Swayback Mountain

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

"Are ya sure ya really need ALL tha' stuff, Rarity?" Applejack looked over the bulging saddlebags that the unicorn pony was carrying with difficulty up the sloping mountain path. "We ain't goin' to one of ya fashion shows, ya know!"

"Ah... ah... Of COURSE I know that, darling," Rarity was short of breath, and she kept shifting the saddle-bags so that they would sit more balanced on her back, "But...ah... when you said you were planning to go to the Swayback Mountains....oh... I just HAD to come with you."

"Y'see," frowned Applejack, " Ah jus' don't get why you need to travel so far to collect
berries. There's a whole FOREST a' berries right nexta Ponyville..."

"But... ha, that's better!" The saddlebags, which had been threatening to pull Rarity over, were finally sitting correctly. "But DARLING, I already explained – I don't need just any old COMMON berries. I need SPECIAL berries that only grow in the Swayback Mountains. They're the only berries in ALL of Equestria whose juice is a perfect azure, and I just NEED that colour dye for my latest range of accessories. Not that a pony as..." she looked Applejack up and down critically, "close to the earth as you are, my dear, would understand that."

"Ah unerstand PLENTY, little miss 'Everything hasta be per-fect!'" Applejack shook her head, "Ah shoulda never told ya that I was going to compete in the ro-dee-o in Colt Springs, and that them Swayback Mountains was right on my way."

Rarity sniffed, "Well, seeing as how we're already climbing these beastly mountains, I suggest that we just make the best of a bad situation." She broke into a trot and passed Applejack, who snorted in frustration. Tha' indigo-maned unicorn pony was as much trouble as a barrel a' parasprites!

Applejack was about to catch up with her when she heard a low rumble from behind them. She turned and saw a rank of black clouds being pushed into position by a squad of Pegasus ponies. She groaned and hit her head with her hoof. "Now how in tarnation did I forget that there was a thunder-storm planned for tonight?" She broke into a trot, then a gallop, and as she sped past Rarity, who was already puffing from the thinner air of the mountains, she cried "Ya better put ya runnin' horse-shoes on, little missy! There's a storm a-brewing and it's comin' right for us!"

Rarity looked back, and cried out "Eep!" She broke into a gallop as well and was soon next to Applejack. "I just WOULD have to have forgotten my RAINCOAT!" she complained, "And now with all this galloping, I'm getting absolutely coated in dust and perspiration!"

"Ya sure are sweatin' like a prize pig!" Applejack laughed. Rarity said nothing, and merely turned her snout up in disgust at such a vulgar comparison.

************

To the south, in the skies over Ponyville, Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration. The Pegasus ponies were all pushing the dark clouds in the completely wrong direction and things were getting out of hand. Clouds crashed against clouds, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain started soaking exactly the wrong parts of the countryside.

"That Ditzy Doo!" Dash muttered. "This is the last time I let HER organise a downpour!"

She jetted off to the area where Ditzy Doo and several of the less experienced Pegasus ponies were mashing together the smaller storm-clouds, piling up them up into a gigantic thunderhead. But Dash was too late to prevent disaster. It flashed with a sudden eye-shattering streak of errant lightning, and the thunder that followed rolled over the landscape like a shockwave.

************

The rain started to fall, softly at first, in brief squalls that passed as swiftly as they came. The thunderstorm was still far off, but Applejack knew that it was going to be a huge one. Jus' what do those Pegasus ponies think they're doin'? Applejack thought to herself, shaking her head in disbelief. They're jus' big ol' show offs! An' speakin' of
show-offs....

She turned back to where Rarity was struggling to keep up with her. The unicorn pony's saddle-bags were slowing her down, and her mane was wet with sweat as well as rain.

"C'mon princess!" said Applejack, "At this rate we ain't gonna reach the river before nightfall – and ah sure as apples don' wanna camp where there's liable to be a lan' slide..."

"Just...just..." Rarity panted, redoubling her efforts, "let..me...catch...my...breath...a..moment."

Applejack groaned, but she stopped to let Rarity catch up. "As soon as we're over the rise it'll all be downhill!"

Rarity nodded, throwing a foreleg over Applejack's shoulders and leaning against the earth pony as she gasped for air. "It may be...that I DID... pack a FEW too many... items..."

Applejack looked at the bulging saddle-bags "Jus' what DID ya pack? We're only gonna be away fer three days tops!

"Well," said Rarity, her face no longer as flushed as before, "There's three days worth of outfits OF COURSE, and each outfit NATURALLY needs a small selection of accessories to go with it, so that I'm ready for any kind of situation. And then there's my make-up box – and since I have NO IDEA what kind of lighting to expect in Colt Springs, I simply had to bring ALL of my foundations so as not be caught out. You see, Applejack," Rarity raised her nose in the air and her face grew haughty – "Not everypony can be as reckless and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-saddle as YOU are, my dear. I MUST be ready for every eventuality, or else I shall look ridiculous in front of everypony. And FASHION DEATH is quite simply the most DIRE of fates!" She tossed her mane in emphasis.

Applejack rolled her eyes in irritation, "Ah kin think of a DOZEN worse things than lookin' the foal in fronta others – bein' struck by lightning or swept away by a ragin' torrent bein' foremost in my mind at the moment." She gestured towards the approaching black thunderhead and the blue haze of torrential rain beneath it that was sweeping across the landscape towards them. "Now let's git goin'! "

Not long after they reached the ridge top. But the path down the mountain side was
almost invisible now – the sky was covered in cloud, and twilight spread over them. Applejack led the way, gingerly testing every new ledge of rock to make sure it was safe, and Rarity stuck close behind her.

