S02:E22 - Hurricane Fluttershy

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

Awesome episode all around. Like many of you who have already posted here, I greatly enjoyed the further development of the (platonic) relationship between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Someday, I hope to see a full-on flashback episode about their childhood, because I have a feeling they have a lot more background left to uncover.

 

I was a bit disappointed that Twilight's primary role in this episode turned out to be reading numbers from an instrument and relaying them to the pegasi (or when they whipped up the tornado, screaming them into the wind). Especially after she rattled off a scientific explanation of how the wingpower-measuring instrument worked (did it have a name, by the way? I don't think I caught one).

 

Film projectors are confirmed to exist! Their films are greyscale, so I'm quite sure nothing digital exists in Equestria. But it helps to further define what technological level the pony civilization is at. Based on what we've seen so far, I'd place their technology as roughly equivalent to the 1940's to 1960's of our world. Could be a helpful detail for fanfiction writers.

 

I do wonder... how the heck did Spike get himself tangled up in the film itself? Silly Spike.

 

Here's something to chew on - that reservoir was quite small. A single rain cloud can carry thousands and thousands of litres of water. How is the water from that one reservoir going to last for the entire rainy season in all of Equestria? Could Equestria be much smaller than we thought?

 

How could Ragin Steroid Pegasus even fly with those itty bitty tiny wings?

 

No one yet able to explain why the hay that steroid stallion could fly

 

I think this excerpt from a topic by Silverhoof provides a plausible explanation.

 

Pony Physiology 101

This post is inspired by the Equine Anatomy 101 poster.

http://twentypercent...n_4-horn-organs

 

Pony pre-history is that of a grazer. There are vast grasslands in Equestria, but no other large grazing animals. When the Earth Ponies discovered agriculture, the race left the grasslands. Nothing has since evolved to take the ponies place.

 

Compared to humans, an Equestrian Pony is about 4 feet tall at the head, and weighs about the same. The face of a pony is very human-like: rounded with a small (if any) muzzle. Ponies in Equestria no more resemble earthly ponies, than humans resemble the apes.

 

Equestrian anatomy allows for far greater range of movement that earthy equines. They do not sport the distended belly an earthy grazer must have. Further, an Equestrian can stand and sit much like a human (even to the point of dancing).

 

Magic and Telekinesis.

 

Magic infuses the very land itself. It’s through the use of magic that ponies were able to rise above the beasts and shape the land. There is one universal magic inherent to all ponies: telekinesis.

 

Earth Ponies utilize TK at its most elemental level. They can pick up objects simply by touching it with a hoof. This is true telekinesis but with no range. For example: An Earth pony picks up a saw. His TK holds the saw in place, but it’s the strength of his forelimb that moves the saw back and forth. This particular brand of TK is limited to his forelimbs only.

 

Pegasus Ponies also have this simple Telekinesis. But they can express this TK thru two other limbs: Their wings. Flight is simply an expression of telekinesis. Pegasi wings are far too small to effectively lift the pony. TK does the flying, the wings appear to be for control only. In some cases, this telekinetic flight is stronger and faster than others.

 

Pegasi also have a racial magic. All pegasi have the same abilities, though the degree of power expressed may vary. Walking on clouds, weather manipulation, and shaping clouds into a safe home environments make up this dramatic racial magic. Further, Pegasi can combine their abilities to produce ever more powerful effects.

 

Unicorns are masters of telekinesis and magic. Telekinesis can be expressed at range by any unicorn. Further it enables fine control. TK strength varies, but in general it’s about the same as human strength. Unicorns with training can express their telekinesis in many ways including large area effects (as seen by Twilight Sparkle in a number of episodes).

 

Unicorn Magic: As pictured in the poster, the skull of a unicorn protects a second brain like organ. This is where the expressions of magic come from. Every unicorn has some magical ability, powerful or not. Certain unicorns like Twilight can be trained to act like a true earthy wizard. Most however are limited to their own unique brand of magic (like Rarity’s ability to discover deposits of gem stones).

 

[Starshine 16,333]

Pegasus Ponies also have this simple Telekinesis. But they can express this TK thru two other limbs: Their wings. Flight is simply an expression of telekinesis. Pegasi wings are far too small to effectively lift the pony. TK does the flying, the wings appear to be for control only. In some cases, this telekinetic flight is stronger and faster than others.

Somehow it makes sense

[Gizmo 206]

Here's something to chew on - that reservoir was quite small. A single rain cloud can carry thousands and thousands of litres of water. How is the water from that one reservoir going to last for the entire rainy season in all of Equestria? Could Equestria be much smaller than we thought?

