What do I win?

Chapters

Chapter One: Challenge Accepted
Chapter Two: Fluttershy's Challenge
Chapter Three: Intermission
Chapter Four: Rarity's Challenge
Chapter Five: Six days ago, somewhere in Ponyville
Chapter Six: Twilight's Challenge
Chapter Seven: Conversations with a Reptile
Chapter Eight: Face to Face
Chapter Nine: Pinkie Challenged
Epilogue

Chapter One: Challenge Accepted

The sun, usually warm and comforting, stroking Rainbow's wings in flight, now glared through her shades like an angry parent scolding their child. She closed her eyes, but it hardly made much of a difference: beneath her eyelids the sun still turned her vision to a bright yellow. The sun was hovering in the sky as if frozen stiff, and the afternoon would drag on for a good few hours before she'd have to go and get dinner.

Her wings were stretched out, the grass tickling and itching her feathers as the blades sprang up between them as she breathed. Now and then she'd shift, scratching her back where the prickling had become too annoying to bear. She could currently feel the itch on it's way as the hours progressed, but it would be another minute or so before she'd absolutely have to move, so she elected to keep on staring. Lazily, she raised her hoof, as if to swat the sun from out of her eyes, before lettting it drop back to her side heavily. She could swear that her foreleg was heavier than it had been a week ago.

She hated holidays.

Her ears flicked around to the side, the sound bouncing around in her skull as she tracked the movement of a pony.. who, she could not tell. It couldn't be her supervisor: after all, there was no weather to move around. In fact, there was absolutely nothing to do.

Briefly Rainbow Dash considered taking flight, like she used to on an afternoon like this. She pictured herself soaring above the surrounding countryside, letting the chaotic excitement of Ponyville come to her. There was a time, not long ago, when she would have hung out with her friends just for fun, dive into wells to save fillies from drowning, perform stunts and keep herself in top shape.

That was before the boredom.

Boredom for Rainbow Dash was like sinking in quicksand: you'd want to get out, but you'd just end up sinking down deeper and deeper until somepony threw you a rope.

The hoofsteps were close now. She found herself mildly curious as to who it was, but still made no motion to find out.

"Hey there. Ya'll doin' anything interesting?"

The voice was Applejack's. Rainbow Dash could easily recognize all of her friends voices, but Applejack's was by far the easiest to place. The heavy southern accent was unmistakable in Ponyville: the only other ponies who spoke similarly were either too young, too old, or too male to imitate the soft and rich confidence she had.

"Nope." Rainbow replied curtly.

Applejack's darkened face, strangely distorted from this angle, acted like a parasol, blocking out the sun. A nonchalant flick of Rainbow's hoof removed the shades, changing her black silhouette back into her usual form, a young attractive mare, her coat coloured in soft orange tones. She bore an enthusiastic expression, her whole body seemingly energized.

"Ya'll want to have some fun?" She asked, her voice taunting Rainbow just enough to draw her from her half-awake slumber.

Rainbow shrugged.

"I guess."

Applejack smiled.

"Then I have just the thing for you: me and the girls, we cooked up a little series of events for us. You game?"

A series of events? Ugh, activity. Rainbow ran the idea through her mind, but all of her optimistic imagination couldn't stop her from arriving at the inevitable conclusion: if she was going to join in, she'd have to move.

"Nah."

Applejack raised her eyebrow in surprise. For a brief second, Rainbow Dash almost woke entirely from her slothful apathy. She always thought that Applejack's eyebrows must have special muscles that other ponies didn't have: they could practically raise her entire hat when Applejack commanded them to.

"Ya'll ain't doing anything, are you?"

Rainbow wasn't.

"Well, I don't feel like... doing stuff." Rainbow replied hollowly. Applejack sighed, and stepped around to get a better view of her friend. The sun almost blinded Rainbow Dash, who turned over on her stomach, annoyed, flicking the grass stuck to her wings into the air. Applejack decided to play her trump card: the three magical words that would, when in doubt, always motivate Rainbow Dash as if she were a mare possessed.

"There's a prize."

Rainbow's heart began racing as she fell under Applejack's spell, unable to move or think. Her blood coursed a little faster at the notion that she wouldn't just win... she might win something.

"Oh yeah? What do I win?" she asked. She wasn't stupid: her subconscious overloaded her with warnings indicating she was being played. The rest of her simply didn't care.

"Well, what do I win if you lose?" Applejack asked stubbornly, crossing her hooves. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. Well played... if there was one thing Rainbow loved more than prizes, it was stakes.

"What do you suggest?"

Applejack tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Week on the farm?"

"Surely you can do better than that."

Applejack smiled.

"I want your cloud house." she said, grinning like a gambler with a hoof full of aces.

Surprise. That was the only feeling that went through Rainbow's mind: Applejack, reliable and predictable, had managed to surprise her.

"Wh- what do you want with my house? You can't stand in it without falling through the floor!"

Applejack shrugged.

"Ah can give it to Applebloom: put up some wooden planks she won't fall through, and have her little Crusader headquarters floatin' above the farm. Plus, I really just want to have it as a trophy or something." she said. She leaned in slightly. She knew she had Rainbow in her grasp. "Plus, ya'll can always make a new one, right?"

Rainbow Dash frowned. Her house was special: it had been her home for years, and it had special, sentimental value that couldn't be replaced by just any old structure she made. She didn't like the idea of giving it up... but that was what made the idea fun. Rainbow loved taking risks, and she knew Applejack knew she loved taking risks.

She was being played like a zither... but it was time to turn the tables.

"If I win, I get your hat."

Rainbow knew she had drawn blood. Applejack's hoof rose to her hat, and a flash of fear went across her face. But Rainbow knew she wouldn't back down: an Apple never backed down. They were as stubborn as an old tree, so they said.

"If you lose, you can always get yourself a new one."

Applejack gave in.

"You got yourself a deal, partner." Applejack eventually said. Rainbow Dash grinned and got to her hooves. They bumped hooves briefly, and Rainbow Dash felt herself become electrified. She chuckled: she had missed this feeling.

"So... what have you come up with? Is it exiting? Dangerous?"

Applejack shrugged.

"I don't know... I just know that the others will be testing both of us to our limits." she said. Rainbow smirked. There was no way the girls could come up with anything so challenging that Rainbow Dash herself couldn't handle it.

"I think I can take it."

Applejack snorted.

"Not like that ya'll can't." she said, gesturing at Rainbow's tired looking eyes and slumped shoulders. "You haven't worked or moved in a week, have you?"

Rainbow flexed her muscles, testing to see if they were still as strong as ever... and to her dismay, she found Applejack had a point. Her muscles felt weaker, and a quick check confirmed that some of them had been replaced by flab... nothing too serious, but a nightmare for an athlete like her. She had been lying down for too long, she'd gotten fatter, and slower. Softer. It was going to be tough to get back in shape, she thought, maybe too tough.

Applejack grinned. The trap had been sprung, and like a tarantula in the desert, Applejack was going to drag Rainbow down to her doom.

"I hope ya'll will be ready by tomorrow... I have chores. Got to keep the farm running, see, Sun Season or no." she said. She turned and left, leaving Rainbow Dash alone on the hill, gritting her teeth.

As Applejack disappeared into the orchard, hidden in the shadows of the trees, she turned back, silently observing what secret reaction her friend had. She followed a flash of blue as it rose into the sky, the recognizable rainbow trail following it wherever it went. From the safety of the apple trees, Applejack beamed.

"That's more like it."

Chapter Two: Fluttershy's Challenge

And so, the next morning, early, only a few minutes after the sun began to rise above Equestria, Rainbow Dash awoke. She quickly pounded her hooves on the ground, pummelling them to life, warming up all her muscles at once. She knew the stakes, and she wasn't going to lose: there was just no way she could live down the shame of having to give up her house to Applejack, and besides: she figured she'd look really nice in a hat. Rainbow Dash stopped only to throw a few lettuce leaves into Tank's bowl before charging off into the open skies, ready for anything.

The borders of the Everfree were quiet, to say the least. Aside from sporadic birdsong, there was very little sound at all to be heard. The almost-silence made the sharp noise of the four ponies chatting impossible to miss. Rainbow glided down from the skies, circling them once, twice, three times as she approached them. They were easy to spot, too: yellow, white, purple, and above all, pink, did not blend in well amongst the green and brown of the surrounding countryside. Rainbow landed gracefully, although less powerfully than she usually would, to her growing concern, and trotted towards them. As she approached, she suddenly felt happier with herself.

Although she hadn't given them much thought as she had been lounging around her home, in fact, barely even thinking at all, she felt better for seeing them.

"Hey there! I hear you've all got some challenge for me." she shouted as she closed the gap between them. Everypony trotted towards her, crowding her as they smiled, bounced, and greeted their friend as she was returned to them.

"I think it would be more accurate to say that Fluttershy has a challenge for you." Rarity answered. Pinkie nodded, grabbing the pony in question, and practically shoving Fluttershy into Rainbow's face.

"Yes she did! And it's really good! Tell her, Fluttershy!" she ordered. Fluttershy coughed nervously.

"Well, um... I got Angel Bunny to tell the other rabbits to scatter across Ponyville..."

Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.

"So... herding?"

Twilight tilted her head to the side.

"Well, more like animal hide and seek." she said. "They're not going to hide in groups or anything, but you will have to catch them."

Rainbow chuckled.

"This sounds easy... what's the time limit?" she asked.

"Oh, no time limit. You can take as long as you want." Fluttershy explained, as if trying to reassure Rainbow as to the level of difficulty involved. Rainbow was not going to be satisfied with an easy task, however.

"What? C'mon!"

"But ya'll will have to do it faster than me, though... else I win." came Applejack's voice. Rainbow Dash turned around abruptly to face her opponent.

Applejack stood confidently a few yards off, arriving unnoticed as Rainbow was occupied talking to the others. She flexed her shoulders: they looked as powerfully muscular as ever, as did the rest of her. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.

"Applejack... I should have guessed you'd ask for herding." she said, smirking.

"Hide and seek." Twilight corrected. Applejack held up her hooves innocently.

"Hey! I didn't choose the challenges... they did. I'm just playing the hoof I'm given, partner." she replied. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Okay... well, what makes this any different from the Iron Pony competition? If I remember correctly, I won that."

Applejack narrowed her eyes.

"I would say that it's up for debate, but what makes this different is what the challenges will be. Right, gal's?"

The other four nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm sure you'll find my challenge particularly interesting." Rarity commented boastfully. Pinkie bounced up and down behind her.

"Mine too!"

As the others prepared a scoreboard, Rainbow Dash decided it was time to taunt Applejack a little.

"Well... I hope you're ready to lose your hat, AJ."

Applejack smirked.

"Oh, trust me... I ain't."

There were a few ponies who could claim to be athletes in Ponyville... a strangely sports oriented town for it's size, and every tribe of pony participated. Pegasi would fly, unicorns practised archery, and even earth ponies, without wings or magic, ran, rowed, jumped and vaulted, just like everypony else. But there were only two athletes that stood out over all the rest: and one of them was Applejack.

Applejack was unique in that sport wasn't her primary goal in life: she simply adopted the activities as her own, a product of her rather physical lifestyle. But she took to them like a fish took to water, and very few ponies could even hope to keep up with her. She was stronger than Big Macintosh, faster than Fluttershy, even when she afraid, and more agile than a snake dipped in oil.

As for her training? Well, she didn't train. She worked: and she worked hard. Where most ponies did what they did for fun, Applejack did because she had to, and that made her tougher than anypony around.

Anypony betting on the outcome of the challenge would have gladly thrown their money on Applejack. The only problem was that the only pony who could possibly claim to be even better than her, was the mare she was competing against.

Applejack darted around Sugarcube corner, two rabbits clenched in her teeth by the scruff of their necks. She was already panting, although most ponies would be lying on the ground by now, unable to move, but Applejack wasn't most ponies. Neither was Rainbow Dash, however.

Applejack looked up at the sky, spotting the lightning fast pegasus easily. She was circling periodically around the perimeter of the town and doing her best to spot them from above. Applejack could have sworn she saw eagles perform similar motions, but she had no idea where Rainbow might have learned such a predatory technique. It was rather out of character.

But then again, so was lounging around doing nothing all day, and Rainbow Dash was managing to do that just fine. The last time Sun Season had come, it had taken months of training to get Rainbow fit again. It had practically set her ambitions back by a whole year.

Applejack grinned. Not this time, thanks to her.

A flicker of movement passed through her peripheral vision: a quick check revealed it wasn't a pony, but indeed one of the rabbits she had been looking for. She scooped it up as quick as a flash, but as she tried to continue her search, she stumbled.

All the rabbits she held in her teeth were squirming, which made the task of carrying them difficult indeed. As Applejack tried her best to come up with a solution, she eyed a wicker basket, lying by a doorstep, and instinctively, without thinking, she tossed the rabbits inside and carried the basket with her, accompanied by the shocked exclamations of the owner, demanding she return the item. Normally, she'd have put it back down on the spot, but her hat was at stake.

She looked up: the comforting brim of her hat providing the same relaxing shade it had for years. She loved her hat dearly. She wondered, not for the first time, why she had volunteered her hat as a stake.

"The things I do for you, Rainbow..." she muttered, before, rounding a small bush, she spotted another rabbit. She grit her teeth, and gave chase.

Rainbow Dash wasn't bothering holding all the rabbits at once: instead she just flew them back to Fluttershy, one by one. She was flying so fast it looked like she was on the verge of breaking the sound barrier. To any casual onlooker, she'd have appeared to be a mare at the peak of her physical condition.

They would be wrong: Rainbow Dash felt clumsy and heavy as she almost clipped a rooftop, failing to ascend fast enough. She growled. At this rate, she might even fall, or worse, fall behind.

Of course, there wasn't that much of a risk she'd fail: after all, she had the sky, and from here, it was easy to pick out plenty of rabbits, especially the ones who thought they were safe by hiding out on the rooftops. She grinned, spotting another, her seventh. Rabbits really weren't masters of camouflage, especially in a village who's buildings were often coloured pink or yellow.

This time, on her way back to Fluttershy's cottage, she saw Applejack cantering back as well. Rainbow Dash soared over her head, covering her in an instantaneous shadow, causing Applejack to glance up and see her rival make her way to the other four mares.

Rainbow Dash landed heavily on the grass, sliding a good yard before coming to a stop. She tossed the rabbit to Fluttershy, which she then let bounce off into the nearby foliage. Twilight ran her hoof over a colourful, glowing, crystal ball.

"Well, that's it!" she declared. "You don't have to go, Rainbow Dash. The challenge is over: all the rabbits have been found."

Rainbow Dash cackled, and leaned against the fence, glad this was over. She looked at her score: seven to zero. She knew Applejack would be carrying them all back at once, of course, so her score would rise quickly, but still... seven was a good number, in her opinion, and would be tough to beat.

Applejack cantered up to them, and dropped the basket, filled with rabbits, at Fluttershy's feet. Then she collapsed, breathing heavily.

"Re-.... remind me to return that... to miss Flower Pot." she wheezed. Rainbow Dash leaned over Applejack.

"Hey there. You must get some good shade, from that hat." she commented. Applejack made no reply.

Fluttershy trotted to Rainbow, smiling.

"Wow! You found seven of them in half an hour! That's really nice... it takes me hours to round them all up."

Rainbow Dash shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, I am faster than most ponies." she boasted. Rarity was smirking as she approached the three mares.

"Yes... too bad we let loose fifteen rabbits." she said. Rainbow Dash paused, quickly doing the maths in her head... and came one rabbit short. Applejack broke into a grin.

"I win?"

"You win this round!" Rarity declared. "I knew you could do it!"

"Yay!" Pinkie exclaimed, balancing herself on one of the fence posts, practically bombing Applejack with confetti. Some of it almost choked her. Applejack coughed furiously.

Rainbow Dash sat down heavily as her face fell in disappointment.

"I... lost?"

I lost.

Chapter Three: Intermission

Her name is Applejack: her parents came up with it, you see, after their love for apples, and their reliance on the farm to survive. It was a strong name, a reliable name... of course, it was also meant for a stallion, but nopony could really predict how that particular event would go down. Life is full of surprises like that.

Right now, she's sitting down, a glass of juice in hoof as she listens to Rarity describe how much effort she put into her next challenge. She's only half listening: her thoughts keep on going back to Rainbow's defeated face as she slunk off home. Applejack was a winner: she participated in many events, and did her best every single time. That sort of effort resulted in her seeing the Face more than once.

Usually, she was more than happy to inflict the Face on other ponies... it was part of competing, after all. But when it was Rainbow Dash, well, it became harder.

"Applejack? Applejack, are you still there?"

Rainbow Dash was probably... no, she was definitely the only mare who tried harder at everything than Applejack. She put more of her hopes and dreams into what she did than Applejack could. If Applejack failed at something, well, she could simply work some more on her orchard, and that would be that, and that was that. But Rainbow Dash-

"Hello? Equestria to Applejack?"

"Huh?"

Rarity was waving her hoof in front of her eyes, amused. Once Applejack was definitely awake once again, she leaned back into her divan.

"Was Fluttershy's test a bit difficult for you?" she asked. Applejack shrugged.

"No, 'I'm over that... I was just thinkin' about Rainbow."

Rarity raised her eyebrow.

"About..."

"Stuff. Y'know?"

Rarity knew.

"Beating Rainbow will just make her want to win more... and that's what you wanted, right?" Rarity asked. She took a sip from her drink as Applejack swirled her own around in it's glass. "Right?"

"Hmm? Yeah... that was the plan."

"I think it's working quite well, too... I thought for a minute that it was a silly notion, but that mare really does thrive on activities like these. You've almost gotten her back in her zone."

"Yeah... that's great."

"And the other girls were really happy to see her again, myself included. I do miss her a lot during the holidays."

Applejack nodded slowly. Rarity sighed and put down her glass.

"You know, for the element of honesty, you seem to have a very hard time expressing yourself, Applejack."

Applejack gave Rarity a half smile.

"So I'm told." she replied. She finished off her drink in one, quick gulp. "Ah get the feeling I don't need to tell you anyhow, though, right?"

