Season 5, Episode 20 Thoughts and Review · 9:01pm Oct 24th, 2015
Warning: Spoilers below the cut~
Holy moly, that was a good episode! Sure, it got some of my headcanons crushed, but I honestly don't even care, PIE FAMILY EPISODE, YEAAA. Alright, so onto the episode!
The episode begins in Ponyville, where the houses are all decorated for Hearth's Warming Eve. As Twilight and Spike prepare to celebrate at the castle, Pinkie Pie and Applejack enter to extend their holiday wishes before they leave on the train, as the Apple family and Pie family are spending the holidays together.
Best ponies, I swear.
After a brief conversation about diverse family traditions, Applejack and Pinkie leave to catch their train.
Visual puns are the best.
On the train ride to the Pie family's rock farm, Applejack and Pinkie Pie express excitement over their families spending Hearth's Warming Eve together. Applejack is especially excited to share her family's traditions with Pinkie's, including a traditional evening dinner, raising the Equestrian flag, hanging Hearth's Warming dolls over the fireplace, and opening presents the next morning. Pinkie Pie says that her family shares these traditions as well.
This was super cute, not gonna lie.
At the rock farm train station, Applejack worries that her and Pinkie's families might not get along, but Pinkie assures her that they will because they are such close friends themselves. Pinkie's sister Maud Pie arrives to greet the group and escort them to the rock farm.
MAUD IS SUCH A ROCK NERD, I LOVE HER.
There they meet the other members of the Pie family: Pinkie's calm-spoken parents Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz, her abrasive sister Limestone Pie, and her shy younger sister Marble Pie.
(In my headcanon, Igneous is very calm-spoken but rigid, and so is Cloudy, but she's also very excitable like Pinkie is, just not to the same extent. I thought that Limestone and Marble were twins, but I was wrong about that. Oh, well, that ain't gonna stop me.)
Also, MARBLE IS PRECIOUS.
Pinkie Pie tells her "cousin" family to get settled in before dinner, and Applejack looks forward to the rest of the evening.
Contrary to the Apples' expectations of warm sweet rolls and potpies, the Pies serve unappetizing rock soup at the dinner table. Nonetheless, Applejack remains optimistic and encourages her family to muscle through it.
(Another headcanon: I know this has little to do with the Pies, but I have this headcanon that some sections of the Crystal Empire have CRYSTAL soup, which kinda ties into this whole idea I have about Pinkie's family originating from the Empire, but shh, maybe my SombraPie shipper heart just wants Sombra to feel at home in this family)
The Apples are disappointed further to learn that the Pies fashion Hearth's Warming dolls out of rocks instead of crocheted yarn. In addition, they make a bizarre hide-and-seek game out of the Equestrian flag raising: Applejack is teamed up with Pinkie, Big McIntosh with Marble, Apple Bloom with Maud, and Granny Smith with Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz.
The oldest of the Pie family siblings and the youngest of the Apple family siblings. An interesting pair, and I LOVE IT.
Wait, so they have arranged marriages? (WAIT, CHOOSING STONE, LIKE AS IN SOULMATES? OOOOO, PLOT FOR LOVESTRUCK!)
Oooooooh, Iggy's blushin', how cute. (Wait, does this mean he's bi? Him and my Sombra got another thing in common then)
I am unsure whether or not I like this ship because they could be related (although very distantly)
Even stranger, the Pie family traditionally hides Hearth's Warming presents for their recipients to find, resulting in very little gift-exchanging each year. Applejack questions how fun the Pie family's holiday traditions are and suggests some that are more catered to the Apple family's tastes. That night, after lights out, Applejack talks with her family about giving the Pie family a real Hearth's Warming. (Which, spoiler alert, does not end well at all)
Remember when you used to jump out of bed in the morning as soon as you woke up when it was Christmas morning? Yeah, me, too.
The next morning, the Pies wake up to find the rock farm decorated more festively, courtesy of Applejack. Despite Applejack's cheerfulness, her efforts are met with a cold reception from the Pies, who feel that the Apples are forcing their traditions onto them. Pinkie Pie, wanting only for the two families to be together, gets caught in the middle. To make matters worse, Applejack had planted her flagpole on a fault line, causing an earthquake that sends a large sacred boulder tumbling into a nearby quarry.
As the disgruntled Pies take down Applejack's decorations, the Apple family decides to return to Ponyville, having overextended their welcome. In a crystal mine, Applejack despairs over her failed attempt to bring the Apples and Pies together. She finds Pinkie Pie in a similar gloom and apologizes for the mess she made. The two sorrowfully wish each other a happy Hearth's Warming and part ways.
Limestone is scary, Jesus.
On the train ride back to Ponyville, Granny Smith explains to Applejack why the Pie family's sacred boulder is so important (CAN WE SEE MORE OF GRANNY AND THE PIE PARENTS TALKING?). Applejack admits that she got so caught up in the Pies' traditions that she disregarded why their traditions are important to them. After discovering Pinkie's Hearth's Warming present to her, Applejack finally understands.
Back at the rock farm, the Pies struggle to move their sacred boulder to the top of the quarry.
Says the mare wHO BROKE THROUGH AN ENTIRE ROCK TO SAVE HER SISTER. Then again, maybe she was just holding off because she knew the Apples would come back.
Just then, the Apples arrive, and Applejack apologizes for trying to force her family's traditions onto the Pies.
"I was so focused on us bein' one big happy family, I thought we needed the same traditions right away. What I should've done was learn about yours and teach you about ours. And over time, we'd make new traditions together."
— Applejack
The Pies accept Applejack's apology, and the two families work together to push the boulder to the top of the quarry. Some time later, the Apples and Pies celebrate the holidays by combining their various traditions. Applejack unwraps Pinkie Pie's present to her, and the episode ends with Maud entertaining the two families with her rock-themed poetry.
