"The sun's goin' down, Rainbow!" Applejack's voice drawled across the autumn winds. "Are y'all almost done with them leaves?!"
"Just about, AJ!" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked with the Doppler Effect, for she was zipping up and down the orchards in blurry-fast flyby's.
As she repeatedly soared down the aisles of barren apple trees again and again and again, she forced all of the leaves of the orchards to form one gigantic, thick, multi-colored line. Soon, a veritable mountain range of dead leaves divided the entire north field of Sweet Apple Acres in two. It was difficult to see where the mound began or where it ended in one single glance.
"Almost got 'em!" Rainbow called out, using her wings with each zooming pass to blow the leaves even tighter together. "Just a few more times!" She flew lower and lower, pivoting her feathers to sweep up every straggling piece of the long, long pile. "Sure beats raking everything up, doesn't it?"
"Whew-wee!" Applejack trotted up with a smile. "I'll say!" She wore a brown flannel jacket and a red scarf that billowed in the chilly wind. The setting sun cast a crimson sheen over the orange leaves that had gathered in a straight column thanks to Rainbow's steady flyby's. The apple trees—normally lush and plump with fruit—were now scraggly gray things whose dull branches contrasted with the warm, melting sky. "It would normally take all four members of the Apple Family and two full days of constant rakin' to get all of these leaves rounded up like yer doin' in just one afternoon!" She turned and smiled over the hilltop. "Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
The large stallion wore a plush brown trenchcoat as he heaved the last of several swelling pumpkins into a hay wagon. "Eeeyup!" Exhaling, he swiped his brow and trotted over by his sister's side.
"One question, though," Applejack said as she and Big Macintosh stared up at Rainbow's figure. "How are ya fixin' to get all of those..." She pointed at the long, long pile. "...into there?" She then pointed at a ring of hay bales that formed a loose circle. "Dun tell me yer gonna use yer wings to blow them in there all hurricane-like."
"No..." Rainbow Dash hovered in place, huffing and puffing from the exertion. "Not hurricane-like." She gave Applejack and Big Macintosh a devilish smirk. "More like tornado—like!" She motioned at the stallion. "Okay, big fella. The goggles, if you don't mind."
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh reached into his trenchcoat and pulled out the article in question. He tossed them up at the pegasus.
Rainbow caught the goggles and slid them over her face. "Alright..." She adjusted them, blinking several times until she could see properly. "Now for the fun part."
A cool breeze billowed over the hilltop. Applejack and Big Macintosh wince from the stinging chill.
"Better hurry, sugarcube!" Applejack managed through chattering teeth. "The wind's fixin' to scatter them leaves everywhere!"
"Let me worry about the wind," Rainbow Dash said, shivering.
"Y'all okay up there? Without a sweater or somethang', I must say yer lookin' mighty cold, darlin'."
"AJ, I'm fine. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a job to do."
"Heh..." Applejack backtrotted along with Big Macintosh. "Be my guest."
"Alright..." Rainbow Dash cracked the joints in her neck and began flapping her wings at a maddening speed. "Here goes nothing!" The petite pegasus took a deep, deep breath, then began flying in circles... then flying in those circles faster... and faster and faster and fasterfasterfaster.
Applejack and Big Macintosh clung to the wagon. Its multiple, enormous pumpkins weighed the vehicle down, turning it into a perfect anchor to hold onto while the winds picked up from Rainbow Dash's cyclonic feat. Soon enough, Rainbow disappeared, replaced by a cyan blue tornado. This weather "phenomenon" drifted neatly over the pile, sucking up each and every leaf, clipping a few blades of grass in the process. In an alarmingly short amount of time, Rainbow's tornado had successfully consumed every single flake, and the azure tone to the twirling winds morphed into a toasty golden brown. Rainbow didn't waste any time, though, for soon she was piloting the phenomenon across the field and towards the circle of hay bales.
"That's it, Rainbow!" Applejack pumped a hoof in the crisp air, grinning wildly into the last beams of sunlight. "You got this! Yeeeehaaa!"
While Applejack thusly cheered, Rainbow Dash steered the tornado into place. She flew slower and slower, allowing the winds to dissolve on their own. For the briefest of seconds, one could see the coagulated clump of leaves hovering in the air. Then, a heartbeat later, they all fell to the ground in one solid heap. Thwump! Every single leaf from the north field now lingered between the bales of hay. Somehow, the pile was a lot smaller than either Applejack or Big Macintosh had imagined, but they were no less impressed.
