Line #109 Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E9AppleFamilyReunion


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apple_family_reunion_6781.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:All we need to strive to be\
3	Is part of the Apple family!]]
4
5	->'''Granny Smith:''' Hooo-whee! Looks like the family's grown ten-fold since the last reunion! I'm gonna be busier'n a worm in a rotten tomato tryin' ta get everythin' ready!\
6	'''Applejack:''' I could always help out.\
7	'''Apple Bloom:''' Me too!\
8	'''Big Macintosh:''' Eeyup.
9
10	->Written by Cindy Morrow
11
12	The upcoming Apple Family Reunion is nigh, and it seems to be the biggest one yet: ''everypony'' in the Apple family, from [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Braeburn in Appleloosa]] to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple Babs Seed in Manehattan]], will be showing up at Sweet Apple Acres! Normally Granny Smith is in charge of the reunion festivities, but Applejack offers to host it this time around so her granny can get a chance to enjoy herself. In fact, odds are not everyone will make it to the next reunion, so she swears to make this one the most memorable reunion yet.
13
14	With a little help from her friends and family, Applejack gets the entire reunion set up just as Apples from all over Equestria begin coming over. Everypony starts catching up with each other, but Applejack is eager for the ponies to enjoy all the exciting activities in store for them--''too'' eager. Applejack's gotten carried away by turning a simple seven-legged race into a full-fledged obstacle course, replacing the granny ponies' rocking chairs with noisy sewing machines so they can finally finish the never-ending quilt, and running the apple fritter-making like an assembly line.
15
16	Applejack finally calls a break so she can take pictures for the family album, but everypony's too worn out from her activities for her to capture any noteworthy memories. Applejack arranges a family hayride to boost morale, but decides to try something "a wee bit more exciting" than the relaxing one they usually have. Things seem to get better when their bumpy ride takes them to see a colorful colony of (literal) fruit bats...until the bats spot an apple on Aunt Applesauce's hat and swoop down on the ponies. The wagon swerves and comes to a literal crashing halt back at the barn, knocking it down.
17
18	With her plans wrecked along with the barn, Applejack tearfully thinks she's hosted the worst reunion ever, but as Granny Smith points out, everypony's still here and there's still time to make great memories. Inspired, Applejack announces one last activity for everypony: raising the barn together so they can take the traditional family photo in front of it. Everypony has a blast, and they all head back home at the end of the day with a family reunion to remember--for all the ''right'' reasons. As she and her family fondly look over their new photos for their album, Applejack writes out her letter to Princess Celestia:
19
20	->'''Applejack:''' Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned a great lesson about family. Which, if you think about it, is really the first group of friends you ever make. Turns out, that if you're with folks you care about, you don't have to do much to make that time memorable. Even the simplest of activities can take on a whole lot of meaning! And you'll find, you'll remember the "who" long after you've forgotten the "what." Your humble subject, Applejack.
21
22	----
23	'''Note:''' [[OutOfOrder This is the ninth episode of the third season, but was the eighth released and aired.]]
24	----
25	!!Tropes:
26
27	* AmericanGothicCouple: The Apple family still has the ponified version of this painting from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E6TheCutiePox The Cutie Pox]]".
28	* AnAesop: It's not about the activities you do, it's about the people you do them with.
29	** This is also notably the second (and last) episode of the season where someone actually ''mailed'' the aesop to Celestia (on-screen, anyway). The last one was "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies Too Many Pinkie Pies]]"..
30	* AsideGlance:
31	** Applejack does one when Granny Smith explains Applesauce's EmbarrassingNickname.
32	** Granny Smith winks at the audience after Applejack admits she caused "a few hiccups" in their reunion.
33	* BabyTalk: Baby Applejack, in a flashback, tended to slur her r's and to pronounce "el" and "er" sounds as "uh" noises.
34	-->'''Baby Applejack:''' I'm Appuhjack! Mowe appuh fwittuh?
35	* BarnRaising: The Apple clan works together on raising the Sweet Apple Acres barn after Applejack inadvertently collapses it. It does wonders for family morale.
36	* BerserkButton: Never call Granny Smith old and never roll your eyes at Applesauce.
37	* BigEater: According to Granny Smith, Applejack had the appetite of a full-grown stallion when she was still in diapers.
38	* BitsOfMeKeepPassingOut: Part of the obstacle course requires participants to endlessly recite tongue twisters, until finally...
39	-->'''Babs Seed:''' I canh feel mah thung.\
40	'''Apple Bloom:''' Me neithuh.
41	* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Happens to Granny Smith when she sneezes. Luckily, all she suffers is a messed-up mane.