"Don't follow quite s' close!" warned Applejack, "Or else we'll BOTH end up on the bottom of this mountain a might faster than we expect!"

Rarity stopped abruptly. Some scree, loosened under her hooves, fell away down the mountain side and she jumped back with a yelp. The rocks fell for several heartbeats, then clattered ominously somewhere far below.

"What did Ah tell ya?"

Rarity moaned. "I don't think I can go on!" she sobbed. "I can't see a THING!"

Applejack flashed in anger. "Ya GOTTA go on, missy! Else the rain'll catch up with us and then these rocks'll be slippery as well!"

Rarity closed her eyes and swallowed. She nodded. "Very well. Let's go on then!"

Progress was slow, but with Applejack's sharp cajoling and the threatening peals of thunder that came sooner and sooner after the flashes of lightning that gave birth to them, Rarity found the courage to go on. They were almost at the bottom of the mountain; beneath them the river that flowed down the mountains and across the plains to Colt Springs became visible, appearing as a sinuous cobalt-gray path with every flash of lightning.

"Jus' a small ways left now, Rarity," said Applejack. "Then a quick gallop across the bridge an' we'll be on the other side and we kin make camp under one a' those rocky outcrops!"

"Oh thank Celestia!" cried Rarity, "I simply CAN'T wait to be out of these wet and sticky saddle-bags. Let's hurry up and...!" But in her haste to move off, the unicorn pony's hoof came down too hard on a rock hidden in front of her by the wet mud. She slipped backwards, landed on her side and started sliding precipitously down the path. Rocks and mud came away with her, and Applejack had no time to react as the muddy unicorn pony and part of the mountain side struck her and knocked her off her feet.
Together, spattered in mud and screaming, they careened down the path, dislodging more stones and mud as they went.

Three heartbeats later they reached the bottom – but they didn't stop. Close to the river the mud was even deeper, and although they were both able to right themselves, they kept sliding, their hooves skating across the bank. And then with a colossal splash they were in the bitterly cold water of the river.

Applejack surfaced first, coughing and spluttering. "Rarity!.... Rarity!" She cried out, but her friend was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, Rarity surfaced near her. She was coughing as well, dazed but uninjured.

"C'mon lil' missy!" said Applejack, taking hold of one of Rarity's saddlebags in her mouth and pulling her towards the opposite bank, "Swim harder!"

"I can't swim!" Rarity cried, "I can only pony-paddle!"

"Then pony-paddle as hard as ya can!"

Several desperate minutes later they were on the other side of the stream. It wasn't so muddy here, and Applejack pulled Rarity from the water onto the wet sand. The unicorn pony coughed up some more water, but she managed to raise her head and smile at Applejack.

Rarity's eyes were moist from tears, river water and rain. "Oh my darling Applejack!" she breathed, getting to her feet with difficulty and pony-hugging her Applejack by putting her neck over her friend's and nuzzling her cheek, "You saved my life!"

Applejack's eyes flashed with anger, but then a flush of overwhelming relief washed over her and she softened. They were safe! She pulled out of the hug and smiled at the grateful unicorn pony.

"Shucks, Rarity," she replied, "Twern't nothin' at all." She lowered her eyes in modesty, but she opened them when she heard Rarity shriek.

"Applejack!" Rarity cried, "Your hat! It's gone!"

"My hat?!" Applejack lifted a hoof and felt her head all over. Rarity was right! It was gone.

"My hat!" Applejack burst into tears and Rarity looked at her in shock. She'd never seen the earth pony so upset. "My hat! It's gone! Ah've gone an' lost it!"

"Oh my dear," Rarity "I'll make you a new one as soon as we get back to Ponyville. Don't you worry about...."

"Ya don' unerstand!" cried Applejack, "That was my pappy's hat!" She sobbed, "The las' time Ah saw him alive he took it off his head and gave it to me, an' he said "This is yours now, my lil applebucker. Keep this here hat safe – and don't forget that yer pappy loved you more 'n anything else in the world!"

Rarity's eyes welled up, but then they grew steely. She shook the tears from her eyes and jerked her head out of the wet saddlebags. "I'll find your hat darling!" she said, galloping away at full speed downstream along the beach.

"Wait! Rarity!" Applejack shouted out to her, but the unicorn pony didn't stop. "Tha' silly filly is gonna do somethin' crazy, I jus' know it!"

By the time she'd caught up, Rarity had spotted Applejack's hat floating in the river – it was almost invisible, but it was her hat alright!

Rarity stopped and stabbed her horn into the air. Purple-azure energy sparkled along it, and in the river the hat was surrounded in the same light. But it quickly flickered and faded.

"It's too far away!" said Rarity in frustration.

"Rarity! Don' do nothin' sil...!" But the unicorn pony had already leapt into the river, and was paddling towards the hat. "Oh pony-feathers! Why don't ya ever listen t' me?!" Applejack galloped up the beach keeping alongside her.

Rarity was right behind the hat now and purple magic once again sprang to life along her horn. This time the glow remained strong, and with difficulty she lifted the hat out of the water and floated it across to Applejack on the shore. Once the glow flickered, and Rarity almost dropped it, but she bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and with a final burst of magic the hat at last made it tothe river bank. Applejack grabbed it in her mouth and flung it far from the water – for she could see that Rarity was exhausted and barely able to keep her head above water. Then the unicorn pony suddenly stopped
swimming and slipped under the surface.

Applejack leapt into the river and in moments was next to where she'd last seen her friend. She took a deep breath and dived down, searching with her mouth and fore-hooves for Rarity in the black, swirling water.

