Got this idea immediately after watching the episode 'The Last Roundup.' I'm not the only one who's thought of it, but I'm going to give my own impression of what I thought really happened between AJ and Cherry Jubilee. I will leave a plot here, for my own convenience, and to keep track of my progress. Also, it's not like I'm spoiling anything since I'm going to use the episode as kind of a backbone here. I'm just filling in the gaps. Applejack meets CJ at Canterlot -FINISHED Applejack and CJ take the train to Dodge Junction Applejack starts work for CJ, CJ decides to try and recruit AJ in her 'side business' AJ and CJ get it on as CJ 'demonstrates' her business practices AJ considers the offer for 'extra' work. 'Hmm... Nah.' Though she is still flattered and thankful for the offer. The rest of the gang shows up, and Madame Jubilee is impressed with them, tells AJ in private that she will recruit them. AJ thinks this is a terrible idea, they argue their respective points. Applejack comes up with the brilliant plan of stringing her friends along, to get them to chase after her, in order to quickly 'get outta dodge', so to speak. This also distracts them from any of Cherry Jubilee's advances. AJ leaves town and they give chase, pretty much like in the episode. ---The dusty, sun baked ground outside the borders of Dodge Junction was hot against my hooves and my bag lay with its flap wide open, its dirty secrets spilt for all to see, across the relatively lifeless and desolate desert brush. I considered for only a fraction of an instant to try and gather them back up, to stuff my shattered pride safely back into my bags, but then even if I did that, well... Dashie and Fluttershy had caught up with me, and they weren't going to give up the chase. I fell back onto my ass, amidst the clear evidence of one of my biggest personal failures, and felt the heat of the dusty, dry desert dirt warm my flanks. I looked down at the medals I had 'won', and heard my friends draw closer. I felt my eyes start to heat up hotter than the ground around us, despite being protected by my hat from the searing, blinding light of the sun... _____________________________________________________________________________________ It was eerily quiet, after the crowd left. I sat in the bleachers and leaned against the wall that surrounded the field, my head on my hooves as I watched the maintenance crew clean and maintain the thoroughly used field, no longer under the direct attention of the now vacant crowd of ponies that were here a couple hours ago. They came to watch ponies like myself do amazing athletic feats, such as hurdle jumping, hay bale tossing, and racing... all in competition and good sport. Back on the farm, I had felt so confident about my ability to do all of these events and more, and even had trouble breaking my own records. I heaved a great big sigh and let my forelegs hang over the edge of the field's wall, paying no mind to a member of the event staff as he expressed his condolences for my not winning first in anything, or congratulations for winning second place in a lot of things. I was way too busy wishing I could do all of those events over again, because it sure wasn't doing myself or anyone in Ponyville any good if I didn't return with prize money. No chance in hell of that happening, though, because the events were all over now, and the field was empty, and so were the bleachers. Just like my wallet, save for the train fare to head back to Ponyville. There was no reason for anypony to hang around now, save for the few who remembered that I was one of the ponies that helped free Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, or that I and 5 of my friends faced off against Discord and saved all of Equestria from eternal chaos. I was a part of all that, and in a simple athletic competition like this... I couldn't even walk away with one blue ribbon? Pathetic. That's what I was telling myself I was, pathetic. No prize money, and a whole bag full of second or third bests. I would be going home with nothing, unlike the winners, or some of the other more athletic ponies, who were here not only for the competition, but to sponsor brand labels such as Tommy Hoofinger, and Colt Navy. Those ponies got money just for showing up! I even came ahead of most of them, and yet... I would be going home with nothing. None of the money that I promised to bring back, to help fix town hall, and no blue ribbons to stick up. Applebloom, my dear sister, would feel so upset, I'm sure. I watched one little filly hop over the wall a little ways down from me, dropping down onto the track that surrounded the field, her face sporting an enormous grin. She was about the same age as Applebloom, looked like. She scurried across the chalked lines of the racetrack and onto the grass of the field, towards another pony, a mare, about my age. Nothing too remarkable about either of them, except that the mare was smiling pretty big, a big, frilly blue ribbon was clutched between her teeth. The filly and the mare met in the middle of the field and embraced warmly, the mare dropped the blue ribbon as the filly caught it in her mouth, then clambered onto the mares back, both of them looking as proud and as happy as can be. They'd just about look like myself, and Applebloom, as I stepped off the train in Ponyville... Oh, Applebloom, I'm so sorry. "Um, excuse me Missus Applejack?" A sweet and youthful-sounding voice rang out next to me, and I jumped with a bit of a start. I shook my head and realized that I was starting to fall asleep against the wall, and turned to face a small group 5 little fillys. "Oh, erm, howdy there, lil' fillys! What c'n ol' AJ do ya for?" I tried to put on my best smile. It wouldn't do for these young'uns to see me feeling as depressed and downright crappy as I felt. "Hiya missus AJ!" "We heard you helped