Trouble Shoes found an enchanted mirror pool that turns him into the exact opposite of himself. Not only that but the pool gave him endless good luck but it also swapped his gender as well.
This story is an alternate version of events in the Episode "Appleloosa's Most Wanted"
Trouble Shoes has been living a miserable life as a clumsy oaf who can't land a job and is forced to trade his own possessions for basic necessities. But his entire life changed after taking a dip in an enchanted mirror pool that changed his cutie mark but swapped his gender. The Clydesdale hesitates to accept this new reality but quickly learns his new cutie marks him the luckiest pony in Equestria. Not only that, his dreams of becoming a Rodeo Star can now finally be achieved. However, there are unattended consequences to Trouble Shoes' new luck as he learns and will have to see how much he's willing to pay to keep this new life.
It was a rather sunny day in Rainbow Falls; there were rows of tents filled with eager customers greeting visitors. Among the crowd was Trouble Shoes, a melancholy Clydesdale who had his head to the ground, being somewhat embarrassed that he had to trade his junk for oats and veggies. As Trouble Shoes then continued to slowly make his way through the bustling crowds, the crowd gawked at him, which he did his best to ignore. He was much bigger than most pony folk since he technically wasn't a pony but a half horse with a Clydesdale for a father and a sweet old earth pony mare for a mother. Regardless, he didn't bother correcting anypony as his size was the least of his concerns.
While lost in thought, the stallion accidentally stumbled into a hole in the ground. The mountain of junk he was carrying then tilted backward, causing him to be lifted into the air with his cargo spilling out. As Trouble Shoes dangled in the air, other ponies nearby who witnessed the incident and began to laugh and point at him.
Trouble Shoes appeared defeated and annoyed with his lot in life. He had grown used to his clumsiness ever since his cutie mark appeared; it had become the bane of his existence, feeling more like a curse than a gift. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it and was resigned to his fate.
Fortunately, a pegasus flew over and cleared the debris blocking his path. The creature then assisted him in safely dismounting onto the ground. The stallion gazed upward to observe a mare donning a dark brown cloak, concealing her true identity. Although he was somewhat unsettled by her enigmatic presence, he expressed gratitude for her aid, quietly uttering, "Thank you."
"Sure, I'm happy to help," the mare replied with a kind smile. Trouble Shoes squinted, attempting to catch a glimpse of her face, but could only make out her golden brown coat and grayish tail and hair. She gathered his belongings and assisted him to a nearby booth. There, the hooded mare inquired about his junk which included an accordion, cast iron pans, and an old painting. She picked up the painting, revealing a cow colt jumping through the air while holding a lasso in its mouth. The mare was impressed and let out a whistle, "This painting has to be at least two hundred years old."
Trouble Shoes quietly expressed his disinterest in the items he was trading by muttering, "It's all just a bunch of junk to me."
The mysterious pegasus chuckled and uttered the old saying, "One pony's trash is another pony's treasure." She placed the portrait back in the wagon and asked, "What do you plan on trading all of this for?"
"food," Trouble Shoes replied in a gruff tone, feeling a bit embarrassed about revealing how he lives.
The mysterious mare gave a surprised gasp and asked, "It seems you're going through a tough time. How are you holding up?"
"Not really good, as you can tell," Trouble Shoes grumbled irritably.
"Maybe there's a way I can help? Can you tell me what's making it difficult to find a job?"
Trouble Shoes gestured towards his flank where his cutie mark was located and exclaimed, "This cursed thing causes me to be the clumsiest pony south of Sweet Apple Acres!" He angrily threw his hooves up and exclaimed, "Perhaps even throughout Equestria!"
As he raised his voice, the huge stallion stepped back and flailed his hooves as he fell to the ground landing on his flank. The stallion groaned as he rubbed his sore behind and added, "Do you see what I mean?"
Daring Do chuckled, then replied, "That was quite amusing. You remind me of the clowns from an old circus I went to as a filly."
"Maybe I should try out for the circus, probably end up havin' ponies throw tomatoes at me for five bits a shot," Trouble Shoes responded after getting up and brushing the dirt off his mane.
The mare probably didn't intend to be insulting, but Trouble Shoes was having a rough day and was feeling a bit irritable.
The hooded mare led the Clydesdale to her booth, where he was surprised to see a collection of ancient artifacts, including spears, chests filled with golden idols, and even a sarcophagus. Trouble Shoes was amazed and stood there staring at the items. Suddenly, the hooded mare coughed and asked, "Since we're here to trade, would you be interested in making a deal?"
"What do you mean?" Trouble Shoes inquired, raising an eyebrow and expressing suspicion toward the mare.
"I may be able to assist you with a map," the pegasus said as she handed him a scroll from her robe. "It contains the coordinates to a cave in the Everfree Forest where you can find the legendary mirror pool."
"Mirror pool?"
"According to legends, there is a mirror pool that has the power to make you the opposite of yourself if you bathe in it. This means that your cutie mark would be reversed, causing you to be lucky instead of unlucky."
Trouble Shoes thought about the trade tapping his hoof against his chin. Though he was skeptical of magic, he knew that every young foal in Equestria was warned about the dangers of the Everfree Forest and its wild magic. He glanced at the collection of artifacts behind her rather tempting, recognizing her expertise in ancient history. Desperate to improve his situation, he asked, "What's the catch?"
The mare then took out the painting she was looking at before and offered, "What about I trade the map for this? I'll even give you a bag of fried oats for your journey."
"Deal!" Trouble Shoes exclaimed; he shook the mare's hoof, and they agreed upon the exchange. She gave him the map along with a bag of oats.
He looked down at the map with wonder in his eyes, wondering if it would indeed change his destiny; at this point, he was desperate for just about anything. The stallion looked back at the mare and whispered, "Thanks, this means the world to me."
"It's no problem! Hopefully, you won't be so gloomy the next time we meet."
"we shall see about that," Troubleshoes replied with a slight grin on his face; he then trotted off and traded the rest of his goods for enough bits to hire some ponies for a stagecoach ride to Ponyville. On the ride to the town, Troubleshoes imagined his new life, imagining himself as a rodeo star; it was enough to keep his hopes up for the first time in a long while.
After arriving in Ponyville, Trouble Shoes trekked for a few hours through the dense foliage of the Everfree Forest, with the stallion finding himself slowly trotting through the dark and mysterious path covered in fog. He tried to keep quiet and cautious as he had heard stories of ponies disappearing in the area. However, his clumsiness caused him to stumble over roots and loose branches. Despite muttering curses, he continued walking cautiously, constantly checking his surroundings for potential danger.
Sometimes, Trouble Shoes would retrieve the old, worn-out map that guided him to one of the many mysterious caves scattered throughout the enchanted forest. He would cautiously store it under his hat, ensuring it was well-protected. By following this map, he hoped to discover a pond that could alter his life and end his cursed bad luck, although he wasn't entirely sure what that would entail. However, if it resulted in good luck, it could assist him in achieving his aspiration of becoming a rodeo star.
He marched through cautiously, hoping to avoid encountering the timberwolves, keeping his head on a swivel, but luckily for him, he hadn't heard any howling. He heard from gossip that after Twilight and her friends gave their elements to the Tree of Harmony, their activity diminished and made the forest much safer to explore. But still, he should keep his guard up as there were other mythical beasts such as Ursa Miors and Cocaktrice. But his journey yielded no danger, and eventually, the stallion came across a cave and discovered a silvery substance covering the ground that seemed to quiver in the breeze. Mesmerized, he stared into the liquid mirror and caught a glimpse of his reflection before gasping.
The substance slowly wrapped around his body, and he tried to scream, but was unable to as the silvery slime entered his mouth. Trouble Shoes kicked and jerked as he fell, and soon, everything he could see was just the silvery goo.
When he blinked and left the cave, he realized something had changed. He felt lighter and realized that he was much smaller in stature. Trouble Shoes then turned his head slowly and was shocked to see that his cutie mark, which was once an upside-down horseshoe, was now facing the right way up.
He realized his voice sounded lighter and airy and touched his throat with his hoof while whispering, "My voice."
There was no mistaking it was a mare's voice, and he couldn't believe it; it also turned him into a mare!
Trouble Shoes exclaimed, "Well, darn it!" He hit his face with his hoof and hurried to a nearby pond to examine his new body. His coat remained the same, but he noticed that his mane and tail were much shorter. He also observed that his flank was a bit rounder. He then looked over his muzzle, which was no longer a strong jaw and square but round and much prettier.
As he looked at his reflection in the pond, the stallion cried out at the sight of his new mare-like body! He wanted to change his destiny, not turn into a mare! Sitting on the bank of the pond, he contemplated returning to the cave and using the mirror pool to become a stallion again. However, before doing so, he might as well test his new cutie mark.
Trouble Shoes quickly got up and began running through the forest. He realized that his new body was more agile and easier to move. As he ran, he approached a log in his path, but instead of tripping over it, he effortlessly sailed over it. He continued running until he encountered large, spiked stone pillars. He skillfully weaved through them, sliding through the stone as if he were a wet noodle. After catching his breath and feeling proud of his newfound abilities, the Clydesdale then heard howling in the distance. He gasped as he realized that timberwolves were approaching and slowly looked around to see a pack of these creatures surrounding him. Despite his fear, he knew he had to stay calm and escape this dangerous situation as soon as he possibly could.
Trouble Shoes then started sprinting for his life but feared he would trip on every stump, root, or hole in the ground. However, he gained more confidence with his new cutie mark, leading him to quickly hog-tie one of the timberwolves. He then displayed his newfound strength and started bucking stones at the timberwolves that came at him. The stallion even jumped up and elbowed one of them, causing it to shatter into pieces. After defeating the rest of the pack, Trouble Shoes felt like he was on top of the world. The clydesdale was grateful for his newfound abilities and didn't care that his voice sounded light and airy. The stallion galloped through the forest with a smile, feeling like he had been gifted a superpower. Despite being a mare now, he knew there was no going back to his old life as a clumsy oaf and was excited to embrace his newfound life with his awesome new cutie mark.
As Trouble Shoes left the Everfree Forest and realized it was too late for trains and his carriage was gone, he had no choice but to stay in Ponyville for the night. Unfortunately, he didn't know anyone in the town. However, he saw a vast orchard of apple trees and recognized it as the renowned Sweet Apple Acres. He had heard stories about the Apples, particularly since their cousin Braeburn managed Appleloosa, and knew they were the one family who would offer him a place to stay. He also remembered how they had resolved a feud with the Buffalo. Hoping they would be accommodating, he made his way to the Apples' family home by running across the fields.
The little red house emanated a wholesome feeling, making it appear inviting. Hesitant but determined to find shelter for the night, the former stallion ran up the stairs and slowly approached the door. He felt awkward about coming as a mare, given that he had never met the occupants before and didn't even have a backstory or a name. However, he had no other choice. He knocked on the door and waited nervously for a response. Soon, Applejack opened the door and asked suspiciously, "May I help you?"
The stallion, Trouble Shoes, was a bit nervous as he struggled to introduce himself, "Uh...um...my name is, well, Horseshoes...Lucky Horseshoes. I'm a pony from Appleloosa." He cleared his throat before finishing his introduction.
"Appleloosa, you say? Well it's nice ta meet ya I'm Applejack," the farm mare chirped as she shook hooves with the newcomer. "So, what brings you to Ponyville?"
Trouble Shoes lifted his head and explained, "I came to Ponyville to see it for myself. I've heard great things about this place and wanted to practice for the rodeo here."
"I understand. Did you forget to find a place to stay?"
"I realized I made a mistake. Initially, I considered staying at Twilight's Castle, but I found her place to be too fancy for my liking."
Applejack gestured for her new friend to enter and urged her to come in for dinner. "Don't just stand there. Join us!" she said.
Trouble Shoes was led into the house and walked through the living room to reach the kitchen. Inside, they saw an older mare serving food while a young yellow-coated filly talked about her efforts to find her cutie mark. A large, weary red-coated stallion listened to the filly's conversation and then turned towards the two mares.
"Let me introduce you to the members of my family. That old mare over yonder is Granny Smith, the young filly is my sister Apple Bloom, and the stallion over there is my older brother, Big Mac."
Granny Smith looked suspiciously at the two mares and asked, "Who is this?" in a puzzled tone.
"Granny, I want ya to meet Lucky Horseshoes, a mare from Appleloosa. She needs a place to stay for the night."
The elderly mare then placed a large casserole dish on the table and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Let's eat! I made a delicious three-bean casserole that we shouldn't let go to waste."
Trouble Shoes laughed as he took a seat opposite the older mare. He then noticed he was sitting next to a large red stallion who blushed and looked away.
Trouble Shoes was taken aback by the stallion's reaction towards him, and it didn't take long for him to realize the stallion found him attractive, making him feel rather uncomfortable.
The little filly from earlier glanced at me and said, "Hey, what was your name again?"
The former stallion gulped and said, "My name is Lucky Horseshoes, but my friends call me Lucky."
"Wow, Lucky! That's a cool name!"
"It is. So, Lucky, what brings you to Ponyville?"
"I'm training for the Appleloosa rodeo, but I would like to stick around in Ponyville for a bit longer."
Granny Smith expressed her approval by saying, "That's great! Applejack has also been practicing for the rodeo."
"I'm just doing my best to represent Ponyville, Granny."
"Eeyup!"
Trouble Shoes shifted her focus to Big Mac and asked, "Hey, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup!"
"Have you been to Appleloosa before?"
"Nope."
"I hope you can make it to the Appleloosa Rodeo."
"Definitely! We're all going together next week!" Apple Bloom chirped with excitement.
Applejack looked toward her sister and said, "You and your friends can come along if you behave."
"I promise we will," said the filly before she skipped away. Trouble Shoes asked Applejack, "Since this is my first rodeo, would you be willing to practice with me?"
"Absolutely! Having a partner would be great!"
As he watched the cute family, Trouble Shoes couldn't help but giggle. It reminded him of his family, but things fell apart after his dad passed away. While eating his meal, he mulled over his next steps and thought about getting some tips from Applejack for his first rodeo. Later, they provided him with a cot in the living room where he could relax with a comfortable blanket and spare pillow. Trouble Shoes was grateful for the Apple family's generosity and decided to work for them as long as he stayed with them.
Applejack took Lucky to her apple orchard the next day for some last-minute apple-bucking before their rodeo practice. The orange-coated farm mare sighed and said, "You don't have to help me buck apples, Lucky. I'm happy to have you stay until the rodeo."
"I feel it's only fair to help in some way since I'm staying at your place and not doing anything to help out."
"Have you ever bucked apples before?"
Lucky Horseshoes shook her head and confessed with a hint of embarrassment, "No."
"Alright, well, let me teach you."
She showed herself planting her hooves and said, "First, get a firm stance." The farm mare then looked back and said, "Now ya quickly snap your back hooves and buck!"
Applejack then quickly thrust her back hooves into an apple tree and watched the fruit as it fell into a bucket below.
Lucky did as Applejack showed her, turning her body back to an apple tree. She seemed to start to look nervous, with beads of sweat on her forehead.
A lot of self-doubt was going through his head. But he saw Applejack smiling at him and encouraged him, "Hey, don't sweat if ya can't get it the first ti-"
Just as Applejack was about to finish what she was going to say something, Trouble Shoes slammed his hooves into an apple tree almost perfectly, and every apple fell right into the buckets below.
Applejack's jaw dropped; never had she seen such a perfect apple buck that would take anypony years of practice to perform as she whispered, "Wow, you're a natural."
Trouble Shoes then rubbed the back of his mane as he laughed nervously, "Thanks. Normally I end up screwing everything up."
"You're not anymore; come on! We'll knock out these chores and have more than enough time to practice!"
They continued to buck apples for a few hours. Still, Applejack was astonished at how Lucky bucked apples even better than her. She felt jealous but ignored it as this mare probably had practice in Appleloosa and was just being modest. After they finished apple-bucking, Applejack escorted Lucky to her makeshift training course, where there was a track in the middle of an empty field with hurdles set up and a bunch of barrels used for barrel weaving and lassoing.
From Applejack's perspective, this was relatively simple, and nothing spectacular about the setup. However, Lucky looked amazed as she squealed, "Did you seriously build this all on your own!?"
Feeling bashful, Applejack replied, "Yeah, I did; maybe my talent is in Apple buckin', but I am a decent Rodeo Pony."
"You're so multi-talented; I wish I was more like you."
Applejack was confused, seeing how well she bucked apples, and asked, "Why do you say that? Heck, you bucked all of the apples like it was nothin'."
Lucky looked downward with a worried look, then said, "Sorry, but I wasn't always so good at things before I got my cutie mark; I might've ended up smashing all your apples."
Applejack couldn't help but want to reassure the mare, then gave her a pat on the back, "Hey, it's okay; we all were clumsy when we were foals; heck, Apple Bloom can be such a headache with her cutie mark searchin' wrecking up the place."