An age later, her lungs burned and she was forced to surface again. But with a desperate sucking in of air, she straight away dived down again. And this time she found her. With no saddlebags to grab this time, Applejack had Rarity's curly tail in her mouth, and painfully she dragged her sopping and unconscious friend from the water.

"Oh Rarity!" Applejack muttered, wiping the water from the unicorn pony's face. "What've ya gone and done t' yerself? Ya crazy lil' filly!" She put her cheek to her friend' s mouth. Rarity wasn't breathing.

Applejack didn't hesitate, but at once took a deep breath, put her lips against Rarity's pale blue ones and breathed out.

Breathe, darn you! Breathe! Don't give up on me, Rarity! Breathe!

Applejack stepped back and looked at her friend. She lay there, unmoving, in the dark, the rain falling about her. New tears burst out in Applejack's eyes.

"No. Oh Celestia, please no," she whispered.

Chapter 2

But then Rarity groaned – so soft, Applejack thought she must have imagined it.

"Rarity?"

She brought her face close and nuzzled the unicorn pony's cheek. Rarity groaned louder and started to cough, and water suddenly dribbled from between her lips. Applejack quickly turned her onto her side and held her as wave after wave of river water poured out of her mouth.

"Oh thank Celestia!" said Applejack, patting Rarity on her back to help dislodge the last of the water she had breathed in. "Yer breathing again! Yer OK!" Applejack's top lip quivered, "Fer a minute there Ah thought Ah'd lost ya," she whispered.

Rarity's looked up at Applejack groggily. The unicorn pony's beautiful indigo mane, wet and tangled, was plastered to her face and neck, and her coat was caked in mud and river weeds. It broke Applejack's heart to see Rarity in such a state. But then the unicorn pony smiled at her. "Darling," she whispered, "There's no way I'd go ANYWHERE... looking like THIS!"

"Does it hurt anywhere, Rarity?" Applejack asked in concern, "Do ya need anything?"

Rarity looked up at her friend and whispered, "Do you have a mirror?"

And then Applejack at last allowed herself to burst into tears.

With Rarity too weak to help it took a long time for Applejack to set up the tent – most of the pegs were lying on the bottom of the river, so she was forced to collect heavy river rocks and roll them onto the edges of the tarpaulin to keep the material in place. The wind was growing wilder with every passing moment, tearing at the tent and threatening to blow it into the air. From the dryness of the nook under the outcropping
Rarity watched Applejack struggling in the rain. Applejack had wrapped her up in all that was left of the outfits she'd brought with her – the rest were floating downstream somewhere, never to be seen or admired by any pony ever again. The outer layer of Rarity's warm cocoon was the exquisitely sequined party dress she'd brought with her in case there was some kind of social event after the rodeo. She chuckled grimly. If
only the gentlecolts of Cold Springs could see her now! The muddy river water had got into her saddlebags and ruined it. Half the sequins were missing, and it was stained with mud beyond repair. In a few moments, the gorgeous creation she had been so proud of, gazing on it as it glittered on its dressmaker's doll in her boutique, had become little
more than a filthy rag. Rarity held back tears. All of those days of hard work, sewing each individual sequin on in perfectly straight lines - wasted!

In her weakened state, Rarity felt absolutely useless. She'd tried to get up and help Applejack earlier – it was too much for heart to stand, watching the earth pony working so stoically, so selflessly, in that cold dark maelstrom of wind and rain – but a sudden wave of weakness had set her entire body trembling, and she'd slumped back onto the ground. Applejack had galloped up to her, her eyes furious, berating her. "Ya try and move yerself one more time, lil missy, and ah'll come and roll some rocks on top o' ya as well!"

Rarity had lowered her eyes. "I'm so SORRY, Applejack. I just feel so terrible that I can't be of any assistance to you, darling," she sniffled, "And all of this is MY fault. If only I'd been more careful deciding where to put these big, clumsy hooves of mine..."

"Now don' you worry yerself about that, Rarity," Applejack had replied. The unicorn pony's distress had touched her. "It was jus' an accident is all. It coulda happened to anypony!"

"It wouldn't have happened to you," Rarity had replied, softly so that Applejack couldn't hear her as she walked back into the rain. "You always know the RIGHT thing to do."

************

Applejack rolled the final rock into place. "There!" she said in triumph. Even wearing her oilskin coat and hat, she was sopping wet, and she took herself over to a corner of the nook away from where Rarity was sitting and shook herself dry. "Now let's get outa this wind and git warmed up!"

Rarity nodded. Even wrapped in her so many layers, the wind was cutting into her, and her bones ached and her teeth chattered with the cold.

The two ponies crawled under the tent flap and into the dry, dark warmth inside. It was still daylight, but with the black clouds of the storm blocking out the sun, it was as if it was the middle of the night inside the tent. Applejack flicked on a torch with her mouth, and placed it in a corner of the tent. Its pale yellow light made huge shadows of the two ponies against one side of the tent, and Rarity's eyes suddenly lit up in delight when she saw them.

"Even wrapped up in rags I have such a svelte silhouette!" she beamed, striking a pose. "And Applejack! Just look at you!" She pointed at Applejack's silhouette magnified on the wall of the tent. "You know my dear, your cowboy hat really is sooo charming. Its wide brim is simply the PERFECT accessory for your pony-tail – it balances it so well!"

Applejack lay down, exhausted, and watched Rarity as she tried different glamorous poses, her silhouette mirroring them. She was tired, and part of her was still angry at the unicorn pony, but as she looked at her own shadow, wearing her pappy's cowboy hat, the memory of Rarity leaping into the river to save it without hesitation made the anger melt away as quickly as it had come.

