A Talking Dragon

These are a lot of good points. I wonder what episode made up people's minds on A.J being the voice of reason? Anyways, allow me to explain more on some of my points. ^ Twilight has gotten angry at Applejack. In Applebuck Season, she was so frustrated at A.J that she was at the verge of shouting, and would have done so if A.J hadn't finally given in. In the season 2 premier, Twilight actually physically attacked Applejack, than latter just plain tackled her. In A Canterlot Wedding, Twilight shoved the hat, A.J so loved, right up her muzzle. Now, I'm one of those that believes that A.J and Twilight are closer friends, but A.J has pissed off Twi, and Twi her. ^ I'm not exaggerating. While, Fluttershy in Putting Your Hoove Down is probably one of the biggest fight scenes for any one mane 6 pony, Applejack has affected everyone in the gang the most. The Last Round Up - No one has ever being able to truly get under Pinkie's skin and get her that angry (not even Gilda's actions). True, there's Party of One, but that was group effort. Heck, to a lesser extent, Rainbow was also upset at A.J here, enough so to take the lead from Twilight in planing, continually chase A.J after two of her friends fell, try to knock A.J off the carriage, and tackle her full force. Twilight, I've already explained above, Rarity had a own episode of fighting with A.J and R.D argues with A.J all the time. While, many can say, Applejack is the rock of the group, she also affects them the most with her actions. Can A.J still be reasonable in their eyes after pulling at their emotional strings so much?

I've notices that AJ is often given the title "the voice of reason" of the mane 6, and is commonly refer to as such. Now, I'm not saying she should or should not be (actually, I'm more likely to agree that she is), but for fun, I want to challenge the common assumption and see what other people still think afterwords. There are several factors that people are forgetting: - A.J is stubborn: she tends to stick by tradition/more familiar methods of doing things, even if there's another way to accomplish something (Applebuck Season, Winter Wrap Up, SSCS 6000) - She's always hard on herself and believes everyone will think her a failure if she's not. Such thoughts nearly lead to her sacrificing the very life she loves in The Last Round Up, and running herself into the ground for the sake of a perfect harvest season and family reunion. Extreme acts like these are not done by a normal person. - With an exception to Fluttershy, A.J has fought and has pissed off the rest of the mane 6: Twilight (Applebuck Season, Winter Wrap Up), Rarity (Look Before You Sleep), Rainbow Dash (Fall Weather Friends), Pinkie Pie (The Last Round Up). Heck, most of season 1 she's been fighting with her sister and they even quarreled before going to pick up Babs. Not even Rainbow has that kind of record. How can someone who fights so much be considered reasonable? - She's brought a private room for a tree and read bedtime stories to it - A.J doesn't understand social norms. Work boots to a ball? Having trouble with just a sleepover? - It's likely that A.J didn't grow up with parents, so unlike the other 5, she didn't have their guidance to help her in life. Her best role model was someone that many others don't see as all there (Granny). - Work runs her life. Nightmare Night she was the only one working. Everyone wants to have fun at the Gala, and what does she want to do? Work. - Finally, Twilight is around. Twilight is always seeking the pursuit of knowledge and is the one coming up with solutions whenever a crisis comes around. She organizes her life and is the pony with the plan. When Zecora came to town, Twi was the only one not to panic, yet some seem to consider A.J the reasonable one over her. - There's a song about her being silly ^ Even if the fandom haven't considered all this, they must of realized some of it. So, has this argument changed your mind? If not, why is A.J still considered the voice of reason despite this?

^ One thing that helps this along is that when Applejack was a filly, Graany Smith looked no younger. Close to a year has passed since Twilight came Ponyvile, and Applebloom is still not anything close to an adult, so little pony growth rates aren't rapid in this world.

^ I don't know how Applejack's older than the other mane 6. Anyhow, the thing is the last apple family reunion was more recent than that: it was during the plot episode. And even if some fans don't want to include this, we know from tradition, that all the Apples take a photo in front of the barn. In Ganny Smith's album, there's a group photo of a grown Applejack, with Applebloom, at a reunion. So a hundred moons could be 100 days, or moon cycles.

I think it's hard to say for magical ponies. From what I've looked up, if we did apply our world's standard then . . . A.J, Pinkie Pie - 25 to 30 years Rainbow, Fluttershy - 500 year Twilight, Rarity - 1000 years Things would truly be a lot more depressing. I'd like to say that all the major characters (including Spike) live for about the same amount of time.

