S09:E10 - Going to Seed

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Just now, Senko said:

I am vaguely disturbed that you aren't making all this up.

Well, I used to watch Viva Piñata on 4KidsTV and the CW4Kids. I never owned an XBox 360 until recently.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

There was a lot of really fun stuff in this episode.

Big Mac continues to prove he’s the best brother and Apple ever. Applejack has a really realistic and relatable reason for how she’s acting, but she still is able to put it aside to have fun with her sister. Nice flashback to see the whole family together.

But... this is the episode that’s convinced me I have to change how I’m viewing this season if I’m going to have any chance to enjoy it. I went into this season expecting the writers to pull out all the stops, to really try and wow us with every episode, to try and wrap up every story arc and to make every moment special. We’re ten episodes in, and none of that has happened. Even the premiere that looked like it was going to set up huge changes hasn’t changed anything.

Oh no! Sombra killed the Tree of Harmony... or not? Maybe? I can’t actually tell, really. Twilight is going to take the princesses place! But later, you know, when she’s ready. Whatever that means for the character.

Every season has its big moments, and I’m sure this one will have them too. But it’s pretty clear this isn’t going to be a super special season, it’s just going to be like every other one. And yeah, that’s not exactly a bad thing, I just have to change how I look at it going forward.

[ChB 18,550]

This episode was decent. Quite predictable, but nonetheless fun. I always have a soft spot for family bond between two sisters.

[Thrond 3,263]

For all of her doubt about the Great Seedling, Applejack never really says that it's impossible, and she doesn't claim the idea is far-fetched. She doesn't believe it because, well, she's never seen it and all evidence points to it just being made up, but it wouldn't be much weirder than anything else she's seen. See, just because magical creatures exist doesn't mean that all of them exist, and we know that Applejack has specific experiences which have made her not believe in this thing. But the other things we know about this world makes Applejack's quick change in attitude completely understandable. I like it when the writers take this magical universe and rein it in a bit. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Godz I just love the design of thise creature. Imma believe it's real; just cause!

[Goat-kun 2,527]

___________________________________________

[RDDash 19,163]

Great Seeding looks like a mutated changeling. For some reason I won't be surprised if it were.

Edited June 2, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[Senko 459]

9 hours ago, YoshiAngemon said:

Well, I used to watch Viva Piñata on 4KidsTV and the CW4Kids. I never owned an XBox 360 until recently.

Just the names of everything in it, something about them disturbs me and I'm not sure why.

1 hour ago, R.D.Dash said:

Great Seeding looks like a mutated changeling. For some reason I won't be surprised if it were.

I was wondering if it was one of the comic's deer kingdom with a nack for plants.

[Ganondox 899]

I went into this episode with no expectations. It ended up surprising me, not because it wasn't predictable (they made it super obvious that Big Mac's sleep problems were tied in with the conflict), but because I was expecting the episode to actually have a moral. The plot wasn't inherently bad, but it felt like something more for a show like Adventure Time than FiM. Then the episode as a whole was mildly entertaining, no more or less. On the plus, I like the Great Seedling design, and at least the flashback puts the final nail in the coffin for the incest theory of Applebloom, may it rest in pieces.

[Sonic5421 423]

To be honest, I liked this episode for several reasons: The return of Goldie Delicious and her cats, new lore regarding the Great Seedling, and a flashback showing Pear Butter and Bright Mac when Apple Bloom was still a baby.

This was a great episode centered around the Apple family regarding their rare harvest that happens only once in so many moons, and I liked how Applejack and Apple Bloom wanted to catch the Great Seedling, even after it was discovered that Big Mac was harvesting the apples in his sleep, hence his exhaustion every morning.

This episode gets a full rating of 10/10 from me, but that might be because of Pear Butter and Bright Mac getting a flashback cameo in it since their debut in The Perfect Pear.

[JCKane 345]

Made me think of Santa Claus and the Great Pumpkin combined.

Though, I gotta say I was half expecting Granny and Goldie to be behind it.  Maybe they were though   But still.  Either way a nice breath of fresh air from the episodes we've been getting recently so yay!

