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// Applejack's Story and the Final Lyrics 
// Story: Magical Mystery Marks 
// by bdoubleowo 
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By this time, Twilight really was getting confused. She was slowly losing track of where the original cutie mark stories ended, and where the new ones began. Twilight slowly trotted towards the one place where she needed to be at that moment: the Carousel Boutique. 
When she opened the door, Twilight’s jaw dropped. Instead of the usual beautiful made-by-Rarity dresses, there were dresses in all sorts of styles, some that looked pretty cool and others that looked like they would fall apart at any moment. As she looked around, Twilight noticed an orange earth pony, wearing a brown Stetson hat, working on a light green dress that at the moment was under the sewing machine. It was none other than Applejack! This now answered Twilight’s question about where Applejack would have been. The purple unicorn trotted over to her friend, but before she could say anything, Applejack began singing. 
“Lookie here at what I made, I think that it's a dress,” Applejack sang, holding the green fabric up for Twilight to see. “I know it doesn't look like much, I'm under some distress.” She went over to a plaid dress that was featured on a mane-equine. However, the plaid was ripping at one part, and Applejack looked through it. “Could y'all give me a hand here and help me fix this mess?” Placing a leafy crown on the head of another mane-equine, Applejack struck a sort-of dramatic pose, placing her hoof over her head. “My destiny is not pretty!” She went back to the sewing machine and began working with the light green fabric again, but accidentally jammed it. Applejack sighed. “But it’s what my cutie mark is telling me.” Twilight gasped at seeing the cutie mark on Applejack’s flank – it was an image of three diamonds; an image that Twilight usually glimpsed on a certain white unicorn’s flank. 
“Applejack!” Twilight said, stopping the song. Applejack blinked, and smiled nervously. 
“Sorry about that, sugarcube. I forgot you were here for a minute,” Applejack told her. “I’ve been really busy. . . The fashion industry never rests, it seems!” She laughed, then trailed off. Twilight walked closer to the pony, hoping to help in some way, but was suddenly jumped by the former apple farmer. 
“Twilight, I need help! Please help me with this! I just can’t believe that other ponies do this all the time!” Applejack cried, then realized she had jumped her friend. Releasing her grip on Twilight, Applejack rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry about-“ 
Twilight cut her off. “It’s fine, Applejack. Believe me, I know a lot about overworking. Just ask Spike!” The two of them giggled. Twilight soon composed herself and continued. “As for helping with your fashion, of course I’ll help you!” 
Applejack sighed in relief. “Thank you kindly, Twilight. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t show up just now.” 
“I actually didn’t know where to find you,” Twilight replied. “Pinkie told me you had moved to Manehattan as a filly. I wasn’t sure if you would be here in Ponyville, or there in Manehattan.” 
“Oh! Well, I did live in Manehattan once, but I ended up moving back home.” Applejack said. “I moved back a couple of years ago. Probably one or two before you arrived here.” 
“Interesting!” Twilight exclaimed. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How did you get your cutie mark? I’ve been asking all our friends about theirs, and now I’m asking you.” 
Applejack blinked. “This old thing?” She raised her back hoof, causing her haunch to extend out and, by extension, her flank did too. “I got this when I was a filly. Weirdly enough, it happened in the very town we had just been discussing: Manehattan!” 

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“When I was a little filly,” Applejack began, “I got disillusioned with farm life. My family lived at Sweet Apple Acres, which you must have seen if you’d gone to see Pinkie.” 
“Yep! It was as nice as ever!” Twilight said. “I didn’t see much of your family, though. They must’ve been busy.” 
“Probably. Whenever I’ve gone to visit, they’ve been outside working.” Applejack replied. “They work pretty hard. Anyway, I left the farm and traveled to Manehattan, to live with my aunt and uncle Orange. The trip was pretty long, but when I got there, it was worth every second.” 
“Why’s that?” Twilight asked. 
“Well, for starters, my aunt and uncle took me in happily. They let me stay, and they taught me how to be a high-class filly. I wore Manehattan mane-styles, I went to Manehattan dinner parties... I was a Manehattanite pony! At the time, I was okay with it. But soon, I began to miss Ponyville.” Applejack took her hat off and held it to her chest. “However, I didn’t want to leave just yet. I enjoyed making fashion with Aunt Orange, and although the dinner parties’ food portions were way too small for my tastes, the parties themselves were at least tolerable. One day, I was staring out the window in the morning – I hadn’t broken the habit of waking up at the rooster’s crow at that time, so I had been up for about two hours by then – and suddenly, there was a giant explosion noise. I looked up, and there was a huge rainbow, pointing straight towards home, to Ponyville!” 
