Applejack

Applejack is a female Earth pony and one of the main characters of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. She lives and works at Sweet Apple Acres with her grandmother Granny Smith; her big brother Big McIntosh; her little sister Apple Bloom; and her dog Winona. She represents the element of honesty. Applejack is dependable and loyal, always willing to help anybody in need. She is shown to be supportive and protective of Apple Bloom and her friends. She works at Sweet Apple Acres mainly as an apple bucker, though the Apples occasionally farm carrots and corn as well.

Production and development
Applejack is one of the only two members of the main cast who were part of the original My Little Pony cast in the 1980s animated series, the other member being Spike. Lauren Faust, the show's developer, was inspired to create Applejack by her childhood toy G1 pony Applejack. Faust intended to use more characters from the first My Little Pony series, Hasbro did not maintain the trademarks to nearly all of the original character names and most names had to be replaced. Faust used the character's, abandoning the dark red color from the G3 toy line. During the 2012 BroNYcon convention, voice actress Ashleigh Ball cited country singers Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton as inspiration for Applejack's voice and dialect. She shares some personality traits with the G1 pony named Starlight.

Name
Applejack is also the name of a strong alcoholic beverage produced from apples. In the episode Bridle Gossip, poison joke causes Applejack to shrink. Spike calls her "Apple Teeny," pronounced the same as appletini, an apple-flavored alcoholic cocktail.

Applejack is the first pony to have her name abbreviated in the show. In Applebuck Season, Twilight calls her "A.J.," a nickname that is used again by Spike in Boast Busters, Big McIntosh in Winter Wrap Up, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash in The Last Roundup, and Pinkie Pie in MMMystery on the Friendship Express.

Diligence
"This is your sister Applejack - remember? The loyalest of friends and the most dependable of ponies?!"

- Applejack, talking to her brother

Applejack is a brave, reliable, strong, mature, and hard-working pony, although headstrong about doing things on her own. In the episode Applebuck Season, she insists on tackling the annual apple harvest all by herself while her brother Big McIntosh recovers from an injury. Big McIntosh doubts her ability to complete the seemingly insurmountable task, but Applejack is determined. After she diverts a cattle stampede that was headed toward Ponyville, the townsfolk hold a ceremony in her honor, where her close friends champion her helpfulness. She receives her trophy without much fanfare and goes back to her applebucking. She becomes exhausted, but continues to buck trees and repeatedly refuses Twilight Sparkle's many offers of assistance. She eventually faints at the sight of the scores of apple trees she still has to harvest, and finally looks past her pride and accepts help from her friends. She shows in Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 that she truly learned this lesson, as she was touched by her friend's offers to help as 'honorary family members' and immediately accepts.

In Apple Family Reunion, when Granny Smith gives the job of hosting the reunion to Applejack, she is determined to host as many activities as she can so they can create many good memories. However, despite her good intentions, Applejack becomes too caught up in her planning to realize that the most important thing about the reunion is to bond with your family. Eventually, she learns her lesson, and brings the family back together to raise the demolished barn.

Mannerisms
Applejack speaks with a Southern American accent, a thick southern drawl, similar to the accent of the southwestern Missouri and Oklahoma Ozarks, where there is a great number of apple orchards. In numerous episodes, she refers to members of her friends and family as "sugarcube" as a sign of affection.

She has no reservations about getting dirty or messy or having any proper eating etiquette, much to Rarity's dismay during a sleepover in Look Before You Sleep, walking in Twilight's library with muddy hooves, chewing with her mouth open and burping, and unwilling to bother with making the bed. Applejack says in A Dog and Pony Show, "Now I'm used to pickin' myself up and dustin' myself off, but Rarity won't even touch mud unless it's imported." A rare exception is seen in A Bird in the Hoof, when she is reluctant to begin eating at Princess Celestia's brunch because she does not know which dish is "proper" to eat first.

In Sisterhooves Social, Applejack does not take offense when Rarity calls the competition held at the Apple farm "uncouth". Applejack simply tells Sweetie Belle that her big sister Rarity thinks everything is uncouth, but that she will come around in time. She gently offers Rarity advice on how to compromise and better get along with Sweetie Belle, which Rarity gratefully accepts.