 

Well the film did show a map, but only showed that the water was meant to be sent to 4 main cities/towns(my guess is Canterlot. Ponyville, Manehatten, and Appleloosa.) . But my best guess is there's more than one pegasus city like cloud city, maybe they're regional kind of like how in america sheriffs are assigned to counties and are on call for all cities in that county BUT We also need to take into notice that there's a U.K. based pony country as well seeing as pip said in episode "Luna Eclipsed" that he was from Trottingham so there very well may be even more pegasus citys around the whole world serving the same purposes . Also i think Equestria isn't the name of the WHOLE world per say, but quite possible just the name of the country in which Ponyville and Canterlot reside in. I'm not sure though it's just a guess.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Gizmo

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

Well the film did show a map, but only showed that the water was meant to be sent to 4 main cities/towns(my guess is Canterlot. Ponyville, Manehatten, and Appleloosa.) BUT We also need to take into notice that there's a U.K. based pony country as well seeing as pip said in episode "Luna Eclipsed" that he was from Trottingham. But my best guess is there's more than one pegasus city like cloud city, maybe they're regional kind of like how in america sheriffs are assigned to counties and are on call for all cities in that county. Also i think Equestria isn't the name of the WHOLE world per say, but quite possible just the name of the country in which Ponyville and Canterlot reside in. I'm not sure though it's just a guess.

 

Equestria is confirmed to be a country, not the planet. But to the best of my understanding, every single pony city is within Equestria and Princess Celestia rules over all of them. I'm hesitant to take the film at face value because it is just that - a film. The map is only a symbolic representation of Equestria, and it's entirely possible that it was trimmed for the sake of brevity. It could be missing many of the settlements or only depict a small section of the country.

 

Keep in mind that rainwater also needs to be provided to every single plant and animal in Equestria, in all of the forests and fields that lie between the cities. That's awfully little water to distribute among such a large area.

 

It also begs the question: does Equestrian water defy the laws of physics and not evaporate and form clouds naturally? I mean, the answer to this is clearly yes, because Cloudsdale's weather factories would have no purpose in existing otherwise. But this opens a can of physics worms. Water clearly does evaporate as well, as we have seen steam in cooking and the spa.

 

Someone who is further along in school than grade 11, help me out here.

[Starshine 16,333]

Everything in Equestria defies any Earthly physics

[ponyvangelist 732]

Just saw it. Putting aside the questionable physics issues involved, I loved it. Great episode.

 

Maybe I'm too easy to please, but despite my initial concerns about Lauren, God-Empress of Equestria, leaving the show, I continue to be tremendously impressed by Season Two. It really may end up being a better season (in my opinion, anyway) than Season One, and considering how excellent Season One was, that would be no small accomplishment.

 

Nicely done.

[Swoop 2,278]

This episode has commenced airing. All related episode discussion can be posted in this thread.

[Hatguy 38]

So I guess this means Fluttertree is now canon...I'm surprised I didn't notice this the first time I watched se2ep22

 

Edited March 25, 2012 by Hatguy

[Klopp 2,050]

So I guess this means Fluttertree is now canon...I'm surprised I didn't notice this the first time I watched se2ep22

 

I've merged your thread with the Season 2 Episode 22 Discussion, so we can keep things more organized around here

[Radiance64 7,053]

Just saw it. Putting aside the questionable physics issues involved, I loved it. Great episode. Maybe I'm too easy to please, but despite my initial concerns about Lauren, God-Empress of Equestria, leaving the show, I continue to be tremendously impressed by Season Two. It really may end up being a better season (in my opinion, anyway) than Season One, and considering how excellent Season One was, that would be no small accomplishment. Nicely done.

This. The quality of the last 5 episodes alone have proven Season 2's superiority to me personally, and give me extremely high hopes for the last 4 episodes of the season. Edited March 25, 2012 by Super Brony Bolt 64

[Magnus 69]

I loved that episode! I enjoyed seeing Ditsy again, always enjoy seeing her

Fluttertree was cool, and that bulked up pony for some reason gave me a Duke Nukem vibe

 

Like many I too expected them to get the record thanks to fluttershy, but was surprised in a good way in how it turned out, much better lesson than what would otherwise have been the result.

Enjoyed seeing RD in a caring role, trying to support her friend instead of the usual behaviour we see from her.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Magnus

[Southern Belle 6]

IS there an offical name for the beefcake pony?

 

Because when I first saw him, I literally said: "What the hay is Hercules's horse doing there?!" XD

[Zekira G. Drake 50]

Not a minute in the episode and I'm already spazzing like crap, FLUTTERSHY = TREE IS NOW CANON

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

I was a bit disappointed that Twilight's primary role in this episode turned out to be reading numbers from an instrument and relaying them to the pegasi (or when they whipped up the tornado, screaming them into the wind). Especially after she rattled off a scientific explanation of how the wingpower-measuring instrument worked (did it have a name, by the way? I don't think I caught one).

 

Twilight gives the proper name for the intrument - anemometer. It's an actual wind speed measuring device. The wing power rating is probably based on the fact that the faster the pegasus, the more wind they produce. So wind_speed X some_conversion_rate = wing_power.

 

As for the steam, steam is not quite the same thing as evaporation (although closely related in real life.) Evaporation produces water vapour, which is invisible. Steam is composed of tiny droplets, just as clouds are. Clouds only form when water vapour condenses into water droplets or freezes directly into snow.

