"You little liar."

Applejack rolled her eyes as she stacked each suitcase on top of each other. Trying to ignore the smug Pegasus, she attempted to emit as much noise as possible from the luggage to drown out her bantering.

"Here you are, the Element of Honesty, and you lie to the whole world." As she bounced the young infant in her arms, Rainbow dropped her voice to sound like a typical reporter. "'So, uh, Applejack: how's the married life treating you?" she asked jokingly then returned to her normal tone, "I mean, seriously, I didn't know you had it in ya to fib like that yesterday at the conference."

"Ah didn't fib!" she snapped, pulling her bags into the hallway.

"Oh yeah?" she spat back as she followed her country counterpart, "What about all that talk about you and Soarin going out on a big date?"

"In fact you have forgotten, we did go out on a big date, remember? That's how Ah got into this whole mess."

"OK, well how about you two 'courting' each other?"

"Well, he did come by the farm a few times."

"Alright, well what about him popping the question? I certainly don't remember you telling me that."

"Out of his mouth, not mine," Applejack concluded with a smirk.

"I hate all these loopholes you throw out," Rainbow complained, "But what was up with that whole cutesy-wootsey routine you had going on there?" Applejack froze for a second then quickly turned her back to push her luggage to the entry way. Rainbow grew impatient and tapped her foot. "Well?"

"Well…the stylists and publicist figured that Ah should put m-my best hoof forward so-"

"I'm surprised you went through that. It was pretty entertaining I must say."

"A-Ah'm willin' to play dress up fer the right occasions. Just a-ask Rarity." Rainbow inspected Applejack briefly then held her tongue.

"Yeah sure, whatever," she murmured, ruffling with her son's mane, "Ya hear that, Summerfree? Your cousin AJ is a national liar!"

"Ah heard that!" Reaching the front door, she turned to see her family members in the corner of the living room. They all seemed to be whispering intensely about something (although Applejack could take a wild guess) and quickly looked up at the blonde. All she could do was quick a meek shrug as she observed them trotting towards her. Feeling her younger sister wrap her arms around Applejack's front leg, the older sibling placed her free leg around Applebloom.

"Ah'm gonna miss ya, big sis," she told her as she pulled away after a quiet second.

"Ah'm gonna miss ya too, Sugarcube."

"Ya looked so beautiful yesterday at the press conference," Granny Smith complimented as she hugged her, "Ah was braggin' t'everypony about my beautiful granddaughter." Her voice was shaky and weak which caused Applejack to draw back to look at her.

"That means a lot to me, Granny Smith," she replied as she furrowed her eyebrows and headed over to her brother. "Take care."

"Be safe," he whispered, embracing her, "Ah mean it. He messes with ya 'n' Ah'll buck him up." With her eyes wide, she pulled back to face the smiling stallion.

"Ah'll look for mahself, and Soarin's sake for that matter," she jested. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to find her cousin extending out an arm.

"Never knew ya were the hopeless romantic type," Braeburn admitted into her ear, "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks, Brae."

"See ya," Rainbow said, "Don't go too crazy with them."

"I won't," she promised, bending down to the young foal to give him a kiss on the forehead, "Ah'm gonna miss ya, little guy. Don't grow up too fast, m'kay?"

"N-now are ya sure yer gonna be OK?" Granny Smith asked hastily, "Ah wouldn't want ya to…to get hurt or anythin'. This is a tour, fer Pete's sake, yer gonna be gone fer months. Ah don't think ya ever been away from home for half of that time!"

"Oh Momma, she's a grown mare," Mother Apple cut in, stepping to her niece's side, "She's made vows to stay with her husband through anythin'. She's an adult and so is he and they love each other. That's all that counts." The plump mare squeezed her tightly until her hat came off. "Ah remember when ya were just learnin' how to reel in with the lasso. Now look at ya! Yer reelin' in husbands!" A honk was heard outside which had Applejack retract back and gather all her bags.

"That's my ride," she announced opening the door, "Ah'll keep in contact while Ah'm away. Ah promise!"