“Wow! You were lead home by a rainbow? That’s cool!” Twilight told her friend, and Applejack nodded. 
“Yep. That rainbow, to me, was a sign. It led straight to Ponyville, after all, and I had been missing home. I took it as a sign that I had to leave Manehattan!” Applejack’s face suddenly turned sad. “My aunt and uncle were sad to see me go, but I told them that I’d never forget what they taught me. They waved goodbye as I headed to the train station.” 
“That’s nice of them,” Twilight said. 
Applejack nodded. “When I got off the train in Ponyville, I headed toward Sweet Apple Acres. However, once I got home, I found that my family had given my old room to another pony – one named Pinkamena Diane Pie. At the time, I was pretty upset, but I left to find another place to stay.” Twilight frowned. 
“That’s not fair. They should’ve let you stay!” Twilight said indignantly. 
“Well, I get it. They had no room for me.” Applejack shrugged. “I walked around Ponyville until I found a building that at the time was vacant. I entered, and it was huge! I knew I was only a filly, so I had to make rent somehow to earn the bits for this place. With the skills I had learned from Aunt and Uncle Orange, I created my own fashion line, AJ Apparel.” 
“Wait, really?!” Twilight was not expecting this piece of information. 
“Yeah! I sold my clothes on the Ponyville streets. I admit it wasn’t the best quality, but it worked. Ponies bought them! I earned enough bits to buy this place, and here it is!” She waved a hoof around the room. “The Carousal Boutique!” 
Twilight smiled, looking around. “Looks pretty great!” 
“Thanks! However, I hadn’t gotten to the best part. Once I opened the store, I was creating clothes after school. I had just finished a light blue dress, and when I put it out in the window, ponies started congregating around. They loved it! I felt so happy. Suddenly, I felt a weird sensation on my flank. I looked at it, and there it was: my cutie mark! Three diamonds, just like it is now!” Applejack kicked her back hooves in the air. “My family was so proud! To this day, I’ve lived here and made clothes for all of Ponyville. Never expanded, though. Never saw the need to.” 
Twilight smiled. “Well, that was a really interesting story. Also, do you mind if I buy a scarf? I got soaked earlier, and I’m still a little cold.” 
“Sure!” Applejack took a scarf from around a mane-equine’s neck and hoofed it to Twilight. “That’ll be 2 bits.” 
Twilight hoofed Applejack the bits, put the scarf around her neck, smiled, and waved goodbye as she trotted out of the Carousal Boutique. She looked at the horizon, and noticed Rarity still trying to control the clouds. From where she was, Twilight could hear a song coming from Rarity’s direction. 
As Twilight trotted closer, the song’s lyrics became clearer. Rarity was singing a song that had the same tune as the rest of her friends’ songs. 
“I’m in love with weather patterns, but the others have concerns! For I just gave them frostbite, over top of their sunburns. . .” Rarity sang, when suddenly a group of ponies nearby with burning-red skin got snow dumped on them. Both Twilight and Rarity winced. Rarity continued her song: “I have to keep on trying, for everyone can see…” Rarity sighed, and Twilight noticed Fluttershy coming up behind the white unicorn. Fluttershy was followed by Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, in that order. 
“It’s got to be…” sang Rarity. 
“It’s got to be…” sang Fluttershy, standing near Rarity. 
“My destiny…” sang Pinkie Pie, standing in between Rarity and Fluttershy. 
“My destiny…” sang Applejack, standing to Fluttershy’s right. 
“And it’s what my cutie mark…” sang Rainbow Dash, who stood to Rarity’s left. Twilight ran up to them, and stood to Applejack’s right, wondering what would happen. 
That’s when all five of her friends started singing in unison. 
“It’s what my cutie mark… Yes it’s what my cutie mark is telling me!” The five ponies all stamped the ground at the same time, ending the song. Twilight blinked, and turned around toward the Golden Oaks Library. She needed to do some research.