Lucky paused as if she was going to say something, then stammered, "Yea…yeah, you're right. I was rather clumsy as a foal. That's what I meant."
The brown-coated mare turned to her side, pointed a hoof at her flank, and said, "Before I got this, I was the clumsiest pony in Equestria. I screwed up almost everything I did and made life miserable for everypony."
Lucky looked into the air with a dreamy smile and said, "But then it showed up, and now everything seems to work out. I'm still unsure what it means or what to do. But I want to be a rodeo star, and I think with your help, I can make that dream come true."
Applejack chuckled and commented, "You sound like my friend Rainbow Dash; she goes on and on about how badly she wants to be a Wonderbolt, and I bet she'll be one soon."
"Sounds cool; maybe I should meet her."
"That would be great, but why don't we do a few laps around the track now?"
"Oh! That sounds like a great idea!"
So, they started to do their laps, with Applejack knocking a few hurdles with her back legs and cursing under her breath. Still, she saw Lucky gracefully going over them almost effortlessly. Another pang of jealousy hit her as she pondered whether Lucky was lying and was secretly a rodeo star all along. But once again, she had to shake her head, trying to get rid of those thoughts; they then took a minute to rest as they drank water, and Applejack asked rather suspiciously, "Gotta say, you're good at the rodeo; you didn't mess up once."
Lucky cheeks flushed pink, and she bent her head and said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to outshine you."
Applejack saw that Lucky was humble, felt terrible letting her jealousy take over, and apologized. "It's alright; we're just trainin'. Let's go try barrel weaving."
So, they then went to the Barrel weaving next set up, and there the two weaved through the barrels with Applejack doing her best to dodge and weave through the barrels. But she winced a little, bumping one or two but ending up at the other side of her obstacle course. She then turned to see Lucky gracefully maneuvering through them and running right at her. Applejack winced, thinking they were about to collide, but Lucky soared over her when she opened her eyes. The farm mare watched in awe as the brown-coated mare landed right smack onto the finish line. The mare then threw her hooves in the air and cried, "That was amazing!"
"Yeah, it was somethin'," Applejack mumbled. She saw that, without a doubt, this mare had to be the luckiest, most talented rodeo pony. But despite the face and that no matter how hard she trained, she would never be as good as Lucky. Applejack could feel jealousy growing, but she ignored it and decided she should try getting her mind off it said, "Why don't we try lassoin'?"
"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Lucky squealed; she skipped over to the lasso set, and Applejack went first, lassoing a barrel and hurling it through a hoop. She watched with a smile but groaned a little seeing it hit the side of the hoop and clumsily into her stack of barrels on the other side, knocking a few over. Applejack let out an annoyed groan. But when Lucky tried, her barrel sailed effortlessly through the center with a loud, CRACK her projectile smashed into a stack of barrels and knocked the entire stack over.
Lucky turned to face her new friend and asked, "How was that!?"
Applejack's jealousy was now too much to keep inside as she slammed a hoof on the ground and snapped, "Are you playing with me!? How the hay are ya so good at this!? You said ya never did any rodeoing in your life!"
Lucky blinked, surprised by how angry Applejack got, then said, "Oh…um…like I said, this is all from my ne-I mean cutie mark. I don't mean to be so good. It just happened, ya know?"
Applejack scratched the back of her mane, feeling guilty, letting her jealousy get the best of her, and sighed, "Yeah? Guess I can't fight a cutie mark. Why don't we wash up and then grab something to eat? I'm starving."
The brown-coated mare nodded and skipped after her with a smile still on her face. Despite Applejack still feeling jealous, she couldn't help but admire Lucky's humility. Maybe she was always just really good at rodeo sports but never competed. For now, she'll try being her friend and learn a thing or two from her.
After the two had taken a bath, the two were now trotting through the streets of Ponyville. Applejack watched the mare being self-conscious as she lowered her gaze when a stallion checked her out. She then mumbled something under her breath. Then, all of a sudden, some light hit the stallion's eyes, and he had to cover them. Then, she saw a part of the road under construction. The farm mare was going to say something. Still, Lucky Horseshoes just walked through diving and weaving under cranes and construction equipment, ducking under a wrecking ball, and jumping over an open manhole with ease. Applejack cautiously walked around the edges and continued to watch with complete awe. As they approached Sugarcube Corner. Applejack groaned as she checked under her hat, "Dang, forgot to bring bits gotta go-"
Before she could finish, a pegasus slammed into the ground with a bag of bits falling from the sky and landed in Lucky's hoof. "Oh!? Guess we don't need to return to the farm after all."
Applejack's eyes went wide with confusion and surprise as she shouted, "Wait a sec, we can't be spendin' those bits! This pegasus stole them!"
"Why not? You're telling me you see a bag of bits on the ground. You wouldn't keep them?"
"Of course not!? It ain't stealin' technically, but they ain't yours."
Lucky looked down sheepishly and sighed, "I guess you have a point." The mare lassoed the thief, hog-tied him effortlessly, and said, "Guess we can hold onto him until the authorities come by."
Before she could finish, a few royal guards flew down from the sky and landed beside her. They pointed their spears at the thief, and one flew over to the two surprised mares and asked, "Excuse me, ma’am, but it seems a bag of bits was stolen from a bank in Cloudsdale. Did it land around here?"
Lucky hoisted the massive bag of bits, and the guard, with some strain, hoisted the bag and threw it to two other pegasi, who then carried it away as the captain turned back to the brown-coated mare and said, "Thank you so much," He then pulled a smaller bag of bits and said, "As a reward, the bank gave a thousand bits to anypony who caught him, and technically you did, so here you go."
Lucky was given the bag as they flew the thief to jail. The brown-coated mare just stood there as Applejack adjusted her hat with her eyes still wide open in disbelief at everything that happened and whispered to herself, "Well, guess that settles that."
Pinkie Pie was busy serving guests, but then her mane and tail suddenly poofed up as if she was hit with a bolt of electricity. She usually knows what her Pinkie sense would be telling her. Instead, this felt as if she was being hit by a wave of unknown energy that canceled out her own!? What could that mean? Was it another party pony like her and Cheese Sandwich?
Pinkie Pie bounced over to a table, seeing Applejack and a cute brown-coated mare sitting across from each other. She chirped, "Oh, Applejack! Is this a new friend!?"
Applejack turned, "Uh, yeah, guess so; this is Lucky. She's a Rodeo pony stayin' in Ponyville."
"Oh, that's so cool!" She hoisted a hoof at Lucky and said, "My name is Pinkie Pie!"
"Hello, Pinkie Pie," Lucky replied as she stuck her hoof out and shook it.
Pinkie Pie went to pull her Party Cannon and squealed, "Well, it's time to party!" But as she pulled the string instead of confetti, a bunch of four-leaf clovers burst out. "Huh, that's weird?"
Lucky giggled as she sniffed the air, "Mmm, smells like spring!"
Pinkie eyed her, then turned to Applejack and asked, "So, um, what ya hungry for?"
Applejack quickly replied, "Just an apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and a cup of coffee for me."
"Coming right up!" Pinkie chirped. She then went to the kitchen, grabbed an apple pie already baked with a cup of coffee, and slid the dish to Applejack. She then turned to Lucky and asked, "And for you?"
"I would like a double scoop of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge and a banana."
"Alright, on-" Before Pinkie could finish, she blinked as a glass cup filled with ice cream flew through the air and landed before Lucky. It was what Lucky ordered two massive scoops of chocolate ice cream drizzled with hot fudge and a banana plopped right on top.
"Well, that was quick!" Lucky chirped. She then ate the ice cream so fast but delicately without getting a single ounce of ice cream on her perfect brown coat. Pinkie Pie eyed her as if something was off. She would generally be able to do things most ponies can't and asked suspiciously, "Where did you say you were from?"
"Oh, Appleloosa," Lucky replied as she stuffed her face with ice cream.
"So, were you always this lucky? Or were you born this way?"
The brown-coated mare's cheeks flushed pink as she said, "I became rather lucky when I got my cutie mark."
"So…your saying is you became super lucky when you received your cutie mark, but your parents named you Lucky before that?"
The mare took another bite of ice cream as she casually shrugged and said, "Yeah, I believe so?"
Applejack eyed Pinkie and asked, "Hey, why are ya interrogating my friend Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie Pie turned her attention to her friend and exclaimed, "I'm not interrogating her, Applejack; I'm just surprised someone is as lucky as her!? It's like she has a superpower!"
Lucky seemed rather bashful and said, "You might be right; I might have more luck than most ponies. But honestly, I want to use it to be a rodeo star, not a superhero."
"Ugh, you and Applejack think so small! But alright, well regardless, I'm gonna throw you a party tonight at Twilight's castle!"
Lucky looked somewhat confused and asked, "What for? I'm no pony special?"
Applejack just chuckled and explained, "Pinkie Pie throws parties for everypony. Just roll with it."
"Yeah, just roll with it; if you're a friend of Applejack's, you're my friend too!" Pinkie cheered.
Lucky gave her a faint smile that seemed to put Pinkie Pie at ease, then said, "Well then, I guess I can't turn you down, huh?"
"Alright! I'll go to plan your party. Just relax and finish your ice cream!" Pinkie Pie chirped; the pink party pony then bounced off from Sugarcube Corner, headed straight to Twilight's castle, and thought about how she planned to tell Twilight about Lucky and her strange powers. Hopefully, they could learn more about her at the party.
Trouble Shoes felt relieved that, so far, everything had been going relatively smoothly with Applejack despite his new "luck powers," as Pinkie Pie coined seemed to be happening throughout the day. Despite all the strange luck brought onto him due to his cutie mark, the mare is much better and more confident. But was his good luck a superpower? That was still up for debate. As the stallion thought about this, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a little bunny standing in the middle of the street nibbling on a carrot. But then noticed that a carriage led by two massive earth pony stallions was racing down the road at breakneck speeds rolling down the road and saw they were going to hit the bunny! Without thinking, Trouble Shoes swooped in, nabbed the bunny, and made his way to safety as the carriage trampled over the carrot. When the stallion got up, he brushed the dirt off the poor scared rabbit and whispered, "Hey, are you okay? You gave me a scare back there."
He then turned to see a yellow pegasus fly over with a worried look on her face and cried out, "Oh, thank Celestia!"
She flew over, grabbed the bunny, and hugged it tightly, crying, "Oh, thank you for saving my adorable little bunny." The pegasus looked up and asked, "What's your name?"
The former stallion threw a hoof and said, "My friends call me Lucky, and it was no big deal."
Fluttershy flew to him with a smile and squealed, "Oh, but it is a big deal! Anypony who risks their neck for a bunny is a friend in my book!"
Applejack then came running by, looking somewhat worried, and upon seeing "Lucky," gave a sigh of relief and said, "Looks like you're alright, though ya might've gotten smashed by that carriage."
"Oh no, I'm fine, plus it seems I've made a new friend," Trouble Shoes replied, pointing a hoof at the yellow pegasus.
"Well, looky here, guess ya making friends with Fluttershy already."
"Oh, Applejack, you know this pony?"
The orange-coated mare gave a hearty laugh, "Know her!? Fluttershy's one of my closest friends."
Fluttershy bent her head down, looking rather bashful at Trouble Shoes, "Well, Lucky, it was a pleasure meeting you. How long are you planning to stay in Ponyville?"
The former stallion paused as she tapped a hoof to her chin and replied, "Oh, well, just until the Appleloosa Rodeo; from there, not sure where I'll be going."
"Well…would you want to stay in Ponyville?"
Lucky's ears perked up, and he cheered, "Oh, of course!? That sounds like a great idea!"
Applejack approached Trouble Shoes and gave him a nuzzle, then said, "Well, she's welcome to stay at my place for as long as she wants."
"That does sound lovely," She turned to face Trouble Shoes, then added, "Please stop by my cottage at any time." Fluttershy finished as she flew off with her bunny.
Trouble Shoes then let out a sigh of relief as he plopped down onto a park bench, then said, "Well, that went well."
Applejack trotted over, sat beside her, and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Trouble Shoes then turned to face Applejack with a guilty look and said, "Well, you see, I've been thinking…what if my luck isn't making me lucky but causing bad luck for others? What if that bunny was only in trouble because of me?"
The farm mare was surprised by the question and responded, "Um…well, that's hard to say; I don't know much about cutie marks, but I doubt they can do that."
"What if at the rodeo, instead of just making me good, I make others screw up or worse! I couldn't bear to see other ponies get hurt."
Applejack placed a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Listen, there's no way a cutie mark causes other ponies to get hurt or have bad luck. You have a lot of good luck, and from the looks of things, you're using it for good. You stopped a thief and saved a bunny, so if you have unnaturally good luck, then I would say you've been using it for good so far. If it helps you with the rodeo, why don't you put the winnings into helping others? Why don't we take a page from Pinkie Pie's book and make your good luck into a superpower?"
Trouble Shoes chuckled at the thought, then said, "Well, said…but what about you? I don't want to make you feel bad about losing to me at the rodeo because of my cutie mark."
The farm mare sighed as she sat by her friend and said, "Listen, I may seem more humble than most, but I also have my pride. Not too long ago, I went to compete in the biggest rodeo in Canterlot and lost at nearly every event. I was so stubborn and I ended up lying to my friends and family. Then I went to work at a cherry farm to make up the earnings in return for all the support I got from Ponyville."
"I see…"
"Well, after my friends had to come and knock some sense into me, I realized how badly I wanted to be a rodeo star myself," She then showed her cutie mark and said, "But listen, I know deep down even if I get every blue ribbon at every rodeo show that isn't gonna make me feel satisfied. Helping my family and running Sweet Apple Acres keeps me going, and I'm proud of my hard work to keep my family’s apple orchard running and have no regrets about that."
Lucky gave Applejack a playful smirk and then asked, "Well, guess you're trying to say I shouldn't feel bad about beating you?"
Applejack smirked back and said, "Yeah, something like that."
Lucky paused then an idea came into her head as she thought aloud, "Well, I just had this crazy idea. What if instead of me trying to compete against you, why don't we go as a team?"
"A team?"
The orange-coated mare flashed her a smile and exclaimed, "Yeah, we compete both for Ponyville at Appleloosa! Heck, they have tons of rodeo ponies! I bet Ponyville can use extra hoof winning blue ribbons!"
Trouble Shoes tapped a hoof to his chin, thinking things over, and whispered, "Right, you have a point."
"It sounds like a great idea; we can compete together!" Applejack laughed as she shot up onto her hooves, then exclaimed, "Between you and me, we can win every blue ribbon in Appleloosa!"
Trouble Shoes got up, seeing that Applejack made some excellent points, and added, "Then we can use our winnings to help Ponyville and Appleloosa alike…that way, we can use my luck powers for good."
Applejack snickered and said, "Mentioning your powers, if we're gonna be superheroes, we'll need costumes."
Lucky paused with a surprised look on his face and asked, "Oh, you know somepony who could make us uniforms?"
Applejack smirked and said, "Yeah, I know, just the pony."
During the afternoon, Rarity was standing behind her counter, going about her business selling her outfits to ponies. It was a rather dull day, and she couldn't help but let her mind drift, thinking about her new boutique in Canterlot and hoping that Sassy Saddles had been doing well since their last meeting a few weeks ago. She heard her bell ring, looked over near the entrance, and spotted her friend Applejack trotting alongside another earth pony she had never seen before. A brown-coated mare with bright green eyes, she was super eye-catching with her wavy dark brown mane, and she looked right at the fashionista and asked, "So this is Rarity?"
"Yup, that's her, alright."
Rarity threw a hoof and scoffed, "Do you have to say that, Applejack? Now who's your friend here?"
The brown-coated earth pony held out a hoof with a smile. "My name is Lucky Horseshoes."
"Oh, that's quite an interesting name. Are you really lucky?"
Lucky got rather bashful and said, "Pinkie Pie thinks I have a superpower."
Rarity couldn't help but laugh. "Pinkie Pie says a lot of crazy things," She then shrugged and added, "But who knows, you could have a superpower?"
She turned towards Applejack and asked, "So what brings you to my boutique?”
Applejack started to scratch her mane as she seemed somewhat embarrassed and said, "Well, if I'm being honest, we came here because we're teaming up for the big rodeo in Appleloosa, and we need matching uniforms."
Rarity then clapped her hooves together. "Oh, that sounds intriguing. Who knew the thing that would get Applejack to come over looking for a new outfit would be a rodeo!?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in; we just need matching hats and boots," The farm mare then got rather serious and snapped, "Let me add, we don't do anything too fru fru."
Lucky couldn't help but look rather squeamish and squeak, "Yes, please, not anything too fru fru, please."
Rarity rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, of course, I understand Applejack's rustic charm; I'll work out something but come, I need to get your measurements!"
