A Talking Dragon

^ Yes, you've bolded what I typed, doesn't have the same effect. ^ Why thank you. I find a lot of what you post on other topics well thought out. I didn't mean to offend you, however--as you can tell--I'm quite passionate on this (the earth pony stereotype is one of my pet peeves). If you notices, in many of my other topics I usually open in the form of a question, present what I know, and let others talk among themselves. Here I'm making a declarative statement, and I need to go all out to back it up. I like debating too, except when I have to do multiple long posts; each one take me quite a while to think up, type up, and double prove read. But I have to at least try to see this topic through. Regardless on how I seem or sound, I'm battling against the general view, not trying to attack you--unless you start hating on AJ. So let's get started again shall we . . . ^ Let me stop you right there. That's another stereotype I don't care for. You don't need to be build like a gorilla to work on a farm. You need to have the experience to handle different tasks, the knowledge around animals, and the fortitude to get the job done when it needs to be done. While I don't care to pull from personal experience for this, I feel that I have to. I've been to several farms and even volunteered at a farm park. The girls and women there were no different from any other you'd find at another workplace. Girls from a school's sport team look buffer than they do. I've seen little old ladies (in their 80s) work the fields with a steady hand. The point is that anyone can help at a farm provided they have the right values. It's like working at the grocery store. Is there going to be some lifting, yes, but there's also a bunch of smaller task that needs doing. You need to be a hard worker to stand at attention for 8 hours. ^ Statements like this take away from Unicorns and Pegasus. We don't have enough on others cities to determine if their life style is any easier. Right now there are a ton of Pegasus and unicorns in the royal guard, and hardly any earth ponies. Does this mean earth ponies are weaker? ^ Most of it doesn't seem like a gag: like Rainbow having to pin AJ to stop her from running away in The Last Roundup, or when Twilight was driven to the point of attack her two friends (AJ and Pinkie), or holding AJ down to remind her that this isn't who she is. These are more heartbreaking moments than funny ones. Anyways, if you argue "advancing the plot" than that can apply to Applejack as well. Example: Applejack needed to be winning the tug of war in order to show that Rainbow stole the victory away from her by unintentionally cheating. Or, Applejack needed to match Rainbow in speed so there would be a competition in the Running of the Leafs. The fact that there are so many incidents of earth ponies being matched or overpowered compared to displaying super strength can be used to argue "plot convince" on earth ponies as well when they preform well. As for the discorded argument, unless it affects them physically, by making them weaker or stronger, it doesn't matter. Even then, you still have an undiscorded Twilight who also lifted the bolder. Then there's how everyone of the mane 6 knocked off the Diamond Dogs equally and hauled the exact same amount of gems at the end of A Dog and Pony Show, regardless of race. ^ - You can use the same argument for Pinkie Pie: no one in her family looks like they would do anything rash. And Fluttershy, she developed the stare for some reason. Twilight had a brother in the military. Won't it have made sense if she picked up a few things from him. Actually, I made a topic on why Rarity was likely a hidden brawler. Anyways, Big Mac shows that he can get serious when he really needs too. Recall Applejack's threat to AB in Bridle Gossip about telling Big Mac on her. - No, it would give her a reason to learn to be fast though. Look at it this way, Applejack lives on the edge of a peaceful town, in a farm of laid back people. The closest cluster of ponies are in Ponyvile, which her family help founded. Her farm's cider and zap apple jam makes her place quite liked by others. Any threats AJ faces don't come from other ponies: there's the history of having to fight off things from the Everfree forest (like timber wolves). Since her farm grows large amounts of food, other creatures have tried to steal her crop (see ep. 23, S2 ep. 13, S3. ep.8). Sometimes animals have just plain nearly destroy her home or land (paraspites, beavers in S3. ep10). Heck, Applejack knew how to deal with a massive stamped. See, there are canon reasons for AJ to be well rounded. For her to be adept to nature. She's not going to box a manticore, but she can master attacking at a distance, and driving it away with sound. She would need to be fast too in order to gather crops faster and chase away anything eating her crops. - Having bullies would give her a reason to want and get a black belt. Rainbow also has a bit of a temper compared to the other mane 5. She was willing to let loose on two stallion unicorn, three teenage dragons, and a full grown one. Remember that Applejack wasn't always around to hold RD back, and Fluttershy, forget it. If she's lasted this long she must be reasonably strong. AJ let her tear up the barn for a reason (rainbow-nuke or not). ^ - Yet you believe the fanon on earth ponies? - Look at the scene again. Applejack did drag Fluttershy (by pulling the tail), not carry her. And AJ never went up the whole mountain, but took Fluttershy along the easier path where it wasn't so steep. Fluttershy was just dead weight, Pinkie was actively acting against Rainbow to not go to the barn--Pinkie thought her friends were forcing her to go, so she had reason to fight. So if you believe that earth ponies are stronger than the other races than moving Pinkie would be harder than moving Fluttershy. - Fluttershy was actively resisting and Iron Will had happened. I would have loved to have seen what would have occurred to Twilight had Nightmare Night occurred just shortly afterward. ^ - Yes, it just also took the rest of the main 5 working together, a race across a dessert, and AJ, herself, making a mistake to catch her. - Pinkie's speed is real at this point. It's happened several times outside of gags. There's no doubt in my mind that Pinkie would have caught AJ then and there at Dodge Junction had it not been for quick thinking from the latter. ^ - See my earlier argument on the plot convenient point. - Like I said before, unless the discorded state made everyone weaker, Applejack is still Applejack. I'll give you the friendly tackle though. ^ - Maybe Fluttershy could carry the bolder as well. This sure as hey doesn't prove that the other two races are weaker. - That was some interesting shadow boxing. If Applejack was really that powerful, than that would have translated in the changeling fight. Yet she showed no fighting style and she fought the best way she knew how, bucking. Arguable, this is how any pony or horse would fight. Rainbow and Rarity were the ones going crazy with their techniques. - To be honest, I really don't know. Like Applejack, I think Twilight is well rounded. She can place well in a race, do heavy lifting if really needed, fight well bare hooved. I don't think though that Twilight (like AJ and Pinkie) has a hidden brawler side to her, but she does have freaky magic (like AJ has her rodeo skills and Pinkie her unpredictability). If Twilight lets loose with her inner magic, she's the most powerful one of the group. ^ - The same can be said about Applejack's leg power; she's better at certain tasks because of them. However, she certainly didn't place first at the Running of Leaves even as she could use her legs and Rainbow couldn't fly. And if Applejack can't use her legs, she's not as naturally strong: she couldn't pull up Twilight up in ep. 2., couldn't get the same pony off in Season 2 ep. 2, tackled by Dash in the Last Round Up, and was overpowered by a changeling and taken down. On the other coin, Rainbow's speed does not make her powerful or indestructible. She needed medical attention twice in the show. RD has flown into objects at high speeds before (including a tree) and she came up on the sore end of the stick. It doesn't matter how fast she was going, she wouldn't have been able to knock out several bases off of forest trees, pause in mid-flight, then carry all of the lumber at once to the camp site if RD didn't have physical strength. - Has any other winged pony been nearly as destructive as her? Even the Wonderbolts, who are held by Rainbow Dash as standard of excellence, haven't displayed the raw power she has. - False. Rainbow was chopping away (black beat style) long before she nuked it, and was even tearing pieces out with her bare teeth, chucking them far enough so that these nearly hit Twilight. Like I said before, Rainbow's the tank of the group. ^ She admitted a lot of things, about Mare Do Well. Without the knowledge of Pinkie sense, Dash also thought Pinkie was several times faster than her and was ESP. I think Dash could have stop the carriage had she done properly, but she doesn't have AJ's sense about these things and tends to rush it ^ Applejack, herself, admitted that this was due to years of labor, not because she was born an earth pony. ^ - Because AJ is not as quick to make hasty decisions and, is so far, the least likely of the mane 6 to lose her head, hence she was given the title "the voice of reason" in the fandom. In addition to being the rational one, she's better on getting heard and even has Twilight listen to her. The latter also stands up to Rainbow, but in a different, less blunt way (not including the time she also yanked Rainbow's tail with magic). - I never said she would. I said AJ is her friend, so are the others. You tend to let your friends get away with more than a complete strangers. ^ And two earth ponies weren't enough to hold down one Pegasus because . . . ? Are you aware of how many sport teams there are and the degrees of skill each would require? There's basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, football, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, volley ball, track and field long and short distance running, javelin throw, shot put, long jump, softball, hockey, and martial arts, and that's not all. If you think speed is enough to get by in all of these, then you're sorely mistaken. Any of them would require (in addition to speed), stamina, agility, dexterity, fortitude, and, of course strength. Rainbow would have had to master each of these, or at least place well enough to serve as the mentor, to achieve the ranking she did. ^ I could argue that this was a gag and it shouldn't be taken seriously, or that AJ was in an alternate state. However, I think the biggest, darning thing to pay attention to is that AJ's was NOT an earth pony at the time. GOOD CELESTIA, you have no idea how long it took for me to write all this! Since I certain don't want to make another post this long let me highlight the core issues that are the real heart of the matter for this topic: - Earth pony super strength (for the average earth pony) is a fanon MYTH. - Canon does not back up the statement above. Canon does help disprove it. - Applejack or Big Mac does not = all ponies (just like Twilight doesn't represent the average unicorn) - Rainbow Dash is the tank of the group. Ok, maybe not this one, but I do think that Rainbow Dash is the strongest fighter.

