♪♪
[yawn]
[crow]
♪♪
I know we've had this day marked on the calendar
for quite a while. But it's finally here.
Eeyup!
Sure is!
What?
The Confluence. A harvest a hundred moons in the making,
when every apple comes ripe at the same time.
Big Mac's been up late working on this schedule
so we can be sure not to miss a single tree.
All it'll take now is a few days of hard work.
Who's with me?
[snoring]
Aw. That looks like a lot of work.
Aw don't you worry Chicka-bidee!
We've got this Confluence under control.
I got us some help!
That's great, Granny!
Twilight and the others are too busy at the school
to lend a hoof. We could sure use some more muscle.
Who'd you get? Braeburn? Honeycrisp?
Even better!
[knock at door]
[yowling]
Howdy, y'all!
[scratching]
Agh!
[crash]
Now that's how you wake a pony up!
Goldie Delicious!
Granny told me y'all could use a helping hoof
with this here Confluence, so I came a runnin'!
Well, with a harvest this big,
we're grateful for all the help we can get. I guess.
Eeyup!
It's too bad y'all ain't ever caught
the Great Seedling.
He'd a granted you a perpetual harvest,
Confluence or no.
[laughter]
The Great Seedling?
Well, now, I haven't thought about
that old mare's tale for years.
The Great Seedling ain't no mare's tale.
He's a magical Earth spirit,
all the colors of the harvest that travels
from farm to farm, daring ponies to catch him.
And those that have the ingenuity are rewarded
with crops that are always in bloom!
And he's as real as you and me!
As I'm up to recall, Apple Bloom used to love
settin' traps for the Great Seedling
when she was a young'un.
Hee hee hee!
Well, I'm pretty sure she's outgrown
the whole thing by now. Right, Apple Bloom?
Or maybe I'm big enough now to finally catch him!
Who's with me?
♪ My little pony, my little pony ♪
♪ Aaaahhh ♪
♪ My little Pony ♪
♪ I used to wonder what friendship could be. ♪
♪ My Little Pony ♪
♪ Until you all shared its magic with me. ♪
♪ Big adventure! ♪ ♪ Tons of fun ♪
♪ A beautiful heart! ♪ ♪ Faithful and strong! ♪
♪ Sharing kindness ♪ ♪ it's an easy feat ♪
♪ And magic makes it all complete! ♪
♪ To have my little pony ♪
♪ Do you know you're all my very best friends? ♪
♪♪
Apple Bloom, you haven't hunted for the
Great Seedling since you were little.
Why would you wanna start again now?
The Confluence is so big, he's bound to show up.
And if we catch him, he'll make all the apples ripe
all the time! Right, Goldie?
Mm hm. That's right, young filly!
Oh ho ho! Just imagine! Sweet Apple Acres
would be the busiest orchard in Equestria!
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do!
[door opens]
Don't forget we have actual work to do too!
Nothing like a little filly enjoying the harvest.
I don't mind Apple Bloom havin' fun,
but there's honest-to- goodness work to do
that doesn't have a thing to do with an old legend.
Granny: Oh, quit worrying sugarbooger.
Apple Bloom can hunt for the Seedling all she wants.
If you're so fretified about work,
why don't you and your brother get to buckin'
your own selves?
Granny's right.
[loud meow]
C'mon, sleepyhead.
Let's get to work.
[yawn] Yup.
♪♪
[crash]
[crashing]
[clatter]
Granny: And if she had two of them,
it would have been a pair of pears!
[laughter]
Is that right?
As much as I appreciate her volunteering,
I'm not sure how much help Goldie's gonna be.
Now that reminds me of the time Dottie--
that's my cheetah, you understand--
she found out where I keep the catnip.
[giggles]
I love hearin' her and Granny spinning yarns,
but it looks like the harvestin's up to us.
You're gonna have to redo that schedule.
Eeyup.
And as much as I'd rather Apple Bloom were helping,
I guess there's no harm in her hunting
the Great Seedling for a day, right? Big Mac!
[snoring]
What!
Whaaaa!
Gotcha! Awww. You ain't the Great Seedling!
Nope.
[slap]
♪♪
[rooster crows]
We fell behind a bit yesterday,
so we need everypony at their best.
[cat meows]
If that's your brother's best, we might be done for.
[thud]
He was just up late working out a new schedule
so we can stay on track.
I didn't sleep either! I was too excited.
I can't wait to see if I caught the Great Seedling!
[door opens]
I hope you're ready to cheer Apple Bloom up
when her traps come up empty.
