Apple Jack as a backround pony?

[TheUnionJake 41]

So, I've seen all these posts about the mane 6 and McDonalds is coming out with new toys for MLP Rainbow Power and AppleJack isn't mentioned in most of the posts and she's not in the toys! They but Vinyl in, but not AJ! This must be a long - standing joke in the community that I haven't heard of yet. If it is, it's most certainly a cruel one. AppleJack isn't half the size for the work she does, but she does it 10x better than anyone else and she busts her flank all day, doesn't she deserve some credit?

Edited March 25, 2014 by TheUnionJake

[Nine 707]

I hate to be the bearer of amusing irony .......... but you spelled her name wrong. It's just "Applejack", no space.

 

Oh .. poor AJ .. just can't catch a break.

 

Okay, we all still love AJ, but her character was stunted somewhat from the beginning. I think this vid is the community-vetted answer to "why Applejack gets no love", if you want to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsfJaIaRyUk

[Adachi 772]

I agree, AJ needs a lot more love!

[SveciaDash 364]

I agree, AJ needs a lot more love!

But shes working her dreamjob and has a loving family and great friends...

 

but I guess ill take the bullet and show her some löve

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

Yeahh, that REALLY pissed me off.

 

Vinyl Scratch should never take the spot of a mane 6 pony. That horribly overrated background pony is not nearly AJ's caliber of fabulousness (She's fabulous in her own way, dammit.)

Of course, it's just McDonald's toys. They're probably pretty cheap and of piss poor quality, anyway  

 

They're probably just as good as decision to replace AJ with Vinyl.

 

Which, was a pretty piss poor decision

Eh. Boo. AJ needs more love, Vinyl is gag-inducing, she's so overrated.

[Nine 707]

 

 

Vinyl is gag-inducing, she's so overrated.

idk .. I think the only thing better than one white unicorn is two 

[Icedog68 71]

IDK, but alot of people like AJ! look at lists of people's fav ponies

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

It's one of those cases where the random background character overtakes a main character in general popularity. Normally said background character at least has speaking lines in canon, but I can see why the fandom latched onto Vinyl. She's a DJ, that much we know for sure. DJs are cool. And enough of the fandom (and the target demographic, perhaps?) like her to make swapping AJ out for her worth it for the toy marketers.

 

Also, there's a possibility this is promo material for a future episode with Vinyl in it, or even Rainbow Rocks (given that it's about music, Vinyl might be a centerpiece of the new EQ girls).

 

That said AJ is severely underrated and deserves more.

[Rift enchanted 380]

I've heard a bunch of bronies dissing off Aj as being a background pony. After simple ways you can't say that.

 

Vinyl is a background pony that the fandom gave her popularity too. She doesn't even have a single line.

 

The other bronies dragged us into this. We gotta make them stop and reclaim Applejack's glory.

 

 

I say for the apples!

[Andaasonsan 3,205]

idk .. I think the only thing better than one white unicorn is two 

Scratch is a very pale yellow. Doesn't count.  :comeatus:

[Red Cedar 1,408]

Okay, we all still love AJ, but her character was stunted somewhat from the beginning. I think this vid is the community-vetted answer to "why Applejack gets no love", if you want to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsfJaIaRyUk

While I'd say that was an excellent analysis of Applejack in the first two seasons, I'd venture to say she has improved over the other two. I personally consider her the most developed character of the six, due to episodes like "Apple Family Reunion" and "Somepony to Watch Over Me".

 

So, yeah, in short, Applejack gets shafted, and she doesn't deserve it.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

So I'm guessing everypony in Equestria gets Rainbow Power then, and it's not some mane 6 exclusive power? This may explain why we have Celestia, Luna, and Vinyl (and no Applejack unfortunately) having Rainbow power toys.

[Castle Bleck 19,376]

AJ needs more love

 

My response:

 

 

Vinyl is gag-inducing, she's so overrated.

 

My response:

 

[Adorkable 2,737]

I LOVE Applejack.

 

I never really used to before, but I've really been feeling more positive about her lately.

 

I think how she's been doing in this season has really been helping her character, and is taking her out of that "background pony" nonsense.

 

I hope she comes out with a toy too. :/

[TheUnionJake 41]

I hate to be the bearer of amusing irony .......... but you spelled her name wrong. It's just "Applejack", no space.

