"What's your combat training freckles?"

The Hellsing Headquarters came equipped with a training facility where the guards could maintain peak physical condition to better serve the Hellsing organization's number one priority of eliminating the scourge of the night. It was here that Applejack found herself being snuck up on by Rainbow Dash. Well, not snuck up on but more approached by as Applejack pummeled the living daylights out of a punching bag.

"The name's Applejack, Rainbow Crash," Applejack grunted, delivering a heavy roundhouse kick into the bag with a resounding thwack. What was meant to be a rather scathing insult however didn't seem to phase the ever impervious Rainbow Dash. She merely chuckled under her breath.

"Yeah that sounds about right, the number of cars I crashed tryin' to get my license," she smirked. "For real though AJ, I can call ya AJ right?"

"Suppose if ya gotta call me summit," Applejack muttered, bouncing around the bag on the balls of her feet. "And I did a coupla months of S.W.A.T. training for Ponyville P.D. Did some Karate when I was younger but that's about it."

"Really? How far'd you get?" Dash asked, genuinely interested.

"Second Kyu," Applejack replied, punching the bag with enough force to make the chain rattle. "Had to drop out to focus on mah grades. Don't really use the whole martial arts thing since I dropped it."

"You just can't find a place to use it?" Dash asked.

"Pretty much," Applejack agreed. "Most of the time it's talkin' people down in a tough spot or making sure Ah got the bigger stick than the other guy shootin' at me. What about you? What combat trainin' you got?"

"I was in a counter terrorism unit a few years back," Dash said. "Didn't last long. I mean there was work but the other guys were sticklers for rules and regulations. And sometimes the pay was peanuts y'know?"

"That how ya got into the mercenary game?" Applejack asked.

"You could say that," Dash shrugged. "Suppose you could call it a family business. Family's been involved in the merc business. I tried going straight but, ya need dough to live you know what I'm sayin'?"

"So you just started bein' a gun for hire?" Applejack said, leaning against the punching bag.

"Gramps set me up with a few of his old buddies back in the day," Dash told her. "Much easier than starting from scratch. Counter-intuitive as it might seem, doin' well as a gun for hire is a lot like bein' in politics. It's all about who ya know, rather than what."

"And where does the what y'know come in?" Applejack. "I'm sure there's an element of that in there too."

"Oh fuck yeah," Dash laughed. "The what you know keeps you alive so you can go back with who you know and laugh about how little the others guys knew."

"There's a lot of knowing goin' on there," Applejack muttered.

"Yeah there is," Dash said, leaning against a wall. "Some of it goes away until you need it again. And then there's that one thing that always float at the back here." She tapped the back of her head.

"Yeah? An' what's that?" Applejack asked. Dash looked at her; her expression indicative of a 'you fucking know what.'

"You were in S.W.A.T. AJ you tell me," Dash replied. "I mean you must have thought it once or twice you being on armed response an' all that."

"How'd you-?"

"Read your file. Rarity let me see it. I like to know who's on my team."

Applejack bit her lip, not appreciating Dash knowing her history like that. Still there was still the pressing question that Dash had asked her. And she knew the answer.

"You know that this fight might jus' be your last," Applejack mumbled. "You know some punk's gonna get a lucky shot."

"Exactly," Dash sighed. "It's what you don't know about it that really gets me."

"You mean if it'll be quick or... not?" Applejack asked slowly.

"No that's not what I'm worried about," Dash muttered. "No what I'm worried is if that punk will be lucky to hit me, but not enough to finish me off. Take me out of the game, but still keep me around." She looked at her hands. "I've been doing this for so long I don't think I could do anything else."

"So what're you gonna do when you're too old?" Applejack asked.

Dash shrugged. "Do what my gramps did. Chill out on my awesome pile of money."

"All about that money ain't it?" Applejack chuckled.

"Get the dolla ya'll," Dash laughed. "What's the point of being old and wrinkled if you can't do it in some sort of comfort?"

"All on yer lonesome?" Applejack asked, pulling off the tape from her bare knuckles.

"I dunno."

"And what'll ya tell the gran' kids?"

Dash gave a snort of laughter. "I don't think kids are gonna be on the table let alone grand kids."

"Yeah I should've figured you weren't the type to settle down," Applejack chuckled, tossing the sweaty and slightly bloody rags to the side.

"That and my persuasion doesn't leave children much of a possibility," Dash laughed her forefinger and thumb forming an 'L' on her forehead.

