Applejack walked made her way back to her room, thinking about what transpired. Between seeing a colt on top of her sister, sending her into a lunatic rage, being told off by one of her friends and then losing said friend, things weighed heavy on her.
She in her mind tried to justify it, she stated that she didn't want Rumble doing anything inappropriate with her sister, which he did, but thinking back she realized how badly she may have scared him, especially when she caught up to him, the way he looked at her, the same fear in his eyes was similar to how ponies first reacted to Nightmare Moon, she had become as scary as the same mare that brought her friends together initially.
She saw Cheese and Pinkie talking at the door to the room, but when Cheese saw Applejack coming, he started to back away, much to Pinkie's confusion.
"Cheese, where are you going?"
"I'm sorry Pinkie, I...I can't be here right now, I'll...I'll talk to you later *gulp* If I'm able to...bye", Cheese trotted off before Applejack got there.
Applejack looked confused as to why Cheese left, "Where is he going?"
Pinkie gave Applejack and unusually angry glare, Applejack can almost feel the disdain coming from Pinkie's eyes.
"He probably left because he saw you coming", Pinkie said with a cold unfriendly attitude.
Applejack felt herself starting to sweat, "Uh, why would he do that?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe he didn't want to be chased through the castle! Maybe he knows you'll treat him badly like you treated Thunderlane!" Pinkie was clearly angry, something Applejack isn't entirely used to.
"What? I would never, Cheese is a nice fellow, it's great that you can see him after all this time", she put on a nervous chuckle, hoping Pinkie would lighten up.
"Oh, so that's it, you're fine with us being friends as long as its long distance huh? You're a big dumb meanie Applejack, I don't want to speak to you!" Pinkie then turned her head away and trotted off.
As childish as the insult was, Applejack knew that coming from Pinkie, it was one of the worst things that she can say to someone she considered a friend. She then noticed Rarity, Coco & Sweetie Belle approaching, but Coco stoped in her tracks when she saw Applejack.
"Coco, what's wrong?" Rarity asked.
"Sorry Miss Rarity, I need to be off, talk to you later...if your friend's ok with it", Coco then left in fear.
Rarity turned to call for Coco but she was long gone, she then faced Applejack with a look of anger in her eyes.
"Rarity, I swear-" Applejack tried to speak but Rarity put her hoof up, signaling to stop, then she just walked away.
Applejack really liked Rarity, while she cared for all of her friends equally, she was probably closer to Rarity despite their differences, so for Rarity to not even bother speaking to her just tore Applejack's heart out.
Sweetie Belle had mixed feelings, while she didn't like Rumble that much, even she was frightened of how Applejack reacted to the situation, she almost felt bad for Rumble, but she also feels bad for Applejack because she knows why she reacted like that, she understood Applejack's frustrations on the sudden inclusion of the new ponies.
Sweetie Belle approached AJ hugged her a little, "Don't worry about Rarity, she'll come around, soon things will be back to normal"
Applejack sighed and returned the hug, "Ah doubt it, but ah hope yer right"
Twilight arrived in the area after having checking on Flitter briefly in the medical care area, but when she saw Applejack, she felt a bit enraged, "Careful Sweetie Belle, she might chase you around as well".
Sweetie turned to Twilight, "Come on, she made a mistake, we all make mistakes".
"Mistake? No a mistake would be knocking over a glass of water, or spilling ink on a dress, or even someone making a typo in a book, those are mistakes, but chasing a poor defensless colt through a castle with malicious intent is far from a mistake, it's BEYOND a mistake, but you know what mistake I made? My mistake was thinking that you", Twilight pointed at Applejack, "Could put aside your stubbornness for the sake of our friend Rainbow Dash, who just wanted some new friends that she was more than willing to share, as an Element of Harmony you shouldn't push away, you should be trying to get closer like all of us have, in case you didn't realize I, like Rainbow, enjoyed Thunderlane's company, Rarity enjoyed it, Pinkie enjoyed it, Fluttershy didn't just enjoy Thunderlane's company, she also enjoyed the company of Flitter, a friend who's similar to her, now Fluttershy's in the medical area in tears over what happened to Flitter, you broke her jaw with your kick, the doctor said a kick that hard in the wrong place, COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"
Applejack was feeling in a dark place now, there was definitely no going back this time.
