38. Get Applejack back!
Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer were ordered to repair the town hall...again...
It was probably the third time this month.
Not because the two carpenter ponies did a terrible job but because the town hall was long beyond any repair.
Still, they did their best to repair the building the best they could.
Rainbow Dash offered her help as well and even brought a friend along who was helping too.
But that turned out to be a really bad idea.
Star Twinkle was busy, hammering in some nails until he had to dodge a thunder that almost hit him.
After getting startled by that, he gave a glare to the mare who caused it.
It came from the mare with the gray coat, the blonde mane, some bubbles as a Cutie Mark and most noticeable, her yellow crossed eyes.
Rainbow Dash already scolded the mare and asked her to be more careful.
"Careful, Derpy! Don't want to do any more damage than you've already done,"
"I just don't know what went wrong," Derpy replied bouncing up and down on her cloud until she got shocked by lightning, which came out of the cloud.
However, Rainbow Dash seemed to be familiar with her behavior since she wasn't showing any surprise.
"Yeah. It's a mystery," Rainbow Dash said slightly annoyed before she hammered a nail in the wall to pin down a flag.
Meanwhile, Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer almost finished their work on the building.
"Nice work, you guys," said Derpy before she accidentally hit one of the supporting pillars on the upper level of the building, causing it to fall down to the ground.
Rainbow Dash tried to catch it but the pillar was too heavy and she crashed through the wooden floor along with the pillar.
"Hey!
I just fixed that!" Steel Hammer exclaimed annoyed, turning to Derpy, who replied with an awkward smile.
Derpy put her head through the hole in the floor to look if Rainbow Dash was alright followed by Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer who walked up to the hole.
Rainbow Dash quickly flew into Derpy's face.
"No! Nothing!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed and frustrated.
"In the name of Celestia, just sit there and do nothing!"
Derpy did as she was told and sat down on the floor.
This caused the wooden floor to splinter and break.
Derpy fell down through herself-created hole but tried to hold on Star Twinkle and Rainbow Dash, causing them both to fall down too.
Steel Hammer was just watching the whole scenario unfold and shook his head.
"Should have considered working in demolition..." He mumbled to himself.
His attention was then focused at some loud cheers that came from a few meters away.
A crowd was cheering and stomping for Applejack, who was looking a little embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Star Twinkle, Rainbow Dash and Derpy crawled out of the hole to listen to the Mayor.
"Everypony, can I get your attention? Attention please!" The Mayor said, trying to get the attention of the crowd.
"We are all here to send Applejack to compete in this year's Equestria Rodeo competition in Canterlot,"
The crowd continued to cheer for Applejack.
Every year Applejack was sent off to attend the Rodeo competition in Canterlot.
And every time she would come back with a bunch of blue ribbons and a lot of price money.
Usually, Applejack would give away her price money for the town and this time wasn't any different.
Applejack offered to give her price money to repair the town hall.
The crowd was still cheering for Applejack.
Pinkie Pie, who was in the middle of the crowd was asking for a speech.
“Oh, shucks. I'm not much for speeches,” Applejack replied a little modest.
“Alright then, no speech!” Pinkie Pie said vanishing in an instant.
“Buuut” Applejack added, causing Pinkie Pie to appear again.
“This here is the nicest send off anypony could ask for. Y'all have been cheering me on in every rodeo since I was a little pony. So it seems only fittin' to use my winnings to fix up town hall. I promise to make Ponyville proud,” Applejack assured, leading the crowd to cheer once more.
A few minutes later, Applejack was about to board the train.
Her friends and family were also there to wish her good luck.
“I want you to show all them highfalutin rodeo ponies what a real rodeo pony's like!” Granny Smith said.
“You betcha, Granny Smith,” Applejack replied confidently.
“And bring back all that money!” The Mayor said, having the current state of the town hall in mind.
“You betcha, Mayor,” Applejack replied again, attempting to go inside the train but Pinkie Pie was in front of her to say her goodbye as well.
“And have fun. And don't be nervous. Or if you are, use that nervous energy to do even better than you already would! And eat peanuts and popcorn and taffy and taffy gives lots of nervous energy!” She said pulling out a bag of taffies and munching on them.