"Land's sakes!" Applejack tipped the brim of her hat as she trotted closer towards the pile. "I still can't believe it's all done already! Yer a real life-saver, Rainbow!" Silence. "...Rainbow?"
"Euuu-guhhhh..." Rainbow twirled like a ballerina as she descended to the earth. Her hooves landed, but her body didn't. She strafed in a circle then teetered hard to the side.
Applejack caught the pegasus. She smirked. "Feelin' a little dizzy there, Cap'n?"
Rainbow Dash blinked, then slid her goggles up while pouting. "Pfft! I do not get dizzy!"
"Hah hah hah!" Applejack guffawed, and so did her brother in the distance. "If y'all say so..."
"I mean it!" Rainbow Dash stepped back from the cowfilly, stretching and unstretching her wing feathers. A slight rosiness in her cheeks matched the candle glow of the west horizon. "I-I'm too cool to get dizzy from a single whirlwind trick!"
"Yer just cool in general." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ya sure ya dun need a jacket or somethang, sugarcube?"
"AJ, I'm fine," Rainbow Dash grunted. She turned towards the far corners of the field, so that way the country mare couldn't see her chattering teeth. "I c-came here to help you out in the field, not to get bothered into trying on fall fashion!"
"Uh huh..."
"After all, summer's over, and there really isn't much weather fl-flying or cloud kicking that I'm required to do."
"Uh huh."
"And there hasn't been a Daring Do book released since May, so I've got nothing to re—Why the heck are you smirking?!"
"Heheheh..." Applejack shook her head, smiling. "Nothin', Sugarcube. No reason."
"Grrrrrrrrrr..."
"Big Mac? You got the tarp?"
"Mrmmmmff... eeyup." The stallion shuffled up, dragging a large gray plastic sheet.
"Whoops! Lemme help ya with that." Applejack rushed over and grabbed a corner. Trotting in separate directions, the siblings unfolded the tarp and stretched it while approaching the pile of leaves.
"Need any help?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Mrmmf—sure thang." Applejack pointed in mid shuffle. "Grab the far end and lift it so that we clear the top of the leaves."
"Okay." Fwooosh! Rainbow Dash did just that. Working as a team, the three ponies covered the huge leafy pile. Then, as Big Macintosh walked in a full circle, Applejack pulled the edges of the tarp over so that the stallion could lift the bales of hay and place them over the plastic sheet in order to hold the thing in place. Rainbow Dash darted between them, lending a hoof in any way she could. "So... like..." Her muzzle scrunched up. "Why do you want to keep the leaves here?"
"Same reason we're settin' aside them pumpkins in the wagon for tomorrow evenin'!" Applejack winked. "It's all part of the Sweet Apple Acres Fall Festival that we're hostin'!"
"I get the pumpkins and the hay ride part," Rainbow Dash said. "But why the leaves?"
"Heheh... I dun know what you Cloudsdale colts and fillies ever did to celebrate the fall, but here in Ponyville a relaxin' Autumn afternoon ain't the same without a foalishly fun romp through the leaves!"
"Er... you mean like a pool party..." Rainbow Dash blinked. "Only with leaves."
"Now ya got it!"
"Pfft." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Earth ponies are weird."
"Dun knock it 'til ya tried it, Rainbow."
"Heh, I'm pretty sure I'll be on the opposite side of town tomorrow evening."
"Awwwwwwwww..." Applejack pouted. The wind made her golden bangs flutter above a sad, freckled face. "Dun be a spoil sport, RD! The Fall Festival ain't nothin' but a real knee-slappin' good time! Won't you reconsider?"
"For what?" Rainbow Dash made a face. "Hoedowns and hog-tying?"
"And pumpkin carvin' contests and ring tossin' and craftmakin'!" Applejack smiled proudly. "A whole heapin' bunch of activities that you could compete in! Shoot, ponies from all over Ponyville will be there to see ya win over half of 'em!"
"Half of them? Pffft! More like all of them!"
"Then won't you consider stoppin' on by? We couldn't have done the Festival without ya this year, darlin'." Applejack winked. "It's the happiest shindig in October, second to maybe Nightmare Night."
"Yeah, but at least during Nightmare Night I get to dress up in a cool Shadowbolts costume!"
"Rainbow, you've been wearin' that silly costume for the last three Nightmare Nights in a row!" Applejack's green eyes squinted. "Dun tell me yer aimin' for a fourth."