Applejack dislikes things that are "girly", like the froufrou dresses in Suited for Success. Applejack describes in a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles how she tried being a pony of elegance for a short time as a young filly by moving to Manehattan to live with her Aunt and Uncle Orange, but ultimately decided to return to the farm after she realized that she was homesick. When Apple Bloom starts speaking French in The Cutie Pox, Applejack says her sister is "speakin' in fancy".

She is almost always seen wearing a light brown stetson hat, which she usually removes before sleeping, and is the only one of the six main characters to keep her mane and tail tied back in a "ponytail". Applejack takes great pride in her hat and usually won't go anywhere without it. In the episode A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 she hastily puts on her hat over her headband while Rarity is busy crying for Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. During the episode The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Applejack is the only pony to keep the hat on when Rainbow Dash realizes that it was her friends that were the hero stealing her thunder. Also, in the many times that she has been made to wear a dress, she usually has a revised version of her stetson. Even her handpicked dress in Suited For Success had a hat, although it wasn't her normal one. Applejack also has more than one hat as shown in Magic Duel because Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Applejack herself are each wearing copies of the hat at the same time. In Somepony to Watch Over Me, the Apple family home is shown to have a whole closet with Applejack's hats (and pink bows for Apple Bloom).

Stubbornness and giving in
In Look Before You Sleep, she lets her feud with Rarity ruin Twilight Sparkle's sleepover; and in Fall Weather Friends, she allows herself to become just as underhanded as Rainbow Dash in her attempt to win. In both of these situations, she eventually lets go of her pride and is the first to apologize. She is quick to argue with Rainbow Dash in Over a Barrel, worsening the tension between the residents of Appleloosa and the buffalo.

In Applebuck Season, she shows great resilience when being offered help, working herself past exhaustion in the midst of trying to harvest the entire apple orchard on her own. Her fatigue has shown through considerably by the time she finally accepts assistance from her friends.

In Bats!, Applejack clashes with Fluttershy over how to deal with a swarm of vampire fruit bats. When her methods lead to Fluttershy becoming a bat herself, Applejack soon relents, giving a portion of the orchard to the vampire fruit bats.

Empathy and care
Applejack is often shown to be one of the more empathetic members of the main cast, putting the needs and feelings of others before her own.

In The Ticket Master, Applejack states that her reason for wanting to attend the Grand Galloping Gala is so she can sell enough treats to buy a replacement hip for Granny Smith. In Dragonshy, despite the other ponies' impatience (with the exception of Pinkie Pie) with Fluttershy, Applejack is willing to take the long way around the mountain with her in order to help her up. Applejack is also the first to notice Twilight Sparkle's glumness in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1. In Sleepless in Ponyville she is the only pony who notices that Scootaloo is abnormally nervous and jumpy.

Applejack pulls back Rainbow Dash by her tail when she is about to do something rash, as seen in the episodes Friendship is Magic, part 1 and part 2, The Ticket Master, Dragonshy, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, and The Crystal Empire - Part 2.

In Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1, Applejack is the one to assure Twilight that they and their friends will always be connected through the Elements of Harmony. She is also the first to take Twilight's safety into consideration for Equestria's sake in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2.

On occasion, Applejack gets carried away with her empathy, especially with Apple Bloom. In Bridle Gossip, Applejack becomes overprotective of Apple Bloom when Zecora comes into Ponyville. Her overprotective nature comes into play again in the episode Somepony to Watch Over Me.

Honesty
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!"

- Twilight Sparkle, Friendship is Magic, part 2

Applejack represents the element of honesty. Twilight Sparkle deduces this in Friendship is Magic, part 2, explaining that Applejack demonstrated her honesty when they faced their challenges against Nightmare Moon. Applejack finds it difficult to go against her natural honesty in Party of One when she has to lie about why she cannot attend Gummy's after-birthday party. She sweats and grins nervously under Pinkie Pie's scrutiny despite having the most credible excuse: needing to buck apples.

