Quickly, the country mare opened her mouth to say something and then shut it closed. Her brother glared at her as he tightened his mouth. Watching his jaw move slightly, she guessed that he was grinding his teeth. She found her chin almost touching the floor from cowering and decided to straighten her body.

"Ah knew somethin' didn't sound right about this whole marriage thing," he stated, taking a step forward. The group of friends exchanged looks after a long silence and made a visual agreement.

"M-maybe we should leave," Rarity suggested, pointing her head towards the door, "Excuse us." Applejack's eyes had a slight panicky look to them as she viewed her departing friends. The yellow Pegasus gave her a meek smile in hopes of calming her nerves.

"Go easy on her, OK?" Fluttershy whispered to Big Macintosh.

"She's my sister," he reminded, looking at the orange filly.

"Your little sister," she added, turning her way towards the door. Hearing the latch lock after the mare let herself out, the red stallion took a deep breath.

"Ah don't believe it."

"Ah'm s-sorry, Big Mac," she spat out, "Ah didn't mean t'drink, Ah didn't-"

"Not that. Ah can't believe ya lied to me. Tah us." Applejack slowly put her head down, her eyes stinging. "Now don't get me wrong, Ah'm highly disappointed in you drinkin' till yer drunk and marryin' somepony, but Ah can't believe ya lied to yer family and hide the truth like that. How couldja do such a thing? Weren't ya raised better than that?"

"A-Ah'm sorry-"

"Ah want ya t'explain yerself. Stop apologizin' 'cause at this point it's not gonna get ya anywhere." Applejack looked at her brother again, her emerald orbs now glassy.

"Ah don't know what t'say," she murmured, "Ah don't know what to say t'make this right."

"Ah couldn't believe mah ears when Ah heard ya tell yer friends the truth about this sham marriage," he growled. Suddenly, his face grew soft and he stared at his hunching sibling. "But, Ah also couldn't believe it when Ah heard ya sayin' were bein' blackmailed."

"Y-ya heard that part?"

"Everythin' from the door knock till now." Abruptly, the blonde horse collapsed into her brother and he swiftly embraced her then swayed with her. He felt her body jerk with each sob and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Ah know yer not the bad guy, AJ." She continued to cry more, wrapping her arms tighter around him as she buried her face into his chest.

"Ah'm trapped," her muffled voice exclaimed, "And Ah know the worse hasn't even come yet." Big Macintosh wiped her wet cheeks when she pulled back. "Promise not to tell anypony about this. Especially Granny Smith. Got it?"

"Applejack-"

"Ah'm serious," she snapped, her cheeks flushing with fury. He let out a long sigh and hugged her again.

"Ah'll back ya up no matter what."

………………………………........................

Reminiscing the phone conversation she had with Rainbow Dash, Applejack shook her hind leg in anticipation as she tried to ignore the bumps that the cart rolled over. The amount of trees from the outside increased as the dirt roads soon became polished asphalt streets. There ahead was a building in the distance. As she got closer to it, she saw the neon sign titled 'The Wonderbolt Headquarters' and felt her heart skip a beat.

"What is that suppose t'mean?" Applejack questioned her friend on the phone the night prior, "'Evaluate' me? That's what Top told me, he's gonna 'evaluate' me." A chuckle was let out on the other line.

-You'll see.- Rainbow guaranteed.

"Ah mean, what do they do exactly?"

-Well, I don't want to give too much away.-

"Aw, just a little?"

-They want to see what they can do with your image. After all, you are a public figure now. All the talent agencies do this. Don't sweat about it. You'll be fine.-

Applejack gave a small jump of surprise when the driver opened the door for her. Sliding out, she examined her surroundings. Seeing everything from ponies in sharp suits to ponies in sweat-ridden clothes, she trotted towards the foreign entrance. Immediately, she was greeted by a young mare with a tiny white bow in her bun.

