"Oh Rarity!" Applejack gasped as she exposed the gown. It was a vintage look: lace wrapped around the neck and shoulder area as the bare white material elegantly draped to the floor. Holding up the hanger, she inspected the dress with her smile growing larger. "Ah love it!" A reminder rang in her head as she hung up the dress in her closet. "Where's the veil?" Rarity emitted a long groan as she took it out from her bag.

"Are you sure you want to wear your cowfilly hat as a veil?" Applejack raised her eyebrow and gave a smirk as a response. "Very well. I trimmed it with pearls and added the sheer fabric just like you asked for. If you were to ask me, darling, I would have gone with a simple tiara but you're the client." Applejack swooped in for a quick hug and reclined back eagerly.

"Thanks a lot! This means so much tah me!" Although she often questioned her friend's taste, Rarity smiled at the static pony. After a year of the planning the wedding, she had heard every complaint, rant, and story from the country mare and was glad that finally she seemed to be genuinely happy.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," Rarity replied, plopping onto the bed behind her. She glanced over at the time and dropped her mouth open. "Applejack! The bachorlette party is going to be in thirty minutes!"

"Yeah? And?"

"Your hair is a mess and you haven't picked out any clothes-"

"Oh c'mon, these are my friends and family we're talkin' about. Now Ah gotta dress up for them, too?"

"Not overly dressed," Rarity pointed out, examining inside her closet, "Maybe just a loose dress with some boots. Oh!" Digging through her bag once more, the unicorn pulled out a campy hat with the word 'bride' stitched on the front.

"Right, because everypony doesn't know who the bride is already," Applejack jeered, "Especially with a highly publicized weddin' comin' up this week."

"It's fun!" Rarity commented, returning to the bed, "It's unbelievable how you're getting married before me!" Applejack halted for a moment to give her a quick dirty look. "No offense, dear." She glanced around the room as she fixed her mane. "Looks like you've finished moving everything in here."

"Eeyup," Applejack called out from the bathroom as she tried on clothes, "Place certainly is nice, isn't it? Soarin's got a way with realtors."

"Yes yes, this house is very roomy. And it's not too too far away from Ponyville." Applejack strolled back into her bedroom with the suggested outfit from Rarity.

"How do Ah look?"

"Precious," Rarity complimented, clasping her hooves together, "Now let’s go to that party!" As they began to leave, Rarity froze in her track and Applejack asked what was wrong. "On second thought, maybe you should arrive fashionably late…"

"Rarity!" Applejack groaned.

Once when the fashionista finished organizing Applejack's closet along with leaving a commentary one each of her pieces, much to Applejack's pleasure, Rarity agreed to finally head over to the barn for the party. Calling for a cab to top by the house, the two ponies decided to converse in small talk for a bit in the kitchen. Eventually, the driver pulled up and announced his arrival.

"Thanks Phillip," Applejack said as she sauntered out of the door with her friend trailing behind, "To the Sweet Apple Acres."

"Sure thing," The Wonderbolt assistant accepted, staring at her hat, "Occasion?" Applejack felt her cheeks blush slightly as she adjusted her headpiece.

"Barchorlette party."

"Ah, gotcha loud and clear" he responded, beginning to pull the cart once when they buckled in, "Yeah, after practice the boys took Soarin to his bachelor party."

"Ah'm sure Ah won't see him till dawn," Applejack snorted, "The Wonderbolts and Friday nights tend to have that effect on him."

Escorting themselves to the barn after Phillip dropped them off, Applejack took in the evening sky and approached the doors. The warm colors in the aerial atmosphere livened her and she pushed the doors open to a festive group of ponies who eagerly invited her in.

"There she is!" Mother Apple exclaimed while holding up a camera, "Smile!" Blinded temporarily from the flash, Applejack soon returned to her beaming expression and chatted with her friends and family. Pinkie Pie, known for her elaborate parties, did not disappoint with her schedule of games and activities. All the ponies were gleefully socializing while taking turns dipping portions of their snacks in the chocolate fountain. Then, a knock at the door was heard.

"This is the police!" the muffled voice on the other side pronounced. The guests quickly exchanged knowing looks and turned to Applejack for her reaction.

"Was the music too loud?" she wondered out loud.

