Quote Originally Posted by Deadly View Post
I don't think they are flimsy at all. Until now, with the sole exception of Pinkie Sense, we have seen no pony give Pinkie's antics the kind of reaction you would expect if what we see is also what her friends see. Frankly if they saw what we see, Twilight should be a nervous wreck in a mental institution by now, because absolutely nothing makes sense. Instead we see her surprised at Pinkie's sudden appearances (which is not an uncommon experience in the real world either, ever had someone sneak up on you?) and generally thinking she's being silly and hyperactive. Nothing unusual at all in their reactions to her (again aside from Pinkie Sense). You can't even explain this kind of total nonchalance from her friends by suggesting they've simply given up.

Sure, some of it might have a hint of truth to it, but for the most part, by far, I think what Pinkie does is vastly exaggerated for the sake of comedy, because it's a cartoon, and that's great, you know ... cartoon physics go well with cartoons. My problem is that if you wanted to use the setting seriously (whether in the show or otherwise), you have to discard the cartoon physics, and that's harder if the cartoon physics are suddenly complete canon and not just visual gags.

And I get that feeling that the writers generally follow this line of reasoning too, even if they probably aren't hugely conscious about it. I think they have a sense that having the characters acknowledge Pinkie's cartoon physics is probably not a great idea in the long run, and this one just slipped and wasn't big enough for anyone to think about it much.

We saw an entire episode of Twilight trying to figure out Pinkie Pie and giving up on it after a lot of pain. I'm pretty sure everypony does their best to ignore Pinkie Pie's odd breaks of physics.


Quote Originally Posted by Trixie View Post
Um, the point was just that when both sides try to sell half of product X, the side that gets to pick the half for itself first should be the one with much worse sale results, if it is any good as sales, that is.


Yeah, this. All it takes is better machine and AJ can say goodbye to her business. She barely competed with CC6K with five unpaid friends, how will she fare in CC 8000 can outcompete twenty ponies? What if they ask for pay she can't afford?

I don't think there was any time in history more farm labour ever beat automation, the only winning move for AJ is buy one machine herself, or cut the non-competitive branch of farm off.
Really? I'll fully admit that I have no real knowledge of economics but why would choosing first give you worse sale results? Also doesn't Filthy Rich get his choice of product?
The main thing is that Applejack has no control over the jam deal, and thus she can't be judged on how bad of a deal it actually is. Not while Granny is in control who is a bad business pony.

Something everyone forgets is that Flim and Flams machine is unique to them. They need to build it, and it takes a unicorn either with a similar special talent or enough of a mastery over magic (like Twilight, and perhaps Trixie) to power it. It's not like human machines which anyone can really use and can be mass produced. Your point remains valid and I honestly think Applejack would be open to using a machine if the deal hadn't been so horrible for them. (They would have lost too much money by accepting Flim and Flam's initial deal therefore sticking to the old ways is still better. If Flim and Flam gave a better deal then I think the Apple Family would have accepted it.)

Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
You're missing one solution from that list. As the extended Apple family seems to be Equestria's primary supplier of apples, they could simply refuse to sell apples to competitors. A fancy cider-makin' machine doesn't do much good without apples to feed it.

If Flim and Flam had any modicum of business sense, then the Ponyville Apples would just be out of luck. They won; the farm is theirs; the sensible thing is just to wait out the year, since they now own the most fertile farm in the area. Cider season will come around again, and as the sole providers of Ponyville cider, then the town will have to either let go or pony up.

Of course, if the Apples had been smarter about it, they would not have entered into a bet where they're the only ones who stand to lose anything. Perhaps this could be an alternative? If Flim and Flam lose, they give the SSCS6K to the Apples. If the Apples lose, then they lose the farm. Then, once the deal is set, the Apples say, "Get your own apples." Boom; scam destroyed.
They didn't win Sweet Apple Acres they won the right to sell cider. So they couldn't just wait. I imagine they were depending on the money from the cider sale to buy Sweet Apple Acres. I suppose they could have tried to stop the Apples from selling cider but who would enforce that in Ponyville?

Now this is completely true. Granny is not very good on the whole business side of things.