History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E15TheSuperSpeedyCiderSqueezy6000

* LuddWasRight:
** ''Subverted.'' Even Granny Smith is willing to admit the Flim Flam Brothers' machine makes good cider (she never ''says'' it, but the look on her face after she tries it says enough); the problem is that the Flim Flam Brothers themselves are greedy, dishonest businessmen who offer the Apple family a "deal" that would financially ruin them, threaten to put them out of business when they sensibly refuse, and [[PyrrhicVictory only manage to win the contest by churning out vast quantities of undrinkable product]]. The machine itself is never presented as being inherently malicious; only its unscrupulous creators are.

* ManVersusMachine: Of the "quality vs. quantity" type.

* SquashedFlat: Poor Big Macintosh gets pulled under and stuck to the treadmill when Rainbow Dash jumps off during the contest.

* TemptingFate: A minor example:
--> '''Flam:''' We don't care if the whole kingdom of Canterlot helps! It's a lost cause!
* ThemeTwinNaming: Flim and Flam

* AWizardDidIt: [[WordOfGod Lauren Faust stated]], in defining the technology for the show, that if there was a necessary device that needed to work automatically, instead of relying on electricity, she'd claim that one could just assume that some mechanic unicorn infused it with magic. That's exactly how Flim and Flam start up their machine. Their horns glow every time.
* YankTheDogsChain: Rainbow Dash cannot get a drop of cider. First, Fluttershy, who is in line just in front of her, gets the last mugful[[note]]This being Fluttershy, she was perfectly willing to share, but then everypony started shouting...[[/note]]. The second day, the Flim Flam brothers offer her a mug, but she spills it when Applejack lassos one of the brothers' barrels of cider. You know she's desperate when she ''shoves the dirt it was spilled on into her mouth.''

* FlatCharacter: Played for laughs during the Dear Princess Celestia segment

* StockPhrases: When the Flim Flam Brothers switch off their quality control system to make their machine produce cider faster, and after Rainbow Dash demands their side do the same, Granny refuses with the classic saying, "One bad apple spoils the bunch!" Sure enough, the lack of quality control renders the Brothers' product useless.

** Don't sacrifice long-term quality to meet a short-term goal. Played with in that Applejack already knew this moral, as she states in the end, but it's the the Flim Flam Brothers who learn it the hard way when they shut off their quality control system to win the contest, [[MeaninglessVillainVictory which leads to their machine producing undrinkable sludge that costs them their business in Ponyville]].
** In the face of a task you feel you can't accomplish or have gotten in over your head with, don't be too proud to accept the help you need. Also played with in that Applejack [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason had already learned this one, too]], but the rest of the Apples realize partway through the cider-making contest just how outclassed they are, and wise up before it's too late. Even if they still lose the contest, it still pays off in the end, since aside from the above-mentioned MeaninglessVillainVictory, they find that they've made enough high-quality cider to serve to everypony in town.
** And then there's one more lesson that isn't stated: Don't make a wager on something you can't afford to lose, especially on impulse. Simply put, had Granny Smith kept a level head in the face of the Brothers' taunts and avoided making the bet the contest revolves around, the Apples' farm and livelihood wouldn't have been in jeopardy.

Having lost their rights to sell in Ponyville, the Apples are despondent. The Flim Flam Brothers openly mock them for their loss and decide to rename the farm Flim Flam Fields, much to the visible upset of Rainbow and Ponyville. The brothers then celebrate by letting everypony try the cider. Since the quality control was turned off, no one likes the brothers' rotten-apple- and twig-infested cider, and they refuse to pay for it! Seeing that their product isn't wanted, and also fearing an angry mob, the Flim Flam brothers promptly skip town, returning Sweet Apple Acres to the Apple Family.

** In the face of a task you feel you can't accomplish or have gotten in over your head with, don't be too proud to accept the help you need. Also played with in that Applejack [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason had already learned this one, too]], but the rest of the Apples realize partway through the cider-making contest just how outclassed they are, and wise up before it's too late. Even if they still lose the contest, it still pays off in the end, since aside from the above-mentioned MeaninglessVillainVictory, they find that they've made enough high-quality cider to serve everypony in town.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Rainbow Dash threatens to press the Flim Flam Brothers into jerk cider after they win the cider-making contest.

* AnAesop: Don't sacrifice long-term quality to meet a short-term goal. Played with in that Applejack already knew this moral, as she states in the end, but it's the the Flim Flam Brothers who learn it the hard way when they try to shut off their quality control to win the contest, which leads to their machine producing undrinkable sludge that gets them driven away by the townsfolk.

* AnAesop: Two
** Subverted — Applejack begins dictating the letter, then just drops the serious tone, as she knew the moral already.
--> '''Applejack:''' Dear Princess Celestia, I wanted to share my thoughts with you... '''*clears throat*''' I DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING!
*** Though DoubleSubverted when she goes on to explain the lesson she would have learned anyway.
** Also played straight. When the Flim Flam Brothers shut off their quality control and their machine proceeds to pump out cider at an unmatchable pace, Rainbow Dash demands their side do the same. Granny refuses, with the classic Aesop line "One bad apple spoils the bunch!" Sure enough, the lack of quality control renders the Brothers' product useless.

