My Little Pony: Equestria's Warriors Returns

by Spirit Of Fantasy

After many wars, heavy losses, and violence with enemies. The eldest brother of the royal sisters makes his return, and discovers the student of the sister he blames for their youngest sister's banishment. Now along side this young and talented unicorn, ready to battle evil. He will discover the new world of friendship and love that replaced his world of pain and hateful battles.

40. Chapter 40:The Last Roundup

Chapter 40:The Last Roundup

Tomorrow was a big day for a member of the Apple family, and Applejack needed to be ready. Only she had the necessary skill to win the upcoming event and earn some much needed money. The farm was in need of repairs and refurbishing, and she personally wanted to bring honor and glory to the Apple family. This was an impressive weight and duty she was willing to carry on her shoulders. So much that even the warriors could not help but respect her for it.

Apple Bloom, Shadow Swirl and Orion all sat and stood at the fences. Watching Applejack go through her obstacle course, training to her fullest to win the rodeo games. Apple Bloom herself had just finished some rigorous training of her own, sporting some bruises on her legs and scratches on her cheek. So there was no better way to relax than watch her big sister work it hard. Her two mentors nodded and clapped for Applejack, watching as she vaulted the hurdles like a champ.

"There ya go, girl! That's some fine air time!"Shadow cheered with Apple Bloom and slapped the wood fence.

This promoted Applejack to go harder as she went for the big hurdle. She put her full back and legs into it, and leaped like a graceful gazelle over the curvy hurdle. Her back leg bumped it slightly, but it was still as smooth of a leap as she was going to get, and there was no pain no gain in her training. She raced to the hay bale and lassoed it for her final part of the practice. She twirled her rope and sent the giant bale of hay soaring as far as she could, even that held a form of grace about it.

"Whoo whoa! Whoo hoo! Applejack,"Apple Bloom cheered and Orion offered a round of applause for the honest mare as she finally called it quits for today,"You're sure to knock every pony's hat off at the Equestria Rodeo Competition!"

"Aw shucks, Apple Bloom. I really hope so…! I pushed it for today after seeing of y'all out on the plain,"Applejack admitted some wishful thinking and confessed to her inspiration,"After seeing how hard you trained with these two, I couldn't fall behind while you got stronger."

"You both did well. You should be confident in this competition."Shadow insisted that Applejack's confidence she remain steeled and strong.

"Whatever happens, you will have done your best and brought honor to your family."Orion encouraged and proclaimed the true meaning behind competition.

"And we know you you'll win! After all, you're the ten time rodeo champeen of Ponyville,"Apple Bloom exclaimed while Applejack took back her hat and tousled her sister's mane,"Why, you've got more blue ribbons than any pony in Ponyville ever! And I can't wait for my big sis to win every blue ribbon in Equestria and bring home the title of Equestria Rodeo champeen!"

"That was a mouthful for a filly…"Shadow admitted quietly, though Apple Bloom's excitement made it a bit understandable.

"She's actually starting to handle the two legged walking a bit more smoothly now,"Orion patted Apple Bloom's back and decided to reveal more reasons for Apple Bloom's excitement,"Soon we're actually going to start proper sparring with her in perhaps another week or so."

"Good to hear. Are you still liking all the warrior stuff?"Applejack asked while rubbing the scratch on her sister's cheek.

"Sure am! It kind of reminds me of when I first started working around the farm,"Apple Bloom admitted before hopping off the wooden fence,"A little rough, but it feels good, and I feel much better about myself."

"Good to hear, Sugar cube. Why not head inside and have Big Mac patch you up?"Applejack suggested that Apple Bloom get treated for the damage she got from today.

"Alright…!"Apple Bloom sighed that the fun was over and she needed to go inside for some r&r.

The three watched Apple Bloom trot off for the house to get herself treated. They watched the happy filly with pride and care, she had finally found structure and potentially a purpose in her life. Yet this training and practicing with warriors came with worries, especially when it came to injuries.

"You sure she's been ok with all y'all been doing?"Applejack suddenly asked when Apple Bloom finally went inside the house.

"Uh…of course. She'd tell us if she didn't feel like this training was helping her."Orion answered a little confused but casual by the question.

"We wouldn't do anything Apple Bloom wasn't comfortable doing."Shadow supported, noticing a deeper meaning behind Applejack's concern.

"Good… There's some ponies that see Apple Bloom all damaged and think there's something up,"Applejack decided to just come out and voice her concerns about Apple Bloom's training,"Last thing we'd ever want is ponies thinking she's being abused or something…"

"Cheerlie once brought that to my attention and I explained it to her,"Orion admitted a past encounter with concerns that they might have been rough on Apple Bloom,"If what you say is true, we'll try to address it as thoroughly as we can, just so your family doesn't come under any sort of fire."

"We only want to help Apple Bloom control her powers and find her purpose. We care a great deal about her…"Shadow added, and professed their means behind the rough training.

"I know, and she's never been more happy to have friends and good teachers helping Apple Bloom find her path…"Applejack admitted how her sister was starting to grow ever since the warriors arrived.

"She has a good family to guide her as well. You've been a good care giver in place of your parents,"Shadow incited and got Applejack a bit taken by the heart as she put her hat to her heart,"They'd be proud of you for being there for the family."

"Thanks… I'd never abandon this family… Not now, not ever…!"Applejack sighed and could not stop smiling at the care she professed about her family.

The warriors liked her style, a passionate big sister and mother figure for Apple Bloom. Something that helped their family cope with past tragedies, they all proved to be strong of heart. The Apples would always be known as a strong family, but it was so much better to personally see. The warriors could leave with satisfaction before the sun went down on that day. Until another day would rise, and Applejack would need to leave for the Equestria Rodeo in Canterlot.

---

Once the next day had come, a going away celebration was already being put together. The ponies were all together, and all that remained was to put up a few banners and decors at Town hall. Even when Rainbow and Thunder were put in charge of this, it was easier said than done. Thanks to a certain pony that was well known for being a bit accident prone, her derpy eyes were a give away. Even to the most patient of ponies, this gray mare with a blond mane and tail was a hoof full.

Thunder got the banner up and Rainbow was nailing it to town hall as part of the send off. Rainbow had just gotten the nails into the banner, and Thunder was able to let it down. Only to suddenly get shot at by a bolt of lightning, all thanks to the bouncing accident prone mare.

"Huh? Now careful, Derpy! Don't want to do any more damage than you've already done!"Rainbow ranted after dodging a lightning bolt coming from a cloud the mare bounced.

"We're not making hazard pay here!"Thunder hollered once another bolt burnt the tip of his tail.

"Sorry…! I just don't know what went wrong!"Derpy admitted before shocking herself with the cloud once she dared to bounce some more.

"Yeah… It's a mystery…!"Rainbow Dash was less than amused by the chaos Derpy was making of town hall.

"A true eight wonder of the bucking world…!"Thunder mused and let the banner go to see how it looked.

"Well…at least we got it done! All messes aside."Rainbow decided to try and be positive since they were finally done with the issue.

"That's saying…some… Look out!"Thunder dove for Rainbow Dash and brought her down to avoid a sudden lightning bolt That stabbed the building.

They crash landed and Thunder fell on top of her, failing to notice the damage done. Rainbow groaned and rubbed her head before trying to look around to what happened. Once again, she accidentally pushed her muzzle against his own, this got Rainbow blushing again. Only to be interrupted by the tipping of the town hall roof breaking off and falling towards them. Thunder saw the shadow and looked up to see the incoming roof, him and Rainbow immediately sprang for it.

They both gripped the plummeting debris, and together they began to stop it. And just before the ground too, once their back hooves touched the ground, it all ended right then and there. Just in time for Derpy to finally fly down and cheer, Thunder remained very mused.

"You guys ok? Anything I can do to help?!"Derpy offered more help, and Thunder nearly went into a panic about what else could happen.

"No! Nothing! In the name of Celestia, just sit there and do NOTHING!"Rainbow decided to be the one to politely suggest something before Thunder said something far more harsh.

Derpy did as she was told and sat her flank down on the wooden platform. And thanks to the poorest of luck, her flank cracked the platform to the point that it collapsed into a hole. Derpy desperately grabbed for help, and instead, she grabbed both Rainbow and Thunder. Bringing them both down into the hole with her, crashing down into a pile of wood on top of each other. Thunder growled, the urge to say something was pushing for a way out, as harsh as his words would be, she needed to hear it.

But that was held off a moment more as the whole platform gave away to the weight of the fallen roof. It broke through and fell right on top of them, Thunder took the brunt of it. The mares only got scratched up a bit, but now Thunder was done keeping it held in, time to be mean, but truthful.

"YOU ARE AN ACCIDENT PRONE TRAIN WRECK! FROM NOW ON STAY IN THE BUCKING MAIL SERVICE!"Thunder roared while pushing the roof off himself and the two mares.

"I'm sorry…! I really just didn't know…"Derpy flew out of the hole a bit hurt from Thunder's explosion of harsh words.

"Then either ask about what needs done, or do whatever you can do without buck ups,"Thunder was next to fly out of the hole while Rainbow only peeked out to see the rant,"But for the love of Celestia, don't do things if you can't do them right! Stick to what you can do before some pony gets killed!"

"Ok…"She bowed her head and slowly flew off while Thunder was trying to cool down.

"Geez… I get the need for telling her off for the blunder, but that was a bit over the top don't you think?"Rainbow questioned while flying out and right in front of him, to deal with the burst of anger.

"Sometimes these ponies need to hear the truth, and take it rather than live in ignorance or arrogance,"Thunder argued and tried walking off the cool down some more,"She's a mail lady, right? Then she should stick to that rather than helping us build, and nearly getting us crushed. Now the mayor will think we trashed the bucking town hall building again!"

"Hey…! Will you chill out, and breath a little…! You look almost ready to turn red,"Rainbow got in front of him and held the lightning warrior's chin with both hooves,"You made your point…! Now relax and let it go…"

"Ugh… Buck sake…"He needed a moment to rub his temples and calm down before he was ready to leave with Rainbow.

"Come on, lets at least rack her down and try explaining why you said all that…"Rainbow insisted while gripping Thunder's hoof, wanting him to follow.

"Great… Didn't know this was gonna turn into a mother and father situation,"He groaned and accepted the idea to track down Derpy,"Lead the way then."

Rainbow did just that, and the two of them flew off to find Derpy. Twilight, Orion and even Mayor Mare witnessed the scene, and Orion was the only one that felt no sense of concern. Thunder finally needed to come out and say what the issue was with Derpy. Sometimes you could not sugar coat things and put things gently with ponies, sometimes they needed the harsh truth, regardless of feelings. That was a more complicated thing to understand for Twilight.

"That was a bit excessive… I know he's suppose to be frontal, but he shouldn't be out right mean…!"Twilight huffed at the behavior Thunder showed towards the slow minded mare.

"And for the record, I witness what happened this time around. So I'm aware of how my home got destroyed this time around."The mayor mumbled to herself.

"Sometimes, being mean will be a requirement for those out there with a mind full of weakness, arrogance, or…slowness,"Orion sighed and decided to set the record straight for the mares,"It proves to be a good teacher for what's right or wrong. There are moments where feelings need to be forgotten, and understanding needs to take it's place. You'll learn that with time…!"

"Maybe I don't want to learn that."Twilight showed resilience for his words.

"Then I'll just have to keep getting mean till you do…!"Orion challenged the resilience before mayor Mare pushed through both of them to give announcements.

"You two can have it out any way you'd like, but only after the send off, if you please,"The older mare insisted before she got before the crowd of ponies to give announcements,"Every pony, can I have your attention please?! Attention!"

The crowd gathered around while Applejack stood to the side with her friends. To think she was actually getting this big send off just for her generous offer to contribute the money she would win to the town. The generosity should have been enough, but now she was being praised like a hero.

"Yes, we are all here to send Applejack to compete in this year's Equestria Rodeo competition in Canterlot!"Mayor Mare announced and the crowd cheered for her in response.

"This feels a bit much? Why would the mayor want to give Applejack a send off?"Orion wandered before he then got his less than respectable answer.

"And I want to thank Applejack in advance for generously offering up her prize money to fix Town Hall!"The mayor gave the answer and deflated Orion, and the warriors that stood in the crowd.

"Oh, that's why. She's in on the free money!"They all said together and shook their heads at the mayor.

"Speech! Speech!"Pinkie cheered for a speech from Applejack, while Derpy was chased over their heads by Rainbow and Thunder.

"Aw shucks. I'm not one for speeches."Applejack was honest about not wanting to make a big speech about a simple send off.

"Alright then, no speech!"Pinkie retorted and cheered for no speech to be given instead.

"Buuut! This here is the nicest send off any pony could ask for. Y'all have been cheering me on in every rodeo since I was a little little pony,"Applejack did at least want to leave with some kind words and gratitude for the send off,"So it seems only fitting to use my winnings to fix up Town Hall and even put it towards good causes through town. I promise to make Ponyville proud!"

"You've earned it, Applejack!"Orion called out, and the other ponies cheered and stomped their hooves to applaud.

