Rainbow Dash pulled her arm through the sleeve of her jacket. It wasn’t cold out or anything like that, she just thought it looked awesome on her. On the dining room table to her left were her keys, and a helmet with lightning bolt designs on either side of it.

“I’m going now, see you guys in a few days!” she called out, her voice traveling upstairs to the rest of her family. She didn’t even wait for a reply as she ran out the front door and hopped onto a waiting motorcycle. It had taken a while, but she finally got her licence and was free to go wherever she pleased. She put the key in and twisted it, placing the helmet on her head and listening with glee as the machine came to life. Checking to make sure she had everything she needed, and making sure the bag strapped to the seat of the bike was secure, she kicked the kickstand and off she went.

Rainbow loved the feeling of the wind against her, it felt like she was flying. It was a great way to clear her thoughts and she knew that nothing could ruin her good mood now. Revving the engine some more, she sped up a bit.

“Ponyville, here I come!” she yelled to no one in particular.

Applejack wiped some sweat from her forehead as she held her hat to block the sun in her eyes. It was a hot day and she had been up early, getting her chores out of the way as fast as possible so she could prepare for later. Rainbow Dash was spending a few days in Ponyville, and would be staying at the Apple family house.

Her eyes scanned the field, mentally checking off the different chores she had done. With a happy sigh, she turned and walked into her home, feeling the cool air-conditioned breeze flow as she opened the door.

“Hey Applebloom,” she said as she saw her younger sister in the living-room, studying for a math test “you mind helping me out for a sec?”

Applebloom was happy to get away from the vile subject held within her book. “Sure thing sis, what d’you need?” she said as she stood up from her seat on the couch.

“Can you run and get the sheets hanging outside? Ah gave ‘em a quick wash, but ah’m gonna set the room up now.” Aj replied, getting a nod from Applebloom who made her way outside to fetch what was asked.

Meanwhile, Applejack made her way upstairs to the, rarely used, guest room that Rainbow would be using. She pushed open the door, and was suddenly assaulted by the scent of cotton candy. Inside the room stood Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who were pinning a banner that said “Surprise!” to the wall.

“What the hell is going on here?” Applejack asked, startling her pink haired friends.

“Oh, umm, Pinkie wanted to make Rainbow Dash feel welcome, and asked for my help.” Fluttershy answered.

“Yea!” Pinkie exclaimed. “If Dashie comes to visit, I want to throw the most awesomest awesome party ever! Then when she leaves, she’ll think ‘Wow that sure was an awesome party, I can’t wait to go back!’ and then she’ll want to keep coming back for more awesomely awesome parties!”

Applejack felt a slight tingle as her brain tried to comprehend what she was just told, but she decided against it. “Ah never said anything about letting y’all throw a party here.”

“Aww, but Aj.” Pinkie said with a pout on her lips.

“Look, how about this. If you let Rainbow use her first day back to just relax and get a feel for the town, then you can throw a party here tomorrow. Deal?” she asked, extending her hand to the pink loving sugar freak.

Pinkie seemed to mull it over for a bit, but ultimately shook the farmers hand. “Sorry about that Aj, guess I got a little excited about seeing Dashie in person and not through a webcam.” she said, giving a smile that had an almost audible squee to it.

“It’s fine Pinkie, ah promise she’ll meet everyone tomorrow. But it’s” she checked the clock hanging on the wall “4 o’clock and she shouldn’t be here until 6. Let’s let her rest and maybe take a small walk first.” Applejack said, getting nods from her two friends. She watched as they took their banner back down and exited the room. A few seconds later she heard the door shut as they exited the house.

A small pang of guilt hit her then. She wasn’t exactly opposed to throwing a party for Rainbow Dash, hell, the girl would probably love that! There was just some part of her that wanted to be alone with her friend for a bit. She wanted to catch up in person, it had been two years since they actually saw each other.

It didn’t take long before the door to the room opened again and in walked Applebloom, holding a few folded sheets in a basket.

“Here ya go sis.” she said as she placed the basket at the foot of the bed. “Anything else?”

“Yea, d’ya mind helpin’ me straighten up a little?” Applejack said.

Applebloom looked around the room. It seemed to be completely spotless, especially since nobody uses it. “Straighten up what?” she asked.

“Just dust off the nightstand please?” Applejack said with a sigh.

Applebloom went downstairs to grab a rag and some spray she saw granny using once. It made the furniture all shiny, so it had to be good. Plus it smelled like apple pie, who wouldn't like that?

"Got it sis." she said as she reentered the room. Heading to the nightstand, she gave it a generous spray down and began to wipe it all around. It wasn't long until the wood shone like new, and Applejack smiled at her.

"Thank you kindly, little sis." she said as she ushered Applebloom out the door. She looked back to give the to one last glance before she closes it off to unwelcome guests.

Rainbow Dash sat on her bike on the side of the road, a map in hand. She knew she was going the right way, but work had been done on these roads and she was no longer familiar with the path.

"Damn it, I wish I could just fly, then I wouldn't have to worry about roads. That'd be so awesome!" she said excitedly as her voice raised to a higher pitch.

She traced her finger along the map, from where she was now to Ponyville. She was close, just a few more minutes and she'd be there. With a grin, she rolled the map up and put it away, kicking off and riding her bike once again.

Applejack sat in the living-room, the T.V was on, but it was ignored for the most part. She could hear the droning of a commercial. “Gak gak gak” she heard over and over again, but her number one focus was on her cellphone.

