S09:E18 - She Talks to Angel

[Singe 2,109]

It's really not fair to the predators because this shows that Fluttershy gave in to the vegans. She was okay in Season 1 with feeding animals meat like fish. That should have been okay to allow predators to eat fish.

[ChB 18,532]

5 minutes ago, Singe said:

It's really not fair to the predators because this shows that Fluttershy gave in to the vegans. She was okay in Season 1 with feeding animals meat like fish. That should have been okay to allow predators to eat fish.

I do realize that is a bit of a plot hole, but I can excuse it if only for the fact that an animal sanctuary full of carnivores and herbivores would not function if some of them are free to hunt. I'm not sure if all predators can eat fish, but I do suspect that for some, their necessary diet may require more than fish meat.

Of course, the easy answer is to not have a sanctuary with carnivores, but who wants to lose the zoo predators that many kids adore or love? So as Jeric and others have pointed out, the show decided long ago to go in a direction that would be unfeasible in the real world. And personally, I am okay with that.  

[CinnamonSwirl 90]

1 hour ago, Singe said:

It's really not fair to the predators because this shows that Fluttershy gave in to the vegans. She was okay in Season 1 with feeding animals meat like fish. That should have been okay to allow predators to eat fish.

But she was trying to get the animals to not eat each other while in sanctuary. Not all of their life.

On 8/31/2019 at 9:22 PM, BornAgainBrony said:

This doesn't excuse it, but if I were Zecora... this is FLUTTERSHY we're talking about. She may not understand what it's like to be Angel, but I'd still give her the award for "Least Likely to Enter the Everfree Forest Alone," even as a Pony, much less a Bunny. Maybe she thought her size would give her the stealth advantage? Fluttershy showed more guts in this episode than I even knew she had. Not that she didn't try to get help, but she had no way to convey it. Has there been another incident where she got that courageous since the time she told off the adult dragon?

The story at least went so far as to have Zecora warn them not to take the potion until they were in a place where they were safe. She was imagining a quiet evening at home where nothing even remotely dangerous could happen. That's why she specified this. Everything that happened after that was a result of Angel being overly hasty.

As for Zecora not escorting her back to the sanctuary... I got nothin'

Kinda glad she xidnt escort her back. Cant learn about someone else's shoes when you get your hand held.

[CinnamonSwirl 90]

On 8/31/2019 at 12:41 PM, ShootingStar159 said:

Look... I take this attitude with a lot of things in this show. It’s a fantasy world in a fairy tale setting, so it’s fine for the most part. But the difference between two princesses raising the son and moon or bird horses controlling weather, and giving animals a “vegan” diet, is that people actually try and do the latter. This is setting a horrible example for any audience watching, no matter how much you try and hand wave the problem away with the magical setting.

 

If an episode had a pro-antivax message, I don’t think anyone would be trying to explain it away with the setting. Veganism should always be a choice you make for yourself, it should never be something you force onto someone else, pet, child, anyone. As an aside, never, ever give an animal chocolate, it’s poison to just about any animal that isn’t a human.

Chocolate is deadly when it eats its body weight in it. Here and there dont hurt. I give my dogs chocolate and vet said as long as it's not in mass amounts to his body weight it's fine 

[Will Guide 21,325]

3 hours ago, Singe said:

It's really not fair to the predators because this shows that Fluttershy gave in to the vegans. She was okay in Season 1 with feeding animals meat like fish. That should have been okay to allow predators to eat fish.

Fluttershy's rule of no predators eating prey only applies to the Sanctuary. What the predators do outside the sanctuary is their business and I believe Fluttershy knows that. The way I see it, She may not like the idea, but she lets the predators do their natural thing OUTSIDE the Sanctuary. 

And as Dark Qiviut said about why it works here:

Quote

1. The animals here aren’t like the ones in real life. They may not talk and act animalistic at times, but they can communicate with those who can talk very well, think, and act sapient.

2. Fluttershy establishes an important rule in the sanctuary: no eating other animals inside. The sanctuary is a safe space for ALL animals big or small. She proposed it first, and everyone (including the snake, whose desire to eat the elephant proved pivotal) agreed to it.

Heck, I read a Fanfic where an older and bigger Spike preys on animals far outside the Sanctuary on an infrequent basis and Fluttershy accepts it despite not agreeing with it.

 

Boy, there are many members criticizing this episode just because "it's unnatural for predators to go vegan". Despite the obvious unspoken fact that Fluttershy still allows the predators to prey on other animals OUTSIDE the Sanctuary. Fluttershy's rule is a fair one. She's not forcing ALL predators to give up their eating habits ALL the time. Just when they're in a safe space that's nuetral ground.

Edited September 2, 2019 by Will Guide
My thoughts on critics about Fluttershy "predators must go vegan" rule

[Singe 2,109]

A better direction instead is try the predators on vegan where it fails. Then Fluttershy who is providing the food acquires special feed for the predators to mitigate the issue.