 

That is most amusing irony, and I typed this in a hurry, so I have no idea how I spelled the other 99% correct. I'll fix that.

[Nine 707]

Scratch is a very pale yellow. Doesn't count.  :comeatus:

That is nigh (neigh?) on indistinguishable .. huh. Well, alright.

 

 

While I'd say that was an excellent analysis of Applejack in the first two seasons, I'd venture to say she has improved over the other two. I personally consider her the most developed character of the six, due to episodes like "Apple Family Reunion" and "Somepony to Watch Over Me".

 

So, yeah, in short, Applejack gets shafted, and she doesn't deserve it.

That occurred to me when I posted the link, which was very relevant at the time the "AJ is best background pony" thing began. It's a bit dated now that we've had two more seasons but I think the criticisms still live on.

 

I think Apple Family Reunion is the better AJ episode out of the two, but the lesson wasn't unique to AJ's character. The lesson is that the company of the people you keep is more meaningful than the things you're doing together. AJ might be the pony best suited to show this lesson, because she comes "built-in" with a whole group (her family) that can exemplify this on screen, but if not for that, I'd have given the story to a pony like Twilight instead. The neurotic focus on the details of the activities and losing sight of the point of doing them together in the first place, reminds me more of Lesson Zero. Besides, where does this tunnel vision in AJ even come from? It wasn't a part of her character before this episode and like the rodeo competitions mentioned in that video, seems to be a plot point for the one episode, never to be seen again. Probably my biggest "why" question about this episode though is why this would even be a problem for AJ in the first place? I know it's said in the episode that she's concerned about making the best, most memorable family reunion ever, but she's THE family pony! Even in her drive to accomplish this, it doesn't seem right that she'd lose sight of the people involved. Put another way, it felt more to me like she just forgot something she already knew, under the pressure of getting the event perfect.

 

Then there's Somepony to Watch Over Me. Basically, bluntly, AJ was ridiculous in this episode. She was like a strange pony in an Applejack suit. It also wasn't really an episode about her. It could have worked with Rarity and Sweetie Belle I think, and the only reason I think it works better as an Applejack and Apple Bloom episode is because of Apple Bloom. Of the three CMCs, she's the most eager to grow up and have independence - which is what this episode was about, and it makes more sense in the context of developing Apple Bloom's character because she learns something about taking on the big, bad world before she's really ready for it, and that her sister maybe does know what's best for her sometimes after all. Arguably AJ does learn a lesson about letting Apple Bloom scrape her knees from time to time, and let her grow up a little more, but again that only stands out in this one episode *because* AJ is acting so uncharacteristically overprotective.

[Rift enchanted 380]

Also a valuable thing to note in the episode super speedy cider squeezy 6000

 

Aj taught us an amazing lesson

[Red Cedar 1,408]

In the case of Applejack, the factors that work both for and against her character developing further are that the writers are unwilling to acknowledge certain elephants in the room outright. The "a-ha" moment in "Somepony to Watch Over Me" was Applejack's fear that "I may never see my little sister again!"

 

Simply put, she was (and remains) terrified of losing another family member, the way she lost her parents, but the writers weren't going to come out and say it.

 

Likewise, when it comes to goals for Applejack for the future, they have to tread water again. As the analysis video said, Applejack is precisely where she wants to be. She has the most stable home life of the ponies and is aruguably the most mature. So, her overprotectiveness in that episode was probably a manifestation of two things. First, she wants Apple Bloom to have happy childhood memories of what is remaining of her family growing up together. And second, out of all the ponies, with her sense of family and the connectedness of generations, she would probably be the first to start realistically thinking of starting a family of her own. Again, though, the writers aren't going to come out and say that, and they're certainly not going to start any long-reaching story arcs culminating in Applejack reaching that goal in the same way that, say, Rainbow Dash has been gradually working towards joining the Wonderbolts.

 

As I said, I think Applejack is the most developed character of the show, but unfortunately, it's only because of what is known in the background.

[Champion RD92 8,658]

 

Vinyl Scratch should never take the spot of a mane 6 pony. That horribly overrated background pony is not nearly AJ's caliber of fabulousness (She's fabulous in her own way, dammit.)

 

Exactly!!! A background pony should never replace a mane 6 pony, that's completely ridiculous, and it's insulting to AJ, especially considering the fact that Vinyl Scratch is barely even a character in the show. Applejack doesn't deserve to be treated like this, dangit

[Khaoios 1,970]

Yeahh, that REALLY pissed me off.