Applejack closed her eyes for a moment and without realising it dozed off. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Rarity was curled up beside her, fast asleep. The unicorn pony had earlier washed the mud and weeds off herself as best as she could with
rain water, but her coat was still smudged with dirt and her mane was all clumped together in places. Applejack smiled at her sleeping face, the heavy eyelashes fluttering slightly as she dreamed, and she licked the unicorn pony's wet cheek. Even after all their adventures today, Rarity still looked so beautiful! Applejack sighed, and cuddled against her for warmth.

"An' jus' how in tarnation can ya still smell so sweet after slidin' down a mountain side and wadin' through river mud? Ya smell jus' like ya left one of those fan-cy spas!" She chuckled. "Like flowers an' soap and sandalwood all bundled up together! Unicorn magic. Mus' be...." And as the rain continued to patter and hiss outside, and the thunder rolled and growled, Applejack fell asleep as well.

************

When Applejack awoke, the light inside the tent was the dull gray of early dawn.

"Those Pegasus ponies musta finally got their act together," she thought in relief. The first event of the rodeo was scheduled for the early afternoon, and with a bit of luck and some determined hiking, they'd be able to get to Colt Springs in time.

She looked down at Rarity, swaddled in her layers of clothes like a baby. She was still fast asleep. Applejack snorted in annoyance. "C'mon Rarity! It's not like ya need any beauty sleep!" She nudged the unicorn pony with a gentle hoof. "Time ta rise an' shine! If ya don' get up, we won't have any time ta find those berries ya were after!"

Rarity moaned a little – but she still didn't wake up. Applejack frowned, and came closer. Rarity's face was pale, and the area around her horn was covered in sweat.

"Ya ok, Rarity?" Applejack placed a hoof on the unicorn pony's forehead. She was burning up!

Applejack straight away started to peel the layers of water-stained clothes, pulling them off Rarity with her teeth – it was just like unwrapping a mummy! But that image didn't seem at all funny to Applejack at that moment. She'd seen the terrible things that could happen with a high fever.

She remembered her pappy, in those long last days, confined to his bed at Sweet Apple Acres. He'd looked just like Rarity did now – pale and sweaty, and so weak! Her pappy had always been such a huge and robust stallion – Big Macintosh was the spitting image of how he'd looked in his younger days, dragging his plough out in the fields in the broiling sun, the sweat of the heat and the labour beading on his flanks and withers. Applejack remembered how she used to skipped behind him, planting the apple seeds from her little saddlebags, and all the while he'd pull the plough and look back at his daughter now and then with pride and love in his dark eyes.

And when he'd fallen ill, the weight and muscle had fallen away from his frame, and he'd become so thin and fragile that Applejack and Big Macintosh had had to help him into bed – and he'd felt no heavier than a single bushel of apples.

"Don' worry, little sis," Big Macintosh had told her one afternoon as she'd sat crying on the porch of the homestead as so often she had in those terrible days, "Pappy'll be fine. He jus' needs ta git his strength back. Ee-yup!" But Applejack had seen the tiny glimmer of doubt in her big brother's eyes, and she'd known at that moment that their pappy wasn't ever going to get better.

Rarity was unclothed now, lying on her side, her chest rising slowly as she breathed shallowly and with difficulty. Applejack nuzzled her, but she didn't respond.

Tears welled up in the corner of Applejack's eyes, but she angrily shook them away. "Watcha doin', ya dumb rabbit? Cryin' like a filly that's stubbed her hoof!" She rifled through her saddlebags, finally finding the water-canister. She opened it and put it next to Rarity's mouth, but the unicorn pony didn't react. So she gently eased her head up and let some of the water trickle down into her mouth. Rarity coughed, but after a little while she started to swallow.

"Tha's a good filly," said Applejack.

"Apple...jack?" Rarity opened her eyes and looked at her friend. Her pupils were unfocussed, and she seemed half-asleep still.

"Applejack's here, Rarity," replied Applejack. She sighed in relief. "Don' ya worry."

"Applejack.. I..."

"Now don' you try and talk, Rarity! You got an awful high fever. Ya need ta rest up, else..." She tipped the little remaining water in the canister into Rarity's mouth and she drank it.

Rarity coughed again. "So thirsty.. Applejack."

Applejack nodded. "Course ya are," she replied. "Ya awful dee-hydrated," She stood up and went to the flap of the tent. "Jus' you wait a short while. I'll be back soon – jus' gotta go find some fresh water,"

************

The morning light was clear and crisp and the air fresh as Applejack followed the river a little way upstream. Thankfully she didn't have to travel far to find water. She knew there was a little spring somewhere on the rocky face of the ridge as it twisted away from the river and back into the foothills. Her pappy had been the one who'd first shown it to her, all those years ago, when she'd made the journey to Colt Springs to watch her first rodeo with him.

"My lil applebucker, ya got a real talent with the lasso," he'd told her as they'd travelled through the Swayback Mountains together. She'd been around Applebloom's age at that time, and she was riding on her pappy's back, since her own short legs had become tired from walking. "I seen ya snare a rabbit from fifteen feet away! That's no mean accomplishment for a lil' filly!"

"Ah told him ah was sorry!" Applejack had sniffed.

Her pappy had laughed a great, rolling laugh that had echoed through the mountains. "Applejack, that big ol' heart of yours is ten-sizes too big for that lil' bodyof yours!" He smiled at her. "One day, ya goin' to be something great!"

Applejack was so deep in reminiscence that she realised she'd already passed the spot. She doubled back a short way and at last found the spring. She nudged the canister into place under the trickle of glittering water and watched it slowly fill. "Ah'm sorry pappy!" she whispered, "Ah trained so hard the whole year. Ah was SURE this season I was gonna do ya memory proud!"

