Red Cedar

Okay, I know this was supposed to be an episode about not letting your appearance or anything else out of your control affect your self-confidence or self esteem. And that's a good message. Unfortunately, there seemed to be one gaping hole in the way they did it. We've seen the effect Poison Joke has on Rarity and we've seen on Fluttershy that the effect tends to repeat itself when the same pony encounters Poison Joke a subsequent time. So why didn't they use the same sort of Poison Joke potion they used on Fluttershy to recreate Rarity's massive hair growth and they cure her to normality, needing only a trip to the manedresser?

@PathfinderCS Trixie was clearly chomping at the bit to get up and do something after a day stuck in the broken hull of an airship. So had Applejack been, but she was now beginning to regret it as she gingerly tried to move her left foreleg around after her trip around the hull. "Well, we still got a couple more of those chests down here to go," she said, trying to sound optimistic in the face of Trixie's worrying. Restless or not, Applejack still didn't want Trixie risking much so long as she still had that bump on her head. "I don't know how far I'd make it, anyway." she admitted, as much as she hated doing so. For a pony who prided herself on her strength and stamina and the rewards of hard physical labour, being laid up by an injured leg was about the worst thing Applejack could imagine. "They're comin'. They must be." Applejack said, trying to be reassuring, though the strain of not knowing for certain was weighing on her mind, too. "I just hope they get here before our families find out." She spent a long silent moment, as though contemplating every horrible thing that could go wrong, before taking a breath and trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject. "So, what's the most unusal place you've ever done a show?" she asked.

@Randimaxis Applejack loaded the last basket of apples she had recently shaken from the trees onto the cart, then went to help Groovi with hers. "Yup. I think now would be a good time to take another load underground." she said. After loading the last full basket on, she hitched herself to the cart and began pulling it back towards the cellar near the barn. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy with things the way they are now. I sure don't have a lot to complain about, and a lot to be thankful for." she mused. "But, one day, when the time is right and so is everythin' else, I want a family and foals of my own."she said, a slight faraway look creeping into her eyes, staying there for a luxuriant second before she came back down to earth and said, "Not that I'm in a rush for that to happen, or nothin'. Like I said, it's gotta be right." Another few moments of walking down the path and she turned to Groovi again. "How 'bout y'all? Any big plans for your own future?"

@PathfinderCS Your go.

All I'll say post-con is, Larson signs everything!

@Randimaxis Applejack smiled as the two of them continued to make their way down the row of the orchard. Soon it would be time to take another trip to the cellar at the rate the cart was filling up. Even if Groovi was new to this, she was still make a light load of the work today and was definitely earning her zap apple jam. Still, Applejack found herself slowed every time Groovi started to talk, because she felt like she couldn't concentrate on bucking and on what exactly Groovi was trying to say at the same time. The way she took a lot of extra words to say something didn't help, either. So, Applejack was quite relieved when Groovi succinctly summed up her question with, "... or, to put it differently, what're the others like?" Well, Groovi certainly wasn't one to ask the simple questions, was she? "Hoo, boy, that's a big one. Well, as for the magic part, I couldn't tell you. I've been trying to figure it out myself ever since that necklace first got strapped onto me. I don't know the first thing about magic and every time anypony's tried to explain it to me I always think I've missed somethin' big. I don't know why I was included, or even what I do. I think Twilight's doin' most of the magic work whenever we used them, and all I'm giving is 'good vibes' like y'all say." It was hardly a satisfying answer, but beyond being in the right place at the right time with the right ponies, she didn't have much of an explanation for her role in things herself. Speaking about her friends, however, came much easier to her. "Well, Princess Twilight, she's real bright," she began, remembering enough etiquette to include her title but still letting her familiarity cause her to forget to use her full name. "Studies a whole lot about everything. If she can't figure somethin' out you're probably not gonna. She tends to worry a lot about some things, though, even before her coronation." "I used to go to school with Rarity. I've known her the longest. She's a hard worker, too, just with her mind and her hooves instead of her back. She runs her own fashion business and she's doin' pretty good at it, too, which is great, she deserves it. She gets a little dramatic when things don't go her way but soon enough she picks herself up and goes at it again." "Pinkie Pie will move mountains to cheer a pony up. That's probably why she throws the best parties in town. She's just a little loud sometimes." "Rainbow Dash, well, her middle name should be Ambition. She worked all her life to try and get into the Wonderbolts, and she finally made it! Couldn't be prouder of her, really. Just be careful askin' her about it or you'll get an earful of her ego." "And Fluttershy, well, she's shy, it's true, but when she lets it out, she's got a strength inside of her that puts most to shame," she said, casting a glance to a distant corner of the farm where the trees appeared to bear fruit that were furry and leathery instead of red and apple-like. "Even me," she added.

Saw M.A. Larson at Bronycan last week. As he had been before, he was pretty clear about the fact that the third season was originally slated to be the last (which was why Twilight became an alicorn). Then the board of Hasbro heard about a thing called "bronies", and subsequently ordered a fourth. Everything since the third season has been because of the fandom and the merch and toys that fans have bought in support.

@Randimaxis *Backs slowly away from the thread.*

They're taking their sweet time with this one, but it's being released November 7th. https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-six?product_id=6396

@PathfinderCS Applejack guessed Trixie must have been feeling at least a little better, as she had started referring to herself in the third person again, so that was something. As for Trixie's suggestion, Applejack pondered it a moment. "Hmmm, good question. Hang on a sec..." she said. Taking a deep breath, she slowly rose to her hooves and walked slowly out the large hole in the hull, into the still slightly cool morning air. She looked one way, then the other, then slowly, with a visible hobble in her left foreleg, made her way around. After several minutes, she became visible again through the hull breach and limped back inside to sit down again, each step now visibly causing her pain. "There might be a map and compass on the bridge," she said, "But the way the ship's lyin' on its side, it'd be a chore to get up there and I don't think my leg's ready to take it on."She peered over to the stairs leading up to the higher decks of the ship, thinking even that would be quite the obstacle. "In any case, I couldn't see anything to tell me where we were or what direction to go. There's nothin' but dunes as far as the eye can see. Not so much as a palm tree." The mention of trees suddenly made her feel all the more homesick and out of her element.

@PathfinderCS Trixie seemed content enough to allow Applejack to have the remaining medication, at least of this chest of supplies, but Trixie also had a reputation for an independent streak larger than Applejack's own. Yes, her shoulder was painful, but Applejack worried about Trixie having a head injury more. Instead, she put the willow extract aside. "I'll try and hold out a little longer. See if it improves today. Or at least make it last." she said. Leaning down carefully, she pulled out a packet of dried apricots, ripped it open with her teeth, and offered it to Trixie first. "They gotta be on their way back by now. Or soon." she said, gazing out at the prospect of at least a little while longer in a vast emptiness of sand.