Help! My Heart is Full of Pony! - Fall Weather Friends · 8:00am May 27th, 2020
I'm not much for shipping, but after the finale, Appledash is pretty much canon. Having recently re-watched Fall Weather Friends, it's obvious that this is where it all started - (or at least where the fandom got the idea that they would make a cute couple).
I don't ascribe romantic qualities to ponies' friendship dynamics, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash really did grow to function as a unit fairly early on in the series. This lends a certain poetry to the fact that they eventually end up building a life together (regardless of how you choose to interpret that life). Their cohesion as friends is omnipresent, and their exploits enumerable, but we do get to see just how much AJ means to Rainbow Dash as early as The Last Roundup. When Applejack ran away, Rainbow Dash took it as a personal insult - a personal abandonment - more than anypony else did. When they all made up, Rainbow Dash actually flew above them to shed tears in quiet dignity.
Think about that for a second. Rainbow Dash is obsessed with being cool - especially in the early seasons. This tiny moment tells us so very much, and is actually quite powerful if you think about it!
To think that the bond those two share started with ruthless competition.
Discuss.
-Sprocket
If you enjoy essays like these, please consider supporting my work on Patreon. You can also follow Heart Full of Pony on Tumblr
Applejack's family life doesn't give her many outlets for her competitive nature. She has to nurture Apple Bloom, and look after Granny Smith. After the way she left as a filly, she probably doesn't feel she can let loose with Big Mac either. They may trade verbal barbs, or compete on chores, but always kept in check. And her new friends include a skittish recluse and a rich bookworm. Her competition in the rodeos was wrapped up with promises and reputation, and tinged with a sense of guilt for leaving her family behind to do something for herself.
Rainbow Dash was the first pony with whom Applejack could truly compete, without limits or provisos, and reach her full potential.
Thank you, as usual, for the illumination you cast. :)
(Though just noting, I'm afraid the image in the Sonic Rainboom post is still broken for me.)
Started, continued... Really, their argument about doing the chores quickly or properly in "The Last Problem" could be seen as affectionate competition. Competition is the beating heart of their relationship, and that's the way they like it.
5269797
All good points. We do so see her wager with Big Mac very early on, though.
I think their relationship is such that they work with each other even more often than against each other. The hoof bumps they've exchanged after razzing Rarity really convey that these two function cohesively as a unit.