“I think what she tried to say is...good luck?” Star Twinkle said with a confused look on his face.
“Just do your best, Applejack,” Twilight added.
But Applejack assured everypony that she would do better than best.
After that, the train conductor was asking everypony to come aboard before the train was about to leave.
Applejack was then walking aboard the train.
The train was starting to move and Applejack waved everypony goodbye from her window.
“Seeya in a week!” Rainbow Dash said from the station.
“With lots of new blue ribbons!” Apple Bloom added.
“And lots of money!” The Mayor added.
“Darn tootin'! See y'all in a week, with a big bag full of blue ribbons!” Applejack replied before she was out of sight for everypony.
“We should be glad that Applejack is doing that for the town,” Fluttershy said.
That was true, thought Star Twinkle.
Not everypony would give away so much money.
“Oh! I have a great idea!
Why not throw a party for Applejack, when she comes back?” Pinkie Pie suggested.
Everypony quickly agreed to that.
Throwing a party after she was gone for one week and spending her money for the town's hall is the least they could do.
One week later...
To welcome Applejack back, the surprise party was held in a barn in Sweet Apple Acres.
Every one of Applejack's friends and her family was helping out to fill the barn with decoration.
Star Twinkle wasn't feeling too comfortable.
There were not only his friends and the apple family but also a whole bunch of other ponies, that he didn't know.
It would be those kinds of party where he would just feel very uncomfortable at.
But he tried his best to not show how he felt, in order to not set the mood down.
“Oh, I hope Applejack is surprised by this surprise party!” Fluttershy said while putting on some decoration as well.
“Well, that is the point,” Rainbow Dash corrected.
“I know, but I hope she isn't so surprised she's startled, because while being surprised can be nice, being startled can be... very startling,” Fluttershy said.
Ironically, Pinkie Pie appeared in front of Fluttershy, shouting “surprise” in her face and causing her to get startled.
“Oh, Pinkie, you startled me,” she said while laying on the ground after the shock.
“Sorry! I was just practicing my "surprise!" for when we surprise Applejack with this super cool party for becoming rodeo champeen of Equestria!” Pinkie Pie said, helping Fluttershy up only to startle her again a few seconds later.
Twilight, who was looking outside the barn, advised Pinkie Pie to be quiet since she thought that Applejack was coming.
Everypony was hiding somewhere inside of the barn, ready to yell surprise as soon as Applejack enters the barn.
The door opened and everypony yelled "surprise" as soon as they saw Applejack.
However, instead of Applejack, the mail delivery pony was standing in front of them.
"Wow, this is the best surprise ever! How did you know it was my birthday?" He said in surprise.
Needless to say, it was not the pony everypony was expecting.
Twilight didn't bother talking with the post pony and grabbed the letter he was holding and closed the door behind her.
But Pinkie Pie did open the door again to leave him a slice of cake for his birthday.
Now, everypony was just curious what was written in the letter.
Twilight said that it was from Applejack and quickly read what was inside.
"Family and friends, not coming back to Ponyville," Twilight read out loud causing everypony to gasp in shock.
"...Don't worry, will send money soon. That's all there is," Twilight continued.
This caused everypony in the room to gasp in shock.
"Applejack's... not comin' back?" Apple bloom asked with a sad expression on her face.
There were all kinds of theories in the room regarding what might cause Applejack to not return to Ponyville.
Star Twinkle was thinking about what might hinder Applejack to return.
She either couldn't return for whatever reason or she didn't return because something more important came on.
Whatever it was, he and his friends quickly decided to search for Applejack in order to help her.
"Don't worry. We'll search all of Equestria if we have to. We'll bring her back," Twilight assured confident.
Applejack's family was glad to hear that and put all their hopes in the six ponies
Star Twinkle, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie then left Ponyville and went to Canterlot.
Naturally, the rodeo was the first place where they were looking for Applejack.
It took some time but they eventually found out that Applejack wasn't in Canterlot anymore.
Instead, she was going to a place called Dodge Junction which was not too far away from Canterlot.
Apparently, Applejack was seen there after rodeo ended.
After the train arrived, Twilight suggested to split up to find her but Pinkie Pie was running off since she needed to use the bathroom.
