Golden Girl

Applejack's hooves met the last tree with a satisfying SMACK!, and the pleasing rapid-firing thud of dozens of apples falling ever-so-neatly into their bushels sounded behind her.

"Pretty as a paintin'," Applejack whistled happily as she trotted back to the farmhouse.

The orange mare sighed wearily and brought a hoof up to her hat to remove it. She wiped away some of the sweat dotting her brow, and smiled gratefully up at the great day she'd been given – and the pegasus ponies that'd given it to her. The sun was shining brightly, but the skies were patterned with fluffy white clouds drifting along on the intermittent cool breezes. It never got too hot, and the breeze never became insistent enough to make things cold. And every now and again, a cloud would sneak over the sun and provide at least partial relief from its rays.

Applejack was plenty used to the at-times unpleasant weather conditions. But in such prime working weather, all she could think about was taking off for the rest of the day for some quality Applejack time.

She couldn't even remember the last time she'd actually taken an unscheduled day off. Certainly there was no harm in allowing herself just one. Besides, weather this nice didn't pop up every day!

"Howdy, Big Mac," she said merrily as she trotted by her big brother. She marched inside without stopping to chat and made straight for the kitchen.

Granny had been napping in her rocker, and stirred awake at the sound of the door closing behind her granddaughter.

"Sorry, Granny. Didn't mean to wake ya."

Applejack smiled and pulled out a picnic basket from under the counter.

Granny grunted disapprovingly, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Wassat? What time is it?"

"It's okay Granny. Applebloom don't need to be picked up for a couple hours yet."

"Still that early?"

Granny yawned and looked at the clock on the stand next to her, and dragged herself out of her chair, crossing the living room to the kitchen. "Why'd you not come in for lunch, Applejack? Ain't like you to go without."

"Just gettin' a little extra work done in. Ah figure, with the weather bein' all nice like it is, Ah might go for a walk. Settle in for a picnic maybe."

"Oh, goin' to visit everypony, huh?" the Apple matriarch asked, giving her granddaughter's hat and hair underneath a little ruffle with her decrepit hoof.

Applejack didn't answer.

"Where did we put all the honey? Ah coulda sworn to high Heaven that we'd just bought us some."

"Ran out yesterday makin' all ah them fritters. Why doncha just take the last few and share 'em with yer friends?"

"Thanks, Granny," Applejack smiled, wrapping up the treats and pitching them in the basket. Applejack plucked the seasoning and retrieved a bundle of carnations for sandwiches, and grabbed a couple jars of cider.

"That gonna be enough, now?" Granny asked with a perk of her aged brow.

Applejack beamed.

"Plenty! Thanks!"

***

Applejack had left the farm an hour earlier and taken various routes into the open wilderness. On her back was perched her picnic basket, crowned by a folded red blanket.

It wasn't often that Applejack got to wander out into the grasslands – usually she was too busy, or got drug off to her friend's activities. Much as she loved her five gals, Applejack also recognized the value of being alone.

Pinkie Pie was probably throwing a “beautiful weather party” or something similar. Applejack swore that pony could turn a rainy Tuesday into a party somehow...

"Probably a 'be-thankful-for-the-rain' party." Applejack said to herself.

Applejack trotted over wooden bridge after wooden bridge, over brook after brook, past the delicately-waving green meadows, and over rolling hills and shallow vales. Her perfect place for a terrific day like today was a ways off if a pony followed the paths, probably an hour and a half from town even at a brisk trot. It was well past where most ponies would tread alone, but for her, the view was the best that Equestria itself – maybe the whole world – had to offer.

As she approached the steep incline she sought, Applejack reached back and took a hold of her basket with her teeth. The hill was too steep to find purchase with her hooves on the slanted grass, putting a few stones to use instead.

As Applejack crested the hill, the wind swelled and tugged at her mane and hat fiercely. She placed a hoof on the top of her Stetson and waited for the wind to die back down.

She set down her basket for a moment and looked around at her surroundings. It was Applejack's view of the whole Equestrian Valley, and everything precious to her – her own little piece of Heaven. As Applejack settled out her blanket and took a seat, she smiled and took a deep breath of the sweet-smelling air. There was no bustle or hustle or urgency here. There was only calmness and quiet.

The surroundings were the best part of the whole trip. The journey through the meadows and fields between here and home freed her soul from the constraints of life. Their delicate scent gave her a chance to feel like she was back in the days where she really was living again, instead of treading water to keep the farm afloat. The sentimental meaning, though, was what she came for – she had spent many evenings camping with her family on this hilltop in the past, and memories both happy and melancholy flooded back to her with every visit. It wasn't so much a family place anymore after her parents had passed away. It had become Applejack's own spiritual refuge. Peace always found her out so far from civilization, despite any of the day's hardships. Aside from Canterlot on its purple mountainous perch, Sweet Apple Acres was the only visible reminder it existed. Her farm sat in the middle of a distant landscape portrait. Her barn was highlighted as a bright red speck against the surrounding farmlands. The orchards on either side of the barnyard grounds flowed together with the Everfree Forest, forming a nice, picturesque little view. Ponyville lay somewhere beyond obscured by trees.

