“This is gonna be awesome!” yelled Scootaloo, adjusting the purple helmet on her head.
Sweetie Belle, who was wearing a green helmet, looked down at the ground. “I’m beginning to have second thoughts…”
“Beginnin’ to?!” asked Apple Bloom as she strapped on a blue helmet. “Ah’ve been sayin’ this was a bad idea since Scootaloo brought it up!”
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders were standing on a wooden platform that had been built near the top of a tall tree. A rope had been tied to the tree, and it stretched all the way to a tree far off in the distance.
“You keep complaining,” said Scootaloo, connecting a metal hook to the rope, “And yet you’re the one who built all this.” She checked the hook, which was attached to the harness she was wearing.
“Guys?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Do you remember how we even got up here? Apple Bloom didn’t build a ladder or anything…”
“Ah thought you were joking!” yelled Apple Bloom, ignoring Sweetie Belle. “Ah didn’t think you’d be crazy enough to actually try zip-linin’!”
“Would you relax?” asked Scootaloo, putting on her sunglasses. “Spike told me this was awesome!”
“Spike said that?” asked Sweetie. She cleared her throat and turned to Apple Bloom. “Clearly, Scootaloo put a lot of thought into this. We should at least try it out.”
“You’re both crazy,” said Apple Bloom. “There’s no way Ah’m doin’ this.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and walked behind Apple Bloom. She reached out and pushed the other filly off the platform.
“AH’LL KILL YA FOR THIS!” screamed Apple Bloom as she went zipping down the rope.
“Man,” said Sweetie Belle, “That was devious.” She smiled at Scootaloo. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks,” said the pegasus filly.
“One thing, though,” said Sweetie. She pulled on a cord that was sticking out of her harness. “Aren’t these all connected to each other?”
Scootaloo blinked behind her sunglasses. She looked down at her own harness, where the cord that was connected to Apple Bloom was getting taut. “…Oh yeah…” said Scootaloo.
The cord stretched to its limit and Scootaloo was pulled off the platform, dragging Sweetie Belle with her.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom slowed to a stop when she reached the other tree. “Huh,” she said. She started laughing. “That actually wasn’t so-”
“LOOK OUT!” yelled Scootaloo’s voice.
Apple Bloom turned her head just in time to see the other two fillies crash into her. The rope snapped, causing all three of them to tumble through the tree tops and crash on the forest floor below.
“See anything?” moaned Apple Bloom.
“Pain,” mumbled Scootaloo, face down in the dirt. “All I see is pain…”
“Ah mean, do we have Cutie Marks?” said Apple Bloom, wincing as she got up. She grimaced as she felt sticky tree sap all over her body.
Scootaloo got up and looked at her flank, which was as blank as ever. “I got nothing,” she said. “How about you?”
Apple Bloom looked at her flank. “Nope. Sweetie?”
“If you two didn’t get one, what makes you think I would?” asked Sweetie, getting up and pulling off her helmet.
“Wishful thinking?” supplied Scootaloo.
“Fair enough,” said Sweetie. She looked at her flank, and wasn’t surprised by what she saw. “No Cutie Mark.”
“Damn it,” muttered Scootaloo, throwing her helmet on the ground. “We’re never going to get our Cutie Marks.”
Apple Bloom pulled three buckets full of soapy water from behind a nearby tree. At Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s odd looks, she simply said, “Ah figured we’d end up makin’ a mess…again.”
“When have we ever made a mess of anything?” asked Scootaloo, taking off her sunglasses in order to wash her face.
“That time you thought we’d get our Cutie Marks in blowing up beehives?” supplied Sweetie.
“Or the time we tried being professional paintball players?” added Apple Bloom.
“Or the time we tried real-life Splatoon…” said Sweetie.
“Ok, I get it!” cried Scootaloo.
“Look,” said Apple Bloom, “There’s tons of ponies in town who have their Cutie Marks. Let’s ask one of them how they did it.”
“Ooh!” said Scootaloo. “We can start with the coolest pony in Ponyville!”
“Applejack!” said Apple Bloom.
“Rarity!” said Sweetie.
Scootaloo frowned. “Guys. I said cool.”
“…Pinkie Pie?” guessed the other two.
Scootaloo shuddered. “Please…please don’t joke like that…” she muttered. She shook her head and said, “I’m talking about Rainbow Dash!”
“Oh yeah…the cheater,” said Apple Bloom, rolling her eyes. “That’d be perfect…”
Scootaloo glared at Apple Bloom. “What was that?” she growled.
“Oh nothin’,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah just don’t know why you’d want to talk to a pony who can’t even play fair at tug-of-war is all.”
“Um…girls?” asked Sweetie.
“Well maybe she wouldn’t have had to use her wings if your sister just admitted Rainbow Dash was the better pony!” said Scootaloo.
“What, you want mah sister to lie?” asked Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo opened her mouth to retort, but Sweetie cut her off. “Look, why don’t we just talk to all of them? Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity?”
