Wow, wow, wow, has Season 4 hit its stride or what?! We've had two phenomenal episodes back-to-back the last two weeks, and I can only imagine things are going to get better from here. "Pinkie Apple Pie" hit all the right notes and, well, for the first time this season I'm facing a conundrum that I love to face but don't get to that often: I don't know what my favorite episode this season is anymore. Seriously, between "Rarity Takes Manehatten's" fabulosity and the goofy and heartwarming episode that was "Pinkie Apple Pie", I don't know which is better. THIS IS FANTASTIC!!! Ah well, let's get this review started, shall we?

So, seeing as there's a lot of characters and elements to talk about in this episode, I'm going to go in order of appearance and start by discussing Pinkie Pie, as well as each respective character's conception of family and the lesson they learned concerning it. So Pinkie Pie probably had her best episode since Season 2. That's not to say that "Too Many Pinkie Pies" was a bad episode, far from it, but I just thought that this was a better Pinkie-centric episode than that one is all. The thing I liked about this episode for Pinkie is that she didn't need to learn a lesson, really, or at least not that much of a lesson. Usually in a Pinkie-centric episode she takes things too far, but here she actually contributed to the lesson learned quite a bit, and only needed a brief reminder at the end that whether or not she and the Apples were blood relatives didn't matter, they're still family one way or the other. So what I'm saying is, odd as it may sound, Pinkie displayed a bizarre amount of maturity in this episode. Go figure, right?

Allow me to explain. When Pinkie Pie learns that she might be related to the Apples, most people assumed she just accepted that as fact right from the start, and to an extent that might be true. But I get the feeling that in the back of her mind, Pinkie realized already that, whether or not she was related, she loved the Apples already and spending time with each and every one of them, and getting the chance to go on a road trip with them of all things? Well, you all know that Pinkie's going to enjoy herself on a road trip no matter what! So even though she was confident that she was actually related to them for most of the episode, and ecstatic at the thought, I think even more so, Pinkie being the joyous pony she is who knows how to enjoy any ponies company better than anypony else does was just happy the whole time to be getting to partake in this family outing with the Apples at all. Think about it? She was so, so, so happy the whole episode, not just blissfully unaware of things, but sincerely happy! That's what makes Pinkie Pie such a great character, that it takes so much to get her down at all, and I'd say she's an even happier pony now even more so than when the show started! That's a big reason that I thought this was a fantastic Pinkie Pie episode, that we got to see her element on display so much without many words being spoken about it. But anyways, concerning her views on family, I have to respectfully disagree with Flipturn's assertion that "Pinkie has a family now", and that's why she's so happy. Pinkie had a family already, and while they certainly aren't as fun loving as her, from what we've seen (and might get to see even more when one or both of Pinkie's sisters shows up this season) she really loves her family, even though she moved off the rock farm. Besides the reasons for her happiness that I already pointed out, the other thing that was driving Pinkie through the roof this episode was the thought of not only having more family than she thought she did, but also having family in her hometown who also happened to be great friends already. Yet even though the question remains uncertain as to whether or not Pinkie and the Apples are actually family, she doesn't care, because she loves them all the same and had a blast on their trip together. Pinkie, you truly are the Element of Laughter, and we should all take a page out of your book and try not to let so many things get us down so easily.

Besides those great elements of her character this episode, Pinkie was probably the cutest and funniest she's been all season, and nailed every scene she was in from beginning to end. Overall, a great Pinkie-centric episode for sure.

Now, onto the Apple Family, and yes I'm going to lump them all together here (except for Goldie Delicious) because they worked off of each other so much in each scene, no one character really taking the spotlight, even if AJ was at the center of it all. First, I just have to mention that I LOVE it when the Apple Family gets to share the spotlight together, and I think that this episode did a better job of doing that than any previous episode in the show's entire canon has. Like I said, none of the Apples, not even Big Mac, really got overwhelmed in screen time by another, and in a road trip episode that worked to perfection! Oh yeah, let's discuss for a minute the fact that this was a road trip episode. This was a FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC road trip episode! It hit the right balance between unbelievable shenanigans and realistic family interactions on the road. The hijinks on the road and river were a hoot and, as should be in a cartoon, over-the-top, but the family fights and arguing, that was dead on accurate. I mean, I swear, that's guaranteed to happen in any family when you go on any type of road trip; heck, I could practically see my mom, sister, and I in our trip before Christmas to Green Bay when I was watching the Apples. That kind of arguing's not a bad thing, so long as family members make up of course, because that's just what families do; they're people you know and love who it's OK to argue with because you love each other enough that of course you're going to make up, and I'm glad that all the Apples, especially AJ (but all of them were reminded of it, again, very, very, very Apple Family centric), were reminded of that and dispelled by the end of the episode with the idea that good family's never fight but run like some picture-perfect clockwork. Fantastic lesson learned by all the Apples, and I'm so happy that they got to share in that lesson, as well as the one sort of learned by Pinkie Pie, with Pinkie Pie, their new at the very least honorary Apple.