Applejack sometimes wondered what lay beyond the valley – it was rare she ever left it. Her thoughts would then drift to travel, seeing the world and all it had to offer. But then her thoughts would be drawn back to where she was, and the work at hand. Who knew what else there was? It didn't matter much. Everything she loved and needed was right here, and it would always be where she returned to when her legs became travel-weary.

Applejack took off her hat and fanned herself briefly with it before weighing it down with the picnic basket she'd brought. She pulled the red bands out of her mane tail and ditched them as well.

On the farm and in-town, having such untidy hair as hers was a royal pain – the individual strands were so long that she was constantly stepping on them while running or applebucking. And even on the softest winds, her hair just wasn't controllable. It regularly blew into her face, blinding her, or making her almost unrecognizable. Yet despite the inconvenience, she could never bring herself to cut it. She had her mother to thank for her unruly mane, according to Granny. She liked to think that part of her mother lived on in her in that way. Only difference was, Mommy's hair was beautiful. Applejack on the other hand just looked a fright whenever she looked into a mirror after a blustery day.

Even so, it always felt special whenever she got the chance to let everything loose. It felt like an occasion, or a metaphor for letting all her problems fall away, and a chance to renew herself.

The day felt like one in which nothing could go wrong. The weather was terrific, the setting was spectacular, and she had packed enough food to not need to go home all day. She could lounge around until the late evening hours, and catch up on some badly-needed personal time.

Fate had other plans, though.

Applejack reached into the basket and pulled out a book she'd retrieved from her room before she left. She had just sat down and flipped to the bookmarked page when she heard a faint whistling sound. Her ears pricked, and her eyes peered around for the source.

“Look out below!” came the sudden, broken cry from above.

Applejack barely had enough time to look upwards and see a rainbow-maned pegasus spiraling down at her at a steep angle relative to the ground.

She did have time to gasp in surprise, only to have the wind knocked right back out of her as Rainbow Dash plowed into her side at bone-crushing speeds. Both mares went for a tumble together for quite a substantial distance. Applejack was amazed they didn't just keep going forever.

Both ponies came to a stop on their sides, with Rainbow Dash draped limply over Applejack.

***

Pushing herself up from her side into a laying position, Applejack groaned, held a hoof to her head, and shook the kinks out before glaring at the pegasus laying on top of her.

Rainbow shook her head out as her daze came to an end and spat out the grass sticking out of her mouth. “Hey Applejack! Weird running into you all the way out here.”

“Yeah.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fancy that.”

Rainbow Dash pushed herself off the ground and offered Applejack a helping hoof. She accepted the assist wordlessly. “I was just out here practicing some tricks for the next Junior Flier Competition. Spun out, lost control, crashed. You know how it is,” Rainbow said with a shrug.

Applejack trotted over to her blanket again, followed closely by her friend.

“Uh huh. An' of all the great big blue skies in Equestria, and all Celestia's great big green earth, ya still manage to crash right into me, doncha?”

“Hey, weirder stuff has happened!” Rainbow countered with a huff, crossing her forelegs one over the other as Applejack recovered her book and resettled her picnic area. Rainbow just watched the goings-on. “I mean, how should a pony say hi anymore Little Miss Pricklypants?”

Applejack looked over her withers to Rainbow Dash and made a face. “She should just open 'er big yap and say 'hello' fer starters.”

Rainbow brushed off the remark and took a look around at the scenery.

“So, what're you doing here anyway? Where is everypony? Did you come out here all by yourself?”

Applejack sighed.

"Would you like all those questions answered in a neat little package or one-by-one?"

"Whatever works."

Applejack settled back down on her blanket. Rainbow went over to join her, standing on the giant red cloth.

"Ah'm here tryin' to relax, Ah assume the girls're still back in town, and yes, Ah'm here all by mah lonesome. That clear everything up fer ya?"

"... Sorry, I can't remember what I asked."

Rainbow could practically eat Applejack's agitation it was so thick. At least it was happy-food for the soul, and there was nothing more fun than getting a rise out of her best friend.

Applejack calmed her tone with a cycle of breathing.

“It's a nice day, and this here's mah favorite spot to enjoy it from. Ah figure that's a good enough reason to be here.”

“No, no. I mean, what are you doing... not working?” Rainbow asked, trying to make words that would make more sense given the context.

“Oh. Well, like Ah said, it's nice weather and-"

"You're welcome, by the way!"

"-and it's not like Ah work all the time fer yer information! Sometimes Ah feel like runnin' off and doin' somethin' by mahself too y'know.”