defeat Nightmare Moon..." said a frail-looking, soft spoken one. Probably the only reason I noticed her was that she seemed a lot like Fluttershy, and I was used to her quiet demeanor. This filly was an earth pony, though. "AND Discord! Wow, so awesome!" piped up another one. This one jumped up and down a little bit as she spoke, her tiny under-developed wings helping her hover in the air as she bounced. she reminded me of Dashie... I had to fight back a blush as I thought about my mare, waiting for me back in Ponyville. "Miss Applejack, you handled those hurdles quite well; I'm so sorry that you happened to trip on one towards the end... You would have won a blue ribbon!" This one... was a filly Twilight, with glasses, wings, and a dark blue coat of fur. as right as she was, and though she wasn't trying to rub it in... she was. I couldn't help but feel a sting in the truth of her words, and the fact that I could have tried just a bit harder. I could have left here with at least one blue ribbon, dammit! "Miss AJ! Miss AJ! You were really great out there! Sucks that you didn't win, though... but it's okay, because you looked like you had fun anyway, and we had fun watching you, so it's all good, right? Hey, hey! Can we get your autograph?" "Pleeeeeease? We heard you were showing up and we just had to see how one of the ponies who saved all Equestria not once, but twice, would fare in this competition. Even though you didn't win, an autograph from YOU would be the. Best. EVER. Period!" I couldn't help but toss my head back and laugh. These little ponies were the very spirit of my own friends, here to get my autograph! I chuckled and peeled myself from the wall, and faced the happy little group of friends. "Well then, my little ponies! Is this here all a' ya'll? Ya'll aren't missin' a friend or two from ya'lls little group, are ya?" They all at once shook their heads, and the five of them said in unison "Nope!" Well, I felt that it would be right proper if there were a sixth one, but I suppose groups of best friends come in all sizes. I shrugged and just chuckled as one of then handed me a pen, and I pressed it to a notepad. The notepad glowed with a blue sparkle as one of them; the one that reminded me of Rarity tried her hardest to levitate it, the pages flipping over once as I signed my name twice. The little filly made a really admirable effort, but the pad fell to the floor after signature number two. I smiled and crouched down to finish my duty as she let out a few soft little exhausted pants after expelling all of her magical effort on the task. "It's all rahght sugarcube, ah'll take it from here." I signed my name a few more times, pushing the pages back with my hoof, and then handed the pen back to the mini-Rarity. The poor thing looked like I did after I came in third on the quarter-mile event. I never did claim to be the fastest pony what walked the earth. "Thank you, missus Applejack..." "All right, awesome!" "Yay! Thanks!" "Thank you very much, Miss Applejack!" "I think I'll frame this... ooh, or maybe put it in my scrap book! I'll label it: 'The pony who helped kick Nightmare Moon's and Discord's tushies!'” I couldn't help but see my friends in these little fillys, they were all so much alike. It really did brighten my day to see happy little girls like them come and enjoy an event like this, and it was made even better by the fact that they were fans of myself and my friends. My friends... everyone back in Ponyville. What was I going to say when I got home? What would they all say to me, after I came back with nothing to show for the promises I made? I tried not to think about it. I didn't have to because... well, some of these little fillies had the nerve to ask me the same exact thing I was thinking... If I helped defeat Nightmare Moon, and Discord, why hadn't I come in first place, in the competetions? I couldn't for the life of me think of a reply that would make sense to these young girls, so I just shrugged and kept that smile up until they were all walking away. Why did these girls ask me that... I'm ashamed to say that I asked myself the same thing. At that point I realized... I couldn't even come up with an answer that would make sense to myself. I suddenly felt like I was at the bottom of the barrel once again, and I wandered away from my spot on the wall as I tried to find something to drink. --------------------- "Applejack Daniel's, if'n ya don't mind- Ah, th' whole bottle, if'n ya don't mind." I didn't have any prize money, but I had at least enough for the trip back. I also had enough for a nice, stiff drink for a few hours, thanks to Dash. She specifically labeled it 'booze-money’, just in case. Heh, she made sure that I knew it wasn't in case I lost, because she expected me to win, of course. She said it was in case I needed a drink, she wanted to be able to help me get one. So much like her, to say that kind of thing. So, I took her gift and used it at a bar just a block from the rodeo grounds. My stomach felt upset even before I took a shot of the whiskey that sat on the counter under my hooves, because I was using this money because I lost, not because I really needed a drink... Well, actually, I really did need that drink, but I suppose I should say I felt sick to my stomach because I was letting Rainbow down. I was letting everyone down. I cursed and just picked up the whole bottle and drowned my sorrows in about a third of the bottle's contents, and laid my head on top of my hooves on top of the counter. For a few moments, I felt a tingling along my back, which I assumed was the drink. Then, the tingling started to travel up and down, and it turned into a slight pressure between my shoulder blades, and it radiated outward and then started to travel down. "Ohhh..." I started to moan, and squirmed in my seat as the pressure on my back continued. It felt