In The Return of Harmony Part 1, Applejack is the first pony to be hypnotized and brainwashed by Discord, causing her and her hat to turn into a greyer shade. Applejack becomes a compulsive liar, throwing hurtful and sarcastic jabs at her friends. Initially, her lies are not particularly convincing or malicious, but they grow more ridiculous and harmful as the corruption intensifies. She paid for one of her lies when she tells Rarity that Twilight told her to split the rock and Rarity starts doing martial arts on her. Also when she states that she doesn't know where Rarity was and in turn got beat up by Twilight. She was also bowled over when Twilight was performing the memory spell right after she asked "Where you went when I was battlin' Discord?". This may also lead to believe that Applejack herself might have believed her lies to an extent as she mention that she was fighting Discord before to Granny Smith. She is also the first pony to have her corruption cured by Twilight, and one of the first things she does is apologize.

The limits of Applejack's honesty are put to the test in Leap of Faith. When Flim and Flam sell their placebo potion to Granny Smith, Applejack endorses the product, while knowing it is a fake, because it visibly makes Granny Smith feel happier. Once the placebo effect leads Granny Smith to attempt a dangerous dive, she turns honest about the product. Her honesty rubs off on a salespony for the product, who comes to realize he had been helping to deceive other ponies.

Appetite
Applejack is seen to possess a huge appetite, as seen in A Bird in the Hoof and Apple Family Reunion. Granny Smith recalls the time when an Apple family relative found Applejack as a foal eating all the apple fritters, showing that she had the appetite of a "full-grown stallion".

Strength
Applejack possesses incredible physical strength due to, as she explains in Fall Weather Friends, years of applebucking, the practice of harvesting apple trees by kicking them to knock the apples down, which is first named in Applebuck Season. The examples of this include, but not limited to:


 * Applebuck Season: Even when she is sleep-deprived, Applejack clears all of the apples out of a tree in a single kick.
 * Fall Weather Friends: In the bucking contest, Applejack uses one hind hoof and bucks the hammer so hard that it breaks and sends the bell flying.
 * Mysterious Mare Do Well: While dressed up, she stops a bus from falling with a single kick.
 * My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Her human counterpart lifts a table up with one arm while it took two fairly large guys to lift up another.
 * Leap of Faith: When trying to 'rescue' Granny Smith while the latter is swimming, Applejack knocks over a tall tree with a single kick.

It should be noted that in the episode Over a Barrel, the citizens of Appleloosa need to work in groups and kick multiple times to harvest apples from a single tree.

Athleticism
Applejack possesses extraordinary strength and athletic abilities. She and Rainbow Dash compete in the Iron Pony competition in Fall Weather Friends, where their athletic feats draw a sizable crowd. Applejack demonstrates her skills with a lasso in Applebuck Season, Boast Busters, Look Before You Sleep, Bridle Gossip, Fall Weather Friends, and The Return of Harmony Part 2.

In The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Applejack refers to her left and right hind hooves as "Bucky McGillycuddy" and "Kicks McGee" respectively.

Cooking
Pinkie Pie describes Applejack as "one of the best bakers ever" in Applebuck Season. Applejack sells apple-based foods at a concession stand in The Best Night Ever. In an earlier episode, Applejack describes to Twilight how she will use the money from the concession stand to upgrade the barn roof, buy a new plow for Big McIntosh, and replace Granny Smith's hip. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, Princess Celestia asks Applejack to prepare refreshments and the wedding cake for Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's royal wedding. She cheers up a grumpy Twilight with an apple fritter during the wedding preparations. In Apple Family Reunion, Applejack shows her skill at making apple fritters to her relatives. In Rainbow Falls, she makes an abundance of apple brown bettys for the Ponyville air relay team.

Herding
She stops a cow stampede in Applebuck Season with only the help of her dog, Winona. Twilight Sparkle seeks her help first when she is looking for a way to herd the Parasprites out of Ponyville in Swarm of the Century. Applejack and her family also herded the Pinkie Pies together as Twilight had instructed in Too Many Pinkie Pies.

Playing musical instruments
In Swarm of the Century, Pinkie Pie borrows a harmonica from Applejack to help control the parasprite infestation. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, the picture montage shown during Love is in Bloom shows Applejack playing a fiddle as Apple Fritter and Meadow Song dance. In Pinkie Apple Pie, Applejack plays a banjo during the song Apples to the Core.

Ice sculpting
During the royal wedding preparations, Applejack crafts a heart-shaped ice sculpture.