"Come in!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "The doors are unlocked!" Two officers entered in and inspected the room. Their grave expressions intimidated the orange pony, causing her to recoil in her seat.

"I-Is there something wrong, sirs?" she questioned, twiddling with her hooves.

"Well somepony called us to check out the Sweet Apple Acres…" one of them informed. Applejack's tense shoulders dropped quickly as she growled quietly.

"Where is that little…" she murmured then raced just outside of the barn, "APPLEBLOOM? DID Y'ALL AND YER LIL' FILLY FRIENDS PRANK CALL THE COPS AGAIN?" Going back inside she stood by the stallions and gave a sheepishly smile. "Ah'm sorry fer the confusion and fer botherin' y'all-"

"OK, ma'am, just sit down, take a deep breath," one of the officers consoled, directing her to her seat, "And we'll take care of the rest." Bewildered by what he meant, she started to hear giggles from her residents. The cop nearest to the door swiftly pulled out a boom box and pressed the start button. As the thundering music was emitted from the machine, the other police pony took off his jacket began to slowly button down his vest.

"I take it you're the bride?" he asked suggestively. Applejack stayed stationary with a horrified expression.

"Yeah she is!" Sequin Sparkle shouted out, "And she's been bad!"

"Oh, then it looks like somepony needs to be…" Unfastening his vest, he showcased his athletic torso, finishing his statement with "punished!" Screams were heard from all over the barn as he shoved his pelvis towards her. Applejack could have sworn she heard Granny Smith in the back scream to 'take it all off'.

"Oh Celestia," she retorted as she watched him shake his hindquarters at her. The dancer began to take off each accessory one by one, causing the crowd to get louder with each toss.

"Oo oo!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, "Take off the gloves! Now the sunglasses! Alright, now the hat!" The ecstatic filly gave a bubbly laugh. "This is fun! He does whatever I tell him to do! Now do a summersault!"

"Pinkie, did you come up with this idea?" Applejack interviewed, trying to skew her view away from the performer.

"Nah, this was Spike's idea!"

"F'course," she figured, reclining back when she saw his briefs landing on her lap.

……………………

"Where's a thesaurus when ya need one?" Applejack questioned herself as she pulled up the covers a little. Glancing over to her barcholette hat again, she let out a chuckle while shaking her head in spite of herself and returned to her crossword puzzle book. "Alright, a noun: a six letter word for an individual who engages in reckless behavior." Something outside the window caught her eye. It was a taxi which had two ponies sliding out of. They seemed to reach for something in the back, something the struggled to get a grasp of.

"Soarin," she huffed, climbing out of bed to head downstairs.

"Hey AJ," Rapidfire, one of his teammates, greeted when she opened the door, "Just here to drop the 'bachelor' off."

"Hi honey!" Soarin proclaimed when he crossed the threshold. Giving her a slimy kiss, he stumbled upstairs as she wiped the saliva off her cheek.

"He's in a good mood," she joked, "Ah wonder why."

"Dude cannot hold his liquor," Thunderwing informed with a smirk.

"Hmmph, Ah think he can hold his drinks better than my cousin Braeburn," she added, grabbing onto the doorknob, "Thanks fer bringin' him home. And fer Pete's sake, it's 4 in the morning'! Y'all should get some sleep!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Rapidfire obeyed as he and his athletic colleague proceeded to enthusiastically run back to their taxi. She let out a giggle at the scene in front of her before closing the door.

"Goofballs," she told herself before going back to the master bedroom. Pushing the door open, Applejack searched for Soarin until her green orbs shot to the puff of blue hair on the pillow. She tugged the covers back to reveal a slumbering Soarin. A sigh let out of her mouth followed by a yawn so she decided to join him under the covers.

"Are you mad at me?" his muffled voice asked. She thought for a second.

"You know what? It was yer night, so ya derserve a lil' time t'free yerself some."

"Aw," he cooed, patting her on the head, "Y-you're the best wife…a guy can ask for."

"Yeah yeah," Applejack responded, grabbing his hoof and setting it down on the comforter, "Besides, yer not too drunk, my little frat boy."

"Nah, jus' a lil' tipsh-ee."

"Uh-huh. And at least ya didn't wake me up or anythin'."

"Oh? W-why weren't you sleepin'?"

"Insomnia."

"Huh?"

"Insomnia."