^ That's a pretty loose conclusion. So are you saying that Carrot Top would be a copy of Applejack and Carmel would be a copy of Big Mac in all areas? Do you think they would have AJ's mind set or Big Mac's gene structure? You might as well tell me that all librarians are 90 pound weaklings because they're near books all day and can't see the light of day. Don't take away or make light of Applejack's and Mac's uniqueness as characters. ^ - Yes, "for all we know," she could be a great fighter or a poor one. If she is a great one, she sure didn't shown it when she fought Twilight with Pinkie, or when she didn't beat RD, or when Rarity was tried to kick her face in. This ties back into what I said about her being more well rounded. If I had to guess, Applejack can fight well, but she has to do it her way: using her talents. Note how she fought the Manticore, rodeo style (what's she the ten time champion of again?). Note her use of projectiles to attack from a distance in Dragonshy and Spike at Your Service (it's been shown she has good aim). AJ's ok close up; she can buck an opponent away, but she's no powerhouse in brawling. Why would she be? It's more likely that AJ had a more peaceful up bring than RD growing up at the farm: I mean, who's she gonna fight? Her peaceful brother, who seems as violent as a butterfly? Her old granny? Rainbow had a completive environment and bullies on her back. Her having a reason to defend herself has more fuel to it. ^ - Yes, but Fluttershy wasn't resisting. Also, what's that other fanon myth about Pegasus being lighter so they can fly? - The changling was smaller and had an insect bodies; if you believe the fanon that all those in mlp must be light to fly, then this would count as well. Also, if the changeling was female, more likely she was lighter. - Like the others never had trouble trying to catch Applejack. Even Pinkie Pie couldn't catch AJ alone, and she's master at tagging Dash. Even then, it took just Dash to pin her. - Well then, Applejack was caught off guard a lot: she was kicked down by Rarity, leaped on by Twilight beforehand, and knocked down by Rainbow, all in the span of the same episode. :/ - Doesn't mean she can either. - The issue with the statue was balance, not the lifting. And if you think carrying a mare is impressive, consider Rarity: she carried a freaking bolder AND Applejack at the same time. - There's no prove of this. And if speed did transition into power and indestructible, then Dash would definitely be stronger than AJ. - Yeah, I'm sure any other winged pony can rainbow-nuke a barn, or smash into a tower of rocks, or do a sonic rainboom. :/ - Watch the scene again carefully. The ground levels out more. AJ stops the carriage smartly by angling her body and leveling more of the force into the ground. - AJ is RD's friend. I'm sure she would beat the tar out of anyone else for doing that. Also, if it were that easy then RD won't have needed to be held in place by four others. - Rainbow Dash is the captain of every single sport's team there. If that doesn't require a great deal of physical feat, I don't know what does. Sugercube, I think I know where your heart lays in this. Please don't tell me that you're one of those that believes AJ needs to be "given" something or pitied.