Everypony, come quick! You gotta see!
♪♪
What in blazes is all the excitement about?
Look!
The Great Seedling did this, didn't he?
Well, braid my mane!
These sure look like Great Seedling tracks to me!
Ha! I knew it! He was here! The Great Seedling was here!
Isn't that amazing, Applejack?
Yeah, amazing.
[giggle]
Isn't it beautiful?
I just can't believe the Great Seedling
was really here!
Neither can I.
What do you think this means?
Well, it looks to me like a challenge.
The Seedling wants you to know that he was here
and he's daring you to catch him!
You think I still have a chance?
You're an Apple, ain't ya?
Why, if you set enough traps,
you're bound to catch him!
You're right! And that's just what I'm gonna do!
Look out, Great Seedling, here I come!
[excited giggles]
Now why would you go and do a thing like that?
A thing like what?
You know what I mean.
We've got enough work to do without you
distracting Apple Bloom by making some apple tracks
and pretending the Great Seedling did it.
I did no such thing!
What in the tater tarnation
would make you say a thing like that?
Well, somepony did it and she sure seems
to be enjoying this quite a lot.
I'm enjoying it because Apple Bloom's enjoying it!
Uh-huh. And I suppose you two didn't do it either?
Nope.
A 'course not.
But I suppose it coulda been Goldie's cats.
Why don't you ask them?
Have you considered that maybe it was
the Great Seedling after all?
Ha ha. Very funny.
I swear, sometimes I think she's part mule.
[clatter]
Apple Bloom?
Do you know where there's more rope?
I've got a lot of traps to make
if I'm gonna catch the Great Seedling!
That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
I know you're excited,
but we sure could use your help today.
Are you sure you wanna spend time
trying to catch something that...
might not even be real?
What? But the Great Seedling is real. You saw the tracks!
You think those appeared all by themselves?
I don't know who made the tracks,
but I don't think it was the Great Seedling.
Why not?
Because the Great Seedling is just something
to make the harvest fun for young'uns,
and you're old enough now to know
that there's a time for fun and there's a time for work.
But catching the Great Seedling is helping!
He can make the trees blossom all the time!
All right. How about this?
If you help me with the harvest today,
I'll help you set traps for the Great Seedling tonight.
Deal?
WOO-HOOOO! Yes, it's a deal!
[bang]
[clatter]
♪♪
[bang]
Kinda looks like those Seedling "tracks," huh?
Sure, if there were hundreds of apples
in a bunch of different lines.
Well, if enough apples fell, or got knocked down
by the wind, maybe, or animals...
I'm just saying there's a lot
of possible explanations.
And one of them is the Great Seedling!
And the rest of 'em ain't.
That ain't what you thought when you was a foal.
What does that mean?
Yer sister was plum loco about catching
the Great Seedling when she was yer age,
same as you are now. Worse, even.
Oh! Is that so? Do tell, Granny.
Well, now it musta been the last Confluence, I reckon.
I was s'posed to keep an eye on your sister,
but she was slipprier than an apple seed.
Applejack! Get your flank back here.
You're s'posed to be sorting in the barn!
Sorry, Granny, I gotta check my traps
or the Great Seedling might get away!
♪♪
Now, where'd I put that trap?
[twig snaps]
[gasp]
Agh! [thud]
Bust my buds, where's that young'un get to?
Granny: She spent the better half of the day
stuck in that trap.
Applejack: And missed out on helping with the harvest
because I was chasing something for little foals.
I felt guilty everypony else had to work harder
because of me, so I decided right then and there
I was too old to waste any more time
on the Great Seedling.
Aw, we finished the harvest just fine,
but we laughed about that story for years.
[laughter]
I'm still laughing!
I'm sorry that happened, Applejack,
but it won't if you and me set traps together
like you promised. Plus we'll get 'em done
twice as fast and won't miss out on any of the harvest!
Then let's get to work!
[happy gasp]
♪♪
[boing]
[snap]
[clatter]
[crash and clatter]
[meows and barks]
[creaking wood]
♪ [music throughout] ♪
It sure was fun setting up all those traps together.
I forgot what a good time it could be.
If any two ponies can catch the Great Seedling, it's us.
I can't wait to check in the morning.
Now, there's still plenty of harvesting to do,
so promise me you'll help,
even if all our traps are empty.
I promise. So long as you're ready
for the bountiful harvest The Great Seedling's
gonna give us when one of our traps nab him!
Ha ha! Deal.
[knock]
♪♪
[chirping birds]
[panting and gasping]
Come on, Applejack! If we hurry,
we can check every trap and still stay on schedule.
