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Description
So it's no secret I don't like Applebloom. And I don't like Applebloom episodes. It's kind of like watching NCIS and seeing an episode with Tony's dad. You know what's going to happen. Tony will be pissed at his dad for being a moochy con artist. They make up in the end, but knowing that the same thing will happen again. Repeat every season. Applebloom. Pissed she doesn't have a cutie mark, things happen, she learns a lesson, but we know that next time, it's all gonna happen again. No development, just boring repeat behavior. She works well with her friends because the dynamic provided a chance for the others to balance her out. At least, they used to. Another thing I mentioned is that the CMC have changed for the worse lately. Before, it was Applebloom, the one with the crazy schemes. Scootaloo, the one who went along and used her talents to keep it going. And Sweetie Bell, the reasonable one who wants to think things over. But now, we got Sweetie Bell wanting to be more like Applebloom, totally destroying that balance. I guess we'll see when we get a full CMC episode, but for now, we got this. An episode with mostly dream sequences showing Applebloom's fears. Special guest star Luna as the usual dream police that live inside of your head.

So it starts with us learning that Babs Seed got her cutie mark, something to do with scissors. This effectively eliminates her character from ever appearing again on the show, outside of background images. Not that I ever expected her to return anyway, but it would have been nice to flesh out her character a little bit more. See how she is post-bully. A child version of Sunset Shimmer, in a way. It seems like the letter from her was a send-off to the audience that she wouldn't be around anymore. Applebloom's voice has...changed. It could be due to Michelle Creber growing up, or it could be a natural evolution of the voice, but it sounds off the whole episode.

So this episode pretty much falls into an entire dream sequence, split up into multiple dreams. Part one: Twittermites. Applebloom gets her mark, and she's basically an exterminator. Twittermites are basically shocker lizards in bug form. Which is way worse when you think about how many bugs can gather version lizards in a small location. There's some correlation here to the lightning occurrence and Twitter posts, but I haven't found it yet. No doubt the name was intentional though. I do like the old man's line "anypony with a trombone can take care of parasprites". A callback, and a fridge horror callback at that. Remember that Pinkie did not use the trombone at the end of Swarm of the Century to get rid of the parasprites, but to use it to comedic effect as a closer. Apparently, though, a trombone is all it would take to take care of the pests. So, what was Pinkie's ultimate goal in the episode? I think I would enjoy reviewing that more...

This dream brings about a question most people have about cutie marks though. Applebloom supposedly has never done exterminating before. She picks up on it immediately and has an almost magical response to it. So, do you automatically gain a talent when you get your cutie mark? This is a dream, after all, but it has to be based at least a little bit in reality. Or, is this part of Applebloom's misguided assumptions about a cutie mark? Does it happen this way because she assumes that that's how a cutie mark works? I guess so. In any case, it doesn't matter, because Diamond Tiara and useless sidekick still make fun of her, despite having literally the most useless cutie marks. At least exterminating is worth something. I mean, after the thing with zap apples, Applebloom should know by now that any little thing done on the farm has a huge impact on their and Ponyville's lives. Applebloom hates her mark, and gets it wished away by a mysterious being. The Twittermites attack, and dominate the town now that Applebloom doesn't have the talent, which just raises the question again about a cutie mark "granting" an ability.

Dream part 2: Friends Forever. Applejack's repeated lines makes it obvious that it's still a dream, and it comes across like that episode of Scrubs with the butterfly effect. Also, Friends Forever was a song in the musical episode. Did you know I like that show? Applebloom gets a cutie mark in the form of a potion this time. Which might be a really not-subtle foreshadowing. She has been taking lessons from Twilight to make potions. It actually seems very probable that her cutie mark ends up being a potion of some kind. And that might be a mistake from the writers if so. Or a well-placed mislead. What's with the apple though? Can she only make potions with an apple as the ingredient? Kind of limits your choices there.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell kick her out of the club, and pretty much unfriend her. Which, to a kid, is probably a big fear, but doesn't really make sense here. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara aren't their not-friends because they have cutie marks. It's because they're assholes. It's not like they don't have other friends. We've seen them associate with other fillies before, ones who've had cutie marks, right? This is probably the weakest fear, because this dream sequence doesn't change who Applebloom is as a person, it changes how Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo act towards her, without any kind of provocation. Applebloom actively decided to stick with the CMC and work towards the goal, despite already reaching hers. That's a damned admirable trait, and the other two would easily recognize that. So, mysterious force shows up again, gets rid of Applebloom's cutie mark. Then, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo get theirs, cleverly hiding them from the audience, and shove their noses up at Applebloom.