“Let's meet in an hour at this place again.
Hopefully, we find Applejack before that...” Twilight said with a little fading confidence.
“I found her!” Pinkie Pie suddenly, exclaimed happily while bouncing up and down.
First, Star Twinkle wondered what happened to Pinkie Pie's need to use the bathroom but then he realized the what Pinkie Pie meant by “I found her!”.
Pinkie Pie walked everypony around the corner and pointed at Applejack, who was only a few meters away.
Everypony gathered around Applejack, who seemed surprised to see her friends.
"Oh, Applejack, thank heavens!" Rarity said relieved
"We're so glad you're safe!" Fluttershy added.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie continued to bounce up and down, yelling "I found her" until she realized again that she needed to use the toilet, making her rush to the
toilet again.
"Uh, hey, everypony. What's up?" Applejack greeted as if nothing was wrong at all.
"Why didn't you come back to Ponyville?!" Rainbow Dash asked, wasting no time to address the elephant in the room.
"Yes, why are you here?" Rarity asked.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Do you have any snacks?" Pinkie Pie asked out of context after exiting the toilet.
"Tell us what happened, Applejack!" Twilight demanded.
But then a pony with a yellow coat, a red mane and a cherry as a Cutie Mark appeared in front of the group.
"Applejack? Are these some of your Ponyville friends?" She asked.
The pony introduced herself as Cherry Jubilee, the boss of Cherry Hill Ranch.
She was highly praising Applejack's performance at the rodeo. Saying that she never saw anypony win this many ribbons before.
She also offered Applejack a job after seeing her at the rodeo.
Apparently, Applejack was looking for a "change of scenery".
Cherry Jubilee left the seven ponies again but not without leaving some confusion.
"Change of scenery? What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.
"S'no big deal, guys. I thought cherries would be a nice change from apples, so I took the job and came here. That's it. End of story," Applejack replied.
This was very unlikely for Applejack.
Her family was probably the most important thing in her life and so was Sweet Apple Acres.
Saying that she wants to try something different, was weird coming from Applejack.
Of course, everypony wanted to find out more and refused to leave without Applejack but she didn't want to talk about it and left, saying that everything was okay.
"I don't care what she says. Applejack's not telling us something," Twilight said.
That one was obvious.
Applejack wasn't exactly happy about seeing her friends.
Something was bothering her.
"Twilight's right. We gotta get her to spill the beans," Rainbow Dash added.
The six ponies had to come up with a plan to convince Applejack to tell them what exactly was going on.
Cherry Jubilee told them that Applejack was working for her now.
That gave everypony an idea what to do next.
Later that day...
Applejack was about to start her work for Cherry Jubilee.
She had to work in a small barn, walking inside of a wheel.
Since Applejack was used to work, she didn't seem to mind.
“You ready to put your back into it, Applejack?” Cherry Jubilee asked.
“Sure am, Miss Jubilee,” Applejack replied happily and ready to work.
“Terr-ific,” Cherry Jubilee replied happily.
“Come on in!” She then shouted towards the barn entrance.
Applejack was not sure what that was about but quickly understood after looking towards the barn entrance, only to find out that all her friends entered the barn, wearing the same chef's hats as she does.
“What are you all doing here?” Applejack asked confused.
“We're your cherry sorters,” Twilight replied as she and the others placed themselves in front of a production line.
Applejack was clearly not happy seeing her friends.
She probably knew that this was all a cover for asking her why she wasn't returning to Ponyville.
Cherry Jubilee quickly explained what they had to do.
“Red cherries go in one bin, and yellow cherries go in the other. Simple as cherry pie. Uh,
just one teensy thing to remember: have fun!” She said leaving the group of ponies with their work.
“Working and having fun are two things that I can't imagine to be together but whatever,” Star Twinkle thought.
Applejack only gave the six ponies a mistrustful glance.
Star Twinkle was also wondering if this plan will work since Applejack doesn't seem to be interested in talking with her friends at all.
“What are you six up to?” Applejack asked, only proving that she knows what they were up too.
“Well, uh, you made working on a cherry orchard sound... so delightful,” Rarity replied.
