My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Season 6 Episode 4: "On Your Marks" (SPOILERS) · 4:01pm Apr 9th, 2016
It's time for the first Cutie Mark Crusaders episode of the season! Now that they have their Cutie Marks, can the Crusaders save Equestria from a really lackluster season? Let's find out!
We've got a little continuity slip in this episode, as the CMC are having their "first post-Mark meeting", meaning this episode took place sometime back in season 5.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are entranced by their own butts. 
The CMC, now with their cutie marks, make plans to...crusade for Cutie Marks. 
Is anybody really surprised? I mean, did anybody NOT see that coming?
The yodelling bit was hilarious, though.
The CMC realize that they've been so obsessed with trying to get their cutie marks that they don't actually do anything else. So they decide now they're going to go find ponies who need help figuring out what their cutie marks mean, or consoling blank flanks.
In other words, they've found an entirely new way to annoy their fellow ponies.
Oh god Bulk Biceps. Bulk Biceps apparently has a cutie mark problem. Which it takes the Crusaders about five seconds to solve.
Apple Bloom starts freaking out about how cutie mark problems are few and far between and easily solved, and worries that the Crusaders don't really have a reason to exist. In the process, she freaks the other two out, because apparently she's the one holding their collective shared brain today.
Oh, don't look at me like that. You know it's true.
Apple Bloom wants to start searching Equestria for cutie mark problems. The others point out the huge flaw in that plan.
Then, they realize that they can stop worrying about cutie marks and just do things for fun. Which leads to...
EXACTLY THE SAME KIND OF CRAZY SHIT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR FIVE SEASONS! YAY!
Except it doesn't quite go well, because AB and SB are bad at stunts, AB and Scootaloo are bad at singing (since when?), and SB and Scootaloo are bad at potions.
Then Scootaloo hits on the REAL crux of the problem:
The Crusaders don't always have to do everything together!
Took them long enough to figure out they're not joined at the flank. But Apple Bloom isn't really happy with that. She doesn't want to do things without her friends. 
A song! We get a song! And it's a sad, heartbreaking song.
Hi, Tree Hugger!
Yeah, you know the Apple Bloom Tango is going in the OOCSST next week. 
Anyway, Apple Bloom is depressed because she doesn't want to do things by herself, and an excited colt who loves to dance but is scared to perform in front of a crowd tries to cheer her up. Apple Bloom is so depressed she doesn't realize she's just walked right past a cutie mark problem.
Oh god Apple Bloom has gone Lesson Zero Twilight. Fortunately, it doesn't last long, because Scootaloo corrects her that "doing stuff by yourself sometimes" doesn't mean "we're not hanging out together anymore at all ever". With THAT out of the way, Apple Bloom realizes the colt from earlier has a cutie mark problem that she and her friends need to solve!
Thanks to the Crusaders, the dancing colt gets over his stage fright AND gets his cutie mark! Hooray! 
Well, there you have it. Season 6's first GOOD episode. Thanks, Cutie Mark Crusaders! I knew you could save this season!
Now that they've crusaded for cutie marks, the next quest is for deeper characterization.
Given the complete absence of Starlight Glimmer from this episode, it very well could've taken place in Season 5. It would make sense shortly after "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows."
And yeah, Apple Bloom really is Twilight, Jr. At least she didn't try to make cutie mark problems.
3858809 Furthermore, she often holds the CMC together, just like Twilight with the Main 6, so she could definitely be Twilight, Jr. And to be honest, the CMC are not the deepest characters ever.
3858809
AB came dangerously close to channeling her, tho.
Bulk lifting other things besides dumbells? Yeah, what could go wrong?
Him teaching other ponies to lift stuff? Nothing wrong with that.
That colt has some real talent with dancing.
3858809
GODDAMN YOU. *sighs, adds that to the pile*
Remember how bad Scootaloo sang in "The Show Stoppers"? She's probably still not that good at singing on her own yet, or it's been so long since she's sung that she's out of practice. Also, I guees now we know who's idea it was to go parachuting for their cutie marks back in "Just for Sidekicks".
3858872 That's got to be a production joke. IIRC only AB's VA is a professional grade singer and one of the three can't even harmonize. AB's VA sings for both SB and AB. And you have to make a distinction between diagetic and non-diagetic, unless you're selling that fanon about heartsong and the music of Harmony.
I liked Tender Taps, he's clearly studied with Pony Kelly, very Singing in the Rain.
3858902 Actually, since Season 4 Clarie Corlett has been singing for Sweetie Belle instead of Michelle Creber.
3858957 Huh. I missed that. Do you know where they talked about it, or is this con panel material?
3858961 I believe it's revealed in the show credits.
All the art references in the scene with Tree Hugger were great. I saw Dali, Picasso, and Warhol, all painting in their trademark styles.
Am I wrong or have they grown again? Cuz I don't remember Sweetie's horn being a tad longer...
Welp, time to see the TenderBloom/AppleTap shippings now!
3858844
Umm...what pile, exactly?
3859447 The Pile of Shame. As in, potential stories to be written.
I disagree with this being the first good episode of the season.
The premiere was the best of the 6 so far, and episode 3 was easily the best of the Manehatten episodes.
As for the continutiy slip-up, those have been happening since before halfway through season 1 (Winter Wrap-Up and Fall Weather Friends).
And for the CMC thing, I see it like this:
When they try to sing, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom horribly. But when they don't, and the song is off-the-cuff (like most musical numbers in this show are), they do pretty well.
Also, I now hope that Scootaloo gets a solo song at one point in this season. Or at least a duet with Rainbow Dash.
3859164 AppleTap. Definitely. TenderBloom sounds like it should actually be a pony's name.
And I totally ship it.
3858829 also, when the CMC were finding cutie problems, I swear they were Starlight in the past. Asking ponies is they were okay with their cutie marks