HopeFox

It's also just occurred to me that, arguably, making a few assumptions and guesses... the Flimflam Brothers are the worst villians we've ever seen on the show. Nightmare Moon was either possessed or insane, and thus not really in control of her actions. Discord is horrendously evil, but it may be literally impossible for him to be anything other than what he is - Chaos and disharmony incarnate. The Windigo probably can't change either, and might not even be sentient. Trixie and Gilda may have substantial reasons in their backstory for why they are the way they are, and they didn't do anything particularly terrible anyway. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are children, and will grow up one day. The Diamond Dogs really seem too stupid to be properly evil, and probably have difficulty forming empathy for ponies. Whereas Flim and Flam knew exactly what they were doing when they offered the Apples an extortionate deal, and then goaded Granny Smith into a foolish wager when their deal was rejected. Sure, they didn't kill anypony, but they planned to drive a family out of business and off their land, in the name of making some quick bits. They can't even claim that financial hardship is forcing them to do it, because they could make plenty of money by working legitimately with the Apples, either as contractors or as honest competitors. They attempted to destroy a family's livelihood in the name of greed, and they didn't show the slightest bit of remorse in doing so. That's pretty dreadful.

Also, the screenshot of the Crusaders looking at the potion glasses seems to imply that they've somehow mixed it up themselves, without Zecora being involved. That's good, because I really don't think Zecora would help them with that (except possibly on Trollestia's orders), and Apple Bloom has learned her lesson about stealing Zecora's herbs. Maybe they got the recipe from that book on the right of the shot.

Okay, it looks like the love potion thing is confirmed, then. Oh well. It still does look pretty awesome. My money is still on Cheerilee and Big Macintosh becoming a long-term thing, even after the latest Cutie Mark Disaster has passed. It's not like it'll affect the show much anyway.

It's true that they could have just started selling the good cider, but I think the fact that they produced the bad cider at all was a mark against them in the townsponies' eyes - what's to stop them from dropping the quality again if it's convenient? Meanwhile, they know the Apples will never compromise on quality, and their shameful gloating over driving the Apples out of business didn't sit well with the townsponies either. They could have stayed in town, but they would have been really unpopular, and let's face it, Rainbow Dash would have dropped an Atomic Rainnuke on the SSCS6k sooner or later. They were overconfident, yes, and misjudged some of the social dynamics of Ponyville. They did an excellent job of manipulating ponies, though, especially Granny Smith. Now, if they had been more patient and diligent, they could have established themselves as legitimate competitors to the Apple family and made a modest but steady income supplying the excess demand in the market. But that would be a "get rich slowly" scheme, which isn't really their style. The longer they stayed in Ponyville, the more likely they'd be to pull some other kind of trick or scheme to capture the market, other than "make lots of good cider". On further reflection, I do have to make one strike against Applejack's behaviour - when the brothers showed up on the second day, Applejack demanded that they couldn't sell their cider in Ponyville because it was made from Apple family apples. That was an attempt to enforce a monopoly on the local cider market, using their dominance of the apple market to refuse supply to competitors. That's kind of unethical, and probably illegal in some parts of the modern world. I can see why she did it, though - she was scared of what the brothers were going to do to them and to Ponyville, and rightly so.

I agree - Applejack was pretty responsible throughout the whole thing. Apple Bloom should never be allowed to talk when there's money involved, but it was Granny Smith's pride that really got the family into trouble. Incidentally, this episode does seem to confirm that, while Applejack makes a lot of decisions involving the farm, it actually belongs to Granny Smith. Another thing I really liked about this episode was that the machine itself wasn't the problem. The machine was working fine and not doing anything terrible, it was its operators who were shady and slipshod. Making the machine evil or prone to breakdown is the usual way this plot is handled in cartoons. Also, the "secret ingredient" that made the Apple family's cider better wasn't something intangible like love, or friendship, or family tradition, or even Earth pony magic (all of which would have been entirely reasonable in this setting), it was: to make good cider, don't make bad cider. Made it much more applicable to the real world.