"Not at all. You hide secrets about as well as Twilight hides her 'fashion' magazines." Rarity said, chuckling at the memory. Now, that had been a very awkward moment indeed.

Applejack laughed at the thought. She put the glass down on the table, and with a tip of her hat trotted to the door.

"Well, on that cheerful note, I'm going home to bed. I'm plum tuckered out." she said. She didn't look back as she eyed the darkness beyond the window.

"Well, do try to communicate more... we're all here for you, after all."

The doorbell rang once, as the door opened, then twice, as it closed shut with a bang. She sighed.

"I have to get things ready for tomorrow." she said, getting to her hooves.

Applejack let the night wash over her as she walked through the empty streets of Ponyville, savouring the solitude. Usually, she would try to replace the solitude with a friend or family member, but now and then... when she was perfectly alone... she could picture herself walking alongside a mare as blue as the sky and as stubborn as an old tree.

Sometimes, she liked being alone, because sometimes, even when she was surrounded by friends and family, she felt even more lonely than she did now, as if she were stranded in the middle of a crowd like an island at sea.

Chapter Four: Rarity's Challenge

Eyes open, sheet thrown into the air. Rainbow Dash was flying in less than a second after waking up, already ploughing through the skies. She wasn't angry per-se, but she wasn't quite happy either: she hated losing, and she knew, she just knew it was because she had slacked off her training. Sometimes, she hated being lazy, although those feelings came most often after the fact.

Who's house was she going to today? Ah, of course. Rarity: she had been boasting about it more than enough after Applejack had been given a pat on the back for scooping up the most rabbits.

Rainbow Dash swerved towards the Carousel Boutique, turning sharply around it's central tower... thing. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure what it was called exactly, and didn't really care. She threw herself through the door with a loud 'whoosh', and then took a look around to see who was already there.

Apparently it was just Rarity. Of course, she had an unfair advantage: she lived there.

"Rainbow Dash, you're here early?" she asked. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Not much of a question, Rares." she commented. Rarity chuckled. She pranced around a large table, covered with a light, opaque cloth, hiding whatever uneven items were underneath. Rainbow tried peeking underneath, but her hoof was slapped away by Rarity in a businesslike manner.

"No! No looking! We're going to wait for everypony to get here." she said. She pointed towards one of her fainting couches. "If you want to nap, or do whatever it is you do when you're not working, go do it over there. I'll go and make some tea."

Rainbow Dash frowned.

"Hey, I do lots of stuff when I'm off work! I fly, I practice, I read..."

Rarity snorted.

"Oh, yes, we all saw how active you've been this past week. Just sit down, don't touch anything, and wait for your tea."

Rainbow Dash winced, just a little, at that last comment: she knew she hadn't been as busy as she used to be, but, well, it was hard when there was nothing going on. Thank Celestia this whole challenge business came up.

Come to think of it, why did Applejack challenge her all of a sudden?

The doorbell rang. Rainbow Dash snapped her head around to face Twilight, punctual as usual, and as surprised as Rarity to see Rainbow Dash up early too.

"Wow. When you're motivated, nothing stops you, huh?" Twilight asked. Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

"What's with everypony talking about my motivation all of a sudden? If I want to lounge around, I can! I'm a grown mare, for Celestia's sake!"

Twilight backed off a little, her hooves thrown up in surrender.

"Okay! I wasn't... trying to be rude." she said, before trotting off to find Rarity. "Jeez, what did Rarity tell her?"

Rainbow Dash sat down, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. She had come here to crush Applejack to a pulp, not wait around all day... it was getting on her nerves.

Rarity and Twilight re-entered the room, this time with a pot of tea. They each had a glass, and Twilight and Rarity conversed as Rainbow Dash looked out the window, waiting anxiously for the other three. After half an hour of gruelling waiting, everypony was there, and everypony was exited. Rainbow Dash finally let out her breath and flew around the room.

"Great! Now we can finally get started!" she exclaimed. Applejack, who had arrived just before Fluttershy, adjusted her hat.

"I agree. Rarity... what do you have in store for us?"

All eyes were on Rarity as she threw the sheet off the table dramatically, revealing, to everypony's surprise, a wide variety of tools. All of them artistic. There were brushes, wide and thin, brittle and soft, pencils both dark and light, paints, inks, pastels and crayons, paper and clay, canvasses and sprinkles. Rarity grinned.

"You two are going to have an art-off!" she declared.

Rainbow gaped.

"Uh... I thought these were going to be... well, physical challenges?" she asked. Rarity chuckled.

"Nonsense... who told you that? Us four are going to be the judges, and we'll decide who wins based on skill, originality, etcetera, etcetera."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all squealed in delight: for a change, this was going to be something they could really get invested in. As much as they enjoyed racing and lifting and all things physical, they were looking forward to seeing who, out of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, could produce something truly beautiful.

Rainbow Dash was not convinced. Applejack just smirked.

"I think ya'll don't often do this sort of thing every day, huh?" Applejack said. Rarity strode between the two.

"Now, I understand that I don't have everything here in my boutique... although I do consider myself very well stocked. But if you want to get anything from your homes, or even the art store down the street, feel free."

Rainbow Dash sighed, then turned to Applejack.

"Well... sorry, AJ, but you're going down."

Applejack picked up one of the pencils and twirled it around her hoof. "Thanks for the warnin', sugarcube, but Ah fancy mahself a bit of a sketch artist." she replied, before tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Ah just need to figure out what to draw..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged and turned to Rarity.

"Well... whatever. Rares, I need to get some materials from my house... mind if I head there now?" she asked. Rarity nodded.

"Of course. You have until... say, three in the afternoon."

Rainbow grinned.

"Okay! Thanks."

"No deadline extensions though!"

"Okay, okay!"

Rainbow Dash was working outside, playing around with whatever things she had brought back from her home. Applejack sighed as she stared at her vibrant mane, the yellow sun dripping through her mane like honey, and her perfect, sky blue coat...

Whilst she couldn't think of anything to draw.

With a grunt, she hit her head on the table, as if the wood could force an idea into her head. It turned out that wood had many fascinating properties, but thought transmission was not one of them. She almost missed the soft tap on her shoulder. She looked around and saw none other than Rarity, who was leaning in conspiratorially.

"Applejack... I know that, as a judge, it's not my place to interfere... but if I might suggest you choosing to draw whatever it is you think is most beautiful, and that'll be a sure place to start."

Applejack frowned.

"The orchard at sunrise?"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "If that's the most gorgeous, most mind-numbingly perfect thing you can think of... then certainly, go ahead." she said, and then trotted off to see how Rainbow Dash was faring. All Applejack heard, before the door closed, was:

"Oh, by Celestia's bountiful hair products, that's absolutely divine!"

The door closed loudly. Applejack was alone with Fluttershy, and after failing to figure out what it was Rarity had meant, she continued staring out the window. With a blue flash, Rainbow Dash appeared in front of the window, carrying a handful of white clay in her hooves. Applejack smiled as inspiration hit her.

Both ponies were finished before three o'clock, so the challenge stopped. Rainbow Dash threw the cover Rarity had used to hide the table over her creation, and carefully moved it inside. Rarity was helping her stabilize it, as it was surprisingly heavy and delicate.

"Oh, you simply must let me keep it in the store! It'll be absolutely marvellous!" she said. Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Yeah, sure... I don't have enough space at home anyway." she said. "I'll need to make extra room for my hat rack."

Twilight was quite impressed too, although she wasn't nearly as vocal about it as Rarity. When everypony was inside, they placed the object down, and everypony gathered around to see what Rainbow had made.

"I'm sorry, AJ... but this is actually something I used to do a lot." she said, as she unveiled a magnificent sculpture, made entirely out of clouds. It represented a pony, a pegasus in flight, streamlined to give the aspect of speed and simplified to remove all features. The whole thing was a masterpiece of art: smoother than marble and twice as pristine. Applejack gaped.

"Oh..."

Pinkie's eyes seemed to widen beyond the normal limits of pony physiology. "Oh my gosh! What is it?"

Rainbow shrugged.

"It started out as a Wonderbolt, but I guess I made it into something more like an embodiment of speed. I dunno'. I just thought it looked cool."

After a long moment of admiring Rainbow Dash's sculpture, everypony turned towards Applejack. Applejack swallowed nervously.

"I, uh, drew a picture."

Everypony was silent as Applejack showed the ponies assembled what she had drawn. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"The shading's a bit off..."

"Um, well... the hooves are-" Fluttershy began, but before either could continue condemning the piece, Rarity stopped both of them.

"Well, well... commenting on the technique first instead of the subject. Have you never appraised art before?" she asked, appalled. She pointed at the picture. Rainbow Dash looked at it from above, not wanting to push her friends out of the way, even if she was curious.

It was a picture of her. She was flying, and she looked as graceful as could be: there was no colour, but that didn't make it any less special. Rainbow looked at Applejack, who was shifting nervously on the spot.

She had drawn her as if she were beautiful, Rainbow realized with a small intake of breath. Rainbow landed, suddenly feeling as awkward as Applejack did, if not more.