The fashionista then escorted Applejack and the new pony "Lucky" onto one of her stands. She was going over them with measuring tape and sizing their bodies and heads. Rarity couldn't help but take her time with Lucky and couldn't help but admire her femininity and rustic charm being a good mix, especially the four-leaf clover cutie mark on her flank and the white stripe of fur on the mare's muzzle with her glistening emerald eyes and long thick lashes.
"Um, Rarity? Are you okay?"
The white-coated unicorn squeaked in surprise and exclaimed, "I apologize!"
She then wrapped up her measurements, wrote them down, and added, "Well, I think I have an idea; how about you come by tomorrow, and I'll have your outfits ready for you?"
Lucky's face brightened as she exclaimed, "That would be great!" She then took out the bag of bits from earlier, and Rarity shook a hoof. "There's no need for payment."
"You sure these outfits look mighty expensive? I don't mind paying for this.”
Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin, then, with a smile, exclaimed, "I have a better idea; why don't you simply sponsor my shop at the rodeo? I bet any Appleloosans seeing your outfits will come running to my doors. Spread the word Rarity, make your uniforms, and that'll be payment enough."
Lucky bowed her head with a bashful look and whispered, "You're too generous."
Rarity took the brown-coated mare by the hoof and gazed at her as she said, "Take it from me, darling. You can never be too generous." She booped her muzzle and said, "Now, while you're here in Ponyville, why don't we take you to the spa!"
"Spa?" Lucky squeaked in surprise. "I… I've never been to a spa!?"
"Oh, darling, then you're in for a treat!" Rarity chimed as she clapped her hooves together. She then took Lucky by the hoof and led her out the door.
"W…wait!? I seriously don't want to get all girly up, please!?" The mare whined.
"Oh, it won't be that bad," Applejack laughed as she nuzzled her friend, "Trust me, even I can take a spa trip occasionally."
"Applejack speaks the truth; trust me, darling, the day spa in Ponyville will treat you like royalty!"
"Well, that does sound lovely, but still, I'm not sure if I'm ready for a spa treatment," Lucky whined, but it was no use as the two mares continued pushing her out the door, and they headed off the road.
Trouble Shoes didn't consider his gender swap since some stallion was eyeing him earlier this afternoon. They were now in Ponyville's Day Spa, surrounded by purple marble. It wasn't long until she came forward with a blush as a blue-coated earth pony mare named Lotus with a slick pink mane and her sister Aloe having a pink coat and smooth blue hair. They both bowed and said in unison, "Welcome, Rarity and Applejack. Do you wish for your usuals?"
"Of course! But can you take care of our new friend here? This is her first time at a spa," Rarity explained.
"Oh, the newcomer, what's her name?" Lotus asked with a bashful smirk making Trouble Shoes feel somewhat overwhelmed with these mares looking at him seductively.
He threw his hooves over his face and cried, "It's Lucky."
The stallion was then escorted by the spa ponies and was laid down on a bench. Meanwhile, the two went to work scrubbing his hooves with pumice stones. Trouble Shoes winced as it was such an odd feeling as his hooves were rather sensitive, making him kick and squeal. Trouble Shoes could feel chunks of dirt and bone despite his gender transformation; it didn't get rid of her hooves' rough state being worn down from years of back-breaking toil.
Aloe was sweating, trying to scrub out the dirt and grime from her back hooves, and wheezed, "Rarity wasn't kidding when you said you never went to a spa before."
"Yes, indeed, her hooves are worse than Applejack's," Lotus commented.
Trouble Shoes let the hoof care continue, and in a matter of minutes, his once rough hooves covered in mud were now spotless and smooth as glass. The two spa mares then applied a thick layer of green mud onto his face. They then escorted him to a massive hot bath in the back of the spa, and there he laid down gently until she was waist-deep in the bubbly suds, alongside Applejack and Rarity. The three mostly relaxed with little conversation until the fashionista turned her attention towards him and asked, "So, Lucky, tell us about yourself, darling? What brought you to Ponyville?"
The brown-coated mare's cheeks flushed pink, and he said, "Well, um…you see, I'm from Appleloosa, and I didn't have much going on," The former stallion sighed as he laid back and said, "Honestly, I think I should've moved to Ponyville earlier."
Rarity was getting her horn scrubbed down with a pumice stone by Aloe and Lotus as she said, "I see? From what Applejack tells me, you're the best rodeo pony she's ever seen."
Trouble Shoes bowed his head feeling a bit bashful, seeing he had to lie a little to keep them from learning his former life as a clumsy stallion, and said, "Well…I, um, was somepony who just did odd jobs around Appleloosa, nothing special…I was always timid of crowds and tried to keep my head down."
The farm mare turned towards him and said, "You sound a lot like Fluttershy; she can be like that."
Trouble Shoes thought back to the shy yellow pegasus he had met earlier. They saw he was somewhat similar to her, being shy but sweet and caring. Then said, "Yes, that's true. I am quite shy and avoid crowds, but I always wanted to be a rodeo pony and practice in secret. I just never completed it officially before."
The fashionista laughed, "Well, from the sounds of it, you just need a confidence boost, darling!"
Trouble Shoes blinked, being somewhat surprised, never thinking about that seeing he always was doubting himself, and thought maybe that was hampering his ability to perform and whispered, "Yeah, maybe you're right?"
The farm mare gave her a pat on the shoulder, "We can provide that; all you got ta do is be yourself."
"Right," Trouble Shoes replied with a smile as he laid back, relaxing and feeling relieved and relaxed not just from being pampered but because he was much more confident than before. The former stallion could achieve his dream of being a rodeo star, and the best part was that he wouldn't have to do it alone.
Later that evening, they were at a party with the others, and Trouble Shoes was nervous. Still, as he went through the castle doors, she was surprised how it was unlike anything she expected in a green banner with gold lining reading: "Welcome to Ponyville Lucky!" with a banquet filled with food and bowls of punch. Ponies were laughing with music blasting through the castle. Trouble Shoes' heart leaped with joy as he saw how welcoming these ponies were.
"Hello, Lucky!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced over with a smile.
"Hello, Pinkie," Trouble Shoes replied as he felt somewhat nervous around the pink party pony and asked, "Hopefully, we didn't get off on the wrong hoof?"
The pink-coated earth pony threw a hoof and said, "Oh, I hope I didn't get off the wrong hoof! I was just surprised by your luck powers."
"Right, my luck powers," The brown-coated mare couldn't help but squeak with a blush on his face.
"Oh, but she does have luck powers!"
Trouble Shoes recognized the voice of Fluttershy to see the pegasus flying over. "She saved one of my bunnies from being crushed by a carriage."
Pinkie Pie gasped and exclaimed, "No way! Doesn't that confirm what I've said before!?"
"Luck powers, huh? Pinkie Pie could be onto something."
The ponies all turned to see a purple-coated alicorn, then came over and held out a hoof, "Sorry, I never introduced you to Ponyville officially. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm honored to have you compete for Ponyville in the upcoming rodeo in Appleloosa."
"Princess Twilight! Oh no, thank you for hosting this party!" Trouble Shoes cried as he shook her hoof.
"Well, any friend of Applejack's is a friend of mine."
Trouble Shoes bowed before the princess and said, "So what do you mean? Could Pinkie Pie's theory be true? My cutie mark is giving me luck powers?"
Twilight shrugged, "Honestly, I'm not sure; I've read many books on cutie marks, and there's never been anything recorded about one giving a pony good luck powers. I'll be sure to look into it."
"Thank you, princess, that would be wonderful," The former stallion replied with a smile hoping Princess Twilight could find an answer to her cutie mark.
They then went to the banquet table, and a cream pie came flying out of nowhere; Trouble Shoes ducked and could dodge it in time, but then she heard a Splat! And looked behind her to see that the cream pie had slammed into Applejack's face.
"Rats!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced away.
Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed agitatedly, "This isn't gonna get old fast." As the mare wiped the cream pie from her face.
"Guess Pinkie Pie is testing my luck powers?"
"Yeah, guess so, might as well get ready for more cream pies to be thrown at us."
Trouble Shoes then noticed another pegasus; this one had a light blue coat and a wild rainbow-colored mane with magenta-colored eyes. As she said, "That was pretty awesome!"
"What was?"
"Dodging that pie! Pinkie Pie told me you had luck powers, but you have good reflexes!"
Trouble Shoes couldn't help feeling better about himself, but he was confused and said, "Thank you, but who are you?"
The pegasus pointed a hoof to her chest and said, "Name's Rainbow Dash!"
"Ok, Applejack mentioned you before," Trouble Shoes replied as he shook her hoof.
"Good thing she did; glad to see another athletic pony around here, and I heard you're competing for Ponyville at the Appleloosa rodeo?"
"That's right."
"Well, why don't you and I have a hoof race? I could test your endurance and see how well you do against me?"
"Uh, sure? Maybe sometime tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow!? Why not now?"
Applejack rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Rainbow, you're fast, but Lucky is gonna leave you in the dust."
"As if! Even with her luck powers, there's no way she can beat me in a hoof race!"
Trouble Shoes gulped as he looked downward and uncertain, but Applejack slapped her on the back, "Come on, Lucky, let's knock Rainbow's ego down a notch."
It was only a short time until everypony was outside the castle, it being night now, with the moon shining its silvery glow onto the crystals that lit up Twilight's castle. The princess of friendship herself was setting up a starting line and a finish line with her magic while the rest of her friends were standing on the sidelines. Other than Pinkie was warming up her party cannon while eyeing Trouble Shoes with a suspicious look.
Trouble Shoes couldn't help but feel nervous, racing Rainbow Dash, wondering what could happen. Applejack then came over and asked, "Are you nervous?"
Trouble Shoes gulped as he looked over at Applejack and admitted, "Yeah, a little."
"It's okay, just relax. You got this. Just give it your all."
Trouble Shoes couldn't help but feel his anxieties melt away at Applejack's words and then nuzzled him. "Don't worry; I got this."
He and Rainbow Dash took their positions at the starting line as Twilight stood before them and said, "Alright, the race is simple, one lap around the castle. Remember, Rainbow Dash, don't use your wings and keep this race clean; no shortcuts or cheating."
"Alright, we get it; let's start the race already!" Rainbow shouted as she pawed at the ground.
Twilight nodded as she raised her hooves onto her back, threw out her wings, and said, "On the count of three."
Trouble Shoes still felt anxious, but seeing Applejack's face calmed him as he faced forward, seeing that the night sky made it quite dark. But luckily for them, Twilight had illuminated the path with little balls of light.
"One."
The former stallion bent forward, as did Rainbow Dash.
"Two"
Pinkie Pie then lit her party cannon and waited as the sizzling flame trailed up the whisk at the end of her cannon.
"Three!"
Pinkie Pie then shot out her party cannon with four-leaf clovers bursting outward like before. Then the two mares burst off from the starting line and raced across the field around the massive crystal castle. Trouble Shoes were surprised at how fast Rainbow was on the hoof. Even without her wings, she was outpacing her by a few feet. Trouble Shoes saw that there was almost nothing he could do to win and wondered if his "good luck powers" would kick in. Near the finish line, Trouble Shoes watched as Rainbow Dash was about to cross it. Still, somehow, she suddenly tripped on something and stumbled a bit. Meanwhile, Trouble Shoes ran past her, turning back to help Rainbow Dash onto her hooves as she grumbled, "Did you leave that there?"
"No, of course not! I swear I didn't!" Trouble Shoes cried out.
Twilight came over and asked, "I saw the whole race; Lucky didn't cheat; it was just an accident. If anything, it's my fault. I should've spotted the rock before the race began."
Everypony nodded in agreement as Pinkie still eyed Lucky. Rainbow just sighed and grumbled, "Fine, I'll take the loss," She turned to Trouble Shoes and said, "We are going to race again, and next time, I'll make sure there aren't any rocks on our course."
"Of course, for sure," Trouble Shoes replied and took a bow, then watched as Rainbow limped back inside along with the rest of her friends.
Meanwhile, Applejack came over and nuzzled him. "Looks like you won."
"Rainbow Dash just stumbled on a rock; it wasn't a fair race."
The farm mare rolled her eyes, "That's Rainbow Dash's fault for not paying attention to her hooves. Trust me; it ain't the first time she tripped on a hoof race and blamed it on me."
Trouble Shoes shook his head, still feeling responsible, and said, "Yeah, but what if I caused her to trip? I didn't want to, but…"
Applejack trotted close to him, gave him a gentle nuzzle, and said, "There's no way a cutie mark can cause other ponies bad luck. Trust me, alright? You won fair and square."
Trouble Shoes felt his heart racing as he wondered why he felt so queasy around Applejack. Was it because he couldn't take his eyes off her rustic charm and those piercing emerald-green eyes? But what if she was into only mares? Was it fair not to tell her he was a stallion?
Applejack seemed unable to take her eyes off his. Then, without thinking, they both came right up close to each other, and then their muzzles came up close together, and then without a second thought, the two mares started to kiss under the moonlight.
Applejack and Lucky were on a train heading to Appleloosa, wearing emerald green vests, boots, and cowcolt hats with golden thread outlining the fabric and with shapes of apples embroidered all over their outfit. She was still flustered and trying to process why she had kissed Lucky. Even though they looked stylish and the atmosphere was exciting, the orange-coated earth pony was worried because she couldn't shake the thought that Lucky had luck powers. She wasn't sure if everything she had witnessed was just a coincidence or if her new friend truly had special abilities.
Despite her initial skepticism, Applejack couldn't shake the thought that Lucky might be right about her cutie mark granting her luck, especially considering her impressive rodeo skills. As the orange-coated mare glanced over, she saw Lucky being bombarded with questions by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. At the same time, her sister Apple Bloom asked, "Do you think your cutie mark gives you good luck?"
"I'm not entirely sure why, but having this edge is rather helpful."
Sweetie Belle took a look over at her flank and then let out an annoyed sigh, “I think that would be a cool cutie mark. Do you think I can get one like that?
Lucky wasn't sure what to do with good luck and asked, "What would you like to do with it?"
"I'm not sure why I should only focus on one thing. Maybe I could try singing or learning crochet. I might even be able to outsmart Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon or help my friends find their cutie marks."
Scootaloo threw up her wings and confidently declared, "I'm the one who's going to have a cutie mark in luck, no doubt about it!"
Apple Bloom then clapped her hooves to her cheeks and squealed, "What if we all get cutie marks that bring us good luck!?"
The little filly bounced around excitedly and cried, "That would be amazing! We could do anything we want!"
The brown-coated mare scratched the back of her mane and responded, "I don't think you'll be able to get my cutie mark. Perhaps you'll discover something about yourself if you participate in some rodeo events?"
"Could you teach us? Please!" Apple Bloom asked as she scratched her mane. "We've seen you practice, and you're the best rodeo pony I've ever seen!"
The other two fillies chimed in, "Can you pretty please!?"
Lucky looked somewhat hesitant as she replied, "Well, that's up to Applejack since she's responsible for you."
Applejack wasn't sure Lucky was ready to handle her sister and her friends. Despite her suspicions of the mare, she reluctantly agreed, "Ok, ypu can give them some rodeo practice once we reach Appleloosa. Just make sure to keep an eye on those three."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered together; as Applejack glanced out the window and watched the desert landscape passing by. She wondered if she would uncover more information about Lucky during their visit to Appleloosa.
The train arrived at Appleloosa, and the ponies headed to the rodeo, a massive carrol with numerous obstacles, barrels, and hay towers surrounded by wooden fencing. Within the rodeo, ponies performed many kinds of tricks, with some lassoing, other bucking barrels, or jumping over hurdles. Lucky and Applejack guided the cutie mark crusaders through the crowd of earth ponies who were practicing. Applejack was impressed with the setting as different events were held at various practice areas. While there, they met a butter yellow earth pony stallion wearing a brown cowcolt hat and a vest of the same color. But Applejack winced, seeing that the stallion had a broken leg in a cast, and limped over to greet them. The stallion raised a hoof with a painful smile and greeted her, “Heyya, cousin!”
With a nervous smile, Applejack greeted Braeburn and said, "Hey ya, cus," the orange-coated mare looked at her friend and inquired, "Have ya met my Braeburn before?"
Lucky looked nervous and shook her head "no" with a worried expression; meanwhile, Braeburn seemed somewhat surprised by Lucky's beauty and asked, "Say, what's your name?"
The mare appeared to be feeling uneasy, slowly let out a hoof, and responded, "Uh, my name is Tro- I mean Lucky Horseshoes."
Braeburn was taken aback by what Lucky said and asked, "You wouldn't be related to Trouble Shoes, would you?"
The brown-coated mare became startled, sweat pouring down her forehead as she stuttered, asking, "Trouble Shoes? Who's that?"
The stallion expressed frustration by stomping his hoof and exclaiming, "He's a no good varmint, that's who! It seems he's always hellbent on ruining the rodeo!"