Though is it just me but like, I guess I've been expecting a bit more out of these episodes, you know?  Like, it IS the final season so I guess I'm expecting a bit more uh.. finale build up or something with them instead of your typical episode. Seriously, most of these so far just feel like they could be in any ol' season but yeah.  Just something that's been bugging me as of late with the episodes.  *shrug*.  Granted, not like it HAS to be like a super serious season-long adventure... but like even a lot of the older ones had some episodes towards a bigger plot... and while I guess you could count the episodes featuring what the bad guys are up to but eh, just not the same.

[Senko 459]

3 hours ago, JCKane said:

Made me think of Santa Claus and the Great Pumpkin combined.

Though, I gotta say I was half expecting Granny and Goldie to be behind it.  Maybe they were though   But still.  Either way a nice breath of fresh air from the episodes we've been getting recently so yay!

Though is it just me but like, I guess I've been expecting a bit more out of these episodes, you know?  Like, it IS the final season so I guess I'm expecting a bit more uh.. finale build up or something with them instead of your typical episode. Seriously, most of these so far just feel like they could be in any ol' season but yeah.  Just something that's been bugging me as of late with the episodes.  *shrug*.  Granted, not like it HAS to be like a super serious season-long adventure... but like even a lot of the older ones had some episodes towards a bigger plot... and while I guess you could count the episodes featuring what the bad guys are up to but eh, just not the same.

I haven't been expecting that, it'd be nice but in season 9 and the wrap up season I can't see them wanting to vary the formula they know works and upsetting fans. I know its why I personally dislike the new Sabrina and Archie series because they aren't the comcis I grew up with they're just a gritty, grim dark series that have had popular names mashed onto them in the hopes of attracting fans. If MLP suddenly abandoned the way it'd been doing things for a massive build up, final battle where Twilight and the mane 6 die stopping Grogar it'd make some people happy and a lot of others unhappy.

[jorge123esp 912]

I think this was a cute episode, yet is one of the worst episodes of this season at the moment. It was a little bit meh compared to the previous episodes in my opinion. Despite of that, I think it was a enjoyable episode 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I'm not really a fan of this episode. If the message is that it's good to have fun with your younger siblings, or that it's okay to enjoy doing things as an adult that you did as a kid, then that would be fine enough, I suppose. I wouldn't believe in the Great Seedling or something like that when there don't seem to be any compelling reasons or evidence to believe in it, but I probably wouldn't care that much about it, so long as it's not harming anyone and I'm not pressured into going along with that belief myself. But probably the biggest issue I have with the messaging of this episode is that Apple Bloom's, and later Applejack's, sudden resurgence of belief in the Great Seedling leads to (1) their dumping their share of the harvesting work on the rest of their family while they run off to set traps and whatnot, and (2) their traps becoming a nuisance and potential danger to others who might set them off. If Apple Bloom and Applejack set traps and tried to find the Great Seedling in their own free time, and their activities weren't a nuisance or danger to anyone else, then I could see their activities as more-or-less just a bit of fun. However, that's what not happens in the episode; instead, Goldie Delicious and Granny Smith enable Apple Bloom to get out of doing harvesting work, and Applejack later joins her, while Big Mac endures most of the abuse throughout the episode.

To start off, it might be more than just a coincidence that Apple Bloom suddenly re-develops this desire to catch the Great Seedling right after it's shown that all of the Apple family, including Apple Bloom, has a lot of harvesting to do. Apple Bloom could be seen to use this as an excuse to avoid doing her share of the work, and to dump her responsibilities on the rest of the family. And if I were in Applejack's and Big Mac's place, I wouldn't just let Apple Bloom get away with running off to look for the Great Seedling and set traps for it while shirking her share of the work. In fact, I kept track of how the harvesting maps changed over the course of the episode. Below is how the harvesting map starts:

So this distribution of harvesting responsibilities seems pretty fair. However, by the second morning, we get the following updated map:

Big Mac is now taking over all of Apple Bloom's share of the harvesting, as well as taking over a part of Applejack's share of the harvesting. The latter is never explained or pointed out in the episode; did Applejack herself not do her share of the work because she was busy watching Apple Bloom or something? But also, why is Apple Bloom removed from the harvesting map entirely? What happened to Applejack's hesitantly saying that "I guess there's no harm in [Apple Bloom's] huntin' the Great Seedlin' for a day"? Well, that one day is up, so Apple Bloom ought to be on the schedule to work.