"We'll give our votes in the kitchen. Girls, forward march!" Rarity declared, and the four ponies left Applejack and Rainbow alone. Rainbow Dash coughed, breaking the silence.

"Nice picture." she attempted, trying desperately to ease the atmosphere. Applejack chuckled.

"I, uh, figured I wanted to draw something flyin'." she lied. Rainbow nodded.

"Well, I do fly." she replied helpfully.

The silence endured until Applejack spoke again.

"Nice sculpture." she said.

"Yes, it was."

The door to the kitchen opened again.

"Well, we've made our decision. Rainbow Dash wins." Rarity said. "With a vote of three to one."

Applejack sighed. She had to admit, she hadn't expected her sketch to win... not against a sculpture made of clouds. Rarity looked over at Applejack. It was obvious for all to see that it had been Rarity who was the only one to vote for Applejack's simple drawing, despite it not being nearly as perfected as Rainbow Dash's own sculpture.

Rainbow forgot all the previous awkwardness in an instant and flew up into the sky.

"Aw, yeah! Hope you enjoy your hat whilst you had it, Apples!" she shouted. Applejack remembered herself quickly, falling back into the role of the competitive rival.

"Well, ya'll just better head home to your fancy house whilst it's still yours." she retorted. Rainbow Dash chuckled, letting herself be lost in the competition once again.

Chapter Five: Six days ago, somewhere in Ponyville

Six days ago

Somewhere in Ponyville

Applejack flicked her mane out of her eyes as she dragged the cart, the wheels kicking a cloud of dust into the air, through the streets of Ponyville, the cobblestones dying and cracking as the sun, unrelenting, drew out all the moisture over the course of the few days that had passed in the Sun Season: a time of year when, due to frequent storms and rain showers in summer, Celestia ordered no rain or cloud be sent across the land, so that the water would have time to flow out into the rivers and the sea.

The Apple Family knew this time as the Lazy Days. Nothing much changed during the two weeks of sun, so they would often take time off, get up later, and spend time with their friends.

It was too bad that the friend Applejack wanted most took the idea of Lazy Days far too seriously: there would be no flash of colour across the yellowing sky, not for another two weeks until the end of the holiday. Applejack sighed: she had come to terms with her feelings for the mare a long time ago. After a while, when the last thing you think about before going to sleep is somepony else's face, you eventually figure out you may have a crush. And as the saying went, absence only made the heart grow fonder, and Applejack hadn't seen her friend in days.

She stopped: she had reached the town square. Wiping her brow, she kicked out a small stand, folded neatly into the side of the cart.

"Apples for sale!" she shouted, knowing full well that by now, everypony knew that she would be there, right on schedule, just like she was every other day.

She let herself relax as the slow trickle of customers earned her a steady flow of bits. Her hat shifted down over her eyes over time, darkening her vision in such a way that she didn't see Rarity arrive.

"Applejack! How nice to see you!" she greeted. Applejack, startled, immediately tilted her hat right back up, accidentally blinding herself with the light of the sun. Once her vision had cleared up, and she recognized the pristine white mare, she smiled.

"Oh! Hi, Rarity."

"Enjoying Sun Season?"

Applejack grinned: of course she was.

"Yup! Gives me more time to spend with my family. You?"

Rarity chuckled.

"Well, I work in the shade, so I still have to hold regular hours. But it's nice to be able to roll out my swimwear line for a change: mostly ponies only come looking for a new tie, or whatnot." she explained. "I was thinking, speaking of swimwear, if you would like to join us and the other girls as we head out to the lake? Drown our sorrows, so to speak."

Applejack pondered briefly.

"Well, of course, no actual drowning should happen, ha ha, I hope." Rarity added clumsily, mistaking her hesitation for dislike of the idea. Applejack elected to ignore her friend's forced humour.

"Well, I certainly won't say no to a swim." she said, realizing that since the girls would be going, that implied Rainbow Dash would be there, too. She grinned. No way she could refuse, especially when there was a chance of seeing her.

Rarity smiled, victorious.

"Excellent. Well, we were going tomorrow, so if you join the four of us there after lunch, that would be marvellous, dear."

Applejack memorized the time quickly... before realizing Rarity's exact words.

"Four of you?"

Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, you know how Rainbow Dash gets during Sun Season... she does nothing but sleep all day and all night, and it would take a dragon attack to get her to even open one eyelid... unless they were offering food, of course."

Applejack frowned: she did, indeed, know all about Rainbow Dash. For somepony that thrived on activity, she certainly did let herself fall into apathy easily enough.

"Ya'll sure you can't convince her to get moving?" Applejack asked. Rarity shook her head.

"If a gorgeous day at the lake won't convince her, I'm afraid I'm at a loss for ideas."

Applejack leaned back against her cart, thinking furiously. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to come up with an idea: there was no mare in Ponyville, maybe even all of Equestria, who knew Rainbow Dash better than Applejack. And she knew exactly the sort of thing that would get Rainbow Dash moving: but it wasn't a day at the lake.

"Rarity... what would you say to rounding the girls up? I think I might have a way to get Rainbow out and amongst the livin' again." Applejack said. Rarity raised her eyebrow.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, it's not what I have in mind... I think it'll be much more interesting if I let you and the others handle that part. Make the challenge as juicy as possible." Applejack replied. Rarity leaned in conspiratorially.

"Challenges? Now there's something I didn't think of..."

Applejack nodded.

"So? Can ya'll round 'em up?"

Rarity shook her head.

"Oh, goodness no! Fluttershy's busy and Twilight is doing some report... thing. We'll just have to ask them at the lake tomorrow."

Applejack nodded.

"Oh! Yeah, sure."

Rarity rubbed her chin. "Well... I hope you'll be able to convince her to give it a shot. My powers of persuasion fall horribly short when dealing with that mare."

"I can handle it."

Applejack smiled. It had been a long wait since Sun Season had begun, but now, if her plan worked, she'd be able to see her again, and sooner than ever. It would be perfect.

Chapter Six: Twilight's Challenge

It was a Tuesday.

Twilight often viewed, or at least, used to, Tuesday as being the worst of all the days. It was just after Monday, where you were still full of energy from the weekend, but before Wednesday, where you've fully gotten into the swing of things, and are comfortably in your routine. There wasn't even any competition with Thursdays and Fridays, where the end was in sight.

Twilight was determined to enjoy this Tuesday, however. She knew exactly what she was going to have Rainbow Dash and Applejack do, and there wouldn't be any need for judges: there would be only one right answer, and a very distinct scoring system. It would be algorithmic, not artistic. Mental, not physical. It was exactly the sort of thing Twilight was good at, and that was why she had picked it.

That was, after all, the point.

"You really think they'll enjoy this test you've come up with?" Spike asked. He was very dubious: he thought they should have done, Celestia forbid, an obstacle course using magic. Twilight had been quick to shoot that idea down.

"They seemed to enjoy the art competition Rarity came up with... they should be able to handle a few mathematical and physics questions." Twilight said, confident as ever that her way was, when it came to matters of the mind, the best way. Spike groaned, shrugged in defeat, and left. He didn't particularly care anyway: he'd just go around with punch and cookies when everything ended in a letter to the Princess. That was what he did: put out the fires Twilight made. That and do the dishes.

The door opened: it had to be one of her guests. The library, whilst well stocked, didn't get a lot of visitors. Apparently Ponyville was not a throbbing centre of reading. A pity, but it was their loss.

As the morning went on, the door opened and closed four more times before the room was full of ponies. Now tied, it was harder for everypony to figure out who out of Rainbow Dash and Applejack were going to win their competition: Rarity and Applejack's grand scheme to get Rainbow Dash active and energetic again during the Sun Season Holiday.

The atmosphere in the room was slightly off, however: even Twilight, not at all paying attention to the moods of her friends, far too occupied double checking her papers determined to make this event perfect, could sense that the make-up of the room was wrong: Rarity was watching Applejack in silence, and Rainbow and Applejack were on opposite sides of the library. Twilight narrowed her eyes and smiled: it was nothing a little testing wouldn't solve.

Rainbow Dash couldn't stop thinking about the picture, and she hadn't stopped thinking about it all evening. Every time she thought about Applejack, her mind came up blank: she didn't know for sure whether she had just drawn a pretty sketch of her, or whether it meant something more. Normally she wouldn't have thought twice about the occurence, but, for Applejack's sake, she took it seriously. Applejack's behaviour was speaking for itself, however. Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes. What if she was wrong?

She was awoken from her internal struggle by Twilight.

"Okay, everypony! I have devised a series of short, simple questions on a diverse range of mathematical techniques, and some physical applications." she said, loudly, capturing the attention of everypony. Rainbow Dash groaned even more, her problems forgotten in the wake of mathematical destruction.

"Augh! More thinky stuff? Can't we have an obstacle course made of magic?"

Twilight made a point of not noticing Spike's glare.

"Yes! More thinky stuff." she said, and slammed the papers and books heavily onto the table. Rainbow Dash shrugged in resignation and picked up some of the papers, reading them through, checking the contents.

"I think I can remember some of this stuff from way back." she muttered, unenthusiastic. Applejack chuckled.

