"GOODAY FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS, AND WELCOME TO THE 90TH PONYVILLE RODEO!" Shouted one of many camp and excited announcer ponies, encouraging the throbbing crowds to continue their pilgrimage toward he spectacle. Farm ponies trotter along the grassy paths, heading to where they wanted to go as others took their seats in the stands, waiting for the competitions of strength and skill to begin. The air reaked of frying oil and sugary glazes, delicious foods always a staple at the rodeo. Ponyville was alight with activity, and Applejack was happy to be somewhere she truly enjoyed. A treat that came once a year. The young apple farmer trotted to the competitors area and began loosening up for the events she dominated every year. "AND LET'S GET THIS STARTED WITH THE BALE THROW! OUR FIRST COMPETITOR, IS A CROWD FAVORITE. RIGHT HERE FROM PONYVILLE IS APPLEJACK!" The crowd roared as the Stenson wearing blonde stepped out onto the field and took her position.
Applejack smiled up at the stands, her eyes confidently narrowing as she looked to her left and right, then eying the massive and heavy bale of hay. She recalled her previous year's throw, and had high hopes to break that record.
She dug her hooves in, taking the bale's straps between her teeth, clamping down and spinning. The crowd gasped, watching as momentum picked up and the bale lifted from the ground. She released, the lump of straw rocketing into the air, shooting down the dirt drag and landing with a heavy thud, rusty dirt flying into the air.
She signed, unsure if her throw was enough to surpass her previous year's best. The announcer smiled, nodding. "LADIES AND GENTLECOLTS, MISS APPLEJACK HAS THROWN THE BALE 40 YARDS, A NEW PONYVILLE RODEO RECORD! WOW!" The crowd cheered, hundreds of hooves stomping in celebration at her achievement.
Applejack smirked, tipping her hat back and looking to her competitors.
"Beat that, boys."
"AND NOW A NEWCOMER HAILING FROM DODGE JUNCTION, PEACH BUCKLE!" A stallion stepped out onto the field, a with bright ginger orange coat that draws in the eyes, starting at large and well planted ruby hooves, up his thick and muscular legs to wide and sturdy hips and shoulders. His tail and mane was short, handsome streaks of sunglow gold rushing through his predominately ruby red do. Above blue eyes, sat a wide Stetson hat, worn and brown from clear years of use. He tipped his hat to the crowd, took his place at the bale, gripped the straps of the bale between his teeth, spun around and tossed, the bale flew through the air and landed past Applejack's toss mark. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, 50 YARDS! A WHOLE NEW RECORD! THAT'S GONNA BE HARD TO BEAT!" The pony gave a humble head bow as the crowd roared with excitement and walked back to the competitors area and winked at a very stunned Applejack.
"Well galee, that there stallion went n' shattered my record jus like that." Applejack paused, craning her neck to watch him walk away, the ruby red stallion cockily strutting as he disappeared into the cheering crowds. "How did he do that?!" She said angrily, taking off her hat and following after him quickly. She rushed into the crowd, seeing his hat vanishing into the distance. "Hey! I gotta bone ta pick with you, mister!" She pushed on, gaining until she met eyes with him at a stand which was selling fresh honey. She stared into his Brandel blue eyes and the weakened in the knees a little.
"Yes." He replied in a southern drawl similar to hers. Applejack paused, at a loss for words and forgetting why she wanted to talk to him in the first place. It was so easy, losing herself in his eyes, the charming look they only a rodeo king could possess. "Miss?" Her heart fluttered, his voice so sweet and kind. He smiled at her, the stallion leaning against the stand they were against. A shelf wiggled and chattered, and before Applejack knew it, a pot of farm fresh honey spilt and idly began dripping onto her flank. She broke eye contact with him, turning to see the sticky mess now on her coat.
"Dag nabit!" she cursed "Why don't ya be more careful next time!" He took half a step back, lowering his head while removing his hat apologetically.
"I truly am sorry, miss. It was an..." She hushed him, shaking her head. Applejack pressed her hoof against his chest, jabbing at him challengingly.
"You won't beat me so easy next time." She gave him one more look over, then walking away to clean herself up. Peach Buckle was left confused but before he could even ponder what had happened the next event began.
"NOW LET'S BEGIN THE NEXT OUR EVENT, THE JUMP COURSE OUR FIRST CONTESTANT IS..." Applejack frustratedly wiped the last bit of honey off her, when who should show up but Peach Buckle.
"As I was tryin' to say before ma'am, I'm sorry for the honey accident." AJ look frustratedly at the stallion.
"It's alright, I'm still going to beat ya."
"Well I don't know, this is a competition anypony could win, I could win." Applejack just scoffed as announcer called out.