Now that's what I like to hear.
♪ [majestic music] ♪
Whoa!
I don't believe it!
This must've taken all night!
[slap]
Eeyup!
Nothin'!
Huh?
I checked all the traps near the tracks.
Every one was sprung, but they're all empty!
Every trap sprung. No way critters did this.
Or the wind. I can't believe I'm saying this, but...
maybe the Great Seedling really was here!
♪ [exultant music] ♪
So, you're finally ready to admit
the Great Seedling might be real?
I can't think of anything else that coulda
laid out these tracks and sprung all our traps.
And if he left this many tracks behind,
he's practically beggin' us to catch him.
I ain't never seen anything like this before.
Well, tell us what you have seen! Goldie you too.
We need to know it all
if we're really gonna catch him!
Sure, Goldie and I will tell you all about
the Great Seedling all day while we work!
Work? Apple Bloom and I don't have time to work today.
We've gotta set up traps in every row!
Even the carrots, just to be sure!
Yesterday you said the Great Seedling was just something
to make the harvest fun for young'uns.
That was before I thought we could actually catch him.
Besides...
[yawn]
Big Mac can make time in the schedule for us
to set traps, right?
Uh... Eeyup?
Great. Get to it.
Apple Bloom and I are gonna go capture us
the Great Seedling!
♪ [upbeat] ♪
[banging]
♪ [music slows down] ♪
♪♪
[dog barks]
Phew!
All right! Just one more hill to go.
What's wrong, Big Mac?
Is this right?
Eeyup.
But that doesn't make any sense.
How can all these trees be bare
if we haven't bucked 'em yet?
Seems like more work of the Great Seedling to me.
How'd ya mean?
The closer you get to catchin' the critter,
the more mischievous he gets.
You're sayin' the Great Seedling
is taking our apples?
Yes. Sounds like he's fixing to throw you off the scent!
[clatter]
Have you ever heard of anypony
actually catching him?
Oh, there are stories, but it's hard to say for sure.
He is quite the trickster.
Guess that's why the reward is so great
if you can trap him.
Well, his tricks have given me an idea!
Setting traps is one thing,
but I reckon if we keep watch over the trees
that haven't been bucked,
the Seedling won't know what hit him.
That's a great idea! Anypony else wanna stay up with us?
An old pony like me needs her beauty rest,
but you young 'uns have a good time.
My kitties can't sleep
unless they're curled up on my haunches,
but I can't wait to see the Great Seedling
with my own eyes, once you catch him!
Guess it's just you and me!
♪♪
[rip]
[crickets]
♪♪
Too bad nopony else wants to come out.
But I'm glad we're doing this together.
Me too. It's been a long time since I was on
a real Seedling hunt, and this is the first time
doing it with my little sister.
[yawn]
When did you start tryin' to catch the Great Seedling?
I couldn't've been much more than a foal.
I remember our parents tuckin' Big Mac and me in
and telling us all about the Great Seedling.
And I got so excited I could barely sleep, so I-
[snoring]
Don't you worry, sugar cube, I won't let him get away.
[snoring]
Whuh!
Applejack! Wake up!
Huh? What is it?
I think a trap went off!
Well, let's go check it out!
See anything?
Mm mm.
Don't scare him off.
We gotta lead him into one of the traps.
I'm not worried about scarin' him.
[rustling]
[knock]
[cans rattling]
♪ [tense music] ♪
I think the great seedling's hunting us! Ah!
Apple Bloom? Wait!
[whimpering]
[panting]
Huh?
Applejack!
[both scream]
♪♪
Big Mac?
He's been harvesting in his sleep this whole time.
Big Mac is the Great Seedling?
Wha! Ahhh!
[thud]
You OK, Big Mac?
Nope.
[laughter]
♪♪
And thanks to all of Big Mac's late-night work,
we brought in the whole harvest with time to spare!
No wonder you were so tired all the time!
Eeyup!
I'm glad we solved the mystery,
but I really wanted to catch the Great Seedling
before I get too old to try.
You know what, sugar cube?
You're never too old to be a filly.
There will always be work to do,
but having fun together
is something you never grow out of!
Well, looks like you don't need me anymore.
Time to get home before Dottie
gets in the catnip again.
I have stories about that. I tell ya what.
We're real glad you came, Goldie.
Sure are! Come back next year!
[whistle]
[yowling]
Looks like you forgot to clean up the carrots.
Big Mac wasn't harvesting the carrots.
Just the apples.
You know what this means?
Time for another hunt!