"Yeah? So?" Rainbow Dash tilted her nose up with a smirk. "It fits me well!"
"Well, seein' as you ain't gettin' any bigger anytime soon..."
"Right, I think—H-hey!"
"Heh heh heh..." Applejack and Big Macintosh chuckled.
"I didn't fly here for sass!" Rainbow Dash folded her forelimbs and frowned. "I came here to be your complimentary leaf-blower!"
"And we thank ya kindly, Rainbow." Applejack smiled. "Really, we do." There was suddenly a low rumbling sound. Applejack blinked. She looked at her brother.
Big Macintosh was glancing all around, ears twitching.
The rumbling happened again.
"Big Mac? Are you makin' that noise?"
"E-eenope."
"Then where in tarnation—?" Just then, Applejack's gaze flashed towards Rainbow.
The pegasus bit her lip as she hugged her tummy. "Uhm... eheh... don't mind me." She rubbed her belly. "It's kinda got a mind of its own."
"Only when it's emptier than a spittoon on Heart's Warming Eve!" Applejack squinted. "Rainbow, why didn't y'all tell us that you was famished?"
"Huh? Oh... pfft!" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in the crisp air. "I usually only eat once a day. Maybe twice."
"Yer pullin' my leg..."
"Nah, for real!" Rainbow Dash smirked. "I just make it a really, really good meal when I finally chow down! Until then..." She shrugged. "I usually just fly around on half-a-tank. Believe it or not, it actually makes me glide around faster. I feel sorta light-weight, y'know?"
"Well, no wonder yer so scrawny if that's your take on eatin' habits!"
"Eeeyup..."
"What the hay is this, guys?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "For real... some kind of 'petite pony intervention?'"
"Nothin' of the sort, Rainbow Dash. I was just thinkin'..." Applejack blinked. She turned to Big Mac. The stallion smiled, and so did she. "Ahem..." She turned back to Rainbow. "I was thinkin' of some way to pay you back proper."
"I thought I already made it clear to you, AJ," Rainbow Dash said. "I didn't have anything else to do this evening. Besides, you're always helping out me and the girls when we need it, so... why not return the favor?"
"That's awfully sweet of y'all, Rainbow, not to mention loyal. But honestly..." She pointed over the darkening hilltop. "Why don't you come back home and sit for a spell?"
"Heh... thanks, but no thanks."
"Y'all dun even know what we're offerin' ya, yet."
"Seriously, I was just gonna fly around Ponyville until I found a place to grab a bite." Rainbow Dash rubbed her belly. "I dunno about you, but I'm thinking Chineighs take-out."
"Heh, nuts to that! Yer makin' a stop at the Apple Family kitchen!"
"AJ..."
"Just humor me, sugarcube."
Rainbow Dash blinked. With a dull groan, she rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, alright...."
"That's more like it!" Applejack turned towards Big Mac. "Reckon it's time to haul 'er in?"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh was already hitching himself to the wagon full of hay and pumpkins. While shouldering the yoke, he turned and gestured at Applejack.
"Well..." She climbed up onto the wagon. "If you sure ya got it..."
He simply smiled and nodded.
"How about it, Rainbow?" Applejack patted a patch of hay beside her. "Bet yer wings are itchin' for a rest."
"Oh, please. I've stayed airborne for over twenty-four hours before. They're not even slightly sore."
Applejack produced emerald daggers from beneath her brow.
Rainbow gulped. "But... th-then again..." She quietly descended to the wagon. "Guess it would stink for them to start cramping overnight." She squatted between Applejack and three massive pumpkins. "Yeesh... talk about melon fudges."
"They're gonna be an even more amazin' sight tomorrow night when we carve 'em up!"
"Are you still trying to sell me on the Fall Festival thingy?"
"Only so long as yer bein' a stubborn mule about havin' good ol' fashion fun!" Applejack cupped a hoof around her muzzle. "Giddy-up, Macky!"
Big Mac trotted briskly, dragging the wagon behind him with a jolt.
"Whoah!" Rainbow Dash winced, teetering.
Applejack steadied her. The earth pony felt one brush of the mare's wings, and she shuddered. "Whoah nelly! Rainbow, yer feathers feel like they done come out of the freezer!"
"Heh, to you, maybe!" Rainbow casually leaned back on a quartet of pumpkins like she was a lazy queen sitting on her throne. "But for a high-flying pegasus like me? You get used to chilly temperatures!" She winked. "It comes with the altitude."
"Awwww... well ain't that a shame."