Scootaloo looked like she desperately wanted to keep arguing. “…Fine,” she muttered.
Apple Bloom nodded. “Fine by me.”
“Great!” said Sweetie. “Now…let’s head back to my chariot of darkness!”
“You mean the wagon?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Don’t ruin this for me!” yelled Sweetie.
The three fillies walked back to the tree with the wooden platform on it. Resting against the trunk was Scootaloo’s scooter, which had a red wagon hooked on to it.
Scootaloo walked towards the scooter as Sweetie Belle hopped into the wagon. “How come I always have to pull you guys?” she asked, stepping onto the scooter.
Apple Bloom glared at her. “You obviously don’t see anything wrong with using your wings for every little thing. Like a game of tug-of-war, for example.”
Scootaloo returned Apple Bloom’s glare with one of her own. “Sweetie?” she called. “Are you in the wagon?”
“Um…yeah?” answered Sweetie Belle.
“Good,” said Scootaloo. She kicked off from the ground and her wings started buzzing, causing the scooter to shoot forward. “See ya, Apple Bloom!” she called as she left the other filly behind.
“Hey!” yelled Apple Bloom, as the scooter disappeared down the path. She started running after it. “Come back!”
Scootaloo laughed as she got further and further from the other filly. “Did you see her face, Sweetie Belle?!” she asked, turning to look at the pony in the wagon. “That’s what she gets for defending-”
“Applejack!” yelled Sweetie Belle.
“Right!” said Scootaloo, nodding. “For defending Applejack!”
“No!” said Sweetie, pointing. “Applejack!”
Scootaloo faced forwards and saw that Applejack was directly in front of them. She attempted to brake, but slammed into the older pony, sending her and Sweetie crashing to the ground.
“Ha!” panted Apple Bloom as she finally caught up. “That’s what you get for leavin’ me…” She paused and looked at the scene in front of her. “Applejack?”
“Apple Bloom…” muttered Applejack, getting back on her hooves. “Why did your friend just crash into me?”
“Hard not to, you fat-” began Scootaloo. She was cut off by Sweetie Belle putting her hoof over her mouth.
“We actually wanted to ask you somethin’!” said Apple Bloom. “How’d you get your Cutie Mark?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. “Have Ah never told you that?”
“You might’ve,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah tune you out a lot. Everything you say just comes back to apples after a while.”
“Oh really?” asked Applejack. “What if Ah told ya’ll that there was a time that Ah didn’t want to deal with apples? And what if Ah said Ah was sick of this old apple farm?”
The three fillies gasped dramatically.
“Who are you and what have you done with Applejack?” asked Apple Bloom.
Applejack smiled. “Let’s see…it all started a long time ago. Back when you were just a baby, Apple Bloom…”
Years ago:
“Are you really gonna leave, AJ?” asked Little Mac, his loose-fitting collar around his scrawny neck.
Applejack tied the pouch with all of the things she needed to a stick. “Yup,” she said with a nod. “Ah don’t want to waste mah life on this apple farm.” She turned and faced the path in front of her.
“But-” began Mac.
“Let her go, boy,” said Granny Smith, walking over to them. “A mare’s gotta find her place in the world, after all.”
“Granny…” hissed Mac. “She’s only ten.”
“Back in mah day,” began Granny Smith, “We got sent to war when we turned ten! And we had to walk fifteen miles to the nearest drafting office and-”
Mac shook his head and looked at Applejack. “Did you at least say goodbye to Apple Bloom?”
“Ah tried,” said Applejack, “But she just kept babblin’ and droolin’ at me. That girl don’t make a lick of sense.”
“Applejack,” said Mac, “She’s only one.”
“Back in mah day…” began Applejack.
“Fifteen miles, Ah get it,” said Mac. He walked forward and gave Applejack a hug. “Ah’ll miss you.”
Applejack nuzzled her older brother. “Ah’ll miss you too. Ah’ll write once Ah get to Aunt and Uncle Orange’s place.” She pulled away from Mac and began walking down the path, leaving her brother, grandmother, and home behind.
Now:
“Holy shit,” said Apple Bloom. “You left?”
Applejack nodded. “Ah wanted a sophisticated life in the city. Ah traveled for days before Ah reached Manehattan…”
Years Ago:
“So…hungry…” whined Applejack as she crawled on the sidewalk. “Probably…should’ve brought food…didn’t plan ahead…mah bad…”
“Mommy, why is that girl crawling on the sidewalk?” asked a colt.
“Don’t make eye contact, honey. It’ll go away if you ignore it,” said an older mare as she pulled the colt away.
“Bitch…” muttered Applejack. She got up and walked over to a nearby building. “This is the place…” she said to herself. She walked inside and headed down the hallway, stopping when she came across a door with a picture of an orange on it. She raised her hoof and knocked on the door.
The door opened and an orange-furred stallion with a green mane stared down at her. He looked back into the apartment and said, “Honey? I think the girl scouts are here again!”