good, and I suddenly realized that feeling drunk didn't normally involve getting backrubs. I shot up in my seat and looked to my side, seeing nopony. I looked to my other side, and found the source of my nicely tingling back and shoulders. "Awuh... Ah, ma'am? C'n ah help you...?" It was a mare, with a bright red and decidely fancy mane. One that Rarity would be jealous of. Maybe. Well anyway she was big and fancy, and she was smiling at me and still rubbing my back. I may have a few shots in me, but I can hold my liquor well enough to tell when a strange mare is invading my personal space. "Ma-*hic* 'am, please git yer hooves offa mah b-*urrp* mah back..." I tried my best to scowl at her, but I'll admit, the Liquid Friendship was already coursing its way through my veins, and well... it was feeling kinda good. Well, after the kind of day I had... Ah, ponyfeathers. I didn't say anything for a minutes or two as I rolled my shoulders and took another a shot, not really doing my best at feigning annoyance and indifference. I looked at the mare again, and decided to get one good look before the beer-googles fully took effect. Pink eyeshadow, big fancy hair. Matching pink scarf thingy what was tied around her neck (What was it I heard Rarity call those things again? Mascot? An apricot?). She seemed like a Manehattanite, just like Aunt and Uncle Orange. I remember as a little filly, I wanted to be all fancy, just like them. It might have been partly that fact, and partly the Liquid Friendship, but I was already feeling like I could trust this mare. She even sounded pretty legit when she opened her mouth and asked me in a sweet country-fied accent that reminded me of my own, only more raw, like cousin Braeburn and his ilk. "Well howdy there Miss Applejack!" She just kept smiling that reassuring smile, and rubbing my back. I couldn't help but return the smile with one of my own as I found myself... leaning back against her hoof? Well, she seemed okay, anyway. She was smiling like an honest mare and her hoof was starting to tingle more, or that could have been the drink. "Wuh... whatcha want, missus...?" "Cherry Jubilee, sugar, it's a pleasure to meet you! You put on a mighty fahne performance out there, do you know that?" I nodded my head and felt in complete agreement. I did put on a good show, didn't I? I may not have come in first, but I did the best I could! The mare continued talking while I nursed the rest of the bottle. "Listen, love. I think you deserve to come away from this competetion with more then a bag of 'nice try's' and a hangover, and I could use a nice, strong, charismatic mare like yourself. How would you like to make some money by doing a little bit or work for me, hmm, dear?" My eyes widened at the mention of money. Nope, still not completely drunk to miss that, and any self-respecting business mare recognizes money talk from a mile away. I pushed the half-empty bottle away and turned in my seat to face the mare. Her hoof seemed stuck against me as it slid from my back to resting on my shoulder, and I sat there on the bar stool facing who was not only a very friendly mare, but also my ticket at reclaiming some of my lost pride, and the money I promised to bring back to Ponyville. I raised a hoof and gently, politely pushed Cherry Jubilee's hoof off of my shoulder, and grinned at her. I couldn't believe it- was this mare actually offering me paid work, after I had come in 2nd, at best? "Ma'am, pay for this here bottle of Jack, and I'll do whatever you want!" I'm pretty sure I actually meant that, as well. I just couldn't return empty-hooved! She smiled back at me and clapped her forehooves together in celebration. "Oh goodness, yes! I can already tell that you and me will get along swimmingly. I like you already, sugarcube." Cherry Jubilee leaned close to me and put her foreleg around my shoulders, her hoof pulling me close against her "Oh yes, I've been needin' an extra pair of hooves back at the farm, and I think you'd do fine working for me as well." I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that 'as well'. Might have been the whiskey muddling my senses, but was she proposing that I work two jobs for her? I needed some bits, but I didn't think I need to move away from my home just to get them. "Erm, it's just farm work, right? Ah mean, I'm good at that kinda stuff sinc-" She raised her other hoof to my mouth and shushed me like I was just a filly. "Ah-ah, don't worry about a thing, sweetheart, I'll help you out, just let Auntie CJ take care of things." "I- erm... Ma'am?" I was right confused at the point, though she did seem to know what she was talking about. I decided that I'd already made an agreement, and I wasn't in no condition to work out fine details with the drink in my blood. I simply nodded and let her keep on talking. "Now, there's a train, headin' out towards Dodge Junction. I'll be waiting there with our tickets, so you just get your things ready an' meet me at the station in two hours, all right, love?" "Okay." 'Love'? Was she trying to covertly flirt with me? "Ah'll see ya'll train on in two hour- Ah mean, see ya'll on two in th' tra- Ah ponyfeathers, ya'll know what Ah mean." I pushed the bottle of whiskey away and shook my head. Much more of the stuff and I was liable to work myself into something I regret. "Excellent!" Cherry slipped off of my shoulder and started to walk away, then turned and looked over her shoulder at me and gave me another saucy wink "Platform 12, all right, AJ?" I couldn't help but blush. I blamed the alcohol, stirring up my emotions as it mucked up my head. "See ya'll there, Cherry." Okay, so I was about to board a train to go work for some mare I just met, for who knows how long. She might have been flirting with me, but it's okay, I'm a good mare. All that blushing was from the drink. What could possibly go wrong?