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow blinked, eyes almost crossing in confusion. "Huh?"
"You heard me."
"I heard you, but I don't read you."
"Just thinkin'..." Applejack adjusted her scarf, then leaned comfortably over the top of a large pumpkin. She took a long sniff of the crisp autumn air, and a rosy warmth spread through her freckles. "There's just somethin' about this time of year that makes me all tingly inside, and it's all on account of how nice and cool and breezy it gets, compared to all the stuffiness and humidity of summer."
"Are you for real?" Rainbow stifled a yawn as the wagon bumped and rattled along. She squinted at Applejack with the spare beams of sunlight left to see her with. "I figured you were a bigger fan of the months in the year when you could still buck and harvest apples."
"Oh, darn tootin'!" Applejack winked. "But there's somethin' special about all seasons. In winter, I look forward to buyin' gifts for the family on Hearth's Warming. In spring, I enjoy workin' with the rest of the ponies to wrap-up winter. Summer's got the apple bucking, but then Autumn...?"
"You get to splash through a mountain of leaves," Rainbow droned. "Like a weirdo."
"Now will ya cut that out?!"
"Hee-hee-hee!"
"Dun be knockin' the things I've enjoyed since I was a wee little filly!" Applejack said, pouting. She then smiled as the rosiness returned, her eyes locked on the blood red horizon. "October has always had more to smile and cheer about than just Nightmare Night. Sure, that was always the most excitin' of celebrations, but here on the farm—it felt like the whole world transformed as soon as fall came. Instead of apple buckin', there was leaf rakin'. And though that may sound like some awful work..."
"That I just single-hoofedly helped you avoid today."
"Heheh... and I'm mighty thankful. Ahem... even still, back in the day, the chores we did in October didn't feel half-that-bad, because the world was so rewardin' all of the sudden, what with the air turnin' all cool and crisp and breezy. Reckon it felt like the skies were caressin' us all gentle-like. And then when we came inside, Granny Smith had a fresh batch of pumpkin pies prepared, its crust turned to a fine toasted brown."
Rainbow Dash winced as her stomach gurgled again. With a sigh, she glared off into the distance. "I think you invited me on this wagon ride just to torture me."
Applejack and Big Macintosh snickered. "Nothin' of the sort, sugarcube! Please forgive me! Somethin' about this time of year makes me awful nostalgic. 'Cuz of the weather change n'all."
"Meh."
"Ain't it the same with you?"
"Double meh."
"Rainbowwwwwww..."
"Hrmmmmff..." Rainbow Dash lay even further back, curling her forelimbs against her shivering chest as she stared up at the blossoming stars across the dark heavens. "Back in Cloudsdale, we didn't experience the weather changing. We made the weather change." She curled her forelimbs even tighter until she was hugging herself. "We conjured up the weather gales, gathered the dry air, even built each individual snow flake. So, as you can imagine, flying around the same clouds that housed the rainbow factories and all..." She yawned and shut her eyes with a lazy breath. "...we didn't notice much of a difference."
"Uh huh..."
"But I totally get that it was a whole different thing for you," Rainbow said, smirking slightly to herself. The soft bumps in the wagon ride masked the trembling in her cold limbs. "What, with you guys depending on the weather and the land so much, it must have been a real heart-stopper whenever the seasons changed. Still, I'm not so sure why autumn's such a big freakin' deal when all it does is dry up the land and strip the trees and—"
Rainbow's nostrils tickled.
She sniffed, and was instantly filled with a deliciously sweet aroma.
Her eyes flashed open, twitching.
She sniffed again.
"What..."
Applejack merely smirked.
Rainbow Dash sat up like the Undertrotter. "What... is..." Her eyelids fluttered, and she gaped at Applejack. "...that smell?"
"Carries really far in the cool, crisp air, don't it?"
"Yeah, but from where?"
"The house."
"Your house?"
"Yup!"
"It smells kinda like... like..." Rainbow Dash's wings twitched. She stood now on the edge of the wagon like an alert blue falcon looking for its prey. "Like apple cider."
"Uh huh..."
"But..." Rainbow raised a hoof daintily as she gave Applejack a nervous look. "It's totally not even close to cider season!"
"Yer absolutely right."
"So... l-like... what gives?" Rainbow's eyes darted around. "Are... are you guys making apple cider or aren't you?"