"Say hey to the Wonderbolts for me," Rainbow requested before closing the door. As she rushed to the cab, she saw the driver getting out to reach for her bags. After saying thank you, she watched him put them in the trunk and began to let herself inside.

"Hey, Applejack," Soarin greeted while she slid next to him.

"There she is!" Top Boss proclaimed, "Did ya have a good's night rest?" Applejack hesitated for a moment.

"Well, my mind was racin' so much that Ah couldn't really get some sleep."

"That's too bad. Maybe once when we get to the hotel in Fillydelphia you can rest for a little while before going to the press conference at four." Her mouth involuntarily dropped.

"Fillydelphia?" she blurted out, "We're goin' that far?"

"Far?" Top Boss spat out, "Babe, we're going across all of Equestria and back!"

"Since its gaming season, the Wonderbolts have to play a lot of different teams in different cities," Soarin explained.

"And, of course, every city that they play in, all the fans will want to see Soarin's 'little lady'," Top Boss clarified with a wink. Applejack could not stand to be called a 'little lady' but accepted the circumstances on why she was referred to that for publicity reasons. She shut her eyes and began to reminisce her meeting at the Wonderbolts Headquarters in Los Pegasus the day prior. Replying the scene in her mind, she fought herself from grimacing and tried to tolerate her decisions and actions, telling herself that her final choice was the most reasonable.

"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. The secretary barged through the door asking for Top Boss.

"Not now, can't ya see I'm busy?" he barked.

"There's a delivery downstairs," she announced, "It says it's from the Amazing Mane Toupee Company or something like-"

"Oh right right!" he spat out, rushing to the door, "If you ponies will excuse me." A sharply-dressed mare approached the couple holding out papers with her assistants behind her.

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself," she launched, smoothing out her bun, "I'm Hard Hitting and I'm going to be your new publicist. I'm going to get straight to the point. What I have here are contracts for the both of you to sign. Now because there is a pony outside of the Wonderbolts and there are going to be outside parties in the creation of what we'd like to call 'Soarinjack', Top Boss had to call me in."

"What're these contracts for exactly?" Applejack interviewed, raising an eyebrow.

"Basically, your publicity and image are under the protections of us. If, let’s say, somepony wants to sue you guys for wearing something that he felt was stolen or his, then we will provide an attorney for the court case. We can and will also try our best to control what will be published of you two to protect your safety and well-being. And if something does get published that slanders either one of you, we will retaliate and try to clean up your image."

"But wait, why are we getting a whole separate contract?" Soarin interjected.

"Because you two are now a brand name. It's one thing if Applejack and you were caught together somewhere and a paparazzo snapped a picture. Applejack is willingly-"

"Blackmailed," she cut it.

"She is willingly joining this image of a happy, marriage couple. 'Soarinjack' is now copyrighted, you guys are a brand who make money off that name. Therefore, you two must sign these contracts."

"Wait, when ya say control our image, what do ya mean by that?" Applejack asked.

"It means just like how it says."

"Ah don't think Ah like the sound of that. Ya mean ya want me to act and dress like y'all were tellin' me to just now all the time?"

"Just in front of cameras," she clarified.

"And what if Ah don't sign this?"

"Then, your image will go to the sharks. Including that little reason why you two got married in the first place."

"Ya wouldn't!" Applejack shrieked, "Bullies! Everypony in this darned business are bullies!"

"Applejack, we are on your side. We create these ponysonas to hide the real you. If the public sees the real you, you are vulnerable and weak. You may be subjected to harsh criticism of your character. The press world is a heartless world; they'll even go after your family and try to dig up secrets from your past if they have to."

"But Ah don't lie. Ah can't! Ah don't dress in frilly dresses and wear make-up!"

"When you go out to war, what do you usually wear?"

"Well, armor and shields Ah guess."

"Then your image is your shield," she finished, holding out the contract and pen, "Now, do we have a deal?" Applejack opened her mouth to protect but felt Soarin's hoof grab hers.

"I'm here with you," he said, grabbing the pen to sign the contract. "Trust me." The orange mare reluctantly snatched the pen of her own.