"Hello," she greeted in a wispy voice, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh yeah," she answered, taking a moment to digest everything and get her thoughts in order, "With Top Boss? My name is Applejack and-"

"Miss Applejack is here to see you, Mr. Boss," the worker noted. At first, Applejack was not sure why she was talking into the air the way she was but she then spotted some kind of device in her ear. There was a long pause as the filly stood and nodded her head. "Alright, Miss Applejack, if you would please take that elevator over there to the ninth floor and go to the third door from the left you will find him waiting for you with the others."

"Elevator, ninth floor, third from left," Applejack noted, "Got it."

"Wait a minute, let me see your wrist," she halted, grabbing her arm. The secretary placed a blue bracelet on and gave a grin. "This is to let us know that you are authorized to be here. Have a nice day!"

"Thanks," she called out as she galloped towards the elevator. The doors slid opened and she speedily walked in to press the specific button ahead of her. There was a thin Pegasus who ran towards her, asking her to keep the doors open. Barely making it in, the winged pony reached for a button and jerked back to see that it was already lit.

"I don't see too many Earth ponies going to the ninth floor around here," she teased, flashing a smile, "You must be pretty important." The combination of her vivid golden coat and her orange locks stunned Applejack, causing her to not reply for a moment. She was not exactly sure what the athletic pony was looking at due to her wearing sunglasses but her guest seemed to be looking ahead at the mirrored doors.

"Really?" she finally retorted, "Well, Ah'm on my way to see Top Boss."

"Wait what?" she blurted out, pulling off her sunglasses to expose her light brown eyes, "What's your name?"

"The name's Applejack, ma'am," she introduced, shaking her hoof energetically.

"S-Spitfire," she stated, trying to control her shaking body from the hoofshake, "You have that Southern hospitality, I see. So why are ya seeing Top Boss, Applejack?"

"To tell ya the truth, Ah'm not exactly sure. My friend Rainbow Dash and Ah talked last night and she said that he's gonna evaluate me fer my image or somethin'. Y'see, Ah got married to Soarin so he wants to tweak our quote-on-quote couple status a little. So he says." Spitfire stared at her with a shocked expression.

"I'm surprised I've never really met you before since you obviously have close relationships with some of the sports ponies here," she commented after the elevator doors opened. The two mares made their ways down the hallway.

"Ah'm a lil' nervous, to tell ya the truth. Ah don't know what's to come."

"Basically their just gonna build a ponysona for you to play by," Spitfire explained, "It's entertainment for the public and protection for us." Applejack wanted to asked her what she meant but something caught her vision. It was a picture frame with a photo on the wall in front of her showing a young pin up laying on a carpet while playing with her goggles.

"Is this you?" Applejack asked, leaning closer to it. The text above the flirtatious pony read 'Join the Wonderbolts' and she soon realized it was an aging advertisement.

"Yup," she confirmed, "That photoshoot seemed like it was yesterday. Crazy how one day I'm a newbie trying to fit in and the next moment I'm retired as an athlete." Her amber orbs scanned Applejack again as she started to close the door. "Anyway, good luck with Boss. And everything else." Scattering to the third room on the left, Applejack found herself welcomed by a huddle of chattering ponies.

"Applejack!" Top Boss proclaimed behind his desk, "My star bride!"

"Here, Applejack, I saved a seat for you," Soarin flippantly pointed out as he patted the only chair next to him. Escaping the group, she slid onto the chair and smiled at the Wonderbolt. Because the setting around her was so unfamiliar, she drew closer to Soarin as a comfort zone.

"Who are they?" she questioned, referring to the strange ponies who were now conversing behind her.

"Manestylists, make-up artists, writers, publicists, the works," Soarin clarified.

"Oh, so they're tweakin' me till Ah can't be tweaked no more," she teased.

"Babe, you don't need t'be changed one bit," he joked with a Southern drawl. They both peered up to find the associates observing while hiding their smirks.

"Oh yes, I can see the chemistry already," Top Boss beamed. The couple pulled away from each other and straightened awkwardly. "You two are crack up! OK, so we've been getting phone calls all morning in the headquarters up in Clouds dale and this one here in Los Pegasus. The newspaper article was a huge success! Everypony can't get enough of you two! They want photos and everything!"