"Reckon that's Granny Smith's work that yer sniffin'," Applejack said, pointing at the farm house as they rounded the last hill. Under the shrowd of evening, the windows on the first floor of the building glowed like dim, square-shaped candles. A faint trail of steam wafted from the side of the house where the kitchen resided. "Right now, she should be boilin' her way through the last pot."
"Wait." Rainbow Dash's ears folded. "Did you say 'boiling?'"
"Reckon I did."
"As in boiling apple cider!"
"Yup."
"Eeyup."
"Applejack..." The blue fuzz on the back of Rainbow's neck raised like a canine's as she hissed, "One does not simply boil apple cider! You'd just as well take a dump on Princess Celestia's royal throne, if you wanted to be that angry at life! What's gotten into Granny Smith?!"
"She's doin' her special recipe!"
"For what?! Pony tears?! Cuz that's all you're getting if you boil apple cider instead of drink it!"
"Not if yer fixin' to make Apple Cider Doughnuts!" Applejack exclaimed, stifling the urge to snicker.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but hesitated. Something had popped loose inside of her, and her head trembled as if trying to figure out the source of the rattling sensation. At last, swallowing a dry lump down her throat, she slurred: "You're lying."
"Heh..." Applejack leaned her head back on folded hooves. "You remember who yer talkin' to?"
"There is no such thing."
"What such thing?"
"Apple Cider Doughnuts," Rainbow Dash grunted. "You made that up."
"I sure as sugar didn't!"
"If there was such a thing, I would have known about it."
"How could ya?" Applejack winked at Big Macintosh, then smirked back at Rainbow. "Yer flyin' around up high for all hours of every day! Reckon there're a ton of things you miss!"
"That's like telling me that I could grow my own Daring Do in a garden using only water and sunshine!" Rainbow Dash's jaw hung low. "Apple Cider Doughnuts?!?" She nearly spasmed. "How could anypony eat something like that and survive with their brains intact?!"
"Well, yer talkin' to me, ain't ya?" Applejack shrugged. "My big brother and I sure dun look dead, now do we?"
"No. Freakin'. Way."
"Every year, this time in October!"
"This is some sort of a setup." Rainbow Dash looked every which way. "A prank! I'm on Canter Camera or some crap."
"N-nope!" Applejack chuckled, having to tilt her hat up after it fell over her guffawing face. "Would I lie to my best filly friend? I dun told you I wanted to reward you for a job well done this afternoon!"
"But... but..." Rainbow Dash fluttered in place, her nostrils drawn towards the aroma wafting out of the kitchen window as they approached. "To... to actually boil the apple cider...?"
"That's to keep it from bein' too sweet," Applejack said. She read off an invisible recipe hovering before her green eyes. "After all, you still gotta glaze it with maple syrup and sprinkle in the cinnamon..."
"Mmmmmm..." Big Macintosh nearly drooled. He came to a stop, resting the wagon full of pumpkins before an open barn. "Eeeeeeeyup..."
"Maple syrup..." Rainbow Dash's eyebrow twitched as she murmured aloud. "Sprinkle... of cinnamon...?"
"Nopony does it quite as well as Granny Smith, of course." Applejack hopped down from the wagon. "She's teachin' me little by little each year, but it's takin' some time to get it done right." She brushed the golden needles off her fetlocks and smiled up at the pegasus. "Best to leave it all the professionals, especially since we're makin' well over a hundred batches for the visitin' ponies tomorrow night at the Festival."
"Over..." Rainbow gulped. "...a hundred?"
"But she always makes an early batch to test'n'see if her recipe still works, and that's what yer smellin' right now!" Applejack grinned wickedly. "Still wanna go out for Chineighs, sugarcube?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Big Macintosh laughed, as did Applejack. "Here, darlin'. Help us pack in this here wagon, then yer welcome to come inside and have a sample with us..." She winked. "Or several."
"Okay..." Rainbow Dash nod-nod-nodded. "Okay okay okay okay!" In a blue blur, she zipped all over the place, making room in the barn for the wagon, cracking the doors open wider for the cart to pass through.
"Whoah! Take it easy, RD!" Applejack said, chuckling. "Time ain't gonna move any faster, now, ya hear?" When she was finished rolling the wagon in, she turned and smiled at Big Macintosh. "Why don'tcha fetch some wood for the fireplace. Feels like this is gonna be an extra-chilly evenin'."
"Eeyup." Adjusting his coat, Big Macintosh trotted off for the woodshed located at the far end of the house. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stayed behind to close the barn doors shut and latch them in place.