^ Umm . . . Season 1: ep.2: Stopped the accusations on the new pony. The only one without wings to save herself, and saved Twilight from falling to her death. Bare-back rode a manticore. ep.3: Her reason to go to the gala was to help her family and less personal. Was the first to give up her ticket. ep.4: Saved the entire town from rampaging cows, honored as a local hero, stretch herself passed her limits to help her friends despite being tired from bucking most of Sweet Apple Acres for her injured brother. ep.6: Rope tricks with just her tail. ep.7: Took the time to escort Fluttershy up the mountain, and was the most patient with her. Saved Twilight from falling boulders.Used apples as weapon. ep.8: Stopped the top half of a tree from falling onto someone's house. Took the step in apologizing to Rarity while teaching her a lesson. ep.9: Poison joke made her the weakest, yet she rode an out of control pegasus and tried to wrestled a giant (that was seen as an evil enchantress) to save her little sister. ep.10: Her plan of herding got nearly all the parasprites out of town. ep.12: Offered all the apples in her cart to make up for her sister offending someone. Tried to confront Applebloom about her fears. ep.13: Won many sport's events fairly. Believed in R.D when R.D didn't believe in her and held off on cheating. ep.14: "One of only two (besides Fluttershy) to insist on keeping her original dress." (another source) ep.15: Insisted on making sure Fluttershy was ok. Saved Pinkie from falling off a cliff. ep.18: Offered up her old clubhouse to the CMCs. ep.19 Co-lead the gang with Spike in an effort to save Rarity. The diamond dogs never got their hand on her to trip her up, and her plan got the hounddogs off their backs, literally. ep.21: Played mother for a tree and got it it's own "private sleeping car". Lead part of the gang in an effort to save the others. ep 23: Was learned that as a filly she traveled to a large scale city to start a new life. ep.25 Held Pinkie's party at her farm, played gate keeper to prevent the ruining of the surprise. ep.26: Gave free food to a friend and her company despite really needing the money. One of two whose actions did not destroy the gala. Season 2: ep.1-2: The most time was spent on her corruption and return. Got the her own flashback mono-tosh. Roped an out of control discorded Rainbow in the sky, from a top a balloon. ep.4: The only one aside from Twilight to make an effort with Luna and be friendly. ep.5: Acted as SweetieBelle's temporary big sister, advised Rarity on being a better sister and helped her win Sweetie back. ep.6: Acts motherly to Applebloom. Did everything she could to help her sister. ep.8: Saved a carriage full of ponies from falling off a cliff. ep.10 Was the first turned to, in order to stop Spike. ep.11: Acted in one of the three most important roles in a classical play. ep.12: It was learned that her family helped found Ponyvile. Family history is uncovered. ep 14: Intended to give her winning to fix the town. Praised by Derpy. Gave up her entire life and cut herself off from what she cared for to keep a promise. Outraced a train. Placed in several events at the national level rodeo. ep 15: Has one of the most successful products ever. Kept her word, though she was going to lose her home. Stuck by her principles and had it paid off. Trolled Celestia. ep.24: The only suspect not to eat the cake of her friend. ep.25: The only one to comfort Twilight about her her brother issues early on. ep.26: Only one to apologize to Twilight for not believing in her. (another source) Season 3: (my post from another topic) Ep. 1-2: Took command of the others while Twilight was gone, kept the ponies away from the biggest attraction for the fair, and acted as spokesmare for the other 4 (and even for Twilight at the library) before then. Ep. 3: One of three friends that Pinkie had tried to spend her time with. However, scenes were only spend on her and Rainbow, Fluttershy was forgotten along with Rarity. Also, rounded up most of the Pinkie Pies. Ep. 4: Was the go-to-pony for the episode (was the preferred one by Sweetiebelle over her own sister) and supervised the CMCs. Provided infomation on the new character and helped teach the lesson. Ep. 6: Served as the example sister, and her style of camping with Applebloom was made to be compared to Rarity's style with her sister Ep. 7: Outside of Rainbow, her presences was second only to Pinkie of the mane 6. There was a scene that her and Pinkie Pie shared where she tried to comfort Pinkie (a role usually reserved for Twilight). Ep. 8: Nuff said. Pretty much got the sole song of the season. Was learned that it's likely she grew up without parents. Ep. 9: Played Hero twice, and was the mare that the focus character looked up to. ^ Soooo . . . yeah.

^ Too bad that banner is only now being put up. How long has the episode been out again? And look, it's only a few days before a new episode. Looks like there'll be another reason to remove it soon. Am I being unfair? Probably. Sorry, I'm just a bit upset over past A.J mistreatment, and this was the last straw.

Gosh, with "Fallweather Friends" and "The Last Roundup" for Amy, and "Secret of My Excess" and "Luna Eclipsed" for Larson, both these two are my favorites.

Let's look at how Applejack was used in season 3: Ep. 1-2: Took command of the others while Twilight was gone, kept the ponies away from the biggest attraction for the fair, and acted as spokesmare for the other 4 (and even for Twilight at the library) before then. Ep. 3: One of three friends that Pinkie had tried to spend her time with. However, scenes were only spend on her and Rainbow, Fluttershy was forgotten along with Rarity. Also, rounded up most of the Pinkie Pies. Ep. 4: Was the go-to-pony for the episode (was the preferred one by Sweetiebelle over her own sister) and supervised the CMCs. Provided infomation on the new character and helped teach the lesson. Ep. 6: Served as the example sister, and her style of camping with Applebloom was made to be compared to Rarity's style with her sister Ep. 7: Outside of Rainbow, her presences was second only to Pinkie of the mane 6. There was a scene that her and Pinkie Pie shared where she tried to comfort Pinkie (a role usually reserved for Twilight). Ep. 8: Nuff said. Pretty much got the sole song of the season. Ep. 9: Played Hero twice, and was the mare that the focus character looked up to. In conclusion, Applejack has been used pretty well this season, even in episodes where she's not the main focus, she's playing a key part or getting more attention than some of the others.