"What does that word mean again? I-I feel like I've heard it before…"

"You know, when ya can't sleep well?"

"Oh right," he recalled, "That's like the long way of saying…sleep-deprived or something."

"Soarin, 'sleep-deprived' is two words. How is it longer than 'insomnia' which is only one?"

"Th-think of the syllables. Sleep de-prived," he chanted, clapping his hooves with each stop, "In-som-nee-uh. Three syllables versus four." Applejack could only stare at him before she faced the ceiling again. "Hey, how was your bachelor…ette party?"

"It was real good. Nice to see all the gals again. Promise ya won't get mad, hm?"

"Oh, I promise! I really do promise!"

"The fillies thought it was a grand idea to have strippers there. Trust me,  Ah did not enjoy it in the least." Soarin let out a chortle at her grimaced expression.

"Uh, AJ, we don't normally wear clothes."

"Well, yeah, but it's just…the principle of it Ah guess." She seized for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Hey, Ah thought you'd be more upset about it! Or maybe jealous about it or something. What gives?" An idea popped into her head. "Didja have strippers of yer own."

"Puh-leez, if I had strippers at my party, there would've been pictures all over the news by now. Besides, if there were" he continued, reaching over to the dresser to turn off the lamp, "they've got nothing on you."

………………………………...........

"Dude I can't believe you're getting married this Wednesday," Rainbow told the training athlete as she stretched out her own wings, "How does it feel? And save me all this 'exciting' cookie-cutter response nonsense. How do you really feel?" As Soarin made his way through a series of hoops, the male Pegasus lowered himself to his teammate.

"I don't know what to feel," he sadly remarked, noticing Rainbow's bewildered expression.

"What's the matter? Doncha like her?"

"Of course I do! I love her; she's one of the most interesting, fun, reliable, loving, beautiful-"

"Hard working," Rainbow added, "And any other positive adjective that you can think of, right?" Soarin fought off a shy smile as Rainbow gentle punched him in the arm teasingly. "You're a hopeless romantic."

"I just…is it possible for us for our marriage to last when the both of us are so busy? With her running the farm and me training and our press releases…"

"Well, that's when you guys have to make some compromises, you know? I had to give up Wonderbolts for a while after having Summerfree and Brae had to work out him moving out of Apploosa and into Ponyville. On top of all of that, we still had to get used to being parents along with maintaining our relationship. Trust me Soarin, it's not an easy thing having a relationship while balancing our own careers. But we just roll with the punches. Now that we have a good idea what the…flow of how everything is working, we can focus on future chapters of our lives. D'ya kinda get me?"

"Yeah, I do," he muttered as his eyes shifted to the ground. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with his thought racing. "Actually, you make a lot of sense."

"Well duh!"

"And you just gave me an idea…"

………………….

"You're gonna what?" Applejack's voice squeaked. Setting down her sweater she planned on wearing later that night on the chair near her, the country mare sauntered towards the bedroom entrance where her husband stood. "You mean everythin'? Everythin's canceled?"

"Yup. I canceled all the parties and dinners and press releases," he confirmed, entering the room, "I want for the rest of this week till the wedding to be low-key with us. No madness, none of the other ponies telling us what to do-"

"Yer lyin'," Applejack teased, "Ah know ya are. Y'all ain't that insane. What will Top Boss or Hard-Hittin' say or anypony else say?"

"Who cares? Babe it's just gonna be you," he informed, jumping onto the bed then patting the comforter, "and me." He extended out his hoof towards her.

"Soarin," she said, grabbing his hoof. As he pulled onto the bed, the giggling mare held onto a pillow to smack him on the head. "If there's one thing Ah can say about ya, Ah can say yer unpredictable. Maybe even a little erratic."

"I prefer the word 'exciting'," he replied in a mocked arrogant tone.

"Ah prefer ya not to talk," she concluded, leaning in for a kiss.

……………..