"It can't be that hard, huh? Just countin' coppers is what Big Mac' says." she commented as she, too, read through the papers. After a minute, her face fell. "The hay's a matrix?"

"It's a series of equations." Rainbow said as she browsed the questions, as if that would explain everything. Spike put his head in his claws: he could already see in his mind's eye how this would turn out. To Twilight, the outcome of the event was still a mystery.

"Okay, is everypony ready?" she asked. Applejack swallowed nervously.

"Uh, wait a sec... I just need t'get mah brain in gear." she said.

"I'm ready whenever." Rainbow Dash declared, sitting down, flicking her pencil up and down the table.

It was Pinkie who filled in the silence as Applejack worked her brain as hard as she could. She leapt up, a large plate covered in delicious treats piled up like a pyramid in hoof.

"Anypony want some baked goodies?" she asked. Fluttershy and Rarity both nodded: the others were too occupied by what they were about to do.

Spike shook his head: Twilight had made the mistake in doing something that would leave out Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie. He sighed: she still had a fair bit to learn, but in all fairness, it was an easy blunder to make. And anyway, the three would occupy themselves quite happily on their own.

"Mmf! They're delicious, Pinkie." Rarity declared, already helping herself to a second, despite knowing that they would go straight to her flanks. "What do you put in them?"

Pinkie grinned.

"The secret ingredient is love! And sprinkles!"

"Applejack, are you ready?" Twilight asked.

Applejack was breathing rather heavily now: she had a pretty good idea of her mathematical ability, and it wasn't optimistic.

"I guess..."

"Then... begin!"

Rainbow Dash lazily flicked the page over and began scribbling. Applejack took a look at the question herself, and once again found herself wondering what a series of equations was. Multiplying numbers was easy... she knew she could do that. She could do divisions, too... all the sort of skills you needed to keep track of the farm's money.

This wasn't a number though... it was lots of numbers arranged in a square. What in Celestia's name did that mean?

Applejack decided she'd come back to that question later. After looking through the next question, she held up her hoof.

"Yes, Applejack?"

"Ya'll made some sort of mistake here... you put the letter 'i' in there, but, well, 'i' ain't a number."

Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack's flank.

"It means the square root of minus one." she whispered. Somehow, that didn't make things any clearer to Applejack, who grunted in annoyance as she skipped the question. Rainbow Dash blinked as she gathered some of the nerve she needed to break the silence.

"So, um, about that picture?"

Applejack spluttered. The last thing she needed right then was Rainbow reminding her of that. She clenched her hoof so hard that the pencil tip snapped.

Spike continued looking on in passive horror as Applejack's face turned from confusion, to despair, as she could neither work out the question, nor what to say to Rainbow Dash, who was already on the second page whilst she glanced anxiously at Applejack.

Both problems were too much for Applejack.

Rainbow Dash flicked over another page: her dirty hoofwriting was all over the place, but at least the page was filled in. She sighed.

"Jeez, I hate egghead stuff." Rainbow muttered.

Applejack was beginning to think they didn't hate it for quite the same reasons. Rainbow Dash got flicked in the back of the head.

"This 'egghead stuff' is very important, you know!" she retorted.

"But... if it's so great, why haven't I seen any of this before?" Applejack asked, suddenly furious. Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight, then over at Applejack, and put down her pen.

"Hey, Twi, can we call it a day? I'm not really in the mood to do this right now." she said.

Applejack saw Rainbow Dash giving up as pity.

Twilight saw it as if her efforts weren't being appreciated.

Neither mare was very happy.

"I worked all night on those!" Twilight exclaimed. "You haven't even worked for five minutes!"

Applejack pushed her chair back, getting ready to leave.

"Well, Rainbow's already half-way through, so I guess that's it." she muttered. "Rainbow wins."

Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of Applejack's face as she swiftly made her way out of the library. Rainbow Dash hesitated when she recognized, to her dismay, the Face.

"AJ-"

"See ya'll tomorrow." she said. The door opened.

The door closed.

The entire room was silent.

"Jeez, you had to go and make her feel stupid, huh?" Rainbow asked, annoyed. "Now I'll never know what the hay that picture was all about."

Twilight looked hurt. She was hurt. The last thing she had wanted was to injure one of her friends, and getting shouted at by another was a close second.

"Hey, that's not fair." Spike declared. "What else would you have wanted her to do? I thought the point was to make you all try different things."

The room didn't say a word.

"It's not her fault that this turned out like that... even if it was rather predictable." Spike added. He turned to go to the kitchen. "I'll go get the punch and cookies... you five have fun on your own."

Winning never really hurt this much. Rainbow was a very good winner, and she knew what it took to make a victory worthwhile.

The first step was it had to be a challenge. The second was it had to be fair... at least a little.

The third was that it didn't hurt anypony involved.

Rainbow Dash knew she had bent those rules in the past... and probably would later on, knowing her. But that was when she got caught up in things, and that was different. That was why physical stuff was fun. You did your best and that was it: your best. You'd get better later.

She hadn't meant to see the Face today. In fact, she thought she'd never have seen the Face on Applejack, ever. She didn't seem the type to wear the Face that much.

Admittedly, two wins in a row was pretty hard to live down, especially when they challenged mental attributes instead of physical ones: Rainbow Dash was hotheaded and didn't like to plan things in advance, so she knew what it was like to be called stupid. It wasn't fun.

So she wasn't at all surprised that Applejack had left: but all she could think about the whole time she watched her slam the library door behind her was the drawing of her she had seen the day before.

There were some pictures you couldn't get out of your head: that was one of them.

As Spike fetched the punch, Rainbow Dash leant back, and began to ponder.

Rainbow needed to figure out what Applejack was thinking, and perhaps more importantly, what Rainbow would do if she was right.

Chapter Seven: Conversations with a Reptile

"I've done a heck of a lot of things to get to where I am. I've run, I've flown, I've fought to my last breath. Hay, I've even solved a third order square matrix without breaking a sweat... I've done a lot of things I'm proud of, but I get the feeling I'm not done yet. Which brings me to the here and now... brings me to you. There are a lot of ponies I can trust, but right now, I need you to help me. What do I do?

I know where I stand, now, at least. I've figured out what she was doing, and why, what the picture was, and why she drew it. She's never been been that open about her feelings, ever... so I guess drawing them was the only way to get that to work. Sun must be getting to her. I think it's also getting to me, too.

Stupid picture, huh?

...

Are you even listening to me? I'm not finished talking, you know.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do just yet, but I think I know how I feel. I think that, if I'm right about everything, of course, that the sort of pony who thinks what I think they think, is the sort of pony I... Crud, nevermind. I'm thinking too much. Let me tell you what I have to do instead.

Still got one challenge left, and I don't know if I can handle it. Too much distracting me right now, and that's no way to win. So: step one, deal with Applejack. Got that?

Could you put that leaf down, it's distracting me.

Okay, next step: finish this whole mess. I'm pretty sure this was all some kind of plan, and I was the sucker who got played, but I don't leave things half done.

Time to stop this nonsense: I feel like I'm banging my head on every wall and making myself look a foal for no good reason. You know what it's like, don't you? Feeling like you're doing your best but never actually getting anywhere?

Right, Tank?"

Tank blinked. He tried lifting one of his feet in order to slowly plod towards Rainbow Dash, who was currently lying upside down, staring at the tortoise with big, magenta eyes. She sighed.

"Yeah. I figured you would. I'm just really, really confused right now. Story of my life."

Tank made a small motion with his head, and croaked. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, follow my heart? Is that the sort of thing you've been reading in Rarity's silly little novels? I told you, they'll make your brain go mushy."

Tank began to plod towards his dinner bowl.

"Yeah, keep walking. I'm going to go sort things out with Applejack: we've got stuff to talk about, and I need the air. I get the impression this conversation is fairly one-sided anyhow. Thanks for trying."

Rainbow Dash rolled back onto her hooves, and with a few wing-beats, she soared out her bedroom window. She glanced back at her wings and smiled: they moved back and forth like a well oiled machine.

"Heh. Back to normal." she commented. She flew over the town, the houses blanketed in night, and let herself cast a foreboding shadow on the town, silhouetted in the moon.

"Yeah... what my heart is telling me. What is my heart telling me? I guess I'd better figure that out before I get there. How do I feel about somepony thinking I'm special, and being prepared to do anything for me? Am I assuming too much?

Probably. This is probably going to end with Applejack telling me I'm being a stupid foal and I'll end up in tears back at my place for opening my heart to somepony I shouldn't have. Because I'm sensitive like that.

Maybe I'm right, though. I don't know.

One thing is for sure: the competition is a distraction right now. Better get that out of my head: either both me and Applejack come out of this winners, or we come out losers.

Jeez, I must be tired to give up on a competition like that."

Chapter Eight: Face to Face

Welcome down to Sweet Apple Acres: where the apples are red and the mares are pretty. Rainbow Dash paused as she reflected on the last part: in her opinion, 'mares' shouldn't have been plural. Still, a nice saying.

Well, technically, Granny Smith was a mare, but she was a little over the age limit to be Rainbow's definition of attractive. Same went for Applebloom, but the other way around, which pretty much left Applejack.