A small sense of regret still flashed in the new bride's mind occasionally.

………………………………

Throwing the door open, Applejack dragged her feet until she approached the bed and slammed her body against it. Soarin followed suit then flipped over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. The past two weeks have been rigorous on them emotionally and physically, leaving them exhausted. Due to the photoshoots, press meetings, public outings, appearances, even attending games, the couple's slumber had caught up with them leaving them energy deprived. Soarin reached for the box of chocolates that lay on the counter as a gift for staying in the honeymoon suite that the Wonderbolt's management was paying for.

"I think it's a truffle," Soarin guessed after biting into one. Holding out the box to the filly who was burying her head in the covers, he offered her the candy which she refused. "You're missing out," he notified, popping another one in his mouth, "This place is nicer than the hotel room we stayed at on Wednesday in San Rodeo."

"Oh shoot," Applejack's muffled voice groaned, "It's Friday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, why?" She turned over to face him.

"Ah gotta go to that luncheon today after this conference."

"You mean the one with all those stuffy old mares?" Soarin's unexpected answer made Applejack burst out laughing.

"Yup, that's the one!" she replied, "Hopefully Ah won’t get too much of a whiff of their perfume. Ah wouldn't want to suffocate or anythin'."

"I wonder if they'll have any good food for you," he thought out loud, "You know how they are with their hoity toity taste buds." A group of ponies with large, colorful bags let themselves into the room and started to set up chairs. At first two weeks prior, Applejack found their behavior intrusive but as the trip went along she found it routine.

"What is it today?" Soarin questioned with a huff.

"You have a press conference in a couple of hours and you guys need to get ready," one of the stylists informed as he pulled out curlers.

"Oh can't we just go like this?" Applejack protested as she motioned to her dress and make-up, "We just got back from meetin' back with fans and signin' autographs. We're dressed already!"

"A celebrity can't go to two public events in in the same outfit," a filly balancing a mirror and make-up brushes told her, "It's basically illegal."

"Well do Ah have to be so made up? Ah'd never wear this much make-up in one sittin'. Ever."

"With cameras everywhere, you have to look your best," the hairstylists cut in, "Just think of it as stage make-up. It may seem a lot up close, but from far away and a camera's view, it's perfect. Plus, it's for your-"

"Image, yeah fer my image," she interrupted sarcastically as she plopped into a chair, "Gee, Ah almost forgot about that."

"Frankly, Ms. Applejack, I must say I'm proud of you. Just a few weeks ago, you would've put up a bigger fight about this."

"Yeah, well, you wore me out," she said half-heartedly. Feeling her hat being taken off her head, she quickly turned to the assistant who was holding it. "And what d'ya think yer doin' with that?"

"Look," she began, fanning the hat, "I understand that your cowfilly hat is, like, your trademark or something but it's getting old."

"Ah'm not compromisin' my hat."

"Sheesh, since when are you such a diva? Listen, I'll add a nice headscarf or something-"

"Ah want my hat," she interjected, reaching for it. The young pony quickly retracted back.

"You gotta keep with the times. Be fashion forward. You can't do that with this." Applejack lowered her head and glared at her. "I-I'm not giving this to you."

"Ya wanna bet?"

……………………………….........................

As the orange pony readjusted her hat to fix her neatly styled mane, she watched the interviewers enter the room with the Wonderbolt by her side. At this point, the programmed answers in Applejack's head were incorporated into her thought process so well she did not feel the need to even strain to remember them. Like what everypony has been telling her, she reminded herself to get into character as the cameras flashed off. Automatically knowing to lean in towards Soarin as he wrapped his around her shoulders, they transitioned into what was labeled by them as their 'default pose'.

"Soarinjack! Soarinjack! Ova here!" all the press ponies were yelling out.

"Is it too much to say our names separately?" Soarin murmured to her which had her let out a small giggle.

"Alright, alright, enough photos," Top Boss called out, "Our couple will now start the Q's and A's."

"How are you two enjoying Mane?" one interviewed.