"You can't be selfish with friends, what if one of us befriends Derpy, are you gonna chase around Dinky and threaten to beat her down? Speaking of whom suppose the girls wanted Dinky in the Crusaders and she's too afraid because you might hurt her, Derpy probably will go against the idea of Dinky being anywhere near the crusaders, same situation with Dinky's sister Amethyst Star, thus potentially keeping more ponies away!"
Applejack looked away, "Ah have no problem with Dinky with Apple Bloom, she's not a colt ah barely know"
"She's not, but she's a filly you barely know, what makes you think she doesn't probably swing that way anyway? What if SHE and Apple Bloom get together, and you wouldn't know it because of that ideology".
Applejack started feeling even more stupid.
"And speaking of Apple Bloom, she's now ashamed and nearly terrified of how you acted, she's afraid to make any more friends, also she told me something VERY interesting, SHE made the first move, not Rumble, just like Rainbow Dash said, Apple Bloom ended being the one who made the first move, AND Rumble fell on her BY ACCIDENT, because of something SHE did, and SHE was the one who kissed him, so you just blamed Rumble for something he had NO control over"
Applejack couldn't believe it, "Th-there's no way mah sister would-"
Twilight turned to Sweetie,"Sweetie Belle, you were there, mind confirming the story?" Sweetie Belle looked to the side a bit. "Sweetie Belle, I know you and Rumble aren't the best of friends, BUT I do expect you to do the right thing, do I need to tell your sister you're being part of the problem?"
Sweetie Belle grumbled then gave in, "Fine, it's true, Apple Bloom made the first move, she nuzzled him, and then fell on him, then when they were trying to get up, he fell on her, then she kissed him, that's when you came in".
Applejack was speechless, she wanted to believe Sweetie Belle was lying, but she can sense she was telling the truth, Sweetie Belle wouldn't make up a story like this, she respected The Apple Family to never slander them, plus she wouldn't willingly say something to help Rumble.
"Thank you Sweetie Belle", Twilight said.
Applejack was wrapping her head around this, Rumble was innocent, she just ruined a chance at new friends, plus damaged her relationship with her current friends, even her own sister was losing faith in her.
"Twilight, I swear, I'm so sorry, I never meant to take things this far" Applejack got a little teary eyed, "Yah gotta believe me".
Twilight sighed and closed her eyes while rubbing her forehead, "Sorry Applejack, but after so many false hopes, I just don't know if I can believe you, you talk about Rainbow not being true to her element, I say she's not the one not being true to her element, I don't think you deserve The Element of Honesty right now"
That pierced through Applejack's heart like a spear. Despite her feelings on Rainbow Dash's loyalty, all this time she herself was the one failing her element.
"Now, in light of what happened, there's one room free due to Thunderlane leaving, it's better for you to take that room, the rest of us will have the original sleeping arrangements, but no one really wants to share a room with you at the moment, except maybe Big Macintosh, this rule effective immediately".
Applejack sighed, "Fine then, I'll put mah bags in the other room". Applejack had left to the room and grabbed her belongings. She trotted to the new room as Twilight turned away, still very ashamed of her friend. Applejack had simply sat down in the darkness of the other room, but she knows she deserves this. "How could I be so cruel? Who am I?"
Later at the train, Rainbow Dash & the others are seeing Thunderlane and his friends off.
"Are you positive you can travel Flitter? Is your jaw ok?" Fluttershy asked.
Flitter nodded since she couldn't speak, and she nuzzled Fluttershy a bit.
"Hope you have a safe travel dears" Rarity said.
