Jimmy was finally about to enjoy one of the things he liked the most: watching rodeos. He had already rode on horses at equestrian camps, but that couldn't be compared to the rodeos. The wild horses and bulls, waiting in their place behind the doors, as the brave (or almost brave) cowboys got their equipment ready to get on top of those animals. Barrel racing, roping, steer wrestling and many more activities were awaiting for the jockeys who wanted to get a taste of any of the horses. And, for the lionhearted ones, the bulls would prove to be the highest challenge.
Jimmy couldn't dare to ride a bull, but a horse was easier. That day, however, he was there just for watching the event. After purchasing a ticket, he got himself a seat on the stands around the arena, biding his time as more people entered.
"It's been such a long time! If I'm not wrong, I haven't visited a rodeo in two years!" Jimmy said, feeling excited as he kept track of his watch, which indicated there were a few minutes left.
When the time arrived, the event started, and people gave their cheers as cowboys entered the arena, ready to start...
At some time during the rodeo, Jimmy saw one of the cowboys walking inside the arena, visibly nervous about something.
"Ladies and gentleman, we're having some problems. One of the bulls has got aggressive, and it's-" he didn't say anything else, as the doors broke and the aggressive bull appeared.
People got terrified, and some of them were already getting up to leave the arena, as the cowboys dodged the bull whom, in its hostility, tried to run over them as he escaped the arena.
"It's getting away!! We have to catch it!!" another cowboy exclaimed.
Having witnessed all of that, Jimmy stared nervously at the distance, watching as the bull went away. At that moment, he remembered something he liked about western movies: rope tricks.
"That's it!" he said, going to the backside of the arena. When the cowboys realized what was happening, he was on top of a horse, "Come on! There's a bull to catch!"
Soon enough, Jimmy and the other five cowboys were riding their horses, galloping as fast as they could and following the tracks left by the horned animal.
Jimmy felt like he was inside a western movie: using a horse to chase a bull through a desert landscape was a thing nobody could do everyday. On top of that, he was also carrying a rope for catching the animal (after seeing it so many times, he thought it wouldn't be so difficult).
Following that bull was easy, due to the cloud of dust it left as he kept running. But apprehending it would be the complicated part. Regardless of that, the only thing Jimmy wanted at that moment was to help other people.
"There it is!" Jimmy heard one of the cowboys yelling, and he finally noticed the fled bull, still running.
"I'm gonna try to tie the rope around its horns!" Jimmy told them.
"That's a very risky move, pal! Are you sure about doing that?" one of the older men said.
"Yes, I am! Keep getting closer just in case!" Jimmy replied, motioning his horse to run faster.
The closer he got to his objective, the more strange he felt. He was having a rare sensation all over his body, but he believed it was nothing as he kept his eyes focused on his prey, moving the rope with his hands before finally throwing it.
The bull yelled as soon as the rope got stuck on the horns, but kept running, almost causing Jimmy to fall off. However, he grabbed the rope with both hands, using all the strenght he had.
And then, just then, it finally happened: his body started to change.
His skin started to cover itself in orange, as his brown hair went yellow and grew longer, with two blue hairbands circling it. A few freckles appeared over his cheeks, and his eyes went green, while his ears turned to the ones of a pony.
His clothes replaced themselves, changing to a blue buttoned shirt, a red sprinkled skirt with a belt, and a pair of boots with the image of an apple on each one.
Then, the glasses slipped, almost falling down, but a gamboge-colored hand grabbed them, while turning into a Stetson hat.
"YEEEEE-HAW!!" Applejack exclaimed. The farmgirl put her hat on before resuming her current task "Hold on, fella!"
She yanked the rope, forcing the bull to stop. It insisted for a while, but stopped after realizing there wasn't any other exit.
The other cowboys stared in awe at what was in front of them: there had been other times when a bull or any of the horses had escaped, but they were able to make them take a detour so they would go back to their place at the arena. None of them had actually seen anyone being able to make a fled animal stop, although Applejack had just done that.
They went beside her to thank her for the work she had done.
"Oh, that? It was nothin', but I'm glad I could help," she answered, chuckling as they kept looking at the now calm bull.
When they finally got back at the rodeo arena, people gave a nice applause for the cowboys, but corrected themselves when the men told them it was because of the girl going with them. Applejack smiled as everyone cheered for her.
The event got canceled but, thanks to Applejack, the organizers said they would be back in no time, making a better design for the jails so things like the "bull escape" didn't happen again.
They got everything dismantled and ready to go as the rest of people got on their cars to drive back to the comfort of their houses.
And, as Applejack got her own things, she got even happier when she saw some familiar faces looking at her.
"Hi there! You know how much I missed all of you?"
"And there's still one left for the team to be complete!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Heh... I wonder who it could be..."