“Uh-huh. Well, just remember: No talking about Ponyville,”
“Fine! Why don't you quit talking and get walking?” Rainbow Dash said, who seemed to be a little annoyed by Applejack's behavior.
Applejack then slowly started to move inside of the wheel.
This caused the production line to move.
Very slowly, red and yellow cherries started to move towards the six ponies.
Star Twinkle, Twilight and Rarity were pushing the red cherries into one box and Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie did the same with the yellow cherries.
“Well, that doesn't look too hard.
I guess I let the girls do the talking, while I just focus on this,” Star Twinkle thought concentrating on his work.
Eventually, while working with the cherries, the girls started to ask questions to Applejack in order to get some answers from her.
“So, AJ, how was Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
Applejack was glaring at Twilight for a moment but Twilight was pointing out that she was talking about Canterlot and not Ponyville.
“Canterlot was fine,” Applejack replied.
“Was the rodeo fun?” Twilight asked.
“Yes,” Applejack replied.
While answering, Twilight approached Applejack much to her surprise.
“Did you meet some nice ponies there?” She asked.
“Some,” Applejack replied.
Soon Rainbow Dash also left the group to ask Applejack some questions.
“Really? Did you see Wild Bull Hickok? What about Calamity Mane?”
Star Twinkle had no idea who those two were but the more important question in his head was, how these questions were supposed to get some answers from Applejack.
“And how did you meet Miss Jubilee?” Rarity asked, also leaving the group of ponies to ask Applejack some questions.
Only Star Twinkle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were left to take care of the cherries.
Which would not be a problem if Applejack wasn't walking faster and faster, causing more cherries to come out than the three ponies could handle.
Star Twinkle and Fluttershy tried to get the attention from the others but they didn't seem to notice due to their questioning.
“Did you tell her why you weren't going back?” Rainbow Dash asked further.
“No, 'cuz it was none of her business!” Applejack replied.
Applejack seemed to get more and angrier by all this questioning and didn't realize that she was running too fast for Star Twinkle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to keep up.
“Is it because I made it rain on you that one time?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Is it because you were insulted when I gave you that book on organized orchards?” Twilight asked.
“Is it because you were insulted when I insulted your hair?” Rarity asked.
Eventually, Applejack snapped from all these questions.
“No, no, NO! I'm not telling you why, so just-”
“STOP!” Star Twinkle and Fluttershy shouted, finally making Applejack stop running but unfortunately for her, all the cherries came flying towards her, covering her in cherry juice.
The six ponies could only gasp in shock after these unfortunate events.
Applejack then decided to leave without a word.
Star Twinkle couldn't blame her but he still couldn't understand why she refused to answer anything.
Star Twinkle and the others had to clean up the whole place before Cherry Jubilee returned.
Strangely this was more work than their actual work.
“Well, that didn't work really well...” Star Twinkle said while removing some cherries from the ground.
“How about we leave her alone?
Whatever her problem is, she will probably take care of it and return,” Star Twinkle suggested.
This caught the attention of the others, who of course, didn't share Star Twinkle's opinion.
“If she has a problem, then it's only natural that we as her friends should help her,” Twilight explained, putting a hoof on Star Twinkle's shoulder.
“Yes. Whatever her problem is, we need to support her as best as we can,” Rarity added, putting a hoof on his other shoulder.
“But if she doesn't want help?
Maybe she got caught up in something that we can't help her with?” Star Twinkle asked.
“If she decides to be stubborn like that, then there is no way to find out!” Rainbow Dash said, slightly annoyed.
Whatever he was saying, the others just don't think like him, making him feel out of place.
It's like they are forcing Applejack to let them help her.
Why couldn't he think like that?
While cleaning up the place Cherry Jubilee entered the room with a shocked expression on her face.
It took a while until everything was explained by Twilight and the others but Miss Jubilee stated that she needed somepony to help bucking some cherries to make up for the mess that Star Twinkle and the others created.
Eventually, Star Twinkle was picked to do this so he went outside only to see Applejack doing some cherry-bucking.
“Hey, Applejack,” Star Twinkle greeted.
But instead of getting greeted back, Applejack only returned an angry glare at him.
Needless to say, Star Twinkle was surprised to get this reaction just after saying “hey”.
