The train ride to Appleloosa was nerve-racking as Lucky thought about her decision. She had no idea how things would turn out and kept mulling over. Was this really a good idea? She hoped the citizens of Appleloosa would be forgiving, but she could see them locking her up or having her pay fines that she couldn't afford. But regardless, this was something she had to do, and the mare decided to go through with this and tell the citizens of Appleloosa the truth about being Trouble Shoes. Applejack sat across from her as the train chugged along, looking worried and finally asked, "Are you seriously going through with this?"
Lucky slowly nodded and said, "Yeah, I had a lot to think about, and I think this is the right thing to do."
"But from what you told me, you didn't really do anything wrong. Heck, from what it sounds, you really were just super clumsy. That ain't a crime."
The Clydesdale let out an embarrassed groan as memories of herself as a stallion came back to her crashing into haystacks and barrels, then said, "Well, I did cause a lot of problems and had Appleloosa cancel the rodeo more than once. I think it's fair that I pay my dues."
Applejack threw her hooves in the air and shouted, "Fine! Pay the town back or do community service! But don't be doin' no jail time; it just ain't right."
Lucky couldn't help but smile, seeing how protective Applejack was of her. Still, she had to convince her friend that this was right and said, "Applejack, whatever the town decides is my punishment; I'll go through with it."
"I still think you're being too hard on yourself."
"This isn't about me, trust me; I want to just live my life with you. But I need to do this and face my past first; then, I can truly move on from my life as Trouble Shoes."
The farm mare wanted to say more, but she looked down with a defeated look. "I guess there's no talkin' ya out of it well. I'm gonna make sure you get a fair trial."
"I know Sheriff Silver Star. I'm sure whatever judgment he passes will be just."
The orange-coated mare sighed, "I hope so."
The train then stopped at Appleloosa's train station, and the two made their way to the Sheriff's office. Once inside, there is the rather rickety and rundown office with a single jail cell. They spotted Sheriff Silver Star taking a nap with his back hooves on his desk. Lucky came forward and said, "Excuse me?"
The Sheriff just let out a loud snore, and then Applejack gave a shrug as Lucky let out a loud fake cough. The stallion woke up in shock and looked around the room with a confused look. "Huh!? What!?"
The gruff brown-coated stallion with blue eyes and a handlebar mustache looked towards her, seeming star-struck by her beauty, then said, "Oh hello miss, you're that, um, Lucky mare, right?"
"Yes, my name is Lucky."
"Right, Lucky! How ya doing?"
Applejack gave her one last look of worry, but the Clydesdale was set; she continued to trot towards the Sheriff, lifted her head up high, then said, "Sheriff Silver Star, I have a confession to make…I came here to turn myself in."
The stallion lifted his head wide-eyed and cried, "Turn yourself in for what!?"
"Because I... I'm really Trouble Shoes."
The stallion gave her a look over, then burst into laughter as he slapped his foreleg, "Oh wow, you really got me there! This is some practical joke, right Applejack!?"
The farm mare sighed, "Sheriff, I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's tellin' the truth."
Lucky gulped, then asked, "You may want to sit down; it's a long story."
Silverstar sat back down in his chair as Lucky began to tell her tale.
Lucky continued to talk for some time, going over all the details about what had happened to her since taking a dip into the reflection pool. Silver Star was wide-eyed throughout the tale, and the stallion gave a whistle at the end. "That is one heck of a yarn you just told."
"Yeah, but do you believe me?"
The stallion scratched his chin and said, "Well, I think if you were lying, I think it wouldn't have that many details."
"So…what will be my punishment?"
"Well, miss, that won't be up to me; I'll leave that to the townsfolk."
"Seriously!?"
"Well, yes, we should come to a consensus with a trial."
Applejack stomped a hoof on the ground and then shouted, "Trial!? Come on, Sheriff, she's willing to pay for the damages she did as Trouble Shoes. We got the bits from the winnings from the rodeo."
"Yes, but considering that Trouble Shoes have been disturbin' the peace for years and these peculiar circumstances, I think a public trial is in order."
The orange-coated mare shook her head and said, "No, I don't agree; the townsfolk aren't the best at makin' sound decisions; we saw how y'all handled the Buffalo situation and almost went to war with them."
