Applejack

Applejack is an 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 brother, Big McIntosh; her 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 works at Sweet Apple Acres mainly as an apple bucker, though the Apples occasionally farm carrots and corn as well. She is a good sisterly figure to Apple Bloom and supports her friends well on their adventures.

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. While Lauren Faust, the show's developer, 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.

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," which is 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 Sparkle 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 reliable, 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.

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 farm.

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

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 "too girlish", 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".

Impatience 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.

Empathy and care
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 the latter is about to do something rash, for example, in the episodes Friendship is Magic, part 1 and part 2, The Ticket Master, Dragonshy, and The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

In Magic Duel, after Trixie magics Rarity's outfit into one that is a brown that is "only supposed to be used as an accent", Applejack comforts her by wrapping her in a "soothing shade of pink" and patting her back.

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 Night Mare 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-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 is also the first pony to have her corruption cured by Twilight, and one of the first things she does is apologize.

She demonstrates her honesty in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 when she admits their defeat against the Flim Flam brothers.

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.

Athleticism
Applejack possesses extraordinary 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, 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.

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.

Applebucking
Applebucking, the practice of harvesting apple trees by kicking them to knock the apples down, is first named in Applebuck Season. Even when she is sleep-deprived, Applejack clears all of the apples out of a tree in 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.

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.

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 Manehatten. 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.

Applejack's parents
The whereabout 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.

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 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 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.''

Hubworld 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

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

Quotes
"YEE-HAW!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Soup's on, everypony!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Are you all right, sugarcube?"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Whoa there, Nelly!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

- Friendship is Magic, part 2

"Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin'."

- Friendship is Magic, part 2

"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship."

- Friendship is Magic, part 2

"Oh yeah? Well I challenge you to a hoof-wrassle. Winner gets the ticket."

- The Ticket Master

"Don't you use your fancy mathematics to muddle the issue! I said I can handle this harvest and I'm gonna prove it to you. I'm gonna get every last apple out of those trees this applebuck season all by myself."

- Applebuck Season

"I said I'm sorry! I should'a listened to you when you noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail woulda saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all those little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters! Please!"

- Look Before You Sleep

"Uh... which is the salad and which is the appetizer again? And which am I supposed to eat first? Oh, never mind. I'm not hungry."

- A Bird in the Hoof

"Uh, well, ah... ah... uh... ah don't think ah can make it 'cause... uh... ah have to... uh... uh, you know what? Ah... uh... pick apples! Yep! Apples! 'Cause that's what we do! With the... apples! We, uh... pick 'em."

- Party of One

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

- The Best Night Ever

"Chocolate milk!"

- The Return of Harmony Part 1

"That's right. You couldn't break apart our friendship for long."

- The Return of Harmony Part 2

"My sister's speakin' in Fancy!"

- The Cutie Pox

"I stopped the carriage bus with these babies; Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee."

- The Mysterious Mare Do Well

"It's not the Rainbow Dash show."

- Hearth's Warming Eve

"That'd be a first."

- Hearth's Warming Eve

"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

"Phooey on the festivities. I can't wait to try all of those tasty treats!"

- MMMystery on the Friendship Express

"Well, color me pleased as punch."

- A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1

"But... good things are better when they're a Rarity."

- The Crystal Empire - Part 2

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

- Magic Duel

"I'm Applejack! More apple fwitter?"

- As a baby in Apple Family Reunion