“I will not answer you any questions.
Are we clear?” Applejack said almost threatening.
Star Twinkle could say that he didn't ask her any question so far to defend himself but after everything that happened so far, this might not be the best idea right now.
But on the other hoof, it couldn't get much worse.
"Wow...you really don't want to tell us huh?" He returned, making Applejack not react and return to her cherry tree.
"I mean did you really think you can start working here and nopony asks questions?
The others are just trying to help you,"
“I don't need help,” Applejack replied angrily and annoyed, probably being sick from all this questioning.
Star Twinkle didn't understand.
Without even realizing it, his thoughts became a mess.
“Why is she so stubborn?
And why am I even trying to talk with her?
Is it because of the others?
If she wants to deal with her problem on her own...
But the others still want to help her!
Why can't I think like that?
But why should I help her if she doesn't even want-” But before he could end his thought, he remembered something.
Back then, when it was Applebuck Season.
It was exactly like that.
Back then she also refused any help.
At that time, Twilight almost forced Star Twinkle to help Applejack.
But he didn't want to help because she wasn't asking.
But in reality, he was probably thinking that she was dealing with her problem on her own.
She didn't want help.
“I don't want help...”
For some reason those words made Star Twinkle feel sad but he didn't know why.
It was hard seeing a friend trying to deal with everything on their own.
Star Twinkle's mind was set.
His thoughtful and sad expression turned into a determent one.
“Just tell me, Applejack,” he said with a rare seriousness in his voice.
Applejack stopped bucking for a second to look at Star Twinkle annoyed.
“I don't want to see you deal with whatever the problem is alone.
I want to help too.
At least tell just me what the problem is so that I can understand,”
Applejack noticed how serious it was for Star Twinkle.
She did show some hesitation at first and didn't bother answering but somehow she wanted to tell somepony.
She moved closer to Star Twinkle and looked if nopony else was around.
“You promise not to tell anypony?” She asked quietly.
"Cross my legs and hope to dry, stick a cupcake in my nose," he said making the usual Pinkie Promise gesture.
She once again looked around if nopony was around and spit out the secret.
“I didn't win in the rodeo...” she whispered.
Not seeing the problem, Star Twinkle's eyebrows lowered in confusion.
It also didn't make sense judging from Cherry Jubilees statement.
“But Miss Jubilee said that you won a lot of ribbons,” Star Twinkle asked.
“Yes, I did win a lot of ribbons but I never made first place,”
“Aaaand the problem is?” Star Twinkle asked boldly.
Applejack returned a shocked expression which slowly turned to a mix of frustration and anger.
“The problem is that I didn't win any money to bring home to Ponyville.
That's why I'm working here!” Applejack replied, still making sure that she was whispering.
“Yeah, I get that you didn't win the money but who cares?
I'm sure nopony minds that you-”
“What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie appeared between them, causing both earth ponies to get startled.
Applejack's main concern, of course, was if Pinkie Pie overheard anything that they both talked about.
But Pinkie Pie didn't seem to have heard anything.
“What are you doing here Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked after recovering from the shock.
“I just wanted to ask you if you need any help,” she replied.
“You promise not to ask me any questions?” Applejack asked to make sure that her secret would be saved but Pinkie Pie promised that she wouldn't ask any questions.
Star Twinkle was then dragged by Rainbow Dash behind a tree.
It looked like she was hiding from Applejack
“It looked like you were talking about something.
Did you manage to get some answers?” Twilight asked in hope that Star Twinkle would give them some answers.
Star Twinkle did promise to not tell anypony so there was no way that he could tell Twilight.
“No...” he said while avoiding eye-contact with Twilight, which only made him look more suspicious.
"By the way, why are we hiding?" Star Twinkle asked, quickly changing the subject.
Rainbow Dash then approached Star Twinkle.
"We have a plan to make Applejack talk!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.
Star Twinkle didn't quite understand.
When he looked over to Applejack and Pinkie Pie, he could only see Pinkie Pie saying some random stuff.
something about cherrychanga or chimicherrychanga, while Applejack slowly seemed to lose her mind.
"Oh..." Star Twinkle said after realizing what his friends tried to do.
