Fixing Bad Episodes: Season 6 Episode 14 The Cart Before The Ponies

[TheUnknownPhantom5 69]

So, quite a few people seemed to not really like The Episode The Cart Before The Ponies, and I have to Agree I think it was a pretty bad episode. Mainly due to how Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity behaved in it. So I'm going to do my best to try and make the episode a bit more bearable, Perhaps not make it perfect, but better than it was.

First I would keep the beginning portion of the episode with The Derby Race being talked about, and the same ribbons for Fastest, Most Creative, and Traditional. I'd also have the CMCs still try to win the same ribbions they try to win in the original episode. That's all that I would keep.

The Main Thing I would change is The Ponies that the CMCs go to to help with their carts.

For Sweetie Belle I'd have her go to Twilight. Twilight most likely would have studied about the Derby, cause she always does research on stuff like this. Twilight also would not try to hijack Sweetie Belle's cart, and she'd be more then happy to help Belle make a Traditional Cart. The only thing I can see Twilight doing is just simply asking Sweetie Belle if she's sure this is what she wants, and once Sweetie Belle confirms that it is what she wants then Twilight would be more then willing to help her.

For Apple Bloom I think she should have gone to Big Macintosh. Yes she is still technically getting help from one of her family members, but here's the thing I don't think Big Mac is as Traditional as Applejack is, and while I do think Big Mac would be a bit surprised that Apple Bloom wants to win Fastest instead in of Most Traditional he would be more okay with it, after all its Apple Bloom's cart, and it's about what she wants.

Now finding a different pony to help Scootaloo was honestly the hardest one of all. I was stumped between picking her Aunts, to just keeping Rarity in the episode and have her just Help Scootaloo instead of Sweetie Belle, but now that I've thought about it I think the Pony Scootaloo should have gone to was actually Fluttershy. Fluttershy in my eyes can actually be pretty creative, and again like Twilight, and Big Macintosh, Fluttershy would actually listen to Scootaloo and focus on what she would want rather then taking over the Derby for herself. I also think it would be cool for Scootaloo to interact and bond with someone other then Rainbow Dash.

So that's one change, now here's the other issue the conflict of the episode.

If the conflict absolutely needs to happen then this is the harder part for me.

One idea would be to have Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity get jealous of the fact their sisters asked other ponies for help rather than them and so they try to sabotage the carts, but then again that seems really out of character for them.

Another and more believable idea I think could work, would be to somehow make it so both The Older Ponies and CMCs are both in the wrong in someway rather then just having one side take the full blame. Maybe Twilight, Big Macintosh, and Fluttershy make some suggestions that The CMCs don't listen to but those suggestions are actually good ones, but the older ponies don't really make those suggestions in a good way.

So yeah that's what I would change about The Cart Before The Ponies.

[abronymouse 6,011]

ooh, interesting thread concept   I much prefer this, too:

10 hours ago, TheUnknownPhantom5 said:

Another and more believable idea I think could work, would be to somehow make it so both The Older Ponies and CMCs are both in the wrong in someway rather then just having one side take the full blame. Maybe Twilight, Big Macintosh, and Fluttershy make some suggestions that The CMCs don't listen to but those suggestions are actually good ones, but the older ponies don't really make those suggestions in a good way.

[ZiggWheelsManning 11,499]

The only thing I would change is for Scootaloo to add a falcon head, instead of the chicken, to the front of her cart.  Because the writers (probably Boston sports fans) think Scootaloo is some Atlanta Falcons fan.  To major consequence, the episode aired half a year before Atlanta Falcons blew the 25-point lead in the Super Bowl  Then have a griffon, Zipporwhill, Rumble or Spitfire secretly attach the 28-to-3 sign on the side of the cart in humiliation means to not only catch Scootaloo off guard but frighten her with fear that choking in big games is all that Atlanta Falcons do.  There's an image in which Scootaloo is shocked Rainbow Dash gets rid of the chicken head.  

 

@TheUnknownPhantom5

Scootaloo's aunts would make sense but both of them were introduced in a book over a year after this episode aired.  

[Megas 27,828]

1) Should have been about teamwork, and the episode had the right idea with the adults getting more invested with what they want but the episode went about it poorly.

2) Also they should have made the actual race the main focus and just get rid of the other two awards. "Best looking cart" is fine, it makes sense especially for an event for kids, but "most traditional" is an oddly specific and just kinda dumb, like they really struggled to come up with a category to match AJ

3) Have friction between the CMC and their sisters, but make it interesting and good, like things don't work out so they end up inadvertently working with a different pony(like Scootaloo ends up working with AJ, Applebloom works with Rarity, Sweetie works with RD, for example). All 3 teams lose and it's mostly because they're not as compatible with each other as they are with their sisters. That way no one really comes out looking worse and both parties learn a lesson rather than it being completely one sided like the original episode

 

Edited January 16 by Megas

[Denim&Venöm 19,553]

Honestly, I disagree. 

One of the reasons this episode worked was because the CMC were right and the Mane six were wrong for once. Adults can make mistakes too. Like over bearing parents at their kids game. It's good to let children do their own thing and succeed on their own merits, rather than micromanage on their behalf. Or your own. Rarity, AJ and RD weren't too out of character here. And making them better ponies kinda kills both the moral and the plot of this episode. 

Sorry, but TCBTP wasn't a bad episode in my opinion. 

[RafaStaryStory 3,680]

Honestly the only thing I would change about this episode, or rather, add, would be a explanation on why Ponies don't use cars in the entirety of the series, like, we get the information that ponies can build cars this late in the series, we never hear anything about it before this episode neither after this episode, it's just out of nowhere, they talk about it like it was something usual. Trains are the only kind of vehicle used in the show as far as I remember. It's really weird to me, it's the reason I consider this episode the only "non-canon" episode in the show because for me it just makes no sense. 

The rest of the episode was fine for me ~☆