Rainbow blinked and looked around for anypony else – aside from herself, of course – who might've come out with Applejack to spend some time with her. She knew Applejack wouldn't directly lie if she didn't need to. It just seemed so boring to be all by herself, sitting alone in a field.

“Oh. All by yourself, huh?”

"What was yer first clue? The lack of other ponies, or the fact that Ah said 'by mahself?'" Applejack smiled smugly.

Rainbow let her ears fold against the back of her head and her wings droop. “I gotcha,” she said. “I won't bug ya anymore.” Rainbow Dash threw a melodramatic pout Applejack's way. If there was one thing Rarity was good at besides design and style, it was being a ham. Mentally, she thanked the white unicorn for her numerous dramatic demonstrations.

Rainbow stared at Applejack with those glittering magenta eyes and a quivering lip.

Applejack's rather hard-edged face softened as Rainbow turned to leave. A gentle smile blossomed on Applejack's lips. Sympathy card! Easy-peasy mac-'n-cheesy!

Applejack had a surprise for her though.

“Well alrighty then! See ya later!” She lowered her eyes to the pages of her book once more.

Rainbow blinked and made a face. Curses! Foiled! If Applejack weren't so much fun, she probably would've just found somepony else to bother. Her friend was really playing hard-to-get today, though – that was a challenge in her book. Rainbow immediately sprang back to life with her more typical vim and vigor, and hovered right in her friend's face.

“Oh come on! Lemme stay! Please? I promise I won't ruin your afternoon. We can just sit here, chat, and have fun and munch all that good-tasting stuff you brought with you!”

Rainbow's belly grumbled.

Applejack regarded Rainbow Dash with a calculating gaze, and an ever-growing curve of her lips.

“Ya promise, huh?”

“Pega-Scout's pride!” Rainbow held up a hoof in salute.

Applejack's eyebrow twitched humorously.

“You weren't even in the Pega-Scouts, were ya?”

This pony knows me too well...

“Tch! Are you kidding?”

Applejack laughed before she reached over and patted the spot on the blanket next to her. She tossed her book in the direction of the basket and settled down. Yeah! Who needed to read when you had the awesomeness that was Rainbow Dash in your presence?

“There's sandwiches, cider, and fritters in the basket if yer-”

Before Applejack could finish her statement, Rainbow already had her head in the wicker carry-all, and was rummaging around for something to eat. She emerged with two carnation sandwich-halves sticking out of her face and a glass jar full of scrumptious cider under her wing. She trotted over next to Applejack to take her place on the quilt.

“Foo fay fomfin'?”

Applejack smiled and shook her head. Many ponies weren't very tolerant of Rainbow's "charms", but Applejack was the eternal exception to that rule. She was the one pony above all other ponies she could be herself around, and not worry if she was being judged.

"What'm Ah gonna do with you?"

Rainbow gulped down her sandwiches without finishing chewing, and used her teeth to pop the top off the cider jar. She didn't waste a moment putting away about half of it.

Applejack raised her brows and smirked.

“Ahh!” Rainbow sighed happily and licked her chops clean of the beverage.

“Settle down, hon. You're gonna make it.” Applejack smiled.

“Your family makes the best cider ever. You could tell me you made it with ground-up dried bird droppings as a special ingredient, and I'd still chug it like water.”

Applejack turned to her with one of those sly smiles of hers.

“Well, funny you should say that, 'cause actually...”

Rainbow's eyes became wide as dinner plates and her ears flattened against the back of her head, her hooves lowering the glass to the ground. She didn't believe it. She couldn't believe it. But the bomb had been dropped, and she had to know for sure...

“You don't.”

"Sure do! Adds vitamins and nutrients and... that... special... aftertaste..."

Applejack's facade collapsed and she chortled merrily on her side.

"You are seriously twisted, AJ..."

“And yer the definition of gullible, Sugarcube. But no, we don't,” Applejack said and got up. Her tail gave a majestic swish and bapped her silly friend on the nose as she went over to the basket herself.

Rainbow sighed in relief and tilted her head back for another gulp of the stuff. She blinked at Applejack's tail as she rummaged for food, wondering what seemed different. The cowpony seemed... brighter, happier somehow. She settled back down in her spot, and began enjoying her overdue lunch.

“So, watcha reading?” Dash asked with a gulp of her jar. “Daring Do? Pony Wars? … Not Mallard the Buck...”

“No, no, and... Mallard-the-what-now?”

“Okay, good. You haven't even heard of it. Worst work the author's ever done. It's about this elk, right? And he's sucked through this dimensional portal-”

“Aaaand just like that ya went and lost me.”

Rainbow shrugged and glimpsed at the black book that Applejack had brought along with her. The cover was bound and had a silver rose stamp on the front, but no title to give away it or its subject matter. She considered the book curiously and rubbed her hoof against her chin.

