Apple Bloom

Apple Bloom is a school-age Earth pony. She is the younger sister of Applejack and Big McIntosh and the granddaughter of Granny Smith. She is a member of the Apple family in Ponyville. She is a supporting character who takes a lead role in several episodes. Apple Bloom is one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a club founded on sole purpose of finding cutie marks for "blank flanks". She is a founding member along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Her favorite cousin, Babs Seed becomes a member during the third season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Apple Bloom was the only named school-age pony until Boast Busters and the only filly with a speaking role until Call of the Cutie. Like the other three Cutie Mark Crusaders, she doesn't have her cutie mark yet. She is skilled at renovation and construction, such as restoring Applejack's old clubhouse for the purposes of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in The Show Stoppers. She is called Apple Blossom in some other media and promotional material.

Production and development
Apple Bloom was designed by Lauren Faust for her "pitch bible" for the show in 2008. She was named Appleseed, but the name ran into copyright issues, leading to the current name. An audition script that uses Gilda's original name, Grizelda, lists Apple Bloom's age as seven and gives her the description "Apple Bloom is an 'every girl'. She should sound as authentic of a child as possible. She's a little spitfire, but not a tomboy; she needs energy and presence, but enough range to play the sensitive parts." The script consists of two scenes, one each from Applebuck Season and Griffon the Brush Off, with Apple Bloom in place of Spike.

Apple Bloom shares her color scheme with several previous-generation ponies: Candy Apple, a G3 Earth pony; Sun Shimmer, another G3 Earth pony; Sunburst, a G1 Mountain Boy Pony; and Fiesta Flair, a G3/G3.5 Earth pony who was only featured in the direct-to-video productions. Apple Bloom shares her talent at carpentry, art and design with Toola-Roola, a G3/G3.5 Earth pony who later became one of the Core 7 ponies.

She is voiced by Michelle Creber, who is also the singing voice of Sweetie Belle. Until Boast Busters, Apple Bloom was the only named school-age pony who's appeared on the show who is not based on any characters from the previous line. She is later joined by several more such characters.

Apple Bloom's cutie mark in promotional material was designed by layout artist Kat Stenson prior to her work on the show.

Personality
Apple Bloom's first appearance is in Friendship is Magic, part 1, where she makes a brief appearance at the Apple family reunion. She first balances a large cake on her back while being introduced by Applejack. After Twilight Sparkle announces she can't stay for brunch, Apple Bloom pleads her to stay with puppy-eyes. Near the end of the episode when Night Mare Moon appears, she appears again. She huddles together with the ponies who would later be her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, though this was an oversight on the part of the scene's layout artist.

Bravery and independence
She makes her first prominent appearance in Bridle Gossip. At first she huddles in Sugarcube Corner with the other ponies who is hiding from Zecora, an alleged "evil enchantress", though she says she wasn't actually afraid of Zecora and that she's "not a baby" and doesn't need Applejack's protection. When Twilight Sparkle tries to reason everyone into talking to Zecora instead of hiding from her, Apple Bloom is the only pony who listens to and agrees with everything Twilight is saying. However, Applejack admonishes her with "hush and let the big ponies talk", to which she replies under her breath, "I am a big pony", and leaves to follow Zecora into the Everfree Forest to prove that she isn't as immature and timid as Applejack thinks she is.

The other ponies realize Apple Bloom is missing and suspect she's trying to see Zecora, and Applejack manages to stop her, though in the process all the six ponies who came after her step in poison joke. When Apple Bloom discovers that Applejack and her friends are "cursed", she goes off into the forest to find Zecora. Then, when tiny Applejack tells her to turn around while Apple Bloom ventures into the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom tells her, "Sorry, but I'm the big sister now!" Finally, when the ponies come to Zecora demanding answers, they find that Apple Bloom had befriended Zecora and she's helping Zecora make a remedy for the real cause of the "curse".

Relationship with Applejack
Despite her independence, she is very close to her sister, Applejack, and enjoys helping her with the farm chores, as well as competing with her in the Sisterhooves Social during the episode Sisterhooves Social. While being briefly estranged from her own sister Sweetie Belle spends most of her first visiting day helping Apple Bloom and Applejack with their chores, and points out how competently the two work together. After noticing how well synchronized the two sisters were in order to herd the sheep, Sweetie Belle says that they worked as if they were "just one pony".

Apple Bloom states that she always participates at the Sisterhooves Social alongside her sister, but openly lets Sweetie Belle borrow Applejack for the Social. She does, however, stress to Sweetie Belle that she's only willing to lend Applejack to her for "one day".