Never did Applejack imagine there would be so much love and care for what she did. They all praised her, cheered for her, they truly believed that she was a pony that could represent Ponyville's way of the rodeo. The proud Apple now had something to live up to and be proud of. Even the warriors respected her for what she was doing, being quite the contributor and generous giver. That took a heart of gold or at least the size of a lion, something a warrior would want out of another.

Before they knew it, the group had all journeyed to the train station at last. Even the mayor, and Applejack's family came with the group to see her off, a truly heart warming sight. The flattery still stuck to her, and she was more than determined to keep the promises she made to them.

"Do your best and show them what you can do, Applejack."Orion encouraged as the train awaited all it's passengers.

"I want you to show all them highfalutin rodeo ponies what a real rodeo pony is like."Granny Smith added to the encouragement, giving Applejack the confidence she needed.

"You betcha, Granny Smith. I can't appreciate all this support enough!"Applejack admitted, seeing as even the warriors respected her for the big heart she had.

"You're doing this for your family, and the town you grew up in. It's hard to get more respectable than that."Shadow encouraged Applejack to take the support for what it was.

"And by the way, don't forget that money…!"The mayor chirped, showing the warriors where her priorities were.

"How do you keep getting voted back into office, again…?"Thunder asked the big question to his fellow warriors.

"And have fun, and don't be nervous! Or if you are, use that nervous energy to do even better than you already would,"Pinkie went on a frantic means of either encouragement or burying the idea of fear,"And eat peanuts and popcorn and taffy and taffy gives a lot of energy!"

"Just do your best, Applejack."Twilight decided to make it a bit more simple for their friend.

"I'll do better than my best!"Applejack finally showed some confidence and spirit for the competition.

"The train to Canterlot is about to leave! All aboard who's coming aboard!"The conductor announced the last call before the train would leave.

"Guess that means me. Take good care of Apple Bloom."Applejack responded to her family, as well as Orion and Shadow before walking to the train to enter.

"Eeyup!"Mac agreed and the two warriors nodded as Applejack entered the train.

"Everything will be ok!"Shadow called out to Applejack.

"See ya in a week!"Rainbow Dash called out alongside the warrior.

"With lots of blue ribbons!"Apple Bloom squeezed in the hopes she had that Applejack would bring back the winning ribbons.

"And lots of money!"The mayor cheered for the money and got shoved down by the warriors.

"We get it, you want the money!"Orion ranted about the mayor's obsession with the money.

"Darn tootin! See ya'll in a week, with a bag full of blue ribbons!?"Applejack called out from a window and waved them off before the train whistled.

Every pony cheered and said their goodbyes to Applejack as the train got going. Every pony waved as well watching as the train kept going down the tracks and on it's way to Canterlot. Pinkie Pie then ran after the train, for she still had a few more words to give Applejack.

"And drink sarsaparilla,"Pinkie shouted out before the train was finally gone and noticed the others looking to her with confusion,"What? It gives you extra sass!"

The warriors smiled, and they were the first to stop waving once the train was gone. It was then that Orion looked to Apple Bloom and the other Apples, so much pride, so much support, so much love. They had it all as a family, strength, love, honesty, and respect for their family. Granny Smith did a good job as a surrogate mother, at least until Mac and Applejack took over. Raising Apple Bloom together, they were the closest to a pair of parents Apple Bloom ever knew.

"You've done a wonderful job raising these kids, Smith."Shadow admitted her interest in how Smith raised her grand kids.

"I did everything I could with what I had at the time,"Smith remained modest and humble, but Shadow could see pride in her eyes for the children,"If only their ma and pa could see how far they all came."

"They would be proud."Shadow agreed and added a compliment to go with the chat.

"Well… Apple Bloom? You got a choice for today. Go home and turn in for early morning training tomorrow,"Orion decided to offer an interesting choice about what came next,"Or you can go with Shadow and train till sun down. In exchange you can sleep in and get a good breakfast."

"You call that a choice? I'll take the training till sun down any day!"Apple Bloom didn't need to even think before making her choice.

"Fair enough, I gotta go see about a project Twilight needs help with."Orion was glad the other choice was chosen, this meant a better training session, and he had time for something more important.

After the train was long gone, every pony finally departed for their homes. Some even had plans for when Applejack returned, the family simply went back to eagerly await her return. Granny Smith would sit on her chair at the farm house porch, and Mac finished up his work in the barn. Simple yet peaceful hobby's in their own right, they remained proud of what they did. Just as they did when sending Applejack off, especially Apple Bloom, who saw Applejack as a means of true inspiration to be an Apple.

But when she was learning how to be an Apple among her family, she was with Shadow and Orion. Learning her special gift and what the true meaning of having such power was. This was vital, with such power came immense responsibility and self control, even great will power. Something Shadow and Orion would slowly teach the young filly before her purpose was made clear. Till then she would merely train in hopes of grasping and controlling her power, even to this day.

Apple Bloom was just now walking out into the open fields to continue her training. With Shadow at her side, this would more than likely become an easy evening of training. Plus it meant Shadow could talk with the filly more, learning about her family and it's past.

"Alright, you know the drill, take a two legged run from here to the end of the forest edge and back,"Shadow instructed Apple Bloom while putting a blanket down on the grass,'I'll be prepping something before you return and we continue with warm ups."

"I gotcha…!"Apple Bloom groaned, rubbing at the crystal brace that hugged to her spine and making her stand on her back legs.

Once the Filly got running a bit wobbly at the start, Shadow got to work. It took a couple minutes before Apple Bloom would even out and start running with a bit more ease. And as she ran, the blanket was laid out, along with two napkins and plates, it was time to prepare an energizing lunch. First thing she needed was simply a bundle of grapes and raspberries for energy. Then the more hearty foods that needed time and care put into them, some tomato egg and cheese sandwiches.

She watched the filly run as fast as she could, till she almost looked like a vanilla colored ant in the distance. As she pulled out the white bread, the precooked eggs, tomatoes that needed cut, and some cheese. She sighed happily, enjoying the sight of youth slowly growing up in a better world. As she laid the bread out and slowly cut the tomatoes nice and thin to pile up in cuts of three. The same could go for the block of cheese that came out next before getting sliced up as well.

"This is quite the beautiful family… Full of strength, heart, honesty, and trust,"Shadow thought as she started to stack the sandwiches with their filling with a smile,"What fiend would have their parents killed, and for what purpose…?"

She thought about what she had learned after taking up the responsibility of solving the mystery of the Apple and Pear lovers. She got out a canister full of hot tea and two ceramic cups to pour them in. Thinking of what she learned about the feud between their families, it was mostly verbal fights. On rare occasions it did turn into the Hoofields and Mccolts, and got violent between the families. The children were left out of it, but the adults brawled like angry street bums fighting over food.

Even so, it never appeared that either family would go as far as to kill one of their own. Maybe the other family's member, but never one of their own kin, this made very little sense. She finished pouring the tea and covered them with her shadows to keep the cups of tea warm. As she went into more deep thought, who else could have wanted the couple dead, and if it could possibly be the families. What would they do to stomach the idea that they would be murdering their own family?

"Hired help, perhaps…?"She wondered after several minutes.

"I'm… I'm back…!"Apple Bloom called out as she finally made her impending return from the run, completely winded.

The little Apple panted and already appeared to be breaking into a sweat as she returned. She even needed to plop down face first into the blankets after the run, Shadow chuckled in response. Before she took up her cup of tea and waited a minute till Apple Bloom could sit up.

"Come, drink some jasmine tea. It'll help reinvigorate the body and rebuild energy,"Shadow gave the filly her cup so they could start with some conversations with refreshing beverages,"So does your family usually handle times like this when one of you departs for sometime?"

"It seems normal enough to me… Every now and then we all gotta go somewhere for some farm business,"Apple Bloom seemed up for talking about the family during these times,"Mac kind of gets emotional about it sometimes. He remembered the most about our folks back then. Granny, says he's sensitive about losing family is all."

"I don't blame him. Losing a parent is never easy for the oldest of the brood,"Shadow sipped her tea, remembering those moments when she herself lost her mother,"It forces you to grow up, and understand some of the world's more bitter moments. And you carry that knowledge on for the rest of your family and your siblings…"

"Yeah, but he doesn't like to show it since we're Apples and we gotta be strong."Apple Bloom drank her tea and reminded Shadow of what family they were.

"And you're right. It's important to be strong for this uncertain world. Because you never know how your life may go,"She agreed that emotions need to be suppressed at times and strong wills needed to persist,"But that does not mean you must show no heart or no emotion. Your strong hearts are still hearts, and they need to be allowed to show how they feel at the right time."

"But what is the right time for feelings…?"Apple Bloom asked as she spotted the sandwiches the moment Shadow put them together.

"All I can say is… Feelings won't change the world or make it better. That much is sadly true,"Shadow warned about the harsh truth about what it takes to make the world better,"But they can help you grow and better your life. Helping you be prepared for what the future can hold."

"Oh… Do you warriors always have to sound bitter sweet with words…?"Apple Bloom asked after once again hearing these hopeless yet secretly hopeful words.

"Well I certainly can't sugarcoat these next words. One hundred fifty sit ups before we eat lunch."Shadow decided to mess with Apple Bloom and get her on the next warm up.

Apple Bloom groaned, but did as she was told by laying down and getting to work. Shadow wrapped her shadow limbs around the filly's legs to keep her in place. While she suddenly held the sandwich right above Apple Bloom's head by about a foot and a half for an extra incentive.

"Little incentive. Either do the one fifty, or keep going till you manage to catch a bite of the sandwich,"Shadow incited and Apple Bloom groaned some more the moment this offer was made,"Maybe you could succeed and do less, or just do the one hundred fifty. Or maybe even try to show how far you're willing to go…"

The filly hesitated, once again the warrior appeared to be testing her. This was becoming a thing when ever there was a means of showing off effort or lack of effort, it was a constant test of strength. She gave a huff and started with simply doing the regular sit ups. But it only took ten sit ups in for the sandwich to look both appealing and tasty, and Shadow's coy look didn't help. Just watching her try to do regular sit ups and show some sort of sense of disappointment.

Finally after twenty more sit ups, she paused in place for a moment and growled. Shadow felt the need to test her again, so if she insists on trying to mess around, then Apple Bloom would prove herself. So she then alternated and started sitting up, while trying to make desperate lunges for the sandwich. Her tiny muzzle snapped at the juicy sandwich with each little hoist up she made. This incentive seemed to be working at least, it put a pep in Apple Bloom's step, Apples were known for their appetites as well.

This in fact began to work better than she expected, almost a hundred sit ups in and Apple Bloom was going. So Shadow decided to see if she could tempt the filly even more by starting to eat. She simply took up her own sandwich, and started to eat it while still holding Apple Bloom's.

"Hey! Since when are you allowed to eat if I can't eat till I do my sit ups?"Apple Bloom questioned while continuing to do her sit ups.

"Never said I wasn't allowed. If you wanna eat, then you must continue on."Shadow took a slow bite to tease Apple Bloom, and it seemed to work once the filly's cheeks turned red.

"That's so unfair!"Apple Bloom responded with outrage.

"Life can't be fair."Shadow said in a teasing tone and got the result she wanted to see.

Apple Bloom growled and continued doing sit ups, but after only a few. She began to glow and her muscles started to work some physical magic, each sit up was slowly rumbling the ground. As she pushed herself and tried to reach even higher for just a nimble of that sandwich. In only thirty more sit ups, a crack was forming in the ground from Apple Bloom's head cracking down on it. But now she was determined to get that sandwich and end the warrior's coy behavior.

Finally, the moment came where they lost track of how many sit ups were done. Or at least Shadow pretended to do so, now that Apple Bloom was still going for the sandwich. It felt so long afterwards, maybe half an hour perhaps, but then an idea finally came to mind for the filly. Though it was actually a simple one that demanded her to use the full strength of her back legs. Once Apple Bloom saw that Shadow closed her eyes to eat the final piece of her sandwich, she went for it.

She stopped using her front hooves for support, and used them to make the grab. Letting only her back legs hoist her up just enough for her hooves to finally make a grab for the sandwich. She took that rewarding bite instantly, Shadow didn't realize till she felt the sudden yank on her hoof. Quickly the mare turned, and saw Apple Bloom holding on tight to the sandwich. While her back hooves alone kept her hoisted up so she could enjoy, a smile only grew on Shadow's face.

"That took long enough. Two hundred and seventeen sit ups even…! Well done,"Shadow responded and released the filly's legs so she could properly sit up and enjoy,"Nice job on the self control as well, you were angry, but you didn't let that anger control you and your powers."

"Well… not entirely…"Apple Bloom admitted and looked to the small crack her head made in the dirt.

"Well… More or less…"Shadow shrugged it off while patting the filly's back to encourage.

"What's next?"Apple Bloom said with a mouthful of food.

"Once you're done, we try out your punches and kicks on an iron ash wood tree I found."Shadow already had the plans for Apple Bloom once they were done.

"Ok… Hopefully I can do some real fighting and training soon,"Apple Bloom incited the idea that she felt ready to do some more advanced fighting and much more real sparring,"I got the courage, and the will to win. Just like my big sister, I should be going as hard as she's probably going in the rodeo competition!"

"That's the spirit! That's probably what your sisters doing to win the competition. Thinking about you, and the family."Shadow encouraged the thought that would build confidence for young Apple Bloom.