“So what's your book called, anyway?”

“You wouldn't be interested,” Applejack answered her shortly.

Rainbow became interested.

“Oh, wouldn't I?”

Narrowing her eyes at her friend, Applejack muttered, “It's nothin' like yer Darin' Do books so just leave it alone.”

Most interested!

“Oh, isn't it?”

“Rainbow, don't you dare...”

Skip the whole 'want-to-know' – that book had just nose-dived into the deep end of need-to-know!

"I think you protest too much!" Rainbow cursed her inability to remember the sayings Twilight fed her exactly, but was pleased she managed to hold onto it at least in partial form.

Applejack thought ahead of her, and jumped onto the nameless novel that she'd brought along.

Huh... I must be getting predictable...

“Rainbow...”

The pegasus grinned evilly, setting her eyes on the book.

Applejack clutched it to her chest with both hooves.

Faster than the eye could follow, Dash jumped up and bolted over behind Applejack, giving her loose mane a gentle tug with her teeth.

Applejack squeaked in surprise and reflexively reached up with a hoof to knock away her attacker. Rainbow Dash used the opportunity and leaped forward, grabbed the lightly-held novel in her mouth, and took off in a run. Applejack yelled in surprise and protest and gave chase.

“You blue varmint! Knock it off! Give that back!”

Rainbow took a leap into the sky and hovered tauntingly just overhead. Applejack tried several times to push herself up high enough in the air to grab her friend's tail and yank her back to the earth, but she was just a few inches short with every jump. Rainbow flipped to a random page in the book and pondered aloud. “Let's see what kind of junk ya read!” she said with a playful grin to her friend. Applejack gritted her teeth angrily up to her, and plopped down on her haunches in defeat, awaiting the inevitable ridicule. Her face was painted a deep scarlet, and her lower lip twisted into a pout.

“Rainbow Juniper Dash! You gimme back that book right now!”

Ooh! Applejack had used her middle name! This was gonna be good, she could tell! Rainbow tuned her out and read aloud to the chagrin of her friend below.

“'... as her hooves could barely take the weight of life anymore, Firemane collapsed onto her flank. She let out a sigh and looked on helplessly as the object of her desire vanished into the distance...'”

Rainbow quirked her eyebrow as she read and smirked playfully at Applejack. “'Object of her desire', huh?”

Applejack seethed as Rainbow turned back to the book, seeking another page.

“'As she gazed upon the mare she hadn't seen since her days at the university, nostalgia bubbled up from under the surface. Tundra Loft was still the same gorgeous shade of soft blue as she was way back from older times... happier times. Her short and expertly-combed black mane was still the stuff of beauty, even in the intervening years,'” Rainbow continued to read, putting an overly-dramatic spin on the story with her narration.

Flip. New page.

Rainbow bit her lip in a grin. “I never took you for a sappy one Applejack!”

In all seriousness, Applejack just didn't fit the bill for somepony who would like those kinds of books. Rainbow had always imagined Rarity being into them, Fluttershy sure, and maybe even Pinkie and Twilight. But Applejack? That was completely out of left field. But that made it all the better!

Applejack glowered. “Dangit Rainbow! Ah want that book back ya dang thief!”

Rainbow ignored her and flipped to another page for one more passage. The defensiveness of her friend brought a wide smile to her face that made her cheeks hurt.

Rainbow let out a highly-dramatic gasp and carried on. “'She felt Tundra's wings encircle her from behind, her heart skipping several beats as the mare wrapped one hoof around her chest, and ran the other through her long and unruly mane. 'Hey, now, where's the snappy little pilot light I used to know?' Tundra Loft asked as one of her wings stroked down along her side. The wingtip brushed past Firemane's stomach, up over her flank and against her-'”

Rainbow paused, her magenta eyes widening. Her ears and cheeks went red-hot.

“Whoa. This Tundra Loft is a smoothie!”

One glimpse down to Applejack told her that this was as far as her teasing went before she started taking things personally. Applejack's eyes had slanted into a deeply angry glare and her ears had slid back along her head irritably. Her wild-style tail twitched back and forth in mounting aggravation. Rainbow quickly came to realize that if she teased any more, there could be actual consequences. Reluctantly, she returned to the ground with her prize.

The fun went out the window whenever real anger entered the equation. Rainbow's mind drifted over to thoughts of defusing the situation she might have pushed too far.

“So... what's it all about?”

Applejack snatched the book back and returned it to the basket between the food items.

“It's just a love story. That's all,” she said shortly.

Rainbow was hoping for something more elaborate than that.

“Yeah – I got that much,” she smiled. "I mean, what's the plot like? What's the story?"

Applejack stared back at her with a simmering suspicion towards her friend and flopped down at her spot once more.

"It's... it's about a pony who feels unloved and... unappreciated. So when she sees an 'ol friend of hers at a party one night, she... starts feelin' things and... feelin' happy again Ah guess."