It's Hearth's Warming, Charlie Brown!
Honestly, I really loved this episode. It gave some well-needed characterization to the Pie family and had some fun interactions between the Apples and the Pies. Maud, although she didn't get many lines, was great, and the Pie family itself was just really great. I know that my headcanons were destroyed, but this episode gave me some new ones! Also, I wonder how this is gonna fit into my SombraPie canon...?
-I'm guessing this is gonna be before/after Pinkie's pregnancy. I think that Sombra is just staying back with the foal because he didn't want Pinkie to stay back when she could visit her family when the foal was too young to make the trip. Besides, Pinkie might have plans to bring her family over to Ponyville to visit.
-Igneous didn't like Sombra, not only because of his past, but because the Choosing Stone didn't take part in the decision. Bonus: I like to think that at some point before the wedding, Pinkie and Sombra went to the stone, and it chose them to be together. Gaaaaaah, the feeeeeeels.
-Because I want my pairing of Florina/Marble to be canon in my works, she's hella bi, just like Sombra is.
As for new headcanons, check them out:
-That apple farming hunk that Granny mentioned made Igneous blush 'cause he has SEEN said hunks and likes what he sees quite a bit.
-Cloudy Quartz is stuffy around ponies at first, but when she gets to know them, you see where Pinkie gets her excitability.
I have a lot more, but I can't seem to recall them at this moment... Anyway, this was a fun episode, and I enjoyed it. I just wish that they didn't air the week before Halloween is all. Now, onto what next week has in store for us! Oh, wait, why bother, the episode was leaked last month on iTunes and everybody keeps showing the episode on every form of media possible because it's not like anyone doesn't want to see the episode BEFORE the airdate.
To everyone who insists on spoiling the episodes for everyone by not tagging their spoilers, roses are red, violets are blue, I got five fingers, and the middle one is for you.
If you want to know what the synopsis for next week's episode is, don't go on wikia or any other website, because it'll just give the whole episode summary and you'll be spoiled. Oh, and to the tumblr and derpibooru users who don't tag their damn spoilers or put page breaks, I hope you're happy for spoiling an entire episode for me.
I thought the episode adorable moments, some more adorable than others.
Marble and Big Mac were so cute, am I right?
I thought it was a pretty good episode, and I like the ship, so long as they aren't related.
I also love that poem. I had a big spoiler for the future spoiled for me because of some nimrod not using a spoiler tag on his group forum post. So it showed up in the regular feed.
They are at their closest fifth cousins. Twice removed, which means that there is not even necessarily any biological relationship closer than "We're all Ponies.
I talked about this with my wife, and mentioned to her that it's quite possible that she is my fifth cousin, as we both had ancestors from Northern Europe and neither of us know our complete lineages back to great-great-great-great-grandparents. It's not particularly likely, but there's no particular reason to imagine that we're not.
So, who else thinks that Holder's Boulder is actually an egg?
derpicdn.net/img/2015/10/24/1008779/large.png
I mean, they said he found it in a dragon's nest, and darn if it doesn't look like an egg...
Your meter is off with that poem you wrote for us. Really ruined it for me.
I forgive you, though, because we're friends and that's what friends do.
And don't forget: October 29th.
YESSSSS
Also my favorite part was right after the GIF with Maud deducing AJ was sledding. The part where Granny goes "oooh, she's good"
I wish Granny wasn't being so thirsty, and tagged with Mr/Ms Pie on Team
Old3. I would have loved to see her interact with the other young'unsRock Science nerd here and to explain the terms Maud used in this episode:
Quartz - mineral (duh)
Moh's Hardness Scale: a scale to determine how sharp a mineral on a 1-10, with diamond being the hardest scale is Quartz is a 6 and Corundum is 9
Obsidion is essentially volcanic glass, usually black
Andesite - an igneous rock named after the Andes Mountains which are mainly composed of volcanics.
Loved the angry sister.
img01.deviantart.net/6353/i/2014/090/f/c/limestone__blinkie__pie_by_reitanna_seishin-d7cflal.png
Can't stand the sight of a strong norse-woman!?
Amen Harmony Charmer.
I didn't want to watch the leaked episode because [spoilers for The One Where Pinkie Knows] I was afraid that they would show evidence that Cadance and Armor are gonna be parents, so I didn't watch it. But for reasons you said, I was forced to watch it. Luckily it didn't show any spoilers for The One Where Pinkie Knows.
I find it kinda funny, because [spoilers for Crusaders of the Lost Mark] the leaked episode didn't show any CMC cutie marks, but all I cared about was the The One Where Pinkie Knows spoiler. How lucky I am to focus more on Armor and Cadance and not the CMC!
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...Wut. (Seriously, is something happening that day, I have no clue, I think my memory is failing me once again)
I just wanted to point out that Pinkie and Marble are actually fraternal twins, according to this episode.
Pinkie specifically says Marble is "only a few minutes younger", so unless one of them was adopted...
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Yeah, I saw that! I guess my thoughts about Pinkie being the youngest was a miss, but I was right about there being twins in the Pie family!
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Well, then let's just say that you're going to find a nice surprise that day, as long as you follow me or at least notice the things I'm doing.
You do notice the things I do, don't you, senpai?
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Yes, of course, I do.
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...You're doing something for Halloween aren't you. I feel like I should be concerned.
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Concerned over how awesome it's going to be, maybe!
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...I'm watching you.
Ya spoilers are the worst. I was thankfully able to avoid them for this Saturday's episode.
You know, it did say that Limestone is the oldest since she is in charge of the farm
I want to steal that so bad.