Ponies disrupting the ecosystem?

[ManaMinori 4,149]

Are ponies actually harming the ecosystem? One nagging thought I couldn't seem to shake was the fact that ponies such as Celestia- who's been in power for over a millenia, Starswirl, who lived some time before the royal sisters were even born, and mentored them, and of course, the mane 6 have all, at some point, tampered with the balance of nature, whether by altering a “lesser species” physical form, or just banishing some species that could be necessary to maintain a balanced ecosystem to alternate dimensions. Twilight is seen turning mice into horses, frogs and birds into oranges, and Luna knows what else. Celestia and Starswirl have both tampered with the events of completely different worlds, and likely countless species in them, by traipsing through the alt dimensions many times themselves, and Starswirl also directly effecting the Equestrian ecosystem by completely taking the sirens/ hippocampi out and tossing them in some other world, which again, effected whatever species resided in the AU.

 

I'm sure the unicorns/ alicorns think they're helping by just getting rid of a problem by throwing a 'bad guy' into another world and removing the problem out of the ecosystem, entirely, (or ruining it by having spells at the ready which can alter the natural makeup of that species), but are they really doing more harm than good, messing with entire species and altering/ removing them out the picture to their will? Seems much like something humans would do, rather than friendship and harmony preaching ponies.

[newfrickinshow 100]

Hard to say but things in the long term seemed to be better without than with.  And the sirens and other banished folks didn't seem capable of doing all that much in the lands that they were banished to.  The mice into horses thing was only until midnight, the frogs that became part orange probably weren't able to reproduce anymore so that nixes that.  Stuff like altering the parasprites and vampire fruit bats were proably the most egrigious and dangerous examples.  Those also turned out to be bad ideas for one reason or another.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Well, with the pegasi controlling and manufacturing all weather in Equestria, and the earth ponies being personally responsible for the growth of all plants there, I'd say that they are the ecosystem. That is why they make the Everfree forest such a huge deal because as Twilight herself said "The weather there is made on it's own, and the plants grow without the help of ponies", meaning that largely Equestria's ecosystem is nearly 100% managed by the ponies. And since they have such a tight control on their planets environment and ecosystem it would seem that they can remove any elements they find personally dangerous. Not to mention that the sirens were sapient, and sapient creatures do not normally fit into a natural ecosystem (see humanity for an example).

 

So I'd say since ponies seem to be running the climate and ecosystem, they can remove or add elements at near whim.

[Celli 4,349]

Well, if you pay attention to the show, I think the ecosystem would be fucked without the ponies.

[SailorMedamonGirl1 127]

I believe that before Celestia & Luna, everything ran on it's own for the most part much similar to our own world. But after they started ruling and due to their powers over the sun & moon, they wanted to extend that reach so other ponies can contribute to life so they became the ecosystem.

 

But, the Everfree forest was untouched because of the castle being abandoned by the sisters so it's the last place in Equestria (maybe?) that runs freely without pony control as the world was meant to be. 

 

Of course, turning the Vamp fruit bat's tastes to not like apples and the parasprites changing to not eating food but instead eating everything else would be seen as very dangerous. It could effect the ecosystem on some levels, especially if it was left to grow or the VFB would eventually die leaving behind bad apple trees.

[Invincible 2,092]

Bear in mind that their ecosystem, their world, the life in it - all thrives on magic. I think the existence in a world abundant with it's own oddities and magical species forces the lifeforms to find ways to adapt.

[Singe 2,111]

The Equestrian's entire eco-system is controlled by magic. They are essentially a magic society widespread.

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

Where the ponies live, they pretty much are the ecosystem. They control the weather and help the animals out etc.

[The Crimson Cross 7,533]

I was under that the impression there was no natural forces and that ponies had to control it themselves i.e. the weather control ponies.

Though something like ever free forest weather is chaotic and random much like the weather we have here.

 

Needless to say Pony and human ecosystems are much different. 

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

The ponies all control their ecosystem, and it is very different from our own, so I think things like that are minor.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Well first of all, that last statement sounds quite damming don't you think? The ponies are, for lack of a better term, human. That's what makes them superior to the past generations of the show. They have freedom, the have flaws, they make mistakes, they have heroes, and they have virtues. The same is true for us.

 

What's different between us and them is one major element: magic. We evolved naturally along a Darwinian path, our world is not kind to us, it is indifferent to us. It provides only that which we are smart enough to take advantage of, from the spear to the atmosphere we send these signals through. The ponies are different and not because their world cares for them, oh no, it's because it depends on them. Equestria demands more of the ponies than Earth does of us. They are the wardens of their world, the weather, plant life, and even the conditions of their biosphere require active and constant maintenance.

 

Celestia and Luna are also different in that they are deities. Are they infallible? Well of course not, we've seen both of them make mistakes or been forced into compromising situations. However given their centuries long lives and all the accumulated wisdom and experience that would entail, they are better prepared to make informed decisions of import when it comes to justice and powerful magic than any living person, human or pony.

 

So no, I don't think the ponies are doing more harm than good to their or other worlds. (And just to reaffirm something, this show and it's characters wouldn't be what they are if they didn't exist in us as well.)

Edited October 6, 2014 by Steel Accord

[ManaMinori 4,149]

I was under that the impression there was no natural forces and that ponies had to control it themselves i.e. the weather control ponies.

Though something like ever free forest weather is chaotic and random much like the weather we have here.

 

Needless to say Pony and human ecosystems are much different. 

I think weather is a completely different matter than say- the ponies plucking out certain creatures from the environment (that have lived as they were for probably far longer than the ponies were around. ) Like the hippocampi sirens. Or messing with a species dietary habits, like the Changelings (preventing working things out to find a solution to where they can feed, and just blasting them to oblivion), Parasprites or Fruitbats (where their diets are magically altered), if that species happens to inconvenience them. That not only effects the species that they tampered with/ removed, but whatever other species might've relied on the presence or diets of that species that the ponies messed with.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

I think weather is a completely different matter than say- the ponies plucking out certain creatures from the environment (that have lived as they were for probably far longer than the ponies were around. ) Like the hippocampi sirens. Or messing with a species dietary habits, like the Changelings (preventing working things out to find a solution to where they can feed, and just blasting them to oblivion), Parasprites or Fruitbats (where their diets are magically altered), if that species happens to inconvenience them. That not only effects the species that they tampered with/ removed, but whatever other species might've relied on the presence or diets of that species that the ponies messed with.

 

Again, the ponies are more than within their domain for enforcing such. The Changelings were sapient creatures than were going to hold them and their realm in thrall to feed off of their love, Shining Armor and Cadence were doing the right thing when it was their love that banished them.

 

The Parasprites stumbled from the Everfree Forest by accident, all Pinkie did was lead them back home. The bats were a mistake, but in the pony's defense, the local Druid was saying how they benefitted AJ in the long run and trying to talk the others down.

 

So again, no. The ponies are not lording over their world anymore than they already have the right and responsibility to.

[Vox 870]

Considering the ease of which ponies manipulate their environment according to their will, I would have to say that they have all authority and dominion of their world, therefor the manipulation of species and the world is completely "natural"