"Hey, AJ, guess whose story totally engulfed the entertainment section?" Soarin called out, smoothing out the newspaper in front of him, "'Soarinjack: where are the ponies in love? Famous flyer Soarin and his blushing bride haven't been seen together for days! Many wonder where the famous duo has been hiding. Is there doom in their relationship? Have they separated? With a highly public marriage coming up along with sharing their most intimate and romantic moments in the public eye, Equestia worries about the couple and what is at stake for them. Even their closest sources have admitted they haven't had contact from them since Friday night! Don't worry; safety is assured when Wonderbolt BFF Rainbow Dash reveals that Cloudsdale's Bad Boy and everypony's favorite sweetheart, Applejack, are just laying low. "It's been crazy for them," she told us, "They need a little breathing room for now." Aww! Sounds like the lovers can't wait for their honeymoon to start!'." Applejack slowly shook her head as she held back her giggles.

"My lil' tabloid reader," Appejack joked, "Who would've known."

"Hey, how many messages do we have?" the athletic pony questioned as he plopped onto the couch next to Applejack.

"76 messages and still counting for the past three days," Applejack proudly announced, "Who d'ya think left them all?"

"Hmm, if I had to make an educated guess, maybe 5 percent from relatives from far away we never knew existed wishing us a happy wedding, 35 percent from the press still hounding us down, and the rest from the management?"

"Sounds 'bout right," she concurred, pressing the button to listen to delete them. Getting up from the couch, Applejack reached as far up as she could to stretch her entire body then turned around to ask, "Aren't ya suppose t'be on yer way to practice?"

"Yes," he replied, standing up while reaching for his sweatshirt, "Shouldn't ya get to work?" Searching through the hall closet, Soarin placed her trademark hat on top of her mane.

"Looks like we better get goin'," Applejack pronounced then seizing for a moment, "It's Tuesday right?" Soarin gave a quick nod of the head. "Funny how time flies so fast. Thanks fer an amazin', relaxin' weekend."

"No problem," he assured, beginning to launch off to the aerial city, "See ya in a few."

……………………

Everything around him became a blur as the air brushed against his fur. In his own aerial world, Soarin had felt like he had a grasp on everything in his life. Truthfully, his nerves were nonexistent. His speed accelerated increasingly with his racing thoughts. Every conversation and moment with Applejack popped into his head making him feel even more energized than what he had already felt. Making his way around the poles in the obstacle course, he hummed a small song with each dodge. It was perfect; he knew that he met the girl of his dreams.

"SOARIN!" a voice screeched. Losing his focus, he turned his attention to the distant door in the corner and accidentally crashed into a punching bag.

"Ouch!" he cursed, rubbing his head, "Why do we even have these punching bags anyway?"

"Get your flank down here right now, mister!" The winged pony lowered himself to the ground timidly.

"H-hey, Hard-Hitting," he murmured when he landed, "H-how are you d-"

"Cut the small talk!" she snapped, handing her clipboard to one of her assistants.

His demeanor quickly changed from defeated to exasperated. "Alright, how did you find me?"

"Oh no you don't! Don't start that with me," she fought back, 'I'm the one who should be asking you questions. Why do I need to hunt you down in the first place when you know there's a press conference today? We almost had to send out a search party for you guys!"

"Wouldn't be the first time…wait, press conference? I didn't know there was a press conference today."

"What do you mean…how did you not…" She quickly yelled out her assistant's name.

"Yes ma'am," the small colt responded, saluting her quickly.

"How many messages did I leave for this stallion reminding and alerting him about today's very important interview session?"

"I-I believe you left about 15 or so over the course of three days," he stammered.

"And that was just me. Don't forget about Top Boss and his staff and other news sources. Do you know how significant this conference is? This is the press conference! The one the day prior to your wedding and the whole world wants to hear from you two! Ponies are actually RVSPing for this. How could you just disappear?" Gasping, the businessmare scowled at him. "I bet it was that Applejack. I knew all along that she'd be a bad influence on you, rebelling form the start."

"Now hold it, this is a stallion's wife you're talking about and that's dangerous territory. Say what you want about me, but don't talk about her like that! For your information, I was the one who came up with the idea to cut you all out. Without Applejack's 'influence'. And you know what? Neither of us appreciate your pushy attitude."