Before he'd become an apple farmer, her pappy has been a rodeo star. He'd been a famous name among the plains-ponies for years, but had finally given it away to start a family. But one day Applejack had found his old lasso in a box up in the hay loft, and had started practising with it during break times on the farm in secret. She'd gotten away with it for about a month before her pappy had stumbled upon her, trying to pull the lasso off a tree branch she'd snared. She'd thought he'd be angry, but he'd just watched her and smiled, a blade of grass in his mouth, until she finally got it loose.

"Ah always thought it'd be Macintosh that'd inherit the spark," he'd explained, taking the lasso from her and showing her how to hold it correctly – loose and lightly, "But it seems that ol' sayin' ain't wrong afta all – it's sometime the littlest apple seed tha' grows into the tallest tree!"

The canister was full to overflowing, so Applejack capped it and picked it up in her mouth. A sudden feeling of loss and disappointment welled up in her. She realised that there was no way that she'd be able to make the rodeo now. All those months of practice had been all for nothing, all those dreams of honouring her pappy's name. All because of that puffed-up unicorn pony!

She galloped back to the tent, and angrily pushed her way inside through the flap.

"Ah got yer water, Rarity," she said. "Are ya feelin' any better now?"

Rarity lifted her head. "A...little," she managed to say. Applejack brought the canister to her lips, and this time Rarity was able to drink from it herself.

Rarity watched at Applejack as she drank. The earth pony had turned her back on her, and was busy packing up her saddlebag.

"What's the matter darling?" she asked. Then realisation dawned on her and she said, "Oh."

"Oh? Oh?!" Applejack turned on her angrily. "Is tha' all ya have ta say fer yerself? Oh!?"

Rarity's face fell at the angry onslaught. "Darling, I'm so sorry... so frightfully, terribly sorry. You won't be able to make the rodeo now, will you?" She couldn't look at Applejack's incriminating eyes any longer and she stared at the floor of the tent. "And it's all my fault, isn't it?" she whispered.

"All of it," Applejack nodded. "Now jus' lay there and res' yerself while Ah get everythin' packed up. We should be able ta get back to Ponyville before sun-down."

Rarity got up unsteadily. "Don't worry about me, Applejack!" she said, starting to gather up her own clothes. "I'll be perfectly able to travel back to Ponyville on my own. You should go on to the rodeo yourself – you'll surely make it without me slowing you down."

Applejack shook her head. "Yer still much too sick," she said. "There's no way ya can make it back without my help."

Applejack turned back to her packing, and Rarity watched her, crestfallen. The terrible feeling of guilt in her heart was far worse than the fever and the ache in her limbs and she lay back down. But as Applejack was busy stuffing her oilskin coat into her saddlebag, Rarity suddenly stepped forward and knocked over the water canister, its contents flowing all over the floor of the tent.

"Ooops!" she said. She looked at Applejack fearfully.

But the earth pony said nothing. She just stopped in the middle of her packing, walked over to Rarity in silence and picked up the canister in her mouth.

************

Applejack was seething as she left the tent. It was almost as if Rarity had spilled the water on purpose! But what did it matter now, anyway? She stoically galloped back to the spring and refilled the canister, and in a short while she returned to the tent.

As she pushed open the flap, she said, "Now don' spill this one, y'hear?!"

But then she noticed that the tent was empty except for her own half-packed saddlebags. Rarity and all her belongings were gone.

Chapter 3

Rarity was halfway across the rickety bridge that traversed the river when Applejack caught up to her at a gallop.

"Jus' wait a second, lil missy!" the earth pony shouted as she clambered onto the bridge, "Ya ain't goin' nowhere in yer condition!"

Rarity looked back at Applejack. She had tears in her eyes. "Please, Applejack. Just leave me alone! If you hurry, you can still make the rodeo!" She continued walking. She stepped gingerly, yet with every hoof fall the bridge swung alarmingly.

"Ah don' care about tha' darn rodeo no more!" Applejack shouted back. She took a few steps towards Rarity.

Rarity turned angrily. "You liar!" she cried, "I know how disappointed you are," She lowered her eyes. "I know how much work you put into it, all those hours of practising..."

Applejack frowned. "How d'ya know about that? You never saw me practisin'..."

Rarity shook her head. "I... I've been watching you practise," she explained. She kept her eyes lowered, embarrassed to meet Applejack's gaze. "I was delivering a new shawl to Granny Smith a...about a month ago, and I got lost walking around the farm. I... I saw you behind the hay-barn, practising..." Rarity lifted her eyes. They were glistening. "There was so much... passion in your eyes, Applejack. I simply couldn't turn away. Something in me made me keep watching... and the longer I watched the more embarrassed I became – I didn't interrupt you because I didn't want you to find out what I'd been doing."

"Yer been watchin' me?" Applejack repeated, puzzled. "What's wrong wi' that?"

Rarity's eyes flared. "You silly, silly pony!" she shouted, "You just don't understand anything, do you?!" And without another word she turned and started towards the far end of the bridge.

But Applejack wasn't about to let Rarity go. She pulled out her lasso from her saddlebag with her tail and started to swing it around her head. Rarity was almost at the other end of the bridge when Applejack cast it. The noose slipped around the unicorn pony's back legs and with a quick jerk of Applejack's tail, it tightened, tying her legs together. Rarity yelped, and fell forwards onto her stomach. She was dazed for a moment, but then she turned back and glared at Applejack.

"Just WHAT do you think you are DOING?" she demanded.

"Ah told ya yer weren't goin' nowhere!" chuckled Applejack, steadily winding up the length of rope with her tail as she walked towards her quarry.

"Applejack, untie me THIS INSTANT!"