Great episode! I will agree that it didn't quite have the same level of character exploration, conflict and depth as some episodes, but as an entertaining story that showcased the character's virtues, I think it did very well. My only problem with the logic of the episode is that it implied that Sweet Apple Acres would go out of business if they couldn't sell cider to Ponyville. I'm willing to accept that as the premise of the episode, but it doesn't make sense. Only a few episodes ago, we found out about Zap Apple Jam, which provided the economic foundation of Ponyville itself and the Rich family fortune, which is still drawing buyers for miles in the present day. They sell raw apples in the Ponyville marketplace, supply baked goods for events like the Summer Sun Celebration, and even have non-apple-related sidelines such as corn, wool, milk, eggs and truffles. But now, apparently, cider sales are the only thing that gets them through the winter. Also, "lose the farm"? That implies that the farm is under some kind of mortgage, which seems odd when Princess Celestia personally granted it to Granny Smith's parents. As usual, the economics of Sweet Apple Acres don't make a lot of sense. I can live with that. Putting that aside, I loved it. I was surprised when it turned out not to be a bet for the farm as such, which would have been a colossally stupid, and yet in character, thing for Applejack to do. Instead, it was Apple Bloom and Granny Smith who let the brothers' taunts rile them up. I would have thought "Call of the Cutie" taught Applejack not to let Apple Bloom talk when there was money involved. There were some very nice callbacks in this episode. They reused the queueing area and shopfront from "Family Appreciation Day", which I liked. It was also nice to see how many of the recurring background ponies were in the queue, and a few minor characters like the Cakes. New line for Big Macintosh: "No deal!" Very good. Also loved his goggles. He always looks kind of funny when he's running. The Flimflam brothers seemed to have the same character model as Carrot Cake. It's always good to see a variety of body types. It's also worth noting that the Flimflam brothers are unicorns, and given what we know about Equestria, there's just no way a couple of unicorns are going to produce apple cider of the same quality as an earth pony family. So even ignoring everything else, there was no doubt as to how this was going to turn out. Oh, and I really, really loved the teamwork scene. Seeing the five ponies' faces against the apple background just filled me with joy I hadn't felt since the mane cast's first step into Discord's labyrinth trap. It was a great way to showcase the characters' skills and willingness to help. Fluttershy really is a lot more athletic these days! Also, there was a subtle indication of Rainbow's loyalty in that scene - I think she actually wanted the Flimflam brothers to win so she'd finally get some bucking cider, but of course she had to help Applejack. Finally, I think this episode had just the right level of "adult bonus". The adult viewers all know that cider is often alcoholic, making everypony's obsession with it just that much more amusing. I'm certain that the shot of Berryshine being so very disappointed at not getting any cider was an entirely intentional shoutout to fandom's portrayal of her, while being entirely harmless to young viewers.

I'm very excited about this. Sure, it gets in the way of my usual Fluttermac and Cheerity ships, but that's what canon does! Besides, I wouldn't really want to see any of the mane cast dating anypony in the long term - it could easily throw off the core friendship dynamic, and create continuity problems. So... Cheerimac? Big Cheer? Mac'n'Cheer? Cutie Mark Crusader matchmakers, yay. I know I've read at least two fanfictions using that premise, one for Twimac and one for Appledash, and one of them actually worked! I'm going to predict that they use forged letters or "secret admirer" letters to kick things off. And then they get told off for meddling with other ponies' lives... but Cheerilee and Big Mac get together anyway. More dialogue for Big Macintosh would be awesome. I really liked the sound of his voice in "Applebuck Season", and it gave him the whole "quiet wisdom" air that he hasn't really kept up since. I do like Cheerilee a lot, too. I'd like to see more of her interacting with Twilight Sparkle, actually - that was pretty cool in "The Show Stoppers".

My best guess is that the (or a, they've had more than one before) moral of the episode will be something about not rising to taunts, especially when you end up dragging other ponies into your mess. From the synopsis, it sounds like Applejack got goaded into taking the wager by an insult to her cider-making ability - that's the only way I can see her making such an unwise bet.

I'm starting to think that maybe Applejack hasn't "wandered off" at all - maybe she's been abducted. Maybe she won the rodeo and somepony (or some monster) was planning to abduct the winner for... some reason. I can think of a few things that would lead her to leave her friends and go off by herself to do something, but they're all family-related, and her immediate family is all in Ponyville. The more I think about this episode title, the more depressing it sounds. I can't wait to find out.

I wouldn't be completely shocked if the show did address the death of Applejack's parents. Sure, it's a kids' show, but they've shown themselves willing to tackle some fairly serious issues. It would be a brave move, and I would be impressed, but I think it could happen. Besides, Sesame Street did it.

That's where my money is. It doesn't have to be the horrible, life-changing thing that it's made out to be in fanfic. Imagine you had a show where one of the characters was an avid, even professional skier. You just know that character is going to show up with his leg in a cast at least once, and then be fine in the next episode. Rainbow gets into accidents because she pushes herself so hard in training, so any injuries she incurs in that fashion are badges of honour, really. I do hope that the accident stems from her determination rather than carelessness, though. I think it'll be a very interesting turn for Rainbow, given the way she teased Twilight for her bookishness in "Fall Weather Friends". She does worry about her reputation, but of course it'll turn out that she was worried for nothing. The moral of the episode will probably be, "Don't be ashamed of the things you enjoy, whether you're a rough-and-tumble athlete who loves reading, or an adult human who loves children's cartoons". I have a really good feeling about "Hearts and Hooves". I trust the writers to handle it well, and I get the impression that the issue of "How are we going to do an episode about romance without derailing the show's primary messages?" has been discussed among the writers for a while - it must have been on their minds from the start, really. I don't know how they're going to do it, but I think it'll be good. My best theory is that it'll be about dealing with the jealousy (not over the romantic interest, but about the time and attention said interest takes away from one's other friends) that arises when one of a circle of friends starts dating. It may end up being a Fluttershy episode - I can see her being the type to want to keep her dating a secret from the others. I doubt it will be anything that lasts beyond the episode, though, so probably no FlutterMac.