"The 'pushy' attitude is the attitude that protects you, kiddo. Do you know how many nasty rumors would've been spread about you two since the start? Just for public amusement? Soarin, you know there are vultures out there in the media. Ready to tear down and ruin your reputation just for the sick idea of entertainment value? And anticipating the downfall of your marriage just like any other famous relationships? I may be pushy and dictating, but I'm out there saving your behind. Look, Soarin, I don't want to be the bad guy here," she informed, putting on her sunglasses, "But we're running on a schedule around you two. All of us: the management, publicity agency, industry insiders, news outlets, journalists, reporters, the whole nine yards. You're under a contract so I suggest you better follow our orders before things can get ugly. Besides, it's common curtsey to keep in touch with those who made you the superstar that you are today." The mare began to exit the gym before turning to face him again. "And I suggest you call your wife and the both of you meet up at the headquarters. The conference starts in an hour and time is money."

……………………….

Applejack felt a playful shove from her cousin and tossed an apple towards him.

"What was that for?" she giggled. "Tryin' to knock me down? Ya crazy?"

"Somepony's gettin' married tomorrow," Braeburn reminded with a wink, "Ready?"

"Not really," she admitted, kicking her legs against the tree behind her.

"Hey, shouldn't ya be spendin' yer weddin' eve with him?"

"As if Ah haven't spent a lot of time with him already," she joked, "But in all seriousness, we just kinda want to do our own lil' thing fer a while before meetin' up back home tonight. He said he's takin' me out to eat tonight."

"That's nice!"

"Yeah it is. Besides, workin' here will get my mind off my nerves fer a while."

"Hey, are ya gonna have a bar in the reception area?" he asked, stifling his guffaws, "Ya better be careful, with all the weddin' decorations you may give some guests ideas."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. FYI, that joke got old months ago. Maybe you and Rainbow should have a drink or two so that y'all can finally tie the knot."

"Might as well, huh? It's only a matter of time before Sums grows old enough to ask why we haven't yet." The colt hauled up his basket to start heading over to the other trees. "By the way, AJ, I'm really proud of you."

"Fer what?"

"Well, I know that this is a lot. I've been in a similar situation before with dating a famous athlete, only it wasn't nearly this…strict. It takes guts to go through with this." As she watched him stroll away, she began to walk over to a nearby lake. Does it take guts or no backbone? she thought to herself while dipping her snout in to drink water. Suddenly, she heard familiar voice calling her name. Perhaps too familiar.

"Did somepony say my name?" she questioned, checking her surrounding areas.

"Down here!" The country mare glanced down at the lake to find what appeared to be her reflection glowering at her.

"What the-"

"You have some evaluatin', girl!" her reflection demanded.

"Ah;ve been workin' too hard…"

"Focus! What are ya doin'?"

"Apparently havin' a conversation with my refection?"

"Listen, if ya let everypony walk over ya like this, yer marriage and life will end in shambles! Ya have to stand up fer yerself!"

"Ah've tried, believe me."

"Well maybe yer goin' at it the wrong way."

"And what d'ya mean by that?"

"Perhaps the problem isn't the publicity machine. Maybe it's Soarin." She furrowed her eyebrows and stayed silent. "Hate to break it to ya, sugarcube, but maybe ya need to let him go. Other than the obvious attention he brings, he doesn't seem to see the same level as you when it comes to protectin' yer privacy."

"Th-that's not true! In fact, he's the one who came up with this lil' vacation or 'stay-cation' idea or whatever ya call it!"

"Yes but he loves the spotlight. He's a born entertainer, d'ya think he'd give that up?"

"M-maybe Ah don't want him to give it up. We can still be together, it's been done before and we can do it."

"But are ya gonna continue to be his quote-on-quote lil' lady? Are ya gonna continue to please to the public with this image?"

"Ah'm not lyin'! Just, Ah don't know, dressin' up."

"It's untruthful. It's not you and yer trying to convince ponies that's how yer really like."

"Well, uh, who cares what other ponies think?"

"Y'know, yer right, who does care? Why are ya catering to ponies who accept yer image and not you? AJ, both you and…well me know that no stallion is worth more than yer principles."

"What d'ay suggest then? Yer tearin' me down and tellin' me to break up with Soarin and Ah don't want to! Ah know this sounds cheesy but Ah don't care: Ah love Soarin. Ah don't even know why exactly, ya wouldn't think he's my type but it's true. And it's more than just bein' in love with him as a mate, he's one of my best friends and a part of my family. Ah can see a future with him. Ah may not know what future yet, but Ah don't see him out of my life. Ah can't see my life without him. But…Ah can't help but think that you are right about my ponysona. Ah mean, you are right, it needs to be stopped."