A bit later, though, Applejack makes a deal with Apple Bloom that "if you help me with the harvest today, I'll help you set traps for the Great Seedlin' tonight". And that seems like a perfectly fine solution, provided that their traps weren't an annoyance or danger to others. Applejack also says at the end of Granny Smith's story that she felt guilty that everyone else had to work harder because she had trapped herself in her own hole that she dug to try to catch the Great Seedling. That ought to be one lesson of the story: if Apple Bloom (and Applejack) is capable of helping with the harvest, and is expected to help, then she should be helping, rather than leaving the rest of the family to do her share of the work while she chases her dream of catching the Great Seedling. Of course, another lesson of the story would be not to create traps for the Great Seedling that could actually hurt someone just going about his or her normal business.

However, by the third day, Applejack has really gotten into the whole Great Seedling business, and has seemingly completely forgotten about the above lessons from her story. Because Applejack and Apple Bloom both ran off to set more traps, Big Mac has to make this final harvesting map:

Big Mac now is responsible for all of Applejack's share of the harvesting, as well as half of what was originally Granny Smith's (and Goldie Delicious's) share. Applejack even looks at this final map later, which shows Big Mac's being responsible for harvesting 90% of the farm, and expresses no guilt about her and Apple Bloom's having dumped 90% of the work on Big Mac, who has been worked to extreme exhaustion.

And what I find rather galling is that, at the end of the episode, Applejack gives a general statement about how "there will always be work to do", but neither she nor Apple Bloom ever apologize to Big Mac or personally own up to having dumped their harvesting responsibilities on him, caused him to have to update the harvesting map multiple times, forced him to work to extreme exhaustion, or caught him in their traps multiple times. This episode displays on several occasions that Apple Bloom and Applejack are shirking their harvesting responsibilities, and this episode tells the story of how Applejack originally stopped hunting the Great Seedling because she felt guilty that everyone else had to work harder (and that she had endangered herself with her own trap). But then the end of the episode focuses almost entirely on Applejack's learning to have fun, and to bond with Apple Bloom, while those issues are just glossed over with a few perfunctory words.

Now here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

I guess the blueberry syrup shows that the Apple family is allowed to have products made from other fruits, at least occasionally.

The talk in this episode makes "The Confluence" - when every apple comes ripe at the same time - seem like an act of nature that's predictable, but out of the Apple family's control. So, are we to presume that normally, the apples on the Apple family's trees come ripe at different times? Does the Apple family normally have some level of control over when apples come ripe, by scheduling when they prune and plant their trees, by varying how they take care of their trees, by growing different types of apples, etc.? If so, then why wouldn't those strategies work at "The Confluence"?

Why can't the Apple family hire temporary help for "The Confluence" other than the Mane Six or their extended family? (I asked the same question when watching "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" - if the Apple family's cider is so popular that hundreds of ponies spend hours standing in line every day to try to get some - with most potential customers not getting any - why can't they find a way to increase their production to meet the obviously very high demand?) Are these jobs that the Apple family does supposedly so specialized that no one other than their extended family or the Mane Six is capable of doing them? Does the Apple family just trust absolutely no one other than their extended family or the Mane Six to be able to do these jobs competently?

Is it really too much to ask that, if Goldie came to the farm to help with the harvest, that she actually help with the harvest? Instead, Goldie is too busy enabling Apple Bloom to goof off, talking with Granny Smith so that neither of them do much harvesting, and criticizing Big Mac for not putting in his best, when he's one of the only ones actually getting work done. I also don't see why Goldie should find it particularly amusing that Apple Bloom keeps running off in search of the Great Seedling, when her doing that means that everyone else just has to do more work.