With that, all was good again, the teasing was an easily forgotten trouble now. As they finished up their food, and spent the rest of the time letting Apple Bloom test her basic punches and kicks on a tree. They did this till sun down, and by that time, Apple Bloom would be out cold and exhausted. She would then take Apple Bloom home where Mac and Smith awaited her return with relief. Upon approach, they saw Apple Bloom asleep in Shadow's hooves as she passed by the gate.

Mac was the one to rush over to meet the warrior while Smith remained on the porch. Staring at them with an old smile of appreciation, knowing that Apple Bloom had a productive day. Mac needed a bit more assurance however before he would be at peace with the filly's condition.

"She's out cold is all. We worked on her swings and kicks on an iron ash wood after exercising,"Shadow gave Apple Bloom to the large red stallion gently,"She tuckered herself out. Progress was made, but Orion feels she's not ready for the adept lessons yet."

"Thank you… Glad to see this little scamp safe and sound. Been more worried than a bear missing her cub."Mac made sure Apple Bloom was cozy before looking to the warrior.

"It's alright, you're concern for your family when separated. I understand your fear."Shadow started to show awareness for Big Mac's greatest fears, thanks to Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom was always willing to stick close to home, but Applejack just can't help but explore,"Big Mac admitted a bit about how the two sisters differed from each other,"Doing the rodeos, hoping to bring back the gold for our family. Just like our pa use to."

"Really? At least you know where she gets it from."Shadow chuckled as she saw the stallion let out a small solemn sigh.

"Eeyup…! That's what worries me sometimes…"Mac admitted before he decided to take Apple Bloom inside.

"You're afraid that the same will happen to her as it did to your parents,"Shadow got Big Mac to stop as Smith picked up on that call out,"You don't want to lose anymore family…! I understand that ALL too well. I've lost family too."

"I know… And I appreciate your concern."Mac responded politely and took the filly inside to settle down.

"Thank you for keeping Apple Bloom company during this slightly shaky week."Smith quietly showed gratitude for Shadow spending time with Apple Bloom before going inside as well.

"Of course… I hope your night is peaceful and full of hope."Shadow spoke softly and turned around, feeling a sense of concern, but need to trust in this family's strength.

With that, Shadow decided to leave once the family was inside, and the sun was down. The stars started to appear, and the moon was on the rise, this meant she had a lot of evil to hunt. Night time was when the freaks and truest of scum come out to play, she needed to be ready from within the shadows. So she calmly walked away, keeping high hopes for the Apple family. Before she sunk down into her own shadow, and slithered off towards Ponyville on a small thought.

"Such a nice and wholesome family."

---

These prayers for hope to the Apples got every pony through the long week. It got shaky, but every pony then became excited, for the week was over, and Applejack was possibly making her return at this very moment. This demanded much more than a simple welcome back however. They needed something more, for Applejack must have tried her hardest to succeed in the rodeo. So she deserved a celebration for her return and her victory in the competition.

So before the afternoon even began it's approach, every pony was working on a surprise. A welcome home party, compliments of Pinkie Pie and the ponies who wished to help her. The Apples were even kind enough to have this party out in the barn since one of their own was returning. They couldn't have liked the idea of a surprise party more for Applejack. Even the warriors helped to set up the party, full effort was requirement to make this surprise work.

Pinkie worked on the decor with Shadow Swirl, from the streamers to the confetti, they prepared. Orion and Twilight got the proper music going, a mix of country and party music for every pony's taste. Typhoon and Thunder worked with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in collecting the invited guests. Showing them where the party would take place and showing them where everything was. Rarity was trusted with the food, but the three Apples kept an eye on her so she didn't go overboard with everything.

It took hard work, and even a fight between Shadow and Thunder on decor placement. But they managed to finally get everything fixed up, and all the invited ponies they could fit in the barn. All that was left was the mare of the hour that would soon be walking into a celebration.

"Oh, I hope Applejack is surprised by this surprise party!"Fluttershy hoped for the best to come from this party.

"Well that IS the point."Rainbow Dash pointed out while flying over her friend.

"I know, but I hope she isn't so surprised she's startled,"Fluttershy started to proclaim her worries for the idea of startling rather than just surprising some pony,"Because while being surprised is nice, being startled can be… Very startling."

"Surprise!"Pinkie exclaimed as loud as she could and blew her party whistle.

Fluttershy yelped and jumped into the fore arms of Typhoon from the surprise. He sighed, Fluttershy could be a kind and loving mare, but her struggle with fear could be a pain sometimes. He would normally try to talk or even knock some sense into Flutters with some harsh truth. But recently, thanks to the very nasty melt down Thunder unleashed on Derpy, Twilight had been cracking down on the warriors. Insisting that saying such rude things regardless of their truth wasn't right.

Orion did not agree, but that didn't stop her from trying and occasionally succeeding. Hoping to keep harsh words at the minimum, this put most of the warriors in sour moods. So it was not too surprising that Typhoon groaned and shook his head to suppress the urge to start talking.

"Oh, Pinkie, you startled me."Fluttershy got off Typhoon and manage to calm down.

"Look! If anything, Applejack is probably just going to be glad to be home after a week,"Orion decided to at least explain the more obvious outcome in this party,"She'll enjoy the party casually, hang with friends and family, and probably take the most enjoyable nap she's had in a long time."

"But she needs to be surprised! That's why I'm practicing my surprise for Applejack,"Pinkie Pie tried to justify her over excitement for this surprise party,"Applejack deserves a super cool party for becoming the rodeo champeen of Equestria! Surprise!"

"Well if you want it to remain a surprise, can you do us a favor and shu-"Twilight gave a dirty look to Thunder, spotting the action he was about to perform,"Stop shouting so it can remain a surprise? You wouldn't want to ruin it, right?"

"Of course not! Me? Ruin a surprise party? Never!"Pinkie shouted before Twilight heard the clop of hooves approaching the barn.

"Quiet now…! I think Applejack is coming…!"Twilight whispered to every pony, and got them all mobilizing.

Every pony dropped what they were doing and bolted for a good place to hide. Under tables, bales of hay, and behind gates for cows and pigs, ponies piled up in the spots. They quickly began to go silent, waiting for the barn doors to open, ready to give Applejack the best surprise possible. They heard the sudden knocking on the doors, that was immediately odd since this was Applejack's barn. Only guest usually knock before entry, and that's exactly what came next after the knocking ended.

The doors opened, and every pony but Orion jumped out of their spots to yell, surprise! But once they all jumped out to see their guest, the pony they shouted for was not Applejack. It was a mere mail stallion carrying a message, but it appeared that he more than appreciated the surprise.

"Surprise! Shoot…!"Pinkie gave one more cheer before actually realizing who they were shouting for.

"Wow, this is the best surprise birthday party ever! How did you know it was my birthday?"The stallion asked before giving the letter to Twilight.

"We didn't."Shadow responded before the barn doors shut.

The stallion felt a bit destroyed inside after the doors slammed on him without so much as a happy birthday. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie was there to help cheer the mail stallion with a plate of cake. She gave it to him, and wished him a happy birthday to brighten the mail stallion's day up. The doors closed again to leave every pony to the letter they were given, they were a bit worried. As Twilight undid the envelope and pulled out the letter for both her and Orion to read.

"Who's it from, guys? What's it say?"Apple Bloom asked before noticing Orion's expression dropping, and filling with confusion and shock.

"What the hay…? This can't be right…!"Orion expressed his disbelief with Twilight from the letter's words.

"It's from Applejack…! Family and friends. Not coming back to Ponyville,"Twilight read the short but very heavy letter that left even the warriors in shock,"Don't worry, will send money soon… That's all there is…"

Every pony gasped and conversed with worry, not knowing what to think of such a thing. Shadow looked to the Apples, Mac seemed horrified, his worse fear was actually coming true. Then when she looked to Apple Bloom, she saw only confusion on the outside, but there was heart break on the inside. Quickly the dark mare rushed through the crowd and took the letter right out of Twilight's hooves. She needed to read the letter for herself to confirm such information.

"Applejack's… Not coming home…?"Apple Bloom nearly stuttered out with disbelief.

"What do you mean, Applejack's not coming back?! She loves Ponyville!"Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"And she loves Sweet Apple Acres!"Even Granny Smith expressed her heart broken confusion for this choice.

"And she loves her family!"Apple Bloom added before Shadow slowly crushed the letter in her hooves and felt a deceptive foreboding in these words.

"Something just dreadful must have happened to Applejack, if she can't come home!"Rarity gasped at the possibilities and reasons for this development.

"She could be sick, or hurt, or scared…!"Fluttershy worried for Applejack's possible condition.

"She's not either of these…! But there's something definitely going on with her."Shadow suddenly shut them all down and threw down the crumbled up letter.

"How do you figure, Shadow?"Orion asked as the mare took a strong deep breath in to remain cool minded.

"No spit, blood, or trembling imperfections in the writing or wet spots on the paper,"Shadow explained just how much a mere letter could reveal about a situation,"There's nothing indicating injury, sickness, or even fear. Her words are simple and clear."

"If what you're saying is true, then what are we waiting for? Lets go find her!"Rainbow Dash decided on what they should do about this trouble.

"I agree. We should go and find out what's going on here."Orion agreed to a road trip to find Applejack.

"I can agree to that too. There needs to be an explanation behind this sudden abandonment,"Twilight agreed with the mission the warriors wanted to take up,"Don't worry, we'll search all of Equestria if we have to! We'll bring her back!"

"We all will, Apple family. We promise!"Orion backed Twilight up with a promise that ensured that they would find Applejack.

"Y'all are the best!"Apple Bloom felt her heart lift up a bit from the promise to see her sister again.

"Lets go every pony!"Twilight called, and every pony moved out, accept for Typhoon and Thunder.

"We'll stay behind and… Uh…keep the family here company!"Typhoon called out as the group ran out of the barn to catch a train.

"Nice one… Now we don't need to deal with any drama between friends,"Thunder commended Typhoon's quick save on the drama they were certain awaited the mares, he then looked to Apple Bloom,"So… Apple Bloom… I hear your learning how to kick some flank…"

While the other warriors conversed, Shadow was slow to leave the barn. As much as she understood that a time would come when Mac's fear would show it's face. She did not expect such a thing to actually happen this soon, it had to have been horrible for the family. Once she dared to look back, she could see it, no matter how hard the stallion dared to hide it. Tears rolled down his face, knowing that he may possibly never see his sister again, another Apple could have been lost.

"Our little bushel may have lost another Apple…"Smith could not help but to fear the worse after what the family endured in the past.

"No… That's not going to happen again…! A promise was made, and we will keep it,"Shadow turned back to reassure that they would bring Applejack back,"We won't let you lose any more family than you already have… Please have faith, Apples."

"Do everything you can… Please…"Smith begged Shadow for the help they were willing to give.

"I will…"Shadow nodded and ran off to catch up with the others.

"So… You wanna show us what you can do so far?"Thunder asked of Apple Bloom regardless of how the other Apples were grieving.

---

Meanwhile, the group wasted no time running to the train station and catching the first one to Canterlot. They made a promise to the family, now it was time to fulfill that promise. So they waited on the train with much anticipation and worry for what they might learn at the city. Orion was ready in case his sisters were made aware of their arrival, though they would help their current situation. But they could only wait till they were making an approach to the city itself.

The whistle sounded with a high pitch screech once they were approaching the city. The two warriors were already waiting at the doors to get out and start searching around. The wheels on the track began to grind to a stop once they were entering the Canterlot train station. And the minute those doors opened, the two immediately bolted out and began to search the city top to bottom. It surprised Twilight to see how much enthusiasm the warriors were, even though it was because of a promise.

Their first stop was the rodeo competition, perhaps they could find Applejack in the crowd. The rodeo was an easy thing to find, just find the cages full of bulls and the rodeo rings. Plus the massive groups of southern ponies were a give away, so they found the place within ten minutes. So they all got to work, questioning every pony they could catch up to around the rodeo. The warriors even offered to help clean up the competition in exchange for some information.

Sadly, every pony seemed to be clueless aside from one thing they noticed. Applejack was quick to leave the competition, and she did not look like she was in the most pleasant of mood. So perhaps there was a fight, or maybe Applejack caught on to some dirty play in the competition. Either way, perhaps some sort of trouble got Applejack into a world of Tartarus. So while the other ponies and the prince continued asking around the rodeo, Shadow had something else in mind.

This type of rodeo was national, a lot of money is raked into this competition. There's a lot of betting in such things as well among rich ponies, where there's a lot of money being tossed around. There's some lifters looking for a quick score on some rich pony money. Lifters that Shadow was very familiar with, just like the numerous types of petty thieves, creeps, and street fighters she knew about on city streets. It didn't even take long to spot one around his teenage years doing just that.

"Well would you look at that…! The organization's ways live on."Shadow noticed her past suddenly appearing in the light of the present.

A little brown colt was doing some clean up on a couple cocky and disappointed ponies. Lifting off their money sacs and stashing them in the hood of his brown hooded cape. Once he finished up the collection of loot, he was about to make a quick and quiet escape into the ally ways. The ponies were an easy thing to avoid, too distracted by their own needs to notice a snake lifting their money. It ended up looking like a straight shot to the ally way, but Shadow objected to that.

