Courage Knows no Weakness

“Rainbow Dash! Get yer butt down from there!” called Apple Jack from under a red delicious tree. It was apple-bucking season and the tree was bearing the blue pegasus’s favorite fruit. “And stop eatin’ all them apples!”

“Why should I?” Rainbow asked, taking another bite from an apple with a loud crunch.

“Cuz yer s’posed t’ be helping me harvest these here apples, that’s why!”

“So?”

Furious, Apple Jack turned and got ready to buck that pegasus out of the tree. She lifted her hind legs and balanced carefully on her forelegs, her muscles tensing for the buck. She wound up for the kick and with one strong hoof knocked the rainbow-maned pegasus and all the apples out of the tree. “Ow! What was that for?” cried Rainbow, her voice squeaking slightly after the impact with the ground. The excellent flyer couldn’t ever remember having a landing like that. Even in flight camp!

“T’ get ya outta that there tree.” said AJ with a joking smile.

“Whatever.”

Rainbow Dash stood and launched herself into the air, landing on the next tree over. She laid down on one of the branches and made herself comfortable, yawning loudly. She stretched her legs to the sky and her wings towards the ground before closing her eyes and taking a nap.

Apple Jack watched in amusement as Rainbow got comfortable. She started bucking the apples from the other trees until she heard a soft snore coming from the one where Rainbow Dash was resting. She trotted over to the tree confidently. “Hey Rainbow! Time t’ get up, sugarcube!” she called, kicking the trunk like she had before.

Rainbow fell to the ground with a thud before she even stirred slightly. When she opened her eyes sleepily, all she saw was a pair of emerald eyes staring back at her. “How do ya like them apples?” asked AJ before trotting away.

Rainbow stood to follow her when a small white rabbit jumped in front of her. “Not now, Angel.” she groaned, leaping into the air.

Angel grabbed onto Dash’s tail and slowly climbed it until he was on her back. He moved forward between her wings and thumped his back paw at the base of her right wing once, causing it to lock momentarily. WIth a cry for help from the blue pegasus, Angel thumped on the nerve again and the relieved mare was flying steadily once more.

“What was that for?” asked Rainbow, turning her head.

Angel looked at her and twitched his whiskers, knowing she wouldn’t understand. “Don’t tell me it’s something to do with Fluttershy!”

Okay, maybe she would understand. “That pegasus is always doing something that involves me dropping everything and saving her. Hmph, even when we got our cutie marks I was defending her.”

Angel lifted his back paw again right above the trick nerve at the base of a pegasus’s wing. “Okay, fine. I’ll go help her. Just please, don’t make my wing lock up again.”

Angel looked at the pleading pony’s eyes and lowered his paw to its original position.  “Thank you.” whispered the pegasus quietly as she landed beside AJ.

“Hey, we gotta go help Fluttershy with something.”

“Well, I guess I could use a break from buckin’. Let’s go.” replied the orange pony, trotting out of the orchards and along the path that led to Fluttershy’s cottage.