At the office of the mayor of Bozemane the eight ponies stood ready to give him the good news.
The doors opened and out stepped two stallions. The first was dark blue with a Spitfire-like mane of white, the second was jet black with his grey mane combed to one side in a very professional manner.
“... Yes Greyson I’ll see to it that will never happen again.” said the jet black pony
“Oh thank you mayor Black thank you so much. “ and Greyson trotted away with a smile on his face.
“PaperBack and Cast Iron Skillet,” he said upon noticing the two ponies, “ What brings you here on such a beautiful day?”
“ Well we have some news about Our Mare of the Rockies, Jet.” PaperBack said trying to keep her voice low.
His eyes widened at the mentioning of the statue, “ Well then all of you please come in.” he said beckoning them into his office. He walked over to his desk and sat down behind it, “Now before we get started I believe introductions are in order.”
“Ah yes, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.” they all stepped forward as PaperBack called their names.
“ Well it is very nice to finally meet all of you after reading about your adventures in the paper. I am Mayor Jet Black, you all can call me Jet.” he said standing up to bow to Twilight
“ It’s very nice to meet you too, Jet…. and please don’t bow.” said Twilight sheepishly
“Now down to business, you say you know something about Our Mare of the Rockies?”
“Indeed we do Jet” Cast Iron said
“Well then out with where is it?”
“It’s in two pieces in Saddleback cave.” said PaperBack
“Saddleback cave?” Jet Black repeated
“Yes indeed, but the main entrance to the cave is blocked thanks to a landslide. We tried to clear a way for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to get out when they were trapped in there after it had already happened, but more of the mountain just kept piling itself on. However we managed to get a hole big enough to fit an ACE wrap through and so we could talk back and forth. So I told them to just follow the cave and at some point they would reach the other side. When they came out they said they found her.” PaperBack explained
“Good.” was Jets only response, “ I’ll start getting an excavation team together, and by tomorrow night She will be back in her place of prominence.” declared the jet black mayor stallion.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After they all left the mayor's office they all went back to PaperBacks house for the night.
The next day, after they had gathered up all of their things, the six mares and their gracious hosts sat outside the PaperBack cafe and waited for the train back to Ponyville to arrive.
“So what happened while you two were in the cave?” asked Pinkie
“Yes, did you two do anything… scandalous?” Rarity asked, her eyes half lidded
Applejack and Rainbow both blushed, “ No! We did nothin’ of the sort, we just talked about ponies we’ve dated in the past and what we were lookin’ fer in our special somepony… Well Ah did at least... but that’s all that happened.” Applejack finished matter-of-factly
“Yeah, that’s all that happened.” Rainbow agreed, though her mind wandered back to the drawing Applejack did of her. To Rainbow the drawing made her look more attractive, and feminine, even though she hated using the word to describe herself.
She looked across the table to the orange mare as the thought to herself, “Is that how AJ sees me? I mean I know I’m awesome looking, and I know I have a sensitive side… even though I don’t show it. And I do get scared sometimes… and AJ is the only pony I’ve actually showed my feelings to. Not just this time but when she let me sleep with her cause I was scared of the lightning from the storm a couple of days ago, and what we talked about in the cave...What if she does have a crush on me but is afraid to admit it? Do I have a crush on her? Ohmygosh… what if she finds out… will we be able to still be friends…. what if the others find out I have a crush on AJ? Will they laugh at me or… what if they don’t wanna be friends anymore? I’ll have to---”
Her thoughts were interrupted by a white hoof invading her long stare at the orange farm mare, “ Hello... PaperBack to Rainbow Dash… come in Rainbow Dash.” said the snow white pegasus
Rainbow shook her head and looked around frantically getting her bearings, “ Huh… what… what happened?” she asked
“You zoned out dear.” replied Rarity
“Yeah and you just stared at Applejack” squeaked Pinkie shoving two beagles into her mouth at once
All of the ponies sitting around the table looked back at her curiously, making the cyan pegasus shrink down in her chair and blush slightly, “ Heh… Sorry AJ… I was just thinking about what happened in the cave.” she said rubbing her hooves together
“S’Fahine sugarcube.” was all she said
PaperBack turned looked at the ponies gathered around the table and sighed, “ I’m sorry you all have to leave so soon.”
“Yeah, we are sad we have to leave too, but we all have our duties to take care of back home. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say thank you both for your hospitality, and kindness.” Twilight said as her friends nodded
“Well you all are welcome at our house any time.” said Cast Iron turning to give PaperBack a quick peck on the cheek, “ I have to go now dear, and it was really nice to meet you all.” and the rusty unicorn turned and walked in the direction of his restaurant.
“Hmm, he’s so sweet,” she said looking at her husband walking away, “ He doesn't even I’m pregnant.” she said chuckling to herself as she looked at the surprised faces of the ponies at the table, “ But don’t worry I’ll tell him tonight.”
“Well congratulations my dear.” Rarity said gleaning a nod of approval from everypony else.
“Well you all had best get to the station, the train will be here any moment.” said the red maned pegasus mare
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The train was just arriving at the station when they all arrived, “Well I wish you all the safest of travels, and hope you all come back soon and stay a bit longer. never the less I’ll be returning to Ponyville soon, and maybe my dear husband will join me!”
“That would be marvelous darling!” chimed Rarity
They all gave PaperBack a hug and, with their saddlebags in tow, boarded the train for Ponyville.
Applejack looked out of her window to see the Our Mare of the Rockies back where it belonged. Smiling she moved to get her sketchbook out. Flipping the pages to a blank one she stopped at the one she drew of Rainbow in the cave. Staring at the page Applejack began to feel a sense of desire, a sense of want, a sense of belonging, “Do Ah belong with Rainbow?” she asked herself, “Ah know she’s loyal… and she cares fer me and mah family… Maybe…” she looked over to her cyan friend, who was staring out at the majestic Manetana scenery, “Maybe it would be worth giving it a try with’er… she did say she was into mares… but what will the others think?” she glanced around at the three friends who were present, “ More importantly what will mah family think, Big Mac probably wouldn’t think much it, AppleBloom might think it weird and gross at first, But then there’s Granny… Ah don’t know how she’ll react ta me fancyin’ a mare over a stallion...Well Ah’ll have a talk with Rainbow after we get back.” she let out a small sigh and turned the page and started drawing a rainbow maned pegasus without even taking notice.