Rainbow smirked.

“I'll say! Felt like Tundra was starting to put the moves on Firemane there, huh?”

“Eeyup,” Applejack replied with a mild huff.

Rainbow was hesitant. She wasn't sure if she was quite out of the chicken coop yet, and considered her next words carefully. While she didn't care much for all the mushy stuff in her personal life, she didn't mind if it was confined to a book. And hay, if Applejack liked that kind of stuff, it couldn't be all that bad!

"So, uh... do you mind if I read it sometime?"

Applejack blinked and stared at her.

"You wanna read it? But it's got all that romance and lovey-dovey stuff ya always say ya hate."

"Well... what can I say? Tundra Loft sounds like a pretty cool character!"

Applejack's smile was slow to blossom; it always was when Rainbow was involved. But she always made it worth the wait with that great laugh of hers that could cheer up even the bluest pony (no pun intended). It always made Rainbow laugh in kind, and made her feel better about... well, things.

"Alright, alright. Ah guess Ah can let ya borrow it one of these times, featherbrain." She paused a moment. "And it's called Golden Girl, if ya really are interested..."

Rainbow sighed inwardly with relief.

Well, that could've gone worse.

Applejack dug into her fritter while Rainbow guzzled her jar of cider. A comfortable silence settled like a blanket over the both of them. Only the wind blowing across the prairies and making a soft hiss through the grass made it feel like the world was even there at all. The silence seemed to bring Applejack peace, and reined in the annoyance she had expressed towards Rainbow Dash earlier. That, or Rainbow was more charming than even she could have ever imagined! Yeah, she liked the sound of that one.

“So, uhh... is a book all you brought to do out here?” Rainbow finally asked. She had started to become concerned over how long Applejack had kept quiet. It wasn't like her in the least, unless some anger still lingered there under the surface. The silent anger was the worst kind. Rainbow would rather take somepony yelling at her any day. She knew how to deal with that kind of mad. But the quiet type that soured under the surface? That kind was weird and kind of spooky. It was the kind that wasn't fixed with "I'm sorries" or a fight.

“Well, Ah ain't a very quick reader. Ah was thinkin' about a nap after a couple chapters,” Applejack said, emphasizing with a soft yawn. “Ah'm a mite tuckered out after walkin' all the way out here.”

“Sleep?” Rainbow frowned. “That's not very fun...”

“Sorry,” Applejack said, rubbing her eyes on the back of her foreleg. “Sometimes Ah gotta be the borin' pony.”

“Well, we could always just go for a run or something.”

An enthusiastic glimmer lit up in Rainbow's eyes and a moon-like smile wrinkled her complexion. If there was anything that could rouse Applejack from her off-mood, it was a good romp. Out here, they had space and privacy and time, all things that they kind of lacked back towards town. How could she possibly resist the offer?

“Oh Rainbow, Ah ain't done up proper fer that kinda thing. Ah mean, wouldja lookit me?”

Applejack motioned to herself. Her free-flowing mane and tail were both a beautifully disastrous mess. Such long hair had to be contained to be controlled – and she remembered the last time she tried to help Applejack tie it up. Doing it with Rainbow's help those few times had been a chore. She could only imagine Applejack's nightmarish task of doing it on her own. A stiff breeze blew through and tussled the strands about like leaves.

“Oh. Yeah. Sure,” Rainbow blinked in response, tilting her head. She'd lost her train of thought. She was quiet for a few moments while she tried to track that stupid train...

Applejack took notice, apparently.

“Oh hay, darlin' – if Ah'da known ya were gonna drop in on me like a wild raccoon, I woulda just invited ya along in the first place. We coulda made a day of it, you 'n me.”

Wild raccoons drop in?

Applejack looked up to the eye-wandering Rainbow Dash. Admittedly it wasn't like her to contemplate or enjoy the sights, unless those sights happened to include the Wonderbolts. Cloudsdale wasn't too terribly far, but Rainbow highly doubted the decorated fliers would practice all the way out here.

She was still trying to figure out the whole 'dropping raccoons' thing when Applejack interrupted her thoughts.

“Somethin' wrong? Ah didn't turn ya offa mah cider with mah joke, did Ah?”

Rainbow couldn't help her smile.

“Well, now that you mention it, the cider does taste a little off...” she said, letting Applejack know with a soft jab of her hoof that the comment was playful in nature.

“Now yer just bein' a silly filly,” Applejack said as she sampled her apple fritter further. She swallowed and stared suspiciously for an awfully long time at Rainbow. The look was a hard one to read; Applejack was either studying her, or trying to start a staring contest. Rainbow would have believed either explanation.

“Somethin' ya wanna talk about?”

Rainbow got a chill when Applejack called her that.