42	* CallBack:
43	** The last Apple Familly Reunion happened in the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareintheMoon first episode]].
44	** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple Babs Seed]] is in a new school (which, considering the bullying she went through, is a relief), and she's making progress on that Manehattan branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
45	* CarnivoreConfusion: Granny Smith's exclamation of "Stick an apple in my mouth and roast my rump!" suggests familiarity with eating roast pork.
46	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Remember when Granny Smith didn't speak in coherent sentences and could hardly move? Here she's sharp as a knife mentally and does a lot of physical labor without any visible complications. Maybe she finally got that hip replaced.
47	* CoolAirship: Three of the Apples arrive in one.
48	* CoolOldLady: Granny Smith, as usual, and now her cousin Apple Rose as well!
49	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Apple Bloom's pleased as punch that every RSVP came back to affirm they will be there. AJ and Granny are more than a bit worried.
50	* ContinuityCavalcade: Nearly single Apple family member we've been introduced to thus far in the series appears, from [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Apple Fritter]] to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Braeburn]] to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11FamilyAppreciationDay Uncle Strudel]] to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple Babs Seed]], and more. As a bonus, we're introduced to even more Apples!
51	* ContinuityNod:
52	** Turns out there really ''is'' a pony named [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies Applesauce]].
53	** Applejack doesn't hesitate to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason ask her friends]] for help with a gigantic undertaking.
54	** A pony is [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple once again]] covered in the same glitter [[NoodleIncident Rarity uses on her emergency edible boots]].
55	** Rainbow Dash [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon once]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E23PonyvilleConfidential again]] bounces on a cloud to make it rain and drenches the pony beneath it (in this case Applejack). Said pony is also [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E14TheLastRoundup charred by lightning]].
56	** Apple Bloom has [[FlatWhat the same reaction]] to Applejack's obstacle course as she does [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple Pinkie Pie's veggie puns]].
57	** Apple Bloom has to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E6TheCutiePox balance plates on her head]] again.
58	** Two of the train- and stagecoach-pulling ponies from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E14TheLastRoundup The Last Roundup]]" are pulling the hayride wagon (although they don't seem to have learned their lesson about what happens when one has dealings with Applejack).
59	** Once again, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applejack is a]] [[MythologyGag silly pony]].
60	* CutenessOverload: Baby Applejack, whom the fans took instantly to heart.
61	* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Applejack fails to grasp that the reunion is more about spending quality time with family instead of stupendous activities. For example, she takes Granny Smith's quip on never finishing the family quilt too literally by getting a bunch of sewing machines to speed up the quilting process. The point of the quilt is that it's never ''supposed'' to be finished; it's meant to keep growing as family members add to it over the years.
62	* EasilyForgiven: Nopony's mad at Applejack for driving them to exhaustion, all but ruining the reunion, and then putting them to work fixing her mistake. She meant well and the Apples ''love'' barn-raising, so it all works out.
63	* EmbarrassingNickname: Applejack and Apple Bloom's Great-Great-Auntie Applesauce got her name after [[FalseTeethTomfoolery losing her dentures in a pot of apple jam]].
64	* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: Granny Smith isn't fond of the photo taken during her first failed attempt at adding a patch to the Apple family quilt.
65	-->'''Granny Smith:''' Well, nopony told ''me'' you actually had to knot the end of the thread!
66	* EquippableAlly: While setting up for the reunion, Applejack lights the woodfires beneath a row of cooking pots by grabbing Spike and flicking his mouth open and closed like a Zippo lighter, complete with sparks, making him shoot out a gout of flame and lighting the fires all at once.
67	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Great Auntie Applesauce used to go by another name before she acquired her EmbarrassingNickname.
68	* FalseTeethTomfoolery: Constantly done by Aunt Applesauce, who lost her original pair long ago and is having trouble with the new set too. (Applejack's shenanigans don't help.)
69	* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Feathers on a goat!" "Gathering goat-feathers" is a term coined by Ellis Parker Butler for activities that distract someone from their own work or the bigger picture. In this case, Applejack's attempts to make the reunion as exciting as possible distract her and everypony else from the family bonding that's supposed to take place at reunions.
70	* FromBadToWorse: Applejack's activities go from exhausting to dangerous when the colony of fruit bats cause the hayride wagon to veer off course and crash into the barn. The sad thing is, Applejack doesn't notice anything's wrong until it reaches this point.
71	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Applejack visits the relatives making fritters, one unnamed Apple can be seen eating an uncooked fritter in the background.
72	* FurryReminder: The 7-legged race is the equivalent of a human 3-legged one.