"I can think of the magazine title page already!" one of the horse exclaimed, "Equestria's Bad Boy meets his Little Lady!" Applejack had to hold back an involuntary guffaw. She remembered back before Rainbow was a Wonderbolt's star how the blue Pegasus use to fancy Soarin's 'dangerous' ways and 'aloof' attitude. Now, since getting to know him, she found out about the goofy, loveable colt that he really is, a complete opposite to the fantasy planted in the minds of the average female Soarin fan.

"Stand up, sweetheart," a female horse requested. Following her orders, she pushed back her chair and stood before them. "Hmm, she has nice legs," she noted in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thanks! Ah get these gams from buckin' apple trees every day."

"Bucking apple trees?"

"Mmm-hmm, it's parta the tasks Ah have to do for the family business down at Sweet Apple Acres." She examined them scribble hastily in their notebooks in confusion.

"Wait a minute, Sweet Apple Acres," another one piped up, "The farm who makes the Zapp Apple products?"

"That's the one!"

"The Zapp Apples that Rainbow Dash endorses?"

"Yup! She's mah best friend so she'll do anythin' fer me."

"Rainbow Dash is your best friend?" Top Boss cut in excitedly, "Man, this girl's got more connections to our team than I thought!"

"Hmm," one of the colts grumbled as he touched her hair, "A little dry. What's your hair regimen?"

"Regimen? Ah don't even know what that is."

"How do you take care of your hair?" Applejack coyly rolled her eyes.

"Psh, Ah don't do anythin' to it. It drives my friend Rarity up the wall that Ah roll in the dirt all day."

"Rarity?" Top Boss interrupted, "You mean, the fashion designer?"

"Yeah, she likes fashion and all that. My sister Ah think is goin' to the dark side and takin' a small likin' to her fashionable ways." Applejack gabbed in a higher pitch to try to imitate Applebloom playfully. "Applejack, she's taught me how to style mah hair with curlers!"

"Stop right there," a mare called out, "Talk again in that voice."

"What voice?"

"That light voice again. And make it cutesy this time." Applejack cleared her throat.

"Like this?" she asked in a girlish tone. It seemed silly to her; she sounded like a young filly again.

"I got it!" the colt who was running his hooves through her locks proclaimed, "We'll make her the Southern belle type! I could cut her bangs like this-"

"Maybe a light pink lipstick, soft eye shadow…"one horse trailed off. Suddenly, they all started to discuss at once and all Applejack could do was stare at the consulting staff members.

"Why do they wanna give me a make-over?" Applejack questioned Soarin.

"'Cause they're gonna have a press conference in our honor at the end of the week and they want us to look our 'best'."

"Y'mean Ah gotta lie to the public about who Ah am as a pony, too?" Soarin took a pause to collect his thoughts.

"Don't think of it as lying," he began, "Think of it as…acting."

"Yeah, well, Ah'm not much of an actress," she declared in a concerned tone.

………………………………......

"…And make sure to take times to pause for the cameras," Top Boss enlightened to the two ponies backstage, "If there's a time where you two lock eyes, pause for the camera ponies. They love that stuff. Applejack, have you been practicing your publicity voice?"

"Yes sir," she verified in her normal tone, "and the speech teacher helped me to not have mah voice crack so much."

"Good. Alright, just stick with your scripts, you guys, and you'll do fine." Soarin surveyed his mumbling partner as he waited for the cue to go onstage.

"Nervous?" he probed.

"A lil'," she honestly replied, fanning herself with her script, "And Ah'm not use to wearin' this much make-up, either."

"You'll be fine, everypony will love ya," he reassured with wink. She was not quite sure if the butterflies grew more rampant from the sound of babbling reporters on the other side of the curtain or the call for places from the stage manager but Applejack's nerves vanished just for a moment at the sight of Soarin. There was something comforting about his gaze. He made her feel important and at ease, like she could do no wrong. Of course, this could be just because he was trying to get into character the voice in the back of her mind thought. Immediately, she felt guilty judging him as a stallion that way and decided for the sake of it that he had to best intentions.