Dream part 3: Family. Applebloom wakes up yet again, to her family noticing her cutie mark. A...whale? I think? Shooting water? Is she a marine biologist? Because as a marine biologist, I can confirm that there's no way she went through the training courses necessary. Ha. Anyway, we get a nice callback to Ponyville Confidential, and Big Mac reversing roles with Applejack again. It works ok, I guess. I felt it might be a little forced, but they make it work. Plus they do the whole voice switching thing, where everyone who talks sounds like Big Mac. I am reminded of the bee episode of Futurama where Bender's voice came out as Amy's. Which took place, of course, during a dream sequence, in an episode that was mostly dream sequences. It's loose, but that might have been intended. So the family kicks her out and forces her to change her name, because her cutie mark isn't an apple. I don't know if Bloom would work as a name, but I would go with Gloom. Then we could have Rapidash Sparkle and Apple Gloom. Working on finishing up that stellar pokemon team.

Dream part 4: Pinkie floats by in her chicken suit, with balloons, simulating a rooster. I mean, that would probably happen in the real world too. Are we in a dream or not? Applebloom's cutie mark keeps changing (even her face at one point. You know, screw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. THAT'S the most self-conceited cutie mark ever). Applebloom confronts the mysterious voice, which turns out to be...her own shadow. Thanks to Luna of course. because Luna. I don't know. It's better than her being a regal princess, but it's still a little disappointing that the only good Luna moments happen in other ponies' dreams. What's impressive this time is that apparently, Luna can send a pony into other ponies' dreams, or at least give them a vision of it. That's some high-level crazy magic right there. I guess I should expect that from her, but damn. Of course, the show had to torment the fans by having Scootaloo fly in her dream. Because there won't be a thousand comics made about THAT...again. Oh, there's a balloon animal Rainbow Dash on a stand at the clubhouse. I'm willing to bet that that's actually real.

Applebloom learns her lesson...again, and everything is back to normal.

Oh, one other thing about this being an Applebloom episode. It would be one thing if she were, you know, learning potion-making from Twilight. But this episode only barely featured Applejack, and none of the other mane6. It's more like a bottle episode than anything else. Which I've never been a fan of. Family Guy probably made the worst one ever, with Brian and Stewie stuck at the bank. Community is always self-referential anyway, so theirs wasn't too bad. But while the locations technically change, this episode featured one character on a show with a main cast of at least ten. You just don't do that.

But I guess this is as good a time as any. Scrubs actually shares a lot with the ponies. And it's not because JD is a sensitive guy who probably would be a brony had the show kept running. It's because both shows can manage to add the drama in with the humor in an almost ever-changing pace, and do it well. There's always a lesson at the end, and it's something that both adults and kids can learn from. It's rare to see a show blend all that together. Just...give me more cast next time. And holy crap, I don't want to hear the words "cutie mark" for a long time.

Description
So it's no secret I don't like Applebloom. And I don't like Applebloom episodes. It's kind of like watching NCIS and seeing an episode with Tony's dad. You know what's going to happen. Tony will be pissed at his dad for being a moochy con artist. They make up in the end, but knowing that the same thing will happen again. Repeat every season. Applebloom. Pissed she doesn't have a cutie mark, things happen, she learns a lesson, but we know that next time, it's all gonna happen again. No development, just boring repeat behavior. She works well with her friends because the dynamic provided a chance for the others to balance her out. At least, they used to. Another thing I mentioned is that the CMC have changed for the worse lately. Before, it was Applebloom, the one with the crazy schemes. Scootaloo, the one who went along and used her talents to keep it going. And Sweetie Bell, the reasonable one who wants to think things over. But now, we got Sweetie Bell wanting to be more like Applebloom, totally destroying that balance. I guess we'll see when we get a full CMC episode, but for now, we got this. An episode with mostly dream sequences showing Applebloom's fears. Special guest star Luna as the usual dream police that live inside of your head.

So it starts with us learning that Babs Seed got her cutie mark, something to do with scissors. This effectively eliminates her character from ever appearing again on the show, outside of background images. Not that I ever expected her to return anyway, but it would have been nice to flesh out her character a little bit more. See how she is post-bully. A child version of Sunset Shimmer, in a way. It seems like the letter from her was a send-off to the audience that she wouldn't be around anymore. Applebloom's voice has...changed. It could be due to Michelle Creber growing up, or it could be a natural evolution of the voice, but it sounds off the whole episode.

So this episode pretty much falls into an entire dream sequence, split up into multiple dreams. Part one: Twittermites. Applebloom gets her mark, and she's basically an exterminator. Twittermites are basically shocker lizards in bug form. Which is way worse when you think about how many bugs can gather version lizards in a small location. There's some correlation here to the lightning occurrence and Twitter posts, but I haven't found it yet. No doubt the name was intentional though. I do like the old man's line "anypony with a trombone can take care of parasprites". A callback, and a fridge horror callback at that. Remember that Pinkie did not use the trombone at the end of Swarm of the Century to get rid of the parasprites, but to use it to comedic effect as a closer. Apparently, though, a trombone is all it would take to take care of the pests. So, what was Pinkie's ultimate goal in the episode? I think I would enjoy reviewing that more...

