It's obvious that a lot of the creatures featured in the My Little Pony Franchise are based on Mythological Creatures(like Pegasus and Unicorns), yet whenever I try to look up the names for the Bat-like Pony Species, most of the time a lot of people refer to them as "Thestrals", because of the Bat-Winged Equine-like Creatures from the Harry Potter Franchise, some think J.K. Rowling was inspired for the idea by the Mare character in the 'Breton' story called "N’oun Doare" aka "The Youth who did not Know", featuring a protagonist named 'N'oun Doare'(which translates as "I Don't Know"), who buys a skeletal thin old mare that turns out to be magical(it is often referred to as "The Mare of Doom/Death", which may be why the J.K.'s Thestral is associated with Death), the mare's bridle has a bunch of knots on the halter, every time N'oun undoes one of the knots, the mare with transport him to anywhere within 500 Leagues of his current location, after N'oun goes through a Huge Adventure with lots of Side-Quests, the Mare sheds it's skin to reveal that it was actually a Beautiful Princess who agrees to marry N'oun, and the story ends, but Rowling could have gotten the name of "Thestral" from the word "Kestrel" a bird similar to a Falcon, but I'm not sure!

However, after doing a Butt-Load of research I finally learned something even More interesting, in Portugal Mythology they have legends of two similar creatures, one is named Cavalo do Pensamento aka the Thinking/Thought Horse, the other is called Cavalum, both are described as Horse-like creatures with Bat-Wings, breathes Fire, and could summon/control/manipulate Storms,

Cavalo do Pensamento is the nicer of the two, it appears in legends of the Enchanted Moors, and gets it's name from the fact that it is said to show up to people who Think about it hard enough, and is said to give people rides to where they need to be, it is said to live in caves up on very tall mountains, it's favorite pass time is flying around at great speeds, even though it's not Evil it has been known to destroy entire villages completely by accident due to the fact that it is so powerful,

Cavalum is the more malevolent one, believed to be the devil in the form of a Bat-Winged Horse, in a legend from the city of Machico on Madeira Island, Cavalum came to the local church to challenge God, when God didn't respond the Cavalum decided to conjure up a Storm that could destroy the church, the longer God ignored Cavalum's little hissy fit, the worse the storm became, it would not only threaten the city, but the entire island, only when the church's crucifix flies out into sea did God finally intervene, he dispelled the storm, and then imprisoned Cavalum inside a set of caves, the caves became known as Furnas do Cavalum, and it is said that during storms, you can hear the Cavalum in all his anger and despair for being imprisoned in said caves, and it is said to devour those who travel & get lost in the caves.

So perhaps the Bat-Ponies could be like a Sub-Species of these two creatures or something, So my Proposal is that maybe we could start calling the Bat-Ponies Cavalum(which could work as both the Singular & the Plural, like Fish or Deer), and Cavalo do Pensamento could have been the Leader of the Cavalum, either in the Present or at one point in the distant past before they started to follow Princess Luna, it would be a decent way to expand on the Bat-Pony Lore, and they would be given a name based on an Actual Mythological Creature all the way from Portugal, and not necessarily need to call them simply as an obvious name based on Appearances, or by the name of a creature from a famous book series.

.... I SECOND THIS PROPOSAL PROFUSELY

I actually starting using cavalum in my writing to describe bat-ponies so this works a lot!

So instead of Threstrals we call them Cavalum? I mean, it could work, but it depends on whether the wider community would accept a new name

What would be the point in changing it to something new? Seems like more trouble than it's worth.

7209966
I'm sure that if they were aware of Cavalum like 10 Years ago, they would have gone with it in a Heartbeat, why would That be any different now?

7209969
Either it’s too entrenched in the fandom, or they simply don’t see the point.

While I would say having Cavalum as an Official or Scientific name is a good idea, we simply cannot phase out the name “Threstal” or “Batpony” efficiently, due to the extremely detached nature of the fandom.

7209968
Well if Hasbro were to make Cavalum the Official Name of the Bat-like Ponies,
1.It would be a more Creative name than just "Bat-Ponies"(a yes hello This is Commissioner Gordon of the Human World, I'm calling through a Trans-Dimensional Phone looking for Equestria's version of Batman, I hear you have Many of them and I was hoping you could spare a couple to help protect the Gotham City of My World).
2. It's Based on an Actual Mythological Creature, and No one Owns Mythology, so Free Material.
3. They wouldn't need to pay Royalties to the owners of the Harry Potter Franchise for the use of a name.
4. It gives the Fandom more material to work with and helps add more to the Lore.
So I believe it would be Absolutely worth it.

7209972
Honestly this. Personally, I really like the way you put things 7209955, but I just don't see this being something feasible unless enough of a following gathers up and word gets out.

