Good morning, everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews." Well, well, well, that was a delightful episode,wasn't it? A very lovely introduction to the CMC this season, as well as a smashing follow up to their grand finale last season culminating in their getting their cutie marks. Without further ado, let's dive into things, this is "On Your Marks."

So I think the best way to review this particular episode is to first and foremost highlight its pacing, structure, and themes. This episode, for covering as much as it did, was wonderfully paced and structured. They set up the problem nicely, and resolved it just as nicely as well. Nothing felt rushed or forced, but very natural in how quickly it was addressed. So what exactly was the problem here? Well, the CMC, quite naturally, need to figure out what they're going to do now. Not as far as their special talents go, no, they quickly remind themselves that their purpose as the CMC is to help others with cutie mark and special talent problems. The problem, they quickly realize, is that they're still fillies, pretty much limited to doing stuff in Ponyville, and there are only so many cutie mark/special talent problems in Ponyville.

Astonishingly, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly realize the answer to this conundrum. They both have a lot of other activities they'd like to do, but also realize that the other two CMC might not be so crazy about them, so they resolve that they should be able to do some things on their own, away from each other. As the leader of the CMC, and the one (arguably) most reliant on the group dynamic (no surprise given how important family is in her life), Apple Bloom is most uncomfortable with this arrangement. She's not sure what else she could possibly want to do besides stuff with her friends (although this is a bit odd considering we saw her earlier in the episode quite handily handling some potions at Zecora's), and eventually starts despairing as to what her life will be when she's not with the CMC. Things get resolved nicely when her friends point out that she doesn't have to do things she's just good at, but things she just enjoys for the sake of enjoying them, and they close things by assisting a new friend they've run into overcome his stage fright and earn his cutie mark in dancing.

Wait a minute... is this confirmation that Berry Punch and Cherry Berry are vintners? That's... AWESOME!!!

Like I said, this episode stands out to me both for its pacing and handling of its thematic elements. It seems like DHX just keeps getting better and better at handling the CMC, and episodes like this prove that point. While it does get a little old at times that AB so often gets the lion's share of CMC focus, this problem made a lot of sense for her to have; like I said, she's arguably the most reliant of all the CMC on close social networks, between her friends and extended family, so it makes a lot of sense that she'd have anxiety at the thought of doing activities without them or others. It was nice as well that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle figured out on their own what was the best thing to do, as well as the fact that they got different results. Scootaloo seems quite good at bungie jumping, whereas Sweetie Belle is not very good at crocheting, but they both enjoy those activities just as much all the same.

OK, WE GET IT, YOU WANT US TO LOOK AT YOUR BUTTS!!!

Even Sea Swirl and Sassaflash seem uncertain how to feel about this

The first new song of the season was quite nice, nothing spectacular or very memorable, but a nice sequence all the same. I would be remiss if I did not mention that it is very, very clear at this point that puberty is hitting Michelle Creber and Claire Corlett HARD!!! I mean, their voices are so low now; gone are the days of Sweetie Squeak. It's sad, but it's not like they don't still sound good in the roles, and it kind of gives the impression that they're getting older. It's just weird still that Scootaloo sounds the most like she did when the show started out of all three at this point. There were some creative and fun looking new supporting and background ponies introduced, most notably Tender Taps, good, typical CMC humor, and all in all the episode just had a nice, relaxed, Ponyville slice-of-life feel to it, despite, as I've mentioned quite a bit, hitting on some important themes. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, but what I do have is nothing but praise. This was a great start in the season for the CMC, and I can't wait to see where they go from here. Until next time everypony, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*