 

This was a good episode, even if the ending was visible a mile away. Angel Bunny was much better. It seems once Fluttershy refused to keep being treated like a door mat, he settled down. Only one problem with this episode... no Rarity!

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

I used to like Spitfire....

 

 

 

 

 

[Flow 1,624]

Remember this mane?:

[Starshine 16,333]

Spitfire was a judge, then she wasn't allowed to help?

/derp

 

Maybe there's some unofficial competition between towns

[Faithful Dawn 8]

Remember this mane?:

 

Yes I do.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

I finally saw this episode... I just have this to say...

 

SO MUCH DERPY!!! Seriously, I saw Derpy at LEAST 3 times this episode!!! I can't count the exact amount but, geez... TONS OF DERPY!!!

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

Spitfire was a judge, then she wasn't allowed to help?

/derp

 

Maybe there's some unofficial competition between towns

 

They didn't have enough power to even raise the water. The contest was over. It had turned into an emergency situation. Spitfire should have lent a wing in order to help transport the much needed water. The lazy bitch just watched and did nothing! I know it's silly, but I actually feel angry against a fictional character because she refused to help when she was clearly needed!

[Evilshy 5,090]

 

 

They didn't have enough power to even raise the water. The contest was over. It had turned into an emergency situation. Spitfire should have lent a wing in order to help transport the much needed water. The lazy bitch just watched and did nothing! I know it's silly, but I actually feel angry against a fictional character because she refused to help when she was clearly needed!

 

Yet more proof that the wonderbolts incompetent celebrities. They're like a boy band, they can't do anything, but they're famous for it anyway.

 

 

 

 

Equestria is confirmed to be a country, not the planet. But to the best of my understanding, every single pony city is within Equestria and Princess Celestia rules over all of them. I'm hesitant to take the film at face value because it is just that - a film. The map is only a symbolic representation of Equestria, and it's entirely possible that it was trimmed for the sake of brevity. It could be missing many of the settlements or only depict a small section of the country.

 

Keep in mind that rainwater also needs to be provided to every single plant and animal in Equestria, in all of the forests and fields that lie between the cities. That's awfully little water to distribute among such a large area.

 

It also begs the question: does Equestrian water defy the laws of physics and not evaporate and form clouds naturally? I mean, the answer to this is clearly yes, because Cloudsdale's weather factories would have no purpose in existing otherwise. But this opens a can of physics worms. Water clearly does evaporate as well, as we have seen steam in cooking and the spa.

 

Someone who is further along in school than grade 11, help me out here.

 

Boiling and evaporation are both water changing from a liquid to a gas; the difference is that with boiling water, it's happening mostly uniformly throughout the water, while evaporation is only at the surface. The random movements of the water molecules generate tiny amounts of heat, and sometimes, if a molecule on the surface of the water gets enough, it will have enough energy to "jump off" the surface and become vapor. How much heat is needed relies on a number of factors.

The most obvious explanation for why water doesn't evaporate but still boils in Equestria is that the normal air pressure is higher than it is on earth. This would make it much harder for standing water to evaporate, but wouldn't at all prevent water from boiling or even just letting off light steam.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Evilshy

[Ron Jeremy 2,032]

@Feld0: At least Twilight got a role.

 

With these latest episodes, it seems they're leaving characters out more often than usual. Could there possibly be a behind-the-scenes reason for this? I know episodes are made in advance, but it still kinda strikes me as curious. Meh, I'm just being paranoid I think.

 

Another interesting thing I've noted is how they seem to be introducing single-episode characters more often. (This episode having the 'roid pony, previous episode, Crackle, couple episodes back, Iron Will) Not a complaint or anything, just an observation.

 

Writing more about the episode in itself: While the recent episodes have been great, they had a different "feel" to them, this episode "feels" like older episodes. Don't know how to explain it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact the episode has a similar concept to Winter Wrap-up. Nonetheless, great episode. Fluttershy was awwww-inducing, yet I also kinda relate to her problem to an extent.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

Yet more proof that the wonderbolts incompetent celebrities. They're like a boy band, they can't do anything, but they're famous for it anyway.

 

I think they should have shown RD going home and ripping up her Wonderbolts poster!

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

Because I'm tired, my initial post will be brief.

 

That was a wonderful episode. From start to finish it was strong, healthy, and funderful. THIS is how you do a Fluttershy episode, for sure.

 

I think my favorite part of the episode, though, was the amount of empathy we saw from Rainbow Dash. This is how she's supposed to act...she was still brash, aggressive, competitive, but she cared about Fluttershy. The amount of emotion she displayed when she bucked the air after Fluttershy flew off crying, complete with her own slight tears...honestly this episode just about made me a permanent fan of Flutterdash.

 

More in depth analysis to come when I watch it again at home, probably sometime Sunday or Monday.

[Chickey 383]

I loved Spitfires face. I almost died laughing.