"Thanks Rarity, have fun at the event", Cloudchaser said.
Apple Bloom hugged Rumble and whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry this happened to you", a small tear rolled down her eye.
Rumble hesitated to hug back, still paranoid about Applejack but simply stated, "I don't blame you for this"
Rainbow Dash also hugged Rumble, "When I get back, I'll fly with you some more"
Rumble nodded, starting to feel a blush from being hugged by a mare he has a small crush on, and a filly he was starting to like.
Twilight approached Thunderlane, "I'm sorry we put you in this situation, maybe inviting you was a bad idea, not that I didn't enjoy your company, I just hate what Applejack did to your brother".
"It's ok Twilight, you meant well, it means a lot that you wanted to bond with me and my friends, you're I'm honored that you even gave us the time of day, you're the best princess".
Twilight blushed a little, "Thanks, I hope we can chat again soon"
Rainbow went to Thunderlane and gave him a little hug, "See you later bud"
Thunderlane hugged back, "Sorry about this, I feel bad leaving you like this".
Rainbow Dash patted his shoulder, "Hey, you gotta do what's best for your brother, don't worry about it"
Rumble approached Thunderlane, "You don't have to come, I can go home with Flitter & Cloudchaser, or just Flitter if Cloudchaser wants to stay too"
"Thanks for the offer bro, but I think it's best for us all to leave, give Applejack a little space".
Rainbow looked surprised, "You're concerned about Applejack?"
Thunderlane did an 'eh' gesture wit his hoof, "I know she didn't like me and I'm still pretty mad she chased and threatened my brother but I almost feel bad for her, I'm a big sibling too I know what it's like, not that it justifies her actions but I can't help but feel bad for her".
Cloudchaser scoffed, "I don't". Thunderlane gave a somewhat hopeless glance to Cloudchaser before focusing back on Rainbow.
"I'll make this up to you, we can try this again some other time, just go out there and do what you need to do", Thunderlane put his hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, "You're a very special mare Rainbow, you got this".
Rainbow blushed a little but shook it off, "Don't give me that sappy stuff, you know I hate that"
Thunderlane chuckled, "Sorry couldn't help it".
The train then arrived, Thunderlane and his friends boarded it.
"Good luck Dash", Thunderlane said.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you a bunch already...but thanks", Rainbow said.
The others waved good-bye before the door closed. The girls watched sadly as the train went back to Ponyville. Thunderlane himself had a small hint of regret, wondering if this is even a good idea.
The girls went back inside the castle, a feeling of dejection.
"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Lets go find Coco & Cheese, I hope Applejack didn't scare them too badly", Rarity said.
They approached a hallway where most of the ponies for the talent show were gonna be and saw Cheese talking with Coco.
"Cheesie! Coco!" Pinkie shouted.
Both noticed the girls but looked to see if Applejack was among them, luckily she wasn't.
"Hello my fine fillies, good to see you", Cheese greeted.
"Yeah, um...where's your new friends, and um...where's Applejack?" Coco asked.
Twilight sighed, "Thunderlane went home with his friends, and Applejack is in a room by herself, hopefully thinking over her outrageous actions", Twilight said.
"I hope she comes around, she usually seems so nice, it's a shame to see her act like that", Cheese said.
"So the mighty Applejack has fallen", they heard the voice of Flim say.
Flim, Flam & Suri approached the group.
"What do you 3 want?" Twilight asked with unhappiness in her voice.
"We just overheard that unfortunate incident with Applejack, heard her shouting for miles, and here we thought she was a calm, cool & collected pony", Flim taunted.
"What happened with Applejack is none of your business", Twilight said.
"Sensitive topic princess? Unhappy that not all your friends are perfect like me?" Suri asked.
Rarity stepped forward, "Do NOT talk to Twilight like that Suri, and you're not perfect, far from it in fact"
"Say that now Rarity, but soon I'll be a rich success, while you and Coco beg to work for me, who knows maybe I'll give you a job, a job scrubbing the floors" Suri stated.