“No. Well, yeah, but... I dunno.” Rainbow's thought process had spun off in every which direction, and trying to piece together the fragments was like trying to put back together a shattered mirror.

“You know ya can talk to me about anything you want, right?”

Rainbow blinked at Applejack, like she'd just been suddenly broken out of a trance by some... trance-release spell of some kind – Twilight would facehoof if she knew Rainbow had been so crude with her spell names.

“Oh! Yeah, totally. Same to you, AJ,” Rainbow smiled happily. “Ya sap.”

“Hey, pardner,” Applejack smirked, “them's wrasslin' words.”

Rainbow's adrenaline spiked there for a moment as she thought back on their last match.

“No, no. I don't 'wrassle' with you anymore. Last time it took me a month to get all the mud out of my feathers.”

“Heh. So much for the mighty Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said with a giant grin. “'Fraid a little mud'll get on 'er wings. Next thing ya know it'll be hooficures and goin' off with Rarity and flirtin' with princes in Canterlot!”

Rainbow felt a bit of anger build up unexpectedly. She wasn't exactly sure what to direct it at, though Applejack was the only convenient target. A surge of cold radiated from her as those purplish eyes of hers glared sharp daggers Applejack's direction. “Hey, I don't make fun of you for being obsessed with that hat of yours. And hay, my wings are a part of me! Besides... princes?! Really?”

Applejack's ears lay flat against her head and she shrank defensively. She hadn't meant it as an insult. Rainbow knew that. Hay, normally Rainbow was a better sport about such things than that. Something was breaking her stride, though, and messing her thoughts up, and it was frustrating her to no end.

“Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean it that way... But ya did seem like you wanted to talk about somethin'... Yer startin' to make me worry a wee bit over here.”

“I don't wanna talk! I just... well, I kind of wanna talk. But not really, either.”

Applejack's eyes slanted to the side, and her frown deepened as she swallowed the last bite of her fritter. “A bronze bit fer yer thoughts, Sugarcube?” she offered.

Rainbow sighed and reached up with her hoof to scratch her neck. How was this gonna work?

"How do wild raccoons drop in?"

Applejack made a face.

"Rainbow..."

Rainbow Dash pouted. Confound this pony! she thought, taking a swig of her cider.

“Okay, okay," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I guess it's just... I don't think I've ever seen you without your mane and tail let out,” Rainbow said, her ears perking as her eyes ran over Applejack's golden hair, running in spiraling rivers off in every direction. “I mean, I was thinking I had at some point, like when we were really little or something. Maybe we were taking a bath or something... I dunno. It's been so long. I just can't remember anymore... It's no big deal, okay?”

There was a pause as Applejack looked back at herself. A gust of wind caught her mane like a kite, and blew it all around her face, blocking her vision. She spat it out and brought her hoof up to brush the hair aside. Applejack blushed for reasons only Faust knew, and Rainbow just kept staring at her like an idiot with her head screwed on crooked.

“Yeah?” Applejack replied as she sipped her cider. “Well, you don't need to get used to it none,” she said softly. “It's a mighty big pain to do anything with it. Gets all matted when Ah run – 'specially when it's muddy. It all just likes to do its own thing. Makes me look like some pony from the wilds done blown in from outta town.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Ah mean that Ah can comb it, Ah can towel it, Ah can dry it, hay, Ah can even gel it – but Ah just can't seem to make anything about it stick. Ah just look like some filly whose never heard of lookin' halfway decentlike... or a brush.”

Rainbow looked her friend over.

"Yeah, I can see that... you're kind of all over the place."

Applejack sighed and sampled her drink.

“Okay, yeah, maybe you've got that wild-girl look. But so what? You look like some sort of untamable mare from way back before Equestria even existed. You should totally walk into Rarity's boutique sometime and say 'hi' like that,” Rainbow grinned.

Applejack chuckled and lay on her full belly again.

“Yeah. Ah can see 'er now: 'Of all the worst things that could happen to hair, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!'” Applejack said dramatically, doing a rather spot-on impression of Rarity. She apparently thought it was humorous.

Rainbow didn't laugh though. Instead, she felt an unpleasant pit develop in her gut, heavy and unpleasant. Her ears curled flat again and her brow fell off to the sides. "That's... not what I meant."

Applejack looked up at Rainbow and fidgeted.

“You don't really think that, do you?” Rainbow asked with a frown.

Applejack's eyes softened and her head angled to one side.

“H-how do ya mean?”

“I mean you... th-thinking that... y'know! Thinking like you're not pretty, or something!” Rainbow forced herself to say with a shrug. She tried to be casual to avert the awkwardness.

She failed.

Applejack blinked at her.

Rainbow quickly realized as her friend brushed her mane with her hooves that she was trying to avoid blushing. Maybe pretty hadn't been Rainbow's best choice of words, but either way, there it was. Nothing Applejack did, though, averted the red haze drowning out her freckles. And was that a smile she was trying to hide as she bit her lower lip? The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that she'd never heard anypony actually call Applejack pretty or beautiful or whatever.

