Applebloom finally gets her cutie mark. Make that cutie marks. Wait, what?

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Recap: The Cutie Mark Crusaders (yay!) arrive at the bowling alley in another attempt to gain their cutie marks. They each demonstrate very little aptitude, but not before the animators manage to work in ponified versions of The Big Lebowski cast.

Afterwards, Applebloom is more dejected than usual and she wanders off by herself. After entering the Everfree Forest she trips over a root and chips her tooth. Fortunately, Zecora happens upon her and takes her to her cottage for some herbal dentistry. Applebloom asks if she can induce a cutie mark, but Zecora rebuffs her.

After repairing Applebloom's tooth, Zecora starts on another potion. She finds she's out of an ingredient and leaves to gather some more. Applebloom is fascinated by the remaining ingredient, "Heart's Desire."

Sometime later the young ponies are playing outside the schoolhouse when Applebloom appears brandishing a cutie mark. Since it's just a circle, the ponies are confused about what it represents, but Applebloom explains it's a "loopty hoop" (a non-trademark infringing "Hula Hoop.") She demonstrates her prowess with a series of increasingly incredible tricks. In the middle of one of them a second cutie mark appears, this one representing spinning plates on sticks. This is unprecedented, and met with some skepticism, but Applebloom demonstrates equal prowess with this new talent.

When she arrives home, everyone in the family is proud and amazed. However, when she tries to go to bed she gains another cutie mark, this time for tap dancing, and discovers to her horror that she can't stop performing her increasingly numerous talents.

Applejack is flummoxed, so they go to Twilight for help. She is stumped at first, but after consulting her books she finds a reference to an obscure disease called "cutie pox" that matches Applebloom's symptoms. Unfortunately, there's no known cure. They decide to seek out Zecora's help and set out for her cottage. Their progress is decidedly slow, since Applebloom keeps acquiring new cutie marks and is compelled to demonstrate them all.

Luckily, Zecora has come to Ponyville to replace an ingredient she has found herself unexpectedly short of. Twilight and Applejack beseech her for help, and she just happens to have the answer on her, the "Seeds of Truth." These seeds must be planted and have words of truth spoken over them. Applejack and Pinkie Pie try uttering truths, but the seeds don't sprout until Applebloom confesses to making a potion from Heart's Desire. The plant immediately grows and blooms, and Applebloom gulps it down, curing her cutie pox.

Applebloom is apologetic, but Zecora reassures her that we learn from our mistakes. Twilight asks her write a letter to Princess Celestia, which she does. She espouses the virtue of patience, although she and the other Crusaders immediately set back out to try and discover their cutie marks.

Review: After last week's Sweetie Bell episode, we get Apple Bloom. Are we going to get a Scootaloo episode? The next one is supposed to be about Rainbow Dash searching for a pet, so it's possible...

The CMC aren't universally popular, mostly because they take time away from the Mane Six, but I quite like them. Part of the reason is because they're a rare instance of having supporting characters that are the target audience's age and who aren't completely annoying. They're well developed characters in their own right. It makes sense that Applebloom, the youngest of three siblings, is the Crusader most obsessed with getting her cutie mark.

This episode does cover some of the territory as The Call of the Cutie from the first season, in particular Twilight's attempt to magically force Applebloom's cutie mark, but it still manages to keep it fresh. While the earlier failure was simply non-achievement, the law of unintended consequences play havoc with Applebloom's ill-concieved plan here.

It's interesting that Zecora retains some of her scariness. The townspeople aren't afraid of her any longer, but she has a bit of a stern grandmotherly attitude towards Applebloom after the misappropriation of her "Heart's Desire."

The writing on the show continues to be first rate. I liked that we don't actually see Applebloom mixing the potion so that her confession is a reveal to the audience, even though it's clear what she's done. The animation has numerous nice touches, my favorite this time being the transition from the Apple family's house to Twilight's library. Applebloom is spinning plates and hoops and tapdancing while the background changes behind her. It subtly indicates how incessant her compulsions are.

Brony Notes: In what is apparently a first, we have a down-aged Derpy. She's one of the fillies watching Applebloom when she demonstrates her "loopty hooping" starting at about 7:20. She's too young here to have her distinctive cutie mark, but her eyes do derp in at least one shot.

The Cutie Pox has generally well-received, although it didn't provide a lot of meme fodder. The above recursive Applebloom by koobaxion is one of a few directly inspired by this episode.

On a more general note, this take on the cosmology of My Little Pony from a Christian perspective is an interesting read.

Sadly, one of the more popular musical bronies, Not A Clever Pony, has retired due to health complications. The video below is a cover of an original composition of his, by AJ the Engineer. You can hear NACP's original music on his bandcamp page.

The next episode airs... right about the time this will post (I'm a tad late with this one.) Look for my next MLP review tomorrow.

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Church also reviews fan films for Republibot. You can reach him at church@republibot.com