“I’ll get the shotgun, don’t worry!” said a feminine voice.
“Uncle Orange!” said Applejack. “It’s me! Applejack!”
“…Do I owe you money?” asked Uncle Orange.
“Ah’m your niece!” said Applejack. She ran forward and hugged his legs.
“Oh! Applejack!” said Uncle Orange. He looked back into the apartment and said, “Never mind on the girl scout thing, babe! It’s just our relative!”
“…It’s not either of our mothers, is it?” asked the voice. “I don’t want to put the shotgun away if it is.”
“No, it’s your brother’s kid,” said Uncle Orange, stepping back into the apartment with Applejack still clutching his legs.
“Applejack?!” asked the voice. There was a clatter and an older mare with an orange mane ran forward. She grabbed Applejack and hugged her. “Honey, what are you doing here? Does your Granny know you’re here?”
“Mmhmm!” said Applejack happily. She threw her arms around Aunt Orange’s neck and hugged her. “She said if Ah didn’t want to live on the farm, Ah should travel the world!”
“…She knows you’re only ten, right?” asked Aunt Orange.
“Yep!” said Applejack. “Back in her day-”
Aunt Orange quickly covered Applejack’s mouth. “Sweetie, I’ve already heard that enough when I was living with her, ok? I don’t need to hear it again.” She looked at her husband. “Maybe we should take her back…”
“What?!” said Applejack. “But Ah want to stay here with you!”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know if…” began Aunt Orange.
“Please?” begged Applejack.
“Yeah, please?” said Uncle Orange, picking Applejack up. “All of my friends have kids! I’ll finally be cool again!”
Aunt Orange sighed. “I guess you can stay. I’ll set up the guest bedroom.”
“We have a guest bedroom?” asked Uncle Orange.
“It’s where you keep all your dolls and comic books,” explained Aunt Orange.
“They aren’t dolls, they’re action figures!” yelled Uncle Orange, dropping Applejack and running after his wife.
Now:
“How long did you stay with Aunt and Uncle Orange?” asked Apple Bloom.
“For a couple of months,” said Applejack. “Wasn’t long before Ah was actin’ and talkin’ like a true Manehattan pony.”
“What made you come back?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Years Ago:
“Oranges?” asked Applejack as she sat at the dinner table. “Again?”
“Yep!” said Uncle Orange as he set down plates of orange-based dishes. “We’ve got orange pie, orange soda, orange juice, orange ice-cream, chocolate oranges, orange chocolate-”
“THAT’S IT!” yelled Applejack, standing up from the table. “Ah’m sick and tired of eatin’ oranges every single day! Ah need mah apples back!” With that, she ran out of the apartment.
“Huh…” said Uncle Orange. He shrugged and said, “More for us, right babe?”
Aunt Orange looked at all the orange dishes and then back at her husband. “…I really hate oranges. I always have.”
Uncle Orange sighed. “Me too. Wanna go get some apples?”
Now:
“So Ah ran all the way back to Ponyville,” explained Applejack. “Once Ah reached Sweet Apple Acres, I realized Ah had gotten mah Cutie Mark. Ah’ve been workin’ on the farm ever since.”
“That sounds stupid,” said Scootaloo petulantly. “Are we really supposed to believe that you spent months in some fancy city?”
Applejack stared at her for a moment, before opening her mouth. “I should hope so, darling,” she said in a posh accent. “I’m a tad hurt that you would insinuate that I would lie about it.” She smirked at the shocked expressions of the three fillies. “What? I told you I learned to speak like a proper Manehattan pony.”
“But…what?” asked Apple Bloom. She shook her head. “Why don’t you normally talk like that?”
Applejack laughed. “Because it ain’t how Ah like to talk,” she spoke in her normal voice. “Talkin’ like that makes me sound like some frou-frou asshole.” She looked around and then whispered, “Don’t tell Rarity about this. She wouldn’t leave me alone if she knew.”
“Rarity!” said Sweetie Belle suddenly. She ran over and climbed into the wagon. “We need to find Rarity and have her explain how she got her Cutie Mark.”
“And Rainbow Dash!” said Scootaloo as she ran for her scooter.
“Yeah!” said Apple Bloom, quickly climbing into the wagon. “We can have her explain why she cheats all the time! That’ll be fun!”
“You know what, Apple Bloom?” asked Scootaloo as she kicked off from the ground. “You can just go fu-”
“Bye girls!” waved Applejack as the three fillies zoomed down the road. Once they were out of view, she sighed. “I thought they’d never leave,” she muttered in her posh accent. “It gets so tiring keeping up that hillbilly façade.”
“Did you say somethin’, sis?” asked Big Mac as he walked towards her.
“Nothing at all, Macintosh,” said Applejack in her posh accent. Her eyes widened as she realized what she said.
“What?” asked Big Mac.
“Ah said, ‘nothin’ at all, Big Mac’!” replied Applejack in her normal voice. Her eyes darted around. "Nothin' at all..."