So yea, Apple Bloom is the least popular Crusader, in fact one of the least popular ponies... but why? I think it's because folks are missing things about her character that are far more interesting than they give her credit for. If I were to be fully honest, Scoots is my favorite CMC, but that's because there's so much mystery surrounding her character. Really fandom Scoots is more interesting that cannon Scoots, who actually isn't very well fleshed out, aside I suppose her personality. However, I like Bloom a lot and I think the reason she's so disliked, is that people don't get the subtleties of her character.

So here's one thing I think people miss.

For Apple Bloom, the complaint I often see is that the show never explores her personality very well. She's basically white bread. She cares about what the plot needs her to care about and nothing more. "What are Apple Bloom's desires aside getting her cutie mark?" is the oft asked question. "Now that she has one, does she even have interests and dreams of her own?" Isn't the answer obvious though?

Apple Bloom, like her sister, is NOT a big dreamer. She wants nothing more than to have fun with her friends and to be happy in life. Anyone else remember what made her obsessed with getting her mark in the first place? She lost one of her friends essentially because she didn't have one, and she gained new ones based on not having one. Later on, it's revealed that losing her friends and family are her biggest fears, easily overshadowing fears of not getting a job she likes some day. Apple Bloom was actually happy zapping bugs in her dream, it however turned out to be lonely work that only gained her ridicule. Finally in the last episode, again fans complained that we didn't get much insight into her character, when again, we got plenty. Apple Bloom equates being with others with having fun. She's just not a solitary person. She actually seems to have a lot in common with Pinkie. She needs to learn to have fun on her own and really... she kinda learned that... She really missed the lesson a little as she got into dancing because she didn't have to do it alone, but maybe she at least intends to get into the solo aspect of it.

There are people like this in the real world. Sometimes they become shallow socialites, who are only interested in hanging out and can't enjoy alone time. Other times however, they become the best of friends to have as they start to care more about the happiness of others than their own. I'm starting to sense this with Apple Bloom's character. She hasn't become quite as selfless as her sister yet, but I think her dreams may eventually form into being rather simple, making the best lives she can for her friends and family.

Anyone else think folks are missing something about AB?

It's funny how people would think that, considering that she appears in more episodes of the CMC than the other two. AB for me is my second fav after Applejack. It might just be that people don't catch on with her personality. Applejack is isnt the most popular of the mane 6 either with everyone favouring Fluttershy (there is a big number) but I don't care for her much so I guess its an acquired taste?

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I think the reason she's so disliked, is that people don't get the subtleties of her character

I think that's the problem, really. Her subtleties are too subtle. Like Applejack, she has no extremes, unless you count maybe getting a bit overenthusiastic on occasion. Scootaloo is a fierce daredevil with a case of hero-worship, Sweetie Belle has somehow managed to invent PMS in a species with no menstrual cycle, but poor Apple Bloom is generally just a nice southern gal for whom things tend to go slightly wrong on occasion.

Apple Bloom equates being with others with having fun. She's just not a solitary person. She actually seems to have a lot in common with Pinkie.

I do like this interpretation, although I don't quite see it. I mean, Apple Bloom wouldn't go nuts just because she couldn't spend any time with her friends

I TAKE IT ALL BACK

I think I find Sweetie to be the least interesting of the Crusaders. Unlike Scootaloo, we know all we need to about her origins and family life, and actually her desires are pretty on the surface, unlike Apple Bloom, who you have to actually be paying attention to see what she's really after.

I think, like Apple Jack, if the writers were allowed to write about more mature subjects, Apple Bloom would probably shine as one of the most compelling characters in the whole series. In my own writing, of three crusaders, I often find myself focusing on what I think her reactions would be to serious situations, instead of Sweetie or Scoots, even when Scoots the main character. In my own story, Apple Bloom is the first to start getting protective and freak out when the neglect of Scoots' parents is discovered. Sweetie cares, but more in general. Apple Bloom yells, gets violent and even physically protective.

I see Apple Bloom as a character with some insecurities who is constantly trying to prove herself. While her obsession over cutie mark (much more so than the other CMC) is one expression of this trait, this is also apparent in some of her other episodes. For example, in Somepony to Watch over Me, one of the few Apple Bloom episodes not focused on cutie marks, she wants to prove to Applejack that she is a big pony. In this way, she's somewhat like S1-S2 Twilight, who had similar anxieties about proving herself.

Her desire to get a cutie mark and be seen as a big pony also underlies a desire to grow up more quickly. More so than the other crusaders, Apple Bloom is best suited to stories about growing up. Of the CMC, she'd be the best protagonist of a hero's journey-type bildungsroman/coming-of-age story.

AB is best CMC.