched it.
1) The vampire fruit bats are fruit eaters, so they rely on there being fruit available. Possibly a tropical species?
2) They aren't native to the Ponyville area, and may have lost their way while migrating, flying too far north.
3) Apples ripen in late summer to fall, so few if any other fruit crops will exist for perhaps thousands of miles around.
4) After the vampire fruit bats finish eating the apple crop, they'll be facing fall and winter with no fruit.
Conclusion: If they stay, the bats will die by starvation. Sorry, Fluttershy. It's the Breezies all over again.
The little fling between Celestia, Luna, and Discord reminds me of Ashfur's Prank Wars, and this came out about 4 years before that did.