Experience as a Ponyville citizen
Throughout the series, Applejack tells Twilight Sparkle about the way things are in Ponyville. She gets upset with Twilight for using magic during Winter Wrap Up, and tells her "That's not how we do it 'round here, Twilight, and especially not on mah farm", although she quickly regrets her outburst when Twilight runs off in tears.

She explains to Twilight in Feeling Pinkie Keen that "those of us who have been in Ponyville a while, have learned over time that, if Pinkie's-a-twichin', you better listen."

Cutie mark
In Call of the Cutie, Applejack tells her sister that she was the last one in her class to get a cutie mark, a trait that seems to run in their family; Granny Smith and Big McIntosh were also the last ponies in their classes to get their cutie marks. In The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Applejack tells the Cutie Mark Crusaders the story of how she got her cutie mark. It begins with a young Applejack leaving the farm to live with her upper class relatives, the Oranges, in a big city called Manehattan. However, she finds it hard to fit in and becomes terribly homesick. The rainbow left in the wake of Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom convinces her to return home. Applejack realizes that she truly belongs in the family farm, and her cutie mark, three apples, appears.

The Apple family
Applejack's immediate and extended family is featured in the show multiple times. This includes her big brother Big McIntosh, her little sister Apple Bloom, her grandmother Granny Smith, and many more distant relatives. The episode Pinkie Apple Pie suggests that Pinkie Pie may be among these distant relatives, but all evidence shown leaves this ambiguous.

Applejack's parents
The whereabouts of Applejack's parents is touched on in the episode Apple Family Reunion. At the end of the episode, the shot fades to a view of Sweet Apple Acres as two shooting stars fly through the sky. The shooting stars are meant to represent Applejack's parents, according to storyboard artist Sabrina Alberghetti. Lauren Faust had previously mentioned that the whereabouts of Applejack's parents has not been planned, and that the show is unlikely to mention that they've passed away. Faust stated she wanted that to be the case.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls
In My Little Pony Equestria Girls, Applejack's human counterpart is first seen delivering fizzy apple cider to the Fall Formal's decorator, Pinkie Pie. She tries to dissuade Twilight from running for Princess, telling her that Sunset Shimmer viciously seeks to humiliate any competition.

It is later revealed that Applejack and the rest of the mane six's counterparts had been driven apart by Sunset Shimmer's machinations. Rainbow Dash had promised to have the school's softball team attend a bake sale Applejack was running, only for Rainbow to be messaged by someone else that the sale had been moved to a different day. Once Twilight reveals the truth, they all reconcile and help Twilight win Princess of the Fall Formal.

Just like her pony counterpart Applejack is dependable, hardworking and honest. She's also quite strong, easily lifting and carrying a folding table while a similar table takes two male athletes to move.

Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks
The human version of Applejack reappears in animated short clips in the trailer for the sequel My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, where she plays bass.

A Case for the Bass
Applejack is the lead role in the animated short A Case for the Bass, wherein her bass is accidentally sold by Granny Smith to a pair of familiar pawn dealers. She offers to pay back the two dollars the brothers initially paid for the guitar, but they are skeptical that it even belonged to Applejack in the first place; not even her monogrammed initials on the guitar strap are enough to convince them. When they go so far as to question Applejack's playing ability, Applejack takes the guitar and plays a skillful bass solo, causing her to transform into her half-pony form.

Hasbro.com description
''Having grown up working hard to keep her family's famous apple business growing, Applejack has come to be known as the most down-to-earth, resourceful, and dependable Earth Pony this side of Ponyville! A proud farm pony to the core, she's not afraid to get her hooves dirty and to her, there's nothing a little horse-sense and elbow-grease can't take care of. Incredibly honest, Applejack would never stoop to tell a lie and this makes her a beacon for those seeking advice. Applejack has an impeccable ability to break a situation down to its core and fix it fast, and usually topped off with a wacky country anecdote told with a charming of country twang.''

Hasbro.com second description
''Here's a pony that's no stranger to hard work. It's Applejack, and she's never afraid to get her hooves dirty! Known for her honesty and integrity, Applejack would never stoop to tell a lie. Dependable and down-to-earth, she isn't afraid of jumping in and getting the job done. Even after a long day of working on the farm, family and friends are always her top priority!''

