Rarity was helping Applejack bring her things to her hotel in Canterlot.
“I’m so happy you could make it to Canterlot, Applejack,” Rarity said.
“Yeah, I haven’t been to your boutique here in a while.”
“And I can’t thank you enough for attending this gala with me tonight. I know they aren’t normally your thing.”
Rarity wasn’t wrong. And though Applejack wouldn’t admit it, she was nervous. She wouldn’t know many ponies there and would be totally out of her element. But nonetheless, she was glad to support a friend.
“Well, I do have some experience with fancy dinners from my time in Manehattan,” the green eyed mare said. “And besides, your boutique has been open for a whole year! I’m sad our other friends can’t be here to celebrate that too. What rotten luck that none of them could make it.”
“We’re going to have enough fun for all of them, right?” Rarity asked.
“Absolutely!”
The two had a laugh as Rarity put the bag on the bed.
“Alright, my darling. Are you all good here?” she asked Applejack.
“Yep,” AJ agreed. See you tonight?”
“See you tonight, my friend.”
Applejack got out of her taxi and fortunately Rarity and Sassy Saddles weren’t hard to find inside the banquet hall.
“Oh Applejack, you look absolutely stunning!” Rarity exclaimed.
“Thanks! You two look fantastic, too.”
“It’s so wonderful to see you again, Applejack,” Sassy Saddles greeted. “Rarity always has good things to say about her friends in Ponyville.”
“Congratulations on a year at the Boutique, Sassy Saddles,” Applejack said.
“Ah, Rarity is the mastermind.”
“Are you kidding? I couldn’t have done it without you,” Rarity said, blushing a little. “Well Applejack, you must be hungry after your travels,” she continued. “Let’s go get some food.”
After getting their dinner from the buffet, the trio looked around to find a place to sit.
“Oh, look. Sassy and I know those two,” Rarity said. “They own a shop down the road. I’m sure we can sit with them.”
Applejack and Sassy Saddles didn’t see any reason not to go with Rarity’s suggestion, so they went towards the two ponies.
“Amber Crystal! Harper Star!” Rarity said. “Can we sit with you?”
“Oh hello Rarity and Sassy Saddles. Of course!” Amber said.
“It’s good to see you both. And who is this with you?” Harper asked.
“I’m Applejack,” AJ chimed in.
“I don’t remember you talking about an Applejack among your friends,” Amber said.
“She’s one of my friends from Ponyville,” Rarity explained.
“I see! Are you the one who lives in the bakery?” Harper asked.
“No, that’s Pinkie Pie. I do some baking, though,” Applejack said. “Comes with the apple farming territory!”
Harper and Amber glanced at each other for a moment.
“You’re an apple farmer?” Harper asked.
“Yes ma’am!”
“Oh. I didn’t expect Rarity to be friends with an apple farmer,” Harper admitted.
“Applejack is the one who keeps Rarity and her friends grounded, from what I can tell,” Sassy Saddles observed.
“And we have our differences, but just because you’re different doesn’t mean you can’t be good friends!” Rarity assured.
“Hey, Rarity. Hoity Toity is here!” Sassy Saddles said.
“Do you mind if we go say hi quickly?” Rarity asked the table.
“Not at all,” Amber said.
“Go ahead,” Harper added. Truthfully, the last thing Applejack wanted was to be left alone with Canterlot strangers, but she knew that Rarity and Sassy would want to say hi to Hoity Toity. She also agreed to let Sassy Saddles and Rarity go.
“Why didn’t Rarity’s other Ponyville friends come?” Harper asked when the three were alone.
“They were busy,” Applejack explained. “My sister’s big enough now that she can help on the farm. I’m still not staying too long, though. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
“I’d hate it if I were my friend’s third wheel,” Amber said.
“Pardon?” Applejack asked.
“Well, as I said, I don’t know anyone of Rarity’s caliber who’d befriend a… pony like yourself,” Harper added.
“Again I say… pardon?”
Before Applejack had said it out of genuine confusion. Now she said it because she could not believe what she was hearing.
“All we’re saying is that you have everything to gain by being Rarity’s friend,” Amber said. “How else is a farmer going to get attention, after all. She might know that and take pity on you.”
