We begin in Apple Bloom's room as she is flustered over what to wear to meet her cousin from Manehattan down at the train station. I'm not sure if this is the first we've seen her room before, pretty sure we at least saw the bed, but as you can see below it's got apple motif of course.
Applejack tries to drag her sister out so they aren't late and then reveals that Apple Bloom and their cousin both don't have cutie marks. "This changes everything!" according to Apple Bloom, who also doesn't understand why Applejack didn't mention it sooner. Apple Bloom runs off to go get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, leaving an annoyed Applejack looking at her now-messy room strewn with clothing, which the cousin is supposed to be staying in. Also, after all of that, Apple Bloom ran off without a single garment I believe.
At the train station, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are going nuts, Applejack is pissed.
Apple Bloom says of course her cousin will want to join the Crusaders. Scootaloo is shown using her wings a little, and Sweetie Belle sorta uses magic, saying, 'I'm so excited I could burst!' resulting in a few sparks from her horn. So, perhaps we will actually see some development for these characters in this season besides 'do crazy things, never get cutie mark.'
The train arrives and we see a mare with what sort of looks like parameciums as her cutie mark.
Apple Bloom starts calling out anything she sees on the train as her cousin, and Applejack reminds her she's never met her before, and reveals her name is Babs Seed. A train car opens and we have our first look at Babs.
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| My, isn't she cute? |
They tell Babs what the Crusaders are, she looks stunned and flaps her tail over her flank.
Babs not having her cutie mark seems to be a bit of a sore spot to her, but the Crusaders obliviously show off their clubhouse, including a role call sheet, a table to eat lunch, and a spot to think of great ideas. Babs is less than enthusiastic about it and they think on the spot that since she's from Manehattan, they better step their game up and decide to let her ride with them on a float for the Summer Harvest Parade.
For whatever reason, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are stalking Sweet Apple Acres and were waiting for the right moment to strike, mocking the Crusaders' float. Diamond Tiara tears into them, calling their pumpkin a 'lamekin' then nudges Silver Spoon and calls out the new blank flank.
They mockingly ask Babs if she's going to join the Crusaders. Perhaps she figures she'll get less attention to her blank flank if she does not, for she joins the two bullies in mocking the Crusaders. She even goes so far as to trash their float by kicking out the wheel, causing the whole thing to go rolling out into the field where it gets wrecked. I'm going to hazard a guess here that Babs has 'Diamond Tiaras' of her own back home that mercilessly mock her for not having her cutie mark. Perhaps she came to Ponyville to get a break from it all and of course just found herself heading back into it, so she's taking the other way out, joining the tormentors in attacking their previous victims.
Apple Bloom starts making a threat about telling Applejack, Babs gets up in her face and asks if she's a snitch. For some reason Apple Bloom knows being a snitch is a bad thing and backs down as Babs leaves with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the 'cool ponies,' who make one last scathing remark, calling the Crusaders babies. The Crusaders are astonished at what has occured. Apple Bloom insists they aren't going to 'snitch,' which Sweetie Belle wants to do. Scootaloo is pissed at being called a baby and insists that they are not, but Sweetie Belle asks, if they aren't babies, "Then why do I feel like crying?"
In their clubhouse, the Crusaders are all downhearted. Apple Bloom wants to rebuild the float, but Scootaloo vetoes it, saying Babs will just wreck it again. Sweetie Belle wants to tell Applejack, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both have a flashback with Babs asking if she was a snitch and say 'No!' Apple Bloom decides that since Babs will be there for a couple weeks, they will just avoid her like the plague. A song begins.
The Crusaders slip into town to get some shakes, Babs chases them off and steals their treats.
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| Everywhere we turn, she's just a step ahead |
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They flee into a movie theater.
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| But for now, we're staying out of her way 'til then |
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| Everywhere we turn, she's just a step ahead |
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| Why so mean? Why so crude? |
I'm not sure where this next area is, Rarity's boutique? The Crusaders dress up as little pigs and Babs shows up as a wolf. So if I was correct that Babs was getting bullied back home, she must have had a pretty rough time because she is just going HAM on the Crusaders, relentlessly stalking them around town just to mess with them.
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| Why so angry? Why so rude? |
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| Babs Seed, Babs Seed, |
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| she's just a bad, bad- |
Then shakes apples at them.
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| Babs Seed, Babs Seed, |
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| she's just a bad, bad- |
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| She's just a bad, bad seed |
Apple Bloom wants to know what the hell, Babs, they never did anything to her. Babs activates some kind of drawbridge while telling her to 'keep it that way.' She then joins Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in their little routine, flopping her tail down over her flank.
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| "Bump, bump, sugar-lump, rump!" |
We see Rarity's/Sweetie's house, with their dad out fishing. Looks to be a pretty modest size house, unless the entire structure is all one thing.