Lucky threw a hoof over her mouth and gave a gasp of surprise, then said, "Oh no, I hope you catch him before the rodeo."
Braeburn calmed down a little as he tipped his hat towards her, "I apologize, mam; if you're related to Trouble Shoes, maybe you can reason with him and convince him to leave Appleloosa alone."
"Alright, I'll pass along the message if we cross paths."
"There's no need to fret if you're not a relative. We haven't seen hide or hair of Trouble Shoes for weeks, so there shouldn't be any reason for concern."
Applejack showed a hint of doubt towards Lucky, who seemed unsteady on her feet. She turned to her cousin to help her new friend and asked, "Braeburn, can you tell us how you injured your leg?"
The stallion winced and lifted his broken leg, explaining, "It's just a training accident. I won't be able to participate in the rodeo. I'm sorry, cus. You'll be doing the hay stacking challenge without me."
"Ah jeez cousin, without you, there ain't gonna be any competition," Applejack scoffed.
"I'm confident that you both will do great even without me. Good luck, cuz!"
The mare on the farm looked at him questioningly after he made his statement. However, Braeburn quickly clarified, saying, "I didn't mean it literally!"
The orange-coated mare then turned her attention toward Lucky, who looked embarrassed. She couldn't hold back her suspicions anymore and needed to ask her some questions in private, so she turned towards her cousin and asked, "Braeburn, could you please keep an eye on the young fillies for a moment? I need to have a word with Lucky."
"Sure, can do cus!"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders quickly surrounded Braeburn as they bounced around him and bombarded him with questions about the rodeo.
Meanwhile, Applejack discreetly took her friend aside to ensure nopony overheard their conversation and whispered, "Excuse me, I recall you mentionin' that you're from Appleloosa."
Lucky gulped as she nervously replied, "Yes, I was."
"How in the hay have you not heard of this Trouble Shoes, let alone Braeburn!?"
"I am, I swear! I told you I didn't interact with the ponies here that much."
"Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Applejack asked suspiciously, noticing that Lucky was not being truthful.
Lucky paused as if she was going to say something but then looked downward as if she was ashamed, then said, "I should go back to teaching the cutie mark crusaders some rodeo techniques before they drive Braeburn crazy." The brown-coated earth pony hurried off to play with the fillies. Applejack simply looked towards her friend as her suspicions seemed to conclude that Lucky was hiding something and she was lying to her.
Later in the afternoon, Lucky Horseshoes joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders and helped them practice jumping over hurdles. However, the three fillies had difficulty knocking over the hurdles and falling into the dirt. They also attempted to lasso barrels but ended up getting hogtied. Lastly, they tried building a haystack, but it resulted in a huge pile that they all fell into.
Lucky felt uneasy while enjoying sandwiches and cold glasses of milk during a break. Applejack had doubts about the truthfulness of her story. Even during practice with other Appleloosans, they treated her as a stranger, despite her insistence that she was from Appleloosa and had never spoken casually with the other residents. She could sense that her life as Lucky was becoming less convincing. She then looked down at her flank, admiring it and being abit concerned.
"Hey, Lucky, you doing ok?"
The mare noticed that the three fillies were looking at her with concern. She felt sorry for causing them to worry and smiled reassuringly. "There's no need to worry; I'm doing well. I've just been thinking about some things."
She decided to maybe at least talk it over with the fillies and explained, "You see, my cutie mark is giving me these special luck powers, and I think that it could be considered cheating. I'm honestly considering not competing."
Sweetie Belle scratched her mane and said, "Hmm, I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes?"
Scootlaoo shrugged and said, "I don't see why you should feel bad for being lucky."
"I say, who cares!" Apple Bloom chirped in response, "It's great you even have a cutie mark! My friends and I have been trying for years, and we're still blank flanks!"
Lucky turned to see the three fillies beaming at her, and she felt better seeing how much they were looking up to her. "You’re right; I shouldn't be ashamed of my cutie mark. But I'm not sure if Applejack agrees. I think the more we practice, the more she thinks I'm cheating. You think I should bring it up with her before the competition tomorrow?"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged uncertain glances while Apple Bloom said, "Although my sister can be stubborn, I'm sure you can maybe talk to her and get her to understand like we do. You're just being yourself and there's nothin' wrong with that."
Lucky stood up, feeling more confident in her motivation to talk to Applejack, and said, "You're right, girls. I'll discuss it with her later tonight. In the meantime, you three can spend time with Braeburn. Meanwhile, Applejack and I gotta go prepare for the hay stacking competition."
The fillies hugged her and cried together, "ok, best of luck!"
Lucky approached Applejack, who greeted her with a sheepish smile and a wave of her hoof. "Hi there! How were the girls? They didn't drive you too crazy, did they?"
The brown-coated mare wanted to say something, but as she stared into Applejack's eyes, she lost herself, felt her confidence waver, and said, "No, they were great! Let's start practicing that hay tower. Gotta make sure we have it down for tomorrow."
Applejack waved a hoof, "Alright then, try to keep up!"
The two earth ponies then raced across the dusty corral towards massive stacks of hay, where they began practicing building a tower of hay together.
Later that evening, after practice, Applejack was trotting through Braeburn's home. In the dark living room, she spotted her cousin had passed out on the couch, snoring rather loudly, leaving Applejack chuckling at the sight. It seemed her cousin had been busy looking after Apple Bloom, and her friend leaving left him exhausted. As Applejack crossed the room during a rainstorm, she wondered where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were. Knowing those three they snuck out to Celestia knows where. She slowly climbed up the stairs and peeked inside Braeburn's bedroom and let out a sigh of relief finding Lucky had tucked the foals in with the three fillies sleeping soundly. The sight was rather sweet, making her feel worse about what she was planning to do. But she needed to know what was happening with Lucky, especially before the rodeo. Applejack decided to make some relaxing cider before confronting her new friend. So she went to her cousin's kitchen and started to boil a pan of hot apple cider. Making cider was rather relaxing and helped take her mind off things. It wasn't long until the air was filled with the sweet smell of spiced apple cider. As Lucky came in, he sniffed the air and asked, "Oh, is that fresh cider?"
Applejack glanced at her friend and, despite her doubts, decided to be welcoming. She then offered, "Sure, I could use a cup after all that practicing. And I'm glad we managed to build such a huge haystack. We never practiced that in Ponyville."
With a nervous giggle, Lucky responded, "I didn't think we would break the world record. I wonder if we can try again tomorrow?"
"I hope things will go well, but I'm not too concerned. I'm confident that with your luck, we're gonna win every blue ribbon tomorrow."
The two soon to be rodeo stars enjoyed a peaceful moment in the kitchen while the rain pattered against the window, lightning flashed, and thunder roared outside. They sipped on warm cider and savored the calm atmosphere.
Looking out at the rain hitting against the window pane Lucky was the first to speak. "I can't believe we made it back before the rainstorm!"
“Yeah, guess ya know we were lucky.”
She then looked up from her drink and asked, "Are you comfortable with my luck powers?"
Applejack nodded slowly, sensing her conflicting emotions about Lucky's powers. She then stated, "I just gotta be honest. I have strong feelings for you."
Her friend looked up from her drink and squeaked, “Yes?”
Applejack sighed deeply, knowing full well she was going to break Lucky's heart, and confessed, "I also have to just say for the record, I didn't want to kiss you, but I did it anyway as if I was forced against my will."
“And what are you implying?"
The orange coated mare nervously sipped her cider before mustering up the courage to share her thoughts. "I've noticed that everything always seems to go perfectly for you during practice. It's almost like you have some kind of good luck power," she remarked.
"I…I’ve been trying to tell you I wasn’t lying. But is that ok with you?"
After finishing her cider, Applejack placed her mug down and said, "I believe there's more than what meets the eye, and I don't mean to offend you, but I think you've been lying to me."
Her partner was now gulping down her mug of cider with a worried expression on her face as Applejack looked at her intently, as she felt it necessary to uncover what she had been concealing, and said, "It seems like you aren't being honest with me. You claimed to be from Appleoloosa, yet no one there knows you. Also, you mentioned Trouble Shoes but said you don't know anything about him."
The brown coated mare winced but seemed to hold her tongue and whispered, "I can explain, but it may not be something you want to hear."
Applejack raised her head and spoke firmly, "If you can't be honest with me, I don't think we can work together as rodeo partners."
The brown coated mare covered her eyes with her hooves and said while crying, "Ok, I'll confess...I...I'm Trouble Shoes!"
Applejack’s eyes widened, surprised by the revelation, and cried, “Wait, you're who!?”
Lucky sat down heavily on the chair opposite, looking defeated. She then peered up and asked, "Do you like stories?"
“Well, I guess...is it a long one?”
Lucky chuckled and expressed disappointment, "I wasn't lucky this time. I was hoping you would say no." Then, she started her tale, "My real name was Trouble Shoes; since I was a colt, I always dreamed of becoming a rodeo star, but despite my best efforts, I always ended up making a fool of myself due to my clumsiness."
After taking a sip of cider, Applejack was taken aback by this revelation and asked, "Hold on, you were a stallion?"
Lucky sighed nervously while brushing her mane and responded, "Yes, I'll explain that in abit."
After finishing her cider, Applejack replied, "Alright, please go on."
Lucky let out a sigh and started her tale. "As a young colt, I once went to try out for the rodeo myself. As I went about doing a lasso routine, it seemed everything was going smoothly."
She then looked back towards her rump and swished her tail rather angrily. "But then my cutie mark appeared - an upside-down horseshoe. Not long after that, I ended up wearing a barrel and became a laughingstock in front of the judges."
Lucky paused in her story, seeming to shudder from her memory, then continued, "Despite the humiliation and my dreams of being a rodeo star dashed, I continued to attend rodeos. But somehow, my clumsiness always seemed to cause trouble, resulting in the Appleloosa rodeo being shut down every year."
The mare then turned back to Applejack looking right at her green eyes and comtinued her tale."So a few weeks ago, I learned about a mystical pool in the Everfree Forest that could change my life. So I did what any other pony in my situation would. I took a dip." She then threw a hoof over her chest and finished, "That's how I Good for nothing Trouble Shoes ended up as the luckiest mare south of Sweet Apple Acres!"
Applejack was stunned at the story seeing that everything was starting to make sense. With Lucky's strange behavior and her luck powers and exclaimed, "So the pool of reversal changed not only your cutie mark but also your gender. Now things are making a lot of sense!"
Lucky's friend appeared anxious but eventually admitted, "Yes, I wasn't to happy either seeing how I was turned into a mare." The brown-coated mare checked her flank once more and continued, "But without this new cutie mark, I wouldn't have a chance of becoming a rodeo star."
Applejack finished her cider and got up slowly from her chair. Although she was grateful that Lucky had finally told her the truth, she needed to express her thoughts and said, "I understand you despised your past life and wanted to change things, but this isn't you. I fear that you're gonna hurt yourself or others. You should go to this magic pool and return to your old self."
"I understand that I lied to you, and I feel terrible about it," said the former stallion, shaking her head. "But, I can't go back to being a good-for-nothing Trouble Shoes."
After listening to Trouble Shoes, Applejack got up, and said, "Listen, I get why you wanted to change your life, but this isn't who you are. I promise to compete with you tomorrow and will keep who you really are a secret. But until you change back to who you were before, I don't think we can be partners no more...and probably not even friends."
As the farm mare then turned to face Lucky who now had tears streaming down her friend's cheeks. Applejack felt remorseful but remained resolute in her decision. In response, Lucky rose up from the table and exclaimed, "Fine! We'll compete together, and after that, I'll just stay in Appleloosa!" The former stallion stormed off to the spare bedroom upstairs and slammed the door. Applejack winced at the sound of the door and looked up with a somber expression, feeling a pang of guilt in her gut, wondering if she was making the right decision.
The next morning came rather quickly, with the sun shining over the massive corral where the rodeo was taking place. The ponies are all setting up for events, with the first being the hurdle race. Lucky and Applejack were getting ready at the starting line with a group of other rodeo ponies. Lucky looked over at the rest of the ponies and saw how they were all rather serious and felt a little out of place. He still had this sense that, at any moment, he was going to trip over one of those hurdles and cause a crash for the rest of the competitors. Looking over to see that the farm mare was rather distant, seeing that they still hadn’t spoken since last night and how things were left. It was clear that the farm mare wanted to distance herself from him, but that was fine; he didn’t care. After the rodeo, everypony in Appleloosa will be in love with him, and he can find new friends who accept him. In fact, today, he would stop thinking of himself as that clumsy oaf Trouble Shoes. Today, he will be reborn as Lucky Horseshoes! The former stallion turned away to face the oncoming obstacles, trying to maintain his focus on the competition.
The announcer then proclaimed, “For the day's first event, we have the hurdle race! You will be jumping over the obstacles in pairs. For every hurdle hit, you'll have a ten-second penalty added to your overall time, so please keep that in mind! Now, first, let’s introduce our first pair; the twin sisters Sandy and Dusty, who have gotten the blue ribbon for nearly every event they've entered. It's the Dust Devils!
Two identical-looking mares with sand-colored coats trotted out onto the course, waving their hooves in the air with smiles on their faces. They then approached the starting line, where the mares bowed their bodies, preparing with their long tails flapping in the breeze as they readied themselves to start the race. Lucky watched as the pair went to the first shot down the lane with dozens of Appfleloosans in the stands cheering them on. The mare was amazed, watching the two clearing each wooden fence with ease like it was nothing. But then, as they neared the end of the race, one of the mares clipped the last hurdle and collided into the dirt. Her twin instantly stopped and went to help her sister up onto her hooves, then assisted her in crossing the finish line.
“Oh dear, it seems that one of the Dust Devils got a ten-second penalty, but they got a minute and thirty seconds even with the penalty! well done!”
There was then a round of applause with cheers and cowponies throwing their hats in the air. Lucky watched, being a bit surprised that the two made such a fatal error, and wondered if her bad luck had rubbed off on them but continued to watch as the next pair of ponies came forward. Then, two stocky muscle-built stallions, a red-coated one and a blue one sporting matching cowcolt hats and scarves, as the announcer proclaimed, "Next up is the toughest stallion couple in Appleloosa! Red Bull and his husband, Babe! They're rough and tough! But we know them as our very own Charging Bulls'' The two muscular ponies continued their trot down the lane, waving their hooves in the air as they did so.
This time, as the two started their charge across the lane, they suddenly tripped over each other at the start of the race, colliding headfirst into the fence. The two were stunned by the fall, but they continued jumping over each obstacle together, doing their best to make up for lost time. As they finished the race, the announcer shouted, “Despite the nasty start! They got to the end with a personal record of two minutes flat! Well done!”
There was another round of applause as the next pair came to the starting position; an orange-coated mare with a firey mane and bright yellow eyes trotted alongside her husband; a dark purple-coated stallion with an orange mane and silver eyes came out to the course as the announcer proclaimed, “Here comes one of the most famous duos who ever graced this corral, Mrs. Sunrise alongside her loving husband, Sunset. They might not always win, but they're always to see. But this couple goes by Sunset Love!" Their entrance came with another round of applause as they started running things out, being able to clear nearly every hurdle, making out halfway through, and were disqualified. The same thing happened over and over again, with Lucky realizing that something was off with the pair of ponies constantly messing up. It was like watching himself back before he took the dip into that reversal pool.
Then it was his turn as he and Applejack came to the starting line; when the countdown ended, the two burst off through the lane, clearing each fence post with ease. Despite the two still at odds, they still worked well, passing each hurdle, and it wasn't just luck; they were both athletic and seemed to be in sync with each other. They eventually reached the end with the announcer shouting, “Unbelievable, we have a new Appleloosa record! Thirty seconds!”
“Did you see that we didn’t just win? We broke the record!” Lucky squealed as she bounced up and down in excitement. Applejack took a hoof to her brow, wiped the sweat, and said, “Yeah, guess so…”
She looked down, seeming to be rather distraught about something. Lucky wondered what her friend could be thinking but kept her tongue as she didn’t want to anger her and keep their focus on the next event.
The next event was the barrel tossing contest, with the pyramids of barrels set up and ready. With piles of barrels about a hundred meters away with a few lassos set up.
“Now we come to the barrel tossing competition! The pairs of ponies will each have a chance to toss one barrel at their stack; the group that knocks the most down wins!”
Lucky got rather excited as this is one of her favorite rodeo events and watched with anticipation.
The twin sisters were up first, and they started lassoing and throwing their barrels, but they both ended up missing their marks and having their barrels smashed on the ground around the giant stack of barrels.
The two stallions both took their lassos and started to gain a lot of momentum. They ended up slamming their barrels into the tower successfully. Still, the tower only slightly wobbled, with only a couple of the barrels falling and crashing onto the ground around it. They were stunned, seeing they tossed their barrels with all their might, and they both looked rather confused.