Apple Bloom dismisses the accidental pattern of apples that Applejack made by saying that it's not "hundreds of apples in a bunch of different lines". But the apple pattern that Apple Bloom was getting excited about had 117 apples in it, which I wouldn't consider to qualify as "hundreds of apples".

Granny Smith tells the story about how Applejack "was plumb loco about catchin' the Great Seedlin'" when she was Apple Bloom's age, but in the flashback, Applejack doesn't have her cutie mark yet. As far as I recall, we've never been told that Applejack was particularly late in getting her cutie mark, whereas it seems like the Cutie Mark Crusaders were fairly late in getting their cutie marks. So I would be skeptical of Granny Smith's claim that Applejack was Apple Bloom's current age at the time that Applejack was super eager to catch the Great Seedling.

Young Applejack certainly dug a pretty deep hole, if it was several times deeper than her height at the time. What, did she use a ladder to dig the hole that deep? And should she really have been allowed to dig a hole that deep, such that it could actually hurt somebody if he or she fell in it? (Of course, Applejack and Apple Bloom also dig a similarly deep hole that Big Mac falls into later in the episode.)

I wouldn't have bought Applejack's belief that there's "no way" that critters and/or the wind and/or something else other than the Great Seedling sprung the traps and caused the supposed apple patterns on the ground. And even if I were unable to think of any explanations for how the apple patterns were made, or how the traps were sprung, I would still think it's better to say that I'm not sure (yet) how those things happened, rather than jumping to a premature conclusion that the Great Seedling must have done it.

What was with the "Great Seedling's" (a.k.a. Big Mac's) glowing red eyes? Were those just a figment of Applejack's and Apple Bloom's imaginations?

[Senko 459]

Considering young Applejack fell in the hole and didn't get hurt I doubt its deep enough to threaten a pony just keep a young one contained. We have seen ponies fall several times their body height and not even notice it. Even Dash crashing at near supersonic speed into the ground only injured her wing badly enough for it to need a few day's to heal.

 

With regards to the harvesting I find it odd that Big Mac took over Applebloom's area in the second map rather than assigning it to Goldie. I get the feeling the Apple's are rather proud and while its ok for them to ask family and close friends for help its not ok to hire a pony to do the job as it implies they can't manage the farm themselves. Remember back in season 1 when Big Mac was hurt Applejack worked herself to exhaustion trying to do it all herself rather than hire some temporary help.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Senko

[bwrosas 252]

Spoiler

 

Here I give my overall thoughts on this new episode centered on the Apple Family (mostly the Apple Sisters) here in this final season

Comments are Welcomed

#MLPSeason9 #GoingToSeed #AppleJack #AppleBloom #BigMac #AppleFamily

 

The flashback scene in this new episode, shows that the Season 6 Flashback episode "Where The Apple Lies" takes place after the "Going To Seed" Flashback scene. 

And here I explain why that is the case.

Comments are Welcomed

#GoingToSeed #AppleJack #WhereTheAppleLies #Applebloom #Flashback #Buttercup #BrightMac #BigMac #ThePerfectPear

 

 

 

[KH7672 1,604]

5 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Granny Smith tells the story about how Applejack "was plumb loco about catchin' the Great Seedlin'" when she was Apple Bloom's age, but in the flashback, Applejack doesn't have her cutie mark yet. As far as I recall, we've never been told that Applejack was particularly late in getting her cutie mark, whereas it seems like the Cutie Mark Crusaders were fairly late in getting their cutie marks. So I would be skeptical of Granny Smith's claim that Applejack was Apple Bloom's current age at the time that Applejack was super eager to catch the Great Seedling.

From Season 1 Episode 12 "Call of the Cutie":

Quote

Apple Bloom: It's not fair! It's just not fair!

Applejack: Don't get your mane in a tangle. You'll get your cutie mark. Everypony gets one eventually.

Apple Bloom: But I don't want one eventually! I want one right now! I can't go to Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera without one, I just can't!