"Well then, ya know what ya gotta do?"

"Ah'm afraid to ask…"

"Ya gotta do something drastic! Gotta put the truth out there! Yer in control, not the management!"

"Yeah? Yeah? Like how?"

"Ya gotta-"

"Applejack, dear, when yer done talkin' to the water come inside to take a call!" Granny Smith yelled from the kitchen window. She ran up to her grandmother and grasped the phone from her. "It's Soarin," she added with a smile as she left her alone.

"Hey Soar," she greeted as her face beamed, "How're ya?"

"I'm, uh, good. I'm good." Applejack noted the apprehension in his voice and grew concerned.

"Ya certainly don't sound good. What's the matter, sugarcube?"

"AJ, I-I hate to do this to you…." She wrapped the cord around her hoof nervously.

"Out with it," she demanded, "Ah can take it, Ah'm sure."

"You gotta at the headquarters in about ten minutes. There's a press conference today in an hour that I guess we didn't hear about due to the whole…deleting all voicemails thing…"

"P-press conference? In an hour?"

"I'm really, really sorry. Hard found me at the gym in Cloudsdale and she told me about it and now I'm calling you. I guess since it's a day before the wed-"

"But we had plans tonight, remember? Ah thought we weren't gonna do this anymore! Ah thought we weren't gonna do anythin' fer them before the weddin'!"

"I know, I know, but I mean this is a really important and big conference apparently-"

"Oh great! Now Ah can put up my façade in front of the national audience once more. This gets exhaustin'! Did ya do or say anythin' to stop this?" The other side of the line was quiet for a moment.

"She told me that everypony is already lining up at the door. It's one thing if I found out about this yesterday or something but I can't cancel it when it's starting in an hour. I know this is hard but this is a part of fame."

"Soarin!"

"Please Applejack, just come. I don't want you to get in trouble; I already had to defend you with Hard-Hitting." Her blood boiled as her hoof shook with frustration. . Abruptly, a sneeze shot out of her which resulted in her rubbing her nose and sniffing. "What's up? Are you getting sick?"

"No," she sulked, "Just a lot of dust out-" An idea popped into her head in response to thoughts earlier. "Ah'll be there in a few."

………………………

"Sorry, Ms. Hitting, but I don't see Applejack anywhere," an assistant notified the perplexed horse backstage. Opening the curtains slightly, the publicist peered out at the crowded audience who had already begun taking pictures. Grimacing, she turned to Soarin and his manager who were looking out as well.

"You two better get out there," she ordered, "They've been waiting for fifteen minutes now!"

"But Applejack isn't here yet!" Soarin pointed out, fussing with his Wonderbolt suit nervously.

"It don't matter, Soarin!" Top Boss informed, beginning to walk onto the stage, "We'll just make up something when we reach the microphones." The sportspony followed Top Boss reluctantly to his own seat. After the portly stallion greeted the reporters, applause rose until he motioned them to quiet down.

"All of you will have to excuse Applejack, she's fashionably late," Soarin meekly joked, causing the group to let out a collective chuckle.

"Y'all don't need to wait any longer," her voice broadcasted as she sauntered onto stage. The audience gasped at her appearance as Top Boss's mouth dropped open followed by Soarin turning to see her. Brown soil covered her body while traces of twigs and leaves tangled in her mane. There was a small cut on her cheek that was raised by her smirk.

"She's been mugged!" a paparazzo shouted.

"Mugged? This is what a hard day's work looks like!" she explained, scooting over to a seat next to the blue Pegasus.

"H-hard day's work?" an elderly pony commented, "What on Equestria do you mean by that?" The breeze from her fan she was cooling herself with made her strand of pearls sway back and forth delicately.

"She was planting flowers in her pots!" Top Boss answered quickly with a hint of perspiration on his forehead, "That's why she has the dirt on her."

"Nah, Ah don't think so," she rejected, "Ah was buckin' trees!" The spectators let out another gasp with some of the members even fainting. "Yeah, Ah guess Ah look like a mess to y'all but to me this is the way Ah like me. Ah love running my family business!"

"Y-you mean you do this regularly?" a photographer interviewed.