"We love it!" Applejack answered in her cutesy tone of voice she prepared, "Lovely people, lovely food, lovely surroundin', everything about Mane Ah love." She faced her groom affectionately. "What d'you think of Mane, dear?"

"It's a wonderful place to be. Of course, everything is beautiful with my wife around," he recited, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. A collective 'aww' rose from the audience.

"Applejack, who are you wearing?" another reporter yelled out. She began to fumble with her scarf, trying to remember the name of the designer.

"Ah'm wearin' Hotty Trotty."

"Hoity Toity," a stylist hissed from backstage.

"Hoity Toity," she quickly corrected, beaming an apprehensive smile.

"Have you guys purchased a house yet?"

"Not yet," Soarin replied, "We've been traveling so much we haven't gotten the chance."

"What's your favorite position in bed?"

The couple looked at each other and back to the paparazzo with horrified looks.

"You know," he explained, "On your back? Or stomach? Fetus position? How do you two sleep in bed and who hogs the covers?"

"Oh that. Uh," Applejack reacted after a long hesitation, "Uh, Soarin, h-how do we s-share the bed?"

"Well, I…uh, she…uh…."

"That's such an odd question to ask," she cut it causing the group of ponies to guffaw.

"We're so busy that there's no time to sleep!" Soarin exclaimed light-heartedly. "But she is a kicker."

"Oh stop it!" she squeaked, punching him softly.

"So are you excited for the big game tomorrow?"

"I'm pumped!" Soarin responded, "The Wonderbolts are undefeated!"

"And, of course, Ah'll be in the sidelines to support him," Applejack concluded, tilting her head towards him.

………………………………

"You never told me, how was the luncheon?" Applejack viewed Soarin sitting next to her in the backseat and looked out the window again.

"Miss Applejack," one of the luncheon guests pronounced at the dining table, "Would you like to try some of our salad?"

"Yes ma'am!" she eagerly agreed, watching the plump mare spill some of the lettuce onto the plate in front of her. The country mare began to pick up the utensil nearest to her then froze. There was numerous amount of forks and suddenly she felt the deja-vu experience she had sensed when staying with her relatives, the Oranges. Alright, you can do this she thought to herself, contemplating which silverware to pick up. Catching glances around her, she noticed the guests clutching onto the smaller fork and imitated them.

"Are you enjoying it?" the elite member asked after watching the orange filly take a bite.

"Yes, it's very delicious," Applejack decided. Feeling her stomach making noises, the young mare let out a large belch and laughed loudly. "That was a good one!" she excitedly shouted, holding up her hoof to the neighboring pony. "Up top!"

The room was silent for a moment. Observing the shocked looks on their faces, Applejack dropped her hoof and shoulders suddenly and glanced downwards.

"Uh, Ah mean…pardon.”

"Ah don't think Ah'm gettin' invited again," she retorted, playing with her curls that hugged her shoulders. The athletes in front of them were oblivious to the chatting newlyweds. "Speakin' of gettin' invited to places, perhaps we should turn down some of ours we get?"

"But we have to make appearances, especially since this is the after game celebration," Soarin elucidated.

"Ah'm just really tired, Soar, and to tell ya the truth Ah don't feel like Ah belong in this type of crowd. Ah always feel outta place. Ah know ya try to make feel comfortable by introducin' me to yer sports buddies but Ah'm not exactly sure what to talk about with them."

"Sorry you feel that way, AJ." He thought for a moment then gave her a gentle nudge. "Some of the guys on the other teams may be there. Maybe I can introduce you to some of the wives? They may have some interesting things to say." As the driver opened the cab door for the athletes, Soarin and Applejack waited till they were all out before entering the large mansion. As usually, the bass of the genre of music Applejack could never figure out was turned to the maximum point until the ground beneath them shook. Unnecessarily, the DJ of the party broadcasted that 'Soarinjack' had arrived, causing the party guests to greet them. As Soarin threw in some high-fives and hoofshakes to the ponies in the crowd, Applejack spotted a group of fillies laughing noisily.

"Oh yeah, those were the wives I was telling you about," Soarin testified after Applejack pointed them out.

