>>42355963
The thing is though, I disagree that it was handled better in the earlier seasons. Fall Weather Friends, SSCS6000, Applebuck Season, her honesty either does nothing, or is the cause of the conflict. It's really a series wide issue. Hell, just compare Applebuck Season to Suited for Success, Sonic Rainboom, Dragonshy or Feeling Pinkie Keen. The focus episodes for the other m6 members were about how great they all were and how the group should have more faith in them, Applejack is the only one who's solo episode was about how flawed she was and how she needs to overcome her own personality. It makes her a great, well rounded character with good development, but it also leaves her ultimately less appreciated than the other characters. There's never an episode where the lesson is "Applejack knew best, we should have just listened to her.". Every other character has an episode like that, only Applejack doesn't. Anytime the show pitted her against any one else in the mane 6, either they were both in the wrong, or just Applejack was in the wrong. She's never allowed to be right, she's always denigrated instead of glorified.
It all makes her an incredibly upstanding, virtuous individual, and to me probably the best written character in the show, but I can't help but feel like her lack of popularity is directly caused by the fact that the show only ever knocked her down, rather than letting her shine.