As much as I'd be down to start working these terms into my stories, I can already foresee a number of problems, particularly with readers questioning the use of the terms.

Working off of what Commander and you said, we might at best be able to mix the terms in with the existing words, but with nearly a decade of work behind us, it really is almost pointless to try and establish a new domineering word.

7209972
Well that is understandable, it's the same with the Kirin, they were originally from Chinese Mythology and are called "Qilin"(pronounced Chee-Lynn), but in Japan & Korea they are called "Kirin" or "Girin"(though "Kirin" is the Modern Japanese Term & "Girin" is the Modern Korean term for Giraffe), in Thailand they are called "Gilin", in Vietnam they are called "Ky-Lan"(pronounced Key-Lynn), yet they've already been burned into us as Kirin, still it doesn't mean we still can't call them by Any One of those Alternative Names anyways.

Same can be said with Cavalum as an alternative to Bat-Pony/Thestral, if one wants to use Cavalum then they Can, simple as That.

7209977
Still if Authors would prefer something Other than "Bat-Pony" or "Thestral", they can learn that there IS an alternative, and I'm hoping that by telling others what I found out, they can spread the word to others who aren't aware of it, it could take quite a while, but nothing will happen if Something doesn't Start it at all.

7209980
IF you wish to truly start phasing this word in, we could start using the word interchangeably, mentioning Cavalum as another way to say them. I doubt we can phase Thresthal out, but we can, however, possibly phase Cavalum into the language used by bronies. We just probably need to mention the usage of the name more.

7209984
Oh I understand that angle completely. My post was in response to your thought that implied we could just 'stop' using our current terms. The piece I'm bringing to the table is that some readership will question its usage.

I'll pocket the terms for now, as I currently have a majority of my cavalum fics on the far back burner, but if you're really as invested in this as you seem, give some other outlets beyond this group a whirl. Maybe even contact some big authors in the 'bat' field and talk it over to try and get them to use the terms, or even write a story around them.

It really is a nice pair of names, but we're in some downtrodden times here at the beginning of the new decade; if you'd made this post 8 years ago, you'd be crafting some history.

Best of luck.

7209976
Fair point. But I'm sure someone would try and file some lawsuit for mythical information being used. These days anyway. Everyone has a stick up their ass and they don't know how to pull it out.

7209992
Simple, you pull it out your mouth

7209994
If some people can reach that far, sure.

Hmmm... retrograde resolutions may be necessary for Cavalum to come under wide spread use.

7209955
It doesn't make any sense to call Thestrals/Bat-Ponies by a new name. It would just confuse ppl even more. I mean they are already called by 2 different names. Truth be told before I actually watched the show and stuff I would see references online to Vamponies and Bat-Ponies; and for awhile I thought they were the samething. So I'm not certain that there aren't still ppl that think that same way. Which in that case technically Bat-Ponies can be said to have 3 different names. And now you want to call them something else? Nevermind how arduous that would be to get enough of the Brony and Pegasister communities to get it accepted. Just stick with Bat-Pony and/or Thestral.

7209955
Sounds Reasonable, Nice to Finally have a name based on an Actual Mythological Creature too.

7209985
Thestral doesn't need to be Phased Out Entirely, it could just potentially become a less popular name to call the Bat-Ponies, I have no doubt that Cavalum can gain popularity from it's Mythological Roots, I mean controlling Storms, Breathing Fire, and some possible psychic ability or something that lets you know of someone's location just by having them Think about you hard enough(maybe Extrasensory Perception), who wouldn't want their Bat-like Ponies to have abilities like That?

7209987
Hey cut me some Slack, it took me a long time to find out Anything about them, and the websites that talk about them are in Portuguese(which makes sense since Cavalo do Pensamento and Cavalum originated from Portugal).

7210092
Honestly, that be a new way to look at Thestrals, because we usually see them as “Pegasi but edgier”

7209992
I highly doubt that an Entire Country would rise up and sue someone for using material from mythology & folklore, otherwise American shows wouldn't be able to use Greek Monsters or Japanese Yokai.

7210068
What's the matter, Scared to learn something New?

7210096
Better than simply associating them with Death like they are in Harry Potter.

7210098
No not at all. Its just you want to add another name to bat-ponies and I just think that's a losing battle that should just never be fought.

It seems kinda like when a friend of mine tried to get everypony he knew to stop calling him CJ and if they had to use a nickname to just call him Chris. Do you know what everypony calls him? They all call him CJ. Even those that he's met since he started the name change campaign. Granted it isn't exactly analogous but I think it still works.

Personally I just can't see another name being used for Bat-Ponies, unless Hasbo actually changes the name or gives them an additional name.

Though if you want to try turning the megalithic fandom that is the Brony and Pegasister communities, go for it.

