They appear and disappear quickly in the span of five days, which is why Applejack and Big McIntosh can't spare time from the harvest to speak at Apple Bloom's school. Their appearance is accompanied by signs that are numbered by Granny Smith. When the Cutie Mark Crusaders try harvesting the apples the evening before zap apple harvest day, Apple Bloom warns her friends that "zap apple trees aren't like normal apple trees–they're magic". Sweetie Belle tries bucking a tree to harvest the apples but gets electrocuted, and when the three Crusaders try picking an apple they can't manage to pull it off the branch and end up catapulting themselves from the bowed tree.
First, Granny Smith announces that the timber wolves are howling and that the zap apples are coming, although she later says that they howl "when the zap apples first start growing", after the other signs. The timber wolves appear in Granny Smith's flashback when she tells the story of the zap apples and the founding of Ponyville to Apple Bloom's class. Young Granny Smith enters the Everfree Forest despite its dangers in search of food. She hears a wolf's howl, and after she comes across the zap apple trees the timber wolves start gathering around her, howling and snarling. She escapes, and outruns the wolves back to the farmhouse, where she clangs pots and pans which scare away the timber wolves. Timber wolf or Timberwolf is a colloquial name for some subspecies of gray wolf, or for the species itself. The Timber Wolves in the episode have glowing yellow eyes and their bodies look like pieces of timber.
The next day after the first sign, a sudden strong wind starts blowing and the skies get covered with dark clouds. The naked trees starts buzzing with blue sparks around their branches, and soon the sparks disappear and big leaves sprout, which Applejack calls "zap apple leaves". The clouds quickly disperse, and soon afterward Granny Smith tells Filthy Rich that the zap apples are due in four days, "to be exact."
The third sign is loudly pointed out by Granny Smith. There is another sudden wind and gathering of dark clouds, and a flock of crows circles above the orchard, making an apple shape with their flight pattern. Glowing teal flowers sprout on the trees and blossom into star-shaped flowers, accompanied by blue electric sparks. The clouds quickly disperse and the flowers stop glowing but remain on the trees.
The evening before zap apple harvest, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watch the zap apples sprout on the trees after a meteor shower. Apple Bloom announces that it's the fourth sign, and the three Crusaders sneak into the orchard to harvest the zap apples, though Apple Bloom warns her friends that zap apple trees are magic. The fillies fail at their attempts to pick the apples, which are still small and gray, and not rainbow-colored like the harvest-ready zap apples.
The weather changes abruptly for a final time before the zap apples are ready to harvest. There's a lightning storm over the orchard, then a rainbow shines over it, and the zap apple trees are once again teeming with electrical sparks. The zap apples turn from gray to rainbow-streaked, and rainbow-beams fire all across the orchard from the apples. An aurora-like rainbow shines behind the apple trees and the zap apples change shape from small round apples to larger, more elongated and squarish. Applejack watches the transformation and announces that the zap apple harvest has begun, and Granny Smith announces that "tomorrow we'll be makin' up some zap apple jam."
They appear and disappear quickly in the span of five days, which is why Applejack and Big McIntosh can't spare time from the harvest to speak at Apple Bloom's school. Their appearance is accompanied by signs that are numbered by Granny Smith. When the Cutie Mark Crusaders try harvesting the apples the evening before zap apple harvest day, Apple Bloom warns her friends that "zap apple trees aren't like normal apple trees–they're magic". Sweetie Belle tries bucking a tree to harvest the apples but gets electrocuted, and when the three Crusaders try picking an apple they can't manage to pull it off the branch and end up catapulting themselves from the bowed tree.
First, Granny Smith announces that the timber wolves are howling and that the zap apples are coming, although she later says that they howl "when the zap apples first start growing", after the other signs. The timber wolves appear in Granny Smith's flashback when she tells the story of the zap apples and the founding of Ponyville to Apple Bloom's class. Young Granny Smith enters the Everfree Forest despite its dangers in search of food. She hears a wolf's howl, and after she comes across the zap apple trees the timber wolves start gathering around her, howling and snarling. She escapes, and outruns the wolves back to the farmhouse, where she clangs pots and pans which scare away the timber wolves.
Timber wolf or Timberwolf is a colloquial name for some subspecies of gray wolf, or for the species itself. The Timber Wolves in the episode have glowing yellow eyes and their bodies look like pieces of timber.
The next day after the first sign, a sudden strong wind starts blowing and the skies get covered with dark clouds. The naked trees starts buzzing with blue sparks around their branches, and soon the sparks disappear and big leaves sprout, which Applejack calls "zap apple leaves". The clouds quickly disperse, and soon afterward Granny Smith tells Filthy Rich that the zap apples are due in four days, "to be exact."
The third sign is loudly pointed out by Granny Smith. There is another sudden wind and gathering of dark clouds, and a flock of crows circles above the orchard, making an apple shape with their flight pattern. Glowing teal flowers sprout on the trees and blossom into star-shaped flowers, accompanied by blue electric sparks. The clouds quickly disperse and the flowers stop glowing but remain on the trees.
The evening before zap apple harvest, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watch the zap apples sprout on the trees after a meteor shower. Apple Bloom announces that it's the fourth sign, and the three Crusaders sneak into the orchard to harvest the zap apples, though Apple Bloom warns her friends that zap apple trees are magic. The fillies fail at their attempts to pick the apples, which are still small and gray, and not rainbow-colored like the harvest-ready zap apples.
The weather changes abruptly for a final time before the zap apples are ready to harvest. There's a lightning storm over the orchard, then a rainbow shines over it, and the zap apple trees are once again teeming with electrical sparks. The zap apples turn from gray to rainbow-streaked, and rainbow-beams fire all across the orchard from the apples. An aurora-like rainbow shines behind the apple trees and the zap apples change shape from small round apples to larger, more elongated and squarish. Applejack watches the transformation and announces that the zap apple harvest has begun, and Granny Smith announces that "tomorrow we'll be makin' up some zap apple jam."