‘Rainbow should have been here a while ago.’ she thought to herself, checking her call logs to be sure she didn’t somehow miss her call. ‘Nothing’ she thought as she placed the phone down dejectedly.

She stood up, intent on getting herself something to drink, when the phone finally rang. The farmer jumped as if her life depended on this one call. She hit the floor with an audible thud, holding the cellphone above her in triumph.

“Hello?” she spoke as calmly as she could.

“Hey A.j, I’m walking up the path to your place now. Mind opening the door?” Rainbows voice said from the speaker.

“Gotcha.” said, locking her phone and walking to the front door. As soon as she opened it, she could see the bright hair of her friend coming closer in the darkness. A.j leaned against the doorframe as she watched Dash walk closer, bag in hand.

“Sorry I’m late Applejack, were you waiting long?” Rainbow said as she finally made it up the front steps.

“Late? Ah didn’t even notice.” Applejack said.

There was a slight pause, followed by a chuckle from Rainbow Dash. “A.j, lying is not your thing. Stick to farming.” she said humorously.

The farm girl had to suppress an embarrassing blush from spreading across her cheeks. “Shut up. Come inside.” she said with a roll of her eyes as she made way for her guest.

Rainbow walked into the house and gave a whistle. “Woah, this place already looks pretty huge!” she said.

Applejack smiled. “Yea, we Apples are a pretty big family. We always make sure we have plenty of room for the reunions.”

Rainbow looked around some more, glancing into the kitchen and living-room. “Well,damn. My place is small compared to this.”

“Eh, size doesn’t matter.” A.j said nonchalantly.

As if some switch was flipped inside of her, Rainbow Dash began laughing uncontrollably. “Yea, I bet that’s what they tell you!” she managed to say, gasping for air.

Applejack stood there, confusion overtaking her mind. “What?” she said when Dash finally controlled herself.

“Nothing A.j.” Rainbow said, still chuckling slightly. “Mind showing me where I’ll be sleeping?” she asked.

“Well sure thing. Come with me.” A.j replied.

“In all my dreams.” Rainbow muttered under her breath as she followed the country girl up a set of stairs, watching how the tight jeans hug the girls body.

Applejack walked down the hall and opened a door. “You’ll be in this room. Mine is the one to your left, Mac is to the right, granny and Applebloom are another floor up.”

Dash stepped into the room. It smelled of apple pie. Dropping her bag at the foot of the bed, she stretched her arms and back. An audible crack was heard as she let out a pleased sigh. “So Applejack, do you have something planned for tonight?”

“Naw, ah thought you might be tired. There’s some movies we could watch if you want, and there’s a party tomorrow being thrown by Pinkie Pie.” A.j said.

“Aw sweet, I finally get to meet all the girls!” she said, genuinely happy to be able to meet the girls in person. They’ve already formed a bond of friendship online, why not make it official? “Will that Twilight girl that you guys talk about be there?”

“Twi? Naw, she’s way in Canterlot, studying her butt off ah suspect. Come to think of it, ah haven’t written her a letter in a while.” Applejack said, counting the days since she last sent Twilight a message.

“A letter? Doesn’t she have a phone?” Rainbow asked, legitimately confused. From what she heard, this girls mom was a writer and her dad was a doctor. Add to the fact that her brother is a football coach.

“She does but there’s no connection in that school. They built it from some fancy stuff that blocks cell signals. Landlines are only for emergency, so we just send her letters.” Applejack said with a shrug. She didn’t mind much, being raised in an old fashioned way herself.

“Alright then. That fucking sucks, but there’s nothing we can do about it anyway.” Rainbow said as she sat down on the bed, glancing at the open door. “Hey there kid.” she said with a smile.

Applejack turned and saw her sister standing there. “Applebloom?”

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” the younger Apple said happily, always glad to see a friend. “Why didn’t Scootaloo come with you?” she asked. She had really wanted to see her friend.

Rainbow laughed lightly. “The squirt had to catch up on a lot of homework that she missed because she was sick. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll let you call her tomorrow with my phone and I promise next time that I’ll bring her too. Deal?” she asked, holding her hand out.

The younger girl smiled and gave the hand a quick shake. “Deal.” she said.

“Alright Applebloom, you know it’s bedtime.” A.j said as she ushered her younger sister out of the room.

“Aww, but I wanted to stay and play.” she said with a pout.

“Maybe tomorrow, but you need your rest if you want to grow big and help me and Mac on the farm.” A.j scolded.

“Aww, fine.” the girl said as she made her way up the stairs that led to her room, her bow bouncing on her head the whole way up.

“Well that was cute as fuck.” Rainbow said with a smile.

A.j nodded. “Oh, ah wanted to tell you something too. Could you kindly hold back on the cursing? Granny Smith and Mac aren’t too keen on it.”

Rainbow gulped loudly. Cursing was like second nature to her. “I can respect that, and I’ll try my best.”

Applejack smiled softly. “That’s all ah’m askin’. Now how about them movies?”

“I’m up to watching some, but only if I can lay on your lap.” Dash said with a shit-eating grin on her face.

Applejack punched her on the arm. “Hardy har-har.” she said playfully. “Ah’ll be downstairs, change if you want. And quit playin’ around.” she said with a laugh as she exited the room.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her arm tenderly. “Yea, playing.” she said to herself as she took her boots off.

Author's Note

Not too much happening this chapter, sort of a bridge really. Hope you enjoy nevertheless!