History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E21LeapOfFaith

Later, Granny Smith is doing a little more diving (from a much safer height this time), while Applejack writes in the Mane Six's diary. She muses that honesty is difficult when the truth will hurt, but it's always better to tell the truth than participate in a deception. Applejack walks off to join her family members, while the coin she got from Silver Shill shines with a rainbow shimmer...

The next day, Granny Smith is swimming again, claiming that she's feeling much better. Applejack and Apple Bloom go back to the Flim Flam Brothers' tent to investigate. There, they find Silver Shill yet again dancing out of the Flim Flam Brothers' tent without his crutches. Applejack follows him and discovers an area filled with various wigs, crutches and props -- Silver Shill was in on the act, and the tonic is useless. She confronts the Flim Flam brothers, who smoothly acknowledge that the tonic ''might'' be bogus, but it still makes Granny Smith happier. They gloat Applejack into keeping quiet because they know that she doesn't want to take her grandmother's happiness away if she finds out the truth about the tonic and she reluctantly agrees.

Apple Bloom and Granny Smith perform their swimming routine flawlessly. During the applause, Applejack spots Silver Shill in the crowd, selling some of the tonic. Silver Shill admits he felt bad about lying, but that he's learned -- through Applejack -- that honesty isn't always the best policy. Just then, Granny Smith announces her intentions to break the Ponyville diving record, leaping from a great height into a tiny pool of water. Applejack sprints after her and catches her with a rope just before she hits the ground. Granny is irritated that Applejack should stop her when she has the magic tonic, and Applejack finally admits to the gathered crowd that the tonic does nothing, and that she regrets her role in shilling it. She says that while there's nothing wrong with believing in yourself, it's wrong to make other people think they can do what they can't through selling snake oil. Silver Shill, who was inspired by Applejack's honesty, steps up to confirm her story while revealing his role in the whole scam, and the Flim Flam Brothers sheepishly make their exit. Silver Shill gives her all the profits he's made by selling the tonic -- a single coin -- and promises to make reparations to the pony that he cheated.

* HeelFaceTurn: After seeing Applejack admit she had been lying all along, Silver Shill decides he's had enough and reveals the faulty tonic.

** When we see him for the very first time ,Silver Shill looks like Jimmy from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.

The next day, Granny Smith is swimming again, claiming that she's feeling much better. Applejack and Apple Bloom go back to the Flim Flam Brothers' tent to investigate. There, they find Silver Shill yet again dancing out of the Flim Flam Brothers' tent without his crutches. Applejack follows him and discovers an area filled with various wigs, crutches and props -- Silver Shill was in on the act, and the tonic is useless. She confronts the Flim Flam brothers, who smoothly acknowledge that the tonic ''might'' be bogus, but it still makes Granny Smith happier. Applejack has no choice but to agree.

Apple Bloom and Granny Smith perform their swimming routine flawlessly. During the applause, Applejack spots Silver Shill in the crowd, selling some of the tonic. Silver Shill admits he felt bad about lying, but that he's learned -- through Applejack -- that honesty isn't always the best policy. Just then, Granny Smith announces her intentions to break the Ponyville diving record, leaping from a great height into a tiny pool of water. Applejack sprints after her and catches her with a rope just before she hits the ground. Granny is irritated that Applejack should stop her when she has the magic tonic, forcing Applejack to admit before the gathered crowd that the tonic does nothing, and that she regrets her role in shilling it. She says that while there's nothing wrong with believing in yourself, it's wrong to make other people think they can do what they can't through selling snake oil. Silver Shill steps up to confirm her story, and the Flim Flam Brothers sheepishly make their exit. Inspired by Applejack's honesty, Silver Shill gives her all the profits he's made by selling the tonic -- a single coin -- and promises to make reparations to the pony that he cheated.

* TooGoodToBeTrue: Applejack is suspicious of the tonic from the start because it promises more than any product could possibly deliver.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One shot shows a pony's swollen rump, and if that weren't enough, his cutie mark is a [[LiteralAssKicking boot]].

* ArtShift: Granny Smith telling the other Apples about the time she came close to breaking the Equestria high-diving record is accompanied by an old-time sepia-toned film.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: InUniverse example -- Silver Shill says he used to feel guilty about lying to other ponies about the tonic before Applejack "taught" him that honesty isn't always the best policy. It's later subverted when Applejack's later honesty disproves the moral he had learned before.

%%BusbyBerkeleyNumber: NotAnExample
* CallBack:

* OutOfOrder: Episode 20 in broadcast order, 21st in production order.

* SharkFinOfDoom: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the ColdOpen - it's actually a prank on the part of Big Mac, presumably to give Apple Bloom [[ScareEmStraight second thoughts]] about becoming an aquabat despite Granny Smith's warnings.

* AbsenteeActor:
** Applejack, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E17SomeponyToWatchOverMe once again]], is the only member of the Mane Six who appears. Notably, this is the only episode to introduce one of the magic keys that hasn't featured all six in some capacity.
** This is also the second key episode where Spike is absent, with the first being [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E10RainbowFalls Rainbow Falls]].

* ArtShift: Granny Smith telling the other Apples about the time she came close to breaking the Equestria high-diving record is accompanied by am old-time sepia-toned film.

** The pony with braces, momentary visible in Discord's song, is present, along with the stallion with "a terrible cold" from "Hearts and Hooves Day".

* GrossupCloseUp: Some of the aliments during Film and Flam's show prompt this.

* ParanoiaFuel / TerrifiedOfGerms: In-universe, the Flim-Flam Brothers try to invoke this in potential customers during their song/sales pitch to make them want to buy their "Cure-All" tonic.

** Flim and Flam using Shill to sell their product during their song brings to mind the role Music/MichaelJackson played in the music video for he and PaulMcCartney's song Say Say Say.

** Flim and Flam using Shill to sell their product during their song brings to mind the role MichaelJackson played in the music video for he and PaulMcCartney's song Say Say Say.

* [[HammerspaceHair Hammerspace Mane]]: Granny Smith keeps extra bottles of the tonic in her mane.

* [[SnakeOilSalesman Snake Oil Salesponies]]: The Flim Flam Brothers, this time actually selling snake oil.

* [[VariableLengthChain Variable Length Rope]]: The rope that Applejack uses to lasso Granny isn't nearly as long when Applejack grabs it.

* HoldUpYourScore: The judges at the swim meet do this. Lyra Heartstrings even holds one upside-down, but corrects herself. Even played with in Heartstrings' case. The first time out, she's shown scoring another pony very harshly compared to the other two judges (she gives a 3, the others give a 7 and an 8). The second time out, the other two judges give Granny Smith and Apple Bloom 10s, and she holds up "01", prompting a glare from another judge. It's assumed she's just being harsh again, before she turns it right-side up to a 10.

* SomewhereAnEquestrianIsCrying: During her first swim after drinking the Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic, Granny Smith briefly does a butterfly stroke and a backstroke. No equine's shoulders bend that way.

* SomewhereAnEquestrianIsCrying: During her first swim after drinking the Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic, Granny Smith briefly does a backstroke. No equine's shoulders bend that way.

* CallForward: Courtesy of [[http://mlpccg.wikia.com/wiki/Flim_%28Premiere%29 Flim's CCG card flavor text]], which was out long before this episode even aired!

* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: A notable example in this episode is Lyra Heartstrings, who is in both the judges' box and the grandstand.

* NeverSayDie: Applejack says that if Granny Smith keeps acting like a filly "she's apt to drop from exhaustion, or ''worse''."

* BusbyBerkeleyNumber: Apple Bloom and Granny Smith's synchronized swimming.