Edited September 2, 2019 by Singe

[KatonRyu 1,026]

12 hours ago, BornAgainBrony said:

As if the Ponies weren't enough of an indication, animal anatomy is obviously not what it is on Earth. From the very beginning, we've seen horses eating things that you would never feed to a horse. Then we have a snake who chews the cookie before swallowing it (our snakes can't do that). The implication here is that eating habits are much more cultural rather than natural.

That may be so, but children who watch this show might be tempted to feed their dog or cat things that really aren't good for them after seeing Fluttershy recommending it. The majority probably won't, just like I don't believe that violent shows or games make children act that way, but in this case it's actually presented as something desirable and in our world it simply isn't. There are already too many people IRL doing this out of misguided enlightenment.

[CinnamonSwirl 90]

Honestly who cares if fluttershy tells the predators to go vegan. Its s cartoon show. Kids aren't going to look that deep into it. They're watching the show for the colors and characters not the deep deep lessons. The adults make more fuss about it and interpret it deeper than the kids.my kids watch it and dont pay attention to it. they just like the flashy colors and the cute jokes.

Edited September 3, 2019 by ChocolateSwirl

[ImpctR 155]

On 9/1/2019 at 3:56 AM, Truffles said:

In that one Fluttershy was imagining Angel as a monster

That's what they want you to think! Angel IS a monster lol

Edited September 3, 2019 by ImpctR

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

25 minutes ago, ImpctR said:

That's what they want you to think! Angel IS a monster lol

I think that was actually Angel imagining himself bigger. I have a hard time thinking Fluttershy would ever intentionally conjure something like that.

[ImpctR 155]

28 minutes ago, BornAgainBrony said:

I think that was actually Angel imagining himself bigger.

You are spot on, I remember that was the case. He wished it was so and he became, not a giant but a pony, and he still unleashed his monstrosity. 

 

On 8/31/2019 at 7:41 PM, ShootingStar159 said:

Look... I take this attitude with a lot of things in this show. It’s a fantasy world in a fairy tale setting, so it’s fine for the most part. But the difference between two princesses raising the son and moon or bird horses controlling weather, and giving animals a “vegan” diet, is that people actually try and do the latter. This is setting a horrible example for any audience watching, no matter how much you try and hand wave the problem away with the magical setting.

That I find quite a stretch. If we were to go so over-protective might as well put the children in a bomb shelter to not get any bad influence which is near impossible nowadays. Besides, dont think anything in there would be taken literally and as a behavioral reprogramming

Edited September 3, 2019 by ImpctR

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

Note: Credits to Sloppy Steve, The Dragon Warlock, and TwilightIsMagic for this review.

---

OK, after these last two posts, it's time to post a little review.

I already wrote about one controversy regarding Fluttershy's rule of not eating any meat inside the sanctuary grounds. Like I wrote then, it works in this environment because they agreed to FS's rule in the open and the animals behave differently in Equestria. Another controversy is regarding Zecora's use in the episode. From the following, these criticisms still hold up.

1. Even though Zecora had no idea at the time that both Angel and Fluttershy swapped bodies or Angel caused massive problems at the sanctuary, it still doesn't excuse her leaving Angel out to run in the dangerous Everfree Forest alone. Understanding how Zecora once caught Swamp Fever and then got nearly eaten by a roc, she should've known better than to just leave "Angel" be. At least carry him back into the heart of Ponyville before letting "him" go.
2. Zecora should've warned them what the potion would do. Yes, she can talk in riddles at times, and when you listen to them more and more carefully, you understand them, and she warned them to take it alone and at home. But by not telling them what would happen to them if they drank them, they get caught in a massive surprise. Telling them would warn them of what would happen if they drink it and how to fix it.
   
   And if her wink says anything, the potion they drank intended to do as promised: swap their bodies until they figure out they each contributed to the conflict. Only at this time did she realize what was going on.

The rest of the criticisms I had of her plan, both of its construction and implications? Hogwash.

There is another here, too. Bunny!Fluttershy's inability to alert both Twilight and Spike that her body got swapped was supposed to indicate how hopeless it is for her to solve it with help. No one knows about the swap, and without a voice, she can't tell others. However, that helplessness could've been clearer to the audience and not relied on having anyone wonder if using The Stare (which she used successfully on Angel earlier) would get others to notice.

The rest of the episode, however, is completely character-driven, and their interactions with each other and their environments as both themselves and swapped bodies contributed to the plot, particularly in the humor and drama.

Back in Putting Your Hoof Down, Angel had not only his worst appearance of the show by far, but also arguably the worst appearance of any character in the whole show. Yes, Angel wasn't exactly the nicest and most patient, but this episode really took it to the next level, making him a massive, abusive, out-of-character brat in order to get what he wants. While this episode doesn't directly connect to that episode at all, his brattiness returns. Unlike the former (and his desire for a salad made exactly the way he wanted), the episode gets the audience to understand his position in a few ways.