Applejack: 'Course you can. Y'know, I was the last pony in my class to get my cutie mark, and I couldn't be prouder of it. I knew my future was to run Sweet Apple Acres, and these bright shiny apples sealed the deal. [gasp] Come to think of it, Granny Smith was the last one in her class, too. Huh, same as Big McIntosh.

Although I'd have to be pretty impressed if the animators really did remember this detail. I'd chalk it up to pure lucky coincidence at that 

[RDDash 19,163]

I only now have realized it, actuall crop circles on the farm . Next thing you know there's going to an alien conspiracy in Ponyvile.

Edited June 4, 2019 by R.D.Dash
Forgot the image

[Zestanor 98]

15 hours ago, bwrosas said:

  Hide contents

 

The flashback scene in this new episode, shows that the Season 6 Flashback episode "Where The Apple Lies" takes place after the "Going To Seed" Flashback scene. 

And here I explain why that is the case.

Comments are Welcomed

 

 

I think you're right, but there are a few continuity glitches that the flashbacks cause. In this episode's flashback, Applejack has no cutie mark. The Season 1 episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles says Applejack is about Apple Bloom's then current age ("even littler than y'all" actually) when she got hers. The events of Where the Apple Lies follows Applejack getting her cutie mark.

Say Apple Bloom is 7 (=x) during season 1. So, Applejack was (roughly) 7 (y) when she got her cutie mark. If Apple Bloom is 1 (=z) during this new episode's flashback, that only allows six (=x-z) years to pass between it and the series premiere. With these numbers, Applejack is roughly 13 (=x-z + y)  years old, which is absurd. But maybe some of the assumed numbers are no good. To increase this number, we could decrease Apple Bloom's age (z) in the flashback to 0, and increase the age that Applejack got her cutie mark to 10 (=y), making AB about 10 (=x) at the start of the series. This makes Applejack 20 (=x+y) at the start of the series, which is more likely than 13. This also causes Applejack to be 10 (=x-z) years older than AB.

This seemed fine to me, until I remembered that Filthy Rich is not yet married in Where the Apple Lies. And assuming Diamond Tiara is the same age as Apple Bloom, this presents a problem, since she's a few years old by this point. That Diamond Tiara was born out of wedlock seems against the intentions of the writers of WTAL.

Basically, all of the flashback episodes need to happen in rapid succession for Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara to be of comparable ages. Applejack grew, apparently, rapidly in less than a year, with her parents dying and her getting her cutie mark in the span of that time. I suppose this is fine. Allow DT to be slightly younger than AB, by a year (such that these flashbacks happen in the course of 2 or three months!), and this makes DT's cutie mark gloating more sensible. If she's even two years younger than AB, the bullying dynamic is less believable, as well as their taking classes together.

Applejack grew rapidly around the time of her parents' deaths and her getting her cutie mark. In like two months. This isn't too far fetched, and it explains Applejack's angsty behavior in both Chronicles and Apple Lies; her parents just died. This also explains where she got the idea of "taking over the farm," since her father just died. The only slightly contradictory thing is the fact that Apple Bloom and her peers have not aged at all in over four years or so, when Applejack and Big Mac aged rapidly in this period. That's not too unbelievable though.

Let's say year 0 is the birth of Big Mac.

Year 2: AJ born.

Year 12: Apple Bloom born. The Confluence. Bright Mac gives Big Mac the yoke. Bright Mac and Pear Butter die. Big Mac wears the yoke habitually. Applejack ditches the farm, leaving Granny and Mac all alone with the infant Apple Bloom. She returns and gets her cutie mark. She (age 10) and her brother (age 12) grow rapidly. "Y'know, I was the last pony in my class to get my cutie mark, and I couldn't be prouder of it. I knew my future was to run Sweet Apple Acres." (Call of the Cutie). AJ conspires to take over the farm and lies a lot. Filthy rich describes AJ and Mac as "the two hardest workin' ponies at Sweet Apple Acres," when at this point, it's just they and Granny. This compliment only makes sense if there was a time in very recent memory when there were more ponies (the parents) working at the farm. Filthy Rich marries. Quite a turbulent year for the Apple family!