I'm going to lump quotes from the same person together to save space. My answers are in order of how I listed the quotes. ^ - And there's no technique in tug of war? - Looks like they were trying pretty hard to me. :/ - And speed, agility, and stamina have nothing to do with it. ^ - A good reason for Dash to have trouble stopping the carriage in the Mare Do Well episode, no? - But wait, I thought only earth ponies are strong? If the other races can be strong too, then what happens to that balance that many in fandom need to have (for some reason) between the three races? - Didn't look that angry to me, more like scared. AJ and Pinkie were trying to move her too. I wonder why they couldn't? - That's a good point, though you should tell that to Rainbow Dash in Hurricane Fluttershy and Twilight in Dragonshy. - By the stereotype, Applebloom should be the most athletic. - It doesn't prove the myth either. Actually, the show has shown that a pegasi can be stronger and that an earth can be faster more than just once. - Fluttershy's hidden strength seems a given at this point. I don't know where you pulled the other two points from. BTW, you still didn't explain how Twilight can carry a bolder around. - Look again. Twilight is a unicorn and the closet thing to a classical nerd in the show, yet she somehow overpowers both Pinkie and Applejack, and fought both a once to a tie within the spam of three episodes. - Yes, cause clearly when two of the more feminine and well groomed characters on the show beats nearly all the other more "physical" ponies in an athletic competition there's nothing to note. There's also Twilight placing fifth in a race, so this is not just a one time thing. - An earth ponies being the weakest at something? How is this even possible? - Sometimes you have to look at what isn't being said. Why didn't Princess Platinum say that of earth ponies? It would be an easy assumption given what they do. No, she said it about the winged ponies. Interestingly, why aren't there many earth ponies in the royal guard? I've only manage to find two? If there were guys out there like Big Mac, you'd be sure I would take them in to my army. - Again, Twilight is not only a unicorn, but the "caster", and the "nerd-like" character of the main six, yet she's doing roll outs, climbs and dives better than Pinkie or Spike (a dude). That seems to break a lot of assumptions about her at once if you ask me. - So the strength pony of the group is the only one overpowered during a fight and is one of two in need of rescue, and you see nothing strange about that? This wasn't a magical duel or flying maneuvers. This was an all around physical fight, and not only was AJ overpowered, but she didn't know any fighting techniques. - This is a kid show, dude. Anyways, where's the earth pony version of him? I think he could be stronger than Big Mac. - You've haven't answered anything. A lot of what you did is answered "so" and "and" to the examples of others characters (not just RD) disproving the myth. Why don't you come up with a list--that's near or bigger than mine--proving earth pony super strength. My strong response aside, I do agree on your view regarding the strength displacement of AJ and Pinkie. I'm not sure how strong Pinkie is, but at this point she seems the weakest fighter of the group. ^ - And why won't AJ be good at doing these things given what she does for a living? My point is that AJ can't speak for all earth ponies and ,even if she did, she's been beaten several times by non-earth ponies to hold true to the myth of earth super strength. - Let's see: - Rainbow Dash has a black belt and can street fight. AJ fights like a normal pony. - Rainbow Dash dragged an earth pony, against her will, across town to the farm. AJ drags a non-resistant Pegasus part way up a mountain. - Rainbow sends a stallion souring into the air and catches him, AJ has bucked away a changeling. - Rainbow had to be held in place by four other ponies (including AJ). AJ was held in place by Twilight alone. - Rainbow has carried four ponies at once--two later on, a male pony, and a giant statue. Aj has only ever carried one pony, a mare. - Rainbow can literally knock the bases off of trees by soaring into them. AJ can make one tree shake with a good buck. - Rainbow destroys a barn with her bare hooves and by using her body as a missile. AJ destroys a barn by sending a runaway carriage into it. Remind me again why people think AJ's stronger then Rainbow? I think AJ's more well rounded (a mare of all trades), but RD's a tank. Look, I'm not saying Applejack isn't strong, but her biggest strength comes from how she is as a pony. That she can deal with a lot both physically and mentally yet still endure is where her true strength lies. And, in a way, this is how I view the earth pony races. That they probable had to deal with a lot more since they lived on open land and grew mass amounts of food, yet still have the pull today (influence and money) and the most known Equestrian cities currently known is truly one of the most impressive things to be attested to their race. --