1. Fluttershy focused all her time on the animal sanctuary and classes that she spends no more quality time with him at all, and it shows in the open. As she stays focused on the task at hand, he wants her to give him some level of attention, but keeps getting ignored. During this exchange, Fluttershy utters a crucial line, which I'll further get to later.
2. After Fluttershy gives Angel a little "carrot-based" idea, he decides to get her attention by disrupting the support group and starting a massive fight, disheveling both Fluttershy and himself.
3. During the brawl, Dr. Fauna explains to Zecora that FS is able to keep the "chaos" under control despite Angel's shenanigans. Of course, Zecora believes things are worse than they look, observes how tension's boiling over, and believes the problem must be solved quickly before it becomes worse.
4. After spotting Fluttershy messaging the "gecko's" sore back, he asks her to message his own in an attempting to get attention, only to be rejected in favor of her responsibilities, and this rejection happens at least twice (the latter one equipped with Fluttershy snapping back and Angel hopping away, upset).
5. Why does Angel mock her in front of Zecora? Because he's frustrated with her spending all of her time with everything else.
6. This culminates to his hasty decision to disobey Zecora and take the potion out in the open. Just prior, Fluttershy wanted to be with him and then immediately felt self-pressured to complete her task. Notice the change in Angel's face from celebratory to concerned to fed up as she showed more and more worry.

This doesn't make Fluttershy innocent, though.

1. Recall the "crucial line":

   Quote

   "Sorry, everyone. I think somebunny just wants a little attention."

   …and how she said it with a sly smirk. With that line, Fluttershy suggests she sees his actions as spoiled only.

2. When he tries to get her attention, she yells at him, catching the attention of Dr. Fauna. Yes, she immediately regrets it, but it only restarts inside the storage closet. When he wants to taste the carrot concentrate, she's at her wit's end, accusing him of not taking her occupation seriously and wasting her time, culminating with equal growls towards each other.

3. Right after they switch bodies, the first thing Flutterbunny instructs Angelshy is to "do her chores" while she hops to Zecora's hut, thinking this body swap was unintentional. Yes, Angelshy acted like a brat and used his newfound physique to poke fun at the Ponyvillagers, but Fluttershy getting her under her control only added to the tension between them. Grabbing his tail, stomping the ground, and applying The Stare only fueled his belief of her being "bossy" and animosity toward the other animals at sanctuary.

4. Quote

   Angelshy: All by yourself? You really don't know what it's like being a bunny.

   Flutterbunny: *waves it off with a relaxed face*

   Why does FS's small gesture matter? Because it symbolizes her core judgment to the conflict. Up to this point, she accused Angel of not taking her responsibilities seriously; by literally handwaving, she's suggesting Angel is being spoiled and lazy because he lived with her all her life, and by asking for attention, he's only caring for himself. And, yes, that's true. He doesn't take her job seriously. However, that literal handwave also admits hypocrisy by implicating that she doesn't take him seriously.

Unlike PYHD, neither side is in the right from the very beginning. Both of them have streaks of not being nice to one another. Yes, they want to get along and be family, but neither believe they're being listened to, yet only worsen matters by not listening to each other. They oversimplify the opposite's conflict and treat their own as more important.

This equal unpleasantness also helped fuel the comedy, especially Angelshy's reaction to the environment and FS's other relationships. The best one, of course, is this:

Quote

Angelshy: *flirtatiously* See how…shy I am? Hmm? *normal* I talk to animals, I want to marry Discord—

Angel's observant around his environments, FS's extended friendships (namely with the draconequus), and is mocking her for it. And for anyone barfing at the shipteasing, it's not like Confalone hasn't done it before.

So why did Zecora come up with this body-swapping potion? Because she forethought the very source of the conflict and understood that the only way they would truly make up is to make them understand their own positions. Once they do, everything will return to normal.

Given how they treated each other throughout the first half, the lesson they were going to learn was gonna be tough, and Confalone really showed it.

1. Thanks to not having a voice in Angel's body, FS can't properly communicate with anyone beside Angel himself. Her sign language to Twilight, Spike, and later Zecora becomes untranslatable. On her way into the Everfree, her breath begins to shorten, she starts losing her bounce, and barely escaped from a hungry bald eagle.
2. Seeing as she doesn't take him seriously, Angel takes FS's sanctuary job less seriously, too. Rather than focus on the assigned job, he uses his newfound status to gain revenge on Sandra and become as lazy as Rainbow Dash from 246G, such as letting the storage keys stay lodged in Murial's sore trunk, not reminding Scout the Flamingo to shift his legs, and giving Zecora's "gecko" Antoine's cookies. Again, the fact that Angel's jerkish behavior is to be expected along with a grain of sympathy allows us to stomach his actions.
3. Angel's neglect over taking care of her sanctuary  led to massive chaos inside, made Dr. Fauna extremely upset over "Fluttershy" for being so ignorant of the animals' wellbeing (great voice-acting, BTW), and made all the animals distrust Angel after he found out he needed to get the keys out from Murial (who was now dissolving inside Antoine's stomach).
   
