At a request in another thread, here's a character analysis of Babs Seed.

1. Babs Seed has made two appearances in the show, in the episodes "One Bad Apple", and "Apple Family Reunion". Both of these are speaking appearances (with one episode devoted entirely to her), making her the most prominent recurring member of the Apple Family outside of the Sweet Apple Acres members.

2. Babs Seed lives in Manehattan, and speaks with a noticeable (and possibly stereotypical) New York accent. Since Manehattan is a big city (possibly the biggest in Equestria), it's unlikely that she or her family are involved in farming. She says "fuhgeddaboudit" at one point, which is a stereotypical phrase of New Yorkers, but also more specifically of New Jerseyans.

3. Babs is Apple Bloom's (and therefore also Applejack's and Big Macintosh's) cousin. We've seen other members of Applejack's extended family from Manehattan before: Uncle Orange and Aunt Orange in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". It is possible that Babs could be their daughter. There would be quite an age gap considering that they were adults when Applejack was a filly, but this doesn't always seem to be a problem for ponies (consider the apparent age difference between Sweetie Belle, Rarity, and Rarity's parents, for example).

4. Babs has at least one sibling: an older sister. She mentions this at the end of "One Bad Apple". Nothing is known about her, but she would also be Apple Bloom's, Applejack's, and Big Macintosh's cousin. We can infer that she's an adult based on the fact that Babs appears to place responsibility upon her; most likely, she's around the same age as Applejack or Rarity.

5. "Babs" is an unusual first name by Equestrian standards, although it's not unheard of (for example, Pony Joe). The out of universe justification for this name is that it's a pun on "bad seed", meaning "someone who was born with a predisposition for unpleasantness". In universe, it could be a result of Manehattan tradition, or an indication of the proclivities of Babs' parents (eg. religious leanings, a desire to make their child stand out, etc). In real life, Babs is short for 'Barbara'.

6. Since "Babs Seed" has no actual meaning (unlike most Equestrian names), the "Seed" part could be a family name.

7. Babs appears to be the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, although age is always difficult to tell with ponies. Certainly the CMC, Diamond Tiara, or Silver Spoon don't treat her any differently than they would their classmates.

8. Like most of the Apple family, Babs is an earth pony. There is a hint that she might be unusually strong for her age; she knocks a wheel off the CMC's pumpkin float with seemingly no effort, and she breaks the ramp of the CMC Clubhouse simply by stamping on it. It's implied that her bullying of the CMC largely involves the threat of physical force.

9. Babs' coat is a golden brown color. This is very close to the brown color of oxidised apple flesh, possibly indicative of 'an apple that's gone bad'.

10. Babs has rose pink, asymmetric peek-a-boo bangs. The bangs typically hang down over one eye and are long enough to obscure her vision; in spite of this, she seems to see fine. She has a bodily tic in which she blows the overhanging bangs away from her eye momentarily. Overhanging bangs are a stereotypical characteristic of dark, emo, or evil characters; for example, the Venom-possessed Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3 (who was, coincidentally, from Manhattan).

11. Babs has a short, stubby tail, and during her appearances, displayed a second bodily tic in which she reflexively covered her blank flank with it whenever cutie marks were talked about, indicating that she felt shame about not having one. This may have stopped since she gained her cutie mark.

12. Babs has freckles, a standard Apple Family trait.

13. Babs' overall look is rather masculine, and she's never seen indulging in anything girly. Despite that, there's no indication that she's a tomboy.

14. Babs suffered bullying in Manehattan as a result of not having a cutie mark. It seems that 'blank flank bullying' is fairly standard schoolyard behavior for Equestrian foals. This implies that life for a kid in Manehattan is rougher than in Ponyville, as Babs seems to have no problem intimidating Ponyvillians.

15. On her first appearance, she seems to be rather shy, although it's clear that she's preoccupied, either with nerves or because of the bullying she received in Manehattan. Applejack hints that it's the latter. She seems to be naturally reserved, but can turn on her Manehattan attitude when necessary.

16. Manehattan appears to have a very powerful reputation in Ponyville: the CMC believe that they need to pull out all the stops to impress Babs for that reason, and even Diamond Tiara is willing to give Babs a pass on being a blank flank just because she's from the big city. Being a Manehattanite apparently gives you major street cred in Ponyville. Despite this, Babs doesn't seem intent on pressing that advantage up until the point where she realises it can put her on top for once.