I noticed that too! It suggests that Twist is really interested in starting her own business, the way Filthy Rich did. That would be kind of awesome. Also, this means that Diamond Tiara's family is the Rich family (Filthy Rich, Stinking Rich) rather than the Diamond family or the Tiara family, as most fanfics (including mine) assume. It's also interesting that the Rich family's money isn't all that old - Diamond Tiara's grandfather was clearly wealthy, but they don't come across as wealthy earth pony gentry like the Oranges. I'm glad that Filthy Rich isn't anything like his filly - he really takes Granny Smith seriously, both as a friend and as a business partner. Conversely, Diamond Tiara is even worse this episode than she was in Call of the Cutie, while Silver Spoon isn't so bad. I honestly was not expecting this much backstory and fanon destruction from this episode - I think it's worse than Hearth's Warming Eve in that regard. And by worse, I mean better, of course. It's interesting to think of Ponyville as a third-fourth generation frontier town - it's come a long way since then. I've always written the Apple family as being fairly fundamental to the origins of Ponyville, but I never dreamed that they were quite so fundamental to it. Even the Rich family (at least, the Ponyville branch of it) wouldn't be where they are today without Granny Smith. Did I hear correctly that Granny Smith referred to her family (i.e. her parents and siblings) as the Smith family? That implies that she married in to the Apple family (she can't be the progenitor of the entire family, it's too widespread) - presumably some Apple stallion came to Ponyville to get involved with this new "zapapple" thing and ended up marrying the mare responsible for it. I give it a week before somepony writes that fic. Zapapples themselves are very interesting - it adds an extra helping of magic to the fun but mundane setting of Sweet Apple Acres. As Granny Smith says, "magic is as magic does". It's worth noting that Granny Smith figured out the entire ritual for growing zapapples and making them into jam by herself - and this is an hitherto unknown plant variety from the Everfree Forest. Anyone who says earth ponies can't do magic needs to watch this episode. Also, now we know where Apple Bloom gets her "walk into the Everfree Forest whenever I feel like it" gene from. In general, hooray for Granny Smith being awesome! I mean, I don't think anyone over the age of 12 is surprised that she turned out to have an awesome backstory - everyone who's watched the equivalent episode of The Simpsons knows how this story goes - but I had no idea exactly how it was going to turn out. I'll admit that the first half of the episode felt a touch formulaic, but that's to be expected from an adult perspective on a children's show. Also, I honestly couldn't tell what was going on in the first few minutes - the combination of unfamiliar words ("zapapples"?) with awkward accents made an in media res opening difficult. Also also, there was the usual difficulty I have with characters being put through highly embarrassing scenes. These problems will probably go away the next time I watch the episode, as they usually do. Overall, excellent episode. Now I have to go and relearn how to write about Ponyville.

It can't be too far away in the airing schedule - my understanding is that the episodes late in this season aren't ready to be released yet. Hasbro would want to be pretty solidly confident in an episode's integrity before releasing it on DVD, so I think it'll be episode 15 of this season at the latest. It does sound like an Applejack episode. While I love Applejack's apple farming scenes, it's always interesting to see what else goes on in Sweet Apple Acres. So far, we've seen apple bucking, corn harvesting, winegrape juice making, pig farming (for truffles, apparently), sheep herding (presumably for wool), and possibly chicken farming for eggs (unless those were Fluttershy's chickens in "Sisterhooves Social"). The title is a bit ominous - if I saw a fanfiction with that name, I'd assume it had something to do with a death in the Apple family. Probably not, but we'll see.

The majority of fans I talk to assume that Equestria's sun orbits Equestria (or the planet on which Equestria lies), rather than the other way around. It's very difficult to make Celestia's control over the sun make sense any other way. Also, Sonic Rainboom suggests that the sun is much closer to the earth than ours is - the idea of Rarity "flying too close to the sun" just doesn't make any sense if it's millions of miles away, nor does her using her wings to cast a silhouette over the entire Cloudisseum. Thus, my interpretation is that Celestia alters the orbit of the sun in order to create seasons. "Winter Wrap-Up" implies that the seasons are dependent on geography, because migratory birds fly south for the winter. This suggests to me that Celestia moves the sun's path north and south across Equestria. When it's in the north, southern areas experience winter and northern areas experience summer. When it's in the south, the reverse is true. Equestria probably has an "equatorial" region which experiences seasons like the tropics on Earth, even though it's not actually a sphere.