Relationship with Zecora
Apple Bloom is the first pony in Ponyville to befriend the mysterious zebra herbalist, Zecora. While most of Ponyville's residents avoided Zecora after her arrival, Apple Bloom left for the Everfree Forest, hoping to talk with Zecora. In the episode Bridle Gossip, Apple Bloom assists the zebra in curing the effects brought up by the Poison Joke flower.

By the time of the season two episode Cutie Pox, Apple Bloom had become well acquainted with Zecora. The latter invites Apple Bloom over to her hut, were she proceeds to heal the filly's chipped tooth. When Apple Bloom starts complaining about not obtaining her cutie mark faster, Zecora proceeds to give her the same advice as everyone else, to be patient. Zecora then sternly says that none of her potions could bring her a cutie mark, being unimpressed with Apple Bloom's flattery. After Apple Bloom steals the Hearts Desire flower from the herbalist's hut, she concocts a potion which accidentally gives her the cutie pox. Zecora immediatelly deduces that Apple Bloom had stolen the flower, but instead of telling her off, she prompts her to confess in order for the Seeds of Truth to sprout, thus revealing the cutie pox cure. Zecora accepts Apple Bloom's heartfelt appology and tells her with each new mistake she betters herself.

With the Cutie Mark Crusaders
When Apple Bloom is with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they are prone to getting into and causing trouble. They have a montage of their various ill-conceived attempts at gaining a cutie mark in The Show Stoppers, and they even manage to demolish their own stage and scenery while performing later in the episode. They destroy, and poorly rebuild, a table in Fluttershy's cottage in Stare Master, and their antics even spur one of Fluttershy's chickens to flee the coop into the Everfree Forest, leading to a confrontation with a cockatrice. The Crusaders come to appreciate Fluttershy more for "The Stare" which she uses to subdue the cockatrice, and Fluttershy admits at the conclusion of the episode that trying to take care of the Crusaders was biting off more than she can chew. In Hearts and Hooves Day, Apple Bloom and her fellow Crusaders try to get Cheerilee and Big McIntosh together through the use of a love potion. When they find out the potion would cause the two to neglect their duties, the Crusaders frantically try to undo its effects.

Despite showcasing ample opportunities of working together with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom has had ocassional disagreements with them. In Stare Master, she lighly argues with Scootaloo on the proper method of calling a chicken, going so far as making a mock chicken call, replacing the bird's name with Scootaloo's. The argument is played out rather comically since they joke about it later on. It is also shown as being a genuine means of obtaining a cutie mark for "the talent of arguing". But, Sweetie Belle intervenes, stating that argument is not their special talent.

A more seious argument is played out during the episode The Return of Harmony Part 1, in which all three crusaders are shown bickering among themselves. While observing the Statue of Victory during a school field trip at Canterlot gardens, Scootaloo claims that the statue would make for a great cutie mark, to which Apple Bloom snidely replies that Scootaloo is not "victoryfull" in order to have it. She is then corrected by Sweetie Belle. The three fillies the set their sights on the draconequus statue alongside the rest of their class. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo argue over the symbolism of the statue, only to be interrupted by Apple Bloom who jumps on both their heads. The three get into an open fight, until they are stoped by Cheerilee. The latter claims that all of their assessments of the statue were correct, but nontheless gives them an essay to write as punishment. The Cutie Mark Crusaders continue arguing over statue's meaning, unknowingly causing the release of Discord.

Searching for her Cutie Mark
Apple Bloom starts her enthusiastic pursuit of a cutie mark in Call of the Cutie, along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. This is a theme that continues in the series in the episodes Stare Master, The Show Stoppers, The Cutie Mark Chronicles, and The Cutie Pox.

She is very adamant about finding her cutie mark in Call of the Cutie, and manages to persuade Twilight Sparkle to try to magically make her cutie mark appear even though Twilight tells her it's no use. She's very aggressive with her salesmanship in the episode, and even tries to force a pony into buying some apples by putting apples in her bag and insinuating the pony was trying to steal them.

Apple Bloom and her friend Twist are derisively called "blank flanks" by Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, who invite them to their cute-ceañera to rub it in. Apple Bloom, with Rainbow Dash helping, decides to dedicate herself to getting her cutie mark, but despite her best efforts, she cannot find what she's good at. She feels down and turns to Twist for support, only to find Twist has already got her cutie mark. Later at the cute-ceañera she makes friends with two fellow ponies with no cutie marks, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who come to her defense when Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara deride her again. The three blank flanks form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a club whose purpose is finding their hidden talents so they can earn their cutie marks.