   (And on an unrelated note, Sloppy Steve from EQD made a great point about the "nuanced" storytelling here. The episode could've just let the biology of the predators go after Fluttershy satisfied Antoine's hunger. Instead, his predatory instincts kicked in after Angel took his treat away for the hungry "gecko" — or shall I say, fire lizard — and swallowed his prey whole, just like a real snake.)
4. If Fluttershy was still a pegasus, she would've been able to fly back to the sanctuary without breaking a sweat. But because she's smaller, she has to spend a lot of energy hopping and becomes extremely exhausted and dehydrated once she returns. At this point, Angel realizes what he had done, regretted mistreating Fluttershy, and understood how hard it was for FS to work helping the animals in the sanctuary. It took getting the prey and predators to trust him, work together, and dislodge the keys just to take the carrot concentrate out, but carrying that heavy jar without spilling it zapped a lot of strength out from him.
5. Once Flutterbunny wakes up and feels energetic, they share a magnificent heart to heart. No matter how tough the times may be toward each other, they care for each other, and you get to see it through their contrition and appreciation for what they do for each other and around them. From now on, they won't take each other for granted.

There's some to dislike, but a lot to like. She Talks to Angel resolves Angel's jerkiness from PYHD, intertwines the animal sanctuary quite well, and is the second-best Fluttershy episode of the show.

[Will Guide 21,325]

9 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

and is the second-best Fluttershy episode of the show.

Very well written post above, but what was the First Best Fluttershy Episode to you?

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

8 minutes ago, Will Guide said:

Very well written post above, but what was the First Best Fluttershy Episode to you?

Hurricane Fluttershy.  

[Will Guide 21,325]

Just now, Dark Qiviut said:

Hurricane Fluttershy.  

I agree that's in my top 3 but I personally see Flutter Brutter as much better for giving me an episode with a surprisingly relatable character in a relatable situation with a motivational song. Without that episode, I wouldn't have the confidence to complete my schooling.

[Singe 2,109]

I kind of wonder that in someway when FS was venting at Angel, this could have been some of that stress build up from working both the Sanctuary and Twilight's School.

I do wish there was a scene where Angel as FS had a chat with Twilight for over working FS before going to the Sanctuary.

[CypherHoof 26,479]

1 minute ago, Singe said:

I kind of wonder that in someway when FS was venting at Angel, this could have been some of that stress build up from working both the Sanctuary and Twilight's School.

I do wish there was a scene where Angel as FS had a chat with Twilight for over working FS before going to the Sanctuary.

Would also like to see the others of the main cast (and perhaps some of the students) helping out at the sanctuary, too.  Perhaps Yona, who seems to be aligned with Flutters in some way?

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

So, as everyone is well aware by now, vegan snake cookies has been my number one wishlist item since the very beginning of the series.  I've been hoping and wishing for years that we would get vegan snake cookies before series end.  Thank Celestia--I can die happy. 

What's poning, ponles?

I really liked this one.  I didn't think I was going to, but it was great.  Angel has always been a sniveling little piece of sh*t, but it was kind of nice to actually get to hear his side.  It was a clever way to have him talk without actually having him talk, which would have been stupid.  It was nice to see them bond and understand each other, there.  It was all really well done.  I'm surprised they didn't call it Wacky Wednesday.... or.... um... Manic Monday.... or uh... Silly Saturday.

We got to see Zecora at least one more time before the end! 

I really enjoyed seeing some proper screen time of the animal sanctuary.  I think I'm the only one who liked Fluttershy Leans In, and I always wanted to see more of the sanctuary.  I really liked seeing some close-up time with the animals.  They were all so cute!  My favorite was Clementine the giraffe.  I loved Antoine the python too, and omg, that little fire lizard was adorable!  I found it kind of funny that most of the animals had human names, while most ponies seem to have names that are either just their cutie mark, or that describe what they do.

I absolutely loved the predator/prey support group.  I thought it was pretty gritty and legit that they actually explicitly addressed that some of these animals want to eat the others, and do in the wild.  I was surprised by that.  Pretty cool.  And I was downright shocked that they actually had Antoine eat Muriel the elephant.  I mean, they had to get her out before she started being digested!    Holy crap, dude!  That's pretty gruesome if you think about it.  I'm sure Muriel wouldn't mind it if K flashy-thinged that memory away!