She stepped in front of his path, and he had only seconds to notice her interference. He gasped, for he spotted her about to make a grab for him, so he dove under her arm to avoid. But Shadow knew this classic maneuver for lifters, and she already saw a flaw in his move, that very hood that hid his face.

"Are you in some sort of rush?"Shadow giggled and snatched him up by his hood, making him land on his flank.

"Hooves off! You're not taking me alive, guard…!"The colt growled, gaining the attention of the ponies.

Then he revealed just what Shadow's old group was capable of, and she was going to be proud. He grabbed her hoof and manage to kick off before flipping up her arm and bucking at her. His hooves scratched her face as she side stepped to avoid the kick, and smirked. She then chuckled, looking at the colt as he rushed her, pulling out a knife, she knew what that was going to be used for. His plan was to cut her legs at the base of her hooves, leaving her unable to move while he fled.

This only excited her as he went for the front hooves, but she knew how to move from those attacks. She jumped back and locked the right hoof that held the knife between her shoulder and left hoof. Leaving her right hoof free to jab him in the nose, he fell back while she yanked the knife away. She tossed it aside and kept her smirk going, as the colt right back up. She tried to stomp a back hoof down on his chest to pin him, but he swiftly rolled to the side to avoid.

He then took his chance and manage to start jabbing at her gut as many times he could. Shadow easily took the jabs as she chuckled, not of pity, but with excitement to see this ancient organization still active. Her chuckles angered the colt, and he made a very poor choice. He dared to go for a slow hay maker to her cheek, she caught his hay maker with ease and headbutted him away. He rolled on the cobble stone, gripping his head for a moment, feeling it drip with a bit of blood.

"You might wanna keep an eye on your foe…!"Shadow teased the colt before he saw her coming, ready to start swinging some hooves herself.

He threw up his hooves to block two jabs and a hook, only to take a kick to the belly. He spit out a bit of wind before backing away, only for Shadow to sweep his legs out from under him. He slammed on his back, only to roll back and onto his hooves, scooping up some dirt in the process. He took a moment to catch his breath, and Shadow decided to punish him for taking his eyes off her. But this time, he was going to get her eyes off him so he could make a quick get away.

He tossed the hooves full of dirt, and they smacked and dusted up Shadow's eyes. She growled, and gripped at her eyes that went blind completely as she struggled to clean out the dirt. The colt panted and tried to make his escape, only to fall face first in the dirt like his hooves were stuck in cement. He grumbled and lifted his head up to see one of the money bags fall out of his hood. He swallowed and looked around before quickly recovering the money bag, he could not get caught.

"You must have been a beater that got demoted to a lifter for a bit. You're pretty good,"Shadow complimented the thief as she rubbed at her eyes till her vision recovered and her eyes could open without pain,"But you're using moves and tricks I know ALL too well…!"

The colt looked around, trying to figure out how he was suddenly stopped in his tracks. But all he could see out of the ordinary was Shadow's shadow linked to his own like a painless bear trap. He swallowed, knowing that if he was revealed, he could never go back to the organization that took him in.

"I'll save you the formalities. I just need some answers about some pony that was here."The colt paused, confused and a bit skeptical of the mare's intentions.

"You're kidding, right…? You just did all that just for some questions from a little colt?"He asked while trying to work his back hooves out of her grip.

"You're more than that… So the old orphan organization is still kicking, huh?"Shadow revealed her knowledge on an old enterprise ran by an old and long passed friend and mentor.

"How do you know about the…?"The colt wondered as Shadow playfully tapped his chin and put his hood over his head again.

"I was once a student myself… A long long time ago in an old kingdom. Now about some answers,"The colt seemed hesitant, but it was clear that the dark mare knew what he was and what he worked for,"You weren't perhaps one of the lifters hustling the folks during the rodeo competition were you…?"

"No… I'm just on clean up. Nabbing the loot from the winners,"The colt sighed and opened up what he knew about the time during the rodeo competition,"The one in charge of the rodeo heist was our boss stallion and his best beaters and lifters."

"The enterprise has a new boss?"Shadow took interest that some pony was taking up her mentor's old work.

"Of course, a new one takes over ever twenty years according to, Stone Crumble,"The colt sighed, knowing that it was very risky revealing this information to an outsider,"Can I go back now before I get busted?"

"One more request… Can you take me to see your boss? He has the info I'm looking for."Shadow politely asked of the colt.

"I can't… That's a secret, and I'll be out on the street if I let an outsider into the organization."The colt insisted on not revealing the organization to a grown pony.

"That's good, you're protecting the enterprise, but I'm no outsider technically,"Shadow reminded the colt while lifting him back onto his hooves,"So you wanna take me to the enterprise? Or would you rather be expose?"

She grabbed his hood and shook it to make the bits jingle in their bags. He panicked, not wanting the ponies to realize he just robbed them, he could not mess up this clean up job. So he smacked her hoof away and growled before turning away from Shadow, before relenting.

"Follow me…"He sighed and offered to guide Shadow to the place where he went to when he wasn't on the streets.

"Warrior business, every pony go back to what you were doing…!"Shadow dismissed and got the eyes of onlookers off her and the colt before following him into the heart of Canterlot.

They went deep into the city, almost to the point that their was actually some middle class ponies to be seen. A rarity in an economy that was high and full of the wealthiest ponies. But this place needed to be somewhere within a lower class area, where street kids and orphans would be found more often. It was only a half an hour more before they got to a pure middle and lower class community. It was a small place, but it definitely appeared to be the spot to find orphans and street kids.

Shadow looked to her sides, plenty of children playing on the street. Some of them looking innocent enough, a couple parents watching them while she noticed smoke coming from windows. One whiff of that smoke, and she knew what was going on in those houses.

"It's probably not as bad as it was back in your time maybe. Don't know how old you are,"The colt decided to give Shadow a bit of knowledge about this part of town,"But there's still some issues that leave kids without parents or with some crappy parents that would rather get blitzed…!"

"And what category do you fall under…?"Shadow asked while kicking a ball towards a colt and two fillies that were playing with it.

The colt immediately hesitated at the sudden interest in his life.

"It's just me and my old stallion… He's a waiter… Working himself to the bone…"He sighed before they then heard breaking glass and wood furniture being tossed.

They looked towards a white small house, just in time to see a vase go through one of it's two windows. Then a slam against the door nearly knocked a bolt loose before screaming ensued. Shadow rushed towards the house as she heard a mare yelling and pounding against the door.

"All you ever do is mess around with those nasty boys and keep money to yourself,"The yelling rattled the door while whimpers and grunts to hide the whimpers mixed with it,"You'll give me that money you got from your dirty work! Don't you dare hold out on your mother!"

Shadow approached the door, only for the door to swing open, and a filly to exit the building. She was holding her left eye and looking to the floor before slowly trying to walk away. Only to walk right into the chest of Shadow, who slowly looked down to see the pain and anger on her face.

"You hide money from me again you'll never be allowed back in this house again!"The last bit of words were shared in a warning before the door locked behind her.

"Let me go in, I can teach that mare some-"

"Don't bother, my real haul is back at my real home…"The yellow and orange filly called off the offer for street justice before walking down the steps.

"Mother confiscated your lunch money again, Dawn Glare?"The colt asked as the filly sighed and tried to brush off the trouble she was in.

"You just got off a clean up detail, didn't you Mellow Dark?"The filly dodged the question and asked one right back of the colt.

"Yeah, now I'm stuck taking this mare to see Stone Crumble. Says she was once part of the organization."The filly looked to Shadow with a mix of skepticism and curiosity, seeing how different she was from other adults.

"Stone will probably be the judge of that… Lets just go already."She insisted on just getting away from her house.

Shadow could not simply let this go, if retribution was not permitted, than treatment at least needed to be applied. Thankfully there was some socks hanging from a window to dry. As well as a couple kids finishing their ice cold drinks, it took only some sweet talk and some climbing to acquire both. Before the two kids could make it far, Shadow manage to rush out in front of them. Wielding a hoof sock full of ice for the filly's eye, she could tell Dawn Glare got it a bit rough.

"Hooves away, and let me see."Shadow instructed while the filly hesitated and nearly looked away.

"I don't need your help…! This is nothing…"She insisted, only to have Shadow lightly grip her chin so she'd look at the mare.

"Let me see it, Dawn."Shadow insisted in her well known parental tone, this made the filly huffy.

The filly was slow to remove her hoof from her damaged eye, the damage was almost sickening. Her eye was dark purple along with half her cheek, while he eye ball was red an watery. Shadow let out a deep breath to calm herself, and slowly placed the make shift ice pack to the filly's eye. She winced a bit from the damage, panting and even hyperventilating a bit before she got use to the feeling. Slowly she controlled her breathing and closed her eyes while Shadow waited a whole minute.

"Here… Hold that to your eye till the swelling goes down… You're lucky you didn't lose that eye,"Shadow made sure the filly was ok and holding the pack to her eye before looking back to the guide,"We can move on now. I'd like to leave before I go back and devour that mare."

"Fine… Follow me…"The colt agreed and instantly gripped at a garage door that was built into an ally way entrance.

He lead them down the greasy and unsanitary ally way, housing at least three bums. Two of which were getting a bit too interested in watching the children and the mare that walked with them. Thankfully they did not dare to do anything, not with some pony like Shadow with them. Plus Dawn flashed her very own shiv at them during their passing, warning the creeps of what would come to pass. There was no further interruptions as they made it to a hidden part of the town.

Once they made it to an abandon square, that's when she saw it after thousands of years. A ware house, respectively large but not as large as the old one standing tall over several abandon buildings. Several other homeless ponies still hang around, but the look in their eyes suggested a different purpose. The warehouse looked a bit cleaner, but it definitely kept a tough exterior. It almost seemed like a recreational center for low class kids, but the banging and yells suggested otherwise.

"We make it look a bit like a recreational center so guards don't bother with us,"The colt explained the few changes the organization made through the ages,"And the bums here get paid to be the eyes and ears in case of challenging groups showing up, or the guards snooping around."

"So you don't need to worry about them. All you need to worry about is the password,"The filly explained further before dumping her ice pack in the trash after her eye recovered,"No new comers get in without knowing the password. So I hope you were telling the truth about being a part of the group."

"I don't think that will be a problem…"Shadow remarked before they approached the large reinforced doors.

A piece of the door slid to the side and a colt at least under ten was staring out. Looking around before he spotted a former beater and a lifter, but then he caught on to the mare. He glared at the mare, showing that he wasn't a fan of adults in the least, so this better have been good.

"What?! Why is there a grown mare in a holy robe out there with you? No adults!"The colt denied the permission for Shadow to enter.

"She says she was once part of the organization. She wants to talk with stone, Grustle."Dawn explained the mare's reason for being here.

"Really? Is she a guard? She got a two way gem on her?"He bombarded them with more questions.

"Does she look like a guard to you, Grustle? Come on, let us in!"Mellow demanded while the younger colt growled.

"What's the password, she should know it if she was a part of the organization."The colt demanded proof of Shadow's affiliation with the enterprise.

"Of course… The streets are perilous, but the possibilities are endless!"Shadow approached, and spoke the unchanged password she remembered as a filly.

His eyes widen from such knowledge still being known to a grown mare of all things. Silence took over for a solid minute, before he let out a painful sigh to finally relent on the mare. He got down from a stool he was on to reach the look out spot, he then unlocked the doors to open them. He slid the doors open to the side, and slowly stood aside to let the three ponies enter the warehouse. Shadow nodded and was a little quicker to enter and see things both familiar and new.

A ring was in the center of the warehouse, perfect for sparring and big time street fights. Behind it was a selection of different dumbbells, benches and punching bags for working out. One of the new things on the other hoof was tables being laid out in front where kids were learning to sort things. From learning how to properly count and control money, to sorting laundry and even toys. This new thing was actually a good thing, teaching kids how to work hard working jobs like in a factory or a corporation.

"Nice touch…! A bit of job training to go with learning how to fight. I like it."Shadow complimented before two fillies were about to go at it in the ring.

"That's the kind of stuff I like to see among ponies everywhere! Working for a better future,"A large build stallion announced as the fillies started kick boxing and roughing each other up,"You only get as strong on the outside as you are on the inside. And all that depends on how far you're willing to go!"

The coaching stallion leaped over a railing and slammed down to the ground on his hooves. His black mane and tail was messy and spikey, he approached the ring to watch the fight. Knowing these two fillies had a dispute to clean up, and brawling was a good way to earn respect for one another. Hooves flew, the blocks were well timed, but the body shots were greatly exploited. Once one filly went to the ground, grappling and submissions were then the new battle in the ring.

"Stone! We have a visitor that thinks you got answers for her!"Mellow called out the young stallion as he turned to see the group in a better light.

His face was clean, but he did have a peculiar and familiar mark on his right shoulder. There was a slightly faded beauty mark on his right shoulder, it looked a lot like an X shaped scar. A feature that one stallion was known for having in her time, she smiled, noticing how similar this stallion was to another.

"Who is it?"He asked and noticed the grown dark mare behind the two arrivals.

"She says she was once a part of the organization. And she'd like a little info,"Mellow explained the meaning behind bringing a grown mare into the organization,"She knew the password, and she knew every trick I threw at her when trying to escape."

