The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is the fifteenth episode of the second season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the forty-first episode overall. In this episode, the Flim Flam brothers challenge the Apple family to a cider-making competition. The story is a homage to John Henry vs. the Steam Drill, an old fable about manpower beating machine.

Production, development, and merchandise
According to Steffan Andrews, who orchestrated The Okumura Brothers, "Cider Horse Rules" was a working title for this episode. This episode did not originally have a friendship report, and M.A. Larson was surprised that the "lesson" he wrote was approved.

Hasbro produced a toy of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 machine, which includes a figure of Flim.

Prologue
The episode opens with a shot of Spectra Vondergeist sleeping. She is soon awoken by Sally Acorn, who drags her to Fa Family Acres in order to be there early for the opening day of cider season. Sal complains that Rapunzel is always first in line and always buys an unfairly large amount of cider. She says that this time she intends to beat Rapunzel to the head of the line by lining up before dawn. As they arrive, however, they see a massive queue of animals camping out to get cider and Sal worries that there won't be enough for her. They meet up with Rapunzel, who is once again first in line. She says that she "had this brilliant idea to come down here and camp out," and she, "told a few others about it and they all thought it was a great idea too."

The cider season begins
Sheriff Mulan then announces that cider season is open and Sheriff Lonnie begins to serve draught apple cider to animals individually as they come down the queue, while Fa Grandmother receives payment. Pinkie Pie buys not just one mug of cider but a whole trays' worth. As the serving goes on, the barrels of cider left for Li Shang, Sheriff Ting-Ting, Sheriff Su, and Sheriff Mei to tap decrease, and Spectra, who is just one place in front of Sally, gets the last mug of cider for the day. Extremely upset by this, Sally and the other animals who didn't get cider begin to complain. Sheriff Mulan explains that there will be more cider tomorrow, and that while they always manage to improve production every year, the family recipe is made with love and care and can't be rushed. The crowd, however, is still angry and complains that the Apples always run out of cider before everyone is served.

The brothers come into town
Amidst the chaos, the Okumura brothers arrive in their large vehicle, which they later reveal to be named the "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000." They kick off a long musical number as soon as they arrive, and sing about their production of cider. Managing to entice the entire crowd into joining in their song, they quickly make themselves popular.

"Right here in this heaving, roiling, cider-press-boiling guts of the very machine, those apples plucked fresh are right now as we speak being turned into grade-A, top-notch, five-star, blow-your-paws-off, one-of-a-kind cider!"

- Rin

They use this popularity to their advantage. With Multiville's citizens faced with the dilemma of a limited quantity of manually pressed cider, they turn to the Okumura brothers and their automated cider production. Upset by the arrival of the Okumura brothers and the threat of automated production running them out of business, the Fa family tells them that their hoofmade cider will never be outshone by anything automatic.

The twin brothers attempt to broker a deal with the Fa family, who will supply them with their delicious apples, and they will sell the cider under the Okumaru brothers name. They call for a 75-25 split in profits in their favor. Mulan reminds the others that their cider profits keep the family business afloat during the winter months; if they were to accept, they would lose the farm. The Fa family declines the offer, which prompts Flim to state that if the Fa family refuses to partner up with the brothers, they will run the family out of business and out of Multiville.

Running out of cider again
The next day, cider season is in full kick again. The Okumaru brothers once again arrive after the cider has run out and attempt to sell their own cider. However, Mulan lassos a barrel of their cider away, saying they can't sell cider made from Fa family apples. Sally, about to drink her glass of cider, has it knocked away by the barrel. She ends up eating the dirt it spills over into. Hearing Mulan say that the Okumaru brothers can't sell their cider, Sally asks if Mulan is playing a "cruel joke" on her.

With the Mulan family confident that their hoof-made cider will always be better than the Okumaru brothers' automatically produced cider, the Okumaru brothers challenge them to a duel of who can produce the most barrels of cider in one hour. Reluctant at first, Fa Grandmother tells them they won't compete. However, after being called chicken, she agrees to a competition.

Fa Family vs The Okumaru Brothers
The two parties meet up at Fa Family Acres. The Mayor and Dr. Nick kick off the competition, and the two teams begin their work. For the Okumaru brothers, it's as easy as pressing a button. However, the Fa family immediately gets into the task, with Applejack bucking trees, Lonnie, Ting-Ting, Su, and Mei collecting the apples, Fa Grandmother sorting them, and Li Shang running the treadmill press and casking the cider.

Inevitably, the Okumaru brothers' automated production line far outpaces the manual production of the Fa Family by three barrels to one. Fortunately, Mulan's friends arrive, naming themselves honorary family members and asking the mayor if they can participate in the event. Mayor asks the Okumaru brothers if they care, and after they say they don't since they'll win anyway, she lets Mulan's friends participate.

"I think I'd love to have the rest of my family helpin' out."

