These two remind me so much of Howl and Sophie FROM THE BOOK it’s incredible lmao, mainly when it comes to their personalities but also like, the general idea behind why the two of them end up liking each other is MMMMMMMMM
 
Anyway look at this family of blondes I LOVE THEM
 
About the designs:  
-I don’t even know what all I did with Applejack at this point, I kept changing her TWO COLORS and not liking the combinations so WHO KNOWS, generally speaking I thiiiink I ended up lightening and desaturating her coat and lightening her mane as well  
-Also I’ve never been a huge fan of freckled ponies Only having them on their cheeks so They Gotta Go Everywhere  
-Applejack’s one of those ponies Notorious for having Eyebrow Game so I felt obligated to darken them and make them stand out more  
-Blueblood I darkened his coat a bit and make it specifically lean toward yellow on the color wheel by a small fraction  
-Unimportantly I also tweaked Prairie’s design a bit; I’ve been seeing so many Pear Butter lookalikes with Applejack Next Gens I kinda wanted to sway away from it, but I messed with a few other schemes and ended up just lightening her original one basically. She still looks like Pear Butter………….. >>  
-I gave her lighter freckles instead of her initial dark ones as well ‘cause the majority of Apples with freckles have them lighter than their coats To My Knowledge™  
-Rome just got fixed to having a flat hair color which makes more sense considering his parents
 
About the ship:  
-I had a lot of inspiration as to how Blueblood would end up on the Apple Farm from the comics, specifically the alternate universe one where instead of Twilight Sparkle being sent to Ponyville it’s him  
-Blueblood’s obviously infamous for getting on ponies’ nerves and it certainly didn’t leave out his auntie Celestia  
-I imagine Celestia losing her temper with her nephew somewhat in a “this is the last straw” kind of sense and sending him off to one of the most hardworking ponies she personally knows, Applejack  
-The reasoning behind the why, I haven’t really worked out all the way, but considering I’m trying to maintain a theme of the Elements of Harmony within these stories, I’d like to say he told a big lie that got Equestria into more diplomatic trouble than anyone would have wished for, leaving Celestia to deal with the mess  
-Prior to his arrival, Celestia informs Applejack of his coming, requesting of her to knock him into shape in every sense, literal if need be, to which Applejack reluctantly agrees  
-Blueblood’s first (second) reaction to meeting Applejack would simply be “common.”  
-When he first reaches the Apple Farm he refuses to take another hoofstep, proclaiming the road ahead to be quite muddy which, at the time it was. Applejack responds by pushing and thereby tripping him face-first into the mud  
-Breakfasts would be incredibly early and sudden for Blueblood, the Apples had a hard time figuring out what to feed him. Eventually they gave up and told him he could either eat what they offered or go without it. In the beginning he threatened to starve himself from the harsh treatment, but he eventually came around to eating what they gave him. He wouldn’t admit it at the time, but he quite liked their food  
-Blueblood would also be defiant about leaving the house each and every morning for chores, Applejack would in return tie him up and drag him outside  
-A significant portion of their time together early on was Applejack strapping Blueblood into a work horse collar similar to Big Mac’s and having him work fields with her guiding him every step of the way. Importantly she wouldn’t leave him until his work was completed. That was also the point in which he could bathe himself again as a reward. In the earlier days of their time together it would take them nearly past dusk to complete the work. Gradually over time he improved in both efficiency and effort.  
-The majority of their time spent together would oftentimes involve back-to-back insulting of one another  
-Eventually he is able to trustingly perform his tasks without the use of the work collar, something he took great pride in losing  
-Blueblood being under the impression that Applejack didn’t know of the mistake he had made, would often times build himself up as being a very important figure for Equestria and it’s many allies  
-At some point Applejack would slip that she knew about what he had managed to do in order to get himself sent to her farm in the first place, angrily proclaiming his foolishness in handling the situation. He would take the statement quite harshly and begin regretting some of the past things he’d said and done to so many ponies and delegates  
-Later that day when AJ would be on her own she’d find herself muttering and flustered about Blueblood and wonder when his opinion of himself had begun to matter so much to her  
-The next few days together would be worked together in silence  
-One morning following, Blueblood would awaken late, noticing he hadn’t been woken up by Applejack which was their usual drill. Out of curiosity he’d ask Applejack’s siblings if they had seen her, being completely ignored by Big Mac and Apple Bloom not knowing anything either. Choosing to take on the day of chores seemingly without her, he begins but not long after notices a strange trail of tracks leading off into the local forest near the farm. Concerned now, he chooses to follow the trail.  
-Blueblood ends up fending off and saving Applejack from this big monster in the forest, I’m not sure if it’d be a Timber Wolf or not. The creature would have taken her to this weird swampy place inside of the Everfree Forest, Blueblood manages to save her by knocking both him and the monster into the strange bog. Applejack recovers him from the swamp using her lasso, but is unable to save his hair later on after being in the sticky swamp, which makes Blueblood a little sad.  
-After Granny Smith tends to her broken leg, AJ approaches Blueblood and gives him a grateful kiss on the cheek and thank him for saving her  
-Applejack notices after kissing him how nice his eyes are, but brushes off the thought quickly  
-Blueblood feels appreciated afterwords but keeps it to himself (for once), and begins taking on a new, humble approach to his situation in aims for Applejack getting to like him more  
-It doesn’t take long after that for the two to start hinting at having feelings for each other, oftentimes feeling the closest when they would talk about their polarizing lives at the end of their work day and laying out under the stars in a nearby apple orchard  
-They probably had a super private and low-key wedding in the barn  
-When they found out they were expecting their first foal, Blueblood would absolutely coddle Applejack, insisting on doing everything around the farm and taking over doing the majority of the chores  
-Applejack took up gardening flowers while pregnant  
-Applejack would consistently have cravings for various types of fruit pies, none of which were apple pies. Blueblood was at a loss on how to cook pies that didn’t have apples in them, though he tried his best and continuously failed. Eventually he’d resort to Ponyville market goods for his wife.  
-Blueblood was very uncomfortable with taking care of their first son, Rome, often times merely watching Applejack care for him and helping at a distance. He’d never really dealt with any foals before in his life. Eventually Applejack would insist on him getting used to the feeling, to which he eventually did and loved taking care of their son  
-When their second foal was on the way, Blueblood was significantly more relaxed about the experience and absolutely cherished their daughter, Prairie Spy  
-The four of them manage the farm happily with the other Apple relatives
 
General facts:  
-The resolution of Blueblood’s “personality overhaul” where Applejack informs Celestia he can return home would never find completion, seeing as in the end he chooses to stay on the Apple Farm with her  
-Blueblood felt unworthy to name their firstborn son and gave full authority to Applejack to name him  
-When it came to naming their daughter, Applejack wanted him to name her. He always envisioned her little tuft of mane being similar to vast planes of wheat, thus naming her Prairie  
-Rome was a very shy colt that had to grow into some big shoes, he’s an absolute momma’s boy  
-Prairie on the other hoof is spoiled by her father as he constantly refers to her as his little princess  
-Blueblood and Applejack may have attended a single Grand Galloping Gala as husband and wife one time and vowed never to do it again afterwords after coming to terms with the fact that neither would fit in that crowd of ponies again  
-Celestia occasionally comes by and visits Blueblood and his family, she loves foals  
-The two of them constantly tease each other about where they’d be without one another