Sweetie Belle is up crying in her room. She suggests they talk to Applejack, the other two enthusiastically say 'No!' again after another flashback. Sweetie suggests Rarity, they say no, Twilight, they say no. Apple Bloom says they need to fight back, Scootaloo wants to, but asks how. Apple Bloom decides they should make Babs the guest of honor for the parade, in some crazy attempt to embarrass her.
Back at her home, Babs has claimed the bed while Apple Bloom has to sleep on a pile of hay in the corner under a newspaper. ...Which is pretty messed up since the bullies Babs is trying to impress aren't even there.
In a mid-night rendezvous, the Crusaders stealthily call out Apple Bloom by mooing. They make their way to the barn where they begin working on rebuilding the float Babs trashed. She did quite the number on it, but the Crusaders are awesome mechanics, apparently. Sweetie Belle gets Luster Dust dumped on her, which is used by Sugarcube Corner to decorate bake goods, and is something Rarity uses to make 'emergency edible boots.' Why Rarity needs 'emergency edible' boots, I can't imagine.
Scootaloo asks if Apple Bloom got the thing, from the place, which turns out to be Granny Smith's egg timer.
An A-Team homage montage begins with the Crusaders repairing their float. Scootaloo thinks she got her cutie mark!
And... it's just grease.
Tired, the Crusaders finish their float, joining hooves while saying 'Cutie Mark Crusaders, ho!' Now, this is pretty impressive that these three, truly little ponies were able to make this thing in a few hours.
Later that day, the parade is starting and we see our first shot of the 'mane 6.'
The parade is apparently made up of other giant vegetable floats.
Babs is seen in attendance with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
All three of them are amazed at the Crusaders' golden apple float. Now, here's something somewhat disturbing. Why did they use this 'luster dust' on it, and why did they make it so it fell on Sweetie Belle, and called out that it was edible?
The Crusaders start leading Babs into their trap, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon roll their eyes and leave. Sweetie Belle goes inside and starts it up, apparently it's automated. So, not only can 'fillies' construct an automobile, they are also allowed to drive these things. Babs falls for the trap, most likely just to try and show off for DT and SS. She smashes into the Crusaders and they land on a perfectly placed mattress, so they are just dominating in their plan here.
Babs drives off and the Crusaders scowl and shake their hooves, "Teach her to fool with the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Applejack commends them for letting Babs ride in the float. (They keep saying 'ride' but they're clearly driving)
Applejack goes on to explain that Babs was having heartache back home, but she didn't say anything because she didn't want her to be singled out, and it is, as I figured, that Babs was getting bullied back home, because of her 'blank flank.' She came to the farm to get away from her problems. And of course, the problems were waiting right for her in the form of DT and SS. :( Also, way to go Applejack, for letting her sister's cutie mark obsessed Crusaders swarm all over her.
The Crusaders are all torn up about Babs' situation and what they just did to her. They know they have to stop whatever it was they booby trapped involving an egg timer and the float's steering column. Babs is having fun driving the float and gets complimented by DT and SS. DT makes a racist mule joke with one standing right nearby, who pulls down his sunglasses and brays.
Aww, Babs looks happy driving the float. Poor thing.
The Crusaders go to tell Applejack that they fouled up, while the band is passing by so she can't hear. It goes silent and the crowd looks awkwardly at them as Apple Bloom yells that they booby trapped it. Scootaloo is antsy and rapidfires off, "Babs, bully, payback! No time to explain!" The Crusaders start running down the street.
The Crusaders fight their way through the street, then the crowd, but the timer is ticking down and the float is approaching the trap point. Apparently they carefully calculated the speed of their float so that when it gets near the cliff, the trap will spring, disabling control so it goes flying down into a pig sty on the lake Sweetie lives near. If you recall from Mare Do Well, the Ponyville roads are death traps, so it is a little surprising to see what may be a guard rail here.
Pinkie Pie was driving a lettuce float, and begins going into a schtick about "Let us in!" "Lettuce in!" as the Crusaders try to board it. Pinkie throws out a rope ladder for them and they climb aboard, to see Pinkie lying on a couch reading a magazine. So, it's not potentially bad enough that little kids can drive these things, some one let Pinkie Pie drive, and of course, this is the result. (Note: she's no where near the controls)
Scootaloo rushes to the controls and takes over, racing to catch up to Babs.
They try to warn her, but Babs rams them off the road. In a not-so shocking twist, those things I thought might have been safety measures are in fact just hay bales, no doubt out for the parade. Pinkie starts yelling 'Veggie salad!' as they crash, she and a cow then start eating the remains.
The Crusaders continue on foot to catch up to Babs, but they are too late.
The timer goes off and the float goes out of control, careening towards the cliff.
They throw her out of the float and are then hoist on their own petard as they go off the cliff and into the mud, sacrificing themselves for Babs. Apple Bloom suggests that maybe they'll get their cutie marks for 'stupidest ideas of all time.'
