Thoughts on the Cart Before the Ponies

This episode is one I didn't care for all that much, and I'll explain why, but first, I would like to reminisce a little as this episode reminded me of something from my childhood.

The episode is about how Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash help the CMC build carts for a derby, but they take over and build the carts that they want over what the CMC wants. This reminded me of when I was a kid, a Cub Scout, and we did Pinewood Derpys, where we built these small cars made of wood and raced them down a ramp. I never cared for them, but I always did my best to make mine. But I always lost mainly because it was apparent many parents would make the cars for their kids. My dad never helped me make mine, so I always made mine by myself, which looked pretty terrible. Don't get me wrong; I didn't care that I lost every time. It was fun, and there was free pizza, which I always looked forward to. But seeing the adults in this episode get overly obsessive in a sport designed for kids made me think of my own similar experiences.

Back to the episode, the plot is straightforward, with what I stated earlier, with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity being obsessed with a Derby that Cheerilee organized for the foals in her classroom. As the CMC went to them to help build their carts, but the older mares went with what they wanted the carts to look and ran over what the CMC wanted. Overall, it was an engaging episode with some fun moments, but I mostly felt that there wasn't a lot of agency from the CMC as they tried to get their older sisters to stop, but they were railroading them throughout the episode. Only after a crash did the three older mares realize they were wrong, and they even somewhat tried to blame the CMC for not stopping them, which kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But one thing that made this episode abit better was Cheerilee. She was so enthusiastic about the derby she dressed up in an adorable cheerleading outfit, which looked so cute. Her overall demeanor throughout the episode and making the older mares make up for ruining the first derby was excellent. She made me like the episode enough to say it wasn't that bad. In the end, I think what could've helped was maybe have her be more involved with assisting the CMC to recognize that this event was for them and help change their sisters' minds. That's all I have to say. It's not bad, but I think it could've been better.