Applejack shook her head smirking. "Yeah, kinda saw that one coming for some reason."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Maybe the LGBT pride flag growing from your scalp?"

"Rude."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Was there a reason you wanted to talk to me?"

Unfazed Dash simply smiled again. "Like I said, I like to know who'd workin' for me."

"You're not exactly the trustin' type are ya?" Applejack said, looking at the Captain as she bent down to pick up her water bottle. Dash gave a bitter chuckle.

"I've had my fair share of knives in the back," Dash said, voice low. "I'd really like to avoid any more shoved in there."

"We talkin' literal knives?" Applejack asked, offering her bottle. Dash laughed as she took the offered bottle and took a drink.

"Some tried," she admitted wiping off her lip on the back of her hand. "Counter-contracts hired to kill me. Taking out a job to work under me just gets more money until they just get bored and decide to try and off me. Poor bastards should never try and fuck with me."

"Must have quite the bounty on yer head by this point," Applejack concluded. Dash laughed.

"Last I checked it was nearin' the six-figure mark," she chuckled. "Not sure if I should be proud of that but damn I am. It's my personal goal for my head to be worth a million bits."

"Well," Applejack said, taking a gulp from her bottle. "It's good to have targets... I guess."

"Ha, don't worry, you're not the only one who finds it weird. Soarin swears I'm a masochist. Which I'd agree with if I wasn't usually the gal on top."

"Again like I needed to know," Applejack said, rolling her eyes.

Dash shrugged and pushed herself from the wall, proving to Applejack she was not in fact permanently stuck there. "You're really no fun when it comes to talkin' 'bout the good stuff you know that right?"

"I like to keep my private life private is that so wrong?" Applejack replied, walking with Dash back to the locker rooms. Dash shrugged.

"Each their own I guess. Is that Twilight gal as much a prude as you are?"

Applejack snorted. "You think I'm a prude? Sugar-cube, you try talkin' to Twilight 'bout it and you'd swear I was a... well... Lady of the night in comparison."

"The word you're lookin' for AJ is whore," Dash replied, as Applejack blushed. "Seriously you shot up a fucking werewolf not two nights ago and you're embarrassed by talking about prostitution?"

"You'd know a lot more about the subject than I would then."

"Toche," Dash whistled, winking slyly. "That was a bitchy comeback. I like it."

The reached the entrance to the locker room. Just as Applejack was about to enter she was stopped by Dash. The blonde looked to the other woman eyebrow raised.

"What is it this time?"

Dash looked conspiratorial now. "Look," she said her voice low. "I get the feeling I can trust you but I want to know if I can rely on Twilight."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Look if yer wantin' to knock the boots-"

Dash shook her head. "I mean on the field. Look I may have referred to her as 'sweetheart' when we first met and-"

"She told me," Applejack cut her off. "You pressed the 'sweetheart' button. That's a no-no as far as Twi' concerned."

"Any particular reason for that?" Dash asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I read her file too. I don't exactly feel comfortable with a vampire with that kind of history behind her, in my squad if I don't know she's stable."

"Stable?" Applejack was confused. Then clarity emerged. "Oh... the... episodes... right."

"You've seen one?"

"A fair few," Applejack admitted. "Someone'd say the wrong thing and Twi'd just start wailing on 'em. Usually-"

"They pressed the sweetheart button?" Dash asked. Applejack nodded.

"Happened more and more in High-School but she got better at not reacting as strongly. Than an' plenty of trips to the therapist helped."

Dash looked at her.

"Look do you honestly think they'd let her in the Ponyville P.D. if she wasn't stable?" Applejack sighed. "Trust me, Twilight's safe."

Dash looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I see your point... why sweetheart though?"

Applejack looked at her, bit her lip before sighing. "What'd your pa call you when you were a li'l'un?"

"Never knew my pops," Dash replied bluntly. "Died on a job when he found out I was due. More cash for mum to live by y'know."

"I'm sorry," AJ muttered.

"Hey it's cool," Dash replied, waving it aside. "It's not like it really affected me. Never knew him so I couldn't get sad by him dying. Why what's that got... oh."

Aj nodded. "It was her pops pet name for her y'know? Don't think that wound ever really healed."

"I can imagine."

Author's Note

I literally don't know whether to sin this chapter because it doesn't advance the plot that much or because of the Rainbow Dash is really open about her sex-life cliche. Either way, roll the dinger