- Mulan

Kairi Sparkle assigns her friends their tasks. Spectra helps Mulan with picking by zipping among the branches and shaking the entire crown, while the acrobatic Rapunzel helps Lonnie, Ting-Ting, Mei, and Su with collection. With her eye for detail, Nene Amano helps Fa Grandmother with sorting. Sally uses her energy and stamina alongside Li Shang to power the press, and Kairi takes over for Li Shang with casking. With the added help, Fa Family cider production begins to increase: as she casks and stacks with her telekinesis, Kairi calculates they're helping to make five barrels in the same time the Fas were making one by themselves. Noticing the massive increase in production from the Fa Family, the Okumaru brothers override their automatic apple quality control, and increase the power of the apple vacuum. This leads to whole trees being taken in which results in stalks, branches, rotten apples, and even rocks making their way into their cider.

At the end of the hour, the Okumaru brothers have won due to their larger amount of cider produced. This makes the large audience of Multiville residents, as well as the Fa family and honorary family members, visibly upset. But Mulan stays true to her word and tells the Okumaru brothers that they won fair and square, and they set off to move away from Fa Family Acres.

The Okumaru brothers begin their sale of cider. They dish out their first few mugs of cider which are unfortunately laced with branches, leaves, rocks and rotten apples, and in return get it spat back at them. The angry crowd of Multiville's residents say that they refuse to pay for the Okumaru brothers' low quality cider, and without a second thought, the two brothers make a quick escape from Multiville. This allows Mulan to begin selling the family's cider again, and because she, her friends and her family have made so many barrels, they have enough for everyone in Multiville.

Epilogue
"I didn't learn anythin'! Ha! I was right all along!"

- Sheriff Mulan

Applejack begins to send a letter to Princess Palutena about what she had learned, but she cuts it off after saying she didn't learn anything and was right after all: "If you take your time to do things the right way, your work will speak for itself." She adds that she could say she's learned that her friends will always back her up in a crisis but that she already knew that, too. Sally attempts to get cider, but they run out again, causing her to nearly burst into tears. Rapunzel offers her a mug, and the Group Six raise their mugs in cheers.

Quotes

 * Spectra Vondergeist: [yawns] Who could that be? It's still dark.
 * Sally Acorn: Come on, Spectra! Cider season's about to start!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Where are we? What's the rush?
 * Sally Acorn: 'The rush'? Don't you remember what happened last year? Or the year before that? Or pretty much any cider season ever?
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Oh, well...
 * Sally Acorn: Rapunzel! She always ends up ahead of us in line, and then they always run out of cider!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: I guess I...
 * Sally Acorn: Well, not this year! This year, I'm gonna get there before sunrise, so I can drink all the cider I want, and laugh when she doesn't get any! It's the perfect plan! You know, I might even buy some cider and hold onto it for awhile, drinking it drop by drop in front of her. Aaaaaaaah!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Gee, Rainbow Dash, looks like a few other ponies had the same idea.
 * Rapunzel: [exits from her tent, while balloons float out of it]
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Oh gosh, Rapunzel! I love your new style!
 * Sally Acorn: Who are all these ponies?
 * Rapunzel: Isn't this great? I couldn't sleep last night 'cause I was so excited about cider season, and I had this brilliant idea to come down here and camp out, so I told a few others about it and they all thought it was a great idea too and now it's just a big old cider party! Woo hoo! Oh gosh, that's a lot of ponies. Hope they don't run out before you get any.
 * Sally Acorn: [growls]


 * Kairi Sparkle: Isn't this exciting, Olaf and Navi? Opening day of cider season!
 * Olaf: Yeah! That means it's only thirty more days 'til sapphire season!
 * Navi: Yeah Right! That Summer Season for No Reason!


 * Rapunzel: She's right you know! You can't rush perfection, and this year's batch was perfection!
 * Spectra Vondergeist: Erm, Rapunzel...
 * Rapunzel: I'll never forget the cider I just drank. It was a moment in time, that will never exist again.


 * Sheriff Mulan: Cider sales keep our business afloat through the winter. We'd lose Fa Family Acres if we agreed to this!
 * Rin and Yukio: So? What'll it be?
 * Big McIntosh: No deal.
 * Sheriff Mei and Sherrif Su: Really?!


 * Apple Bloom: That's it! Last cup!
 * Sheriff Ting-Ting: Me Too!
 * Sally Acorn: [in the distance] Oh, for Pete's sake!


 * Sally Acorn: Is this some kind of cruel joke?


 * Rin: What's the matter, Fa Grandmother? Chicken?
 * Fa Grandmother: What did you call me, sonny?


 * Fa Grandmother: Good 'un, bad 'un, bad 'un, good 'un...
 * Nene Amano: Lovely, horrid, horrid, lovely...


 * Yukio: Drink up, Ponyville! Down the hatch!
 * Animals: [spitting] [grunting]
 * Cherry Jam: I can't get the taste off my tongue!
 * Silvermist: Mine's got rocks in it.
 * Colette: I wouldn't pay one cent for this dreck!


 * Sheriff Mulan: Dear Princess Palutena. I wanted to share my thoughts with you. [clears throat] I didn't learn anythin'! Ha! I was right all along!