Year 13: Diamond Tiara born.

Year 22: Apple Bloom (age 10) asks Applejack about her Cutie Mark in season 1.

Year 27: The Confluence.

 

Edit: Granny says that Applejack in the flashback (no cutie mark) was about the same age as Apple Bloom is now. That can't be, since she got her cutie mark at a younger age than season one Apple Bloom, and several years have elasped since season one. Apple Bloom is a few years older than AJ was in the flashback, but they look the same age, which excuses Granny's comment.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Zestanor

[Will Guide 21,360]

I swear. Wouldn't it be funny if the Seedling was real and Thorax just causally said "He's my distant cousin"? 

Like sometime after the Changeling Race reformation, what if the Changeling discovered they're related to the mythical creature?

[Justin_Case001 4,881]

Spoiler

 

*Sigh.* 

What's poning, ponles? 

Whelp.... yeah.  So... um... I guess I really don't need to review this episode, since I basically already did... six months ago...  So, I'll just leave this here:

The Santa Mythos.

The only good part of the episode was the two second shot of their parents.  Now, you know what would have actually made this a good episode?  Just have Goldie come for a visit, and she and Granny reminisce about Bright Mac and Pear Butter, and then the whole episode is a flashback about some funny story that happened when AJ was AB's age.  The episode could just feature AJ and Big Mac interacting with their parents.  How f*ckin awesome would that have been?!  Could have been a home run.  Instead, we get this piece of putrid fecal matter.  Yaaay... let's all keep lying to our kids so they have more fun.  Let's encourage a society of superstition and irrationality and prime young minds to believe in magical nonsense.  Let's keep believing in bullsh*t on no evidence (or bad evidence) so we can keep the magic of childhood alive.  Hoorayyyyyy.....  Well, guess what--you can bond with your kids and siblings, have fun, and embrace your inner child without believing in society-damaging bullsh*t.  I haven't been this mad since Pinkie Keen.  Pisa f*ckin' sh*t.

*Slams door on way out.*

[Senko 459]

5 hours ago, Zestanor said:

I think you're right, but there are a few continuity glitches that the flashbacks cause. In this episode's flashback, Applejack has no cutie mark. The Season 1 episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles says Applejack is about Apple Bloom's then current age ("even littler than y'all" actually) when she got hers. The events of Where the Apple Lies follows Applejack getting her cutie mark.

Say Apple Bloom is 7 (=x) during season 1. So, Applejack was (roughly) 7 (y) when she got her cutie mark. If Apple Bloom is 1 (=z) during this new episode's flashback, that only allows six (=x-z) years to pass between it and the series premiere. With these numbers, Applejack is roughly 13 (=x-z + y)  years old, which is absurd. But maybe some of the assumed numbers are no good. To increase this number, we could decrease Apple Bloom's age (z) in the flashback to 0, and increase the age that Applejack got her cutie mark to 10 (=y), making AB about 10 (=x) at the start of the series. This makes Applejack 20 (=x+y) at the start of the series, which is more likely than 13. This also causes Applejack to be 10 (=x-z) years older than AB.

This seemed fine to me, until I remembered that Filthy Rich is not yet married in Where the Apple Lies. And assuming Diamond Tiara is the same age as Apple Bloom, this presents a problem, since she's a few years old by this point. That Diamond Tiara was born out of wedlock seems against the intentions of the writers of WTAL.

Basically, all of the flashback episodes need to happen in rapid succession for Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara to be of comparable ages. Applejack grew, apparently, rapidly in less than a year, with her parents dying and her getting her cutie mark in the span of that time. I suppose this is fine. Allow DT to be slightly younger than AB, by a year (such that these flashbacks happen in the course of 2 or three months!), and this makes DT's cutie mark gloating more sensible. If she's even two years younger than AB, the bullying dynamic is less believable, as well as their taking classes together.