I found it very interesting that Angel could immediately speak to all the other animals when in Fluttershy's body.  This is actually an extremely important fact in terms of continuity, and I think they nailed it.  Angel clearly can't speak to the other animal species normally, because Fluttershy had to translate for him at the end (really nice touch, btw.  I loved that.)  So, the fact that he can talk to the animals as Fluttershy clearly proves that her Dr. Doolittle ability is something contained in her physical body, most likely a latent magical ability (like the Pinkie Sense), that is part of her physiology.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with her memories or knowledge.  In other words, she doesn't "speak" animal, like humans speak a language.  She can't teach any other creature to do it.  It's more akin to, say, Superman's ability to fly.  If you were to "switch" bodies with Superman, than you'd be able to fly, and he wouldn't in your body.  It would have nothing to do with his memories.  The ability lies in the computer's hardware, not what's installed on the hard drive.  That's how I always suspected it worked.  This just confirms it.

"I want to marry Discord." 

Spoiler

 

I glad the [most likely] last Fluttershy spotlight was a good one.  Yay! 

[Conred 274]

Best part of it was Angel revealing that Fluttershy talk about marrying Discord when nobody beside animals are around.

[Ittoni 536]

On 9/3/2019 at 3:01 AM, ChocolateSwirl said:

Honestly who cares if fluttershy tells the predators to go vegan. Its s cartoon show. Kids aren't going to look that deep into it. They're watching the show for the colors and characters not the deep deep lessons. The adults make more fuss about it and interpret it deeper than the kids.my kids watch it and dont pay attention to it. they just like the flashy colors and the cute jokes.

i know what you are going for... but you have to admit that it is very weird, even in zootopia and every and any cartoon/fable/story/world building that includes this kind of dynamic between predadors and prey. Just imagine how it would be to like say "oh hello fellow friend that is a sheep! I as a wolf respect you as my friend! well, see you later! I have to eat your probably deceased relatives and or friends because it's breakfast time! btw, thanks for being considerate and donate your body for others to have food. see you in the pool!". It's so bizzare and I would actually like to see one of those stories that actually thinks of a viable solution XD

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

7 minutes ago, Comet Quartz said:

i know what you are going for... but you have to admit that it is very weird, even in zootopia and every and any cartoon/fable/story/world building that includes this kind of dynamic between predadors and prey. Just imagine how it would be to like say "oh hello fellow friend that is a sheep! I as a wolf respect you as my friend! well, see you later! I have to eat your probably deceased relatives and or friends because it's breakfast time! btw, thanks for being considerate and donate your body for others to have food. see you in the pool!". It's so bizzare and I would actually like to see one of those stories that actually thinks of a viable solution XD

I can't remember how Zootopia handled it now. Had the "civilized" predators switched to vegan?

If this was happening in our modern world, science would probably have dealt with this problem already though. Corrals and pastureland (which is already beginning to cause space issues and is also responsible for burning down the Amazon) would be gone from farming, replaced with something that looks more like a futuristic adaptation of Frankenstein. Sooner or later we'll have the option of getting all of our meat without having to kill anything. It'll all come from cloned organs.

Such a concept would be extremely weird in MLP because I rather doubt their technology has reached that level. But then you'd also think that magic would have a solution to this. They were able to move parasprites from eating food to eating architecture. Alright, maybe their digestive system and metabolism is outright insane anyway, but for some of the other crazy things that magic does in the show, you'd have trouble convincing me that they couldn't whip up a spell that can configure the innards of a carnivore to be capable of processing a caesar salad.

[CypherHoof 26,479]

18 minutes ago, BornAgainBrony said:

I can't remember how Zootopia handled it now. Had the "civilized" predators switched to vegan?

Pescetarianism maybe? I don't recall any talking fish.

As opposed to the fish in sequestria (although given we see Flutters feeding fish and worms to her animals in the past... And prawns at a party, so.. .I dunno)

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

1 hour ago, CypherHoof said:

Pescetarianism maybe? I don't recall any talking fish.

As opposed to the fish in sequestria (although given we see Flutters feeding fish and worms to her animals in the past... And prawns at a party, so.. .I dunno)

Heh, even that might be subjective. We can't even classify a certain kind of creature as universally sentient or non-sentient, since Rarity has both a pet cat and also a crush on a talking one.

About the magic splicing thing though, maybe there's evidence that's already happened, since the snake has the option of chewing food. Could it be all the carnivores have been hacked for an omnivorous diet and simply the urges remain because "free will?" Mind-control magic seems pretty frowned upon.

[TransitPony 219]

Long time no post here (wow, it's been that long...) 

The recent episode was pretty good. The character development among Fluttershy and Angel is something I was truly impressed by. The two seeing each others shoes highlights the common miscommunication experience in a high-stress job like managing a safe haven for animals (Fluttershy's main job). I'm not gonna lie, Angel is surely charismatic in getting the animals to do things his way when he was in Fluttershy's body. 

Oh, and on another note, it was great to see Zecora in action again. It's been a while since we've seen her on screen. 