Hasbro.com Equestria Girls description
''Applejack believes that honesty is the best policy. Well, that, and that the way to a girl's heart is through some good old-fashioned down-home cooking. So when Twilight Sparkle exposes Sunset Shimmer's devious and dishonest ways, Applejack is all too happy to team up with her friends and help Twilight win the Fall Formal princess crown. Because to be honest, which is the only way Applejack knows how to be, there's nothing she'd rather see than the power of evil defeated by the power of friendship.''

HubNetwork.com description
''Applejack is a country pony who grew up on her family's apple farm. She's down to earth and dependable, and she's not afraid to get her hooves dirty. To her, any job can be done with a little horse sense and hard work. Applejack has a knack for figuring out how to fix a problem -- fast!''

Teacher for a Day description
''The apple of most farmers' eyes, Applejack is one hard-working pony! Dependable and down-to-earth, she isn't afraid of jumping in with all hooves and getting the job done! A real problem solver, and incredibly honest, she is the go-to pony for advice. Charming to the core, this country girl is a friend indeed!''

My Little Pony mobile game description
Representing the element of honesty, Applejack is Ponyville's resident farm gal and a dependable, reliable pony who will tell it to you straight.

My Little Pony magazine description
Applejack is Ponyville's resident farm gal! Never afraid of getting dirty, she loves to play outside and would never hurt another pony's feelings.
 * Playful
 * Practical
 * Honest

The Elements of Harmony guidebook
''APPLEJACK is Ponyville's resident farm gal! She lives just outside town at Sweet Apple Acres with her family. Applejack has come to be known as the most down-to-earth, resourceful, and dependable pony around. A talented arborculturalist, Applejack is the kind of pony who ain't afraid to get her hooves dirty. This hardworking Earth Pony is family-oriented and always ready to help Granny Smith or her little sister, Apple Bloom. Incredibly honest, Applejack would never stoop to telling a lie. However, her honesty and practicality keeps her from being as sensitive to others' feelings as she could be, despite her best intentions. Although Applejack can be a bit set in her ways, her friends know they can always count on this trustworthy pony to come through for them when they need her most.''

MyLittlePonyWedding.com
The Meet the Ponies page of an Australian My Little Pony Wedding promotional site uses fanart of Applejack.

Quotes
"Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Soup's on, everypony!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"What I'm telling you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

- Friendship is Magic, part 2

"Why of all the... This is your sister Applejack, remember? The loyalest of friends and the most dependable of ponies?"

- Applebuck Season

"Besides, you're a mighty good athlete. I'm just better. Heh heh heh."

- Fall Weather Friends

"I've been happily workin' in the farm ever since."

- The Cutie Mark Chronicles

"Uh, beg pardon, Rarity, but uh, we don't normally wear clothes."

- The Best Night Ever

"I was talking to... uh... nopony! Nopony whatsoever!"

- The Return of Harmony, part 1

"Wh-what happened? Twilight! I saw a vision of us feudin' and fightin'. I couldn't face the truth, so I started tellin' lies. Can you ever forgive me?"

- The Return of Harmony, part 2

"Dear Princess Celestia, It's a tad easier to be proud when you come in first than it is when you finish further back. But there's no reason to hide when you don't do as well as you'd hoped. You can't run away from your problems. Better to run to your friends and family."

- The Last Roundup

"Dear Princess Celestia, I wanted to share my thoughts with you. [clears throat] I didn't learn anything! I was right all along!"

- The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

"Sorry, Twi. We should have listened to you."

- A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2

"Y'all come back here and clean up after yourselves this instant!"

- Too Many Pinkie Pies

"Forget it, Trixie! I ain't doin' nothin' 'til you let Twilight come home!"

- Magic Duel

"The Summer Sun Celebration may have brought us together, but it's something much bigger that'll always keep us connected. Exhibit A: The six of us are united by the Elements of Harmony. No amount of royal duties is gonna change that. Right, everypony?"

- Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1

"Listen here, you rabid rhododendrons! You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!"

- Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2

"Yeah, you were pretty rotten."

- To Rarity, Rarity Takes Manehattan

"Made me sit up proud like a corn stalk in August."

- Equestria Games

"Yeehaw every pony! Soon you can hoof it on over to the sweetest place in Equestria! Guess where it is?"

- Promotional image for My Little Pony (mobile game)