"It's amazing to see this place living on, even in a new kingdom completely."Shadow admitted while the stallion went from surprised to serious before approaching.

He was quiet to approach the mare, it was like she was being studied by him. He was slow, looking at the old looking robe and those unorthodox looking boots with the openings for hoof tips. Once he was in her face, he needed just a nice and quick look at her face. From the black Circles around her eyes, to her flowing dark purple mane, and the immortal eyes she carried. He knew exactly what he was dealing with, and he needed to handle this sort of character in private.

"Dawn, get settled in and get something for your eye. Mellow, deposit your clean up loot to the sorters,"Stone instructed the two little workers,"I'll take care of this one in my office."

The two kids shrugged and went off to do as they were told, leaving Shadow with the big boss. He then became the new guide and gestured the mare to follow him across the warehouse. Watching as kids were either sorting, fighting, working out, and bringing in the money for the enterprise. Some of the children stopped to watch their boss take the mysterious dark mare to his office. He opened the door and let Shadow go in first, before nodding to his kids to reassure them, he then went in himself.

Shadow immediately took a seat at a chair that stood before a metal desk. While the stallion slowly shut and locked the door behind him, quickly he watched the rest of the fight between the fillies. Then quietly looked back to Shadow, before letting a smirk grow across his face. Slowly he approached the mare, for he knew exactly who she was, and what she was to this place. He chuckled once he was behind her and swerved over to the desk before diving under it to grab something.

"I know who you are…! And believe me, I've waited ages to see the legend herself,"Shadow perked up, feeling a sense of flattery from his knowledge about her,"I took pride being part of this ancient organization, building a future for orphans and poor kids alike. It's like doing a true god's work."

He was quick to uncover a safe from under the desk and quickly open it up. In it was a bundle of papers that looked almost as old as time itself, old parchment full of ancient writing. He brought it out and put it in front of the mare before sitting down, eager to properly introduce himself.

"Me and every pony before me read the instructions and ways of the stallion that made this whole thing possible,"Stone went on a monologue while Shadow blushed to hear about Brick's legacy,"Do a little mischief to make a future to those who nearly had it taken away. It was my job to keep this dream and legacy alive…!"

"Indeed… No matter what he had to do, Brick was a good stallion… Everything he did was for the future of children…"Stone chuckled at Shadow's admittance as excitement added.

"And it's still happening. His dream and legacy are still very much alive,"He chuckled and showed Shadow an all paper describing the two students he personally trained,"And his greatest piece of legacy is sitting in front of me…! Isn't that right, Shadow Swirl?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Stone…!"She chuckled that this stallion expressed his happiness to see the founder's greatest student.

"The pleasure is all mine! To think THE Shadow Swirl stands in my office as you did for Brick almost two thousand years ago,"He slapped his hooves on the desk to help contain his excitement,"So… Do you like what we did to the place since you left?"

"I do… It still feels like the warehouse I fought and worked in, only a bit cleaner,"Shadow admitted while she even felt at home in the office,"The recreational part of the warehouse is a nice new touch. Letting children job train to pursue some clean work for a change."

"And it's a good way to avoid trouble with any authorities that try to shut us down,"Stone admitted the other use the recreational area had for the sake of hiding the building's true purpose,"Celestia is a good ruler, and there's nowhere near as many orphans and abused kids these days. But dang did such good stuff come at a hefty price of strict laws…!"

"Yeah, well laws are laws for a reason."Shadow replied to tease this new boss.

"Yet here we are…!"He responded, curious to play the game she was up for playing.

"Fair enough… Look, I'm here simply for a favor. I'm looking for some pony you may have seen,"Shadow decided that now would not be a good time for a trip down memory lane, she had a promise to keep,"You were in charge of the Canterlot rodeo competition heist, correct?"

"Maybe I was… And maybe there's a hard earned haul you should see downstairs."He tried to get Shadow interested in the progress that was made from the competition.

"Stone…! There can be a time and place to enjoy this nostalgia, and even catch up with the place,"Shadow was not up for being enthralled and distracted from her mission,"But right now, I have a promise to keep to a family. And I need to find some pony they lost. Please, I need your help…!"

"Really…? Alright then. We had a successful heist and raked in a lot of dough from a bunch of betting ponies,"Stone sighed and decided to come clean about the events of the rodeo,"We even got a hold of half the prize money from the rodeo champeen. She won't realize we took some till she's back at Manehattan."

"Manehattan? You mean…Applejack wasn't the winner of the rodeo competition?"Shadow asked and Stone nearly busted up laughing at the notion.

"Applejack? Orange furred blond mare, three apple cutie mark, white freckles on her cute little cheeks,"He questioned the assumption of the mare Shadow was looking for, and she nodded in response,"That mare blew it hardcore at the last event and got fourth place. Boy did she destroy herself hard after that…!"

"Oh my gosh…! She vowed to win the prize money for her family…"Shadow realized what might have happened with Applejack.

"Oh… Well…yeah, she even got into a fight after she was certain there was foul play,"Stone continued on seeing there was general concern for the mare,"She got overwhelmed, and kicked out with nothing but her fourth place ribbon. We decided to let her go, seeing as she already got robbed by the competition."

"What..?"Shadow could not believe what she was hearing.

"Some of the ponies were playing a bit dirty, greasing up the bulls, giving her old worn ropes, ecedra,"Stone explained some details about the competitions events,"But I didn't see her winning the competition any way. She just left, and took the next train to Dodge Junction."

"Dodge Junction? Why the hay would she go there?"Shadow asked.

"I don't know. What do you think Apples would do at a place like, Dodge Junction?"He asked a question that Shadow would soon realize the answer to.

Back at the Rodeo competition, it was finally all wrapped up, and the streets belonged to the ponies again. And by the end of it, nothing came up, no pony had a clue about what became of Applejack. They were soon becoming desperate, asking whatever ponies remained. Even still, nothing came up, the mares were getting tired and the prince was starting to have doubts. But a promise was a promise, and he did not dare break it with the Apple family.

Once he took one more look around the area that was cleaned out, he needed to regroup. They needed a new plan, for this simple search around the area was not helping their case. Little did they know, Shadow was returning from the city with the information they needed.

"Nothing…! Other than some of them were happy to see her leave. She must have ruined them in the competition."Orion reported what he could learn from the ponies around the area.

"Of course she wrecked them! She's awesome!"Rainbow Dash agreed to the statement.

"Maybe we should try asking princess Celestia for guidance. She must have attended the competition."Twilight suggested perhaps some pony who could shine some light.

"Or we could just wait, and perhaps my vision could track her down…!"Orion wanted to find an alternative idea that would prevent the need for help from Celestia.

"That could take hours! We need to find her as quickly as possible!"Rarity insisted that they needed to do what would help find their friend the fastest.

"She's right…! You'll just have to deal with a visit to your sister, Orion."Twilight tried her hoof at some harsh truth, though it was hypocritical, and Orion would not stand for it.

"You mean like how you handle harsh truth SO well? Don't try pulling that kind of hypocrisy with me!"Orion ranted about Twilight's hypocritical comment about him and his sister.

"It's not hypocrisy, it's sensitivity over feelings! There's a difference between feelings and comfort."Twilight argued before her and Orion started a blow out about the subject.

"This isn't going well at all…"Fluttershy sighed watching her two friends fight.

"Luckily we won't have to wait any longer!"

Shadow Swirl appeared after two solid hours of disappearing off into the city streets. She emerged from the darkness to see them fighting, thankfully she could break it up with some news. But a part of her didn't want to tell them the news, for it didn't feel like good or bad news.

"You find anything?"Orion ended the argument and turned more serious.

"I got us a location and some insight on what happened. We got a train to Dodge Junction to catch…!"Shadow instructed before passing by them, hiding a level of growing anger.

"Ok…? Then to Dodge Junction we go!"Twilight announced and every pony followed Shadow to the train station.

They wasted no time stacking up in the train before it could leave, this trip turned silent. The group seemed concern, for Shadow seemed to be in a foul mood over her findings. She told them only the basics, from Applejack leaving the rodeo to almost getting into a fight with others. Though she could not bring herself to tell them that Applejack lost the competition. At least she couldn't tell them just yet, first she wanted the rest of the information from Applejack.

All she was thinking at the moment was that Applejack needed to answer for some things. As understandable as it was to lose a competition and fail her family, her choice to leave them was wrong. She had basically abandon her family because of her own shame and bruised pride. To Shadow this was an act of selfish need for redemption, her family was simply cast aside. And she thought money would be the way she could fix things while choosing to stay away?

Money will never buy back the family she failed, only facing her shame would give the Apple a chance at redemption. Shadow was going to teach Applejack that hard lesson, any way she could. The trip from Canterlot to Dodge Junction was a long one, it took a whole day even. Yet Shadow did not sleep, this issue with Applejack was truly bothering her, and after all the things Applejack once spoke of. She said she loved her family, she'd never hurt them, and she'd never abandon them.

Yet she was doing just that at this very moment, to cover up her shame at the competition. This will not be accepted, she was going to answer for these sudden actions of abandonment. And Shadow was ready to drag this Apple home if she dared to deny and refuse reality.

---

Thankfully, once the sun was on the rise for another day, their destination was near. They were deep in the desert, just a mile from Apploosa, and Dodge Junction didn't look too different. Very western inspired style of construction, plenty of western ponies walking among the town. Some stop to wave to the train that was coming into the station, unaware of the visitor's intentions. Shadow yawned and rubbed her eyes before turning to Twilight, a quick light tap to the head woke the young unicorn.

"Wh-what…! Where are we?"Twilight frantically awoke and looked around before hearing the whistle of the train.

"We're here…! Dodge Junction."Shadow informed Twilight before the young unicorn alarmed every pony else.

"Every pony! Get up! We've made it to Dodge Junction!"Twilight announced, and every pony awoke to see the area.

They all piled at the windows to look out into the dusty hot town and all it's establishments. Dodge Junction was primarily a working town, not a lot of homes, but a lot of business. So that meant this was the place for workers and new comers from far away lands to work at. As impressive as the place appeared, Orion was more concerned about the restless Shadow Swirl. This mission appeared to be turning personal for her, so much so that she gave up a day of sleep.

"We'll find her, and we'll get her home…! Try to to worry too much."Orion tried to talk some patience into the dark mare.

"She abandoned her family… To cover up her petty shame…! She needs to answer for it."Shadow insisted that her anger at Applejack was just.

"Does that really matter? What matters is her being with the Apple family again,"Orion insisted before he saw the elements getting off the train to enter the town,"Every pony's getting off, lets not keep them and Applejack waiting."

"It would matter to her parents…"Shadow sighed before following Orion to the train exit.

Once they all exited the train, they were left to take in the similar dry heat and dust of the desert. Smelled like sand and a bit of cow pie to a city slicker, but it was fresh desert air to a working pony. They all took it in, it felt like they were back in Apploosa again, a part of them wanted to explore. But Shadow Swirl had no time for sight seeing, there was a run away Apple that needed to be found.

"I hope this lead of yours wasn't a trick or leading us into a dead end, Shadow,"Rainbow Dash wanted to make her concerns clear to the warrior as they ventured into the city,"I don't want to go home empty hooved after promising we'd find her."

"My source is reliable. The ponies I spoke to never lie to me…!"Shadow insisted that Stone was a solid and trust worthy stallion.

"I don't know how we'll break it to the Apple family…"Fluttershy worried what could happen if they were to fail.

"I don't know how we'll break it to Ponyville!"Twilight worried about an even bigger issue that would ensue from their failure.

"I don't know how I'll make it to the next stop!"Pinkie Pie revealed that she needed a bathroom as soon as possible.

"This is simple! We don't fail, and we don't give up. It's simple as that!"Orion decided to push the idea of failure out of their brains.

"Then in that case, lets fan out and try to find her girls!"Twilight decided and every pony immediately started searching high and low for Applejack.

What some feared would end up being a day long project ended faster than they ever thought possible. And it was all thanks to Pinkie Pie immediately rushing off to find a bathroom. Her bladder had her mind almost in a haze so much, she didn't even realize that she was charging right for Applejack. She began pounding on the door of an occupied stall in desperation, Hoping that whoever was in there was getting done soon, because she needed that bathroom now.

"Ooh, pickles! Hurryhurryhurryhurryhurry! Hurry up in there!"Pinkie begged before the door open and Applejack swung the door open and exited.

"Alright! Alright! Hold your horses! Huh, some ponies, sheesh!"Applejack ranted before meeting face to face with Pinkie.

"Applejack! I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her!"Pinkie announced and the group immediately began to regroup and charged right for her.

"Oh, Applejack, thank heavens!"Rarity cried as they all rushed to the Apple with relief.

"We're so glad you're safe!"Fluttershy added as they gathered around Applejack to assess her condition.

"I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her! Be right back!"Pinkie exclaimed, then quickly rushed into the stall to do her business.

"Uh, hey every pony. What's up?"Applejack plainly responded, not wanting too big of a conversation.

"Why didn't you come back to Ponyville!"Twilight already wanted answers for Applejack's disappearance.

"Yes, why are you here?"Rarity questioned behind Twilight.

"Are you ok?"Fluttershy asked a more cautious question before Orion barged in to voice some outrage.