"Ya got my back right?" she piped.

"Of course! And you have mine right?"

"Eeyup."

"Then we've got each other's backs. We'll be fine. Just like with our families, we'll bounce off each other. We work as a team. And we do it pretty well."

"Soarinjack," the backstage manager alerted, using their stage name, "You're up." He quickly nudged her and gave a warm grin as they ventured towards their chairs. Applejack's vision became distorted from all the flashing of the cameras and held on to the sleeve of Soarin's blazer. Pulling a chair out for her, Soarin saw Applejack stumble into it and smile nervously at the crowd. Soarin took a moment to wave towards the press and sat down next to her. He smoothed his hair which shined in the light from the large amount of gel in it.

"Soarin and Applejack are now open to questions," Top Boss notified from the end of the table, giving them an approving nod.

"How did you two meet?" a reporter interviewed. Soarin glanced at Applejack with a calm expression.

"Well," she began as her cleared her throat to bring her voice up an octave and collected her thoughts together, "Ah was invited to the Grand Gallopin' Gala a few years back. Ah brought some of my famous cuisine treats from my farm to sell. A strange fellah came by with a suit and soon realized that it was a Wonderbolt. Later, Ah found out that the name of the Wonderbolt was named Soarin. We locked eyes and the whole world seemed t'stop. He bought one of my pies and the rest is history."

"You know what they say, to make it into a guy's heart you gotta make it into his stomach first," he jested, causing the audience to let out a light laugh.

"Oh, sweetheart, my cookin' isn't that spectacular," she bantered as she fluttered her eyelashes.

"Honey, you are as a good of a cook as you are beautiful," he complimented. They caught eye contact and froze momentarily as they heard the many clicks of cameras go off.

"Isn't he somethin'? That's exactly why Ah accepted his invitation to a date. It was a very lovely dinner place. Even though we were there for a while, the night didn't seem long enough. After courtin' for a while…"

"…I finally popped the question," he continued, "We eloped at the Chapel of Love to avoid any shenanigans and big productions of anything. I just wanted it to be her and me." As she placed her hoof in his, he impulsively lifted it up to press his lips against it and leaned towards her. "Nice touch," he whispered.

"Have you guys met each other families yet?" a paparazzi member yelled from the back, "What did they have to say about it?"

"We have actually," Applejack answered, "And they both were very…energetic about it."

"Soarin, how have the other Wonderbolts taken this news that you are a married stallion now?"

"They are extremely happy for me. They support me in whatever makes me happy and my little lady definitely makes me happy."

"Your lil' lady?" she repeated with raised eyebrows, causing the reporters to let out a collective guffaw, "Look at him, already tryin' to be my cowcolt."

"Anything for you," he concluded coolly. They both tilted towards each other and planted their lips on one another. Applejack swore mentally to herself that she could actually feel the heat of her atmosphere increase due to the bulbs of the cameras going off. Finally drawing away, the newlyweds gazed into each other's eyes as they rehearsed and waited for the cue from the manager to exit the stage.

"As you know, Soarin has to train for the upcoming championships and Applejack has a schedule to keep up for herself as well," Top Boss broadcasted as he got up from his seat, "Thank you all for coming!" Some of the photographers objected, demanding to ask more questions. "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

"It was lovely talkin' to all of ya," Applejack publicized, grabbing both hooves of Soarin, "And all of ya gave me the best welcome a girl can ask for." Excusing themselves, the three ponies escorted themselves backstage once more. As she took off her false eyelashes, she felt an arm go around her and pulled her in.

"Great job you two!" Top Boss congratulated, "You two were on fire! And I saw some improving that I really want to keep."

"Keep? What d'ya mean keep?" Applejack probed.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you guys. But you're going to tour with each other and making appearances all over Equestria! Isn't this great?" The couple gazed at each other with open mouths.

"I'm not sure 'great' is the right word…" Soarin retorted.