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, this episode was a bit of a strange one for me. I ended up thinking about several things that the episode probably didn't intend for viewers to think too much about, although I believe they're still interesting and important things, anyway. One such thing was Fluttershy's having the predators at the sanctuary only eat vegetables, and her attempts to teach predators and prey to get along, even though I don't see those things as being necessary to what I thought is the primary purpose of the sanctuary. Second, it seems like this episode glosses over Zecora's essentially tricking Fluttershy and Angel into drinking a potion that switches their bodies without their informed consent. The episode seems to treat this as no particularly big deal, but it's something with which I would take significant ethical issue, for multiple reasons. And third, this episode seems to particularly push the idea (which has been danced around in the show for a long time) that Angel, and other "non-speaking" animals like him, are actually sentient. If this is true, though, then I think it leads down a deep rabbit hole (ha) of moral, legal, and practical questions that I don't think this show actually wants to address. However, if I try to set these considerations aside (which I admit is hard for me to do), then it is kind of interesting and entertaining to see Angel being "given voice" in this episode, and it's nice that Fluttershy and Angel come to an understanding by the end, with Angel even volunteering to help at the sanctuary. (I think what Fluttershy really needs, though, is more staff, but those staff would likely want to be paid, and we don't know where the funds are coming from to run this sanctuary.)

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To start off, I'll talk about how Fluttershy has the predators at the sanctuary promise only to eat vegetables while staying there, despite some of the predators appearing to be carnivores whose healthy diets would likely require eating meat. One argument I've seen regarding this is that - despite these animals' often looking, acting, and/or being called the same names as their real-life counterparts - the audience is meant to infer that these animals in the show have different digestive systems and bodily needs, such that it's totally invalid to compare them to animals in real life, and that these animals in the show could in fact live on a vegetable-only diet. That seems like an overly convenient contrivance to me.

But even setting that aside, I would also question the motivation behind this. If the idea is to keep the prey animals staying at the sanctuary safe, then why should Fluttershy ask the predators only to eat vegetables at the sanctuary? That goes beyond just saying not to eat other animals staying at the sanctuary; that's saying not to eat meat, period. Why can't the predators eat meat from other sources? In fact, couldn't an argument be made that the prey animals at the sanctuary may well be safer if the predators are satiated with meat that they want to eat from other sources, as opposed to having the predators eat no meat at all and relying solely on their willpower not to eat the prey animals, despite wanting to (and having a basic instinct to) do so?

Fluttershy also has this predator/prey support group, and tries to tell the attendees that "we all need to get along", and that "just because you're on opposite ends of the food chain doesn't mean you can't work together". But do the predators and prey staying at the sanctuary actually need to get along or work together? Why couldn't the predators and prey just live in separate areas in the sanctuary, have their medical needs taken care of, and go their own separate ways? I thought that the primary purpose of the sanctuary is to provide a temporary place for animals to stay as their physical medical needs are addressed, not to be a mental/social rehabilitation/re-engineering institution. Attempting to have predators go against their basic animal instincts, and not do what they've done their whole lives, seems like a big and serious undertaking. And I'm not sure that Fluttershy is equipped to handle that - both because she's busy enough taking care of the basic physical and medical needs of the animals staying at the sanctuary, and because I don't know how much psychology education and experience she has.

So if it's not necessary to have the predators eat no meat at all, and it's not necessary to try to get predators and prey to get along and work together, then why is Fluttershy doing these things, particularly when she would probably already be busy enough without doing them? Maybe Fluttershy thinks she's making the world a better place by trying to get predators to be vegetarians, and trying to get predators and prey to get along. But if so, then I wonder whether Fluttershy would actually be better off, and would do more good, just taking care of animals' medical needs, without trying to change their innate and lifelong-reinforced instincts.

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Next, I think the switching of Fluttershy's and Angel's bodies in this episode bears resemblance to the switching of Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks in "A Royal Problem", and I take similar ethical issue with what happens in this episode as I took with what happens in "A Royal Problem". And that issue is that Zecora essentially tricks Fluttershy and Angel into drinking a potion that switches their bodies without their informed consent, and that effect is unable to be reversed until the two of them apologize and learn their lesson. Zecora seems to know what she's doing here, and does it anyway. And, as others have pointed out, it could be argued that Zecora's actions here at least in part led to dangers and damages that Fluttershy and others were subjected to later in the episode - including Fluttershy in Angel's body almost being snatched up by an eagle, and working herself to the point of exhaustion, as well as the damages done to the animals in the sanctuary from the neglect of Angel in Fluttershy's body, particularly allowing Muriel the elephant to be eaten by Antoine the snake. One counterargument I've seen is that Zecora told Fluttershy and Angel to go directly home, and to drink the potion when they're alone - that Zecora never intended for Fluttershy in Angel's body to travel to Zecora's hut through the forest, and never intended for Angel in Fluttershy's body to be taking responsibility for the animals in the sanctuary.