"Well, Ah'm goin' to make myself acquainted with them," she notified with a grin. Heading over to them, the pack of girls faced the blonde with bewildered faces. Applejack cleared her throat after and awkward pause. "Howdy, Ah'm-"

"Oh Applejack!" one of them piped up extending out a hoof to pull her in, "Yes, yes, we hear a lot about you and it's a pleasure to finally meet you!" Slowly, her pals nodded their heads and drew in closer.

"Oh, geez, y'all are so kind!"

"You're so sweet!" another one added, "I always say that although our husbands are on different teams, the wives can still have a good time together." The ponies raised their glasses merrily and clanked them together in cheers.

"Oh, Applejack, do you want a drink?" the tall mare probed.

"Oh, uh, just a glass of water is fine," she allowed, watching her leave. Suddenly, all the mares in the group rolled them eyes and moaned.

"Did you see what she was wearing?" the small wife said, "And she had the nerve to tell me that I had an 'interesting' emsemble."

"She said that?" her friend commented, "Ugh! She's so two-faced."

"Yeah, nopony likes her," the tiny horse concluded. The tall mare returned giving Applejack her glass of water. "Oh I'm so glad your back! I wanted to compliment you on your outfit!"

"You really like it?" she blissfully asked.

"Oh yes, I wish I had it!" Confused with the scene in front of her Applejack glanced at the other ponies to find them smiling and concurring with the fibbing pony. Something caught her peripheral vision which made her tilt her head.

"Is that a camera?" Applejack questioned.

"Yeah, but don't pay any attention to it," one of them instructed, "It's for a T.V. show."

"A T.V. show? But Ah didn't get a script."

"Honey, you don't need a script for this kind of show."

"Ooo giiiirl! Look at 'em legs!" a wife praised, noticing the slit in Applejack's dress. Initially, the cowpony thought that the designer did not finish sewing her gown until the designer explained to her it was meant to be cut that way for the style. "I wish I had legs like this filly!"

"Maybe she would if she put down those bon-bons," one of the wives whispered sardonically.

"Hey I heard that!"

"Yeah? And what're you going to do about it? Sit on me?"

"That's it!" Before Applejack could comprehend their quarrel, the large guest pounced on the snaky mare and quickly moved aside. The residents around them cheer the battle on as the camera crew rushed to the tussling fighters.

"Perhaps Ah should check on Soarin…"

………………………………..........

Peering out the window at the magnificent structure, Applejack was awe-struck by the legendary tower and the lights that illuminated it. In the reflection, she saw, was Soarin opening the door which exposed his teammates.

"C'mon, man, we're in Prance!" an associate publicized, "It's not every day where you can eat at a restaurant in Prance." The blue stallion glimpsed over to the settling earth pony then back to the cluster of ponies.

"I know, I know," he countered, "But I think I'm going to rest for a bit."

"Since when do you sleep?" Rapidfire shouted out, "The Soarin I know doesn't-" Abruptly, a sly smirk came across his face. "Oh, I see. You want to have some alone time with your lady friend." Soarin rolled his eyes when he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Or maybe I'm just tired."

"Sure, bro. Just remember to play it smooth." Soarin playfully pushed them away and shut the door.

"Ya didn't have to do that," Applejack yawned, "Ah don't want to be your ol' ball 'n' chain. Enjoy yerself."

"It’s fine," he assure, picking up the phone, "We'll call in. Isn't that what food service is for?" Once the food arrived by the door after Soarin called in, the roommates sprawled out on the floor with their plates and lively chatted.

"OK, OK," Soarin stated, holding up a grape, "One more." Applejack shoved back her pony tail and dropped her jaw as she extended out her tongue. Eyeing her carefully, he tossed the fruit towards her direction. The grape soon landed in her mouth which made her shoot up her arms in achievement. "Woah! Ten for ten!"

"Told ya Ah could do it," she giggled, taking a moment to swallow, "Y'know, out of this entire month we've spend together on this tour, Ah'm glad that we have some quiet time between us like this. Just the two of us."