Rainbow Dash landed in the pitch black sea of night. The path ahead, only yards away from where she was standing, was illuminated by the golden light of a lantern. A sharp, acid sound permeated the entire field. Applejack was playing a harmonica: just a few notes at a time, and slowly, only ever stopping to reach down and pick up a glass of whiskey, taking her time as she slowly went through the bottle.

Rainbow Dash began walking, her hooves entering the forbidden light as she became visible. Applejack's eyes flickered upwards. She kept playing.

It couldn't have only been a few metres to the entrance to the house, but it felt like miles.

"Didn't know you played." Rainbow commented. Applejack continued staring Rainbow down as she slowly brought the harmonica away from her lips.

"Since I was a filly." she said, replacing the instrument with the whiskey. "Fancy a drop?" she asked, gesturing towards the bottle, and the spare glass next to it. She knew Rainbow would have arrived sooner or later. She found herself wishing that the moment the axe would drop could be stalled, just a little longer.

"Sure thing." Rainbow replied. She sat down next to Applejack, and poured herself a drink, just enough to get her through the evening, but not enough to get her drunk.

"Sorry I stormed out of there earlier." Applejack said.

"No worries. Complex numbers are stupid anyhow." Rainbow Dash replied.

"I just felt so... stupid, I guess."

"Hey, don't worry about it too much. Back when I was a filly, my parents made me memorize the whole methodology... did more harm than it did good, in fact, 'cause by the end of my education, I hated the sciences so much I ended up joining the weather team. Boy, were they surprised."

Applejack chuckled, and put down her glass.

The harmonica played some more. It took a few seconds for the sound to die out, as if it was echoing through the orchard.

"So, I figured out why you've gone and organized this whole mess." Rainbow said. Applejack raised her eyebrow. It was time to face the music.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Rainbow replied. She brought the burning liquid to her lips. If Applejack was going to slow the conversation down with that harmonica of hers, then Rainbow would sure as hay do the same with whiskey. "It's cause you love me."

Applejack shuddered slightly, her discomfort reaching new heights, and desperately tried smothering the conversation with her harmonica. Rainbow waited for her to breathe before talking again, not wanting to be interrupted.

"You wanted to get to spend some time with me so you arranged the whole thing, right?" she said. Secretly, she hoped she was right: she'd feel like such an idiot if she was wrong.

"Rainbow, you ain't figured nothin'."

Rainbow's heart sank in her chest whilst Applejack laughed half heartedly to herself. Eventually, she explained.

"I wanted you to stop lying on your fat flank and do somethin' productive." Applejack said. She paused. "It weren't just 'cause I love you."

Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Ha! Knew it."

"Did not."

"Did too! I was just worried I might be making an idiot out of myself. Y'know, in case I didn't know."

"I know."

Rainbow Dash leaned back, the wooden chair creaking as she shifted her weight.

"Well, I'm honoured... quite frankly, I didn't think you could put up with the very idea of being with somepony like me."

Somepony like her, Applejack thought. Determined, ambitious, fun, loyal, smart, not to mention beautiful? Perish the thought.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I... I don't talk about my feelings a lot," Applejack confessed. "I don't lie, but I don't... talk, neither."

Rainbow Dash found herself unable to reply. Applejack continued, regardless.

"And I do sometimes wonder... y'know, if it'd work out between us, but, well, my heart's set on you."

Rainbow Dash was glad that in the gloom and poor light, Applejack would likely have never noticed that she had began to blush. She tried covering up her awkwardness by drowning it in whiskey, but was painfully aware that even whiskey might not help her by now. Applejack was good at reading her: too good, in fact.

"Y- you should talk about your feelings more. It's not good to b-bottle things up." Rainbow said, attempting to fill the horrible absence of sound that permeated the farm.

It only lasted for a second.

"So... what do you think?" Applejack asked, her voice full of tentative hope.

Rainbow scrutinized Applejacks face: there was a mare who had probably never asked anypony out, and was more than happy to manage a whole hidden operation just to get somepony she cared about to stop wasting her time and enjoy herself, all without any thought of reward or thanks. Rainbow wished she could make Applejack feel less awkward, or find some way to let her forget her own selflessness for a second.

Amidst her confusing turmoil, a thought struck Rainbow. As she figured out just what she needed to do, she grinned, and all of a sudden her nervousness and shyness disappeared. Applejack felt dread rising within her: not the cold despair of being rejected, but instead the sort of foreboding she got whenever Rainbow gave her that maniacal smile of hers.

"Not telling."

Applejack gaped. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Wh- why not?"

"Because, I didn't plan that far ahead, and I want us to play a game." she replied. "A fun one, too... and I bet you'll find the stakes more interesting than a piece of headgear or my property."

Applejack narrowed her eyes: one one hoof, because Rainbow Dash was holding her heart hostage over a game, but also because she had used the magic word: 'stakes'.

Rainbow knew her too well.

"What do ya'll mean?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. She kicked the harmonica, still lying next to Applejack's chair, and caught it deftly as if flew through the air. She spun it around once or twice before blowing on it. It didn't need to be complicated, it just had to make Applejack wait a little longer.

"Don't you try that on me... That's mah harmonica." Applejack growled.

Rainbow put the harmonica down.

"Well... if you win, I'll tell you whether I like you or not." Rainbow declared. Applejack considered her words carefully. She harrumphed.

"That ain't a promise that you'll say yes."

"Nope."

It wasn't much to go on... Rainbow was playing her. She was stringing her along as if she were a puppet, and all Applejack could do was close her eyes and try to enjoy the ride.

This must have been how Rainbow felt on the hill, as Applejack proposed their first challenge.

"And if Ah lose?"

"I don't have to tell."

The very thought chilled Applejack to the bone, and not even the whiskey could help keep the dread at bay: Rainbow would be able to string her along forever until her intentions began clear, and there was nothing she'd be able to do about it: her secret would give her a power of Applejack no hat could replace. Her mind was set.

"Deal."

Their hooves met with a dull 'clunk' which echoed through the entire orchard. Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Okay... you'll like this bit. I'll explain slowly so you can keep up, slow-poke."

Applejack growled playfully.

"Just spit it out. The evenin' is getting cold."

Chapter Nine: Pinkie Challenged

It was a beautiful morning in Ponyville, but Pinkie wasn't standing out on her doorstep to admire the weather. She was waiting for the ponies she'd be entertaining today, and she had just the challenge ready for them: baking.

Whatever, however... anything went as far as Pinkie was concerned. But after today, she'd know for sure who was the better baker: Applejack, or Rainbow Dash. Personally, she was leaning towards Applejack. She had all that apple experience, which had to count for something... but then, there was no underestimating Dashie. She had surprised everypony with both her art and mathematical skills, so why not baking too?

Pinkie licked her lips in anticipation: she couldn't wait to get her hooves on whatever goodies those two were going to churn out.

Fluttershy and Twilight arrived together.

"Good morning... did you have a good night's re-" Fluttershy began, before her face was brutally grabbed by Pinkie.

"Of course I didn't! I couldn't sleep I was so exited!" Pinkie declared, not in the least annoyed or disappointed. In fact she seemed galvanized by her lack of rest, spurred on in the way only fatigue could manage.

"Well, um, that's nice.. I guess."

Twilight rubbed her eyes: she hadn't slept particularly well either. She had felt bad for Applejack, and thought that she was, at least partially, responsible for what had happened, even if she had only had the best of intentions. When her eyes cleared, she saw Rarity trotting towards them.

"Well, look who's arrived." she said, smiling.

"Why did you have to schedule this early? Just because the sun is up doesn't mean we should be too." Rarity complained. She scanned the horizon for any sign of the only two ponies absent. "Where are those tw-"

"Up here."

All eyes turned to the skies.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were balanced together on top of Sugarcupe corner. Rainbow was smiling confidently, her chest stuck out imposingly as she held the insecure earth pony in place. Applejack, nervous at being so high up, was still doing her best to measure up to Rainbow.

"Oh. You're up there." Twilight commented.

"Science teach you that?" Rainbow asked derisively. "We flew. I admit, I might still be a little hung over from yesterday, and I shouldn't really be flying... but miss sleepy-head here didn't wake me up in time, and we were gonna' be late."

"Hey! I woke you up when I did!"

"Yeah, which was late."

Applejack gave up. There was no reasoning with Rainbow Dash when she was hung over.

"Whatever. You gonna tell 'em, or am I?"

"You stealing my spotlight, Apples?" Rainbow challenged. Applejack gave her a friendly nudge, which almost sent both of them falling from the rooftop in a clumsy mess. Rainbow coughed, and turned back to Pinkie.

"We've got a few changes for today, Pinkie." Rainbow declared. Pinkie gasped.

"Ooh! I love surprises! What is it, what is it?"

"We're not going to be baking off against each other." Rainbow said. She glanced over at Applejack. "It is baking right? That's what you said?"

Applejack nodded. "That's what she said."

They both went silent before Rainbow shook Applejack gently, indicating that it was her turn to speak. Applejack cleared her throat.

"Heh. We're going to be cooking against you." she said. "Together."

Pinkie pawed the ground as she considered the new challenge, her mouth beginning to draw the face of a mare intrigued.