"It's all fer the best, Rarity," Applejack kept the rope taught and, once she'd passed Rarity, she turned and, sliipping her head under the unicorn pony's chest, she lifted her onto her back with a grunt.

"Wha..what is this?!" Rarity squealed. "Put me down!" She beat her fore-hooves against Applejack's flank, but the earth pony just ignored her.

"Quit yer squirmin'!" chastised Applejack. She was glad that Rarity couldn't see the wide smile on her face. "Ya worse than a sheep on dippin' day!"

In her weakened state, Rarity stopped struggling almost immediately and collapsed on top of Applejack as she carried her back to the tent. With her face flush against the earth pony's back, Rarity felt the heat rising from Applejack's body. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against Applejack's orange coat, and she breathed in the scent of perspiration, oilskin and freshly cut hay. She could feel the solid yet supple muscle beneath Applejack's hide move against her face and under her forefeet as she walked.

"Applejack?" started Rarity, in a voice almost too soft to hear.

"Uh-huh?" the earth pony replied.

"I never knew you were SO well-built!"

Applejack shook her head. Jus' what WAS that cotton-headed filly goin' on about now? "Uh-huh. It's what happens if ya spend yer days workin' in the fields. Ah don' suppose ya work up too much of a sweat in tha' boo-tique o' yours," she chuckled.

Rarity sniffed. "Just BECAUSE I don't happen to be lifting heavy loads and pulling machinery doesn't mean I don't ALSO work hard!" she retorted.

"Ah didn't mean it like that, sugarcube," replied Applejack. Rarity was so light on her back – it was almost as if she was just skin and bones. But how in tarnation did such a lil slip o' a filly get to be so strong-willed and proud? "Ah jus' meant ta say that a sturdy phee-sique is all part an' parcel of bein' a farmer," She laughed, "To tell tha' truth, ol' Big Macintosh is always ribbin' me for bein' so strong. He's always sayin' that ahm more like his little brother than his sister!"

Rarity laughed. "That Big Macintosh! What a thing to say! Stallions really have no idea how to be sensitive to a lady's feelings..."

Applejack laughed as well. "Ya got tha' right! Next time I see Macintosh, ahm gonna tell 'im ya said that."

Rarity slapped Applejack on the flank with a hoof. "Darling, don't you dare say such a thing! You know Big Macintosh means well! And I'd just DIE if he knew we'd been talking about him!" Applejack shook her head and laughed.

It wasn't far to the tent now and Rarity had been silent for a while. "Y'all comfortable up there, Rarity?" asked Applejack.

The unicorn pony said nothing in reply but muttered. She'd fallen asleep again. Despite all the stubbornness and energy she'd displayed earlier on, Rarity was still far from well.

Applejack slipped into the tent, and gently eased Rarity off her back. As the unicorn pony slid onto the floor of the tent, she woke up, and she hugged her forefeet around Applejack's shoulders, bringing them face to face.

"Applejack, my darling, I'm sorry about everything that's happened."

Applejack frowned. "Ah told ya before tha' there's no ill will between us," she said. "Jus' forget about it. Ahm jus' glad that yer ok."

Rarity broke the embrace, and looked down at the noose around her legs. "I promise I'm not going to run away again, darling. Do you think you could...?"

Applejack smiled. "Sure I can. I think ya learned yer lesson." She loosened the knot with her teeth and slid if off Rarity's back feet.

But after she'd put the lasso away, she turned to Rarity, a quizzical look on her face. "Y'know, Rarity. Can I... ah, ask ya a question?"

Rarity nodded. "Of course, darling. You can ask me anything."

"Back on the bridge, when we were arguin'," Applejack explained, "You said I didn' understand nothing." She frowned, "Now, ah've thought and thought about what ya said, but I jus' can't work out what ya meant by it."

Rarity's smile fell away. "That? Oh, that was... nothing, darling. I was just angry and I... wasn't thinking when I said it. Please just forget about it." She turned away and curled up in a corner of the tent. "I'm quite simply exhausted and I just want to..."

Applejack shook her head. "I can't jus' forget about it, Rarity. I saw that look ya gave me," She moved closer and, lifting Rarity's chin with a hoof, she looked the unicorn pony right in the eyes. "That wasn't just anger ah saw in those eyes. You looked like ah'd jus' betrayed ya."

"B...betrayed me?" Rarity stuttered. "Why, the thought never...."

Applejack's green eyes were deep and serious as she looked into Rarity's. There was heat in them, and a hidden, silent emotion that scared her. She knew that she couldn't lie to Applejack. She wasn't a silly pony at all. She knew and felt a lot more than she'd ever said. Rarity knew that she was backed into corner, in more way than one.

"It's ... true, darling. I... did feel like I was betrayed. But it was unfair of me to say that." Tears moistened the corners of her azure eyes. "I know you'll never... feel about me the way I feel about you. Because I... I think I'm in love with you, Applejack." She'd said it, and the words hung in the dead silence between them for what felt like an eternity.

A series of emotions flickered across Applejack's face. Confusion, shock – she turned away from Rarity and slowly nodded.

"Ah guess I kinda knew tha' all along, sugarcube," she said at last.

Rarity's heart was breaking. The tears were flowing down her cheeks now, wetting her chin and neck. "I never wanted you to know," she whispered. "I knew this would happen. Now we can't be friends anymore." She lowered her face and the tears dripped steadily down onto the floor of the tent.

But she soon felt Applejack's face close to hers, and she lifted her eyes. The earth pony was smiling at her, a sad and elusive smile. "Now whyever d'ya think that, sugar?" she asked.

Rarity sniffled. "It will just be too uncomfortable for you," she explained. "And if anypony caught me mooning over you, there'd be a TERRIBLE scandal. And I could never live with myself if I dragged you down to my level..."