"No! Make it stop, make it stop!" Applejack screamed in frustration.
Rainbow Dash then covered Pinkie Pie's mouth, saying that the only way to stop Pinkie Pie's talking was, to tell the truth.
At first, Applejack refused but after Rainbow Dash removed her hoof and releasing Pinkie Pie again, she finally gave up.
"Alright, alright! I'll tell everypony what's goin' on! Just please stop talkin'! But... can it wait 'til tomorrow at breakfast? I'm plum tuckered out," she asked of her friends.
This smelled fishy.
Even Rainbow Dash didn't trust Applejack's words right away.
But Pinkie Pie wanted her to Pinkie Promise so that they can be absolutely sure.
Applejack agreed to that and made the classic Pinkie Promise gesture.
"I will tell you the whole truth at breakfast. Pinkie promise,"
This proved enough for Star Twinkle.
There is no way that Applejack would break a Pinkie Promise.
Still, giving in like that so sudden was surprising him.
Star Twinkle told everypony that he was into Applejack's secret but they didn't seem to mind since Applejack was about to tell everypony the truth on the next day.
Everypony was spending the night in Cherry Jubilees barn.
Applejack was not talking to anypony after they returned.
Star Twinkle was wondering how she wanted to tell everypony the truth.
He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
While dozing off to sleep, as usual, Star Twinkle thought about the events of the day.
He still wondered why this matter was bothering him so much.
He did decide to be more open when it comes to friendship matters but it was not like he was forcing himself.
It was more like, hurting him, for not being able to do anything.
With this thought in his mind, he eventually fell asleep.
Once again his dreams were accompanied by some voices.
“I don't need help....
I can do this on my own...
I don't want you to get involved with this...
Yes, that's exactly why...
Because were friends...”
On the next day...
Despite his weird dreams, Star Twinkle slept tight in his bed for the night without interruptions.
He remembered his dream very clearly.
He also remembered that he had this dream before.
It was somehow connected with Applejack's behavior from yesterday.
It made Star Twinkle feel sad for some reason.
He woke up a little while before breakfast, much to his dislike.
Since he was the only stallion, he had a whole room for himself.
He looked out of the window from his bed and tried to figure out how late it was.
It was already day but he attempted to get some more sleep.
But while looking outside of the window, he noticed something in the distance.
Applejack was running away in the distance with her stuff on her back.
"Where is she going?" Star Twinkle wondered.
He followed her to find out what was going on.
Applejack ran to the train station, always making sure that nopony was following her.
Star Twinkle did his best to remain hidden and followed her all the way.
It was then, that he realized what she was trying to do.
She was trying to leave town so that she wouldn't have to explain everything to the others.
"Applejack!" Star Twinkle exclaimed.
Applejack got startled for a second but calmed down after noticing that it was Star Twinkle.
"Sheesh, it's only you..." she said relieved.
"What do you mean it's only me?
Where are you going?" Star Twinkle asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Out of town..." Applejack replied almost casually.
It was Applejack but he didn't quite expect to hear an honest answer like that.
He was giving her a scolding expression and Applejack knew that Star Twinkle wanted an explanation.
After a little hesitation, Applejack gave in and gave a proper answer.
"I can't do it, Star Twinkle...
Everypony was expecting so much from me and I let them all down..."
"What are you talking about?
You didn't let anypony down!
Nopony will blame you for not winning the prize money!" Star Twinkle replied, knowing that what he was saying is true fro once.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Applejack asked.
"Just tell them!
I mean they are all reasonable.
I'm sure they will understand," Star Twinkle assured.
Suddenly, a loud voice of echoed through the town screaming:
"Applejack!" causing both Star Twinkle and Applejack to shrug in surprise.
It came from Pinkie Pie who, along with Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash running towards the two earth ponies with a really angry look on her face.
"YOU PINKIE PROMISED!" She screamed once more in anger, sending shivers down the two ponies.
"Or maybe not..." Star Twinkle thought.
"RUN!" Star Twinkle screamed in fear.
Star Twinkle and Applejack were both running away from their friends not only to avoid a really angry Pinkie Pie but also to not tell them about Applejack's secret.
"Over there!" Applejack said, pointing at a stagecoach with four ponies in front.
