Author's Note
Here's a quick story telling us about the moment that has been left behind the scenes in the actual episode "Honest Apple". If you haven't watched it yet, well...
GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW!!!
In mah honest opinion...
That's not what Ah could've possibly expected... Just what in tarnation goin' on today?! At first, Rarity had me slack-jawed by saying she wants me to be a judge at her fashion show for mah keen eye in practicality. Then, Ah just go ahead and ruin her entire idea with mah brutal Honesty, not even thinkin' about how hurtful mah darn words are! And now, when by some miracle Ah've fixed all of the damage, Ah get'ta be the final vote deciding the winner. Ah get'ta choose one of those poor fellah's Ah hurt today, and the other two are gonna have'ta hit the road! You wanna hear my honest opinion?
After what Ah've done today, Ah have no right for such a decision! 'Sides, Ah don't understand those designs at all. They all are not practical in mah eyes anyway! Ya'll just can't go picking apples in any of these. Those massive dresses are sure to collect all the durt on the farm. Those fancy costumes have so many buttons, it would take forever to get set in them, and Ah'm no unicorn: Ah doubt Ah could even reach most of those! And that... "future" design is simply beyond me. In mah eyes, it's downright ridiculous! Why would anypony even want to wear that?!
But here's a better question. Who am Ah to judge those designers? Ah'm just some farmer pony who works her hooves off everyday and doesn't know a thing about fashion. Ah don't need fashion on the farm. Ah shouldn't be the judge here! Photo Finish and Hoity Toity are the perfect choice for this, but me? Rarity said she wanted mah advice on practicality, but none of these are even close to what Ah can call practical. And yet... All of these ponies are looking at me with expectation and hope in their eyes. Sweet Celestia, do Ah know how much of a hard work and love they all have put in those designs... A-ah can't just go ahead and say that none of them are good in mah book! If Ah do that, it's gonna mean Ah haven't learnt a darn thing today. And that's the problem. Ah, the Element of Honesty, can't afford to be just honest right now... But Ah can't lie too. Ah'm terrible at lying, everypony knows that! Ah guess...
Ah guess, the best thing Ah can do is to be fair.
The music has long since stopped. The audience has grown silent, and so have the participant designers. Everypony was waiting. Every eye was focused on just one pony. The pony who was about to speak the special words. The words that were going to decide the outcome of that entire fashion show. The final judge. The Element of Honesty.
They all stared at Applack.
And yet, Applejack was obviously not excited about that. However, she had taken a deep breath... and with an impressive leap got on stage, right next to the designers she was about to judge. The designers, only one of which would get to have their collection displayed at the Carousel Boutique. The designers which did their best that day and have succeeded in impressing the ponies who had their names well-known in the world of fashion. Rarity, Hoity Toity... even Photo Finish. They all were genuinely impressed so far, but each had made their vote. And now, it all had come down to the only pony who they never seemed to be able to impress. The pony who were looking them over from head to hooves. She wasn't going to go easy on them and they knew it. Each of the designer ponies couldn't help but gulp nervously when meeting her strict and judging gaze. And then... she had decided to finally break the silence.
"Ah have no name in fashion world. So, it's no wonder why Ah can't understand any of yours designs!" - her first words had caused a massive gasp from the audience, the loudest one coming, of course, from Pinkie Pie. A worried expression had appeared on the other judges' faces, but Applejack were holding her ground. She wasn't finished. She had only begun, - "Rarity has made me a judge on her fashion show because of mah keen eye in practicality, but none of your designs look practical to me. Ah've said that before, nopony would be able to work efficiently while wearing those!"
As she continued her speech, the audience was growing more and more shocked. None of the ponies who had come to see that fabulous fashion show was expecting a to hear anything like that. Quite a few jaws had already hit the ground by that point...
"And that's exactly why..." - Applejack continued, the pause had drawn everyone's attention even more. The participants flinched as if about to get hit in the face, - "...Ah cannot judge your designs. Ah'm not the right pony for that!"
At that phrase, the entire audience had gasped much harder. Pinkie, of course, had outdone herself too. But Applejack were not finished yet.
"But there are plenty of other things that Ah can judge. And Ah'm not gonna lie... those things, those facts are just as important to this show as your designs themselves!" - the intriguing phrase had immediately silenced all of the gasps and whispers, - "First of all, Ah've seen you working on your dresses. And while the designs that ya'll have made is none of mah field of expertise, Ah know the hard work when Ah see it. Ah can tell that ya'll put yer heart in yer work, and that's what Ah appreciate! At second, look at the other judges! They're none other than Rarity, Photo Phinish and Hoity Toity themselves. Those are the huge names in the fashion world! And Ah know for sure that impressing even one of them would take a ton of effort and talent! Yet today, ya've done just that. Each of ya!" - the further Appljack spoke, the bigger smiles were finding their way on the faces of those designers. By that moment, the entire audience, including the other judges, seemed to be completely entranced by the speech of the farmer pony, - "And last, but not least... As Ah've said before, none of these dresses are good for a pony like me. The pony who spends all day working on the farm and doing chores. But these clothes are not for chores. Hay, they're not even for wearing everyday! Those are what they call "fabulous". They're meant to be worn on the special occasions. Somethin' like Grand Galloping Gala! On the occasions like that, practicality has to step back and give way to something good lookin' above all else. Ah can understand that, even though Ah still don't understand the fashion. And again, if each of those..." - she pointed her hoof to the other judges, - "...was impressed by your designs, that makes them Grand Galloping Gala-worthy in mah book. Ah guess, the choice of the designer would only depend on the pony's mood in that case. And so, my vote goes to..."
The entire audience, as if not frozen already, had gone even more still. Everypony looked at Applejack with the eyes craving the words that were going to come out of her mouth next.
"...all three of ya!"
Pinkie Pie had exploded from gasping, or gasp-loded, as she would call it. The smiles on the designers' faces could compete with Celestia's Sun in the sheer brightness. And the other judges had been left astonished. The audience had gone crazy with the cheering, nopony had expected Applejack to do such an amazing job as a judge on the fashion show. Yet somehow, even through all of that cheering, the loud phrase "I faint!" could be heard.
"Darling, you were amazing today!" - Rarity had commented. The show was over, the other judges and participants had left for their homes. Everypony left the show in a bright and happy mood.
"Aw, shucks, Rarity. Ah did what ya'll have made me a judge for," - the farmer pony had replied, a blush was creeping on her cheeks.
"Do you know what I absolutely loved about your speech? That you were completely honest to everypony, yet did so without being hurtful."
"True that, Rarity. Ah've learnt a valubale lesson today, it seems. But Ah'm happy with how it has turned out," - said Applejack, - "Ah've learned that Honesty, however important Element of Friendship it can be, is nothin' but a rotten apple without the other Element."
"Oh? How curious, darling..." - Rarity had commented, intrigued by where Applejack was going with that thought, - "What would it be?"
Applejack smiles and turned her head back to meet Rarity's eyes and give her the honest answer.
"It's the Element of Justice."