"What the hay is the meaning of this sudden disregard for your fa-"He yelled before Twilight and Rainbow cut him off and tried to hold him back.

"Do you have any snacks?"Pinkie Pie flushed and left the stall in satisfaction.

"Tell us what happened, Applejack!"Twilight insisted that answers were given for this departure.

"Applejack? Are these some of your Ponyville friends?"Another elitist fruit picker suddenly arrived, and this one was known as a friendly competitor of the Apples.

"Yes, ma'm."Twilight responded to the cherry red maned mare with quite the complex vanilla colored coat.

"And you are…?"Rarity was curious to know this new mare with the cherry cutie mark.

"Cherry Jubilee. One of the head owners of Cherry Hill Ranch. A more friendlier competitor of the Apples,"Orion made his presence known to the in charge Cherry family member,"I take it you were attending the Equestria Rodeo competition where you met Applejack?"

"As a matter of fact, I was, and let me say, It is an honor to meet the prince of Equestria,"She exclaimed, but easily read the gesture that Orion did not require formalities,"As for your question, I did indeed see Applejack compete at the Equestria rodeo competition. Never saw anypony win so many ribbons in all my life."

"Aw, shucks, Mrs Jubilee. You don't have to go into all that."Applejack insisted on remaining humble, but now this humility just found this to feel like a mere act.

"Oh she's so modest. Any way, I can always use a pony with quick hooves and a strong back,"Jubilee revealed the reason she was attending the competition,"So, when I heard Applejack was looking for a change of scenery. I snapped her up as quick as I could and brought her to Dodge Junction."

"A change of scenery? So… The Apple farm just got boring to you…?"Orion slowly crossed his arms hearing these unheard of words from the normally honest mare.

"Well now… I'll…let you catch up with your friends. See you back at the ranch!"The mare decided to avoid the awkward moment and scurried away after some sweet words.

"Change of scenery? What's that suppose to mean?!"Rainbow demanded more answers hearing this sort of madness.

"Yes! What the hay is THAT suppose to mean!"Orion spotted Shadow Swirl coming in a little late after nearly getting lost, and now she was coming in hot.

Orion went from being the guy ready to cause a scene and read a riot act to trying to keep the peace. He manage to get his arm around Shadow to stop her and hold the dark mare back. She flailed and kicked, showing more of the personal feeling she had towards this endeavor.

"Ok, she has yet to make an excuse. Give it a minute before we go off on her…!"Orion insisted while struggling to hold Shadow back.

"No big deal, guys. I thought cherries would be a nice change from apples So I took the job and came here,"Applejack explained and that only outraged the two warriors even more as it contradicted her words from a week ago,"That's it, end of story."

"That's it?! Well that's a terrible story!"Pinkie did not like the cut and dry story they were given.

"Sorry, but that's all there is to tell. Thanks for checking on me, but y'all can go home now,"Applejack insisted all was well and attempted to send her friends on their way,"Tell my family, hi, and I am a-okay."

"You're joking… We're not going anywhere…!"Orion and Shadow objected to being told to just leave.

"Yeah, we didn't travel all over Equestria searching for you to come home without you!"Rainbow agreed and decided against leaving after they finally found their friend.

"Well, I didn't ask you to come looking for me! There is nothing to tell and I'm not going back to Ponyville!"Applejack decided to walk away before things dared to get more heated.

"Your family asked us because they were worried about you! Do you not even care abo-"Orion was ready to read a harsh riot act, but Twilight stopped him.

"Reigning down on her isn't going to solve anything…! That will just give her more reason not to come home,"Twilight insisted that some harsh bashing was not what they needed right now,"I don't care what she says, Applejack is not telling us something."

"Twilight's right. We gotta get her to spill the beans!"Rainbow agreed once again that they needed to investigate their friend.

"What?! She had beans?! Ugh, I told her I was snacky!"Pinkie ranted about the simple fact that she did not have any snacks.

So they all hatched a plan, shortly after Shadow was able to control herself once more. But now tensions were high, the warriors themselves were ready to be at Applejack's made promises and professed never ending loyalty and love to her family, and she broke all those promises. But Twilight and the mares forbid them for going after Applejack and drilling their words into her. For harsh truth was still an issue for Twilight, and she did not like how the warriors displayed harsh truth.

So their tongues were forced to be held as a more secretive plan was made. And it got started the moment Applejack was coming into the Cherry Hill business to do some work. Cherry Jubilee herself was just entering her establishment to find Applejack already prepared for work.

"You ready to put your back into it, Applejack?"Jubilee gave a trick question to the Apple as she got on her hamster wheel like machine.

"Sure am, Miss Jubilee!"Applejack responded and got ready to start jogging to get the cherries rolling in.

"Terrific! Come on in, ladies and gentle colt!"Jubilee called out, and the elements, as well as the warriors suddenly entered the building, ready to work.

"What are you all doing here?"Applejack was less than pleased to see her friends suddenly up for doing a job with cherries.

"We're your cherry sorters! Shall we get started?"Twilight explained and offered a group of working hooves for the cherries.

"Fine…!"Applejack bit back the temptation to kick her friends out, seeing as they weren't going to surrender their attempts to make her talk.

"Haha, red cherries go in one bin, and yellow cherries go in the other. Simple as cherry pie,"Jubilee kindly laid out the simple instructions for sorting out cherries on the conveyor belt,"Just one more teensy thing to remember. Have fun!"

The cherry loving mare laughed and went on her way, leaving the work to the workers. This left them all alone with the estranged friend, who still had things to answer for. But now her defenses were up, thankfully there was more than one way to break a stubborn Apple.

"What are you seven up to?"Applejack wanted answers to their sudden engagement in her new job.

"Nothing at all, and there's nothing to tell at all why we want to give this job a try."Shadow sarcastically spoke with some of Applejack's old words.

"Yes, you just made working on Cherry Orchard sound… So delightful."Rarity admitted while trying to ignore some of the hard hoof straining work she needed to do.

"Uh huh. Well, just remember. No talking about Ponyville."Applejack demanded that the town wasn't even brought up.

"Aw, what's wrong? Can't handle the thought of lying and abandoning your home and fam-"Shadow wanted to take some outraged shots, but Twilight shushed her.

"Stop trying to say all that stuff…! We'll never get through to her with you two coming down on her."Twilight ranted about the harsh words the two were dying to throw down on the Apple.

"If that's how it's going to be. Why don't YOU stop talking and get walking?"Rainbow meanwhile retorted and got Applejack running on the wheel.

Once Applejack got running, the cherries started coming out simply and easy enough. The ponies got to work, sorting yellow and red cherries into their bins at a respectable and easy speed. Though even when hard at work, the mares had all the time and patience to start asking questions.

"So, AJ, how was Canterlot? Not talking about Ponyville, talking about Canterlot. Totally different town."Twilight was trying to pull off a question while trying too hard to be sensitive about it.

"This is absurd, Applejack needs a riot act brought down on her. Maybe even a good slug to her stubborn head,"Shadow went on a rant while sorting out cherries with Orion to vent to,"And these mares keep trying to play all sensitive and petite, and trying not to hurt her feelings…! What about the Apple family's feelings…?!"

"I know… Twilight forgets about how the world works, and what ponies like Applejack need to start thinking straight,"Orion agreed and explained the trouble with their attempts at reaching Applejack,"This kind of soft and overly sensitive approach allows a rebel mentality to form, along with defensive walls to hide the truth."

"Was the rodeo fun?"As Twilight and Applejack started some questions and answers, they provided a case and point for Orion.

"Yes."

"Did you meet some nice ponies there?"

"Some."

"Really? Did you see Wild Bull Hickok? What about Calamity Mane?"Rainbow joined the conversation.

"Yes, I saw em both."

"And how did you meet miss Jubilee?"Rarity also joined in while the warriors nodded.

"Yeah, they're not even making an attempt to pry for the truth. They're being too respective…!"Shadow stressed without noticing Applejack running faster on the wheel, causing cherries to come out faster.

"Um, excuse me?"Fluttershy was the first to notice as the cherries came out quicker.

"We need to find our opportunity to finally force the truth out before we drag her home,"Orion suggested before he noticed the conveyor belt going faster, forcing him to go faster,"What the hay? Is this thing going faster?"

"I don't know, is this normal speed for processing all these cherries?"Shadow finally noticed and even struggled a bit to continue sorting.

"So you told her about Sweet Apple Acres?"Twilight finally brought up Applejack's home.

"Yes."

"Did you tell her why you weren't going back?"Rainbow at long last tried to pry for the answer that Shadow already knew.

"No, cause it was none of her business…!"Applejack started to get heated and went even faster on the wheel.

"Ooh… Can you please slow down…?"Fluttershy begged for her friends to slow down as the cherries came even faster.

"Yeah, can you guys NOT make this machine go any faster!"Shadow insisted, but they were ignored.

"Is it because I made it rain on you that one time?"Rainbow suggested that she did something to drive Applejack away.

"No!"

"Help!"Fluttershy cried for help as they all struggled and even failed to stop the swarms of incoming cherries.

"Is it because you were insulted when I gave you that book on organizing orchards?"Twilight suggested a book was the cause of this.

"NO!"Applejack started running like a hamster till the gears were turning to the point that they were pass their limit.

"Is it because you were insulted when I insulted your hair?"Rarity asked a more odd reason behind the sudden abandonment.

"No, no, NO! I'm not telling you why, so just-"Applejack was ready to explode, but Fluttershy beat her to it.

"STOP!"Fluttershy cried before an avalanche of cherries poured out while gears broke off.

Cherries piled all over every pony, they nearly drowned in all the red and yellow cherries. Thankfully they were able to resurface from the pile of cherries, every pony was ok. At least they were all physically ok, but Applejack was now heated and needed to get away from every pony. But Shadow was done as well, regardless of Twilight's need for sensitivity with her friend. She needed to be frontal, so she decided to blow this need for the truth wide open.

"Alright! You won't answer your friends, I will!"Shadow yelled and made her voice heard the moment Applejack poked her head out from the pile of cherries.

"Right, because you clearly know what happened…!"Applejack dared to call the warrior on her bluff, a grave mistake.

Shadow scowled at the idea of being called out on what was clearly not a bluff. But she made up for it once she relayed the truth in front of every pony.

"Applejack lost the competition and got kicked out when she started a fight over some foul play!"Shadow relayed the truth, and the Apple's ears drooped when she was ratted out.

First there was gasps and exclaims to hear of Applejack's sudden conduct. This whole time, what they thought was ailment or an injury, or even a simple urge for something new. All it really was, was their own friend losing in the competition, and lashing out for her damaged pride, and broken promises. This became too much, and Applejack needed to run away from the scene to hide her shame. Leaving her friends with very little words to say after what they learned, they did not know whether to feel bad or feel upset at Applejack.

"Applejack! Wait,"Twilight called out for the Apple, but she was already gone,"Great… Now she's probably not going to want to see us…! We're striking out here every pony."

"That's cause we're playing too nice!"Rainbow pointed out the issue with their approach.

"Thank you! We should be more hard on her, and make her see what she has done!"Shadow agreed to the statement.

"Indeed… Shadow is right. Desperate times call for desperate measures!"Rarity also agreed and gave Shadow just a little bit of hope.

"It's time to call in the big guns!"Rainbow announced and the warriors readied to go after Applejack.

"Don't worry. We got this, easy peasy! Applejack will be singing in a heart beat when we're done with her."Orion assured, only for him and Shadow to suddenly get shut down.

"We're not talking about you two. We want big guns, not complete overkill!"Twilight denied the warriors the chance to teach Applejack a lesson.

"What?!"They both exclaimed from being shut down.

"We have a little something better in mind…"Rarity incited before letting them in on the plan.

Their disappointment was then starting to mount that they were not the ones that were being sent in. It was Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie of all ponies was sent in to get Applejack to open up. They didn't even tell them why and how Pinkie was going to pull off this feat, Apples proved themselves to be stubborn. Pinkie was tenacious, but she certainly didn't handle complex situations well. This only made their decisions more questionable, but it was out of their hooves now, they were forced to do nothing.

All they could do was wait, and at least they had a nice idea of where to wait. A simple saloon where working ponies could unwhine after a long day with some good food and drinks. The music was classical, and thankfully it was not night time yet, so the wild stallions weren't in yet. So no trouble would come to pass, and they could just enjoy the quiet pleasures of the saloon. Though Shadow remained bothered by the sudden transformation Applejack had went through.

When they spoke a week ago, she saw a mare that loved her family, and pledged such loyalty to them. She'd never do anything to hurt them, and she never disappear like their parents did. Now all of a sudden she's become this selfish mare that could not handle the shame of losing a contest. This was so unlike an Apple, thinking about it only made the dark mare more angry. Thankfully Orion was there to slap down a mug of cider, snapping her out of the thoughts that angered her.

"Just drink something…! You already deprived yourself a day and a half of sleep,"Orion sternly pushed Shadow to get something in her before she had no energy left,"No reason to neglect yourself because of some pony elses misdeeds."

"As some pony who's looking into the mystery of that pony's parents. I feel entitled to my outrage,"Shadow argued, but willing took a drink for the first time in a while,"The disappointment her parents would feel if they saw Applejack right now would be unwavering…!"