Star Twinkle and Applejack jumped on the coach in order to get away from everypony.
The four ponies didn't seem to mind and pulled the coach without questioning anything.
But their friends were following the two earth ponies on another cart, pulled by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
"Wait. What are we doing?" Star Twinkle thought.
"Why am I even running away?
Applejack, let's just tell them right now!" Star Twinkle exclaimed in the middle of all this mess.
"Do you really want to talk with them now?!" Applejack replied while focusing her eyes on the road.
Star Twinkle didn't know what she meant with that but then looked back to the cart that was following them.
The first thing he saw was a really angry Pinkie Pie, who seemed very determent to get to the two of them for leaving.
"Good point..." he said.
The cart got closer to Star Twinkle's and Applejack's coach.
Rainbow Dash rammed the coach in order to make it stop.
“Pull over!” Rainbow Dash said in an attempt to stop them.
“Hey! Cut that out!” Applejack said angrily but Rainbow Dash didn't stop and continued to ram them.
“We'll pay you double to outrun them,” Applejack offered to the four ponies who pulled the coach.
It seemed to work since they gained some speed.
“Hey! What do you mean we?” Star Twinkle asked confused.
Things started to look good for Star Twinkle and Applejack for a moment until Twilight also made an offer.
“We'll pay you triple to slow down!” Twilight offered to the four stallions, who then actually did slow down.
“We'll pay you quadruple to leave them in the dust!” Applejack offered once more, making the others fall back a little.
"Just so you know, I don't earn THAT much money as a carpenter pony..." Star Twinkle annoyed.
But the little head start only lasted for a short while.
The cart slowly caught up again and was right behind the coach.
Not only that but Pinkie Pie managed to hop on board to confront Applejack about the Pinkie Promise.
"Applejack, you broke your Pinkie promise! Apologize!" Pinkie Pie said angrily.
But Applejack assured that she wasn't breaking her Pinkie Promise, confusing Pinkie Pie for a moment.
“If y'all reckon back, I told you that I would tell you everything at breakfast. But I didn't come for breakfast. I couldn't come to that breakfast, not if it meant telling y'all what happened.
I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I can't tell y'all the truth. I just can't!” She explained, leaving everypony with a confused and worried expression on their face.
Pinkie Pie still seemed a little upset but she did forgive Applejack and jumped back into her own cart.
“Well, I heard a "sorry" in there, so that'll have to do for now. I'll get a real apology later. Rarity, catch me,” she said before she jumped back in her cart.
Star Twinkle was not sure what happened but after Pinkie Pie jumped back to her cart, she and Rarity fell out of their cart and landed in the dirt.
The chase was going on for a good while now and Star Twinkle wondered if that was all worth it.
Suddenly, some noises caught his attention.
In the distance, he saw a railway crossing, which was slowly closing and a train that was driving towards it.
When he then looked at Applejack's determent expression on her face, he knew that THIS was definitely not worth it
Even the four stallions gave Applejack some worried looks after they figured out what she was about to do.
Star Twinkle's face was colored in fear while watching the train coming closer.
He covered his eyes and just hoped for the best.
He could hear some cracking noises after a while, most likely caused by breaking the stopping lines.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw how they were on the other side of the rails with the train driving through the crossing.
Even thought they were in so much danger, Applejack seemed to have tons of fun and was just relieved to have shaken off the others.
“Lady, you're trouble,” the four coach ponies said in unison before they left.
"Ha, try and catch me now," Applejack said in victory.
The train was still driving through, making it impossible to cross the rails at the moment.
"You do know that this can't go on forever, right?" Star Twinkle said, reminding Applejack that someday they will have to tell their friends the truth.
"Don't worry.
I just need a little more time to figure something out," Applejack replied confidently.
Star Twinkle was about to try to convince her to tell everypony the truth again.
Not only because it was wrong to run away all the time but also so that he didn't have to get dragged along with it.
But then, the cart was flying over the train with the help of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
"Well, I guess you are out of time now..." Star Twinkle said after realizing that it was over for them.
Applejack still tried to run away but Rainbow Dash quickly caught up with her and knocked her to the ground.
While being knocked down, her bag opened by accident causing a bunch of ribbons to fall out of it.