The Sheriff held up a hood and said, "I understand your concerns, but I think this is the right thing to do, considering everything, including the fact she just admitted she was cheatin' during the rodeo."
Applejack muttered under her breath, but the Clydesdale placed a hoof on her shoulder and then said. "I consent to a trial."
"Ok, that will take a few days; in the meantime, I suggest you enjoy your time here. You have a place to stay?"
Lucky looked to her friend, who spoke up. "We'll stay at my cousin Braeburn's place."
"Alright, as long as you stay in Appleloosa until the trial."
"Understood, and thank you, sheriff," Lucky bowed her head, and then she and Applejack left the office and headed to Braeburn's place.
Early the following day, Lucky was in Braeburn's restroom washing and getting ready for her Trial; she had bloodshot eyes, having been unable to get a wink of sleep the night before as she was slowly combing her longer mane and looking over herself. It felt like she was preparing for a funeral. She then looked up at a mirror, seeing her tired look, bags under her eyes, a frazzled mane. The mare looked absolutely horrible. She stopped trying to comb her hair and then started trotting down the stairs to see Braeburn and Applejack enjoying plates of apple cinnamon pancakes and coffee. The stallion looked up, and he gave her a blush as he said, "Well, uh, good morning, Luck I mean Trou-"
"Just call me Lucky."
"Right, Lucky, dang, still crazy knowing you were Trouble Shoes!?"
"Yeah, guess everypony will know soon enough."
She then plopped down at the table and chomped away at her pancakes, and then as she finished them, Applejack asked, "How ya feelin'?"
"I'm maybe just a little nervous and scared."
The brown-coated mare looked to Braeburn and asked, "You know the ponies of this town? What do you think my chances are that they'll forgive me?"
"Hmm, I reckon most townsfolk wanted you arrested, but most thought that just runnin' you out of town would've been a better idea."
Tears started to well up in Lucky's eyes, then shouted, "I'm doomed!" The mare then slammed her face into her food and wailed loudly.
Applejack turned to her cousin and snapped, "Braeburn!"
The stallion shrugged, then said, "What!? She told me to tell him what the townsfolk think. I ain't gonna sugarcoat it for her."
The farm mare turned to her friend and whispered, "Hey, uh, it's gonna be ok."
Lucky looked up with her face covered in syrup and pieces of pancake and sniffled, "It is?"
Applejack slowly wiped the food from her friend's face and kissed her. "You got this far, didn't you? I'm sure you can think of a way to convince them Appleloosans you're here to make up for the past."
"What if I'm wrong, though? I may have just ended up in jail for years!" Lucky raised her head and groaned, "I didn't think this through."
Applejack rolled her eyes, then said, "Yeah... you're right…I hate to say I told you so."
Lucky looked down, feeling so stupid for not listening to Applejack again, ending up in a predicament of her own making. But then her friend whispered in her ear, "But that doesn't mean I was right; I think you have to do this to finally put the past behind ya, and I doubt they'll lock ya up."
"You can't say that for sure!?"
"I mean, you got charm, and you're honest. I bet with those qualities, you can get out of this."
Lucky slowly rose up; she knew Applejack was just trying to cheer her up, but seeing that she could do nothing. The Clydesdale took a deep breath, then got up and said, "Regardless of what happens, I'm ready to face whatever is coming. Thanks for being here; if you hadn't come, I reckon I would be running to the hills by now."
Applejack nuzzled into her, and the two went back to finishing their breakfast as Braeburn gulped down his food, then asked, "So, uh, you two a thing or?"
The orange-coated earth pony turned towards her cousin and snapped, "Braeburn, you better shut it, or you're gonna be needing another cast."
The stallion instantly clammed up and returned to his food as Lucky snickered, wondering if she and Applejack would become more than friends. But that was something other than what she would bring up at this moment, considering her current circumstances. Then there was a knock at the door, and the three went to it and revealed Sheriff Silver Star and his deputies, who said, "Well, I say it's time for the trial."
Lucky held her face up despite still feeling tired and anxious; she cried, "I'm ready." She was then escorted off with the deputy ponies but was surprised to see Applejack trotting by her side. Despite all of her worries and doubts, seeing her friend beside her made her feel more at ease, and she felt as if she could face whatever the townsfolk of Appleloosa threw at her.