I've been hearing the term "circle-jerking" within the fandom quite a bit. These aren't outside groups using these terms too, but fellow fans. I can't really seem to figure out why this term is being used or what it's referring to. So, I'll ask this broader question(s). Does Elitism exist in the fandom? If so, what form does take, or what have you personally seen? How can it be corrected or lessened? ---

There are moments that have made us smile, laugh, and even cry. The amount of emotion MLP can pull from us is quite amazing, and that shows the strength of the show. Always, there's the good and there's the bad. But has there ever been something in the show that moved you beyond frustration, to point of actually making you angry? A line or passing comment, a situation, or what a character did or went through? Share the canon moment or moments that have ticked you off. If you have more than one, number them from most to least. If you have none, what was that one thing that always picked at you? -- - Here are mine: 1. Spike's picture taped onto Twilight's birthday photo: - I can't say that I wasn't bothered when it was pointed out that Spike should have been present in Sweet and Elite for the birthday party, but I just chalked it up to a quick plot point set up, like him having Canterlot business in Look Before You Sleep. However, the fact that this oddity was acknowledged, coupled with Spike's pictured hastily added (likely, done by himself), after the ordeal he just faced, where he essentially lost his heritage, lit an anger about Spike situation I hadn't felt before. Add to this, Cadance not inviting Spike to the welcoming and Rainbow's dig that he would have enjoyed it, and sometimes I can't help but fall for the darker speculations made by the fandom of slavery, misery, hopelessness, and destiny tragedy that seems suit to befall the dragon. 2. Trixie only apologizing to Twilight: - Even though Trixie's feud was with Twilight, the latter arguably got off with the least amount of Trixie's wrath. She was kicked out and, at worst, had a bruised ego. The rest of the entire town, including the children, were in for a life time in enslavement, with outrageous demands, constant whipping, and grandiose feeding worship. Even as things eventually got back to normal, the town wasn't exactly trapped in that bubble for mere moments as Twilight tried to solve the problem. So it bothered me that Trixie cut and run without trying to make it up to the town, or repairing the damage she did. And that the only apologize she gave was to Twilight. 3. Celestia "you and only you alone" speech: - I just felt that too much credit was given to Twilight, and not enough to the others for saving Equestria. It was a little upsetting that Celestia goes on about how Twilight had to do this alone, calls only her to give her the needed information, then lumps the other five as her tag-alongs, without even asking them first. Yes, Twilight is Celestia's student, but that's no excuse. If the other 5 are going to be putting their lives on the line, then favoritism or protocol has no place.

If relationships become more the focus, one of the following would happen - Spike X Fluttershy, Rarity, or SweetieBelle Rarity X Fanny Pants, or Spike Rainbow Dash X Soarin Big Mac X Cheerilee

I want to know what you think. Is there something you've notices and how can things be improved, or has the writers done a great job covering the characters overall? - -- Here's my opinion: I think that to a certain extent, it has. I don't think it's intentional, but it leaks out. Let me give you some examples: Meghan McCarthy - She writes truly amazing episodes for Twilight and her attention to the character's emotions and struggles are almost unmatched by any other writer, however, in her episodes, I've notices certain favoritism paid towards the purple pony (more so after season 1). In Sweet and Elite, Twilight and Rarity are like night and day: It's Twilight's birthday and she's also being held as an example of a good friend, being compared to Rarity's actions as a friend. Also, Twilight was the only one of the mane 6 to show up in Hearts and Hooves Day. Next, look at A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire: compared to the other season openers and a finale, Twilight takes more central stage to events this time. The other mane 5 are usually lumped together, doing their own thing, while she tries to solve the problem on her own. There also seems to be more trust placed on Twilight. Look at Return to Harmony, Celestia calls all the gang to the castle to tell them personally what's going on. Yet in The Crystal Empire, she only writes to Twilight to come over and gives her all the info on the dangers. Yes, Twilight has a test, but Celestia sends the other 5 anyway, so it would have been good for them to have that information as well, and they were sorta lumped onto the mission without being asked (the five were only in Canterlot to cheer Twilight on in her test). In addition, there's no indication that no one, other than Spike, knew about the special role Twilight needed to play in this. Amy Keating Rogers - admits she's a fan of Pinkie Pie. While I think she writes Pinkie well, I do think that a little too much time was spend on Pinkie's jokes for The Last Roundup and not enough on AJ dealing with the problem. In MMMystery on the Friendship Express, many of the gang felt barely there. I'm not sure who the other Mlp writers favor, so I focused more on these two. It'll be interesting to see how season 4 and the new writers will shake things up. --

