Cutie Mark Crusaders Ranking, Version 3 · 3:35pm Nov 5th, 2016
When I last did this list I left Babs Seed off it since they said she couldn't be a crusader anymore, but this time especially with the introduction of a new member, I decided it was only fair to bring back Babs because she does NOT deserve to be forgotten. here's the previous version and I should mention that I'm only including official members of the CMC, so characters like Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak won't make the list since they're not offically part of the group (yet). Now then, let's see how the current members stack up.
5. Gabby
Why she's on the bottom: I don't hate Gabby, she's an interesting combination of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash's personalities, and her being a griffon that's actually cheerful instead of grouchy is a nice change. However, at times Gabby can be a bit grating, and apparently she is what's known as a "Parody Sue" in that she's so good at everything she can't figure out what one thing is supposed to be her special talent. And "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" left it sort of ambigious around the line of being helpful/helping others, and while that's a good trait it's not really a special talent.
4. Apple Bloom
Why she moved down: Poor Apple Bloom, so much screen time and yet she's gotten very little actual character. Prior to "On Your Marks" Apple Bloom always had someone else to play off of and interact with, and naturally when that kind of character gets thrust into the spotlight on their own, it's kind of hard for them to stand out. Considering "On Your Marks" freed the writers from having to keep focusing on the CMC as a group, there's really no reason why Apple Bloom still gets more focus episodes while her fellow crusaders continue to be stuck at two a piece. Give Apple Bloom a rest and start focusing on Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, there's practically nothing about Apple Bloom we don't know now (except what her parents were like, it's pretty much Word of God that they're dead).
3. Scootaloo
Why she moved down: Scootaloo shined quite well in "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" but she was sharing the spotlight with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Gabby, so she only got so much time to really make an impression and even then it really just confirmed what already makes her a good character. GabbyLoo has the potential as a next generation GildaDash though, but Scootaloo remains the one crusader who's family we know nothing about. Even after six seasons we still don't know if she's an orphan, if she's disabled (to which I think if the show wanted that to be the case they missed the boat by the time Bulk Biceps showed up), and she still hasn't really interacted with the mane eight outside of Rainbow Dash and Twilight, Fluttershy at least is a main cast member Scootaloo should interact with, as they have a lot in common.
2. Sweetie Belle
Why she moved down: Sweetie Belle's only moving down because of who's number one, I don't hate her at all and she continues to shine really well now that the show has moved on from making her the ditz. Interestingly, it was this season that remembered her parents, whereas in Season 5 her parents were completely absent even from her own cute-ceañera (with Scootaloo at least at that point it was still up in the air about whether or not she had a family, though it would've been nice for the show to finally dispell that headcanon with some sort of parents). That being said, Sweetie Belle is in the same boat as Scootaloo in that her interactions have mostly been with Rarity, Twilight, and surprisingly Applejack, and like with Scootaloo there's a lot that she and Fluttershy have in common that could lead to interactions.
1. Babs Seed
Why she returned: Babs Seed doesn't deserve to be forgotten and tossed aside, even if it seems like the DHX staff are trying their hardest to do so. Babs had a ton of potential before she got her cutie mark, and there's still a whole bunch of stories that can be told with her now that she has her cutie mark. Her VA still works for DHX and has expressed interest in doing Babs again, so there's really no excuse for her to keep getting ignored while the DHX staff seems to be trying to pretend she never existed. As I said before, I don't think Gabby was intended to replace Babs as the fourth Cutie Mark Crusader and I really don't hope that's the case, because the show is better than that. The show didn't get rid of Diamond Tiara or Starlight Glimmer just because a lot of people didn't like them, and the show didn't just pretend Discord didn't exist after they reformed him.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we rank the princesses of Equestria, including one newcomer.
Here's my Top Five ranking of my favorite CMC members;
1: Scootaloo
2: Sweetie Belle
3: Babs Seed
4: Apple Bloom
5: Diamond Tiara (I consider a honorary Cutie Mark Crusader after Crusaders of the Lost Mark.)
4286138 I do too, but honorary members don't count for this list.
For me, the ranking is:
1. Scootaloo
2. Gabby
3. Sweetie Belle
4. Apple Bloom
5. Babs Seed
4286198 Interesting, why does Gabby rank so high and Babs Seed rank so low?
4286200 Because I find Gabby adorable, and Babs, while okay in her second appearance, was bad enough in her first that she'll remain at the bottom until she eventually shows up again.
My list. Scootaloo will always remain number 1 for me, her personality is awesome. also we already know Scoots isn't an orphan I remember a show staff saying she has parents at one of the cons.
1:Scootaloo
2:Gabby.
3:Sweetie Belle.
4:AppleBloom
5:Babs Seed
Surely by definition, the fact that Scoots can't fly when she should be able to, means that she is disabled. I suppose she could be an extremely late bloomer, but "Flight to the Finish" doesn't suggest that. (Rainbow Dash never says to Scootaloo "Yes, you'll definitely be able to fly some day"; she says that she doesn't know). And by "The Fault In Our Cutie Marks", Scootaloo seems to have accepted that she isn't ever going to be able to fly.
4288814 Rainbow Dash's statement was "Maybe you'll fly someday and maybe you won't." And Scootaloo's comment in "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" was "Just because it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it can't happen." It seems like the DHX staff is walking a fine line between saying she's disabled and saying she's a late bloomer. But if they did make her disabled now it would raise too many questions considering we've seen Bulk Biceps be able to fly despite his tiny wings on his huge body, and the fact that we haven't seen many pegasi Scootaloo's age and what few we have haven't been seen flying on screen. It would raise more questions than answers.
4288933
Which means that Rainbow Dash doesn't know if she'll ever be able to, and more likely, thinks that she actually won't. I mean, if Dash thought that Scootaloo was a fully able-bodied pegasus, there wouldn't be any two ways about it; Dash would say "cheer up squirt, you'll get it eventually". But instead, Dash is outright telling Scoots - whom she loves, and wants to encourage at every opportunity - that it's entirely possible that she's disabled. That's a harsh truth to drop on a child, and I think Dashie wouldn't do that if she thought there was a good chance Scoots would be able to fly some day.
4289015 We don't know what the standard for flyers is, for all Rainbow Dash knows she could be the exception and not the rule, especially since her friend Fluttershy was mocked and teased for being a weak flyer at flight camp.
4289036 - well, true, although I would say that there's a difference between someone who can't fly as well as everypony else, and someone who just can't fly period. Flight always seems to me to be a pegasus intrinsic, with Scootaloo the lone exception. (Although, now that I think about it, why do pegasi need flight camp if flight is innate anyway...?)
4289121 Flight camp may be to train pegasi into being proper fliers and teach them stuff such as proper wing care and the importance of stamina.