Red Cedar

I want to start by making it perfectly clear I am loathe to make any kind of suggestion here. To this day I count first making a suggestion in this forum to be the worst thing I ever could have done on MLPForums and I have regretted doing so ever since. The only thing worse than the usual poor reception to any suggestion I make, whether helpfully or sarcastically, is how elements of what I do suggest have often been incorporated anyway with precisely zero acknowledgement. At least somebody ends up looking good for my efforts.

So for me to foolishly put my neck on the chopping block once again, it is because I believe what I am talking about is on the same scale as an African elephant occupying a very small apartment.

Roleplay participation in Equestrian Empire has dropped off a cliff, and was doing so before the switch in forum software which corrupted the character database. This has even been evident  among roleplayers who play cast characters, and have a (supposed) minimum post count per week that they are supposed to maintain. A quick glance at the dates of posts in many roleplay topics will tell you that has not been the case. Activity is nearly at a standstill. To stimulate more roleplay, especially the high-quality roleplay that EqE is supposed to attract, my suggestions, aside from the obvious one of fixing the character database as quickly as possible, are:

1. Abolish the minimum post count requirement for cast characters. Roleplaying is supposed to be enjoyable, not a chore, and it does no one a service when roleplayers are forced to make quick, brief, hastily thought-out posts to satisfy a minimum.
2. Lift the cap on the number of people who can roleplay as any cast character. I've said before I have no intention on giving up playing Applejack, but how many other people who might have roleplayed in EqE didn't bother because their favourite character was taken and they can easily and readily play them in Everfree?

I have tried to increase roleplaying in EqE by offering to start a thread with anyone who wants to, especially those playing cast characters. Only two have taken me up on it. All I want to do is roleplay more, especially since that's all I can hope to get by posting here. I've done my bit as a simple user. It's the staff's turn.

@PathfinderCS

Your go.

@Skycoaster

Your go.

Twenty degrees.

That's not a typo. I'm Canadian.

I'm not. The Applejack episode I've been waiting for was due to air this weekend. Darn it!

I'm Canadian.

When I first started watching MLP, even though the show's animation and acting are done right here in Canada (in my hometown, no less!), the episodes did not air on Canadian TV until six months after the start of the season, when the whole thing was in the can for the HUB Network (which we cannot get in Canada).

Try avoiding spoilers for that long, and you'll see why I started pirating in order to watch them on time and be able to join in conversations rather than shunning anything to do with the fandom. (I buy them later on DVD.)

Sorry, but the fact that shows are now airing in Canada a few weeks ahead of the U.S. really doesn't make me sympathetic.

@PathfinderCS

Applejack found she couldn't disagree. "Well, you're right there," she said. "I got everything I need - a home, farm, steady job and a few bits in my saddlebag. But one day I'd like to have a family of my own, you know?" Applejack smiled as Trixie decided to take the opportunity to go see her own family. She couldn't imagine that not having those sorts of roots somewhere wouldn't be good for any pony, and especially for a pony always on the move like Trixie. It light even have given her a chance to deiced on some things for later on.

Speaking of which, well, Applejack had just revealed her hopes for the future. "How 'bout y'all? And hopes and dreams and plans for your future?" she asked.

@Skycoaster

Applejack frowned a little as Luna explained her apparent predicament. Sure, the Princesses were important, highly visible public figures and all, but to think they were somehow super-equine. Okay, sure, they were alicorns too so they were kind of super-equine but on the inside they were still just one pony and couldn't be expected to keep track of absolutely everything. Surely anypony who invited a Princess would have been more than willing to share the reason for an event with her without thinking any the less of them. At least, Applejack hoped that would be the case if Luna decided to do so. "Just ask them politely but leave it wide open for them to brag about what makes it so good, I'm sure they'll tell y'all everything you need to know."

Applejack peered at the book and smiled. Considering the earlier talk of the two Princess' sweet tooths, it was no wonder Celestia had suggested those out of all days. "Well, Cider season is what we call it right near the end of the harvest when we have all the apples we need for the winter." she explained. "You see, by that time, all our apple cellars are full and we've filled all the orders for other cities and towns and markets we supply to, but if it's a good year, then there's still apples on the trees. So rather than let 'em go to waste and become fertilizer we get out the grinding wheels and turn them into cider. The ponies around here love it. It's like a special treat after the end of a farming year, and the more we have, the better the year it was, and the more reason we have to enjoy it! Ponies line up for it right from the first day, buyin' it by the mug, by the jug, or even by the keg if we have enough." She paused a moment, recollecting how previous cider seasons had gone, then leaned in conspiratorially close. "Just between you and me, if you come, let me know early so I can set some aside for y'all. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have been known to camp outside my farm gate two days early."

Applejack leaned back in her seat again, taking another sip of milk before continuing. "Now, the zap apples, well, they're an even more special case. This here's the only orchard where they grow, because they only seem to want to grow near the Everfree Forest. Not even any of the rest of my family have them in their orchards. And you can only pick them for one day, so when they grow, y'all have to be ready to go from sunup to sundown. But no matter what you make out of them, whether it's pies or tarts, or jam, especially, it tastes like nothing else, so it's one more of those special, rare things ponies around here look forward to."

