Chapter one: Manehattan train station

It was an unusually chilly summer morning when a young girl with blonde hair,tan skin and emerald green eyes was pacing back and forth on an old wooden platform waiting for a train to arrive. Adjusting the brown stetson hat that was upon her head a few times,along with the clacking of her dark brown cowgirl boots clacking along the wood beneath her feet,the young girl was becoming bored with all the waiting around doing almost nothing.

As she walked,the girl wondered why she ever agreed to go all the way to Manehattan in the first place because it was pretty obvious that she didn't quite"fit in" with the way people there talked,looked and dressed. Nor did she enjoy the "finer" things that it had to offer. It seemed like the entire time she was there visiting her Aunt and Uncle Orange,all she longed for was to be back home on the old family farm living the life she was made for living,the life her Ma and Pa,rest their souls had lived day in and day out until their final days.

Just thinking about her parents and the farm which was now under the care of her Granny and older brother,she began to feel even more homesick because she felt like she had abandoned them by one day just up and left the life she was meant for behind.

She still remembers the hurt looks upon her grandmother and older brother's faces,but what pained her more was the look of hurt and betrayal upon her little sister's face as the younger girl begged and pleaded for her not to go.

"Applejack...please don't go..."

Feeling the tears burning in her eyes as she could still hear the pleas for her not to go,she suddenly snapped back into reality the minute she heard the sound of a loud train whistle blowing as it made its way into the station.

Picking up her beat-up old suitcase that had a red apple on the front,Applejack walked towards the train just as the conductor slid open the train door. Taking a deep breath as she entered the train,Applejack was about to head to her seat when she heard a raspy voice holler to "hold the train".

Turning her attention to where the voice was coming from, Applejack soon noticed a young girl with rainbow colored hair wearing jean shorts,black hightop sneakers, and a tank top with a cloud and rainbow lightening bolt,running towards the train lugging a dark blue duffel bag on her shoulder.

Hoping that the girl who looked a bit younger than herself would make it,Applejack suddenly felt the train jerk as it suddenly started to slowly move away from the platform. Turning towards the conductor, Applejack asked him to stop the train so that the girl could get on,but all she was told to do was to go take her seat.

"Im sorry miss,but you need to go take your seat now."

"But what about that girl?"Applejack asked with a sigh "Don't she get a chance to catch this here train?"

"We're already pulling out of the station. She'll just have to wait for the next one."the conductor said as he prepared to close the door

Seeing what he was about to do,Applejack grabbed the man's arm with one hand as she got ready to stretch out her other to help the girl get on the train. Stretching as far as she could,Applejack finally felt the other girl grab her hand and proceeded to try pulling her in the moving train.

It only took one good jerk from the moving train to not only pull the rainbow haired teen inside, but it also caused both Applejack and the girl to fall backwards landing hard on the train floor by the conductor's feet.

Panting as they both handed him their tickets, the girls both laid there for a minute before helping one another to their feet.

Dusting off her clothes,the rainbow haired teen turned towards Applejack and smiled before she finally spoke.

"Thanks for the help there cowgirl, if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be still on that platform out there."

"No worries sugarcube, I was just at the right place at the right time."Applejack said as she returned the smile

"So,ya got a name? Or do I just call you cowgirl the entire trip?"

"Name's Applejack, or AJ fir short." said Applejack "What's your name sugarcube? "

"Name's Rainbow Dash,or just Dash for short."said Rainbow

"Nice ta meet ya Dash."said Applejack

"You too Aj."said Rainbow as they shook hands "So,where you headed?"

"Ponyville, well...Sweet Apple Acres actually, mah family owns the farm there."said Applejack "What 'bout you?"

"Cloudsdale,which is only a few miles away from central ponyville."said Rainbow

"Ain't that somethin'."Applejack said with a small chuckle "Looks like we're gonna be neighbors. "

"Huh."said Rainbow "Its almost like we were meant to meet or something. "

"Sure seems that way."said Applejack

"I wonder why."said Rainbow as she sat down in a seat beside her new friend

Since it was probably going to be awhile until they reached Ponyville, Applejack and Rainbow Dash began telling one another a bit about themselves. Applejack told Rainbow all about life down at the farm,while Rainbow told Applejack all about her favorite flight team the wonderbolts.

Caught up in their conversation, the two of them had no idea that the train had stopped, nor that they were even in Ponyville until the conductor called out the name of the station. Grabbing their things,the two girls walked off the train and onto the platform where they exchanged their goodbyes.

"Well cowgirl,I guess this is it."said Rainbow Dash as she adjusted her duffel

"Guess it is."said Applejack sighing

"Maybe I'll see ya around Ponyville some time. "said Rainbow

"Sounds good,and maybe y'all can stop by the farm some time for a visit."said Applejack

"I just might do that."Rainbow said as she got ready to leave

"Hey Dash."Applejack called out

"Yeah Aj?."said Rainbow

"Be careful walking all the way to Cloudsdale."said Applejack

"I will."said Rainbow "See ya!"

After Rainbow left her standing alone on the platform, Applejack shook her head with a smile as she grabbed her own suitcase and began her walk home.