History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E10GoingToSeed

-> '''Applejack:''' Look out, Great Seedlin'! Here we come!\\

* TheCameo: Bright Mac and Pear Butter make brief, nonspeaking appearances in the flashback to Applejack's childhood.

* TheBusCameBack: Not counting the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' shorts, Applejack's dog Winona returns after being absent the past two seasons.
* ButtMonkey: Big Mac. He spent all night before working on logistics for the first day, gets constantly caught by his owns sisters' traps during the daytime, wounds up sleep-harvesting at night while having to do majority of the overall work.

* AnAesop: You're never too old to have fun.

* HereWeGoAgain: The episode ends with Aplejack and Apple Bloom finding an unusual pattern of carrots, and deciding that the Great Seedling is still out there, waiting to be caught.
* HypocrisyNod: Granny Smith and Goldie Delicious regularly point out that Applejack once believed in the Great Seedling as much as Apple Bloom (to the point of neglectng her harvesting duties, the very thing she admonishes Apple Bloom for).

** The Great Seedling can be seen as an analogue for either [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]], UsefulNotes/JohnnyAppleseed or the EasterBunny....or maybe a mash-up of all three.

As Big Mac continues to harvest, he finds parts of the orchard that they haven't marked as completed but bare of apples, and AJ suspects this is yet another sign of the Seedling. After a full day of setting traps, AJ and Apple Bloom camp out to try to get a glimpse of the Great Seedling. Both fall asleep but are woken by rustling below them, and see the silhouette of what they think is the Seedling. They go to approach it but it turns on them, and chases them back to the barn. As they cower in fear, the silhouette comes into the light revealing that it is actually Big Mac, who has been sleepwalking and harvesting due to the excess work. The next morning, AJ explains the situation to everyone, and without the distraction of the Seedling, they quickly finish off the rest of the harvesting in time. Goldie sets off for home, but notices that there's similar patterns of carrots on the neighboring field. AJ and Apple Bloom, knowing that Big Mac had not harvested any carrot, race off to try to set more traps for the Great Seedling.

* ShoutOut: The Great Seedling can be seen as an analogue for either [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]], UsefulNotes/JohnnyAppleseed or the EasterBunny....or maybe a mash-up of all three.

* WrittenInAbsence: Applejack mentions at the beginning of the episode that the rest of the Mane 6 are busy at the School of Friendship, which is why none of them come to help with the harvest.

* RealityEnsues: Staying up late and making an apple-bucking map and schedule has taken a much heavier toll on Big Mac. As a result, he can barely stay awake for the following days.
* ShoutOut: The Great Seedling can be seen as an analogue for either [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]], UsefulNotes/JohnnyAppleseed or the EasterBunny.... or maybe a mash-up of all three.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. In a world where magical creatures exist, why would AJ be so doubtful about the Great Seedling? Probably because of her on disappointing experience as a filly.

When the next morning comes, Apple Bloom rushes out to check her traps, and finds a strange patterns of apples left on one of the fields, which Apple Bloom takes as a sign of the Great Seedling. Goldie tells Apple Bloom that the patterns are a message from the Great Seedling urging Apple Bloom to step up her efforts. As Apple Bloom rushes off, AJ warns Goldie and Granny that they don't need Apple Bloom distracted now, but both admit they didn't actually set up the apples. AJ then agrees to spend a day with Apple Bloom to set up traps for the Great Seedling, in exchange that she will focus on the harvest the next day. As they work, AJ tries to convince Apple Bloom that the apple patterns may just be accidental but she refuses to believe it. Granny reminds AJ that she had been just as excited about trying to catch the Great Seedling when she was a filly, but in one day she got trapped in her own pit, and wa missing for her family for a whole day, which likely tainted her views of the Great Seedling. AJ realizes she should let Apple Bloom have their fun and in turn spends the rest of the day to help trap the farm. When the next morning comes, Apple Bloom finds all their traps were triggered, but no sign of the Seedling, but in place, much larger apple patterns have been left. AJ, realizing these patterns cannot be natural, starts to consider if the Great Seedling is real, and decide to spend another day to help set more traps with Apple Bloom, leaving Big Mac to do most of the harvest.

* TheBusCameBack: Not counting the ''Equestria Girls'' shorts, Applejack's dog Winona returns after being absent the past two seasons.

* ShoutOut: The Great Seedling can be seen as an analogue for either [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]], Johnny Appleseed or the EasterBunny.

* ShoutOut: The Great Seedling can be seen as an analogue for either [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]] or Johnny Appleseed.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's left ambiguous whether the Great Seedling really exists -- it mostly seems like it's just a tradition boosted by Goldie's storytelling and Big Mac's fortuitous sleep-harvesting, but at the end it turns out that ''something'' was arranging the carrots in arabesques even though nobody had worked in the carrot field yet.

When the next morning comes, Apple Bloom rushes out to check her traps, and finds a strange patterns of apples left on one of the fields.

Applejack's plans for an orderly harvest go awry when Apple Bloom becomes obsessed with catching a magical creature she thinks can help them.

* CropCircles: The Great Sprout appears to leave intricate patterns of apples in its wake.
* TheMarvelousDeer: The supposed Great Sprout that the Apple sisters encounter resembles a large, deer-like figure with tree branches instead of antlers.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's left ambiguous whether the Great Sprout really exists -- it mostly seems like it's just a tradition boosted by Goldie's storytelling and Big Mac's fortuitous sleep-harvesting, but at the end it turns out that ''something'' was arranging the carrots in arabesques even though nobody had worked in the carrot field yet.
* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: The Great Sprout plays the role of a cryptid within the show's world, ticking off most of the category's boxes -- mysterious nature, highly elusive and difficult to catch or observe, ambiguously real and prone to causing divisive opinions regarding whether it actually exists or not.
* {{Sleepwalking}}: The reason for the "Great Sprout" sightings was Big Mac harvesting apples as he sleepwalked, getting tree branches tangled in his mane in the process.

--> Written by Dave Rapp

* TheBusCameBack: Not counting the ''Equestria Girls'' shorts, Applejack's dog Winona returns after being absent the past 2 seasons.

* {{Sleepwalking}}: The reason for the "Great Sprout" sightings.
* YeahShot: The episode ends with Applejack and Apple Bloom excited by another mystery involving a trial of carrot, and jump into the air as the episode ends.