"Yup!" she replied, her voice suddenly dropping low, "Truth is, Ah've been dishonest with y'all. Ah just wanted y'all to…view me as a certain way. Ah don't know, maybe Ah thought y'all wouldn't like the truth. Ah don't like tea parties, Ah like gardenin'! And Ah don't like cachet, Ah like tug-o-war. And Ah don't knit, Ah play with my lasso! Ah'm sorry Ah've put up this disguise with y'all. Ah've felt guilty the whole time and had to get this off my chest." The fans had bewildered looks of their faces, unsure on how to perceive this news. Soarin noted the change of atmosphere and turned to the country horse whose eyes were darting around the room apprehensively.

"Just the way Ah like her," Soarin jested, wrapping his arm around her, "This is the pony Ah fell in love with." Applejack's face lit up again and she gave a quick peck on his cheek gratefully. As all the members clapped rigorously again, Soarin leaned in to whisper something in her ear. "D'ya think they need to know how we really got married?"

"One step at a time, Soarin," she spat out, "Don't want them to turn on us by exposin' everythin'."

"You're crazy, you know that?" he concluded with a grin.

………………………………..

"You're crazy, you know that?" Hard-Hitting screamed at Applejack. With the celebrity couple and their crew, the huddle of ponies galloped as fast as they could from the intruding reporters who were making their way backstage.

"To the offices, hurry!" Top Boss lead. The businessmare commanded to her helpers that they get security on action as once while two guards protected Soarin and Applejack from the manic fans. Once they reached the nearest office, they shut the door and placed a chair underneath the lock with the rest of the horses outside pounding at the door.

"What else have you've been hiding, huh?" one voice yelled from the opposite side.

"Is this whole marriage a fake?"

"You guys make the cutest couple!"

"Applejack, tell us more about yourself!"

"Are there any muffins in there that I can have?"

"Now look what you've done!" Hard-hitting shrieked at the farm filly, "Going at us like wild animals! All because you had to prove something!" Applejack collapsed in a chair while massaging her temples. "What do you have to say for yourself? Your image is now tarnished and now I have to fix it again. Now they'll probably never leave us alone!"

"Ah want you to leave me alone!" she hissed, glaring at her as a silence grew between them, "Since day one ya been on my back about this 'image' nonsense!"

"Sweetheart, you signed a contract that gives me the legal right to have me control your public image!"

"Wrong! To control our image as a married couple!"

"Yeah and you're part of that married couple, remember?"

"W-well, what if Ah break the contract?"

"Puleeze! There's no way."

"Oh yes there is. Th-there's only one way," she declared, her back shooting straight up. Realizing what she was inferring to, Hard-Hitting's cold expression turned into shock while Soarin caught on.

"Applejack," he murmured, "you don't mean…what I think you mean, do you?" She sunk back into the chair as she blankly looked at the air in front of her. Her eyes flickered back to Soarin whose visage showed disappointment. The stillness in the air made anger grow inside of him. "Applejack?"

"A-Ah don't-" She was interrupted by a loud banging on the door which made her hop out of her seat in surprise. "Ah c-can't handle this anymore!"

"Are you saying that you want to end this marriage?" The door shook again from the impact of the hooves outside.

"A-Ah don't want to b-but-" She cut herself off quickly as she blinked hard and stared at the ground. "Ya knew this was comin', Soar. Might as well get it over with before we get ourselves into more of a mess."

"Just like that?" he probed with a shaky voice. "Giving it all up?"

"Ah love ya but maybe we're too different fer each other." Soarin dropped his head and shook it quickly then returned his gaze back to her again. "This marriage was never intended to last forever. I-isn't that what we both wanted and established since the beginning, anyhow?" Biting his lip, he steered his vision to the corner of the room and blew out a sigh.

"You're right," he agreed, starting to head over to the conjoining office, "But maybe what we both wanted fifteen months ago has changed now. Ever given that a thought?" She watched him close the door with Top Boss chasing after. She slowly sat back down in the chair.

"Luna, I hate mixing emotions with business," Hard-Hitting admitted, "Look, perhaps we can both save ourselves anymore stomach ulcers. It's up to you: if you want to go with the marriage let me know. If not then I can tear up the contract right in front of you and you can hit the road, Jack." A ringtone was heard causing her to take her call and walk towards the corner.

"Ah don't know what Ah want anymore…"