"You're ignoring all the rules you set up... so you can bake together?" she asked. Rainbow and Applejack nodded.

"Yup. Ignorin' the lot of them." Applejack replied.

"Maliciously."

Pinkie chuckled.

"You guys know I'm the best when it comes to making things that taste nice, right?" she pointed out. "And because you broke the rules, I get a partner, too."

Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Pick whoever."

"Rarity."

Rarity held up a hoof to her chest, surprised.

"Why me?"

Pinkie grinned.

"Because nopony can make things look pretty like you can! We're going to make the bestest baking team ever!"

Rainbow grabbed a hold of Applejack and carefully glided down to the ground. Applejack almost threw up: she too, was rather hung-over, and it was obvious for all to see that she wasn't quite as comfortable in high places as Rainbow Dash was. Rarity trotted to Pinkie's side, and both teams solemnly bowed to each other before they entered the building.

It was Rarity who noticed they might have a space problem first.

"Pinkie... this kitchen can't accommodate everypony." she said. Pinkie shrugged.

"Rainbow Dash and Applejack can head to my room. I have a spare kitchen up there... in case of kitchen emergency."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and forcefully pulled Applejack up the stairs. Pinkie called up after them.

"You have until lunch! Then,..." she said, rubbing her hooves together gleefully, "... we dine!"

Applejack stopped Rainbow before they crossed the threshold into Pinkie's room.

"You promise to tell after we win?" she asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Of course. Once you win, of course."

Pinkie was a tornado of activity: leaping from every corner, cupboard and cooking appliance, she threw flour and eggs and sugar and everything she needed from their places of residence, the ingredients soaring through the air and landing in whatever recipient she had left out for them. Rarity just looked on, merely a spectator in Pinkie's grand opera of cooking.

The eggs were whisked, the ingredients mixed, the icing made, all in record time. Everything was perfect: Pinkie, practically raised by the Cakes and a deft cook even before their tutelage, was possibly one of the best trained bakers in all of Ponyville, with the exception of her landlords, of course.

"Could you slow down? I can't keep up." Rarity complained, even her talents not able to make the decorations for the cupcakes fast enough. Pinkie exploded from the ceiling, grinning maniacally.

"Nope! I've never been challenged to baking before! This is so exiting!"

"But you'll have more cupcakes than you will decorations at this point! Please, darling, do slow down a little."

Pinkie sighed.

"Okay... but I'll be even more super duper careful instead!"

Rarity smiled. Everypony looked up as they heard a muffled explosion from upstairs. Rarity widened her eyes.

"Heavens! What do you think they're doing up there?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"Don't worry! I blow things up all the time when I cook things. Just watch!"

"Pinkie, no! Please do-"

Rainbow Dash dropped the baking tray, it's edges glowing faintly after it absorbed most of the heat from the explosion. She shook her hooves, trying to cool them off as they let off a faint trail of smoke.

"Well, there goes that batch."

"Aw, shoot, sugarcube. I think we just lost our second bag of flour." Applejack said, peering from behind the overturned table she had used as a barricade. Rainbow Dash plunged her hooves into a bucket of cold water, moaning as the liquid healed her hooves in a flash.

"How did we manage to lose two? And who knew flour could evaporate in the first place?"

"It can explode too, apparently." Applejack said, and threw herself over her cover to get to the oven. She pulled out the battered carcass of the battered bag of flour they had previously stuffed inside the oven. "I'll salvage what little we have left..." she said, and dipped her hoof inside the smoking ashes of their prime ingredient. She licked the dust off, and tilted her head slightly. "Not too bad, all things considered."

"Applejack... we need to rev things up a bit, here." Rainbow declared. Applejack frowned.

"We just killed two bags of flour and melted most of the sugar into a strange... hard... thing."

Rainbow Dash nodded, only a little less optimistic after their recent culinary mishap.

"Yeah, and it was awesome. I totally love my new helmet." she said, and tapped the side of the hardened sugar that currently rested on her head. "But we're not actually supposed to be making edible (-ish) armour, we're meant to be making muffins."

Applejack sighed.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, sugarcube, but I'm not sure we can win this one."

There goes my hopes of winning Rainbow's bet...

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Not with that attitude. Give me all the ingredients!"

Applejack looked at what remained from their enthusiastic experiments: the room looked like a war-zone, and even though she had never had quite so much fun in her life before, it didn't look promising.

"I'm just bein' realistic... I want to win as much as you do."

Both stared at each other for a short while. Applejack didn't quite realize it at first, but in fact, for the first time in a while, she actually wanted to win more than Rainbow Dash. She might not be optimistic about their chances, but whilst Rainbow had nothing to lose, their deal the night before gave Applejack far more incentive than Rainbow Dash could ever have. Applejack picked up the burnt bag of flour and threw it to Rainbow Dash.

"Do it."

Rainbow Dash cackled insanely, her eyes growing wider than ever as she poured everything she had into one, massive bowl. Applejack felt that perhaps she should reign her in, but found herself inexplicably pulled along for the ride. This was the Rainbow Dash she had somehow fallen in love with: full of life and haphazard, stubborn attitude.

Applejack searched around for all their remaining ingredients: some of which she had to scoop, scrape, and scavenge from the floor. Eggs, sugar, cream, blueberries... the whole lot of it went into the bowl.

Rainbow Dash removed her helmet with a sigh.

"Farewell, my friend." she said, and dropped it into the cavernous maw of the bowl. Applejack gently put her hoof on Rainbow's side as she watched the accessory sink into the depths of their 'cooking'.

"It's okay, sugarcube... she had a good life."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"I know."

Rainbow turned bravely towards the rest of their ingredients.

"Throw the rest in."

A few minutes later, the bowl, as large as it was, was almost overflowing. Applejack picked up the muffin tray, which they had used previously as a shield. It still bore a significant dent from one of their encounters with the eggs.

"Pour."

Rainbow poured, the thick fluid heaping into the holes, flowing into the shapes they were meant to be.

"Put the oven on maximum."

Applejack hesitated.

"Rainbow, she can't take it!"

"Do it!"

Applejack muttered a quick prayer, hoping the oven would hold out, and then flicked all the switches. The oven began to glow an alarming blue colour. Rainbow began laughing, her last ounce of sanity blown away by the roaring heat of the oven. Applejack, despite everything, despite the fact that the oven would doubtless explode again and they would be catapulted across the room, despite her feelings and the challenges, found herself having more fun than she could remember herself having.

...

"...well that was disappointing." Rainbow commented as they pulled the messy tangle of 'muffins' out of the oven: they looked a strange, unhealthy green colour. Rainbow Dash tapped one of then, trying to see what kind of texture and consistency they had. The resulting sound was hollow.

"Uh, Ah think we're out of time." Applejack said, and then looked around the kitchen. "And ingredients."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Uh, yeah.I think this it is, AJ."

Applejack tried pulling out one of the muffins to hold: they were stuck fast. After a few seconds tugging, she gave up.

"We'll just give this to Pinkie."

"Yeah... good idea."

"...and there!"

Rarity finished the final touch on their cupcakes, which were delicate little things indeed. There were six different kinds: one for each of them, and each had their own taste, colour, and artistic design. Pinkie was buzzing with energy: she couldn't wait to get her friends to try them.

"We'd better take these outside to give to the others, huh?" she said.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both entered the room, their own 'creation' hidden beneath a small dishcloth, but even the thick material couldn't hide the faint blue glow.

"How'd your stuff go?" Rainbow asked. Pinkie grinned.

"Excellent! They're so pretty... there are six different types, and six of each, so we can all enjoy each and every one."

Applejack looked a little overwhelmed as she stared at the massive pile of thirty six cupcakes: each so pristine and elegant.

"We, uh, made six. All the same... we think."

Pinkie shrugged.

"That's okay... it's quality that counts, not quantity! What do they look like?"

Rainbow Dash threw the dishcloth off. Pinkie's eye twitched as she tried her very best to find something positive to say. After a few minutes, she finally noticed something she could use.

"Wow! They change colour! It was totally blue when you brought them in! Now they're red!"

"We think that might be radiation." Rainbow Dash explained. "I'm sure Twilight will have some healing spell for us, though."

"It's really pretty..."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Rarity decided it was time to butt in.

"Well, if they are radioactive, let's not waste time and eat them as soon as possible." she said. "There's a scentence I never thought I'd say..."

She picked up her cupcakes, the magical glow of her unicorn horn making them seem even more divine than usual.

Applejack's heart sank even deeper, practically plummeting into her stomach by this point: it looked like they had lost. And now she was pretty much at Rainbow Dash's mercy.

Curse that mare.

All the other ponies were waiting around their table, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their delicious treats. Their eyes glowed with lust as they saw what Pinkie and Rarity had made: the pair were indeed a magnificent baking team.

They each went for their own style of cupcake first, and one by one, they found they were delicious. But the real fun was in trying everypony else's: and finding out that each cupcake, did indeed 'feel' like the friend in question. It was uncanny.

"These are excellent!"

"I love them."

Even Applejack had to admit they were brilliant, even though she wished she could claim the contrary. When it came to her own muffins, everypony blanched slightly.