17. Following the events of "One Bad Apple", Babs became the fourth Cutie Mark Crusader, and was given a Crusader Cape. As of "Bloom and Gloom", she is no longer a Crusader (at least in the eyes of the Ponyville CMC).

18. Babs moved schools at some point between the events of "One Bad Apple" and "Apple Family Reunion". This could be due to a transition from elementary school to middle school, although that seems unlikely as Apple Bloom appears to be around the same age and she's still in the same class. Therefore, some other reason is more likely; possibly Babs' family has moved, but the most likely reason is that Babs was moved due to the bullying she faced at her school. At her new school, there are exactly two other blank flanks besides Babs.

19. Babs offered to start the Manehattan branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the end of "One Bad Apple", and it's hinted in "Apple Family Reunion" that she has done so. If that's the case, then the Manehattan CMC had three members at the time she formed it, like the Ponyville CMC. Nothing is known about the other two members. It's unknown what will happen to the Manehattan CMC now that Babs has her cutie mark.

20. As of "Bloom and Gloom", Babs has gained her cutie mark: a stylized pair of scissors, reflecting an apparent interest in hairdressing. Sweetie Belle claims "she was always fussing with her bangs and tail", which isn't something we've seen much evidence of unless you count all the mane-blowing and tail-curling.

We don't see Babs with her cutie mark, but Apple Bloom receives a letter from Babs with a depiction of it. It looks like this:

It's been pointed out that these scissors couldn't actually work as depicted, because the handles are closed but the blades are wide open.

We also learn that the Manehattan Cutie Mark Crusaders are still operational. In addition, it seems that Babs is keeping in regular contact with Apple Bloom via letter.

As always, feel free to add more observations below.

3889763 If you consider her appearance in Issues #21 and #22 of the main series of the tie in comics from IDW Canon, Babs is apparently skilled enough to tell a real cutie mark from a fake. This may or may not indicate that she has tried to give herself a fake cutie mark to escape being bullied.

Those comics also show, that by the end of that story arc, Babs befriends Trixie, and unlike Snips and Snails Trixie treats Babs' admiration kindly, and even thanks Babs for believing in her and giving her a chance.

3889990 - oooh, I got those comics in the Humble Bundle recently, I'll have to see that! Always time for more Babs. :) I don't believe the comics can be properly considered canon, however (even if I'd like them to be), but when it comes to minor characters, there's no harm in using semi-canon sources for extra detail.

3889990 I haven't read them yet but I really really want to

3890847 They're really good. Not only do they provide Babs with more character, but they do a really good job following up Trixie's redemption.

Babs Seed is voiced by Brynna Drummond, the daughter of Brian Drummond. Brynna's brother has also performed voice work on some childrens' shows like Dinosaur Train (PBS show set in the Mesozoic Era). Brynna, like Claire Corlette (Sweetie Belle) has a father who voices characters on MLP.

Brian Drummond and Ian James Corlette have voiced Vegeta and Goku, respectively, on DBZ. Ian Corlette recently voiced Silver Shill for Applejack's Key episode, A Leap of Faith.

Babs lives in Farrier Hill in Hooflyn (a parody of Brooklyn). Rarity, AJ, Applejack, and Trixie hide out there during the comic # 21 and 22. Rarity goes to Manehatten to work on Sapphire Shores' newest outfits and Babs tags along with her, since Sweetie Belle has a bad ear infection in comic 13 (the one with Babs and rarity on the cover).

Turns out, Babs doesn't like accupuncture at the day spa and did not like having her trademark bangs cut at the salon, much to the mane stylist's chagrin. Even at the clothing store, rarity had her model some outfits, including something that would be for a formal debutante ball, or a casual attire. But, when Rarity talks with Sapphire Shores, she mentions finding something babs wants to do. babs is a big fan of the Roller Derby scene and so Rarity treats her to the Roller Derby races. Babs knows a lot about how the roller derby works and points out her favorite competitors. She even gets an autograph from the winner of the derby.

Updated the Babsnalysis with new information from "Bloom and Gloom".