"Now ah ain't gone and said nothin' 'bout my own feelings yet," replied Applejack. "Maybe ah was surprised ya felt that way. But ah ain't angry," She shook her head. "Ah ain't angry at all. Truth is," she smiled shyly, "Ah'm mighty flattered that you feel tha' way about me."

"You... are?" asked Rarity.

Applejack nodded. Her green eyes sparkled from deep within as she spoke. "Who wouldn't be flattered to have such a so-phisticated and glamorous filly's affection?" she said. "S' dry those tears o' yers, little missy. You've no reason ta cry."

Rarity wiped at her eyes with her hooves. Applejack took the unicorn pony in her arms and laid her head on her chest, and she nuzzled Rarity's neck.

"Ya know – ya ain't such a strong little filly after all," she said softly in her ear. "A lil' bit o' emotion and ya fall all ta' pieces..."

Rarity felt Applejack's touch as an electricity that ran tingling down her spine. She ached for it, she needed that touch, but it was so painful. She knew deep down that she would never feel it given to her with passion – only as consolation. The touch of Applejack's lips prickled and maddened her, and tears sprung up anew in her eyes. But she hid them, smothering her face into Applejack's warm chest, and closed her eyes in bliss as Applejack's gentle breath touched her ear and neck. Oh, please – just this moment! Oh Celestia, let me just have this moment! Let me imagine and believe just for this moment that everything I desire is mine, truly mine, so that in my dreams I can always come back here and be happy for a short while at least!

Applejack held Rarity for a long while. She didn't show any sign of wanting to break their embrace. The truth was that the frail, slim unicorn pony in front of her had awoken strange feelings inside her. Conflicting feelings that drove Applejack in one minute from confusion, to fear, to nervous excitement. Finally, she whispered: "Y'know, sugarcube – here, in this tent, we're about half-way between Ponyville and Colt Springs."

Rarity murmured. Applejack couldn't make out what she had said, but she continued. Something inside her was forcing her onwards. She found the words escaping her lips, and she couldn't have stopped them if she'd wanted to. "An' ya know, if ANYTHIN' happened in this tent, anythin'at all, we're so far away from anywhere that no pony would ever know about it." Applejack's breath was hot. "Especially if it only ever happened once, fer instance, an' if we never spoke about it again..."

Rarity turned her face towards her. New tears had reddened her eyes, and she stared at Applejack. The earth pony stopped talking, and softly licked away the wetness on Rarity's cheeks.

"Applejack...?" she began.

"Hush, now." The licking had turned to little kisses, and Applejack peppered Rarity's cheek and throat with them. "Those tears of yours near broke my heart in two – an' ah can't stand ta see ya cry anymore."

"Oh Applejack!" Rarity sobbed and threw her forefeet around Applejack's neck. The earth pony hugged her back, closing her eyes. She had thought that maybe it would feel strange, that holding Rarity in this way would feel wrong and creepy. But it didn't.

They lay there, not moving, for what seemed like an age. It was Rarity that moved first. She raised her face and kissed Applejack, once, on her mouth, softly, as if testing. And then again, and this second time Applejack found herself kissing back. The earth pony's kiss was hesitant at first, unsure, but Rarity's kiss was hard and insistent, and Applejack found herself wanting more.

The touch of Rarity's lips had done something to her. These feelings weren't knew, she realised. They'd just been asleep for a long time. These were the same feelings that had every time melted the anger she'd often felt towards Rarity, the frustration of dealing with her stubbornness, her irritating obsession with details, the resentment Applejack had felt at all the attention the gorgeous unicorn pony got from the stallions of Ponyville because of her gracefulness and confidence. The soft spot that had always been there, that spot she had always argued away as just being a big-sisterly concern for the younger pony. Could it be that...?

Rarity felt the change in the intensity of Applejack's kissing. She rolled her eyes in pleasure as the earth pony's kisses grew bolder, trailing down her throat and turning into sharp nips of her teeth.

"Oh Applejack," she sighed, "Harder. Harder, darling, so that I can FEEL it!"

Applejack looked up at Rarity. Her features were so delicate and angelic, and she seemed so vulnerable, her azure eyes with their thick lashes fluttering each time Applejack bit her coat, her head thrown back in abandon. The earth pony's heart burned in her chest, and she felt a rush of heat along her body. She felt her insides melting, the subtle fire running along her limbs and dissolving her bones away.

Rarity nibbled lightly on Applejack's ear. The earth pony was flushed and panted with pleasure. "You look like you're ready to learn a few things," Rarity whispered as she turned the earth pony over onto her stomach, and began to lick her way down her back and along her spine. Applejack's coat was salty with perspiration, and the musky scent of her excitement engulfed Rarity's senses as she kissed ever lower.

************

When Applejack woke up, Rarity was still fast asleep beside her, her mane covering her face. Applejack swept it aside, and the idyllic, blissful look on the unicorn pony's face made her melt again. The intensity of Rarity's passion had taken her by surprise. There was still so much Applejack didn't know about her – there was so much more to her than the fashion-obsessed filly she first appeared. Why had it taken so long for her to realise it?

Colour had returned to Rarity's face, and it was obvious her fever had broken. Applejack chuckled to herself. "So it ain't jus' an old mare's tale that messing around can cure ANYthin'." She kissed Rarity on her cheek, and she murmured and smiled, but she didn't wake up.

"I think it's safe for me to leave ya for a short while, sugarcube," she said, slipping out the tent flap, "Ya need yer rest."

A while later Rarity woke up. It felt like she'd been asleep for hours. As the memory of what had happened flooded back, she turned over, a beaming smile on her face.