73	* GonnaNeedMoreX: When Granny Smith realizes how many Apples are coming to the reunion:
74	-->'''Granny Smith:''' I think we're gonna need a bigger cider trough.
75	* IWasJustJoking: During the hayride:
76	-->'''Granny Smith:''' Where in the world does that girl have us headin'? The west orchard?\
77	'''Big Macintosh:''' (''looking in the distance'') Eeyup.\
78	'''Granny Smith:''' What?! I was jokin'!
79	* ICantHearYou: The granny ponies have trouble making out what each other is saying over their noisy new sewing machines.
80	-->'''Granny Smith:''' Good gracious!\
81	'''Apple Rose:''' "Golden Delicious"? I think he's racin' with his cousin!
82	* IWasQuiteALooker: Granny Smith takes quite a bit of pride in her brighter and smoother appearance back in her time, and even stretches her face back to recapture some of that youth for a few seconds. Alas, gravity...
83	* {{Irony}}: All the fun and games Applejack has planned become hard work for everyone, while an event which ''is'' work ([[BarnRaising raising a barn]]) brings the Apple family together and is fun.
84	* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: What Applejack plans for the Apple Family Reunion to be. It goes downhill before Applejack turns things around and makes good on her plans.
85	* LastChorusSlowDown: "Raise This Barn".
86	* LateArrivalSpoiler: This episode spoils the fact that "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple One Bad Apple]]" ends with Apple Bloom and Babs Seed on good terms, and that Babs is now a Cutie Mark Crusader.
87	* MixAndMatchCritters: The fruit bats are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin part-fruit, part-bat]].
88	* MundaneUtility: Applejack works Spike's head like a lighter.
89	* MusicalChores: The "Raise This Barn" song, which Applejack sings as she and her family rebuild the barn at Sweet Apple Acres.
90	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Applejack when she accidentally causes the hayride wagon to crash into and destroy the barn.
91	* NewNeighboursAsThePlotDemands:
92	** Hayseed Turnip Truck is a member of the Apple Family, and with the most un-Apple-sounding name. (Granted, Aunt and Uncle Orange are also present, so having an apple-based name/cutie mark/talent is likely not a fixed trait).
93	** Similarly, [[AllThereInTheScript Cherry Berry]], Cloudchaser, Dizzy Twister, Flounder, [[AllThereInTheScript Golden Harvest]]/[[AllThereInTheScript Carrot Top]], Green Gem, Mr. Greenhooves, [[AllThereInTheScript Helia]], [[AllThereInTheScript Lucky Clover]], [[AllThereInTheScript Meadow Song]], [[AllThereInTheScript Shoeshine]], and [[AllThereInTheScript Sweetie Drops]]/[[AllThereInTheScript Bon Bon]] can be seen in one or two frames. That said, they could be easily be family friends, in-laws, or even just wanting to know what's going on with the music, and unlike Hayseed Turnip Truck, none of them are included in the family photo.
94	* NegativeContinuity: The flashbacks to Granny Smith's story in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E11FamilyAppreciationDay Family Appreciation Day]]" show she is a full-grown mare when she and her family first settled onto the land that would become Ponyville, yet she appears as a filly in a family photo showing the framework for the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. A possible explanation is animation error.
95	* NeverSayDie: Granny wants to make this reunion the best one ever, considering that not everypony may make the next one. This is followed by Applejack looking up at the [[StarsAreSouls shooting stars]] with a thoughtful look on her face. Applejack then quickly averts this by commenting that everypony may be too busy to be able to make the next one.
96	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Applejack's decision to send the hayride through a fruit bat-infested orchard, and intentionally wake up said bats, marks the point where all her plans go downhill.
97	* NoodleIncident:
98	** Granny Smith alludes to one, exclaiming as some Apples arrive via blimp that "this is more exciting than when it rained frogs".
99	** During the granny ponies' conversation:
100	--->'''Aunt Applesauce:''' I imagine you two think I have forgotten what you did to my parasol six reunions ago!\
101	'''Granny Smith:''' We were just usin' it to help break open that piñata!
102	* NotSoInnocentWhistle:
103	** Big Mac gives one after stealing an apple fritter. Applejack is not fooled.
104	** Rainbow Dash gives one earlier after 'accidentally' zapping Applejack with a storm cloud.
105	* NWordPrivileges: Apple Bloom and Babs Seed are comfortable using "blank flank", a derogatory term for a pony without cutie mark, in a conversation with each other, both of them still being blank flanks themselves.
106	* OhCrap:
107	** Granny Smith, when she finds out just how much of the family will be coming.
108	** Twice during the hayride: once by Granny Smith when she finds out they're being taken to see the fruit bats, and again by Applejack when said bats begin attacking the riders.