The fury inside Applejack was boiling to the point she wasn’t sure what was real or if the words she was about to say really were coming from her.
“Now listen here!!! You don’t even know me!!!” Applejack yelled. “I got no wings or magic. And I might not have the so called ‘class,’ money, or fame that y'all in Canterlot have. But you better believe that I’ve worked three times as hard as y'all's snobby butts to get where I am today!!!!”
The millisecond of silence in the room after Applejack’s outburst felt like an eternity.
“Applejack?”
Applejack grimaced as she recognized her friend’s voice from behind. She turned around to see Rarity and Sassy Saddles’ mouths agape and brows furrowed from confusion and shock. To Applejack’s horror, she looked around and saw everypony else looked the same way. Not knowing what else to do, Applejack found the quickest escape route and ran out of the line of fire.
Applejack never fit in in places like Canterlot. That experience solidified that fact. But the ponies also brought up a point Applejack hated thinking about. She loved her job. She was proud of who she was and where she came from. But she could sometimes feel like the odd one in the group. Compared to her friends, Applejack didn’t have much on the surface that stood out. Of course, if you spent any time learning about the work on the farm, those thoughts disappear immediately, but still. As a taxi came up to take Applejack home, Rarity bolted out of the banquet hall.
“Applejack, are you going to tell me what in Equestria happened in there?” she demanded.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper and took my anger out on everypony,” Applejack responded. “I’m even more sorry for embarrassing you. And myself.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” Rarity said calmly. “I believe you. But that still doesn’t answer my question about what happened to make you so upset.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Applejack said flatly.
“You just called everyone at the gala ‘snobby butts.’ I think it matters.”
“Just, trust me. Please forget about it. I’ve gotta go.”
Rarity was again left not knowing what to say as the taxi took her friend away.
At the hotel, Applejack lay in her hotel bed tossing and turning asking herself the same question Rarity asked. What in Equestria happened at that gala? Was there more to her outburst than she realized? Who could tell?
Applejack woke up at Sweet Apple Acres.
“Huh? How did I get home?” she wondered.
She walked down to see the family having breakfast.
“Hi Applejack,” Apple Bloom greeted.
“Uh, hi. Morning everyone.”
Applejack wondered why nopony seemed phased by her outburst at the gala, but didn’t think anything of it. As she sat down to eat her pancakes, Applejack saw the headline on Granny Smith’s Newspaper.
“What?! Carousel Boutique’s going out of business?? Whatever for??”
“She’s your friend. You should ask her,” Apple Bloom said.
Without another word, Applejack dashed out of the barn and ran to town. Rarity was pushing out boxes in front of the shop.
“Rarity? What are you doing? Why are you closing Carousel Boutique??”
“You’re right,” Rarity said plainly.
“What?” Applejack said, still trying to figure out what could have made Rarity want to move.
“You were right. At the gala. I don’t need Ponyville. And I don’t need you as a friend.”
“What… I… never said that. I said that I might be unlike your friends in Canterlot, but we’re still friends.”
“Doesn’t matter. I am still moving from Ponyville. Nothing you can do will stop me.”
“No. Rarity, don’t do this! No!!” Applejack screamed.
All of the sudden, everything went black. Applejack now understood what was happening as she saw the pony of the night before her.
“Princess Luna?!” she exclaimed. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Apple Bloom’s dream or something?”
“We all have our insecurities, Applejack,” Luna retorted. “No matter how old we get.”
“Insecurities? I ain’t feeling insecure.”
Applejack cringed at her words. She knew she wouldn’t have believed her if she were Luna. And even with young ponies, Luna knew to be firm. But she definitely knew not to sugarcoat anything with adults.
“Applejack, you know I wouldn’t be here if that were true. And you also know better than to act strong just to save face.”
“Am I being pathetic, Princess?” Applejack wanted to know.
“Not at all,” Luna assured. “It’s not pathetic to have feelings. But I’d like to know– have your friends given you any reason to think they feel you’re incompetent?”
“No!!” Applejack exclaimed. “That’s the worst part!! Even if they know my accomplishments aren’t as grand as theirs, my friends are super supportive of my farm and my family. There’s absolutely no reason for me to be feeling this way! But I do!!!”