"OUR NEXT CONTESTANT IS PEACH BUCKLE!" He was still looking intently at Applejack, never having heard the announcer call his name. Applejack smiled at him,
"You're up." He shook his head, blushing slightly. Peach Buckle cleared his throat, moving to the beginning of the track and hunkering down. A shot rang out, and he ran as hard as he could. He jumped, clearing the first four bars with ease. The fifth and final bar would be the trickiest. He lunged, the crowd gasping as the large stallion just tapped the top if the bar with his legs, which removed the grace from his landing. There was a moment of silence as the bar sung at it's metal posts, then remaining still atop its perch. "AMAZING, PEACH BUCKLE HAS SET ANOTHER RECORD TODAY AT 25.4 SECONDS! OF COARSE, WITH AN ADDED 2 SECONDS FOR MAKING CONTACT WITH THE FIFTH BAR." He frowned, knowing if he hadn't been distracted by a certain mare, he would have done better. "OUR NEXT CONTESTANT IS APPLEJACK!" she lined up, hunkering down just as he had down and running when the shot rang out. She cleared all the bars with incredible ease, standing tall and proud at the finish. "MY OH MY, APPLEJACK HAS COMPLETED THE JUMP COARSE IN 19 SECONDS! AN UNBEATABLE RECORD!" She smirks wildly, trotting past Peach Buckle and mockingly swishing her tail beneath his chin.
"It pays off to be a light weight." She winked at him, trotting away happily. As she went, Applejack couldn't help but feel his blue eyes on her. Buckle let a out a semi-audible wolf-whistle, Applejack stopped dead in her tracks, her cheeks flushing red for a moment before her eyes narrowed with frustration. She turned back to him, storming. Over and tamping her hoof on the ground. "Look, there're four, count 'em! four events today, and I'm gonna win more than you." His ridiculous smile frustrated her further, driving the mare to seek victory even more.
"Care ta place a wager on that?" She ground her teeth together, pressing her face threateningly against his.
"Sure!"
"Okay then whoever wins and has the most blue ribbons by the end of the rodeo today, the loser has to pay for a winner's dinner."
"You're on!" Applejack spat on her hoof, extending it to him with a determined look on her face. He did the same, firmly shaking her hoof to seal the deal.
"This is gonna get heated." Applejack scoffed,
"It already has." Peach Buckle smirked
"ALL CONTESTANTS GET READY FOR THE CATTLE ROPING EVENT!" the two let go of their hooves and took their places. The event was setup like this: one cow per competitor would be released down a long stretch of path, winner was the one who was able to rope and stop their cow first. The shot rang out the bovines were released, and every pony went after their cow. Applejack and Peach Buckle ran neck in neck, rope between their teeth as they spun their lassos over head. She looked straight ahead, zoning in on her calf and letting the lasso soar through the air. Quickly it wrapped around the thick neck of the calf, applejack digging her hooves into the ground to stop it from running in a panic.
"AND THE WINNER IS... APPLEJACK." She jumped for joy, slapping her knee and whistling happily. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Peach Buckle. "A close second, but I suppose we got more cattle here in Ponyville than you do in... Eh... wherever you blew in from." She toyed jokingly with him, the stallion tipping his hat back and chuckling et her mockingly.
"I'm from Dodge Junction, and we wrastle cattle jus fine down there, thank you." Applejack nodded sarcastically, smiling. "One more win for me, and you'll be buyin' my supper!"
The final event and the event that'd decide who'd pay for dinner, was an obstacle course race. The obstacle course consisted of a hurtle jump and a barrel run. "TAKE YOUR PLACES."the announcer stood on edge, looking down at the immense obstacle coarse thatwould make up the Ponyville Rodeo's final blue ribbon event. The six competing ponies prepared to run, but all the spectators knew it was down to the shining stars of the day: Applejack and Peach Buckle. She looked over at him, and he looked back at her with a wink. They took off! They cleared the first obstacle: a line of hurtle. One pony fell back, leaving only five to carry on. Them they the barrel run, the small and nimble Applejack navigated through the sig zagging barrels with ease, Peach Buckle trying to keep pace. He stumbled, the mare losing with of him. Then, to Applejack's amazement, the ruby hoofed stallion rushed past her while running backwards, expertly maneuvering the zig zagging barrels. Her heart dropped, the mare losing concentration and almost tripping as he rocketed past her. Peach Buckle pulled ahead quickly, claiming first place. "AND THE WINNER IS PEACH BUCKLE! MY GOODNESS HE COMPLETED THE BARREL RUN... BACKWARDS! INCREDIBLE! " Applejack pulled through the gate, stopping and panting heavily.