Applejack was never upstaged by Derpy. If anything, Derpy added more to an already awesome episode. Not really a fan of the crossed-eyed pony as much, but that's more cause I don't care for background ponies the way many in the fandom do. I think people react too strongly to a character that's not even a part of the story line, but I liked the bit of personality the writer gave Derpy anyway. So, even as an Applejack fan, I've never cared about Derpy's effect.

Period. I'm tired of so many in the fandom passing this fan speculation as fact. Earth Pony super strength is a fanon myth. There's nothing to suggest otherwise; on the other hand, there's plenty that goes against the popular claim . . . ep. 2 - Applejack was unable to pull up Twilight off the cliff. ep. 3 - Twilight is carrying more than A.J at the beginning of the episode. R.D matched the cowpony in a strength contest. ep. 7 - Pinkie, A.J, plus three others are unsuccessful in moving a rooted Fluttershy from one spot. ep. 11 - All the earth ponies pulling the plows are males, A.J isn't pulling. ep. 13 - A.J lost in an arm wrestling match to R.D. A.J and R.D match in a pushup competition. What events AJ wins were based on her farming tasks. ep. 18 - Scootaloo is shown to be the most athletic of the CMCs. ep. 19 - Everyone (minus Rarity and Spike) threw off the diamond dogs forcefully. ep. 25 - Rainbow dragged a resistant Pinkie Pie, against her will, across town. S.2 ep. 1 - Rarity carried a large bolder on her back. Twilight also carried a large bolder on her back. S.2 ep. 2 - Rarity carries a large bolder plus Applejack. Twilight fights two earth ponies (Applejack and Pinkie), at once, to a standstill (not bad for a mage type character). Rarity kicks A.J down and makes her back off. Twilight pins Applejack by herself; Twilight and A.J both hold down Fluttershy with rope. Rainbow carries off both Pinkie and Rarity while flying. It takes 4 of the others to hold down Rainbow with ropes. R.D knocks A.J to the ground easily afterwards. S.2 ep. 4 - Twilight overpowers Pinkie, holding her to the ground. S.2 ep. 5 - Sweetie Belle and Rarity both place second in an all around physical competition. S.2 ep. 6 - Applebloom has the weakest bowling roll of the CMCs S.2 ep. 9 - The unicorn bellhop carries everything without magic. S.2 ep. 11 - Pegasi were the warrior types. It said by Princess Platinum that they are the "rough an tumbled" stereotype. S.2 ep. 12 - Sweetie Belle makes a tree bend. S.2 ep. 13 - Poundcake, nuff say. S.2 ep. 14 - Fluttershy, and not Pinkie Pie, pulls the cart to chase A.J. S.2 ep. 16 - The Indiana Jones type character is pegasi. S.2 ep. 19 - Fluttershy beats up one and tosses two earth ponies quite a distance away. S.2 ep. 20 - Twilight moves more fluent as spy than Pinkie Pie. S.2 ep. 21 - Two unicorns and a pegasi tackles a dragon. S.2 ep. 22 - A female pegasi is shown lifting a thousand pounds with just her wings S.2 ep. 26 - A.J is the one overpowered during the fight S.3 ep. 6 - Sweetie Belle hauls more than Scootaloo? S.3 ep. 7 - The overly buff character is a pegasi. S.3 ep. 13 - Pinkie can't buck trees, has a weak kick? Like I said, earth pony physical power is a myth. The fact that fans feel they have to "give" earth ponies something is actually quite an insult. Why is it so bad if they have a skill over an extra power? However, this doesn't mean they aren't amazing in their own way. Keep in mind that they can't flying away from danger, or hid behind magic and in the mountains, but their culture has allowed them to push through despite it all. In turn, they have grown and produce some of the best food Equestria has ever known. And if mlp fans really want to push further and look for something, A.J's grandmother and her family friends seems to have been around for quite a long time and there are more known earth pony towns and cities in the show's universe than the other two races. Also, seeing that unicorns no longer raise the sun, and how there are pockets of Equestria where the weather works on it's own (Everfree forest (ep.9, S2 ep. 12)) seems like the earth pony skills and traits haven't been substituted yet. Food for thought, no?