 

Vinyl Scratch should never take the spot of a mane 6 pony. That horribly overrated background pony is not nearly AJ's caliber of fabulousness (She's fabulous in her own way, dammit.)

 

Of course, it's just McDonald's toys. They're probably pretty cheap and of piss poor quality, anyway  

 

They're probably just as good as decision to replace AJ with Vinyl.

 

Which, was a pretty piss poor decision

 

Eh. Boo. AJ needs more love, Vinyl is gag-inducing, she's so overrated.

 

I have to agree...........not a fan of AJ, myself, but to slowly being moved away and Vinyl coming up from the background status is inexcusable.  AJ definitely needs more love and hopefully there are more episodes featuring her. 

 

I have a hunch that people are obsessed with Vinyl just b/c of her fan-side stories and all that jazz, if you know what i mean.

[Clarity 3,094]

I don't get it. This is ridiculous.

 

I'd have thought that, after almost two seasons of which Applejack stood out as a prominent support character in most main six episodes and a wonderfully developed one in her own episodes, that there wouldn't be "background pony" jokes about her anymore. Even if people are still, for whatever blasphemous reason, not satisfied with her as a main character, I don't know how she could sink to the level of an actual background pony. I just don't. 

 

I realize that she's not everyone's favorite, but... really? Replaced by Vinyl Scratch? I don't understand why McDonalds would do this unless they have a special bias against her or something.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

and all that jazz

 

You mean all that dubstep.

 

But yes, when even the promotional material treats AJ as a background pony, it's not good. At. All.

 

I can understand if this were some company like Funko or WeLoveFine were to do this, but McDonald's?  Who's probably going to put them in Happy Meals actually aimed to the target demographic?  Double Shame.  Double Shame.

 

 

I realize that she's not everyone's favorite, but... really? Replaced by Vinyl Scratch? I don't understand why McDonalds would do this unless they have a special bias against her or something.

 

Sweet Apple Acres didn't agree to their 75-25% contract.

Edited March 25, 2014 by OptimisticNeighsayer

[Eloquence 2,076]

While I absolutely think that AJ deserves to be one of the toys here, because I love her and think she's a fascinating character, I do think it's worth noting that in Rainbow Rocks Vinyl will probably not be a background pony. I mean, we saw her twice in the only preview we've got, and I don't think they'd show so much of her just as fanservice. My guess is that Rainbow Rocks will be her big debut as a legitimate character, and you can all make of that what you will.

[Lightwing 12,975]

And we start again...

 

Althogh Applejack is and will be my favourite pony,in unquestionable that Vinyl is more popular...and that's what makes me angry :okiedokielokie:

 

Starting from the beggining,why McDonnald's put Vinyl on the place of Applejack?Pure winnings.

They "probably" knew about the differences with Applejack and Vinyl's popularity,and because the second is A bit more popular they thought that the change would be better to get more money.

 

But'you know what,McDonnald's?

You've lost a client,and a good one -_-

At least until you fix your error,and you exchange Vinyl for Applejack

Yeahh, that REALLY pissed me off.

 

Vinyl Scratch should never take the spot of a mane 6 pony. That horribly overrated background pony is not nearly AJ's caliber of fabulousness (She's fabulous in her own way, dammit.)

 

Of course, it's just McDonald's toys. They're probably pretty cheap and of piss poor quality, anyway

 

They're probably just as good as decision to replace AJ with Vinyl.

 

Which, was a pretty piss poor decision

 

Eh. Boo. AJ needs more love, Vinyl is gag-inducing, she's so overrated.

I love how a Rarity fan aids Applejack too

 

But what happens with that pony?A background pony trying to quit the position of a main one...that's no good

 

The overrating that Vinyl suffers is too much.And i know that at least 30 vinyl fans will rip me alive,but i'll say that anyways.

She's not so special.If she was a main/secondary one,that would be another thing.But a background one???And without personality and/or dialogues???

What's wrong with you,McDonnald's?I would've waited this from fan makers,but from a multinational company???

 

I'll shut up before i say something that i'll regret -_-

[Castle Bleck 19,376]

I love Vinyl, but the whole "replacing Applejack" business =

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1QCBF3h_tM