It was only a short time until the two came to the town center, where a podium was set up with a crowd that had gathered there. Silver Star stood atop it with a microphone as he proclaimed, "Now everypony settle down now; we're all here because there's been a development on the hunt for Trouble Shoes."
Everypony gasped and started to mutter and talk as he held up a hoof. "Settle down, settle down!"
The crowd's talking started to turn to light murmurs, but it was mostly quiet. Silver Star proclaimed, "Now, here is Lucky Horseshoes to shine a light on the situation!"
Everypony started to clap and cheer as she approached the podium waving a hoof, staring down at the crowd shouting or chanting her name. The mare was stunned and feeling more sheepish, seeing that this crowd loving her would soon probably hate her after she explained her story. Lucky then cleared her throat and then cried, "Hello, Appleloosa! You all are wondering what this meetin' is all about?"
There was a suspenseful silence as the mare gulped with sweat running down her forehead as she continued, "Well, uh, the truth is that I, um… I'm Trouble Shoes."
Everypony gave a loud huh!? Many whispered and muttered, and the mare then pointed to herself and said again, "I am Trouble Shoes! I really am…"
The ponies all stared in confusion. Lucky slammed a hoof to her face as she tripped, fell into the back of the banner, and then somehow ended up being wrapped up in it and collapsed onto the stand and groaned.
The Sheriff was the first to cry out to her, "By golly, she is Trouble Shoes!?"
Most of the crowd gave loud gasps, seeing the realization, which turned into angry yelling and some shouting, "Lock her up!"
Lucky sighed, already missing them, praising her but then got up to her forehooves and slammed them on the pedestal and shouted, "Yes, I was Trouble Shoes, and I need yall to listen to why I turned myself in!"
There was a lot of muttering and some shouts of arrest. But Silver Star trotted over and shouted, "everypony, quiet down!"
The crowd simmered down with angry mutterings, but they mainly stayed quiet. So Lucky continued her tale, "For years, I came to the rodeo and tried to enjoy it, but due to my clumsy nature, I continued to cause y'all nothing but trouble. I thought I was cursed with a cutie mark, which I thought made me overly clumsy and made my life miserable. Truth is, I was looking at it all wrong. Regardless, I took a chance to change my destiny and jump into a magical pool of metallic liquid, giving me the opposite of my original self. Then I found out I was a rodeo master and would be able to do anything without much effort. But this came at a cost. My cutie mark gave my opponents unnatural bad luck. I signed up for the Appleloosa rodeo and competed, knowing I was cheating. After removing myself of my curse, I realized I had to stop running away from my problems and face them." She turned to see the other rodeo competitors sitting in the front row as she smiled at them and said, "Y'all didn't deserve getting hurt and being humiliated as ya did, and I apologize for that."
Lucky then turned to face the entire crowd and finished her speech. "So, in full honesty, I'm not only turning myself in but giving back the bits, trophies, and blue ribbons I won."
The crowd was in shock with a lot of hush murmurs, and Sheriff Silver Star came forward and said, "Well, I'll be; I see that now we might have overreacted when you were Trouble Shoes. But as I said, this is a public trial. She may be guilty of cheatin' and shuttin' down our rodeo numerous times. But considering her circumstances, there's a lot to talk about, so we shall as a community determine her sentence."
Lucky then slowly trotted down the stage with her body shaking all over from the anxiety of the town's decision. But as she was trotting off, Applejack came forward and cleared her throat, "Uh, before y'all start talkin' about what happens to Lucky, I gotta say something first."
The two deputies looked like they were going to tackle Applejack, but the Sheriff held up a hoof and kept them at bay; he then turned towards her and asked, "Say what ya got ta say."
"Thanks, sheriff." Lucky's friend turned towards the crowd and said, "Listen, I get why y'all are angry at Lucky, but before you sentence her, consider this. She didn't have to come here. None of y'all would have ever guessed Lucky used to be Trouble Shoes, and she could've lived in Ponyville for the rest of her days and never told a soul. She came here on her own free will to accept whatever judgment to make up for her past. So consider that while y'all talk amongst yourselves."
The mare then trotted off downstage following Lucky who then threw herself over her friend, and cried, "Thank you." The two hugged each other for comfort. An hour passed, and Lucky was escorted by the deputies to the stage, where Silver Star said, "Now the town has come to a consensus; despite your numerous crimes, we considered the circumstances of your previous clumsiness and honesty. Instead of doing jail time, we decided your sentence will be reduced to one session of community service."