^ I know about that one. It's no small wonder they can at least speak to each other after being able to save Equestria together. But Applejack and Rarity making small talk does not make up for Rarity's strange silence at Applejack's award ceremony. Twilight even gave an opening for anyone else to say something about AJ. At this we see Rarity standing there look uncomfortable the other way. Rarity could have had AJ model for her, but we see her use Rainbow and Fluttershy throughout the season instead. I'm not saying their relationship is bad, but it was more of a light acquaintance. Sure, they could make small talk, but clearly they didn't hang out with each other, and if they did, they couldn't stand each other for long (Look Before You Sleep). Even after Rarity and Applejack made up in the sleepover episode, they laughed off Twilight's notion of getting together again. ^ I think AJ and Pinkie's relationship was better then what AJ and Rarity had towards the beginning, even if they didn't hang out much. As of season 3, they show that Pinkie and AJ do hang out together and I'm looking forward to what season 4 might bring. Also, Season 3 did show more interaction between Fluttershy and our farmpony. I wasn't referring to Party of One when I said AJ has pissed off Pinkie, although, now that I remember, look at the invite scene when everyone starts rejecting Pinkie's invite. Look at how she treats AJ compared to the others. It's quite interesting. I was referring to The Last Round Up: until then, no one pony as ever pissed off Pinkie, even Gilda. ^ Yes, to Twilight. ^ I reckon that after Rarity teamed up with her, and helped out despite the mud and mess, Applejack started see her a little differently. ^ In a larger context of this topic, this does need to be looked at. There's no way that anyone would think that holding down APPLEJACK would be easier than Rarity, Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. I grant you that Cruelshy might be some trouble, but no more so than Applejack on open land and all her tools at her disposal. Rarity and Pinkie were both closer when Twilight left the library (both lived in tighter quarters). Rarity would actually be easiest since her main advantage is magic, which Twilight can counter, and that she won't leave Tom, period. Also, note that Twilight always rely on her magic in a physical situation (ex: the changeling fight) yet she didn't use magic on AJ.

^ Remember, Applejack wasn't exactly content with her life on the farm before, too. The rock farm may not be for her, but remember that Pinkie did help Big Mac fix a bridge before. Also, she helped AJ with Applebucking, twice, and painted the broad side of barn, and helped the Apple family with the barn raising.

Well, Pinkie and Applejack . . . - are both from farming families, which were originally from another land. - both are involved in a family business. - both have two siblings. - both are highly skilled bakers with big appetites. - both are extremely sociable and popular in Ponyvile. - both are pretty fast on their hooves. - both can use their bodies in unusual ways (AJ can grab and move things with her tail, Pinkie can bounce like a ball) - both are earth ponies around the same age, living in the same town, at the exact same time. . . . so, yeah, it could be possible.

Both Baby Applejack and the Fluttershy's pride grin are ahead. Those are my top two too. Man, I had no idea there were so many cute moments (thought I had done at least a decent job of covering them). I'm going to redo this, making more than a few topics in the future so I can better poll the cute incidents. I'm thinking a Fluttershy cute moments poll is in order. If anyone reads this, give me some of Fluttershy's top adorable moments. Just think long and hard on the thing that stood out to you the most over time. You can do this. Keep it together! Keep it TOGETHER!!

^ I'm not so sure. While AJ is friends with the other mane 6, her relationship with some of them is different and have changed over time. For example, AJ and Rarity rarely talked in the beginning. Rarity didn't say anything nice about A.J at the award ceremony during Appleseason, nor did AJ do any favors for her (while Rainbow and Fluttershy have done favors for Rarity (like modeling for her)). During Dragonshy, AJ is understanding towards Fluttershy but not Rarity. They openly fought before and during Twilight's sleepover, not understanding the nature of the other. Even during Over the Barrel there's still that back an forth. As of the next two seasons, however, they've gotten closer. AJ is more causal with Rarity and acts the part of a big sister at times. Rarity listens more to AJ's point of view and is more supportive of her (going to AJ's farm to try to help her with Discord, cleaning AJ fur coat twice without asking). Another example is how Applejack has hanged out with Rainbow Dash on more then one occasion, yet she hasn't done the same for Pinkie. In fact, AJ is the only one pony who has truly gotten under Pinkie's skin and made her angry. ^ Sort of true: Applejack apologized to Celestia, not Rainbow, during the race incident. And AJ was more or less desperate to fix the mess she caused at Twilight's house during the sleepover when she apologized to Rarity. Interesting question though, AJ aside, why didn't any of the others apologize to Twilight after giving her the cold shoulder at the wedding? ^ Rarity and Pinkie are closer to town, live in smaller quarters and are both easier to overpower physical than A.J. It would make more sense to go after those two first. Heck, Twilight didn't even bother to use her magic or a strategy to get to AJ and just bull tackled her to the ground. ^ It's not about playing favorites, it's about getting that bond acknowledged. --

