Aftermath: Operation Rari/jack

Applejack found Rarity on the way from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville. In the middle of the road through the orchard. Big Mac gave Rarity a sour glance as he decided to stay out of their business. He would have liked it a lot to drag Rarity all the way back to townsquare and give her the spanking she had deserved, but in the end she was his sister´s wife. Applejack noticed his uncalled for, but yet understandable grudge towards the white unicorn. "Applejack, thank Celestia you are here. I never seen your brother act like such a ruffian."- Rarity placed her hoof on her heart. -"I almost feared for my life."

Applejack pulled her stetson deep into her face, casting a shadow over her face: "Ah guess you have heared whats going on?"- Rarity flushed as she acknowledged to have received the horrible message. "He wasn´t invited to our wedding."

"Oh my. I reckon I was afraid for my life after all." said Rarity watching the part were the stallion had entered the orchard to get to work. Rarity threw the backside of her forehoof to her forehead. "Oh why would they do that to me?"

Such arrogance! They were all kidnapped by the changelings. She was not the only one screwed over by them. Not only her: "To ya? If ya haven´t noticed, Ah am no longer legally an Apple! Because Ah have married into yar family"

Rarity looked at Applejack, blinking disbelieving with her eyelashes, putting the tip of white hoof on her lip. "Well, that´s a relieve."

"Say what now?!"

"Do you know how much trouble it would have been to rewrite the ownership of my boutiques on a new name, if it was the other way around?" Rarity threw a glance at the outraged countrygirl that she put her own interests first in this case.

"Trouble!"- shouted Applejack. Close to show her what trouble really means. -"Sweet Apple Acres is Apple-family Property! Ma family name and Sweet Apple Acres are everything Ah got passed down from ma parents! And now Ah don´t have either."

With her hat still pulled deep into her face, Applejack trotted past Rarity. The white mare could not really see her face but she was hurt. Wounded. Weak and broken. "Applejack, I didn´t meant to..."

Applejack did not look at her for a single moment. She just wanted to reach Ponyville with as few ponies seeing what was going on as possible. "Let´s just get ma stuff out of Carousel Boutique. Ah´ve not moved in with ya!"

***

Who would have thought you could share the walk of shame? Not Applejack, nor Rarity. Neither they knew you could walk it on behalf of somepony else. They all seem to know what was going on. And the slightest hope of resolving this issue without anypony noticing, vanished in thin air. Applejack was carrying a big yellow pouch thrown over her saddlebags while Rarity had a few packets flowing in her magic aura. Being looked at was one thing, being the talk of the entire town but being lectured by ponies that think they knew what was going on was like being eaten alive by a burning timberwolf.

The blue mare had learned about their breaking off while standing behind the counter of Sugar Cube Corners. The whole bakery was buzzing with rumors and gossip of far to inquisitive ponies. So that when they had passed the shop door on their way back to Sweet Apple Acres, had Mrs. Cake left her shop just to talk to them: "Now it is not my business in anyway, shape or form. And I find it commendable that you two are trying to settle this as friends, but you can´t just throw away your marriage like this."

"There is NO marriage!" shouted Applejack angrily.

"I know it can feel that way, sometimes. There will always be hard times you just have to work through these. Just remember how happy you two were when you went puplic with your relationship." appealed Mrs. Cake to them.

Rarity tried her luck to explain the situation"That relationship was a lie, Mrs. Cake..." but the mare just kept on coming with life advice until she realized how far she has walked off from her shop. The two of them sighed with relief as Mrs. Cake left them. Sadly their purgatory was not about to end with this. No fate really felt like punishing them today. They could feel it. Right upon their flanks. The map called them. To Twilight´s castle. Once again on the other side of the town.

***

In the purple crystal throne room stared Twilight Sparkle at the crystal table with the illusionary magic map. All six cutiemarks of their friends images were floating over Ponyville in rapid circles. "Is the map broken again? Have the changelings tampered with it." adressed Twilight the odd behavior to everypony that was already, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, but mostly to Starlight Glimmer. Who had been here when the changelings had replaced each and everyone of the Friendship Council.

"That could be possible, though I didn´t saw it." pondered Starlight Glimmer. They had used it as a table for their own magic, but could that have effected the magic of the castle?

"Ah doubt that." said Applejack as she and Rarity appeared in the doorway just in time to hear them speculating. "Ah think it´s us. We got an friendship problem." The two ponies were a welcome sight, but what they said was a little unsettling. The mares looked like they had not even gotten a single moment of rest since they had came back from the Sunset Festival.

Rarity nodded sadly and agreed: "Indeed. It is downright dreadful."

"Oh my gosh girls? What happend?" wondered Twilight Sparkle, ignoring the map for now. Even thought she was not convinced yet that it was not manipulated with magic again. But for now there seemed to be a much bigger problem hanging in the air.

"Ah don´t know how to give it to ya"- said Applejack. She throwed the bags of her back and moved towards the map, while Rarity followed her example. -"It looks like these Changelings that sham to be us. Have tried to ruin our lifes. Now everypony in town thinks me and Rarity are a married couple!" Everypony in the room stared at them in disbelief. This could not be. These Changelings they would not dare to...

"Wait, so it wasn´t you two I caught smooching?", ask Rainbow Dash bluntly.