"What did I get?" She looked around confusedly, bamboozled. Peach Buckle approached her, smiling. "Ya got third on that last one." She mouthed the word, amazed.
"Looks like we're tied for ribbons, Miss 'Jack." She frowned, nodding her head in amazement.
"I reckon we are." Peach Buckle took his hat off, holding it in his hooves politely as he spoke to her.
"Despite our tie, I'd be honored to pay fer yer supper tanignt. Ya did real well, and I'm mighty glad to have been challenged taday. Y'all put a smile on my face, so the least I could do would be ta fill yer belly with somethin' tasty. So, what do ya say?" Applejack smiled, nodding her head. "I might have to take you up on that, Peach Buckle." The two farm ponies took their seats, eating hungrily after a long day of strenuous activities. Applejack rolled her eyes back happily, finding the rodeo's chow to be not only delicious, but filling. At first, they sat in silence, stuffing their feces and looking away from one another, not talking or interacting in any way. Peach Buckle grew tired of this awkward nothingness, so he spoke.
"So... You farm apples do ya?" Applejack nodded, smiling proudly.
"Yer darn tootin', I keep Sweet Apple Acres on track all year 'round. I got the cutie mark ta prove it. You? I suppose your crop is peaches, considerin' yer name, but I've been wrong before..."
"Yer right ma'am, the peach is ma family crop, been growing 'em since I was a colt."Applejack smiled, licking her hooves clean taking a large gulp of iced tea wih a satisfied smack of her lips. "Ya got any family ta help ya? It's me, ma brother and my lil sis, her name's Apple Bloom. So us three, and ma granny." She sat back, watching his expression as the stallion finished chewing, also sipping his drink before speaking.
"Well it's me, my older sister Peach Crumble, ma great uncle Spice, and ma lil' brother Peach Fuzz" Applejack nodded, smiling at the idea of their families being rather similar.
"Sounds like a mighty fine set up." Peach Buckle nodded, sure of himself. "Say, what brought you all the way out here to the Ponyville Rodeo this year? I don't reckon we've met before." He waited, thinking for a moment.
"A shame, I would have liked to of met you sooner." Applejack blushed fiercely, hiding beneath her hat as he went on. "Well a bit of misfortune actually, peach crop didn't go as well last year, and we couldn't really make payments on the farm. We were bought out by this mare who wanted to open a cherry farm there. I heard about the rodeo they said they were giving away 10 acres of land for the grand prize. So I said, gosh! If I won them ten acres, we could start gettin' our farm back! Trust me, farmin' cherries ain't fun at all! I miss workin' for maself, n' one bad dry spell took that away from me and my family."
"Well then, I guess you deserve the acreage more than I do." He lifted his hoof to deny this, not wanting to accept her pity. "Now hold on!" She stopped him, startling the stallion slightly with her sudden change in tone. "Now I was in third place for the barrel run, so you did better overall than I did. Blue ribbons aside, ya beat me, and I'm happy to lose to ya." Peach Buckle smiled, understanding that although they tied, he truly did win. "Thank ya, miss. You're the real winner here, I any never let somepony as sweet as y'all r bein'..." The mare blushed a at his words, then the announcer...
"WILL PEACH BUCKLE AND APPLEJACK COME TO THE JUDGES TABLE TO RECEIVE THEIR PRIZE?" Cut me and the two off.
"Well I suppose that we oughta tell 'em that your getting the whole prize." Applejack said trying not to lose herself in his eyes. He stood, extending a friendly hoof to help her out of the tight booth. She scooted out, smiling at him. They made their way to the judges stand, applejack grabbing his hoof just before they arrived. He turned, surprised. "Ya got somethin' on her face sugar cube." She licked her hoof, rubbing a little sauce off of his cheek. The stallion blushed, not even trying to hide it. She looked away, a goofy smirk on her face. He took his hoof and held hers, taking it away from his face gently.
"Thank ya, now come on." They walked together, stopping at th judges stand side by side, filling out the paperwork and the. Handing a piece of fancy paper to the stallion.
"Sign the bottom and it's all yours." He smiled, doing do and taking the deed with him as he and the mare walked away from the judges stand.
"I suppose that's all, you enjoy that prize." Applejack started away, a tight feeling generating in her chest as her steps grew slower, her body wanting to go back. Peach Buckle opened his mouth to speak, trying to find his confidence.
"Wait!" Applejack smiled, turning back to see him trotting over to him.
"Will I... I mean, can I see ya again?"
"I don't see why not. I mean you and yer kin will be movin here, and the land ya got is right next to Sweet Apple Acres so yeah I'll be sein' ya again." She said her cheek growing the shade of a pink lady. The two went their separate ways, and Peach got on the first train back to Dodge to tell his family the great news.