^ You mean like . . . - how she was honest about wanting to spend the night with Rarity? - how she didn't cheat with Rainbow? - how she was truthful to Rarity about the first time she saw her Gala dress? - how she was up front about the CMCs performances before they got on stage? - how she didn't hid a party from Pinkie? - how she didn't deceive Sweetie Belle with her sister? - how she told the Crystal ponies they didn't have the Crystal heart? While she did have a good reason for many of those, this shows that AJ hids the truth at times. Keep in mind, I'm not minimizing Twilight's friendship with the others. The "they're all friends and everything's the same" point doesn't stop the fandom from talking about Rarity and Fluttershy's girly spa actives or assuming Rainbow and Fluttershy's childhood friend status. While all six are friends, the interactions between each of the mane 6 are not the same. I'm just focusing on the friendship between AJ and Twilight. -

In the show, I've notice that mane 6 tend to have different types of interaction with each other. For examples, Fluttershy and Rarity tend to hang together more then Rainbow and Twilight. Or Pinkie is willing to be more sensitive around Fluttershy. Is Twilight closer to A.J then the other mane 4? I ask this question because I always see the same one or two friendships talked about in the fandom, but the one between Twilight and Applejack is rarely mentioned. Note, I'm not including Spike in this since I see their relationship at a different level (more like family) and there's the history together. There are quite a bit of examples of their close friendship I've notices over a long period: Ep. 2: A.J defends Twilight from Rainbow's suspicions. Twilight is put into a despite situation and has to trust Applejack with her life. A.J was the first mentioned of the ponies that affected Twilight's view of friendship. Ep. 3: Twilight is hanging with A.J and helping her long before the Applebuck season incident. In Twi's hypothetical situation, A.J is not among those who didn't get a ticket to the gala. Applejack was first to give up her chance to go. Ep. 4: At the award ceremony, Twilight, and not the mayor, is hosting and she apparently has a lot to say on the pony. Everyone notices something's off but she's the only one of the group to visit A.J and ask about it. The others believe Twilight should help the farmpony, even as she's still new to the town. Ep. 7: A.J saves Twilight's life again and the latter gives her a thankful nuzzle. Ep. 8: Along with Rarity, A.J tries to make Twilight's sleepover a success despite her feelings on another pony. Ep. 11: Applejack's rebuke pushes Twilight to cry (first time she cried too I believe). The two share a sister-hoove bump for a job well done. Ep. 13: A.J invites Twilight to oversee the competition. When Rainbow and her laughs at Twilight entering the race, A.J tries harder to be more supportive. A.J takes Twilight's word on Rainbow and the tripping accident. Ep. 14: A.J and Twilight are hanging out together again at the beginning of the episode. Ep. 16: A.J helps Twilight out with the library but doesn't voluntary to have a spell tested on her to help Rainbow. Ep. 19: Twilight is the one who tries to save A.J when she's being pulled into the hole. S2 Ep. 1: Twilight is quick to find Applejack in the maze. S2 Ep. 2: When Twilight asks the others if they cared, Liar-AJ says "no". Going out to the edge of town, Twilight goes to fight for A.J's friendship first. In AJ's memory flashback, there are more images of her and Twi then with any other one pony. A.J is the only one to ask for forgiveness after turning back. S2 Ep.4: Even as she's afraid, Applejack is quick to help Twilight with Luna. S2 Ep.6: A.J goes to Twilight for help on her sister. S2 Ep.7-8: The two of them comment on Rainbow's antics privately. S2 Ep.10: Of her friends, Twilight goes to A.J, and not Fluttershy, for help on an out of control dragon. S2 Ep.14: After running, Twilight is furthest out on the platform as A.J's train departs. She questions A.J and leaves the assembly line first to get information on what happened. And Twilight's first to try to cheer A.J up as the truth finally comes out. S2 Ep.15: Applejack confines in Twilight about her worries and the latter checks up on her through the episode. Even being at different ends of the cider making assembly line, both collapse next to each other and share a congratulation on their hard work. S2 Ep.25: Applejack is the one who congratulates Twilight on her brother's wedding and comes up with the P.F.F lingo (pony friends forever). On the train, Applejack goes up to Twilight, trying to comfort her about what's been upsetting her and pushes her to talk to Shining Armor. Twilight is hanging with A.J first during the wedding preparation. S2 Ep. 26: Twilight saves A.J during the fight, taking just her word that she's not a changeling. The only one who apologizes to Twilight for not believing in her is Applejack. S3 Ep. 1: A.J embraces Twilight after the "wasn't prepared for it" song. S3 Ep. 5: Applejack tries, unsuccessful, to stand up to Trixie to bring Twilight home. S3 Ep. 9: AJ knows how to break Twilight out of her study stump and thinks she scared her for moving one of the ink pots. S3 Ep. 13: A.J is first to recognize Twilight during the changing and walks up to her first after her transformation. She's the closest of the mane 6 to the center of the crowning ceremony. Twilight actually makes A.J cry for a good reason. Movie (not spoiler because it was on the first preview): Right as things start, A.J's by Twilight's side talking about the whole princess deal as the others are literally going off in different directions. Other things I've noted: - Even as Twilight's the unofficial leader, she defers a lot to A.J and lets A.J take charge at times and order her around (example: getting Fluttershy up the mountain, the Parasprite plan, in the Diamond dog cave, leading the recuse into the west, sending her to her brother, the Timberwolf plan). - Half of Applejack episodes have Twilight really stepping up above the others to help out AJ. - Unless she's literally half across Equestria, A.J is always a part of Twilight's group plans. Any one or two of the examples above won't mean much, but together I think they paint a different picture of this friendship. So, do you think A.J is Twilight's best friend? If you agree that she is, what have you notices before this? Is Twilight AJ's best friend too? If you don't agree, who do you see as more likely to be Twilight's best friend? Or, how do you see the relationships between the others and Twilight? ---