The announcer then let out a laugh,” That was a mighty good throw, but it seems that the Charging Bulls were unable to put a dent in their tower. We shall see our next competitor's fare.”
The couple's team, "Sunset Love," then came to take their place, followed by light applause from the stands.
“Here comes Sunset Love; let's see if they can fare better than our last competitors!”
The couple then took up their lassos and started to swing them in a spiral around their heads, but the two then suddenly ended up accidentally hogtying each other, and they were now on the ground, tied up around each other. It didn’t take long for the two started to make out and kissing each other. There were a lot of dawwws from the crowd, and the announcer exclaimed, “Well…uh, didn’t expect that. Hopefully, Team Ponyville can steal the show!”
Lucky and Applejack both went towards their tower, took their positions, picked up their lassos, latched their projectile barrels, and sent them flying through the air and colliding them against their tower, knocking over every barrel. They looked to see that the entire stack was gone, and they had a perfect score; the only thing left of their tower was shattered pieces of wood and iron. The two mares were stunned, with Lucky even being somewhat surprised at how well they did. Then the stands erupted with thunderous applause, with ponies cheering as the announcer exclaimed, “Another perfect record and another blue ribbon taken by Team Ponyville! The duo from Ponyville is destroying the competition today! I can’t wait to see what these two mares can pull off next!”
Lucky was throwing her hooves in the air and waving at the crowd with a smile, soaking up the praise. She turned to see Applejack being bashful but gently waving a hoof as well.
The group of rodeo ponies were then escorted to the area where they set up the barrel weaving contest. This looked rather similar to the previous track, but this course had barrels set up as if on a chessboard.
“Ok, folks! This is the last event for our team events! Barrel weaving! Our competitors will have to weave through each set of barrels to the finish line, but if they hit a barrel, there will be a ten-second penalty! If they fail to weave through a single pair of barrels, they will be disqualified. Let’s see how our teams do!”
The twin sisters, the “Dust Devil” twins who rushed out of their gate with the two, seemed determined not to mess up this time. But they were constantly knocking into each other, and by the end, the announcer exclaimed, “There were a few bumps, but it seems the Dust Devils got a solid two minutes and thirty seconds! Well done!”
Up next, the Bulls came forward and charged through the barrels, with the two ending up smashing a few with the announcer shouting, “It seems the Charging Bulls have destroyed some of the barrels and will be disqualified!”
The two stomped off, grumbling under their breaths, and team “Sunset Love” then came forward and out of the gate the couple ended up just giving each other a peck on the cheek as they crossed and weaved through the barrels they didn’t hit any, but they were taking their sweet time. As they crossed the finish line, the announcer proclaimed, “It looks like our love birds got a solid five minutes, not the greatest time, but it seems they’re abit distracted. Let’s see how Team Ponyville does.”
Meanwhile, Lucky and Applejack both came forward; they gave each other a nod then they readied themselves. When the announcer shouted, “Go!” they were able to run together as a perfect pair, dodging and weaving through the barrels seamlessly. It wasn’t long until the pair of earth ponies made it to the finish line once more, with the announcer shouting, “Once again, team Ponyville scores the win and a new Appleloosa record!”
The crowd went wild with cheers flooding out from the stands and shouting their names, “Applejack!” and “Lucky!” over and over; the mare’s eyes went wide. She was blown away by this praise, and it felt like everything he had wanted since when he was a colt. But turning to see The farm mare looking downtrodden, she turned to him and asked, “Before the hay stacking can we talk?”
“Sure!”
The two then went to a secluded spot near the carrol, and there Applejack said, “Look, Lucky, don’t you see whatever that pool’s magic is doing? Look at our competitors, for crying out loud!"
She pointed a hoof down to the other teams and saw how wounded they were.
Lucky looked over at the wounded ponies and winced, seeing how they had bandages all over them. She couldn't help but feel bad as their state reminded her of when she was still Trouble Shoes and couldn't help but see that maybe her old bad luck might be rubbing off onto them and said, "I know what you're sayin', but we've gotten this far already; can't we just finish the rodeo?"
“Look, I know you want to win, but this has gotten too far, and I think it’s about time maybe we quit…”
Lucky couldn’t help but scoff, “Are you going back on your word? You said you would stick with me until after the rodeo.”
“I’m not. I don't want to, but we're cheating.”
Lucky pointed to the other competitors and snapped, “Their injuries have nothing to do with me.”
Applejack started to get frustrated and shouted, “It has everything to do with you! This isn’t about anyone but you! You're putting your own wants in front of everyone, including me!”
Lucky paused, seeing that Applejack may have a point, but she wanted to finish the hay stacking challenge, then said, “c…can we at least finish the rodeo? Then, after we're done, we'll talk more about this.”
“And you’ll at least consider what I've been saying?"
Lucky let out a sigh. She was still having mixed feelings about what Applejack was saying and said, “Look, I’ll think about what you said. For now, let’s just finish the hay-stacking competition.”
"Alright then, let's do some haystackin," Applejack replied as she and her friend headed to the giant haystacks. They went and started to create their hay tower, and they started to continue to stack them on top of each other. The pair had a strong start with the crowds as they continued to cheer them on as the tower went higher and higher, with the pyramid of hay now coming to a single stack with the top waving with a strong breeze threatening to fall. But Lucky and Applejack continued to grow the stack, with each new bale of hay breaking their original record and going even further than the measuring stick.
“Unbelievable! This has to be the greatest haystack I’ve ever seen!”
Lucky was nearly exhausted, with sweat dripping from her brow. She looked down to face Applejack, who looked even worse than her. “Hey, it’s tall enough; let’s get back down. We both could use a break.”
Applejack gave a tired nod as she looked exhausted; then she suddenly fell from the top, and the crowd gasped in shock. Everypony watched as the mare fell towards the ground below. Without thinking, Lucky dove towards her, grasping her and dragging a hoof through a bale of hay, yelping in pain as the full weight of Applejack onto one hoof. She was breathing heavily and grunting as she hoisted Applejack over her shoulders and then slowly climbed down from the tower. When she reached the base of the tower, she was heaving with long, deep breaths but could see the crowds cheering and chanting her name as the announcer continued, “Not only has Team Ponyville broken nearly every record and won every team event, but Lucky just saved Applejack's life! Fillies and Gentelcolts, this has to be the greatest rodeo duo I’ve ever seen!”
A massive gold trophy was then given to Lucky, who hoisted it up into the air as another round of applause, and it was cathartic and overwhelming. This was something she had only ever dreamed of, and she waved a hoof at the crowd, taking in the praise. It didn't take long for Applejack to get up and follow suit, waving a hoof as well, as she helped keep the trophy as high up as she could to make sure everypony in the stands could see. They stayed like that until the chanting and applause died off. Then the two heard their stomachs growling, and they began to trot off to the town's local saloon, the "Salt Block," for a well-deserved lunch.
Later that day, the two were at “Salt Block,” a rustic bar filled with a bunch of local Appleloosans. Lucky and Applejack were sitting in a booth with the two, scarfing down dandelion sandwiches while drinking down massive mugs of cold apple cider and sharing a block of salt. Applejack was still looking worse than herself, with eyes drooping and overall fatigue and slightly drunk. She must’ve licked half the block of salt and drank down two full pints of Apple Cider with their massive gold trophy towering over them covered with blue ribbon. Despite her state, Applejack was swinging her mug of cider about and chanting, “We won! Ponyville won! Wait until the big rodeo in Canterlot! We’re gonna get a hundred blue ribbons!”
Lucky could see some of the other patrons and the bartender eyeing them and whispered, “Hey, calm down, we don’t want to be kicked out.”
Applejack took another swig from her drink, then threw a hoof and cried, “Nah, they won’t kick us out, not as long as you're around!”
“I don’t think my luck powers will save us from ponies getting pissed at us.”
“Of course, they will. You saved my life, after all. If they can do that, they can do anything.”
Lucky leaned back in her chair, eyeing her friend as she asked, “So…you like them now? I thought you hated them.”
Applejack lowered her head with her hat covering her face as she whispered, “I was wrong.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I…I wouldn’t be here without you, and I just gotta say I was wrong for trying to make you become something you hate. Maybe I have issues with your luck powers, but that doesn't excuse how I acted last night.” She then looked over at the trophy and said, “But this was the first time I've ever won this many blue ribbons…heck, the first time I've ever won a blue ribbon at any rodeo."
“Soooo, you're taking back what you said last night?”
Applejack licked the salt brick a few times, took another swig of her cider, then said, “Well, like I said before, I still have my misgivings bout your luck powers, but yeah, I take back what I said.”
“And we’re still friends even if I decide I'll stay this way?”
“Yeah…you can even stay with me at Sweet Apple Acres if ya like?"
Lucky eyed, Applejack, still not completely buying what she said, then asked, “Is this the salt and cider talking? Why would you suddenly change your mind?”
“Because I just told ya you saved my life.”
“Yeah, and?”
“And I saw how winning made ya happy, and I don't think it'll be right taking that away from ya," She then looked up at Lucky and got rather serious as she said, “But you gotta promise me you will look into this life-swapping pond some more with Twilight. I still think we caused trouble for those other teams; it ain’t right.”
“Of course!? I can do that…look; I get you're worried that we cheated. I saw that the other teams were performing horribly as well,” Lucky looked back at her cutie mark again and said, “Maybe you have a point that this goes beyond just having good luck…if my old bad luck is rubbing off on other ponies I'll try to find a way to stop it.”
“You will?”
Lucky looked up and stared at Applejack and said, “I promise when we go back to Ponyville, I'll tell Twilight the truth about me and look into what’s going on.”
The orange-coated earth pony staring back smiled with a nod, then said, “And uh, maybe this is the salt and cider talking, but um…ya know…last time we kissed, it was super awkward, and maybe it was your luck powers making me feel giddy…but you wana try again?”
Lucky leaned in and kissed her on the lips, then asked, “How was that?”
Applejack was speechless, but then a smirk grew on her face as she said, “That's the best you can do?”
The orange-coated mare leaned in, and they started to make out a little. Then they both got up, leaving the bar carrying the trophy between their back. Once they were out on the dusty roads of Appleloosa, they found the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Braeburn outside waiting for them. They all started to congratulate the victors and led them back to Braebrun’s house to throw a massive celebration!
A few days after the rodeo, Lucky looked rather nervous as she trotted alongside Applejack to Twilight's castle; she asked, "So…you think Twilight can figure out what happened to me?"
"Yeah, if anypony can help us, it'll be her."
They continued to the door, gave a few knocks, and waited until Twilight opened and squealed, "Applejack! Lucky I've been waiting for you!"
She hugged the two, then led the mares into her castle and said, "So what brings you two here!? Pinkie's coming home party isn't until tomorrow?"
"Oh, we need you to help us with something; we uh came to tell ya something.":
"Yes, what's that?"
The brown-coated mare shivered as she explained, "Well, the short story, I was once a stallion named Trouble Shoes, and I was turned into a mare with a magical Mirror Pool."
Twilight just blinked and then cried, "Uh…what!? Who!? How!?"
Applejack assisted Twilight to a chair. Lucky sat down and revealed everything to her, starting with her life as Trouble Shoes, finding the map, and discovering the Reversal Pool. After Lucky told her tale, Twilight couldn't help but check the brown-coated mare over, being astounded by what she saw: "Wow, you're actually a mare!? I've heard of magic that can swap the gender of ponies but never would I imagine seeing it myself."
Lucky cheeks were a burning red being exposed in such a manner; at this point, she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to stay a mare, but she was indeed no longer distraught about the gender change and explained, "It's not the gender that bothers me as Applejack explained. I like my new life, but there's some weird curse where my old bad luck is rubbing off on ponies, and I want that gone."
Twilight was writing down notes in a notebook and nodded as she reviewed everything Lucky had told her. "So you want to stay a mare with your new cutie mark but without the curse? That is quite a conundrum. So can you explain how this pool works again?"
Lucky sighed, seeming to be exhausted from telling her story, and continued, "Well, it's a magical pool that reverses everything about you, from your cutie mark and gender. I also think I sort of had a personality change. I'm not usually this talkative since turning into a mare."
Twilight jotted some things down in a notebook as she nodded, then said, "I see…well, it sounds a bit like the magical waters that made me and my friends went a bit nuts."
"Ya kiddin' me right!? A bit nuts!? We were downright evil!" Applejack exclaimed as she got somewhat scared and shouted, "Oh, Buck! You don't think Lucky is turning evil!?"
Twilight thought about the possibility for a second but then shook her head and said, "No, doesn't seem so… this bad luck, you say? Is it noticeable?"
Applejack and Lucky gave each other worried looks, and the brown-coated mare replied, "Throughout the rodeo, our other competitors constantly messed up to the point they looked like amateurs. It happened too often just to be mere coincidence."
"I see; well, there's only one way to prove this theory. We will need to do an experiment."
Applejack and Lucky both cried out in unison. "Experiment!?"
Twilight looked over her notes again, then replied again, "Yes, an experiment. If what you say is true, maybe it's like this old magical artifact I read about known as the monkey's paw.'
"What's that?"
Twilight took a chalkboard, drew a severed paw, and explained, "Well, legends say the monkey's paw will grant the user three wishes. The wishes will be granted, but there is always a catch. If you wished for more bits, you'd get them, but somepony you love could get hurt in exchange for those bits. You see what I mean?"
Lucky nodded along and said, "Ok? So what you're saying is the only way to remove this curse is to change back? Or am I just stuck giving bad luck to ponies?
"Well, not exactly sure if we can learn the properties of the pool, then maybe we can learn of a way to keep your new life without this curse." Twilight's cheeks flushed red, and continued, "I will have to conduct the experiment myself."
"What kind of experiment?" Applejack said, "You're not planning to take a dip into the mirror pool yourself, right?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, being a bit annoyed by Applejack's overprotective nature, then said, "Well, yes, of course, I need to see if I'll have a similar curse as Lucky here or end up with something else entirely." The violet-coated alicorn turned to face Lucky and said, "Now, you remember the way to the pool?"
"Yes, I still have the map."
She then pulled out the map from under her hat; it was crinkled and torn but overall still readable. Twilight took the map and held it close to her chest, and squealed. "this is wonderful! We should go right away. I'm curious about this mirror pool."
Applejack looked unsure, but Lucky gave her a reassuring smile and then turned to Twilight. "Well, if you insist, I'll lead you to it; follow me."
It didn't take long for the group of mares to end up at the pool again, looking like a pool of liquid metal. Twilight then came over with the other to the pool's edge, looking at her reflection. "This looks really familiar."
Applejack eyed her friend and asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Twilight shook her head and explained, Well, no, but I'm not going to let my friends or Spike do this seeing we don't know what can happen."
She then closed her eyes and cried, "Wish me luck!"
Lucky cheeks flushed pink, and exclaimed, "I grant you luck!"
This got a burst of laughter from the group when Twilight jumped into the silvery liquid. Applejack and Lucky watched in anticipation. The mare in question kicked and whined as she felt her body morphing, becoming bigger and feeling as if she was drowning at the same time. She then started to climb out of the pool heaving and feeling her massive body. Twilight came out of the pool but not as a mare. What stood before them was no longer a small bookish mare but a stocky muscle-bound stallion with her new cutie mark as a sword glowing radiance.
Twilight then trotted over to a nearby pond, bent her head over, looked at her reflection, saw her short cut mane and squared jaw, and replied in a deeper voice. "Woah!? I do look a lot like my brother."
The former mare lit her horn, lifted a rusty sword with her mouth, and swung it about, cutting down a few trees. Twilight lifted a rock with a hoof and threw it clear over a small pond seeing it skip a dozen times across the surface. She then picked up a rusty sword and used it to chop down a tree in half and let out a whistle." Dang, didn't expect that!"
Applejack scratched her head and commented, "So you're like Shining Armor 2.0?"
Twilight couldn't help but snicker, "Yeah, basically, but what's my curse?"
The mare then tried levitating her flask to drink and winced in pain as she rubbed her horn in pain. Twilight then used her hoof to gulp down water from her flask.
The orange-coated earth pony ran over and asked, "Twilight are you ok?"
Still feeling pain in her forehead nodded, then admitted, "Yeah, I'm fine; it just hurts to use magic."
The violet alicorn then blinked, realizing her curse, and exclaimed, "I think that's my curse. I'm super strong, but it hurts to use my magic!"
Applejack eyed her friend and asked, "But is that just you being the opposite of your old self?"
Twilight wasn't sure she would have to live in this body to see if Applejack's hypothesis was confirmed. "Maybe, I'll stay like this for a day or two. But I think we nailed it on the head."
The farm mare was still concerned and said, "Ok, but if you wana change back, let us know, ok?"
"I'll be fine, promise." Twilight then got up, and the two mares trotted out of the Everfree Forest together with their muscle-bound stallion in tow.