This dream brings about a question most people have about cutie marks though. Applebloom supposedly has never done exterminating before. She picks up on it immediately and has an almost magical response to it. So, do you automatically gain a talent when you get your cutie mark? This is a dream, after all, but it has to be based at least a little bit in reality. Or, is this part of Applebloom's misguided assumptions about a cutie mark? Does it happen this way because she assumes that that's how a cutie mark works? I guess so. In any case, it doesn't matter, because Diamond Tiara and useless sidekick still make fun of her, despite having literally the most useless cutie marks. At least exterminating is worth something. I mean, after the thing with zap apples, Applebloom should know by now that any little thing done on the farm has a huge impact on their and Ponyville's lives. Applebloom hates her mark, and gets it wished away by a mysterious being. The Twittermites attack, and dominate the town now that Applebloom doesn't have the talent, which just raises the question again about a cutie mark "granting" an ability.

Dream part 2: Friends Forever. Applejack's repeated lines makes it obvious that it's still a dream, and it comes across like that episode of Scrubs with the butterfly effect. Also, Friends Forever was a song in the musical episode. Did you know I like that show? Applebloom gets a cutie mark in the form of a potion this time. Which might be a really not-subtle foreshadowing. She has been taking lessons from Twilight to make potions. It actually seems very probable that her cutie mark ends up being a potion of some kind. And that might be a mistake from the writers if so. Or a well-placed mislead. What's with the apple though? Can she only make potions with an apple as the ingredient? Kind of limits your choices there.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell kick her out of the club, and pretty much unfriend her. Which, to a kid, is probably a big fear, but doesn't really make sense here. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara aren't their not-friends because they have cutie marks. It's because they're assholes. It's not like they don't have other friends. We've seen them associate with other fillies before, ones who've had cutie marks, right? This is probably the weakest fear, because this dream sequence doesn't change who Applebloom is as a person, it changes how Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo act towards her, without any kind of provocation. Applebloom actively decided to stick with the CMC and work towards the goal, despite already reaching hers. That's a damned admirable trait, and the other two would easily recognize that. So, mysterious force shows up again, gets rid of Applebloom's cutie mark. Then, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo get theirs, cleverly hiding them from the audience, and shove their noses up at Applebloom.

Dream part 3: Family. Applebloom wakes up yet again, to her family noticing her cutie mark. A...whale? I think? Shooting water? Is she a marine biologist? Because as a marine biologist, I can confirm that there's no way she went through the training courses necessary. Ha. Anyway, we get a nice callback to Ponyville Confidential, and Big Mac reversing roles with Applejack again. It works ok, I guess. I felt it might be a little forced, but they make it work. Plus they do the whole voice switching thing, where everyone who talks sounds like Big Mac. I am reminded of the bee episode of Futurama where Bender's voice came out as Amy's. Which took place, of course, during a dream sequence, in an episode that was mostly dream sequences. It's loose, but that might have been intended. So the family kicks her out and forces her to change her name, because her cutie mark isn't an apple. I don't know if Bloom would work as a name, but I would go with Gloom. Then we could have Rapidash Sparkle and Apple Gloom. Working on finishing up that stellar pokemon team.

Dream part 4: Pinkie floats by in her chicken suit, with balloons, simulating a rooster. I mean, that would probably happen in the real world too. Are we in a dream or not? Applebloom's cutie mark keeps changing (even her face at one point. You know, screw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. THAT'S the most self-conceited cutie mark ever). Applebloom confronts the mysterious voice, which turns out to be...her own shadow. Thanks to Luna of course. because Luna. I don't know. It's better than her being a regal princess, but it's still a little disappointing that the only good Luna moments happen in other ponies' dreams. What's impressive this time is that apparently, Luna can send a pony into other ponies' dreams, or at least give them a vision of it. That's some high-level crazy magic right there. I guess I should expect that from her, but damn. Of course, the show had to torment the fans by having Scootaloo fly in her dream. Because there won't be a thousand comics made about THAT...again. Oh, there's a balloon animal Rainbow Dash on a stand at the clubhouse. I'm willing to bet that that's actually real.

Applebloom learns her lesson...again, and everything is back to normal.

Oh, one other thing about this being an Applebloom episode. It would be one thing if she were, you know, learning potion-making from Twilight. But this episode only barely featured Applejack, and none of the other mane6. It's more like a bottle episode than anything else. Which I've never been a fan of. Family Guy probably made the worst one ever, with Brian and Stewie stuck at the bank. Community is always self-referential anyway, so theirs wasn't too bad. But while the locations technically change, this episode featured one character on a show with a main cast of at least ten. You just don't do that.

But I guess this is as good a time as any. Scrubs actually shares a lot with the ponies. And it's not because JD is a sensitive guy who probably would be a brony had the show kept running. It's because both shows can manage to add the drama in with the humor in an almost ever-changing pace, and do it well. There's always a lesson at the end, and it's something that both adults and kids can learn from. It's rare to see a show blend all that together. Just...give me more cast next time. And holy crap, I don't want to hear the words "cutie mark" for a long time.