I'm very hopeful that this will show Granny Smith as something other than comic relief. To be honest, I've found that treatment of her rather disappointing. I'm also keen for more Apple family history, and hopefully an answer to the question that's been asked for over a year: "Seriously, what's the deal with Applejack's parents?"

Sadly, the Mysterious Mare will probably be the same size as the other mares, otherwise there'd be the chance of it being Scootaloo.

Not just fire - I'm theorizing that her special talent is destruction. Between "Sisterhooves Social" and "The Stare Master", she's proven herself able to cause untold devastation with only the tiniest effort (fetching a ribbon, or putting parsley on a plate). What if her special talent really is being destructive? It would be a huge contrast with her big sister's talent for creation, and could make for an interesting story about how your skills don't define who you are.

I'm a little concerned about the "ugly" leaving of Lauren and Rob. Not specifically because I don't think the show can survive without them, but because it suggests that the show is being taken in a direction that they substantially disagreed with. It's only a possibility, but it's cause for concern. A confirmed Season 3 is great, but I do hope the producers are able to end the show on a fitting note rather than let it peter out. There are so many things that could be done in a good final episode (such as mane characters achieving their goals outside Ponyville, and the Crusaders getting their cutie marks) that can't be done while there are more episodes looming. A final lesson about accepting when friends have to move on with their lives, while still staying friends, could be amazingly good if written well. Still, hooray! Season 3!

Pinkie sticking to the ceiling doesn't bother me - that's just cartoon stuff - but the way she handles baking trays does. She even wears oven mitts, implying that yes, she's picking up hot baking trays with her... hooves? I think we have to assume that ponies have a slightly easier time of handling things with their hooves than you'd expect by looking at them. They can't do fine manipulation like writing (they needs to use their mouths to handle pencils), but they're able to use certain tools without too much trouble. I'm still not sure how Fluttershy manages to sew, though.

I'd also like to praise this episode for being harder hitting than I would have expected from a children's show, even this one. What happened between Rarity and Sweetie Belle was more than just a typical flare-up in a sisterly relationship. Rarity really did have cause to fear that Sweetie Belle was never going to speak to her again. To have one's relationship with an important family member break forever is a very serious fear for a lot of adults.

I think the problem here was that Rarity was being generous in the wrong way. I mean, if she'd been truly ungenerous, she'd have told her parents, "No way. Take her with you or pay Fluttershy to look after her." But she saw looking after Sweetie Belle as a chore. A chore that she generously agreed to undertake, but a chore nonetheless. As Applejack put it, Rarity was giving, but she wasn't giving in. It was only when she actually started treating her time with Sweetie Belle as a blessing rather than a burden that it could really work out well for both of them. It's worth noting that, aside from the meteor shower in "Owl's Well That Ends Well", we hadn't actually seen Rarity treating Sweetie Belle as anything other than a nuisance. (To be fair, she is one.) "Sisterhooves Social" seems to be the turning point in their relationship. Now that we've seen Rarity's parents, I think this attitude makes more sense. Rarity's parents seem nice but painfully lower-class, while Rarity dreams of being a sophisticated social climber. She obviously loves her family, but she still wants to distance herself from them and their culture, which is the source of her difficulties with Sweetie Belle.

I'm definitely expecting an appearance from Hoity Toity here. Rarity's relationship with him seemed to be pretty solid at the end of "Suited for Success". A bit of Sapphire Shores and Photo Finish isn't unlikely either. ... oh dear. What if one of the "important social connections" she has to schmooze with in order to get ahead in Canterlot is Prince Blueblood? Potentially extremely awkward. Meanwhile, of course, she's a personal friend of Princess Celestia, so that must make the social dynamic a bit odd. In most cartoons, I'd assume a standard "ambition is bad, always choose your friends" ending. Here, I'm not so sure. I know she'll stay in Ponyville, to keep the show going in its regular format and avoid breaking the "episodes can be watched in any order" principle, but the show has been pretty good about Rarity's ambitions in the past (her successes with Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores are portrayed as entirely good things). I think there'll be some kind of compromise which doesn't sacrifice Rarity's ambitions on the altar of friendship. I'm definitely looking forward to this one.

Celestia, because of all of the love, patience and compassion she's demonstrated. I'm really pleased that we've seen so much characterization and expression from her in Season 2. I like Luna too, though, and if we see more of her, my vote may change.