The Clydesdale slammed a hoof to her chest feeling her heart skip a beat being completely taken aback by the outcome. At the same time, Applejack placed her hat over her chest and sighed in relief, "Oh, thank Celestia."
Lucky then turned to the Sheriff, still worried about this community service, and asked, "So, what will I be doing exactly?"
The Sheriff, looking rather sheepish, brushed the back of his head as he explained, "Seeing how talented you are at this year's rodeo. We thought it fitting that you compete at the next big rodeo in Canterlot. Then, use their earnings to help Appleloosa? That would surely pay off any damages you've done over the years."
The Clydesdale beamed a smile, then said, "You're too generous, Silver Star, and of course, I accept these terms."
The town gave a cheer as the Clydesdale, filled with joy and relieved she wasn't going to jail, held up her hooves and cried, "Thank you for this chance to redeem myself, thank you!"
As the mare left the stage, Silver Star took his hat, bent his head, and said, "Before you go, let me apologize as well. I clearly treated you horribly and didn't understand the circumstances when you were a stallion. If you had just told us all those instances of you causing damages at the rodeo were just you being clumsy, I would've found a way for you to attend without you causing all that trouble."
The Clydesdale was surprised by what the Sheriff said and said, "I well, thank you…I…I didn't expect you to be so understanding. To be fair, I was scared you would've just arrested me."
"Well, these ponies can be somewhat stubborn, but I can tell you we aren't devoid of understanding."
He then threw his hoof and led his deputies back to his office. Applejack then trotted over to her friend, slammed a hoof over her back, and cried, "Well, I guess that settles that! You're a free mare!"
Lucky turned to face her friend, so happy she's been at her side this entire time. Then a realization came to her, and, with a smirk, she said, "Guess that means we're competing against each other in Canterlot?"
"Guess so; better watch yourself. You can't give me bad luck this time,"
Lucky laughed as the two trotted off the stage together, heading straight to the train station to return home to Ponyville.
Later that evening, Lucky was again back in Ponyville with Applejack in her room. The two were sharing a jug of hard cider as they discussed the Trial and how Lucky almost ended up in jail.
Applejack chugged down a tankard of the stuff and then set it down with a loud burp. She wiped her mouth and said, "Well, I have to say. That went a lot better than I expected."
Lucky rolled her eyes, mulling over the community service she was given. "I agree; the townsfolk seem to warm up knowing I can win them bits."
Applejack shrugged, "who cares about them and what they think. But I doubt they would've given you the chance if you hadn't told them the truth; you would probably be in jail."
"I know, but I would rather live in Ponyville regardless."
The farm mare looked into her eyes, making Lucky self-conscious and asking, "Is there something wrong?"
"So you kept your new cutie mark, got rid of the curse, and cleared your name; guess there's only one problem left?"
"And that is?"
"Your gender, are you going to stay as a mare? Or ya going back to being a stallion?"
Lucky pondered tge though whisking her tail, then said, "I think I will stay like this…maybe it grew on me, and I think it suits me…I don't know…"
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I don't see a reason to turn back to a stallion, and I really am fine staying like this."
Applejack started to get sweaty and stammered, "Well, that's good to hear because I wanted to ask, do…do you wana to be my uh my marefriend?"
The Clydesdale froze and blinked, seeing she wasn't prepared to be asked that very question, seeing she'd been focused more on the Trial. Still, she said, "well…I didn't know this was going to happen…..are we gonna try that kiss again?"
She looked up as Applejack came forward, and the two kissed and started to make out. Afterward, the orange-coated farm mare brushed the mane from her now marefriend's face and asked, "So how was that?"
"You weren't being compelled against your will, right?"
"Ey'nope."
"And that was real… we're not dreaming, and we're really here, and that just happened!?"
Applejack came forward, gave her another kiss, and said, "ey'yup."
Lucky then blinked, seeing that this was happening; she wasn't being arrested, had a marefriend who loved her, and admitted she wanted to stay a mare all in one day. Whether it was from all of these life-changing realizations, maybe the fact she wasn't going to prison, or all the cider she drank going to her head. Regardless the Clydesdale couldn't help but throw herself onto her new marefriend.