Spike stepped up, "Rarity would never work for you, she's great in every way, Coco wouldn't either for that matter"
"Step aside young dragon, this is an intelligent conversation going on", Flam stated.
Now Cheese stepped up, "I don't appreciate how you are talking to these fine ponies and dragon, now if you would be so kind as to leave, we don't want any party fouls among us"
"Oh yeah well...ugh it's you again, what do you want?" Suri asked, referring to Trixie.
Trixie stepped forward, "Leave, now, I wish to speak with them".
"Wow, you're finally using pronouns, whatever though, we've made our point, lets go boys", Suri said and left with Flim & Flam.
Twilight turned to Trixie, "What do you need?"
"Please verify for me, what happened with Applejack? And where are your other friends?"
Twilight looked down a little, "Well she kinda got mad at that little colt for being in a...questionable position with her little sister and engaging in a kiss, and things just went crazy, Thunderlane went home with his friends since his brother was scared and one of them got hurt in the process, wait why do you need to know this?"
"I just want to be in the loop, for all I know she could be going crazy, I don't want to chance getting in her crossfire".
"She's calming down, and by herself with a lot of reflecting to do, hopefully she comes to her senses and we can start forgiving her".
Rainbow huffed a little, "She better, she really screwed up big time".
Trixie pondered this situation briefly, then spoke, "Thanks for the info, now Trixie must", Trixie then walked off.
Twilight sighed, "That mare can be pretty weird at times, oh well nothing to be that concerned of".
Trixie made her way to where Lightning Dust was training, she was taking a breather, "Got a minute?"
"What is it Trixie?" Lightning Dust asked.
Trixie approached her, "Just thought you should know that Rainbow Dash's team left, so she'll be going solo, you don't have much competition anymore".
Lightning looked curious, "They left huh? Wonder why? Maybe they were intimidated by me"
"Something about her friend Applejack chasing a colt".
"Was that the shouting I heard before? I thought some mare was in a bad mood over something stupid, oh well, I was still gonna crush her, it's just that much easier now, thanks for the tip Trixie"
"Think nothing of it, just a friendly gesture, like you, Trixie isn't much of a Rainbow Dash fan", Trixie said and walked off, leaving Lightning Dust to ponder, "Something about that mare is so freaken weird, oh well, at least she hates Rainbow Dash too" Lightning continued her little break and drank from a bottle of water.
Back in Applejack's room, she paced back and forth a lot, "I can't believe this, everything I did with them, all the time I spent and for what? For it to go down the drain over some crap like this!? They're supposed to be MY friends, they're gonna choose them over me!?" She punched a wall, but despite her anger, she couldn't hold back her tear, "Why is this happening? I love my friends, Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...*sigh* Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, especially Rarity, what if she never speaks to me again? What of none of them want anything to do with me again, ah can't lose them, ah just can't" she wiped her tears, "Thunderlane...a shouldn't be blaming him, this wasn't his fault, ah messed up, ah should have been more honest with him, ah did fail my element"
Her moment was interrupted when Big Macintosh entered the room.
"Big brother...ah don't know what to say".
Big Mac just stood there, Applejack continued to speak, "Ah bet you're ashamed of me, ah don't blame yah, ah wish I could take it all back, ah really do, what should ah do, I need your help big brother"
Big Mac simply said one thing, "You know what you need to do, but for now keep away from the others, you all need time apart from each other, I'll be keeping you company for the night, but you need to fix this", he saw her saddened look so he offered one more piece of advice, "You're a strong mare Applejack, ah ain't happy 'bout what you've done, but you are mah little sister, I'll never stop caring for yah"
Applejack smiled for the first time in a while, "Thanks big brother, you don't speak much but when you do, it's always worth the listen"
Big Mac nodded, "Eeyup"
Applejack hugged Big Mac before getting ready to call it in for the night, big day tomorrow.