Applejack covered her eyes in shame as soon as everypony noticed.
"Fine. Now you know," Applejack said.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash didn't quite get what Applejack meant.
They noticed the ribbons on the ground but didn't know what to make out of it.
"Know what?" Twilight asked confused.
“Well, just look!” She said pointing at all the ribbons on the ground.
There were several ribbons and medals on the ground.
But the three ponies still didn't know what upset Applejack.
“I am. You won an amazing number of ribbons, just like Miss Jubilee said!” Twilight said happily, not expecting anything less from Applejack.
“Don't you get it? There's every color of ribbon down there. Every color... but... blue. I came in fourth, third, even second, but I didn't win one first prize, and I certainly didn't win any prize money,”
“But the telegram said you were gonna send money,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"That's why she came here.
To earn some money.
She didn't want to come home after everypony was expecting her to win," Star Twinkle explained.
"Exactly...I just didn't have the nerve to come home empty-hooved. I couldn't come home a failure,"
That was not what Star Twinkle was about to say but he had the feeling that everypony knew that Applejack was just blaming herself.
"Applejack, you're not a failure," Twilight said comforting Applejack.
"And we're your friends! We don't care if you came in fiftieth place! You're still number one in our books," Rainbow Dash added.
Applejack wasn't facing, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy but Star Twinkle saw how Applejack's eyes were tearing up a bit in happiness, which she quickly tried to hide again.
“So... you're not upset or disappointed?”
To that, they were only shaking their heads happily.
"Told you..." Star Twinkle said with a smug smile on his face, causing Applejack to reply with a relieved smile.
But there was still something that bothered Applejack.
“But what about the mayor? I don't think I can face her and tell her I didn't get that money to fix the broken roof,” she pointed out worriedly.
"I'm sure if Steel Hammer and I put some more time into it, the town hall will be as good as new," Star Twinkle assured confidently.
“Yes, Applejack, we can always find a way to fix that hole in the roof. But if you don't come back, we'll never be able to fix the hole in our hearts,” Fluttershy said, inviting Applejack in a little group hug with her and Twilight.
Rainbow Dash was flying above the four and tried to hold back her tears but quickly acted all, though, stating that they got her acting all sappy now.
After everything was settled again, the five ponies took the train and returned to Ponyville again.
There was still some time until they arrived and Applejack took the time to prepare a letter for the princess.
"Twilight, I think I have a letter to write to the princess,"
"Really? Let me hear!" Twilight replied excitedly.
Everypony then listened to Applejack as she quoted the words that she wanted to write the letter.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
It's a tad easier to be proud when you come in first than it is when you finish further back.
But there's no reason to hide when you don't do as well as you'd hoped.
You can't run away from your problems.
Better to run to your friends and family,"
After a while, the group arrived back at Ponyville, where Applejack was greeted by her friends and family.
They didn't care about the money or how well she did in the rodeo.
All they wanted now was Applejack returning to Ponyville.
But still...
Even thought they were all happy, something did seem to miss.
Star Twinkle was thinking carefully until he finally realized.
"Wait!" Star Twinkle exclaimed in realization.
"We forgot Rarity and Pinkie Pie!"
Meanwhile, near Dodge Town...
Pinkie Pie and Rarity arrived at Dodge Junction, still covered in mud and dirt.
Rarity was not looking too happy because she had to endure Pinkie Pie's blabbing on the whole way back to town.
They both waited at the train station until the train to Ponyville arrived.
“Wasn't this trip exciting?
Or the chase?
I hope Twilight and the other caught up with Star Twinkle and Applejack!
I hope I don't need to use the toilet again while riding the train-”
Pinkie Pie continued to say everything that crossed her mind and Rarity only stood there with an annoyed look on her face.
Finally, the train arrived and they both could go home again.
They waited till everypony left the train before entering it.
A pony in a gray hood left the train and looked over to the two mares.
“Isn't that Pinkie Pie and Rarity?
What are they doing here?” He wondered.
They both boarded the train and didn't notice him, looking over to them.
He watched as the train left the station and went on his way again.
“Well, time to look if I can find something here...” he said as he began to wander through Dodge Junction.
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