Maybe Applejack should have made them eat Pinkie's first... that way they'd be able to get rid of the taste.

"Um..." Twilight began, but Pinkie Pie stopped her mid-sentence.

"Don't worry... I'll be the first to try them." she said. "I like everything, so you can't disappoint me!"

Pinkie secretly felt she was about to be proven wrong, but for her friends, she tried getting one of the muffins out of the tray. After a second of thought, finding that she couldn't even get them to budge, she poked out the bottom of the tray, making the muffins pop out like pills from a packet.

She tried biting into one, and almost broke her teeth. After a short hesitation, she threw the whole thing down into her mouth.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash sincerely hoped they wouldn't kill their friend.

Instead, Pinkie's look was one of confusion.

"Wh- mmf. These are... mmh. These are really good!"

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked amazed. For that matter, so did the others. Pinkie began bouncing up and down.

"These are delicious! How- how did you do it? What did you put in this?" she asked.

The other ponies also began attacking the muffins. Rainbow had no idea how to explain to Pinkie that part of those muffins was actually a helmet made of sugar, so she remained silent. Pinkie looked at Rainbow... then Applejack, and then Rainbow again, scanning their every move and investigating their every expression. Eventually, she went utterly silent as she began to smile.

"Oh... oh I see." she said. She smiled conspiratorially. "Well played, you two... well played."

Twilight examined the muffin carefully.

"Have you guys noticed they change colour?" she asked.

"Yes. We're a bit worried about that, actually." Rainbow replied, a her face darkening ever so slightly as she once again considered the possibility that there was a serious risk to their health.

Pinkie Pie suddenly squeezed Rainbow and Applejack together, beaming happily. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" she exclaimed. "But you could have just told me that you were in love!"

Applejack stared blankly at her friends, each and ever one of them savouring her strange and mysterious muffins.

"D-do we win?" she asked. Rainbow Dash nudged her in the side.

"'Course you win."

"B-but we blew up the kitchen..."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean you win because your answer is yes."

Applejack felt her stomach clench up, but not in fear. "You mean that?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Of course I do... how could I say no?" She grabbed a hold of Applejack and dragged her as close as she could, pressing herself against Applejack. "I was just messing with you. You know, like you did to 'get me off my 'fat' flank and do something productive'?"

Applejack snorted indignantly.

"Well I..."

"Come on, you knew I was playing you."

Applejack did.

"I hate you." she said.

"I love you too." Rainbow Dash replied, and finally closed the gap, small though it might have been, between her lips and Applejack's. Everypony cheered a little (except Twilight, who was still examining the muffin in rapt fascination), although none quite so much as Rarity and Pinkie Pie: Rarity because she had been betting on Applejack from the start, and Pinkie because she liked making noise, giving her a significant advantage in cheering over, say, Fluttershy.

"Do you mind if I take this back home? I'd just love to run some tests... oh."

Twilight finally saw had transpired in the meantime. Her jaw dropped a little.

Rainbow and Applejack finally pulled apart.

"This productive enough for you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uhm... very."

"Do you two want to be left alone? Because I think there's some sort of friendship magic in these muffins, and I'd love to examine them closely."

Neither mare paid attention to Twilight, since both were enjoying the warmth of the other and staring into each others eyes.

"There's still 'bout four more days of Sun Season left... Do you want to hang out?" Applejack asked.

The other mare nuzzled Applejack fondly.

"I'm not sure... I don't think I can lift my 'fat' flank someplace better..."

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Am I ever going to live that down?"

"Nope. My flank is not fat."

Epilogue

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a house, painted as red as as an autumn leaf, surrounded by apple trees, crimson as can get. The warm sun was beginning to dip over the mountains, casting long shadows through the orchard.

In the orchard stood two mares: one as orange as honey, mane as golden as wheat on a summer afternoon. The other was blue as the sky, and her mane was as vibrant as a canvas attacked by a painter gone rogue. She was standing a foot behind her friend, watching her closely.

"You're sure you know how to do this?" she asked, doing her best to hide the twinge of worry in her voice. The corner of Applejack's mouth rose slightly, as she leant her head to the side, aligning her left eye with the barrel of the gun.

"Ya'll think I'd be an Apple and not know how to fire the ole' Widowmaker?" she asked. "Trust me, I can do this." she said.

She raised the barrel slowly, pointing it only slightly above the low hanging apple on the tree. Rainbow Dash grinned.

"If you're so confident, how about we make this interesting?" she asked, split seconds before the trigger was pulled. Applejack hesitated.

Curse that mare.

"What were ya'll thinkin'?" she asked, lowering the rifle. Rainbow Dash grinned, and leant to the side, her shoulder carelessly balancing against Applejack's flank as she rubbed her chin, feigning thought.

"Well... how about we have ourselves a little wager? Y'know, to see whether you'll hit the apple or not."

"What do I win?"

"If you win... you get a kiss." Rainbow declared. Applejack smiled.

"Sounds worthwhile."

"But if you miss, you'll have to kiss me." Rainbow Dash finished with a flourish. Applejack grinned.

"Not on your life."

Rainbow Dash flicked some mud out of her hoof, and then stepped away from her marefriend. "Best take care, then."

Applejack raised the rifle again, taking careful aim. She listened intently for the sound of anypony nearby... no sense hitting them by accident, after all, even if they were trespassing on her orchard. She stroked the trigger as she slowed her breathing.

She pulled the trigger.

The terrifying 'crack' of the gunshot almost deafened Rainbow Dash. She had no idea that guns were so loud. She swallowed nervously: no wonder those things were a rarity in Equestria these days. They scared her.

Applejack blew on the smoking barrel of the gun, the smoke dissipating into the air, as if the noise had been nothing more than a nuisance. Rainbow could only focus on the shape her lips made as she calmly dispelled the noxious cloud. She returned her attention back to their little challenge, and peered into the distance.

"Where was that apple again?" she asked.

Applejack shrugged.

"Over there... and there, and there..." she replied, pointing at seemingly random places over by the tree she had aimed at. Rainbow Dash flew over to it, searching desperately for any trace of the fruit: there was none.

"You know... I didn't believe you when you said you had a gun at the house... and I sure as hay didn't believe you when you said they were this scary." she commented. Applejack cantered to join her.

"I'm the pony of honesty... what did you expect?" she asked. "Anyway, I think ya'll owe me something."

Rainbow folded her hooves.

"Nope." she replied, playful as ever, if a little startled by the noise. Applejack sighed and held up the rifle.

"Ya'll sure about that, sugarcube?" she asked. Rainbow Dash backed off a little.

"Uh... that isn't loaded, is it?" she asked, her ears flattening against her head. Applejack shook her head.

"'Course not. But it can be if ya'll don't get over here right this second... I won, remember?"

Rainbow Dash was only too happy to oblige, and the pair embraced tenderly for a while under the cover of the apple trees. Applejack tossed the gun into the grass, a few feet away. Applejack savoured the moment whilst it lasted, and if felt all the better for having earned it. Their fur was sightly ruffled as they pulled away to breathe.

"So... how's talking about your feelings going for you?" Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack shrugged.

"Not sure yet. Rainbow, sometimes Ah think I don't get as appreciated as other ponies."

"That wasn't so hard, was it? How'd it feel?"

"Like a kick to the stomach. How's learning how to plan ahead going for you?"

"Not well. I forgot to plan for it."

Applejack laughed.

"You're terrible."

"Yup. We're as bad as each other." Rainbow Dash countered. She glanced nervously at the weapon hidden in the grass. "And I totally appreciate you. All the time."

She pecked Applejack's cheek, leaving a small mark where her muzzle left her fur. Applejack found herself stroking Rainbow back as the pegasus refused to release her completely. Rainbow Dash glanced across the grass to the gun lying there, almost hidden save for the tell-tale glint as the sun reflected across it's barrel, like a trap waiting to be sprung. She recalled, quite against her will, the terrifying sound of the gunshot.

"Hey... can you put that back inside? It... sort of scares me."

Applejack felt a small increase in pressure as she leaned back to get a better look at the weapon. She eyed Rainbow suspiciously.

"You're scared of loud noises?"

"Hey! A lot of ponies have that problem." she retorted. Applejack snorted.

"What, are you afraid of plastic bags, too?"

"Sh-shut up. Just get rid of it, 'kay?"

Applejack nodded, and nuzzled her marefriend reassuringly, making sure to keep the barrel of the weapon, loaded or no, far away from her. Rainbow sighed in relief, and let herself be drowned in a tidal wave of affection. She wondered how she could have ever gone a single day without her Applejack, but quickly returned to focussing on how lucky she was, right now.

"'Course, sugarcube. Anything for you."

They both began trotting to the house, Rainbow's wing hugging Applejack and keeping both of them from moving at their top speed: neither mare cared about that, though.

"It's the end of Sun Season tomorrow. Ya'll got work again, right?"

The ground was as dry as it could be, and it was time for the water cycle to start again. Rainbow was usually proud to be part of the engine of weather, but this time, all she could think about was that it would be a day she'd have to spend most of away from her favourite pony ever.

"Yup. But it's been a great holiday."

The End