"I know… The way I see though… It seems more like Applejack forgot who and what she is,"Orion decided to give a less personal and more practical assumption,"Her failure to the Apple family weighed more on her than she could handle. Now she's ran away to hide her shame, forgetting what kind of family the Apples truly are."

"Doesn't make it right to just leave them because she thinks they can't understand failure,"Shadow ranted and chugged the rest of her drink in a huff,"Family should never do such things to each other. I had a brother, and I would have never did that to him…!"

"True, but this is a bit different,"Orion replied and simply pushed a plate of garlic tomato pasta in front of the mare,"For now just shut up and eat something. Pinkie is trying something, so we wait for results until then."

Shadow looked grimly down at the pasta, her stomach was growling but she tried to imagine it was churning instead. A minute at starring at the food, her stomach over powered her irritated mind. She dove right in and ate without restraint, she didn't even use any form of utensils. Orion approved, now that Shadow was willing to at least take care of herself, showing that this issue would not turn into an obsession. As a leader, it was vital to keep his comrades healthy, both mentally and physically.

So they waited, he could only enjoy the music and watch Shadow stuff her face. It felt good to be sitting among the hard working ponies that truly made this world shine, they loved this country as much as they loved their jobs. Their type of work made them rugged, tough, and humble. Virtues that Orion worried could be lacking since the younger days, so this was a breath of fresh air. Even the mares were hard workers, for it was not easy bar tending, dancing, and waiting on this town's gruff stallions.

But they had beauty and elegance to calm the weary spirits of the stallions and even some mares. Remind them of the finer things of life, Orion even got a touch of such feelings. Thanks to a kind waiter he tipped, and was given an extra drink, along with a gentle brush across his hand. This was a signaled invitation to her room for more personal means of calming, but Orion was not a stallion that indulged in such things. So he waved her off and left five more bits, as a friendly send off.

Suddenly off to his right, he just barely caught them through a window in the town. Pinkie appeared to be talking and following Applejack, and it looked like she was talking a lot. That's when he reason hit Orion like a stampede, he slapped his head, not understanding why he never thought of it. He gave Shadow a few slaps on the shoulder after she finished her pasta. He slowly pointed to the window, and she looked out with them to see Pinkie's motor mouth going off.

"Of course…! Pinkie Pie can talk a pony to death just like Thunder!"Shadow exclaimed after swallowing her pasta.

"Yep, any pony would crack under such a chatter box like Pinkie Pie,"Orion explained before pointing out how stressed and miserable Applejack was appearing,"She's gonna break at any moment…! You wanna get a front row seat to this one?"

"You know I do…!"She threw her napkin down, and the two got out of their seats to watch the talkative carnage.

They threw down their things and rushed for the door, but not before getting a send off cheer from the other customers. Once they made it outside, the door shut and the rushed to the middle of town. Happy to watch as Applejack was staggering from the pain of Pinkie's not stop chatting.

"Isn't that the funnest thing to say?! Pickle barrel, pickle barrel, pickle barrel! Say it with me,"Pinkie cheered as Applejack collapsed to the sand and tried to cover her ears,"Pickle barrel, kumquat, pickle barrel, kumquat, pickle barrel, kumquat! Chimicherrychanga!"

"No! Make it stop, make it stop!"Applejack held her head as Pinkie kept on talking.

"That's what a promise breaker gets…"Shadow laughed before the rest of the mares approached.

"The only way to make it stop is to spill the beans!"Rainbow threw out the key to making Pinkie Pie end her talking.

"Never!"Applejack would quickly regret her resistance as Pinkie went on to speak about beans.

"Speaking of beans, did you ever realize how many words rhyme with beans,"Pinkie asked before she went off on a painful list of words that rhymed with beans,"Lean, mean, spleen, unclean, bean…"

Her talking went on and on about bean rhymes, almost to the point that it annoyed the warriors. So it became shear torture for Applejack, and there was no signs of the voice stopping. So finally, Applejack could stand the talking no more, her stubbornness broke away and the truth was promised.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell every pony what's going on! Just please, stop talking,"Applejack begged, and Shadow was even kind enough to put a hoof over Pinkie's mouth to silence her,"But… Can it wait till tomorrow? I'm plum tuckered out…"

"Tomorrow, huh? I don't know…"Rainbow thought, and the warriors already didn't like the excuse she was trying to pull.

"How do we know you won't run or make some ridiculous excuse?"Orion questioned, knowing that Applejack was in a corner, and that meant desperation.

"Do you… Pinkie promise?"Pinkie pulled out a way to ensure that Applejack would be there to tell the truth.

"I will tell you the whole story at breakfast. Pinkie promise."Applejack sighed, before crossing her heart and promising that she would come clean.

"Good… Because what you say tomorrow is what you'll be telling to your family,"Shadow decided to leave Applejack with a warning,"And you have a lot to answer to them for what you did. So you better come out straight."

"Fine…! Whatever you say, ma…!"Applejack mocked Shadow's disappointed motherly behavior before walking away.

"You would never have this kind of attitude if I was your mom!"Shadow yelled out before she walked away in the opposite direction.

This left Orion to simply shrug and follow his dark comrade back to the room they were staying in. They slept in the room right next to where the elements stayed, in order to keep an eye out for them. Shadow was at least able to sleep this time around, hoping that the truth would finally come out. For she was not going to give up until Applejack came clean and came home with them. So there was hope, and they were able to sleep nice and long with satisfactory.

---

But the next morning would prove other wise, and lead to a final struggle. Once the morning came fast, Shadow was the first one to open her eyes with a sigh and feeling of comfort. This night of slumber was just what she needed after the stress and abuse she put upon herself for a promise. She listened to the working ponies awakening and already hitting the town to get to work. Once the sun was raising into the sky and glaring through the window, Orion awoke as well with a yawn.

"Well look at you. You actually decided to get some sleep for a change."Orion pointed out while already dressing for the day.

"This may be the last day we are here now that Applejack has decided to come clean,"Shadow remained in her bed a bit and looking out the window blankly,"I just want to get her home to her family…"

"I know. We promised the family that we would, and we will. Regardless of what she did,"Orion reassured that they would fulfill this promise to the bitter end,"Now lets hurry up and get dressed. We're suppose to be at breakfast with the others."

"Right… Hopefully they got something good ordered for us."She got the incentive to get up and start dressing.

They were quick to finish up and be out the door to meet with the others. Knowing that they all needed to meet at the building's dining area with Applejack, so they quickly went to the door. He knocked to check on Twilight and the others, but Fluttershy and Rarity were the only ones to answer the door. Fluttershy was bathing, and Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were nowhere. Thankfully Rarity was there to explain everything so far, and show that they were ok.

"Is everything ok? Where's Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie Pie?"Orion asked while looking around the room to see the mares preparing.

"They went to go get Applejack. Just in case she starts getting cold hooves,"Rarity answered his questions with a relieving sigh oddly enough,"I'm just glad we could fix all this without doing anything extreme."

"What's that suppose to mean? Sometimes extreme measures are needed to snap ponies back into reality."Orion crossed his arms, not liking their way of handling situations being questioned.

"You mares are too soft, and petite about handling complex situations. You try to make things seem simple and ignore the important side of the issue."Shadow added to the lecture, criticizing the way the elements were handling Applejack.

"Ugh… If I knew I was about to be lectured for being honest, I would have just shut the door…!"Rarity huffed and slammed the door shut to prevent any further words from being said.

"Why do we even bother sometimes…? Children are easier to teach than these mares sometimes."Orion sighed before turning away from the door.

"That's just the way new bloods tend to think in this era of peace and harmony,"Shadow decided to explain the issue with the new and young ponies of this age,"They're too progressive and insist on working on petty things that mean nothing, while handling a particular serious issue without care, practical thinking, and understanding."

"Such thinking will prove to be their destruction… They need to be broken of that."Orion insisted that they needed to help these mares be better as elements of harmony.

"There's only so much we can do, Orion…"Shadow made it clear that even they could not do everything.

Suddenly, they were mowed down by the three other mares as they stampeded through the hallway. Luckily they could huddle up to take the stampede of hooves before looking to the group. Twilight knocked on the door frantically, before Rarity opened the door again.

"She broke her Pinkie promise!"Pinkie shouted before the warriors immediately stood up at the news.

"She's making a break for it into the desert!"Rainbow warned before Rarity and Fluttershy stepped outside.

Orion looked to the nearest window, and he could see a carriage in the distance. It was leaving the town in the dust with Applejack on it, she was making a desperate run away from the truth. This time, the warriors were done playing nice, now it was their turn to handle the situation.

"No pony breaks a Pinkie promise!"Pinkie announced as the warriors nodded to each other before taking off.

They bolted for the nearest exit, pushing the mares aside in the process. They picked themselves up and watched the two leave, it took a moment for Twilight to realize what they were up to. She then quickly bolted right after the warriors, with her friends right behind her to join the pursuit. The warriors were the first ones out the door, and Orion pointed out the direction Applejack left in. Then they took off again, going at greater speeds not normal to the average pony.

Twilight and her friends were next to exit the building and spot the warriors in pursuit. They needed to enter the chase and try to prevent the worse possible outcome of this pursuit. The warriors did not feel like the right kind of people that could help a stubborn mare like Applejack. Thankfully there was another carriage just waiting to be used, but there were no stallions to run it. So they went with what they had, two fast Pegasus friends and all the determination they could muster.

The two warriors in the meantime were already catching up as they ran across the desert. Shadow spotted the run away Apple, and picked up the pace, growling at the mare's resilience. Breaking promises and abandoning family wasn't enough, now she was running away like a coward.

"APPLEJACK! You're not running away from this! NOT THIS TIME!"She yelled, almost making Applejack jump out of her skin before spotting the two pursuing warriors.

"Oh gosh dang it! Wasn't expecting them to follow! Step on it boys!"Applejack called to the stallions that were kind enough to operate her carriage.

"You're not going to get away, Applejack! You will answer for your mistakes!"Orion warned as they dared to get closer to the carriage.

"Applejack! You Pinkie promised!"The distant voice of Pinkie Pie echoed before they all looked behind to see another carriage coming.

They all witnessed the other elements starting to make their way into the pursuit. Both parties had different means for when they caught Applejack, but for now all that mattered was stopping her. So as they closed in, the Apple became desperate to escape her friends and the warriors.

"What the hay? Don't y'all know when to leave well enough alone?"Applejack griped before Rainbow answered by ramming against her stagecoach.

"Pull over!"Rainbow demanded that this attempt at running away ended.

"Do it, or will will drive this carriage into the ground!"Shadow demanded as she got to the side of the back wheel.

"Hey! Cut that out! I'll pay you double to outrun them!"Applejack ranted and demanded that the stallions picked up the pace even more, and they did just that.

"We'll pay you triple to slow down!"Twilight retorted, and the stallions slowed down making Shadow miss an attempted grab for the back right wheel.

"I'll pay y'all quadruple to leave them in the dust!"Applejack bested her friends in the bribery situation, and the stallion s ran full speed, blasting every pony with a cloud of dust.

"That was rude…!"Rarity huffed at getting herself coated in sand and dust.

"Get them, get them!"Pinkie demanded and the Pegasus were more than happy to oblige.

"Come on, Fluttershy!"Rainbow prompted Fluttershy to speed up, as the warriors immediately picked up speed.

"Hyah! Come on, go, go!"Applejack yelled before Orion rammed a shoulder against the carriage, nearly making it tip over.

Suddenly the chance came the moment Pinkie Pie made a move and jumped to the carriage. Applejack was taken by surprise, as Pinkie Pie grabbed her by the shoulders. Ready to tear Applejack a new one for all her promise breaking, and breaking a Pinkie promise was a step too far.

"Applejack, you broke your Pinkie promise! Apologize!"Pinkie yelled at Applejack and demanded an apology.

"Pinkie, I did not break my promise!"Applejack suddenly responded, but the warriors knew better than to buy that.

"Wha?"Pinkie was confused.

"Don't you even dare try to lie! You've broken promises to your family non stop,"Orion yelled before grabbing a back wheel and crushing it to pieces in his grip,"You've broken them to us, and now you're running away from what you did like a coward, Applejack!"

"If y'all reckon back, I told you that I would tell you everything at breakfast, but I didn't come to breakfast,"Applejack tried to explain herself, no matter how much it sounded like an excuse,"I couldn't come to breakfast, not if it meant telling y'all what happened!"

"So you decided you were going to run away from us like you did with your family?! You think that's fair to them,"Shadow exclaimed before suddenly jumping and suddenly landing in front of Applejack,"What would your parents say if they saw you doing all this?!"

"First of all, after what happened in Canterlot. They're better off without me,"Applejack did not enjoy her family being brought up, especially if it was her parents,"And second, you don't know my parents, and you don't know my family. So don't ever try to use them against me, EVER!"

Applejack lost it a bit, and did the unthinkable before throwing down the reigns. She then brought her back legs forth and bucked Shadow as hard as she could in the chest. It nearly took the wind out of her before Shadow flew back and then flailed off the side of the carriage. Orion was shocked, but manage to catch the stunned Shadow Swirl as she found even herself shocked. Pinkie even froze in place, seeing Applejack go as far as to attack a warrior that spoke of her family.