"Applejack!" she began. But the earth pony wasn't there beside her. Rarity's smile fell away and she sighed, wrapping herself in Applejack's blanket and breathing in her scent.

"Just one time," she sighed. "But it's so much more than I ever DREAMED of." Her eyes grew moist. "Oh Applejack. I hope you make it to the rodeo in time."

There was a sudden stirring of movement outside the tent. Rarity squeaked, and brought the blanket close to her chest.

"Who.. who is it?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"It's jus' me, Rarity." It was Applejack! She poked her head in through the tent and threw a small bag across to Rarity.

"But... what is this?"

"Jus' a lil' present, sug'." Applejack smiled.

"But... the rodeo."

Applejack was mock-cross. "Would ya stop mentionin' the gosh-darn rodeo!" she yelled. "Jus' open the bag, will ya?"

Rarity opened it. Inside there was a pile of berries, each a brilliant azure colour.

Rarity turned to her friend. She was almost speechless. "But Applejack... how did you know where to find them?"

Applejack snorted. "It weren't no trouble at all. I jus' wandered aroun' till I found a bush with berries on it the same colour as those gorgeous eyes o' yours." Applejack frowned. "Yer eyes ARE azure, ain't they?

Rarity leapt up and hugged her. "Of course they are! Just as yours are the most DELECTABLE shade of green I have ever seen!"

Applejack smiled nervously, and tried to slip out of Rarity's embrace. "Now sugarcube. Remember what we discussed."

Rarity, crestfallen, let her forefeet drop away. "I... of course, I understand. I won't forget what..."

She started to back away, but Applejack suddenly grabbed her around the waist and kissed her – hard. Rarity struggled initially in surprise, but then she went limp. When Applejack broke the kiss, the unicorn pony looked at her incredulously.

Applejack smiled shyly. "Well, I kinda thought that maybe we could... alter tha' arrangement jus' a tad. Ah mean – ah am plannin' on goin' to the rodeo next year, since this year was a big blow-out..." She shook her head at the sudden sad look on Rarity's face. "Nah, sug'. No more o' those recriminations."

Rarity started to smile. "So, what you're saying is that... what happens in the Swayback Mountains...?"

Applejack nodded. "...sure as heck stays in the Swayback Mountains. But tha' don' mean we can't come back here whenever we want ta."

Rarity looked thoughtful. "You know, Applejack. I have a feeling that these berries will be enough to provide me with AZURE for a month or so. But I'll soon need to collect some more," She winked at the earth pony. "And I'd just LOVE your help!"

Applejack tapped Rarity on the chin with her hoof playfully. "Ah think that can be arranged," she laughed.

"ANYONE IN HERE?" A face suddenly poked through the flap into the tent– a face with bright and serious eyes and a shock of rainbow coloured hair. "Wait – Applejack?! Rarity?!"

The two ponies leapt away from each other. "Rainbow Dash?!" they cried in unison.

Applejack was the first to collect herself. "What're ya doin' here, Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash pushed her way into the tent. She had a suspicious look on her face. "I could ask you the same question, Applejack." She darted a sharp look at Rarity. "Or maybe I should be asking YOU, Rarity!"

Rarity started to squeak a response, stepping away from the menacing Pegasus pony – but then Rainbow Dash laughed uproariously. "Jeeze. I'm just messing with you guys!" She turned back to Applejack with a suddenly worried expression. "But Applejack, seriously – aren't you supposed to be at the rodeo in Colt Springs? The first event's due to start any minute now!"

Applejack had managed to calm down after the sudden untimely appearance of their friend, and she quickly explained the misadventures of the previous day and evening. She found herself blushing uncontrollably, even though she was of course skipping what had happened between her and Rarity, but Rainbow Dash didn't seem to notice. Instead, she was horrified that the storm had caused so much trouble.

"That's the last time, Ditzy Doo!" she cried, shaking a clenched hoof at the tent's ceiling. "But I'M the one to blame, really. The buck's gotta stop with the boss, after all!" She put her hoof to her chin and looked thoughtful for a moment. Then a bright smile zapped across her face. "But I think I can fix this situation. You two come with me! And Applejack?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring your lasso."

Once outside the tent Rainbow Dash whistled sharply. Moments later a squad of Pegasus ponies landed on the river bank nearby and trotted up to where they were standing.

"Red team reporting for duty, Sir!" The leader of the group, a mare with quizzical amber eyes, a yellow mane and a blue-grey coat, saluted Rainbow Dash, and the other seven Pegasus ponies followed suit.

Rainbow Dash wasted no time in telling them what she wanted them to do. She turned to Applejack and Rarity, who were waiting near the tent, and explained "You're lucky we were checking the river for damage caused by that storm we ROYALLY screwed up last night." She gestured to the Pegasus ponies that had split into two groups of four. "But at least I can make up for it. LET'S GO SQUAD!"

And without hesitation, one groups of Pegasus ponies surrounded Applejack, each of them taking hold of a leg and lifting her straight away into the air.

"Hey, wait.. now jus' wait a minute!" the earth pony cried out in alarm.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "We can't wait – not even a minute! There's no time to waste if we're going to get you two to Colt Springs within ten minutes!"

Rarity was being lifted up as well, but she was squealing in excitement. "You're taking me too? So I can watch Applejack? Oh thank you, darling, thank you!"

Rainbow Dash nodded, and waved to them as the two groups of Pegasus ponies and their burdens swept low over the valley, Applejack still shouting in alarm. Then they crested the ridge and were off on their way across the plains towards Colt Springs.

Rainbow Dash watched them go. Another job well done! "It's true what they say," she said, looking into the sky. "Always bet on the Dash!"

THE END