But Zecora can't just assume that everything will go smoothly and in accordance with what she envisioned. In fact, I can imagine how things could even have gone worse than they did. Fluttershy could have to respond to an emergency at the sanctuary, or elsewhere in Equestria as an Element of Harmony, at essentially any time, even if Angel and Fluttershy switched bodies at home. Furthermore, it was not at all a guarantee that switching Fluttershy's and Angel's bodies would result in their appreciating, understanding, and apologizing to each other. And even if that did eventually happen, there was no guarantee that it would occur on a short time scale. What if Fluttershy and Angel continued to be stuck at an impasse for several days or more? As far as we know, Fluttershy and Angel would remain in each other's bodies until they apologized to each other and learned their lesson. What would happen to Fluttershy's responsibilities then? What about Fluttershy's class(es) at the school? Again, what if Fluttershy was called upon as an Element of Harmony to answer an emergency? Or, to imagine a potentially even worse scenario, what if Angel took Fluttershy's body and ran off to somewhere unknown, leaving Fluttershy stranded in Angel's body with no apparent means to directly communicate what happened or the situation that she's in? Even if Zecora did plan to check on Fluttershy and Angel later, a lot of things could happen in a matter of hours. There were lots of plausible things that could go wrong and result in potentially serious harm that Zecora seemingly failed to take into account before putting her plan into motion.

Furthermore, though, I also take issue with what Zecora did here on a more fundamental level. I view switching Fluttershy's and Angel's bodies without their informed consent to be immoral, because it violates their fundamental right to ownership and control of themselves and their bodies, even if the dangers or damages in the previous two paragraphs don't come to pass. I don't see any good reason to believe that what Zecora does here is the last possible resort, or that it could be justified in the face of imminent disaster, or anything like that. We don't even see Fluttershy and Angel do much (or say that they've done much) in this episode to try to resolve the impasse, other than Fluttershy's scolding Angel a bit, before they resort to visiting Zecora. I would say that Fluttershy and Angel should be going to counseling before going to Zecora for a mysterious and potentially untested potion solution. But I still don't think that excuses Zecora's choice to give Fluttershy and Angel this potion that she says is the antidote they need, while apparently deliberately not telling them what it would do, essentially tricking them into switching their bodies without their being able to consent or not consent to doing so.

The final point that I'll make here is that the "stunt" that Zecora pulled here is a violation of the trust that Fluttershy (and Angel) put in Zecora. When Angel in Fluttershy's body asks "Do you think this is what Zecora meant to happen?", Fluttershy in Angel's body shakes her head. And later, Fluttershy communicates that she thinks Zecora gave them the wrong potion, and sets off to go to her and get something to switch them back. We can imagine Fluttershy thinking that surely Zecora wouldn't just give them a potion that switches their bodies without even telling them that that's what it does, right? This must have been a mistake! How naive she was, apparently. If Zecora is going to pull "stunts" like this, I think people would be justified in losing trust in Zecora, and even just not going to her for help anymore.

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Finally, the kind-of sort-of sentience of the "non-speaking" animals (for lack of a better term) has been a strange, and sometimes problematic, part of the show for a long time. But this episode particularly pushes the idea that Angel, and other "non-speaking" animals like him, are in fact sentient. So are we to believe that the only major difference between "speaking" species in the show - ponies, dragons, griffons, hippogriffs, yaks, changelings, kirin, Diamond Dogs, breezies, etc. - and "non-speaking" species - bunnies, raccoons, mice, giraffes, bears, birds, wolves, elephants, snakes, etc. - is that the former group all speak the same language, and the latter group don't? Are we to believe that all these species should otherwise be considered of the same sentience and general intellectual capability? If they are, then I think that raises a whole host of moral, legal, and practical questions that I don't think this show actually wants to address.

Probably the first thing that comes to my mind is this. If these "non-speaking" species are sentient, should they be morally and legally considered to have "human" rights to life, liberty, property, etc.? And should the "non-speaking" species in turn be considered to have moral and legal obligations to respect the rights of others? Do the "speaking" species on the show morally and/or legally recognize, for example, property claims by "non-speaking" species? Or, to give an example from the episode, could Muriel the elephant sue Antoine the snake for attempted murder, and the associated damages from that? Could Antoine be thrown in jail as a menace to other sentient creatures? For that matter, should all sentient carnivores who eat other sentient animals be considered murderers, or at least complicit in murder? Furthermore, if "non-speaking" species do have "human" rights, then it would seem pretty difficult to mediate rights disputes when these "non-speaking" species are unable to meaningfully communicate with other species and with "speaking" species. Is this not a serious problem? Why is Fluttershy seemingly the only one who can facilitate cross-species communication? Why haven't any of these species seemed to come up with any sort of common language for this purpose, and other purposes? Have the "speaking" species generally just not noticed or cared that the "non-speaking" species are sentient?