Two days go by as Lucky, and Applejack trotted back to Twilight's castle, both being nervous about what to expect, only to find the former mare outside using a shiny new sword cutting down ponies made of hay. The violet alicorn looked over and waved a hoof, "Hey, what's up!?"
Lucky was amazed at the athleticism Twilight was able to pull off and exclaimed, "Wow, you're really good!?"
"I think my brother is better at this stuff than me. I just had to get some energy out." The mare then sheathed the sword and took a swig of water with her magic, wincing as she put her water skin down.
Looking rather nervously, Lucky asked, "So what's your conclusion?"
The violet stallion looked over her notes and said, "I think you might be right. I've noticed my magical ability is no better than a foal's. I can barely levitate small objects, and even trying to use my magic hurts, which mostly causes it to fizzle."
"So the curse is different for everypony who uses the pool?"
Twilight closed her notebook as she proclaimed, "That's my theory as of now unless you think we could use a third variable?"
The orange-coated earth pony shook her head and said, "I think we seen eno-"
"Oh, let me try!"
Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie bounded over, looking rather excited. "I would love to see myself as a stallion! It sounds exciting!"
She bounced to Lucky and squealed, "Oh, and congratulations on winning the rodeo. I loooved hearing how you saved Applejack, so I'm going to throw a super awesome party for you again!"
Lucky looked somewhat nervous and stammered, "Why, thanks, Pinkie, but um…did you overhear everything?"
Pinkie blushed and said, "Um...I always knew you were a stallion. I get a weird twitch in my tail when I know somepony changed their gender. It doesn't happen often; I also assumed you were giving other ponies bad luck seeing what happened to Rainbow Dash. But seeing you're just trying to be yourself if I can help see if we can reverse your bad luck disease, then Pinkie's here to help!"
She then bounced over to Twilight and placed a hoof to herself, "I, Pinkie Pie, am willing to be your guinea pig for the day! Especially if you have any food pellets!"
Twilight saw how excited Pinkie was but wanted to temper her expectations. "But Pinkie, you won't just be a stallion; you'll be different. I can't even cast the simplest of spells. You might be unable to set up parties or be stuck up like Blueblood."
Pinkie stopped bouncing, plopped onto her rump, tapped a hoof to her chin, and pondered aloud, "Oh, right? If I'm the opposite of myself, I think I might be like my sister Lime Pie," The pink earth pony shivered at the thought and then said, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
Lucky shook her head and asked, "But Twilight still has her personality; she still loves to read, right?"
Twilight slowly nodded, seeing what Lucky was implying, then said, "Yeah, you're right. I love to read, and overall I don't feel different other than the fact I'm a stallion."
Lucky flashed a smile of agreement and said, "It's just the gender swap may change some things about you, but it doesn't change who you are on the inside."
"Ok! Well, I might as well try it! And I can always change back to normal, right!?"
Twilight turned to the brown-coated mare with a sheepish look seeing she didn't know how to answer Pinkie Pie's question. Lucky simply shrugged and said, "I…I assume you just jumped back into the pool to reverse the changes."
"Well, we can go and see what happens. Besides, I'm ready to turn back into a mare."
"Alright, enough talking let's get going!" Pinkie Pie squealed; she then led the mares into the Everfree Forest as they went to find the mysterious Mirror Pool.
The group of mares were now once again back at the Mirror Pool. Twilight closed her eyes, jumped into the silvery water, and cried as her body morphed back to a mare, and as she crawled out of the pool, Applejack and Lucky both sighed in relief, seeing that the pool turned their friend back to normal. Twilight was still nervous and slowly levitated a rock nearby, then let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank Celestia, everything's back to normal."
"Ok, it's my turn!" Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and cannonballed into the pool. As the metallic liquid rippled, everypony waited patiently then they watched as a handsome-looking stallion trotted out of the pool. Pinkie Pie still had her pink coat and bubble gum pink colored mane, but it was now combed over, with her tail looking similar; she now had a gleam in her eye, and her cutie mark was changed to a bouquet of flowers.
Lucky came over and asked, "So…do you feel different?"
The former party pony shrugged and said, "Not really, but instead of parties, I'm thinking of many wedding ideas. I heard Matilda and Cranky are getting married soon. I should plan their wedding!"
Instead of bouncing, the stallion skipped about with an air of grace while sipping tea as she chimed, "I think we should go for a simple wedding. Cranky hates surprises and would prefer a small-scale wedding. Also, I think we should have them decide on a wedding cake stat!"
The rest of the ponies ran after her as Twilight asked, "That's good and all, but we don't need you to plan Cranky's wedding; we're here to see how the Mirror Pool is affecting you."
Pinkie Pie slammed a hoof to her face and scoffed, "Of course, how silly of me!" She tapped a hoof to her chin, then an idea popped into her head, and she then pulled out her party cannon, with the barrel of the cannon now a pristine white with wheels made of gold. "Let's see what this shoots out!?"
Before anypony could object, Pinkie lit the end of the wick, and it exploded, sending out bouquets of flowers and doves flapping across the trees.
Twilight was astounded as she went and wrote down some more notes and said, "ok, it seems you're more of a wedding planner now, but what's your curse?"
Pinkie Pie paused as she sipped her tea, "Not sure?"
Lucky tapped a hoof to her chin, "well, Pinkie seems to be more refined; could that be her curse?"
"Nah, she may be sipping tea and stuff, but she's still acting like Pinkie," Applejack commented. She looked up to see the sun setting and added, "We should get going; it's gonna get dark soon."
The mares then slowly trotted through the forest as Pinkie Pie pranced delicately, sipping her tea; they then came across some mud. Lucky and the others just trotted through it without care, but Pinkie Pie gracefully pranced over it; she blinked and gasped, "Huh?"
She tried to splash her body, but a napkin came out of nowhere to block the liquid from touching her. Pinkie then ran over to the nearby pond and tried to jump in, but then a Swan Boat appeared out of nowhere, catching her from getting wet. The pink party pony then returned to land with a frown on her face and plopped onto her rump onto the ground as a pillow somehow appeared under her flank; she cried, "I think I know my curse! I…I can't get dirty!"
The rest of the mares giggled, and Lucky added, "Well, what doesn't sound too bad?"
Pinkie then burst into tears as she wailed, "It's awful!? That means I can't get cake batter all over me when I'm baking or get my face messy when eating strawberry jam-filled donuts!" she then placed her hooves over her face and cried, "Or pour flour over myself to calm down the Cake Twins! My life is ruined!" Pinkie Pie then continued to wail, and Applejack was the one who trotted over and snapped, "Calm down, you can just change back like how Twilight did."
The downtrodden stallion dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and stammered, "R…right…but if I can't get dirty, can I still use the pool!?"
Everypony gave each other nervous looks, unsure if Pinkie Pie's curse won't let her return to normal. They went back to the Mirror Pool, and Pinkie Pie didn't hesitate to jump in and came back out as the bubble mare they all knew. The pink party pony then jumped into a mud puddle and rubbed the muck over herself as she cried out with glee, "Yay! I can get dirty again! Thank Celestia!"
Everypony was somewhat stunned as Twilight was jotting down some notes as she was rather used to Pinkie's antics and said, "Ok…so based on our experiments, I can come to a firm conclusion that every individual receives a different curse when they become the opposite of themselves. But even with this knowledge, we are nowhere near our goal."
Lucky paused and said, "I actually learned of this place from a mysterious golden brown pegasus. She looked familiar. I think I saw her face in a book before?"
It didn't take long for Twilight to figure out what Lucky was talking about, and became surprised seeing that Lucky met a high-profile author/adventurer and exclaimed, "Wait, you met Da- I mean AK Yearling!?"
"Yeah, I think that's the author of those Daring Do books, right?"
The princess of friendship gave a few nods as Lucky seemed confused and asked, "So what about her?"
The violet alicorn paused and tapped a hoof to her chin, and said, "I know her, and you're right; if she's the one who gave you this map, she might be the one to help us learn about this pool."
"So that's our next stop; hopefully, she won't mind." Lucky sighed, seeming to be a bit worried about meeting the pegasus again.
The moon then was raised with the last of their daylight fading. Applejack added, "You think we can do all that tomorrow? We reeeally should be getting out of the Everfree Forest about now."
Some howls of some Timberwolves made everypony cry out in freight, and Twilight squeaked in freight then quickly said, "Right, let's convene on this tomorrow."
The mares then all ran off out of the Everfree Forest, heading back to Ponyville as fast as they could. Twilight was still happy with herself and somewhat intrigued by her opposite form and thought it would be fun to run a few more experiments with it. But she would taper her curiosity for now until they helped Lucky.
The following day, Lucky, Applejack, and Twilight traveled across Equestria towards AK Yearling's home, which was a lot of trekking through a forest. As the brown-coated mare was trotting through the dense foliage, she was somewhat surprised at how this author was so far removed from most of Equestria, seeing her home was in the middle of nowhere. She also still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the mysterious hooded mare she met at Rainbow Falls a few weeks ago was the author of one of the biggest book series in Equestria! That fact alone was making her feel even more uneasy. With her situation. Applejack must've noticed how nervous she was and trotted upright to her and asked, "Hey Lucky, are you doing good?"
The mare turned her head and then said, "Uh yeah! I'm just not sure how to approach her in my situation. What do I even say?"
Applejack scratched her mane as she replied, "Well, we have met her before."
"I assume so. Twilight mentioned that before…how did you all meet?"
"Uh…well…it was a bit of an odd story. We got caught up in finding AK Yearling because Rainbow Dash was worried about getting stuck on her next book. Then we got caught up in a crazy adventure stopping uh…"
The farm mare turned to Twilight and asked, "Hey, who was that evil cat again?"
"Oh, you're talking about Ahuizotl?"
"Yeah, him, so we uh stop him from takin' some doohickey."
"It wasn't a doohickey; it was the ring that Caballeron was trying to complete the dark tower and use to hold on to Tenochtitlan!"
Applejack stared blankly after Twilight finished, then said, "Uh yeah, OK? Then we uh stop the Azhusomthin' or other then I guess Rainbow Dash and Daring Do became friends."
Lucky giggled and said, "Well, I didn't catch all you said, but that sounded exciting!"
"Well, I mostly just ran around in the jungle. Rainbow Dash tried explaining all of this at one point. I guess I'm saying that AK Yearling is Daring Do."
Lucky gave her a blank look as she knew about the series but knew next to nothing about the character and said, "Um… OK? Can you explain the Daring Do series again?"
Applejack laughed then said, "Rainbow Dash would do a better job explaining….uh, Twilight, can you?"
"Oh sure, Daring Do is an explorer who goes on adventures as she discovers ancient cities and keeps ancient magical artifacts from others who would use them for evil, mostly from her nemesis Ahuizotl."
Lucky nodded along, still somewhat confused by everything Twilight said as they came to a clearing. Lucky spotted a simple-looking house, which was astonishing considering how famous AK Yearling was as they approached the home of AK Yearling. Twilight slowly trotted up the stairs and then knocked on the door. The group waited patiently until a golden brown coated pegasus mare, with a shaggy, unkempt gray and black striped mane and gold eyes, opened the door and peeked out, eyeing the ponies. Upon seeing the group, AK Yearling went wide-eyed and exclaimed, "Princess Twilight!? What are you doing here?"
The alicorn got rather flustered as she said, "I apologize for the intrusion, Da- I mean AL Yearling. But I came by with somepony you've met before?"
The pegasus squinted then gasped upon recognizing the brown-coated mare; her eyes went wide, and she exclaimed, "Wait, are you Trouble Shoes!?"
The mare was surprised the author recognized her and cried, "I go by Lucky now!"
The adventurer flew a little and chirped, "By the glory of Faust! The reflection pool actually worked?!"
She then opened the door wider and ushered them through, "Come on in! I'll brew us some coffee, and we can discuss things!"
"Oh… OK!" Lucky cried as she was pushed into the author's kitchen, which was quaint with simple tables and chairs. Knowing how popular the series was, seeing her living so humbly was a relief. Daring flew over and gave them a mug of coffee and a plate of donuts in the middle of the table. She then said, "OK, I'm sorry about earlier, but you have no idea how long I wanted to see if that pool worked as it goes into a theory of mine."
Twilight got rather excited and squeaked, "Oh, a theory!? What kind of theory!?"
Daring looked around, then said, "Many ponies would say I'm crazy, but I think there are other dimensions."
"Oh, we know." Twilight and Applejack both replied in unison.
"You do!?"
Twilight nodded, then said, "Yeah, I uh had to go to this place known as the human world; it was an interesting experience, to say the least."
"Well, I'm not talking about a world that's uh alien from ours. But similar ones, but there are variances. In fact, there are thousands, even millions, of different universes precisely to ours. Still, there are differences from what we know. This mirror pool is a link to those other universes.
The mare paused, realizing how Daring Do admitted to using her, and grumbled, "So I was a guinea pig?"
The adventurer got a little flustered as she scratched the back of her mane, then said, "Well…yeah… I'm sorry, I only heard of the rumors about the mirror pool and had that map for so long with no real way of testing it…I was always too scared to do it myself, and seeing how desperate you were, I thought using it could help you."
"Yes, but I think you should have been upfront about that from the beginning."
"Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any harm."
Lucky still looked worried as she bent her head and explained, "I understand, but we learned of an issue with this pool."
Daring Do scratched her chin, then nodded, "I think I know where you're going with this; why don't we start from the beginning? Tell me everything that's happened since you first went in."
So Lucky started talking and explaining her situation, starting with her transformation, then talking about how she was friends with Applejack, going to the rodeo in Appleloosa and the other contestants, screwing up. AK Yearling went wide-eyed and said, "Yes, I think I've heard of the curse you describe."
She then took out some old scrolls and some notes, placed them down, and said, "The reflection pool does not only change your destiny to the opposite of your previous one. But it's a reflection of a version of yourself in another universe. Your cutie mark becomes the opposite of your current one because your gender was also swapped." Daring took a drink and said, "But the catch is the pool gives you a curse in return as it's trying to test you."
"Testing me?"
Daring looked up and said, "Yes, the pool is magical, and it seems to be trying to test what you desire and if you want to remain the same for you. To break the curse, there are two ways: one revert back to your original self, or you must drink from it."
"Drink it!?"
The pegasus checked over some dusty tome and said, "Yes, drink it! Once drunk, the pool will send you to face your old self, and once you do, you will return to how you were before you changed yourself. But once this is done, you cannot return to how you were before, and the pool's waters will no longer affect you."
AK Yearling closed the book and turned to face her. "If you take on this trial, there's one thing you need to understand: whatever happens, the effects of the pool will be permanent."
There was now a tension in the air that seemed to permeate the atmosphere. Lucky was feeling abit out of place with all the attention on her.
"I…I need time to think before I commit to anything."
"OK, Lucky, take your time; whatever the case is, I think you'll make the right decision."
The three ponies rose and walked out of AK Yearling's home, with Applejack trotting up to Lucky and asking, "You wanna talk about this?"
"Not right now. I need a few days to think it over…" Lucky mumbled with her eyes drooping and looking downtrodden, uncertain about what she would decide to do.
A few days go by, and Lucky isn't in the best mood; she helps the Apples with chores, milking cows, bucking apples, and bathing their pigs. Still, she is always in a downtrodden state and not being very talkative. Eventually, Lucky was back in Applejack's room late one evening with the two mares sitting across a table with a cup of the liquid metallic substance between them. The dark brown Clydesdale looked concerned as the farm mare looked even more concerned. But there was silence as it was clear Applejack didn't know what to say.
Lucky felt bad as the mare felt like she was putting a lot of pressure on her friend and said, "Applejack, at this point, I'm going to drink this and stay as I am. But regardless of what happens…I have to ask…do you like me?"
Applejack's cheeks flushed pink as her eyes shifted about as she answered. "Well, I would be lying if I said no…and honestly, I was always more interested in mares and stallions."
Lucky was surprised by the response and asked, "Really?"
The orange-coated mare nodded, then said, "Yes, really, but regardless, I think I can be your friend and maybe more…even if ya do change back to Trouble Shoes."
Lucky felt unconvinced as she shifted her head downward and said, "But if I turn back into Trouble Shoes, you might not see me how you do now."
Applejack then took her hooves and forced her to look right at her, then said, "If you turn back, stay the same, switch genders, change your cutie mark, it doesn't change who you are. I hope you can figure that out and come back safe and sound."
Lucky flashed her friend a smile, seeing how genuine she was, and kissed her on the cheek. "Wish me luck."
"Like you're gonna need it."
Lucky chuckled, then she took the cup, drank down the substance, and blinked, seeing it taste like nothing. She gasped upon seeing her body shimmering and suddenly melted through the ground. She began to freak out, crying out for help and staring at Applejack, who ran and tried to grasp her. Still, the mare's hooves were going through her body as if she were a ghost. Then she continued to fall into the pool of silvery liquid until all she saw was a metallic liquid surrounding her entire body.
