Granny Smith's odd behavior begins to embarrass Applebloom. Worse, she's due to give a presentation before Applbloom's entire class.

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Recap: It's a dark night and the Timberwolves are howling. Granny Smith is running around the yard banging pots together. The rest of the family wakes up and notes that the Zap Apples are coming.

Applejack and Big Mac brave the storm to prepare the bare Zap Apple trees for harvesting. Lightning crackles down the trees and they sprout their leaves. Applebloom helps Granny get ready for making the Zap Apple jam. Filthy Rich and his daughter Diamond Tiara arrive just as they're at the part of the process which involves singing to the water while hopping around in bunny suits. Rich (he doesn't like to be called Filthy) makes a customary deal for the first hundred jars of Granny's jam. Tiara laughs at Granny and condescendes to Apple Bloom, telling her it's good she lives on the farm and not in town where everypony could see Granny's antics.

Naturally, Granny has to go to town to get supplies for the jam. Applebloom is now intensely aware of her unusual behavior, such as biting pans to test their metal and talking to bees while getting their honey. To her horror, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon see it all.

At school, Filthy Rich finishes a presentation on his business for "Family Appreciation Day." Applebloom is next on the list, but she says that Applejack and Big Mac are busy with the harvest and can't come. Diamond Tiara is quick to point out that Granny Smith is available, to Applebloom's chagrin.

Applebloom turns to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders for help. They try to pass Applebloom off as sick, but Granny sees through the ruse (or doesn't even see the ruse.) They attempt to pick the Zap Apples early, to free up her siblings, but that proves to be impossible before they are ripe. They attempt a Weekend at Bernies puppetry with a sleeping Granny to have her back out of the presentation 'herself,' but that fails when she wakes up. Finally, they fake a telegram from the distant Uncle Strudel asking Granny to come visit, and send her on her way.

Applebloom is in the midst of telling her teacher that Granny was called away when she arrives at the schoolhouse complete with Uncle Strudel, who had happened to take the train up to visit. Applebloom resigns herself and Granny begins her presentation for the class.

Before Ponyville existed, Granny was part of an Oregon Trail-esque party of earth ponies. They roamed the land, collecting and selling seeds. When they came across Canterlot, Celestia took pity on them and granted them land by the edge of the Everfree Forest. They started their orchards, but food grew short in the meantime. Young Granny Smith ventured into the forest despite the warnings. She came across a grove of Zap Apples and started collecting them when the Timberwolves (literally wolves composed of timber) began chasing her. She manages to scare them away from the farm by banging pots together. Afterwards she and her father plant a grove of Zap Apple trees and she begins to deduce the signs foretelling their blooming and how to coax the best jam from the fruit, which accounts for some of her odd behavior. The jam is a hit--Filthy Rich's grandfather Stinkin' Rich gets his start retailing it--and soon ponies settle nearby and found Ponyville.

After her story Silver Spoon begins a slow clap that spreads to the rest of the classroom. Diamond Tiara exclaims that Granny is "just a kooky old lady," and Applebloom rushes to her defense. Later, the rest of the young ponies enthusiastically join in the bunny-eared singing preparation for the jam, although Tiara has to be literally pushed to join in by her father.

Review: This was an instant classic. The Applebloom/Granny Smith story would be a solid episode in its own right. It manages to tackle two Aesops at the same time: respect for your elders and the consensual nature of what's "cool." We got inversions of two character types that are normally the butt of jokes (the old lady and the rich guy.)

However, it's the history/geography lesson that puts this over the top. We got confirmation that Ponyville was founded by earth ponies, which Twilight revealed in Winter Wrap Up, and by Granny Smith no less. We also got a canonical map of Ponyville and its surroundings. It's interesting that Sweet Apple Acres is right on the border of the Everfree Forest and, in the case of the Zap Apple orchard, may extend into the forest (since it seems to share the same pegasus-less weather.) That may imply that Applejack and Fluttershy are neighbors, since Fluttershy's sanctuary also borders the forest.

Once again we don't get an explicit letter to the Princess, which is fine. Applebloom's confession that she forgot how awesome Granny is serves just as well.

The Zap Apples and the Timberwolves extend the scope of just how wild the Everfree Forest is. It's not merely an untamed place, but also one with a lot of inherent magic of its own. Interestingly, it appears earth ponies are best equipped to deal with that, which may imply that they share a lot more in common with zebras than was previously evident. (The design of the Zap Apples implies that the animators use a certain type of computer.)

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom have each had their own featured episode now, which raises the question of whether we'll get one for Scootaloo. Next week's is featuring Pinkie Pie, who hasn't had much screen time this season.

Brony Notes: Could we have had our first Derpy-less episode of the second season? I'm guessing not, but the likely hiding place for her is among the background ponies in the flashback where the sepia tones and nineteenth century clothes make her difficult to pick out. You can make out several of the other background ponies (or, presumably, their ancestors) in the line for Filly Smith's jam.

The fan reaction was overwhelmingly favorable, with those who didn't like the Granny/Applebloom storyline won over by the flashback episode. Interestingly, Filthy Rich doesn't seem to have struck the same chord as Fancypants (from Sweet and Elite) despite being a similar character. The gray pony in the classroom that's a recolor of Snips has gotten more attention, with the fan name consensus appearing to be "Chowder." Filly Smith has gotten the most attention, however, with a lot of art such as the above by deviantArtist shadestars.

BroNYCon in NYC was held over the weekend. Unfortunately marred by logistical problems (it appears to have been oversold) it still produced some interesting events. The below panel with Andrea Libman (Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy) Ashleigh Ball (Rainbow Dash, Applejack) and Nicole Oliver (Princess Celestia, Cheerilee) is worth checking out when you have an hour.

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Church also reviews fan films for Republibot.