Agreed,
@Peach Wookiee. This one was adorable.
It's the season of "confluence" on the Apple farm, when all of the apple trees in every orchard are ripe for harvest at the same time. It's a big job, so Granny Smith enlists help from Golden Delicious, the elderly cat mare and great aunt of Apple Jack. Twilight and company are too busy handling the school of friendship, and so it's up to the Apple family to get the work finished.
Of course, Golden Delicious tells of a story of the Great Seedling, a magical creature that brings on the joys of autumn by spreading mischief. It's said, though, that if you can catch it, the Great Seedling will leave you a forever bountiful harvest.
Applebloom is now on a mission to find the Great Seedling, so as she's helping the family harvest, she also sets out traps hoping to catch the magical creature she believes will bring prosperity to the farm.
After a night of trap setting, the next morning shows that there were signs of the Great Seedling in the orchard, when apples are laid out in particular patterns too specific to be random. This makes Applebloom excited, but Applejack is skeptical. See, she once sought after the Great Seedling as a foal, but after a bad experience with one of her traps, she gives up and thinks its all a farce. Still, for Applebloom's help with the harvest, she'll help AB set traps at night.
Still, she keeps her promise and helps Applebloom set traps. The next morning, again they see whorls of apples all over the field, in patterns too specific to be chance, and Applejack begins to wonder if just maybe the Great Seedling is real.
Leaving Mac to do the lion's share of the work, AJ and AB set off to capture the Great Seedling. They stay up all night, after setting traps everywhere. While they are asleep in a blind they've set up in a tree, Applebloom wakes up when she sees rustling in the trees: a trap has gone off.
They head down and see the outline of what looks like the Great Seedling. Surprise turns to shock when the Great Seedling seems to chase after them. They run, avoiding traps, until they reach the barn trying to get inside. The Great Seedling comes up from behind them, and steps into the light: turns out it's Big Mac sleepwalking. He's been sleep bucking this whole time, explaining how the apples kept disappearing from the trees.
Applejack realizes how important it is to still play sometimes, even when there's work to be done, and cherishes her time with Applebloom. The harvest is complete, and now Golden Delicious prepares to leave. Applejack invites her to return next year.
As AB and AJ walk away from the barn, they see a trail of carrots in a pattern, and they realize it could have been the Great Seedling, and set off, joyful for the hunt. The episode ends.
This one was adorable! A great family episode, and we even get to see Applejack and Applebloom's parents at work in the field during a flashback, where Bright Mac is putting his yoke on a tiny Big Mac for the first time, as Pear Butter carries Applebloom in a basket around her withers. You can tell the series is winding down, and some loose ends are being tied up, and this nice little story is just pitch perfect.
This one gets an
A+.