It would've been a much much easier task like 7+ yrs ago. But now, it'd be easier to redirect a major river with a saucepan. Theoretically it may be possible but turning said theory into reality.........

7210125
It's not my fault no ones ever heard of Cavalo do Pensamento and Cavalum from Portugal before, I'm just trying to get the word out so they aren't simply ignored or forgotten.

"Thestral" is actually a word, even if spellcheck doesn't think so... It means "Dark, dim, and gloomy." It pops up in some older writings in old and middle English. I would think that would almost be a slur against them, kinda like calling them all Goth or something.

The Portuguese Cavalo is a Latin derivative that just means "horse." Hence the word "Cavalry."

What's their main point of difference other than the bat wings? That they're nocturnal, right? My thought was something from Latin, kinda portmanteau'd together. Nocte = Night, and Alas=Wings. (ala being singular) So... Noctalas? Or something from Vesper (evening) perhaps? The Latin word for a bat is Vespertilio.

On a semi-related note, "Pegasus" is thought to be from an ancient Luwian (Greek neighbor) thunder god named "Pehassas" or something similar. So it makes total sense they control the weather.

Just spitballing here lol

7210140
Never said it was your fault. Or that your passing on the names and info on these myths was anything to be looked down upon.
I love learning just for the sake of learning. Knowledge is to be praised and the pursuit of knowledge for no purpose except to learn should be the thing everypony should strive for.
My comment was just about the feasibility of giving Bat-Ponies another name.

7210159
You are close on the what the origin of Pegasus is.
Excerpt from Wikipedia
Tarḫunz/Tarhunt (Nominative: Tarḫunz, Tarhunzas) was the weather god and chief god of the Luwians. Unlike Hittite Tarḫunna and Hurrian Teššub, his chariot was pulled by horses, not bulls. Usually, the weather god takes on clear traits of a fertility god, as in Late Luwian images showing Tarhunza with bunches of grapes and ears of grain. One of his epithets, piḫaššašši ("of the thunderbolt") was especially venerated in Tarḫuntašša, which was at one point the capital of the Hittite empire. Tarḫunt piḫaššašši was even chosen as the personal guardian god of King Muwatalli II. It is assumed that the Greek winged horse, Pegasus, which carried Zeus' thunderbolt, derives its name from this Luwian epithet.[2]

7210337
Sure it may seem like that NOW, but it can still become a thing if enough people learn about it, and decide that they like and would prefer to use Cavalum as the name for Bat-Ponies, I mean I like the Kirin and all, but I prefer to address them as their Original Chinese name of Qilin(pronounced Chee-Lynn) just because the myth originated in China before it spread to other nations gaining different names, the same basic principal would apply to calling Bat-Ponies Cavalum.

7210097
I didn't mean the whole country. Just some dirt bag who thinks they can make money saying something is theirs.

7210449
Like when someone tried to Copyright the Happy Birthday Song?

7210491
Kinda

You're trying too hard.

Pony names are generally simple. Let's not forget that two out of 3 canon pony races are officially named using the word 'pony' (Yes, the canon name for pegasi is pegasus ponies, and throughout the whole runtime of the show the characters use 'pegasus ponies' as well as 'pegasi' to refer to the specific subspecies). The names are also explicitly evocative of what they are -- Pegasus is a very well known example of a winged horse. Everyone knows what a unicorn is. Even Kirins are fairly well known in pop culture, though they're less well known than other examples. Your suggestion is not evocative of anything at all, whereas 'bat pony' is immediately evocative, and even 'thestral' is recognizable to many. Your name suggestion would be akin to asking Pegasi to be renamed something like 'Avequa'. Nobody would have any idea what that means. Even if it's technically descriptive, it's not evocative.

And lastly, status quo has a lot of weight to it. People are far more inclined to keep the norm, even if they would have picked your suggestion as you suggest they would (They wouldn't have, but it doesn't matter whether they would or wouldn't have). Years of common use cement terms as correct and it becomes incredibly hard to change them, even with good ideas. This is part of why it's important for terms to be evocative. If you have to explain what your term means every time you use it (What's that mean? Oh, it means bat pony. Why didn't you say that in the first place?), then it's not going to change people's minds, especially when it competes against terms that people don't need to know the context behind to understand (Bat pony? Oh, they must be ponies that look like bats.).

And also as a bat pony myself I'd like to say that I personally don't like the sound of your suggested name, either.

7211022
There's nothing wrong with bringing something new to something that already exists, add some new flavor to the same old mix.

That's what they said about Gay Marriage, now there are Several TV shows(even Children's Cartoons) that feature at least one gay couple, status quos can be broken if given enough time.

Well then YOU don't HAVE to use Cavalum if you don't Want to, :P''