Once again, can't post in a vacuum. Won't be makibg it this week.

@Skycoaster

Your go.

@PathfinderCS

Your go.

Well, now we know how they're going to explain why Starlight Glimmer isn't in the movie.

@Skycoaster

Applejack took another sip of milk as she listened to Princess Luna, nodding. It was true that in the last few years she had gotten far more attention than she thought any simple pony like her should have had. Okay, what she had done may have been important, and one of her best friends may now have been royalty, but she still didn't think that any other pony wouldn't have at least tried to step up and do the same in her place. Still, the attention had indeed rolled in, despite her efforts to stay as low-key as possible.

"Well, it's true I do get invitations, but I don't think I get as many as y'all do." she explained. "At the end of the day, though, I'm not a Princess, I'm an apple farmer, so a lot of the time, whether or not I go to something depends on whether my farm or my family needs me. I've gone to the last few Galas, but they're only one night. Some of these other events are an entire week, and it makes getting away harder if it's in the middle of harvest season or something." Applejack paused and took a deep breath, as though a little nervous about asking her next question. "Uhm, this may sound a little oversimple, but, have y'all considered just asking what the occasion is about when you got there? I'm sure they'd be happy to share the reasons why they do."

@PathfinderCS

Applejack snickered at the complement regarding her horse sense. "Well, it didn't take much of it to see he was bein' phonier than a three-bit coin. I just would have liked a stallion who was interested in me to be honest about who he was and not try to be something he clearly wasn't." She slowly rolled her shoulder, rotating her left foreleg a little to test it after that sudden shooting pain earlier. "Still, I guess you're right. There's hope yet to find the right one. No sense in tryin' to force it to happen, that's for sure!"

Applejack nodded as she listened to Trixie talk about her brothers, and not being sure of what they were doing. Again, Applejack couldn't imagine being away from her closest family for long. She often figured she could never bring herself to leave Ponyville for good. For Trixie, though, she figured that even being out of the loop didn't mean they weren't still family, or that it wouldn't be better late than never. "Well, there ya go. Another good reason to take the time to go home and reconnect. Find out what they're doin' and all. Who knows? You might get a surprise or two when you do."

@Skycoaster

Your go.

Wouldn't even consider it. Nothing in common, and she'd be way, WAY too high maintenance.

Almost any other, but not Rarity.

@Skycoaster

Applejack's ears pricked up when Princess Luna began to ask about something, but then was left hanging, wondering what she was going to say, and whether she had thought better of doing so, or had trouble articulating it. Finally she had asked about local celebrations, which left Applejack puzzled again. While she knew that Luna and Celestia had originally lived in seeming isolation out at the castle in the Everfree Forest, Applejack thought it couldn't have been so remote that she had no idea about the sorts of things ponies would celebrate among themselves.

For now, she nodded. "Well, there's a lot of them, I'll admit. At least one or two per town and city in Equestria, but most of them follow the same sorta pattern." she explained. "Usually it's to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the town. We have one here, too. We call it Ponyville Days. There's a fair, and food, and dancing, and maybe some other things, too, depending on who's organizing it, but it's always a chance to get out and celebrate your home and the ponies in it and the good things that come from it." She paused to take her own sip of milk first, before continuing. "There's usually a couple others that every town does but puts their own spin on, like the harvest festivals. We have a parade here for that. And then there's some tings that just sorta grew out of one event and took on a life of it's own. Like, every year we have the Applewood Derby, and race fancied-up old-time carts. That was just something someone thought would be a fun time, and a lot of ponies agreed!"

@PathfinderCS

Applejack's eyes widened a little as Trixie described her family. "Five brothers? Whoa. No wonder y'all spend so much time on the road," she said with a grin, then quickly added, "I'm joking. That sounds wonderful, havin' such a big family. Sometimes I wish mine were bigger. And if y'all manage to convince them to come, I'd be happy to show them around."

Far from thinking Trixie was turning back to her old self, Applejack actually seemed relieved as Trixie related her experiences. "Thank Celestia it wasn't just me, then!" she exclaimed, then took a breath and attempted to explain herself. "There was this one stallion who took a fancy to me, but he was definitely tryin' too hard. He was this bigshot travel writer from Canterlot that Rarity invited to the Ponyville Days Festival. He and I had absolutely nothin' in common, but right from the get-go he tried everything he could think of to get me to notice him, including trying to act like a farmer! And he wouldn't take a hint! I actually had to hide in my henhouse for an hour just to get him to leave!" Applejack winced a little and took a deep breath, realizing that she had been tensing up as she retold the story, and it had been aggravating her sore shoulder. After a few moments of deep breaths, she finally looked up and said, "Anyway, there's the sorry state of my love life for ya."

@Skycoaster

Applejack nodded, rising from her seat at the table. "Of course," she said, and trotted to the fridge once more, this time to pour two tall glasses of milk. Carrying them to the table, and setting one in front of Princess Luna with a "Here you go, Ma'am," she returned to her own seat and dessert.

