Applebloom learns to appreciate her new life.

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I know I’ve drawn old Applebloom several, several times, but I just love what I’ve done with her (not to toot my own horn). Her story in her old age is a story of lost youth, alienation, tragedy, and ultimately acceptance. I’ve heard it said that as you get older, your world becomes smaller, and this is what her arc is strongly themed around. Over time, she’s watched many of her loved ones, including her two best friends, either leave or pass away, and the town where she grew up has even changed dramatically. All of this has left the poor old mare feeling disconnected and isolated from many things in her life. The only thing she has left is Sweet Apple Acres, which has seen better days, her near-army of guard dogs, and most importantly, her clubhouse, which now stands as the last bastion of her youth.

That is, until she meets many denizens from Maretime Bay, including Sprout, whom she mentors in the ways of farming, and the pipsqueaks who remind her of herself, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle when they were fillies. Her interactions with them have allowed her to open up and, eventually, make amends with the times gone by, embracing a new life. When the pipsqueaks visit Applebloom for a camping trip, one of them, Seashell, asks her a certain question.

If you hadn’t noticed, I took that line directly from Adam Sandler’s Leo. It was my favorite line in the whole film, and it heavily inspired this piece.