Rarity was being shallow, yes, but the others were focusing on the actual problem of the vampire fruit bats eating too much. Even if Rainbow Dash was being self-centered in her reaction to the issue, the Apple family relies on cider sales to get through winter, so that actually is a serious problem.
Losing cider sales was considered certain death for Sweet Apple Acres, and that was when they had enough apples to sell normally.
Fluttershy had the weakest argument by a mile. She never explains how Applejack is supposed to handle them in the short term, and the long term is irrelevant if the orchard can't survive that long. And her proposed advantage doesn't actually require the vampire fruit bats to stick around, either.
I am willing to admit that the solution Fluttershy presented really didn't make sense. Realistically speaking, the bats should migrate away from the area and spread seeds in their droppings, but due to the Nobody Poops trope, and the fact that this doesn't actually help Applejack in the long run, it was changed to something that doesn't make sense and isn't explained too well.
As someone who loves animals, especially the freaky ones, I really hate the idea of villainizing a force of nature. Destroying a species based on mere aesthetics is a revolting idea.
Normally I don't have a problem with Merriweather Willians's writing, but this is really making me sympathize with people who hated MMDW.
The ponies never tried to destroy the vampire fruit bats. Even Applejack just wanted them to leave.
While the Flutterbat segment of the episode was fun, there's no getting around the fact that it came at the cost of the story. We never got a proper discussion on why Twilight's plan was bad, for example. I liked the episode, but it's one that falls apart badly when you stop and think about it.
What's really annoying is that they could have come up with a plan that helped everyone. Just have Fluttershy convince the vampire fruit bats to eat apples in a specific place before leaving for a new area. The vampire fruit bats get a meal, Applejack gets a functioning orchard, and the altered seeds will help the next time this situation arises.
And everyone looks good, instead of it looking like Applejack sacrificed her livelihood because Fluttershy guilt tripped her.
I don't know how to set up a new page, but I vote for a Funniest entry for this episode: Rarity's Freakout when the fruit bat attempts to lick apple juice off her HAZMAT suit's helmet.
This is apparently written by Merriwether Williams (so I'm expecting drama), but I can't find a source for it.
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I am not looking forward to the drama this is going to cause. I think haters and defenders alike can agree on that much.
My gosh, watch people get their panties in a twist over practically everything. People can't seem to leave the woman alone. yeah ok she wrote a few bad episodes, but so have the other writers. I feel as though when people see her name as the writer they start paying attention more and get more picky about everything, whether it be the pacing, the setup, or basically anything. I can tell you already, people are gonna complain about Rainbow not getting cider, even though in the other episode she didn't either. Oh well, I dread the flame wars that will arise because of this. If only people could be rational and reasonable.
The plot involving a debate between one option and another option has a likely chance of one of the ponies simply going strawmare.
Regardless of how people feel about the episode, it appears Merriwether was miscredited.
Okay people, I can't really believe that you guys have such a bias against the bats in this episode. Both parties weren't completely correct with their assumptions and viewpoints, but most of the article seems to be written as if Applejack and her friends were completely correct in the way they handled it while Fluttershy was being a sentimental idiot.
Applejack had a legitimate argument, no doubt, but the reasons the other ponies had were questionable at best, especially Rarity, who was only concerned with how ugly and disgusting they were.
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