The Apples (Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith) are in
danger of losing their apple farm (Sweet Apple Acres) to the twin
Flim Flam brothers when a bet is struck over who can make the most
apple cider in one hour.
This
episode introduces the Flim Flam twins, who are eccentric and overconfident
characters that remind me of Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man. Except
instead of trying to convince a city that children are being corrupted by a
Pool Table, the Flim Flam brothers are trying to convince Ponyville that they
can make better cider than anyone else. They are the reason for the unusual name
of the episode, which is the name of their bizarre contraption: a steampunk
(magicpunk?) locomotive that functions as a cider-making device.
The episode begins before sunrise at Fluttershy's house where she's sleeping
peacefully only to be awoken by Rainbow Dash, who rushes her out on the way to
get the Apple family's popular apple cider. Rainbow Dash keeps getting there
too late, so she wants to be first in line for a change instead of Pinkie Pie.
But sadly Pinkie Pie still beats them there, and once again the cider runs out
before Rainbow Dash can get any. We learn in this episode that the cider
business keeps Sweet Apple Acres going, which is obvious long before it's said
because of the long line to get some cider (this is accurate, I've been
to Cider Mills before). This is when the Flim Flam brothers show up in their
contraption and sing a musical number, claiming to be better at making cider.
They offer to go into business with the Apple family, who refuse since it isn't
a fair 50/50 deal. So the Flim Flam brothers decide to run them out of business
instead, and coerce them into betting Sweet Apple Acres on who can make the
most cider in an hour. to see who can make the most cider in an hour.
However, not too long into the competition it becomes obvious they aren't
winning, and that's putting it lightly.
Of course Applejack's friends step in to help her, and the overly confident Flim Flam brothers don't complain. This turned things to the Apple family's favor so the Flim Flam brothers basically cheat, ignoring quality testing to get ahead. This backfires on them when the ponies reject their cider, teaching a lesson about quality over quantity. This time Applejack's friendship lesson was something she already knew, that her friends will always be there when she needs them.
This is the strangest episode of Friendship is Magic I've ever seen, but not in a bad way. The characters are great as always, as are the new Flim Flam brothers, although I get the feeling they won't be seen again in Ponyville. The musical number was great and the big reason why I was reminded of The Music Man, and the running gag with Rainbow Dash never getting any cider was very funny. This is an episode you can just watch and laugh at, as it really used its over-the-top weirdness to its advantage.
