In Little Green Smith Apple's bedroom, the curtains were drawn and lights off as music played. As for Little Green, she laid sprawled out on the floor under her bed. Her hood was up and the strings pulled tight, the material covering her eyes.
There was a knock on the door.
"You in there, sugar cube?" Applejack called out.
"No," Little Green called out. "Ain't nopony here."
From her spot, Little Green heard the door open, followed by the sound of her mom's hooves moving toward the bed.
"Your pa told me you seemed a might upset after the race for some reason," Applejack said, probably sticking her head under the bed. "Also said you did pretty good."
"I didn't do very good," Little Green said, not moving from her spot. "I got fourth place."
"That's pretty good. 'specially for your first race."
"It ain't good. I lost, Mama. I didn't win, I didn't even place." She let out a huff. "I just...lost..."
There were several seconds of silence before Little Green heard the sound of her mother's hooves walking away. That was not was she had been expecting. She had been expecting her mom to pull her out from under the bed, give her a big hug, and try to cheer her up about losing.
A few minutes later, the sound of Applejack returning could be heard.
"C'mon out here, Greenie, there's somethin' I wanna show ya."
Little Green pulled her hood open and back, letting her see as she turned to look out toward the room. She could see her mother's legs, as well as several photo albums. Curious, Little Green crawled out from under the bed. As soon as she did, Applejack sat down and patted the blanket next to her. Little Green sat down while her mother grabbed one of the photo albums.
"Let me tell you a little story," Applejack said as she held out the book. The picture she pointed at was of her and Rainbow Dash standing in front of what looked like a finish line. The two of them looked dirty, ruffled, and bruised like they had just been fighting. At the same time, Applejack had a foreleg around Rainbow Dash's neck, who in turn had a wing around her, and the both of them were grinning as wide as a mile.
"It was at The Running of The Leaves," Applejack explained, "after Twilight had first moved to Ponyville, back when she was a unicorn. Rainbow Dash and I ended up getting really competitive with each other and wanted to prove which of us was the more athletic pony."
"You mean that Iron Pony competition you two had?"
"This actually was a continuation of that. After the competition, we ended up deciding to race to see which of us was the better athlete." A sigh escaped Applejack as she looked up at the bed's canopy. "Problem was, we let our pride and competitive natures get the better of us. Both thought the other cheated, making it okay for us to cheat, which it didn't. The two of us got so caught up in everything, we ended up actually getting in a fight, having no fun during the race, and wound up tied... for last."
"No," Little Green said.
"Eyup," Applejack replied, looking at her daughter and grinning. "Had to get some sense knocked into us by Princess Celestia herself to realize how we messed up." She tapped the photo. "This here photo was taken after we had run the whole thing again, more for fun and as friends again."
Little Green looked at the picture a while longer, thinking.
"You understand what I'm telling you, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.
"That...I shouldn't let wanting to win get between me and friends?"
"While true, it ain't the point this time." Applejack shut the photo album, setting it aside. "While there ain't nothing wrong with wanting to win, you shouldn't be getting so focused on it that you forget to have fun. 'specially at your age."
"That's easy for you to say," Little Green huffed out, her ears drooping. "You always win."
"Now that ain't true."
"Yes it is. I've seen all those blue ribbons you have from your rodeos."
"Yes," Applejack agreed as she shut the photo album and grabbed another, "but you ain't seen these."
A small gasp escaped Little Green as her mother opened the book. Turned out it was not a photo album, but more like a scrap book. There were pictures in it, but also a ticket to a place called Dodge Junction, a letter from one Cherry Jubilee at Cherry Hill Ranch, and several ribbons. Including...
"Is that a fourth place ribbon?" Little Green asked, pointing.
"That's right," Applejack admitted. "All these ribbons here are actually from the same rodeo. Went to one and wound up not winning a single blue ribbon. Worse, I had promised the prize money to the town to help rebuild city hall. But, no blue ribbon meant no prize money." With a chuckle, she rubbed at the back of her head. "I was so embarrassed that I decided not to return to Ponyville 'til I had made enough money on my own."
"What?" Little Green cried out. "But what about Sweet Apple Acres? What if something attacked and your friends needed you?"
"Honestly? I didn't think about anything." Applejack tilted her head, narrowing her gaze at her daughter. "I was just thinking about how much of a failure I felt and how I let everypony down."
"...oh..." Little Green said, her entire body dropping. She was then pulled into a hug by her mother, who was chuckling.
"Luckily, I had some good friends," Applejack explained, "who came to find me and told me they didn't care 'bout that. And while some of the ponies here were a might disappointed, most of 'em understood that I did my best." She let out a snort. "Although Granny Smith and Big Mac may have been a bit peeved that I was just gonna leave them to work the farm for however long. Granny even threatened to knock some sense into that 'dadburn foolish thick skull' of mine.
"The point is, the only pony that was mad at me for not winning was me. Most of the others were proud of me for trying, and would much rather have me around than off hiding."
She gave her daughter a nudge.
"Nopony is mad at you or disappointed that you didn't get first place, sweetie. If this is something that you have fun with and enjoy, then you should keep doing it. You might do worse some times, but you might also do better. But nopony is gonna force you if you really don't wanna try again." Pulling her into a hug again, Applejack rubbed Little Green's side. "It's your life and your choice, sugar cube."
A small smile tugged against Little Green's mouth as she leaned against her mom.
"Thanks."
"So, feeling better?"
"Yeah." Little Green's smile grew wider. "But I'd feel even better after a big piece of apple pie."
"You're your father's daughter alright," Applejack chucked out. "I'll consider it. After dinner. And speaking of, how 'bout you come down and help me make it?"
"Okay," Little Green said as she got up. "But...what's the third book for?"
"...that... is a story about Apple Bloom I'll tell you another time."