That boiled her blood more the more she thought about it.

“Oh, Rainbow...” she said, giving a gentle tap of her tail against Rainbow's flank. “Don't worry 'bout it none. Ah ain't all worried about lookin' fancy fer some stallion. And it sure don't matter to me none if Ah ain't gonna be on the cover of a magazine,” she assured her friend with a wink.

Rainbow frowned at that and let out a frustrated huff. Which pony had planted such a poor self-image in Applejack's mind? She felt like finding them and planting them.

Applejack scooted a bit closer, and softly nuzzled the unreceptive Rainbow's neck. “It's okay, Sugarcube, really – Rarity's the one who cares about bein' the bombshell. She can be as pretty as she wants – 'long as Ah'm presentable, that's all Ah care about,” she assured her friend.

Rainbow looked down at the blanket between her forelegs and turned her glare to Applejack, though somehow the look was directed past her at some unknowable entity. She felt a protectiveness towards her old friend. An anger on her behalf – fury even.

“So what does Rarity know anyway?! I think you look awesome! I think Rarity would too if she had a clue what she was talking about!” Rainbow blurted.

Applejack recoiled visibly at the sudden outburst. Rainbow wasn't one to mince words, but she usually wasn't so... blunt.

“Ah didn't... uh...” was all that came out of her mouth before her vocabulary failed her.

“I mean, come on, Applejack! You're seriously one of the hottest ponies I know! I bet if you stopped working so hard and hanging by yourself all the time, you could have an awesome marefriend if you wanted one!... er, coltfriend I mean.”

Rainbow's eyes widened at the words that left her own mouth, and started falling over her own speech, trying to think of something, of anything to save her. She gulped.

Open mouth – insert hoof.

Applejack stared at her with wide emerald eyes. There was nothing but surprise in them, but Rainbow averted her gaze anyway.

“R-Rainbow, Ah...” Applejack's voice tremored, and her eyes and face were highlighted by a quaking bite to her lip. “You... Do you really think Ah'm... pretty?”

Rainbow Dash's eyes fluttered a few times. All of a sudden, it felt like what she said wasn't all that big a deal. The Opalescence was out of the bag now anyway, so why not?

Rainbow grinned sheepishly and blushed. “Well, yeah! I mean, sure... you know me. I call it like I see it,” she grinned warmly to Applejack, rapidly regaining her composure and crossing her forelegs coolly.

There was a stunning vacuum of silence – it was like the world had stopped to catch its breath for a second. Rainbow Dash thought she'd gone deaf as Beethoofen for a second. The sunlight played across the individual strands of Applejack's gorgeous mane and tail, making it look like it was dusted with stars from the night sky. The way the breeze played with the individual strands reminded her of lakes of sunlight pouring into the sky and dissipating on the wind.

Applejack turned her head away, the faint sound of a sniffle punctuating the atmosphere.

Rainbow gaped. Aw horseapples! Had she really screwed up after all?

“Applejack...? Are you... are you crying?”

She was.

Streams of hot tears ran down Applejack's freckled cheeks and stained her coat a darker shade of orange. “No...” she squeaked out, covering her face with one foreleg.

“Applejack...?” Rainbow's voice broke as she pressed against her friend.

The orange-hued mare brought a hoof up to her eyes and softly rubbed away some of the excess moisture.

“AJ?” she prodded gently.

Her friend responded by facing away from her.

“Applejack? What's wrong? I didn't say something stupid did I?” Rainbow asked, resting a leg around her friend's withers. Rainbow knew she wasn't very good at the 'friend-to-lean-on' thing, but she couldn't just leave Applejack be while she was... while she was crying. Rainbow wasn't even aware until then that Applejack was able to cry. The fact that she could sent icy chills up her spine like she'd never felt before.

Applejack shook her head firmly side to side. She wouldn't look at her.

Rainbow wasn't sure what to do. All she knew was what she was known for doing: action. To her, that spoke louder than she ever could with words. She scooted closer and reached with both her legs, wrapping them around Applejack and nestling her chin down onto her mane.

Applejack's gentle movement the next moment surprised Rainbow, as she returned the gesture, wrapping her legs around Rainbow as if she were a life preserver.

Rainbow blinked confusingly.

“Ah'm...” Applejack sniffed, her voice breaking. “Ah'm sorry, darlin',”

What was wrong with this pony? How many conflicting messages could one mare send?! Her voice didn't match the one like you'd hear from somepony who was sad or depressed or something, but there were tears in Applejack's eyes, and her voice had broken like she'd had her heart ripped out, trampled, and torn in half.

Rainbow softly draped her wing over Applejack, and used its strength to pull her closer.