"And here's to, hopefully, many more to come," he toasted, bringing up his apple cider. Drinking the beverage, he noticed a magazine by the edge of the bed and picked it up. "'Applejack's Style Secrets'," he read out loud, "Hey, this is a nice picture of you."

"Ya think so? Thanks. Too bad Ah don't have any style secrets." Stopping for a moment, she set her food down onto her dish. "Ah'm still tryin' to get use to see me on the cover of magazines like that. Especially when these pictures don't even seem like me. Ah almost feel guilty, like Ah'm lyin' to the public or somethin'. How d'ya deal with that guilt?"

"Uh, by not having a conscious?" he teased, "All joking aside, I think you have to divide up and know your professional side of yourself and you as a pony. It's like, you should know that the pony on the magazine covers aren't you even though they are, you know? That filly on the cover here isn't you, it's just a character."

"Well, she certainly looks like me…in a costume…" she trailed off in jest.

"I don't know, maybe it'll take a while for you to get used to. I've been trained to think like this since as far as I can remember."

"Why?"

"My mom use to work with the top of the top in the show business. She was highly demanded as a beautician before she retired, so I grew up with knowing about PR's-"

"PR's?"

"Public relations. One day, I was visiting my mom at work when she was making over some celebrity for a photoshoot. I was a young colt at the time. The camera pony said that I had a lot of…what was it? Charisma, he told me. He referred me to some of her photography friends or whatever and I became a young model."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm. Just small stuff, you know, like appearing in children's magazines and toy covers. I even had some small parts in movies. My mom was my manager for a while. One day a pony was on set while I was taking photos for an athletic shoot for preteen colts. He 'discovered' me, I guess, and wanted to try me out for a little team you may know as the Wonderbolts. I was a teenager who looked up to the Wonderbolts and I was sure pumped. Long story short, I became one of the youngest members to join this team all thanks to Top Boss being there at that photoshoot." He gave a shrug of the shoulders. "After being famous for as long as I had, since childhood, you see how things work."

"How so?"

"Well, you know Thunder Storm? Potty mouth Thunder Storm? In reality, he's painfully shy."

"Now that ya mention it, he hasn't peeped a word to me. Ah remember seein' a pin-up photo of Spitfire back at the headquarters. Is that part of a…PR or whatever?"

"Yup. She's kinda the eye-candy of the Wonderbolts, if you haven't noticed. We even went out for a while. For publicity purposes, only. It was nothing serious. How could it be when she doesn't exactly…swing my way."

"Swing your…what d'ya-" Quickly, Applejack brought her hooves to her mouth. "You mean, she's-"

"Yup. But, of course, those drooling fan boys can't know that. It'll ruin their fantasies after all. I remember her complaining when she first joined the team that she had to impress a bunch of colts that she wasn't even interested in. She's like you, tired of the façade. And of course, some of the things even outside of the Wonderbolts were more serious. Like affairs, alcohol, drugs…I think you can imagine what goes on; you have an active imagination."

"Ah always thought those were just rumors," Applejack pondered out loud.

"Well, OK, true some of those are just rumors. And rumors are usually just lies. But the reoccurring rumors, the ones that never seem to go away and get louder and louder, usually have some truth behind it."

"Hmm," was all she could reply.

"Trust me, I've seen and done things throughout my youth that some ponies will barely do throughout their whole lifetime."

"Ya mean like gettin' married?"

"Alright, that's one of the craziest things I've done." The phone rang which he reached for. "Hello? Oh hey Top Boss!"

"Oh brother."

"What is it? Why are you speaking so fast? Slower, slower."

"Did he grow an inch?" she joked, causing Soarin to stifle his chuckle.

"Wait, what? What?"

"What?"

"Top, are you crazy? We didn't even plan this is the first place and-" Soarin shook his head while rubbing his temple. "I can't believe this…I'll get back to you tomorrow, I have to tell the missus."

"What's goin' on? Tell me!" she demanded after he hung up.

"The studio is throwing a wedding for us for the whole world can see. And the announcements are already sent out to all the major gossip outlets!"