* OcularGushers: Pinkie Pie, yet again.

* OffModel: Cheerilee is briefly seen in the beginning of the episode with pink eyes.

* {{Homage}}[=/=]SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The first act is a loving nod to Meredith Willson's ''Theatre/TheMusicMan''. Not only do we have the barbershop quartet-style outfits, red-and-white striped manes, and the use of the song to lure the rest of the town into the confidence scheme; the song itself shares many similar musical elements with "Ya Got Trouble" from the musical, including the eloquent vocabulary and the backing beat of the crowd shouting "Cider! Cider!"

* LickingFoodOffTheFloor: Rainbow Dash really wants a mug of the Apple family's cider, but they keep running out before she can get any. When Flim and Flam come to town, they show off how fast they're able to make cider with their machine and offer her a mug, but Applejack accidentally knocks it out of her hoof before she can get a sip. A desperate Rainbow Dash licks up the dirt the cider was spilled on, lamenting, "Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

* PyrrhicVillainy: The Flim Flam Brothers win the contest, but they've thoroughly alienated everyone in town, and they used so many bad apples, ( and chunks of apple ''trees'') that no one will buy from them.

* RantInducingSlight: Granny Smith weathers the brothers' provocations with relative grace (''unlike'' Apple Bloom), until one of them calls her "chicken."

* StaticCharacter[=/=]AnAesop: Both played for laughs in the letter to Princess Celestia. Applejack hasn't learned a thing because she already knew this episode's aesop.

* AdultFear: No scary monsters in this episode, just a couple of shady businessponies threatening the Apple family's jobs and home.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Rainbow Dash in full throttle. She is treated as wrong for complaining about the (admittedly hap hazardous) dispensing of the Apple's cider and pretty much spends the entire episode in ButtMonkey mode. Deconstructed since she actually has the large majority of Ponyville on her side. Done again when she attempts to speed up the production by skipping quality check (though this would end up the Flim Flam's own undoing) and is backed off from trying to deliver violent justice to the snide brothers.

* RealEstateScam: Near the end, the Flim Flam Brothers reveal their intention to bankrupt the Apple family, force them off their land, and construct "Flim Flam Fields".

* ApatheticCitizens: The crowd doesn't really care whether the Apples will or won't lose their home. [[TearJerker Until they actually do]].

* TheBadGuyWins: The Flim Flam brothers win the contest but the crappy cider needed to win is what drove them out of town and allowed the Apple family to keep their land.

* {{Big Bad}}s: The Flim Flam brothers fit this trope as far as definition goes, at least (they're the ones causing the conflict and kick starting the plot). Compared to the other bad guys the Mane Six have faced, however, these two are pretty tame.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** As this is a kid's show, the Apple Family's cider is presumably non-alcoholic. Yet they serve it in tankards foaming over like beer. On top of that, when the ponies drink it, they make some ''interesting'' faces.
** At the start of the episode, Rainbow Dash yanks the blanket away from Fluttershy, who then promptly looks down and cups her hooves over her chest, blushing. [[{{Irony}} All while the "TV-Y" rating is showing during the television broadcast.]] Made all the funnier when you notice that the rating logo disappears at the same time as Rainbow Dash yanking away the blanket. Almost as if the logo is thinking to itself "Oh the hell with it!"

* {{Trope 2000}}: The eponymous cider maker.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Deconstructed. The competition is over and Twilight and Applejack collapse in exhaustion. Having chosen not to cheat even in the face of temptation, Twilight compliments Applejack on how proud she is of her and how such integrity would not go unrewarded. Cue victory being handed to the Flim Flam brothers. 'deconstructed' because their victory was short lived. Their bigger barrel stack looks impressive but the juice inside is awful. Thus Twilight was perfectly correct; it just took a little longer than expected for the Apples' honest labor to pay off.

** Not only that, but they allow the Apples to enlist virtually anyone they want on their side of the contest. Had they simply kept the Apples to the whole Apple family rather than brashly handing them a blank check, they would likely have won the contest. Instead, they tempt fate and let the Apple family "staff up" with anyone who will help...only to see the Apples start winning through a /far/ larger workforce, complete with special abilities that they would otherwise lack. Apple Family ponies are all Earth-but when the rest of the mane cast join in, they gain access to Pegasus flight abilities (enabling them to harvest trees faster) and Unicorn telekinetics (allowing full drums to be stacked faster, and apples to be sorted for quality further from the press).

* AnnoyingLaugh: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4AUpn-vhYc Flim and Flam]].

** The Brothers could still have won if they sold only from the considerable number of barrels they produced before turning off the quality control. This was a VillainBall mistake.