"Applejack…"Pinkie struggled to find any other words to describe her shock.

"I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I can't tell y'all the truth… I just can't!"Applejack insisted while Pinkie had only so much to say at that point.

"Well, I heard a sorry in there, so that'll have to do for now. I'll get a real apology later,"Pinkie suddenly relented and did the unthinkable by jumping off the stage coach,"Rarity, catch me!"

"What? Pinkie-"Rarity broke into a scream as Pinkie slammed into her, knocking them both off the carriage and into the dust.

"NO! Applejack! You've gone too far now!"Orion yelled as he slammed against the carriage.

"Ugh…! I'm fine…! Put me down and let's get ready to tip this Coach over!"Shadow insisted and hopped out of his arms to continue the pursuit.

"Rainbow, go back!"Twilight insisted that they went back for Pinkie and Rarity.

"No time! They knew what they were getting into!"Rainbow quickly responded as they raced towards Applejack and the rail roads.

That gave Applejack the perfect plan, as she saw a train rolling next to them on the rail road. She just needed to get in front of the train and cross the rail road, while it cut the pursuers off. The train whistled, and it prompted her to go with that plan, all or nothing.

"Yes, hyah!"She prompted the stallions to go one more notch faster, trying to catch up to the train and make the turn.

This was going to be a dangerous move, but it was her only means of escape now. She swallowed, waiting for the moment that she was just in front of the train, just enough space was needed. Before she released a deep breath and made the sharp turn, the train whistled in a panic. For she felt the tail of her stage coach get chipped before they barely made it across the tracks. The carriage then made a sharp swerve to stop itself cold, allowing her to watch the train go by.

Only top suddenly feel her stagecoach trembling and rumbling, before falling apart. The whole thing collapsed and broke into many wooden pieces, thanks to all the damage it had sustained in the trouble. But she emerged with haste, only caring about the fact that she made it. She avoided the warriors, her friends, and her bag full of her secret ribbons was intact. However, her behavior immediately made her quite unwanted by the stallions that guided her stage coach, their lives were more important than money.

"Yeehaw!"Applejack celebrated her plan's success.

"Lady, you're trouble!"The stallions threw off their harnesses and left Applejack alone to save their own lives from further troubles.

"Hah! Try and catch me now!"Applejack taunted and immediately regretted it.

Suddenly it was her friends that were first to handle that taunt, thanks to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They simply took flight and flew over the train along with Twilight, they landed right behind her. It was almost enough to distract her from Orion as he vaulted over the train. He slammed down right in front of her, crossing his arms in disapproval for her actions. She went from a free mare to trapped like a rat, and her hole was only getting dug deeper.

"Oh nuts…!"Applejack was ready to try and run for it, but Shadow would not let her escape this time.

"Oh no you don't! Not this time, Applejack!"Shadow leaped over the train and stopped Applejack before she could run by tackling her to the ground.

This sent Applejack's bag flying, letting all the ribbons fly all over the ground. Allowing her friends to see the bigger picture as Shadow pinned Applejack to the sand. Their relief turned to fear, as Shadow's first action was to knock some sense into this rebelling Apple. She reared back a left hook, and punched Applejack across the jaw, it stunned and rattled her mind loose. Making Applejack think of her family, remembering the happiness they gave her, remembering everything she had promised.

The elements held their breath as Shadow panted and remained where she sat. Right on top of Applejack, as they all remained in silence, Twilight wanted to do something to stop what had just happened. But Orion stood in front of them and shook his head, insisting that it was their turn to work. Shadow slowly lowered her hoof, as Applejack slowly looked at her with some slow breathing of her own. She seemed tired, and a little afraid, for her days of running were now over.

They looked at each other for the longest moment before Shadow looked to the ribbons. Every last type of ribbon laid in the sand, all of them but the first place ribbon. She sighed, knowing that all these ribbons that Applejack earned meant nothing, because they weren't first place. And with no first place ribbon, she truly believed that it wasn't going to bring pride to her family. But she was wrong, Applejack clearly forgot what her family was about, so Shadow decided to remind her.

"You have so many ribbons. All of which you fought hard to earn, yet it wasn't enough,"Shadow finally caught her breath and began to explain what she could understood,"You're so caught up with trying to cover up your bruised pride, and running away from a simple loss that you left your family behind! And you even tried to leave all of us behind…!"

Applejack shuddered at the words that pierced her chest like ice cold knives. She even tried to struggle a bit, but even her muscle was no match for the immortal strength of a warrior. So she was stuck listening to the truth, no matter how much it hurt to hear it.

"You thought about yourself, wanting to hide away a shame that didn't need to be hidden. You had a family that would support you to the very end,"Shadow continued ramming reality down Applejack's throat to make her see truth,"We didn't care if you truly won or not…! We just supported you because you were once a quality mare that loved her family and was willing to try her best for them…!"

"And my best was not enough! There's every color of ribbon, except for blue,"Applejack panted and started blurting out her rant about the losses,"I've come in fourth, third, even second, but I didn't win one prize, and certainly didn't win any prize money."

"So you were planning on making up all that money by working for a competitor,"Shadow realized and understood Applejack's plan for bringing up the money she promised,"You didn't need to go so far, money could have never mattered more to your family than you did."

"But after that big old send off all of y'all gave me, how could I have the nerve to come home empty hooved,"Applejack expressed her fear and suddenly turned away from her friends to hide something,"I couldn't come home a failure to my friends and my family…!"

"Applejack, you're not a failure."Twilight insisted that her friend had nothing to feel like a failure about.

"And we're your friends! We don't care if you came in fiftieth place! You're still number one in our book!"Rainbow insisted that she would always be something special to her friends.

"So… You're not upset or disappointed?"Applejack widen her eyes with shock at the response she got from her best friends.

"Not about the competition or the prize money. Competition is a necessary evil and it can bring out the worse in us, hence that fight you had,"Orion slowly approached, revealing that her competition issue meant nothing to them,"What upsets us was that you ran away from your friends and family instead of towards them. Right now, they're wondering if they had lost another Apple or not…!"

"Another…. Apple…?"Applejack shuddered with an emotional gasp as she did her best to hide something that would never usually rise to the surface.

"They already lost two parents… Last thing they would have ever wanted is to lose some pony like you,"Shadow pushed even further before finally seeing it, a stray tear rolling down her left cheek,"You're an Apple, and you know this was not the right thing to do…! You were born, raised, and proud to be an Apple."

"You don't want to disappear like your parents did and leave your family all alone, do you…?"Orion begged the question that finally opened Applejack's mind to something else other than pride and failure.

Slowly, the Apple shook her head as her tear dropped to the sand silently. Thankfully, Shadow was willing to pull up her shadow to make the tear fade away, allowing some pride to remain. Neither of the pony's needed to see that Applejack was capable of shedding a tear on the outside. So with her heart finally giving into understanding, Shadow Swirl slowly stood up. She got to the side, and helped the Apple to her hooves before she gripped her hat and placed it to her heart.

"But… what about the mayor? I don't think I can face her and tell her I didn't get that money to fix the broken roof?"Applejack asked of other worries that plagued her mind when it came to home.

"We'll just fix the mayor's house ourselves. We're usually the ones that end up breaking the place up."Orion answered simply and shrugged, still finding humor in the times of destroying the mayor's house.

"So it's only normal that we should be the ones to fix it. She's a slightly dirty politic any way you don't give those ponies money."Applejack got a chuckle out of Shadow's sly add to Orion's comment.

"Besides… If you don't come back, we'll never be able to fix the holes in our hearts."Fluttershy put her own heart out to the Apple, and finally got what they needed from her.

"And a wound of the heart is much harder to fix than any roof."Twilight added before the mares all shared a big group hug.

"I'm sorry…! For everything I did to y'all! I should have been thinking about every pony else rather than just myself,"Applejack admitted with a bit of emotion as the warriors watched their friendship rekindle,"I'll never run away and abandon y'all ever again! I wanna go back to my family and be with them!"

"Darn it! Now you got me acting all sappy!"Rainbow emotionally ranted and sniffled before joining in the group hug.

This left both warriors to simply watch the group, as peace and harmony was restored among them. They sighed and looked at each other, knowing that they had completed their mission. And little Apple Bloom would have her sister back, the Apple family would not lose another this time. Once they had all rekindled, the time had come for all of them to take the next train home. Applejack was at least able to take the money she made from Jubilee home, so at least the family had something.

They got their tickets as soon as possible, and boarded the first train they could get. Applejack started a little anxious, afraid of what she'd have to face once she was finally home. But then she was offered something that could help, and remind her of the lesson that needed to be taught. So this was the opportunity for a friendship lesson, it took her a while to think of what to say. And the rest of the trip home was spent writing it, in hopes of remembering this lesson forever.

Dear Princess Celestia

It's a tad easier to be proud when you come in first than it is when you finish further back. But there's no reason to hide when you don't do as well as you'd hoped. You can't run away from your problems. Better to run to your friends and family.

"We're home! And it looks like we have a welcome party!"Rainbow Dash pointed out a window towards the train station.

The train was coming to a slow stop as they all peered out the windows. Every pony was there. The Apples were made aware of their return thanks to a secret message Shadow had sent. Spike was even there, along with Thunder and Typhoon, and of course, Mayor Mare was there. Applejack swallowed, not knowing what she would say once she had faced her family. But once the train had stopped, Orion and Shadow offered one more bit of encouragement to ease her mind.

"They're waiting for you. You don't want to keep them waiting."Orion insisted as the mares started to make their way to the exit.

"Just be the Apple you truly are, and go to them…!"Shadow gave Applejack a little push before she was finally able to start walking.

The two warriors followed her as they all began to pour out of the train. The group was happy to be back in Ponyville, but once Applejack had stepped off the train, true happiness returned to her. As she saw her family light up with joy to see her safe and sound, after fearing that they lost her. Apple Bloom was the first to run to her big sister, before Applejack scooped her up for a hug. Mac and Smith were next to join in, while her friends and warriors watched the reunion.

"You came back! I knew you'd never abandon us! I knew it!"Apple Bloom celebrated the return of her big sister, after things felt so dire the last few days.

"I'm so sorry I left! I lost the competition and I didn't have the guts to come home after all the support y'all gave me,"Applejack blurted out and explained what she could about her issue,"So I thought running away from y'all and just making money to send to you would fix the promises I broke."

"Applejack… It was never about the money. It was about you doing your best and showing every pony what an Apple could do."Smith explained why they really supported Applejack.

"Even if you lost, we'd support you every step of the way… Because you tried your hardest."Mac insisted that she was more important than any competition or money.

"You're family, Applejack! Family is there for each other no matter what!"Apple Bloom stated as she hugged her sister tight.

"I know… I just forgot that for a moment… I needed a good stern reminder."Applejack admitted before Smith looked to Shadow Swirl, for she had kept her promise to them.

"Thank you…for bringing her home."Smith gave a heart felt thank you for the safe return of Applejack.

"Anytime, Apple Smith. We'd never break our promises…"Shadow assured that they would always fulfill a promise no matter what.

"Hey! But…what about the money?"The mayor asked about the money she was promised before.

"We'll fix the hole ourselves, just stop with trying to leach off other ponies for money!"This rant from Orion sparked an argument between the two of them.

This left the family to rekindle together, sharing love in the reunion. While the every pony gathered around to share in the embrace, it all seemed so perfect now. Every pony was there, celebrating the calm that came after the storm, at least almost every pony was there. They failed to take in account that two were still missing, and no pony, not even the two warriors realized it. Thankfully Thunder was the one to notice the two missing mares, and bring it to their attention.

"I… I know we're suppose to be celebrating, but…where are Pinkie Pie and Rarity?"Thunder asked before Orion and Shadow froze from the response.

"Didn't they go with you guys to get Applejack?"Typhoon added another question that got the two warriors looking at each other.

They looked at each other, Orion put a pin in the conversation with the mayor. They thought for a moment, and that's when they remembered what had happened in their struggle with Applejack.

"OH NO…!"

---

Dodge Junction Railroad

Surely enough, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were taking a cart that they themselves had to work to get moving. Pulling up and down on the lever, they were going a cushy ten miles an hour on the railroad. It would be a day or two before they made it back to Ponyville, where revenge was ready to be cast down on Rainbow Dash. If only she had stopped and gone back, she wouldn't be in this situation. Stuck working a cart with the always talkative friend, Pinkie Pie.

"What do you think, Rarity? Chimicherry or cherrychanga? Chimicherry, cherrychanga? Chimicherry, cherrychanga? Chimicherry, cherrychanga? Chimicherry, cherrychanga?"Pinkie continued talking or asking Rarity's opinion on the other names for cherry foods.

"When I get back, you are going to get it, Rainbow Dash!"Rarity promised revenge on the Pegasus that left her in the desert with a chatty pony, as they pedaled their cart all the way home.

Sorry it took so long to come back every pony, gotten a bit slow from all the writing, so I've needed to take more time with what I wrote and write at my own pace. But rest assured, I'm still here, and I'm gonna continue entertaining you all as best as I can. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about the story, and stay pony every one. Also, my previous chapter, I accidentally got Pharynx's name wrong in Baby Cakes, my memory can be terrible at times, I have corrected it since then, and I apologize for that.