Lucky blinked and was now looking around a dark void except for a screen of silver in front of her. She trotted towards it, staring at the liquid metallic surface that rippled and weaved all around her, giving off a hypnotic feel to it as the landscape of silver seemed to never end. Then she noticed an image forming and was surprised to see a big, stocky Clydesdale standing in front of her. The stallion blinked, then cried out in shock, slipping on the surface of the mirror pool and sliding right onto his flank, looking confused, and asked, "Who in the heck are you!?"
The mare was still in shock seeing her former stocky stallion before her. Then she pointed a hoof at herself and said. "My name is Lucky, what's yours?"
The stallion quickly stood on all fours and replied, "Oh, uh, I'm Trouble Shoes."
Despite the fall, Lucky was surprised to see how content this stallion was and wondered if the mirror showed her former self as a test. But the question was how was she going to pass it? She cleared her throat and said, "You seem happy?"
"Yes, I am."
"Is it because you're me and happy that I'm lucky now?"
The massive Clydesdale scratched the back of his mane and explained, "Actually, I am not you; I think you're a different me."
"How so?"
The stallion shrugged, then said, "Heck, do I know? How did you end up as a mare?"
"Well, long story short, I looked and behaved a lot like you, being extremely clumsy and always causing a racket at the Rodeo held yearly at Appleloosa. But then I discovered a mirror pool that changed me from how you are to how you see me now. But I ended up with a curse that gave my old bad luck to others, and I want to stop that from happening."
The Clydesdale let out a whinny and started to clop about in glee but then squeaked as he slipped on the floor again, then quickly got back up and said, "That actually explains a lot. I think you're the one who changed me?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, uh, long story short, I was in the middle of a rodeo winning the hurdle race. Then, out of nowhere, I was turned into a massive stallion and ended up tripping over every hurdle and landed in a pig pen. Next thing I knew, instead of being a talented rodeo star, I was breaking everything and making a fool of myself."
Lucky looked downward with a regretful expression, seeing if Trouble Shoes was right about his hunch she hurt him as well. She then mumbled, "Sounds like you also got my old back luck too. I'm sorry for all the trouble."
She then peered up to see that the stallion was still smiling as he explained, "Well, actually, I should be thanking you."
"Really? What for?"
"Well, you see, but being like this, I learned a lot about myself and realized that my enjoyment from going to the rodeo wasn't for myself but for making others happy. Reason why I became a rodeo clown."
"That sounds great…but what about being clumsy all the time? Isn't that unbearable?"
Trouble Shoes laughed heartily and continued, "Trust me, I understand where you're coming from, but I've made it work and made many new friends. Friends who I would never know if it weren't for my new cutie mark."
Lucky was astounded that she saw her old self smiling and seeming to be truly satisfied with his life. She replied, "So you're pleased? You're not just faking it?"
"Yes, I love being a rodeo clown."
"And being content with my life is what you're after? That's the test, right?"
Trouble Shoes shook his head and said, "You still think I'm a reflection of you?"
The mare eyed her other self, still unsure if this was a test, and asked, "So you're saying that you're a different me from another dimension? You're not some construct of this mirror to see if I deserve this new life?"
The Clydesdale laughed, then said, "If this is some test, I guess I'm here to show you that even though you think your old life was terrible and hate it, you have to be careful what you wish for. Suppose you continue thinking that becoming a rodeo star will make you happy for yourself. In that case, you're gonna be walking a lonely road. All I ever did was win, but every time I got a new trophy, it just left me more hollow inside. I didn't even know why I was always winning and squandered my gift. But I learned that it ain't the cutie mark that's the problem, but how you look at it."
Lucky was taken aback and remembered everything Applejack was telling her and now felt awful for focusing only on winning and not. Caring about the other contestants or not considering her friend's worries. The mare then looked back up at the Clydesdale and asked, "So, why did you want to change your life?
This time, Troubleshoes looked downtrodden and let out a sigh before explaining, "Well, the truth is I showed up drunk one at the same rodeo and ended up making a fool of myself way before I ended up a stallion. But after my transformation, I felt so ashamed I went and hid in my trailer for days. Then, a group of foals came by and showed me that I can be funny being clumsy. The next thing I knew, I was looking for a way to be a rodeo clown, as I always enjoyed watchin' them perform. After some shenanigans, I started to enjoy my new body and my new cutie mark more than I ever did as my old self. To be honest, I think we're the same; the cutie mark doesn't reflect what you are. Who you are is what makes the cutie mark; that's why the Crusaders taught me they some smart fillies, that's for sure."
"But I also got Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders as good friends. I don't think I'll end up. Like how you describe your old life."
"I don't think you will, but I am trying to make you understand that the decision to change yourself shouldn't be about just running away from your problems."
The mare gasped as she realized that Trouble Shoes spoke the truth, and Applejack was trying to teach her this, making her feel worse about how she was acting. Then, he said, "Yes, I understand. I want to live to help ponies and be a rodeo star to inspire little colts and fillies like the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Maybe you're content being a rodeo clown, and that's fine. I'm happy that you found yourself, but I want this not just for myself but to help other ponies."
"And you want to stay as a mare?"
This gave Lucky pause as she thought about her gender swap; it started to grow on her, and she was starting to feel more comfortable as a mare, but that decision was still not something she was ready to say with certainty. She said, "Well, I'm still unsure. Can I still be a stallion and keep my new cutie mark?"
Trouble Shoes shrugged and replied, "I reckon there's a way to keep the cutie mark and your original gender. But heck do I know, I think I like being a stallion myself and will stay this way."
"Wait, you were a mare before!?"
Trouble Shoes looked rather sheepish as he responded, "Yes, I've mentioned it already; in fact, I looked like you…maybe…"
The two looked right into each other's eyes and said in unison. "Maybe the test was for both of us to meet, and we're not changing ourselves but swapping lives!?"
The Gender swapped ponies then burst out laughing, and the mare's cheeks flushed red, then asked, "How is this even possible?"
The stallion shrugged his shoulders and then said, "Beats me. I guess this is a way to ensure both parties consent to this…so what was your curse again?"
"Mine, oh, that was making everypony super unlucky around me…what was your curse?"
The stallion chuckled and said, "Not only was I clumsy, I constantly gave ponies better luck than me, and it made me feel more miserable at first. But I guess we also got a taste of what the other was feeling."
Lucky started to rub her hooves over each other with a shy smile as she asked, "And are you sure you want to stay this way? I would feel awful if the case was that you were just doing this to make me feel better. I'll change back if you want?"
Trouble Shoes held up a hoof. "No need to fret. I already talked it over with Applejack, and he's fine with how I am." He then gave a playful smirk and added, "In fact, I reckon he likes me like this more."
"Wait, your Applejack is a he?"
Trouble Shoes' eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "Yours isn't?"
The two burst out laughing again, then Trouble Shoes slipped suddenly slipped onto his bottom, and Lucky laughed even harder.
"Well, then, I think I know what I want! Thank you!" She then started to melt through the ground and saw the silvery substance rippling as it absorbed her. She turned to see Trouble Shoes in the same situation as he was melting into the ground; she waved a hoof and then asked, "I wish you luck, and say hi to your Cutie Mark Crusaders for me!"
"I will!" The mare chimed as she looked up at the stallion and watched as she disappeared beneath the metallic liquid once again.
Upon returning from the ground, she turned to see Applejack staring at her, looking scared out of her mind, and asked, "So, uh, you OK? You just melted into the ground!"
Lucky started to bounce up and down out of excitement and squealed, "Fine, I'm more than fine!"
The farm mare seemed used to this with Pinkie Pie and laughed, "OK, OK, take it easy." The mare stopped, then the farm mare asked, "Did it work?"
The brown-coated mare paused, seeing she wasn't sure if the curse was lifted or not, then said, "Let's have a race, and let's find out."
They then went outside and had a small race around the Orchard. As Lucky was running, she was still feeling as athletic as before. She drank her metallic liquid and could jump over rocks and dodge a low-hanging branch. Still, as she came around the last bend of the race, she saw Applejack already ahead and heaving, seeing that she lost…she lost! The mare squealed and was excited as she burst into a full sprint and tackled her friend, hugging her and squealing, "You see, I didn't give you bad luck! The curse is gone!"
"Congrats…but I guess that means you're stuck like this forever," Applejack responded and wheezed. "Can you put me down?"
"Sorry," she squeaked and placed her friend down, who brushed some dirt from her coat. "So now, what are you going to do?"
Lucky was just bouncing up and down, squealing, "Who cares! I'm so happy and want to move to Ponyville and be a rodeo star with you! Then see what happens from there!"
Applejack laughed in delight and said, "Alright, well, I don't see the problem with that! You can stay with us until we find ya a home."
Lucky then bent her head worriedly, thinking about what Trouble Shoes said and stopping running from her problems. It made her realize that's what she's been doing since becoming Lucky Horseshoes, and there was much to answer for. Not just her coming clean and telling the citizens of Appleloosa that she caused the other contestants in the rodeo to mess up. But paying for all the other damages she caused as Trouble Shoes. She turned to her friend and said, "Before I do anything, I realized I learned I have to stop running away from my problems."
The orange-coated mare gave a nod and replied, "That's good to hear. Guess the mirror taught ya that?"
The female Clydesdale's heart was thumping in her chest as she didn't know how Applejack was going to take her plan but exclaimed, "I don't think you understand. I'm going back to Appleloosa and turning myself in."
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.
"Do we have to do this?" Lucky mumbled, being somewhat insecure as she approached the Ponyville Day spa alongside Rarity and Applejack. She has gone here before, but she still wasn't used to the idea of being pampered, and it's been a while since her last visit. As they approached the doorway, Lucky remained hesitant to go inside. The fashionista trotted alongside her must've noticed her being hesitant and said, "Come now as a new mare; I think it's about time we get you to express yourself fully."
Applejack nudged her as well, then insisted. "Come on now, don't be shy, even if I come here to get pampered occasionally. I promise I'll be with you every step of the way."
"Ok…" Lucky whispered as she nudged her mare friend back; having Applejack tag along helped ease her insecurities so she felt less anxious indulging in more feminine activities. The trio then went into the spa lobby, and it wasn't long until Aloe and Lotus came over, and both bowed. "Welcome, Rarity, Applejack…."
Lotus looked up, turned her attention to the brown-coated mare, and asked, "What was your name again?"
"It's Lucky."
"Right, Lucky, thank you."
Aloe turned to Rarity. "So, will we be doing your usual?"
"Yes, of course, and make sure to add Lucky as well."
"Alright, lucky for you three, we aren't that busy today; come, let's get started."
The three were then taken to benches in the back of the spa to start their pedicures. As the brown-coated mare was laid out on a table, she had her hooves grind as she kicked and squeaked out in shock as she felt pieces of old hoof being removed and scraped off. Her hooves were feeling rather sensitive and so good at the same time. A thick green face mask was then slowly applied to her face, and the heavy cream on it felt calm and cooling. She then had her mane all wrapped up in a towel. She was then settled down along with Rarity and Applejack, sitting beside her in a massive hot tub bubbling with two relaxing deep in the sweet-smelling bath. After relaxing for nearly an hour, Lucky let out a sigh of relief as she was neck deep in a hot tub with a green face mask over her face while enjoying a nice relaxing bath with her friend Rarity as she was enjoying a nice restful night before the big rodeo tomorrow. The fashionista then pulled a cucumber slice from her right eye to see her and asked, "So, are you enjoying being a mare?"
Lucky was now fully accepting herself as she laid her head back as her mane was steaming under a towel and sighed, "Oh, it's been amazing, and I can't wait for tomorrow."
Rarity swam over a little, getting close to her, and asked, "Well darling, I think that if you're going to stay as a mare, I've been meaning to ask, would you like me to make you a dress?"
Lucky's eyes went wide with surprise as the cucumber slices plopped into the water as she cried, "A d…dress!?"
"Yes, darling, we should definitely make you a dress!" Rarity chimed.
"Are you serious!?"
"Oh, I certainly am! Twilight is throwing a party after you and Applejack return from the Canterlot Rodeo!"
Lucky looked nervously at Applejack, wondering to herself if she'd confirm this wasn't too girly, but her mare friend nuzzled in on her left and asked, "Just go on, let her make you a dress."
"What if we both got all dressed up for the party tomorrow?"
The orange-coated earth pony nuzzled her mare friend and whispered in her ear, "Sounds like a swell idea. I am planning to wear my gala dress; after all, we'll both be the belles of the ball."
Lucky couldn't help but take the opportunity to kiss Applejack on the lips, then whispered, "I would like that."
The white-coated unicorn clapped her hooves together and chirped. "That sounds wonderful darlings! We shall go to my boutique once you're finished freshening up; I'll get your measurements and think of a design; then, by tomorrow evening, your dress will be ready."
"Yes, that does sound wonderful," Lucky whispered to herself as she laid back in the bath.
"That sounds like a great idea to me. Can't wait to see Lucky all prettied up."
"Guess you want to get your hooves and makeup done too!?"
Lucky imagined herself having makeup and thick eyeliner and becoming excited as she squealed, "That sounds wonderful!"
The mare then laid back and decided just to let go and relax, enjoying herself at the moment as she continued to soak in the bath salts around her body, feeling any stress she had melt away in the steamy bath water and letting herself truly embrace not caring what is masculine or feminine and imaging herself all dressed up like some fairy tale princess.
The following morning, Lucky was slowly waking up in Applejack's, all wrapped up in a pile of blankets and with her all snuggled up next to her side. The smell of apple cinnamon pancakes wafting from the kitchen downstairs which was making her mouth water. But she turned her attention back to her mare friend, who was still lying in bed looking so peaceful as ever, her blonde mane going over her face. The brown-coated earth pony wouldn't mind just laying back in bed and snuggling her new marefriend, but she knew they both had to get up to make their train. Lucky then nuzzled Applejack's mane and whispered, "It's time to wake up."
The orange-coated mare blinked and looked out the window; she threw a blanket over her face and yawned, "Hmmm, can't we just sleep in?"
Lucky bent down, kissed her, then whispered, "We can't have a rodeo to get to."
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." Applejack stretched her limbs and followed Lucky downstairs as they followed the scent of pancakes to the kitchen. They found Big Mac flipping pancakes within, and the stallion turned to them with a smile. "Morning!"
"Morning, Big Mac," Lucky yawned as she and Applejack trotted to their seats and sat down with a plate of pancakes for her and Lucky. They both greedily ate as much as possible, shoveling away as many pancakes as possible and drowning down their mugs of coffee. Apple Bloom trotted to Lucky as they enjoyed their meal and asked, "So you're gonna tell me about this other Trouble Shoes?"
The brown-coated earth pony paused and tapped a hoof to her chin. "Oh him, yes, he was quite funny; he reminded me of myself when I was a stallion."
"So, he was super clumsy and stuff?"
"Yes, he's a rodeo clown, and you helped him get his new cutie mark."
The little filly started to bounce up and down in excitement. "That sounds so cool! I bet once I get my cutie mark, I can also help other ponies get theirs!"
Lucky ruffled her mane with a smile. "That sounds wonderful. From the sounds of things, your other version of yourself doesn't sound much different from you."
"That's awesome! I think it'll be great to get the other cutie mark crusaders and go help other ponies find their cutie marks!"
Applejack hugged her sister and ruffled her mane as she insisted, "How about you focus on getting your cutie mark first,"
Apple Bloom fought her off, then looked at Lucky and asked, "What about Applejack? Was she any different from our alternate selves?"
Lucky's cheeks flushed red and scratched the back of her mane as she stammered, "Oh, uh? Well, crazy thing you're a stallion in this alternate universe."
The orange-coated mare's face turned red as Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom burst into laughter.
"Oh, ha-ha, I bet you two were gender swapped as well." Applejack snapped as she went back to her meal.
Lucky couldn't help but nudge her, and they began to get up from the table, then saw Granny trotting downstairs.
"Guess you two are gonna be competing against each other, huh?" the old mare asked as she came downstairs.
"Yes, granny, but just for this year," the orange-coated earth pony replied.
"Well, there's no way some Appleloosan is gonna take home any blue ribbon this year! Not with my Applejack competin'!"
The brown-coated mare smirked at Applejack, then said, "Not this year."
Applejack nudged her marefriend and replied with a smirk. "Well, it's not like you have your luck powers anymore, so don't count your chickens before they hatch."
Lucky nudged back and then replied with a smirk. "Oh, come on, we both know who is going to win."
"Oh yeah, and who would that be?"
Lucky kissed her marefriend on the nose, then chirped, "Me, of course!"
"You wish."
Big Mac, who was trotting by, just chuckled as Granny snapped, "Alright, save it for the bedroom!"
"Oh, shut it, Granny!" Applejack snapped.
The two mares then trotted off together through the front door and headed straight towards the train station, strutting together.