Finally, let's talk about Goldie Delicious briefly. This character, for the little she appeared at the end, was very, very fun, and a wonderful little addition to the Apple Family. I loved that she's basically the family hoarder (come on, every family needs one ) and, on top of that, a crazy cat lady to boot! She might have been a bit kooky and hoardish, but she seemed like a really sweet character, and she was more than happy to help out ponies she'd just met right out of the blue. So yeah, fun little addition to the cast, definitely, most definitely.

OK, characters and themes are out of the way, so let's talk about the song now. Oh my gosh, we've had three episodes in a row with music!!! THAT IS UNHEARD OF, EVEN BY MLP'S STANDARDS!!!!! The best part is that the songs just keep getting better and better! "Generosity" was my favorite song of the season last week, but I'm sorry, "Apples to the Core" blew even that song out of the water! It's probably the most joyous song we've gotten since "Smile" and "True, True Friend", and was just a blast from beginning to end. You saw real love, I mean REAL, sincere love, from each and every one of the Apples and Pinkie in that number, and just how happy all of them were, not just at the prospect of Pinkie being one of them, but also just to all be together on the road. Also, I dare you to listen to this song and not clap along, or at least not bop along in rhythm. It is just that catchy, and even a finer rendition of country than "Raise This Barn" was last season. Daniel Ingram, you did it again, and I bow in awe to your awesomeness sir. Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the animation on this number was some of the most gorgeous and lively we've ever gotten in an MLP musical piece; while "Smile" and "True, True Friend" were admittedly bigger and more impressive in their scope, there was A LOT going on in this piece, and seeing as it was only five ponies doing it all, that's impressive. Dancing along rhythmically with the piece while also appearing to progress along in their journey, that's just dang impressive choreography right there, and my hat's off to the animation team on making the Apples' and Pinkie's movements seamlessly synchronized with the tune itself. All in all, I got to say that "Apples to the Core" is one of the finest songs in all of MLP's canon to this date, and certainly did not disappoint in the slightest.

Animation wise, the characters were lively as usual, and on top of the expected hilarious and adorable faces we got from Pinkie Pie, we also got some great animation from the rest of the Apples as well. Most notable I'd say was the variety we got from Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, seeing as they're both less seen than Applejack and Apple Bloom, and the number of appearances they made throughout is again a big reason I say this was more an Apple Family-centric episode than an Applejack-centric one. Besides the characters, it was real nice getting to see more of the Equestrian wilderness, seeing as it's been too long since we really got to see the wilds of Equestria extensively, what with adventures occurring in Ponyville less and less.

I simply have to mention how fantastic the pacing here was, as well as in last week's episode. Pacing is a big but highly underrated part of what separates good episodes from great episodes, and two weeks in a row now we've had fantastically paced episodes, with not too much but also not too little going on, just the right amount of events to fill the episode without it feeling too cluttered. Hats off to the writers for the phenomenal pacing compared to previous episodes this season, or even in seasons past.

Finally, let's talk about the comedy, because in a road trip episode starring Pinkie Pie, you know you're going to get A LOT. Pinkie Pie was a riot, both in her animations, behavior, and dialogue, not much else to say besides that seeing as she is, well, her. Heck, with any other character I probably would've called BS on the way she discovered her potential relation to the Apples, but seeing as it's Pinkie, it made all the sense in the world, and just as suitably the hyperactive mare ended the episode by, once again, breaking the 4th wall. Pinkie, you are a pink riot and I love you for it!!! As for the Apples, they all had bits, although I honestly thought that Big Mac probably had the funniest performance. He's probably never talked as much as he did here, and it astounds me how each 'eeyup' can actually be delivered so differently, so kudos to Peter New for bringing character to a character with such limited dialogue. Still, AJ, AB, and Granny Smith were all whacky as well in their own ways; I died when Granny led them into that cave (which was actually an expertly handled comedic bit, nothing wrong at all with purely audio humor minus the visuals, kind of reminiscent even of the Looney Tunes), AB's maplicious was a hilarious send up to the fans, and AJ was hilarious the entire time as she tried to be the center of the family, similar to her meltdown in "Apple Family Reunion". Besides the main characters, Goldie Delicious, for the little she appeared, was a hoot, mostly in just everything that was around her in her house, especially her cats (including a bucking cheetah and a deliciously clever Dusty Katt reference, congrats to the manliest brony on getting referenced in the show ). Finally, there were A TON of sight gags, especially that recurring eagle sight gag that reminded all of us that, damn, nature is scary!!! All in all this was a hilarious episode, and might have even been the funniest Apple Family-centric episode ever (although again, that was largely helped by Pinkie's constant presence with them throughout).

Overall, this was a phenomenal episode and I loved every minute of it. It was nice that we didn't need all of the Mane 6 here, and as a couple of people have pointed out, this was the first episode this season in which they all haven't appeared, and I liked that. Honestly, MLP needs more of that this season, and this was really what I thought "Bats!" should've been, that being, I thought AJ and Fluttershy would get most of the screen time, not the Mane 6 as a whole. All in all, I think it's safe to say that Season 4 has hit its stride, and I can't wait to see what comes next this season!