Apple Bloom's focus on getting her cutie mark leads her to make a potion out of Zecora's Heart's Desire plant without permission in The Cutie Pox. At first Apple Bloom is delighted at the effects of the potion, and becomes the focus of attention at her school and in Ponyville, much to Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara's displeasure. She gets two cutie marks, earning her praise from her Applejack, Big McIntosh and Granny Smith for being extra special. After she suffers ill effects from the potion, and eventually gets a disease called "cutie pox", which causes random cutie marks to appear on a pony's body, making them do whatever talent just appeared on their new marks. Zecora, who noticed the plant was missing, comes to Ponyville and offers her a cure, the flower of the Seeds of Truth. Apple Bloom confesses that she took the plant, and the Seeds of Truth grow into a flower, which she promptly eats to cure her of the cutie pox. Even though she tells Twilight Sparkle that she's learned a lesson about being patient, she quickly loses her patience and resumes searching for her cutie mark.

During the events of Ponyville Confidential Apple Bloom shows the ability of thinking up great ideas by convincing her Crusader friends to pursue journalism as the means of getting their cutie marks. Her determination carries her as far as damaging the reputation of her siblings for the sake of her goal, although she felt guilt in doing so.

Skills
Apple Bloom's special talent is heavily hinted at in The Show Stoppers, with her renovating the derelict tree-house to perfection and with the other ponies expecting her to handle the creation and design of their set for the talent show, implying that her talents lie in carpentry and decoration. In the same episode, she rather ineptly bases her dance routine on martial arts moves, yet in Call of the Cutie martial arts is one of the skills she unsuccessfully pursues.

In Sisterhooves Social, Apple Bloom shows her ability to aid her family on chores around the farm, assisting with catching apples and pressing grapes, and aiding Applejack in herding sheep, a skill that is later shown again when rounding up Pinkie Pie's duplicates in Too Many Pinkie Pies, along with her brother, sister, and Winona.

Other depictions
Apple Bloom is referred to as Apple Blossom on the first page of the Sparkle World magazine story The Hero of Ponyville! and early in the storybook Cutie Mark Quest.

My Little Pony mobile game description
Applejack and Big McIntosh’s little sister is one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

Appearances
Beginning in the episode Lesson Zero, she was added to the remastered intro at the end of the train along with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

Merchandise
Two Apple Bloom Playful Ponies have been released, always bundled with one or more other ponies. The first, which stands on all four hooves, was released with Sweetie Belle in the set Fun at the Fair with Apple Bloom & Sweetie Belle. The second, which has a raised hoof, was released with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Cheerilee in the set Pony School Pals & Cheerilee, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in the Pony Wedding set Wedding Flower Fillies, and with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash in the Pony Friends Forever set Friendship Express Train Around Town Play Set.

An Apple Bloom miniature collectible is included in the Class of Cutie Marks Set with Diamond Dazzle Tiara and Applejack.

Promotional material
On October 27, 2012, The Hub's website began offering a PDF file containing seven recipes, each themed to either Littlest Pet Shop or My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, with accompanying illustrations. The file was later split into two separate PDFs, the original one now only containing the Littlest Pet Shop recipes. The "Cutie Mark Crusaders Chocolate Popcorn" recipe's accompanying illustration depicts the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom wearing a chef's hat as in Call of the Cutie. Prior to a revision in early November 2012, a different illustration was used depicting grown-up versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders with cutie marks, Apple Bloom's cutie mark being an apple heart. This illustration was drawn by show layout artist Kat Stenson prior to her work on the show.

Apple Bloom is referred to as Apple Blossom in FYI Television's summary of Call of the Cutie.

Quotes
"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"[under breath] I am a big pony!"

- Bridle Gossip

"But I don't want one eventually! I want one right now!"

- Call of the Cutie

"YOU TOUCH IT, YOU BUY IT! We take cash or credit."

- Call of the Cutie

"Likely story. Four bits, lady!"

- Call of the Cutie

"You don't have cutie marks either? I thought I was the only one."

- Meeting Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in Call of the Cutie

"I know! We could be Cutie Mark Crusader carpenters!"

- Stare Master

"Somepony needs to put this thing out of its misery."

- Stare Master

"How are we gonna find our special talent in our sleep?"

- Stare Master

"You're just chicken!"

- Stare Master

"Oh, wait, now I know how to call a chicken! Scootaloo! Scoot-scootalooooo!"

- Stare Master

"You also forgot how to call a chicken! [blows a raspberry]"

- Stare Master

"Maybe that's our special talent. Arguin'!"

- Stare Master

"You know, ponies only have four legs."

- The Show Stoppers

"Yeah! Uncouth? [burps] Wait. What's uncouth?"

- Sisterhooves Social

"One. Day. Good luck!"

- Sisterhooves Social

"Help me!"

- The Cutie Pox

"Sacrebleu!! Plus de marque de cutie! Qu'est-ce que c'est?! Je parle français?"

- The Cutie Pox

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight. Are you talkin' about my brother?"

- Hearts and Hooves Day

"Maybe we'll get our cutie marks in stupidest ideas of all time."

- One Bad Apple