Applejack nuzzled her cheek against Dash's neck. Her pegasus friend could feel the breeze of Applejack's tail waggling back and forth happily behind them.

Wait. What?

“Ah didn't mean fer ya to see me cry like this. Ah don't know what's gotten into me!” Applejack wept happily, her sobs mixed with an elated laugh. Rainbow stared dumbly for what felt like several minutes as her brain ground into gear. At last everything clicked into place for her. Part of her wanted to laugh. Part of her wanted to cry too – but awesomely, of course.

"What?! Has nopony ever told you you were pretty before?" she grinned.

Applejack looked up at her. Her green eyes swam with emotion, and the tears on her cheeks clashed with the bright smile on her face.

"Y-you mean 'sides Granny or Big Mac or Applebloom? ... Shoot, Ah don't think so."

Rainbow snorted and leaned into the embrace with a gentle nuzzle to Applejack's forehead. She ran a hoof softly through that long and beautiful platinum mane.

"Sorry. Ah didn't mean to cry like a little filly."

“Heh, it's no big deal Applejack. Sometimes even the best of us – no, especially the best of us need a good cry sometimes,” Rainbow encouraged her friend. The two sat there for awhile, letting Applejack happily let things out for as long as she needed. “We bottle up too much awesome inside us and have to... let it out as liquid pride,” the prismatic pegasus chuckled, borrowing a page from Shining Armor. She probably owed him royalty for that or something... (Again, no pun intended.)

Applejack sniffled and squeezed Rainbow Dash with those mighty hooves of hers.

Rainbow turned her head away instinctively – nopony could see Dash blush!

“Ugh! I'm starved!” Rainbow said all of a sudden. She wasn't exactly sure how her belly could be empty after eating a whole sandwich not half an hour ago, but that was what had come out of her mouth. “Hey! Wanna split the last fritter with me?” Rainbow asked, grinning to her still-awesome best friend, her wing giving a tight squeeze.

Applejack rubbed one last tear away with her foreleg and giggled softly.

“Sure, darlin'. Ah'd be happy to."

Rainbow regretted that her wing embrace had to end. It felt kind of nice having Applejack all close to her like that. Rainbow unfurled her wing from around her friend as she began to pull away.

As she did, though, that roguish wingtip of hers dipped a bit low on Applejack's flank, and elicited a girly squeal from her as it brushed along her cutie mark. Applejack's face lit up like a late evening sun.

So she copied Tundra Loft a bit. Like it was so horrible? Applejack's reaction was way worth it!

As Rainbow casually got up and moved over to the picnic basket, she spared a look over her shoulder. Applejack couldn't have been more rooted to the spot than if she'd been planted and watered. As Rainbow rummaged, Applejack gradually roused herself from her little stupor and fidgeted with her mane once again. Clearing her throat, she waited patiently for her ill-behaved friend.

Silence was a deplorable offense in this situation, though, and had to be cured.

“Sooo, split it sixty-forty?” Rainbow grinned at Applejack as she trotted back over and retook her spot.

Applejack's face contorted. “Why sixty-forty?” she asked.

“We'll split it by degrees of cool – you get forty, I get sixty, see?” Rainbow smirked.

Applejack furrowed her brow. “Hey now, you said 'especially the best of us need a good cry every once in awhile', and Ah ain't never seen you shed a tear in mah life. Why do Ah get the forty?”

“Well, look on the bright side! You only would've gotten thirty before. But, y'know, 'cause your mane and tail make you look cooler, I decided to spot ya an extra ten. Aren't I an awesome friend?”

Rainbow didn't give compliments out like candy. She gave them out like roses. Candy was for little fillies and wimps!

“So how am Ah s'posed to be the best and still not get the lion's share?” Applejack smiled.

“Well, yeah, you might be the best but...” Rainbow thought about her answer for a moment. “That's 'cause I'm the best of the best, and the best of the best don't need to cry – we know how to hold our awesome better than you common ponies do.” Rainbow poked her tongue out at Applejack playfully.

Applejack stared evenly at Rainbow. Despite her rather devious comment, Applejack sighed and leaned against her side with a nuzzle. “Alright... deal.”

Rainbow smiled and draped a wing over her friend once again. So maybe it was a bit of a mushy gesture, but it felt like a cool thing to do too.

“Keep it up though! Maybe one day you'll be just as amazing as I am!”

Applejack smirked up to her. “Maybe we should hang out more so yer awesomeness can rub off on me a bit.” Her tail flashed to the side and whacked against Rainbow's flank softly.

The two shared a moment of silence.

Then, Applejack blinked and narrowed her eyes into slits as she turned up to face Rainbow Dash.

"Say, just what did ya mean by 'marefriend', anyway?" Applejack asked suspiciously. "You tryin' to imply somethin'...?"

Rainbow's everything seized up, her coat paled a few shades, and her wings expanded in an explosion of feathers.

Oh crud... Stupid book.