As they approached the train station, the mares were stunned by the number of ponies waiting to greet them. As the two continued to trot towards the train, the crowd started clopping on the ground and cheering as they approached. They went through the crowds of ponies waving back, then as they got onto the station itself, Twilight and the rest of her friends were all waiting for them to see them off.
"Good luck!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she bounced over and shot off her party cannon, covering the two in confetti.
Applejack laughed and hugged her friend, "Aww, thanks, Pinkie!"
Twilight trotted towards them, turned to Lucky, and asked, "So Lucky, are you feeling ok? Any side effects."
"No, I'm fine, Twilight, but thank you for asking."
Rarity winked, then said, "Oh, Lucky, just to let you know your dress is ready."
The brown-coated mare was somewhat surprised by this and exclaimed, "That's wonderful, thank you!"
The mare gave her a quick hug. "Good luck, darling; I'll see you after the rodeo."
Lucky returned the hug as the two went onto the train; the two mares were sitting next to each other. As the train chugged towards Canterlot, Applejack laid herself next to Lucky and tilted her hat over her face; as she started to fall asleep, Lucky laid her head next to her's, and with the rhythmic chugging of the train, she also fell asleep right alongside her marefriend and wishing she could compete with her.
The following afternoon, Lucky and Applejack arrived at the course, a massive stadium set up for dozens of different events with entire crowds of ponies sitting on the benches. The following afternoon, Lucky and Applejack arrived at the course, a massive stadium set up with with the areas surrounding an enormous patch of dirt which was set up for dozens of different events and with rows of benches surrounding the area with crowds of ponies who mainly were grabbing snacks, and chatting amongst each other with the anticipation of the rodeo growing. She and her marefriend went to the relatively long registration line. Two earth ponies spent nearly an hour making their way through the registration. They both gave each other a longing look as the farm mare registered herself under Ponyville, and Lucky went under Appleloosa.
She then turned to see Braeburn trotting towards her, and the mare was relieved to see he was no longer wearing a cast and seemed much more cheerful than when they last saw him. She continued to greet him. "Hey, Braeburn, it looks like your leg's all healed up."
The stallion gave a sheepish look as he lifted his left foreleg and said, "Yeah, it was a bit tough getting back into the swing of things, but I'm on the mend."
The brown-coated mare smirked and replied, "Well, hopefully, I won't have to carry us."
"Oh, don't you worry? I'm ready to take home as many blue ribbons as I possibly can."
Their conversation was cut short as an announcer shouted, "Fillies and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the annual Canterlot Rodeo! "Contestants! Please enter the track as we start our day's first team event, the hurdle race!"
The ponies all started to get to their places as they waited, and they watched as the other teams went out to the hurdles.
This time, as Lucky and Braeburn started their charge across the lane, they continued to run around together, doing reasonably well as they glided over the low-bearing fences and seemed to work well together. They eventually made it to the end of the track, and the two breathed heavily and looked somewhat out of breath.
"Fillies and gentlecolts! It seems that team Appleloosa just broke last year's world record by ten seconds with a grand total of forty seconds; well done!"
There was another round of applause as the next pair came to the starting position; Applejack and Caramel came together. Lucky winced a little seeing Caramel smacking a hoof against one of the fences, but they had a relatively good time.
"There was a small stumble, but team Ponyville made it at the end of the race with a solid fifty-five seconds; well done."
Lucky blushed, seeing she and Braeburn won the first race and that they were working together well as a team. But she saw the disappointed look on Applejack's face and knew she must feel horrible for messing up. Then they waited until the next event was being set up with another round of applause as the barrel lassoing contest, with the pyramids of barrels set up and ready. With piles of barrels about a hundred meters away with a few lassos hung up and ready for use.
"Now we come to the barrel tossing competition! The pairs of ponies will each have a chance to toss one barrel at their stack; the group that knocks the most down wins!"
Lucky got rather excited and followed Braeburn, and then the two started lassoing and throwing their barrels. Their luck didn't end up so well, with their barrels smashing into their pyramid, but it was less impactful than they were hoping, with only a few stumbling and smashing on the ground below.
"That was an excellent attempt from team Ponyville, taking about half of their barrels."
Despite their rather disappointing effort, there was thunderous applause from the crowds of ponies in the stands; they then went to the sidelines of the arena and watched other teams perform, with most of them doing worse than them, surprisingly making Lucky feel a bit better seeing she was doing well even without the curse following her anymore.
Applejack and Caramel then went towards their tower, took their positions, picked up their lassos, latched their projectile barrels, and sent them flying through the air and colliding them against their tower, knocking over every barrel. They looked to see that the entire stack was gone, and they had a perfect score; the only thing left of their tower was shattered pieces of wood and iron. The two were stunned, with Lucky even being somewhat surprised at how well they did. Then the stands erupted with thunderous applause, with ponies cheering as the announcer exclaimed, "Another perfect record broken and another blue ribbon taken by Team Ponyville!"
Another round of applause came from the crowd, and despite her not doing so well, she felt relieved seeing how happy Applejack looked receiving her first blue ribbon and wished her the best in the next event. It didn't take long until the announcer shouted once more.
"Ok, folks! This is the last event for our team events! Barrel weaving! Our competitors will have to weave through each set of barrels to the finish line, but as you know, if either member of the team hits a barrel, there will be a ten-second penalty to their overall time! They will be disqualified if they fail to weave through a single pair of barrels. Let's see how our teams do!"
Most of the competitors then went to the sidelines and watched the teams compete one at a time. Most did pretty well, with few ponies hitting the barrels. Braeburn was looking rather excited as he nudged Lucky. "Hey, we make a pretty good team. Wana compete for us next year.
Lucky shook her head. "no," and replied, "Sorry, you know Applejack and I are an item now. If it weren't for my obligation to Appleloosa, I would be competing with her."
Braeburn got rather sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Right, I apologize; that was a stupid question."
"It's fine; thank you for letting me stay at your home and believing in me.
"Well, knowing Applejack, she's pretty good at judging a pony's character…also to be honest, before you turned into a mare, I thought you were a menace myself."
"It's understandable, but you changed your mind…heck you're one of the few ponies who didn't want to go to war with the buffalo?"
"You're giving me too much credit; Twilight and her friends stopped the fighting."
"And who has been keeping the peace since they left?"
"Well…yeah, me, I guess."
Lucky nodded, "Exactly, don't be selling yourself short; you're a good pony."
"Thanks, Lucky. Well, even if you don't compete for Applelososa, I hope you return from time to time. You're always welcome to stay at my place."
"Of course, and vice versa, you should visit Sweet Apple Acres more."
Their conversation was cut short when the announcer shouted.
"That was a wonderful attempt from team Cloudesdale! Let's give the Cloud Busters a round of applause!"
There was another round of applause from the stands, and then the announcer continued, "Now the next team up is Team Ponyville! Let's see how they fare!"
Applejack and Caramel both came forward waving their hooves at the crowd; then, as they made their way to the finish line, they gave each other a nod and readied themselves. When the announcer shouted, "Go!" They dashed off with a trail of dust, but they were able to run together as the pair dodged and weaved through the barrels seamlessly. Lucky was biting her hoof, hoping Applejack wouldn't mess up like last time, but It wasn't long until the pair of earth ponies made it to the finish line once more, with the announcer shouting, "Once again, team Ponyville scored a near-perfect record of 30 seconds! Well done!"
The crowd roared with applause, which was even louder than it had been since the rodeo started.
"Now for our last team event for the day! Let's see how well team Appleloosa performs!"
Lucky and Braeburn both came forward, throwing their hooves in the air as they both flashed each other a smirk and then looked straight at the maze of barrels before them. When the announcer shouted, "Go!" They also burst off through the barrels, dodging and weaving almost flawlessly, and Lucky was feeling the exhilaration from their performance, being able to make it to the end of the course. Lucky was too out of breath and winded when they crossed the finish line. She turned to see Braeburn by her side, also looking out of breath as the announcer shouted, "Once again, team Appleloosa scored a time of 30 seconds! It seems that Team Appleloosa and Ponyville tied for first place; well done!"
The crowd went wild with clopping and cheering from the stands above, and then she turned to see Applejack running towards her, looking and shouting, "Seems like we tied."
"That we did; guess my luck's rubbed off on you."
"It's more than luck, sugarcube," Applejack whispered; she then leaned in and gave her marefriend a kiss on the lips, and they held it together in their embrace, enjoying the moment, not caring that the stallions nearby were watching or the crowd above or the announcer making commentary on the two. All that mattered at the moment was their love.
Later that evening, Lucky was in Rarity's boutique with the fashionista, busying herself over brushing her mane, applying makeup, and gossiping about a bunch of rich ponies wanting to sponsor her in the next rodeo. Meanwhile, the brown-coated mare was zoning out as she looked at her reflection sporting a beautiful silk emerald dress lined with gold thread, small earrings of shamrocks in each of her ears, her dark brown mane now all curled up in a cute corkscrew-like how Rarity did her hair. Lucky also couldn't help but admire the makeup with a light blush on her cheeks, thick black eyeliner around her eyes, and her lipstick, making her lips have a healthy shade of pink.
Lucky wasn't sure of feminine beauty standards, seeing as most mares that lived in Appleloosa were rather rustic in their clothes and looks, and asked out loud, "Do I really look beautiful!?"
Rarity suddenly got in front of her and squealed, "Darling, you look absolutely wonderful!" She then shoved her flank out the door and cried, "Now go out there and show the new you!"
With a confident smile, she strutted out with her mane flowing behind her and squeaking, feeling a bit wobbly with sparkly gold-heeled shoes on her hooves. She then trotted straight to Twilight's castle; upon arriving, she saw Applejack was the first to arrive at the party and waiting for Lucky, and then she saw her marefriend trotting towards her; the farm mare's eyes suddenly went wide. Feeling nervous about being all prettied up, she waved a hoof and stammered, "h…hello Applejack."
The mare's mouth dropped upon seeing her friend in such a getup, and seeming to be completely dumbstruck by her beauty. "Lucky you look uh…soum…."
"I…I know we like the rustic charm, but Rarity insisted I try something more feminine and couldn't help bu-"
Before she could finish, Applejack laid a kiss on her cheeks and said, "Sorry, I should've said you were pretty. Don't fret, how about it."
She twirled about in her rustic gold address with brown saddle; she looked beautiful with the dress amplifying the rustic charm that Lucky admired in her mare friend and said, "Yeah, you look so cute!"
"Awww shucks, now come on, let's go have some fun!" Applejack and Rarity basically dragged the still-hesitant Lucky through the doors of the castle. Upon entering the main hall, once again, all of Twilight's other friends celebrated together with cheerful music playing in the background, a banquet of food laid out of all kinds, and a massive punch bowl. But what was most astonishing was hanging over the entrance a banner with a green and orange patchwork pattern with gold lining reading: "Welcome back Lucky and Applejack!" in big, bold yellow letters. Lucky's heart leaped with joy as she was thrilled to see so many coming to see her compete and accept her for who she was.
"Hello, Lucky!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced over and threw her into a tight hug, making the Clydesdale squeak out. "Oh hey, Pinkie."
She then gave her a hoof bump, and the pink-coated earth pony threw a hoof and said, "So it's true, huh, you're staying a mare for good?"
Lucky gave a slow nod and an "Ey'yup."
Pinkie Pie wrapped her hooves around her new friend." That's awesome; I'm so happy for you!"
"Right, thank you," The brown-coated mare couldn't help but squeak with a blush on her face.
Pinkie Pie was suddenly levitated by magic as Twilight trotted over, "Alright, Pinkie, give our guests some space."
The violet alicorn then got rather flustered upon seeing Lucky and squeaked, "So uh…well uh, you do look great!"
Lucky, for some reason, got a bit dumbfounded upon seeing the princess and performed a curtsey as she replied, "Thank you, princess."
This got a laugh from everypony, and even Twilight giggled as she replied, "Please, there's no need for that! Just go and have fun."
She then flew off to talk to Rarity as she and Applejack went to the banquet table to the east; both earth ponies were starving after the day's events, and the two chowed down on pastries and hay burgers for some time that was until Fluttershy flew over and asked, "so…um... Lucky?"
"Yes Fluttershy?"
"I uh just wanted to say…well, you look really beautiful."
The Clydesdale once again got flustered once again but replied, "Thank you."
"Well, um, there's one other thing I've been meaning to do but been a bit too afraid to ask."
"Oh, and what's that?"
"I think it's better if I show you."
Fluttershy whispered, "All alright, you can come out now."
Then the Clydesdale spotted a rabbit crawling out from under the table as it hopped over to her, and then she realized it was the one she saved a few weeks ago and, with a smile, hugged it. "Hey, little guy, glad you're safe."
The bunny eyed her as Fluttershy whispered, "Well, um, I don't mean to be rude, but it's a girl."
"Oh, sorry!"
The little ball of fluff seemed to accept her apology by hopping onto Lucky's back and bouncing up and down on her back. The Clydesdale was rather surprised as she blinked, "Huh, didn't expect that?"
Fluttershy replied, "Well, she seems to have taken a liking to you and has been restless since the accident…I… I've been meaning to ask if it would be ok for you to take her as a pet, but you've been busy with other stuff recently…and now that the ro-"
"Stop, it's ok, I…I wouldn't mind having a pet."
The rabbit hopped up and down with excitement, and then Fluttershy asked, "What should you call her?"
"Hmmm, what about Spring? She's so jumpy!"
This got a good laugh from Applejack and a giggle from the pegasus.
"Spring it is, then I can give you tips on caring for her…"
"That would be great, thank you."
Then, as Fluttershy left, Lucky turned to her marefriend and asked, "Would it be ok if Spring hangs out on your farm?"
"Of course, it's ok, but I hope she's better behaved than Angel."
"Oh, who's that?"
"Flutetrshy's pet bunny; he's a bit of a jerk," the orange-coated mare then giggled as Spring bounced on her and snuggled into her mane. "Ok, I can already tell she's nothing like that jerk."
Lucky turned to face her marefriend and slowly moved in closer, "Well, we're finally alone; maybe we can um…."
Her train of thought was broken; she then turned her head and saw Rainbow Dash flying towards them with a confident look on her face as she asked. "So, how about we have another hoof race."
Lucky wouldn't mind having a rematch with Rainbow Dash, but she was still exhausted from the events at the rodeo earlier. She wanted to spend some time with Applejack, so she stammered, "I wouldn't mind, but I got all prettied up, and I don't want to ruin the dress Rarity made for me."
"Guess you're scared you're gonna lose this time."
Lucky's competitive nature then came out as she scoffed, "Oh, you're so on!"
"Darling, wait!" Rarity shouted, but Lucky was already throwing off her dress as the fashionista quickly levitated it aside. She then followed the rainbow-haired pegasus outside as it was night once again, with the star shining above and the moon shining brightly over the gemlike castle.
This time, the place was fairly lit, with globes of light surrounding the palace, and Twilight flew around the castle as she double-checked for any obstacles. When she returned, she turned her attention to the two and said, "Now it's time for round two; the rules are like before one lap around the castle."
The two then bent forward as they readied themselves.
"You'll go on the count of three."
“One…two…three…go!”
Just as Twilight shouted go, the two mares burst off around the castle; Lucky was starting to feel sore and weary from the day's prior events, and she knew at the start there was no way she was going to beat Rainbow Dash. Still, she pushed out whatever stamina she had left and pushed onward as they crossed the finish line with Rainbow Dash a few feet in front of her. As Lucky sprinted across the finish line, Rainbow eyed her. "Were you going easy on me?"
"Nope, luck powers are gone; you're really fast and were already tuckered out from the rodeo," Lucky wheezed as she had to take a moment to catch her breath.
Rainbow Dash then slammed a hoof into her face and shouted, "Buck! I'm stupid," She then let out a sigh, "All right, how about we do a redo later, huh?"
Lucky let out a chuckle and wheezed, "Sure, sounds like a good idea."
Twilight smiled, "Glad to hear; now, why don't we come inside! We have more partying to do!"
They all went back into the castle to continue the party through the rest of the evening.
Later that evening, Applejack and Lucky were alone in Applejack's bed as they lay next to each other. The two mares were just relaxing in each other's embrace as they were making out. The orange-coated earth pony pushed the dark brown mane from her marefriend's face and whispered, "You really are beautiful, fair, and humble…"
"Are you just saying that?"
"No, I'm not; you changed a lot since you came back from the reflection pool."
Lucky lowered her gaze as she did change a lot but felt guilty for her actions early on and said, "Well, I think that I realized that life is more than just about me."
"It wasn't all your fault; your life hasn't been easy, and I also was too harsh with my words."
"Yeah, but I needed a reality check, and you were there every step of the way." The Clydesdale then laid a kiss on her marefriend's lips, and they continued to make out, unable to stop as they laid on each other and the light of the candle beside their bed went out.