Applejack grew rapidly around the time of her parents' deaths and her getting her cutie mark. In like two months. This isn't too far fetched, and it explains Applejack's angsty behavior in both Chronicles and Apple Lies; her parents just died. This also explains where she got the idea of "taking over the farm," since her father just died. The only slightly contradictory thing is the fact that Apple Bloom and her peers have not aged at all in over four years or so, when Applejack and Big Mac aged rapidly in this period. That's not too unbelievable though.

Let's say year 0 is the birth of Big Mac.

Year 2: AJ born.

Year 12: Apple Bloom born. The Confluence. Bright Mac gives Big Mac the yoke. Bright Mac and Pear Butter die. Big Mac wears the yoke habitually. Applejack ditches the farm, leaving Granny and Mac all alone with the infant Apple Bloom. She returns and gets her cutie mark. She (age 10) and her brother (age 12) grow rapidly. "Y'know, I was the last pony in my class to get my cutie mark, and I couldn't be prouder of it. I knew my future was to run Sweet Apple Acres." (Call of the Cutie). AJ conspires to take over the farm and lies a lot. Filthy rich describes AJ and Mac as "the two hardest workin' ponies at Sweet Apple Acres," when at this point, it's just they and Granny. This compliment only makes sense if there was a time in very recent memory when there were more ponies (the parents) working at the farm. Filthy Rich marries. Quite a turbulent year for the Apple family!

Year 13: Diamond Tiara born.

Year 22: Apple Bloom (age 10) asks Applejack about her Cutie Mark in season 1.

Year 27: The Confluence.

 

Edit: Granny says that Applejack in the flashback (no cutie mark) was about the same age as Apple Bloom is now. That can't be, since she got her cutie mark at a younger age than season one Apple Bloom, and several years have elasped since season one. Apple Bloom is a few years older than AJ was in the flashback, but they look the same age, which excuses Granny's comment.

I think the crusader aging is something we just have to accept due to the animators not wanting to draw them as teens. Though perhaps the problem is that ponies live for centuries and Granny smith really is over 300 and was there at ponyville founding. Though it would also explain her aging . . .

Granny Smith in the great seedling flashback.

Granny Smith in the where the apple lies flashback.

Granny Smith present day

Either she aged incredibly fast in about 10 years or its really been 30-40, 60-80, 120-160 years between the first picture and her current one. Come to think of the cake twins haven't really seemed to age much either and according to my timeilne they'd be 4+ years old now or Flurry Heart. That said with regards to Diamonds bullying we have seen that while they're still in school ponies do seem to have a very strong cutie mark = adult vibe in their culture. I can't see any human parents consulting people still in high school about their childs future because they're "qualified" guidance counsellors.

I joke but there is enough oddness in pony aging in the show a case can definately be made that they age slower than humans do compare the mane 6 to the EG counterparts. Come to think of it I think Berry's been shown in a few cases with young filly version of the mane 6 and doesn't appear to have aged since then.

I can also see a case for Diamond being born out of wedlock both between the general pony acceptance of things like that (relationships I mean) and her relationship with her mother and father.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Senko

[Will Guide 21,360]

On 6/2/2019 at 10:46 AM, PathfinderCS said:

Godz I just love the design of thise creature. Imma believe it's real; just cause!

When I first saw its design, I said to myself, "What if it was related to the Changeling via a distant common ancestor, where one side of the family tree would become the bug-like Changelings and the other side would become the mythical Tree-like deer Seedling?"

[Balt 108]

I honestly enjoyed the lesson in this episode

[Zestanor 98]

10 hours ago, Senko said:

 

I can also see a case for Diamond being born out of wedlock both between the general pony acceptance of things like that (relationships I mean) and her relationship with her mother and father.

I rather like the rapid series of near catastrophic events in the Apple family that Diamond's legitimacy forces. The intention of the writers of Apple Lies was to portray an early moment in the relationship of the Riches, since Spoiled is new to the Apple family. I don't think we can give much credence to an "illegitimate" Diamond, especially given the standing of their family.

 

Edits: Also in the Chronicles flashback, which happens between the two you pictured, Granny is portrayed in her regular old model. Ignore aging, and things work out okay.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Zestanor