109	* OnceASeason: Applejack's barn is destroyed.
110	* ProductPlacement: A rather clever example; when Applejack gets covered in luster dust, she bears more than a little resemblance to her metallic gold mystery bag figure.
111	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter:
112	** The fruit bats, like the parasprites before them, are adorable but destructive.
113	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlbeQxBBrJE Baby Applejack]].
114	* RunningGag: [[FalseTeethTomfoolery Something causes Aunt Applesauce's teeth to fall out]].
115	* SchizoTech: Applejack somehow got her hooves on gas-powered sewing machines.
116	* ShoutOut:
117	** Granny Smith's UnusualEuphemism "feathers on a goat" is a reference to ''Goat-Feathers'' by Ellis Parker Butler.
118	** Applejack proclaims, "[[Creator/LarryTheCableGuy Git 'er done!]]"
119	** The brief scene where Pinkie drinks honey from a beehive and then spits out a bee when she burps is possibly a ShoutOut to old [[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]] shorts.
120	** Applejack demonstrates the "Bobbing for Apples" game by stuffing her mouth full of apples, as in [[WebAnimation/PonyDotMov APPLE.MOV]].
121	** It might be a coincidence, but the title is similar to ''Film/AddamsFamilyReunion.''
122	* ShownTheirWork: As improbable as it seems, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse#Lifespan_and_life_stages according to]] Website/TheOtherWiki horses live on average 25-30 years and begin to breed at the age of four (with a gestation period of a year) so it is entirely plausible that four generations of horses (Auntie Applesauce down to Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh) can be alive at the same time.
123	* SneezeOfDoom: Granny Smith's sneeze is so strong it [[BlownAcrossTheRoom blows her across the barn]].
124	* StarsAreSouls: WordOfSaintPaul says the shooting stars at the end represent Applejack's parents.
125	* StealthPun: At one point during the song sequence, a pig is ''ham''boning.
126	* StockScream: Apple Bloom (oddly enough) utters the Wilhelm Scream when she falls over during the obstacle course.
127	* TearsOfRemorse: Seeing her barn in ruins reduces poor Applejack to tears as [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she realizes it's all her fault]].
128	* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: Three members of the extended Apple family arrive in an airship with a gondola that looks like it was made from a rowboat and a propeller.
129	* TimePassesMontage: In essence, the group shot photos of all the Apples at the time of each reunion in front of the barn which starts off unfinished.
130	* ToiletHumor: Pinkie Pie burping up that bee after she drank honey (Which, can't be drank).
131	* TookALevelInBadass: Granny Smith is ''much'' sharper and physically capable than in previous episodes.
132	* UnusualEuphemism:
133	** "Feathers on a goat!"
134	** Granny Smith lets loose with one when she gets frustrated with the quilt in a flashback:
135	-->'''Granny Smith:''' Oh fingle-fangle!
136	* VisualPun: The fruit bats look like actual fruit as well as [[CarnivoreConfusion eating fruit like actual fruit bats]].
137	* WackySoundEffect: [[SchizoTech The sewing machines appear to run on a gasoline engine.]]
138	* WellIntentionedExtremist: {{Downplayed\|Trope}}; Applejack's obviously no villain, and she clearly wants her family to have fun, but she does go overboard with the activities until the reunion becomes all work and no play. She quickly turns things around when [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she realizes just how hazardous her activities are]].
139	* WorstWhateverEver: Heartbreakingly uttered by Applejack before she turns things around.
140	--->'''Applejack:''' The only thing anypony's gonna remember about this reunion...is that it was the worst one we ever had.
141	* WritersCannotDoMath: Granny Smith states that the last Apple family reunion was 100 moons ago. Since the phrase "moon" refers to a complete 28 day lunar cycle that would mean the last reunion was 2800 days (7.66 years) ago. But we saw the Apple family reunion in the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon pilot episode.]] So either it's been seven years since Twilight first came to Ponyville or Equestria has a weird lunar cycle or Applejack mixed up the reason why her family was there in the pilot episode as she was overworked when she told Twilight about this and they were there for some other event. If lunar quarters -- waxing, full, waning, new -- are reckoned as separate "moons", then that would be just over two years, which would make the episode timing spot on. Of course, then the ponies would be calling their weeks "months", since month is a cognate, and this conflicts with temporal terminology used in other episodes.
142	* YouWereTryingTooHard: Applejack's basic problem over organizing the family reunion. She tries hard to make the event memorable, but her over-the-top activities leave everypony exhausted and the barn ends up being knocked down.

Context Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E9AppleFamilyReunion