The cliff is revealed to be less of a cliff and more of a slope, and Applejack asks if they are okay. Babs is confused and touched that they saved her, despite her being so mean to them.
In a presumably awkward walk back, at Sweet Apple Acres, Babs is still confused as to what happened, since in her view the Crusaders saved her.
The Crusaders start to confess and explain why they did what they did, and why they went to stop it. Babs instinctively flips her tail over her flank and lowers her head as they mention her being bullied in Manehattan. :(
Sweetie Belle starts splashing around in the tub about life being 'so ironic' because they had become bullies themselves after being bullied, just like Babs.
The Crusaders and Babs all apologize to each other.
Applejack, who let this whole thing happen, gloats that they should have just come to her in the beginning, and Sweetie Belle whines that that was what she kept telling them to do.
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| "Well, I'll be damned. So it turns out talkin' to somepony was the way to go, not staging an elaborate trap to send a pony into mud." |
The Crusaders apparently have a ritual set up to induct new members involving ominous drum beats from Scootaloo and a super lengthy speech, written by Scootaloo. They also have a banner with their crest, and have kept, or re-made (knowing them, probably multiple times) the capes Sweetie made for them in Stare Master.
Babs is inducted into the Crusaders and is just as happy as can be. She even gets her own cape.
Babs was said to have been staying for a few weeks, and it looks like it's time for her to head home. She promises to set up a Manehattan branch of the Crusaders, and promises Applejack she'll "keep talking to my big sis about the teasing back home." Man, so presumably that means she has been talking to her sister, and yet the torment continues, so much so that she had to take a vacation half way across the continent to try and get away from it all. :( Applejack tells her that if she has any trouble, she and the Crusaders have her back.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon show up, possibly to see their new friend off. Which brings up some questions such as, if she was to be there for weeks, how much time elapsed? Is she going home early? Was she really tormenting the Crusaders for a few weeks? (Since presumably DT and SS would have had to notice Babs was being nice to them instead of pursuing them like a Predator) DT laments that they are stuck there with those 'lame blank flanks.' The Crusaders are on the verge of tears, Applejack is pissed.
Babs is even more pissed off. She tells them that that's no way to talk to her friends.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are flabbergasted. How could those blank flanks be Babs' friends? Babs asks if they got a problem with that. Diamond Tiara asks what if she does, and what is Babs going to do about it.
Babs takes a glance back at her new friends and kin...
Grins...
Then tells them she will tell their mothers about their bad attitudes. DT and SS are quivering in fear. So, presumably Babs picked up some intel while she was playing with the bad mares, intel which the Crusaders might be able to use in the future to thwart their attacks on them. Babs gives them the death glare seen below and they both leap into the air, falling off the platform and into a convenient pig sty.
Babs gives the other Crusaders a high hoof and boards her train for Manehattan, hopefully her Ponyville experiences will help her overcome her tormentors lurking at home.
Sweetie starts rambling about how she'll miss that 'bad seed' and Applejack is confused, with Sweetie continuing to ramble that they called her bad seed because she was bad, but now they call her bad seed because she is good. The episode ends with the train pulling away and the four on the platform laughing at either Applejack not understanding or Sweetie Belle being weird.
What I learned from this episode:
- We already knew Ponyville had vehicles of different sorts including trains, airships, hot air balloons, tanks, gyrocopters, this episode possibly hints they may have automobiles as well. The scary thing is is that little kids can build these things without any adult supervision, and drive them with the same. Even worse, Pinkie Pie is allowed to make and drive one.
- I kind of really like Babs Seed. She's kind of like Fluttershy in a way, you could just tell from our first scenes with her that she was 'damaged goods.' Imagine the hell the poor thing must have been going through back in Manehatten, she desperatately gets her sister to try and help her to no avail, finally, she is sent alone to ponies she's never seen before in Ponyville just to get away from it all for a few weeeks. Then, her cousin is member of a group devoted to the cause of Babs' misfortune, her blank flank, and encounters the Crusaders nemesi bullies. She becomes that which she hates, that which drove her to Ponyville in the first place. She adopts this bully persona so well, she is lashing out at her cousin when no one else is even around. Truly tragic all around. Then she had her cute little things like always blowing her mane (or is it the forelock?) away from her eye, or flipping her tail to hide her flank.
- And going off the above, let us not forget it was Applejack that caused all of this by withholding information from her cutie mark obsessed sister. It was an interesting angle on the whole bullying issue though. Although, an episode with the four Crusaders getting into crazy, Manehattan-inspired hijinks could, and still can, be good.
- The Cutie Mark Crusaders will potentially get a chapter in Manehattan. Perhaps some adults will get involved and the Crusaders will have inadvertently set up an organization to help protect little ponies and help them find out who they truly are.
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