Whoa, Derpy is now official. o_o I expected her voice to be a bit different, though.
This was a somewhat predictable episode to me, only because my instant thought before Applejack even left is "She totally doesn't win the rodeo in this." However, my mind went back and forth because I never saw Applejack as being the kind of pony who would tell her friends and family that she was never coming back to Ponyville just because she didn't win. Honesty is her trait, I see her telling them that she didn't win the money but that she would earn the money in other ways. While technically she didn't lie about the whole thing (only because she refused to talk), she kind of fibbed about "staying for a change in scenery."
Overall, this was a very nice episode. I enjoyed it despite the above.