It was always good to let out bottled up feelings. Sensing the relief Applejack felt, Luna decided to give another opportunity for catharsis.
“You mentioned that you felt pathetic. Like nopony would take your worries seriously. Is that why you wanted Rarity to forget what happened tonight?”
“That’s part of it, yeah,” Applejack said. “But also, if I told Rarity or anypony how I felt, how are they supposed to respond? They’re not gonna say ‘oh yeah, Applejack. Being a Wonderbolt is totally more important than being an apple farmer. You’re right on that.’ How am I supposed to know how they’re really feeling?”
“It sounds like this is more about you than everypony else,” Luna observed.
“Yeah,” Applejack admitted. “As I said, there’s no reason for me to be feeling this way. My friends wouldn’t be true friends if they didn’t value me and who I am.”
“I suppose there’s only one thing left to do, isn’t there?” Luna said.
“Yeah. I suppose there is.”
Facing one’s fears is never easy, and Applejack dreaded the conversation that she’d have to have with Rarity, but knew it was a necessary one. At the Canterlot Boutique, she saw Sassy Saddles managing the sales floor.
“Oh, Applejack. I’m glad to see you. Rarity feared you might have gone back to Ponyville.”
“You… you’re not angry or disappointed?”
Sassy didn’t really know how to respond to that. She couldn’t justify what Applejack did, but she wanted to know the whole story. So, she decided to let Applejack know that.
“Rarity and I wanted both parties to explain themselves. I’m guessing you want to talk to her. She’s working in the back.”
Applejack nodded and found Rarity at her sewing machine.
“Applejack!” Rarity said, slightly shocked.
“I can’t believe I refused to tell you what happened when there were about 100 other witnesses you could have asked,” Applejack said. Rarity laughed and got up from her sewing machine to talk to her friend.
“So did you? Ask anypony else what happened?” Applejack asked.
“Amber and Harper realized that they pushed all the right buttons last night to make you snap when they shouldn’t have,” Rarity responded. “They know none of you were at your best. They’re willing to apologize and move past it if you are.”
“Of course. I’m glad you got a chance to speak to them.”
Neither spoke for a moment.
“What about us?” Applejack asked. “Will you forgive me?”
“Yes of course,” Rarity said. “I know you too well for last night to reflect badly on you. And also…” Rarity paused as she was trying to figure out how to word what she was gonna say next. “I don’t want you to think for a moment anything Harper or Amber said was how I feel.”
“I don’t… but the thing is, I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Harper and Amber weren’t nice, but they were right. And they probably weren’t the only ponies thinking that way. You’ve got your fashion empire. Dash is a Wonderbolt. Pinkie Pie’s well… Pinkie Pie. What am I? An apple farmer that everypony thinks is beneath you?”
Rarity looked at her Earth pony friend with slight surprise.
“You were really bottling up those feelings for Celestia knows how long and nopony knew or noticed?” she asked.
“I was really good at hiding it,” Applejack assured.
“Well, imposter syndrome’s no fun,” Rarity said. “But the good news is that you’re not alone. Those ponies you think are doing so well probably feel the same way you do.”
“Even you?” Applejack said with her classic raised eyebrow.
“Of course! I question my worth in the fashion industry all the time,” Rarity said.
“You’re right. About imposter syndrome, I mean,” Applejack declared. “I guess your friendship means a lot to me, Rarity. And I never doubted that it means a lot to you as well. I shouldn’t care what others think. It’s just…”
“I know,” Rarity said softly. “It’s always the negative comments you’ll remember, even in a sea of positive ones. But for what it’s worth, your contributions to the world don’t have to be big and grand. They just have to be meaningful. And actually, I’d say Sweet Apple Acres’ contributions are a lot bigger than we give it credit for.”
“Well, you did just give an amazing pep talk,” Applejack noted. “I’ll surely remember that.”
“Just looking out for a friend.”
Author's Note
I recently rediscovered my love for this show. Are people still reading/writing MLP fanfics in 2022? Anyway, while working on this, I found a couple other fanfics that dealt with Applejack feeling inadequate. I love that because I kinda see it as a push back at those who deemed her the “background pony” –at least that’s why my intention was!