It can be from one of the other mane 6 or something completely different. Think about what could represent them and have fun with it. Here's my list: Twilight: Friendship (Knowledge would be more suiting, but I'll go for something different) Applejack: Reliability Rainbow Dash: Courage Fluttershy: Understanding Rarity: Grace Pinkie Pie: Happiness --

There are some factors to consider: - Cost of maintaining the land - Cost to feed all the live stock - Cost of maintaining farm equipment - Only two are around that can really maintain everything. If one goes away or stops, well, see Applebuck Season. - Applejack and Big Mac have been shown, more than once, to get wore down or injured (doctor appointments) - Timber wolves live near by (investment needed to protect the stock) - The Zap Apple harvest only happens once every several years. - Whatever grows from the Zap apple harvest can't be completely collected as it disappears suddenly - It was stated that a highly successful cider season is the only thing that keeps the farm from falling under - Applebloom needs an education and to grow up - Granny Smith is old: medicine cost, A.J stated a desire to get Granny medical care (new hips) - The Apple family in Ponyvile have decline a bit since since the land was offer to them (less resources) - The passing of certain love ones? - Finally, how many times has their home been destroyed? That's not going to be easy on their insurance, if they have it. --

^ Oh man, I forgot about that big one! *Knows some of Stellafera's past feelings regarding a certain mane 6 character* *Looks at Stellafera's avatar* *Sees the image of Rainbow Dash selected* ^ I'm . . . disappointed in you, Stellafera. ---

^ Lol, I see. Well then, what do you think is the cutest thing each have done? Yes, you can do this. Hard choices must be made. Make these two moments known to all.

^ Hey, I tried to include everyone, so only one Fluttershy moment (the best one I think). I had a Pinkie moment too (not as well known though), also Sweetie Belle's "I'm so bored" stomach slide. Unfortunately, there wasn't room to add them all.

Title says it all. It is time to have this discussion! > Tried to think up the best ones. I wanted to include more options, but could only make so many choices, so sorry if your moment is not included in there. Share it if it's not. - --- My vote . . . BABY APPLEJACK!!! I've not yet seen one person not affected by this in some way. That innocence, that face and belly! How can anyone hate her? Sometimes, I think she's not of this world, lol. ---

This a theory from a forum I frequent: Rarity is a lot stronger than she appears and she tappers it down to be a lady. Rarity is able to fight surprisingly well given the type of pony she portrays herself as. Also, she's done some surprising things that doesn't seem possible for one of her character: - Without thinking she kicked a manticore in the face - She shows no fear in going up a mountain to seek a dragon, despite worrying about fashion, she treks all the way up there like the others - Unlike Twilight, Rarity doesn't instantly resort to magic when facing someone. The only time she has used magic against another was at the sleepover, and even then, she tried to match Applejack without it - Rarity showed no fear when being held by the diamond dogs - She was actually able to plow through solid rock to get to Tom - She high kicks Applejack to the ground and drives her back physically rather than with magic - She carries a large boulder, with Applejack on it at one point, without having problems - Sweetie Belle and her do surprisingly well in an all around physical competition - Carried up a mountain by a crazed dragon, once more she doesn't show the fear one would expect - She puts up her dukes to defend Spike - She fairs well on her own against the changelings, right hooking many in the face A reason Rarity could be a brawler is likely due to her and her parents clashing on life and style choices as she grew up. The person who came up with this theorizes that since Rarity's father was likely into sports (hence the football cutie mark), he might have pushed Rarity to be more active since he had no sons, and even as Rarity decided to step away from her parent's choices as she grew up, falling into the other extreme, the marks of being pushed by a sports driven father are still present. Some of these marks are also present in her little sister, Sweetie Belle, who manage to bend a tree (S2. ep 12) and pull a large cart of Rarity's stuff with Scootaloo sleeping in the back (S3. ep.6). Summing it up, I think Rarity could be pretty good at brawling. Many fans see her fighting very delicately, but I think she would more likely to slug it out.

^ Yup, and if people are going to focus sooo much on Spike being out of character and claiming it's such a bad episode because he 's not "cleaning a kitchen", then they have to acknowledge other incidents in the show with the same out of character problem: Examples - Twilight in Look Before You Sleep or even Lesson Zero - Pinkie Pie in Wonderbolt Academy - Rarity in Sleepless in Ponyvile - Rainbow Dash in Mare Do Well - Fluttershy in Magic Duel - Luna in a Crystal Empire

^ I'm honestly starting to think it's because many just hate Spike and/or the writer; he just doesn't have the fan base to protect him like the other mane 6. I mean the biggest complaint for that episode is that he doesn't clean the kitchen properly (I think the problem's much bigger than that). Anyways, SAYS does have it's issues, but it's no worse than what other episodes have displayed.