Also, we've seen that almost all of the "speaking" species in the show have some kind of towns and societies that they've built, with certain minimum levels of technology, customs, etc. However, to my recollection, we haven't seen towns or societies like these for most, if not all, of the "non-speaking" species. Why haven't we seen those? Do they exist, and it's just that the "speaking" species we follow on the show never go to these places? If not, why not? What levels of technology would these "non-speaking" species' towns and societies have? If they're significantly behind the technology level of "speaking" species' societies, then have "speaking" species observed this, and made any effort to help the "non-speaking" species? Again, is this just a matter of the "speaking" and more technologically advanced species just not knowing or caring about "non-speaking" species' towns and societies?

To give another example that's related to this episode, what are the implications of ponies keeping animals as pets, if those animals are sentient themselves? Maybe Fluttershy's keeping Angel as a pet is harming his mental and emotional health, since that apparently means that Fluttershy is the only creature with which Angel can meaningfully communicate. Maybe Angel should be living in a community of bunnies where he actually could talk with and be friends with more than one other creature. (In fact, Angel tells Fluttershy at one point that he's only been able to talk with her since they met, potentially implying that Angel was able to talk to others before becoming Fluttershy's pet.) And maybe other pets owned by ponies, if those pets are sentient, are suffering because they're living in environments where they can't fully and meaningfully communicate with anyone else, including their owners. In fact, if these other pets can't meaningfully communicate with their owners, or essentially anyone else, then how do they withdraw consent from things that they don't want to do? Do they just have to try to look/act really unhappy and hope their owners notice and figure out what they want? If they don't want to be pets any more, is their only option to run away and hide from their owners for the rest of their lives?

It feels to me like these sort of complex, uncomfortable, and not-easily-answered questions could go on and on. So, with that in mind, the show seems to be trying to have it both ways. These "non-speaking" species act sentient sometimes, in some ways, for particular scenes or gags or plots. But then, outside of those particular scenes or gags or plots, the same species are also sometimes treated as not sentient, and the show almost never brings up this mismatch or any of the moral, legal, and practical issues that would come up from it.

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Now here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

Fluttershy gives Antoine vegan snake treats that are made to look like chocolate chip cookies. So what are these snake treats made of, then - vegetables, to keep in line with Fluttershy's earlier support group request? What makes them treats specifically for snakes? Also, what's the purpose of making them look like chocolate chip cookies? Are those particularly appealing to snakes?

And later, the fire lizard wants to eat Antoine's treats. I suppose the fire lizard might think that they're actually chocolate chip cookies, not knowing that they're really vegan snake treats. But, again, do fire lizards find chocolate chip cookies particularly appealing? And also, the fire lizard eagerly eats the snake treats shaped as cookies when he gets them. So I guess fire lizards like eating vegan snake treats, too?

What would have happened if, say, Angel drank one of the potions and Fluttershy didn't drink the other one? Would the potion just stay in Angel's system permanently, waiting to act until the other one was drunk, too?

Almost the first thing Fluttershy in Angel's body does is go over and examine the vials that the potion was in. Unfortunately, we know from previous episodes that Zecora isn't in the habit of labeling anything, so she's not going to get any information from that.

Angel makes a point of saying that, in Fluttershy's body, he can talk to anyone he wants for the first time since meeting Fluttershy, and the first thing he proceeds to do is...say nursery rhymes and other nonsense in the faces of ponies that happen to be in town. Way to take advantage of that opportunity.

So we see Angel in Fluttershy's body talk with the other animals, even though Angel wouldn't normally be able to do that. But we also see that Fluttershy in Angel's body can still do "The Stare", even though we've seen no reason to believe that Angel is capable of doing that. So Fluttershy's ability to communicate with other animals is a feature of her pony body, whereas Fluttershy possesses the ability to do "The Stare" independent of her pony body? That seems kind of strange.

It's also strange that Twilight asks Fluttershy in Angel's body what's going on, but then, after just one attempt, Twilight and Spike give up on trying to understand "Angel", just tell "him" to find Fluttershy, and walk off. If Twilight asked what's going on, what did she expect to see/hear? What if, say, Fluttershy was critically injured in the forest or sanctuary or something, and Angel was trying to get some pony's attention because no ponies were around to see that Fluttershy needs urgent help? But I guess if "Angel" doesn't point to directly obvious danger or anything, then Twilight and Spike just aren't going to bother.

Color me skeptical that having a wolf pull on a leash tied to a snake, pushing the snake's body between two palm trees, would exert enough force to push an elephant back out of the snake's body. And I wasn't under the impression that palm trees are super-sturdy in the first place.

In order to revive Fluttershy in Angel's body, Dr. Fauna asks for a jar of concentrated carrot extract. And so Angel in Fluttershy's body hulls the entire large jar up to where Fluttershy in Angel's body is laid out. Is that really necessary, considering that only a few drops of extract is actually used? Could Dr. Fauna just ask "Fluttershy" to bring her a dropper's worth of extract? Or, if this extract is used in emergency situations, could some of it be put in a smaller and more portable container?