"Well, that's true," she continued, "In fact, it's the only holiday I can remember being about someone or something being defeated, but Princess Celestia was pretty quick to make it a celebration about you coming back home, too. I reckon over a thousand years, your reasons for doin' things can sure change a lot." She paused as she took one more bite of pie and then washed it down with a large sip of milk. "I guess y'all have had the crash course on Nightmare Night, so, what other ones are givin' you trouble?"

@PathfinderCS

Applejack smiled. "Well, y'all would be the best one to show 'em around Equestria, I reckon. I could help give 'em a tour around Ponyville if they do. How many are in your family, anyway?" It had almost seemed to Applejack, the way Trixie had been talking, that she had quite a big family herself.

Applejack tried to settle into a more comfortable spot, at least as comfortable as possible in a piece of airship wreckage under a very hot sun. It seemed she and Trixie had more in common than she had thought. In fact, Maybe Trixie had something in common with her that none of her other friends did.

"Say, Trixie, can I ask you 'bout something, mare to mare? Y'all don't have to answer if you don't want to, but you've traveled a lot more than I have and you've seen a lot of ponies, so I was wondering..." She took a deep breath, as though contemplating just how to phrase her question, then continued, "Have y'all ever had some stallion suddenly get totally smitten on you, and you don't know where it came from or why but they'll try just about anything to get your attention?"

@Skycoaster

Applejack could feel the inquisitive look creeping slowly onto her face. Of course, having been in one Hearth's Warming pageant, she knew exactly who Commander Hurricane was. Hay, every school colt and filly in Equestria knew the names of the Founding Six ponies of Equestria. But a victory in battle over the griffons? That was something she didn't remember from her school history lessons. Even if it were the griffons who invaded first, it certainly sounded like something the Equestria of today would have liked to have forgotten.

"Uhm, well, this may be a hunch, but, I think the reason they might not celebrate that any more is because we actually have a lot of griffons living in Equestria now." she said tentatively. "Many of them were born 'n' raised here. It's 'cause their own kingdom pretty much collapsed. Even had their own team in the Equestria Games." She took another bite of pie as that sunk in. "Refugees having been coming in for centuries, now. Just ask Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, they've seen what it's like there first hoof!"

@PathfinderCS

Applejack smirked. She had never really though about how difficult it could be to sum up her brother and sister in just a few words, but then, she never thought she'd have to, either. They were who they were and she knew them well and loved them for it. Still, she grew quiet and thoughtful for a moment. "Well, Big Macintosh, on the outside, he's the strong silent type, but don't let that fool you. Inside his mind is working every moment, turnin' every little thing over in his head, over and over. Sometimes it's problems with the farm, sometimes it's just life in general, but he's always thinkin'. He probably woulda gone to one of those big fancy universities somewhere if he weren't needed so bad on the farm." Applejack paused again, as though that thought had brought up something else, then continued, "One thing's for sure, when he does speak, I've learned to listen up!"

Applejack smiled as she continued, "Now, Apple Bloom, she's something else. Twice as stubborn as any member of the Apple Family you care to name, bold as brass and tough as nails. When she puts her mind to something, she's gonna do it, believe it. Where she gets her energy from I couldn't say but she's got it in spades!" Applejack snickered, almost in spite of herself, as though remembering something, then added, "She finally got her cutie mark, too! She'd been on about getting that for ages, it seemed like. I didn't know whether to be proud she an' her friends got 'em, or relieved that they weren't gonna be trying any crazy stunts to find it any more!"

Applejack watched Trixie muse about her own family and life on the road, and said gently, "Well, when all this is over maybe y'all ought to schedule a good long visit with them. You'll never regret spending more time with your family, I reckon."

@Skycoaster

Applejack opened the door leading into the farmhouse's kitchen and ushered Princess Luna in first, before following and heading to the oven where the evening's remaining dessert was still being kept warm. She cut a pair of slices with a knife held deftly in her teeth, and just as skillfully guided them to two plates before carrying them over to the table and sitting down herself.

Applejack nodded. "Well, I had noticed you weren't at the party," she admitted, "but I thought it was because y'all were holding down the fort. Dealing with things in the night is kinda your specialty."

Taking a bite of her slice of pie, she savoured it for a moment, the swallowed and continued. "Anyway, I'm happy to help you understand things. Anything in particular giving you trouble?"

@PathfinderCS

Still your go.

@Skycoaster

Applejack briefly looked a little puzzled. Here was one of the original Princesses of Equestria asking for her help on... Equestrian traditions and holidays? It seemed to her on first thought that here was a pony who had seen how many of them originated in the first place, experiencing some events first-hoof. On second thought, though, after Luna's first experience with Nightmare Night, perhaps there were a few things that had come up.

The moment's consideration over, Applejack quickly nodded her agreement. "Uhm, of course. Please, come on in." she said, waving her hoof towards the nearby farmhouse. "And don't worry, I had nothin' left to do tonight. Granny made a fresh pie for dessert tonight, so I hope you brought your sweet tooth." she continued, not mentioning what kind of pie it was as though there were only one kind of pie in the world and it was entirely unnecessary to do so. As they approached the farmhouse, Applejack asked, "So, uh, what sort of things are giving you trouble?"