"Aaaaaaaand there we go!" Applejack wiped her brow. "Whew! Now that's what I call 'all in a day's work!'" She winked at Rainbow Dash. "Even if you was the one doin' most of that 'work,' heh."
"Uh huh uh huh uh huh." Rainbow Dash shivered from where she hovered. "Um... s-samples?"
"Heheheh... has anypony ever told you that yer cute as the dickens when yer antsy over somethin'?"
"Yeah. Sure. Uh huh. Samples?!" Rainbow smiled with a squee.
Applejack merely smirked. "Hop along, sugarcube." She sauntered on towards the house while Rainbow Dash hovered swiftly behind. "I'd tell y'all to wipe her hooves... but... th-they never do touch the ground these days, now do they? Heh..."
"F-force of habit," Rainbow stammered, her voice dry. As they entered the house, it felt only slightly warmer. Squinting through the dim lanternlight, Rainbow saw that all of the windows were open. "Yeesh. What's with the open house treatment?"
"Ehhh? What?" Granny Smith's high-pitched voice echoed from the brightly-lit kitchen. "What was that, Apple Bloom?"
"Wasn't me, Granny!" squeaked a yellow shape from the corner.
"Granny, we got company!" Applejack hollered as her hooves made squeaky thumps against the wooden floorboards. She hung her hat and scarf on a coat rack then trotted into the kitchen, her golden mane flouncing free and bright. "Rainbow Dash did an outstandin' job sweepin' up all the leaves in the north field! Thanks to her, we now got everythang in order for the Festival tomorrow!"
"Well, ain't that just fine'n'dandy?!" Granny Smith's voice warbled. "You should be right neighborly and invite her in for a bite to eat!"
"Heh... way ahead of ya, Granny! In fact..." Applejack turned, smiling from the kitchen. "Here she is right now!"
"Well, howdy-doo, Rainbow!" Granny Smith craned her neck to peer out from beyond the door frame. She had wrinkly-old oven mits fitted over her green hooves, and flakes of flour and powdered sugar smattered across her apron. "Sure is a heapin' nice thang for you to take time out of yer busy dress-makin' n'all at that fancy Boutique of yers to help us out here on the farm!"
"No no, Granny, that's Rarity yer thinkin' about!"
"Rari-whooo?" Granny blinked her tired eyes. "Oh... uh... lemme guess-uh... the pale snow white thang that sounds like Count Draculoats."
"That's Rarity, alright," Rainbow said as she flew into the kitchen. Applejack laughed, and she smirked. "AJ told me that you were baking something awesome called 'Apple Cider Doughnuts,' and I just had to see them with my own ey—" She bumped her head into the top of the door frame. "Oww!"
"Whoops! Watch it there, Speedy!" Granny winked, returning to a metal sheet full of doughy circles. "This here house wasn't built in the clouds, y'know?"
"If ya dun mind, sugarcube..." Applejack leaned in towards Rainbow, whispering. "We like to keep thangs grounded around here."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Rainbow rubbed her head as she touched down on petite hooves. "So... uh..." Rainbow smiled as she craned her neck to see. "Apple Cider Doughnuts, h-huh?" She sniffed the air and had to keep herself from drooling. "I was telling your granddaughter just a moment ago that they sounded too good to be true."
"Oh, they're a special Apple Family recipe, that's for sure, dearie!" Granny Smith sprinkled on some cinnamon, speaking in between the applications. "Ain't nothin' like the cakes yer always bakin' down at Sugarcube Corner, though!"
"Sugarcube..." Rainbow blinked. "Corner...?"
"Must be somethin' to live with a real life alligator! Though I think they make better pests than pets!"
Rainbow Dash squinted at Applejack, murmuring something unintelligible.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Close enough, Granny." She patted the old mare's shoulder. "You mind if Pinkie Dash here munches on one or two of them?"
"One or two?!" Granny Smith almost spat on the latest batch. "You got yer head twisted in a knot or somethin', AJ?! She can have a whole batch!"
"I..." Rainbow Dash steadied herself against the kitchen table. "I-I can...?!"
"Well, how the hay else are we gonna find out if these here vittles are good enough for the prancin' pony palate tomorrow evenin'?!" Granny Smith opened the oven and shoved the tray in before pulling a separate tray out. "Autumn's delivered us some perfect weather, and it seems only respectable that the Apple Family deliver some perfect treats in like-turn!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Apple Bloom galloped into the kitchen, dressed in a wooly brown sweater. She slid to a goofy stop on the slippery linoleum before gawking up at the pegasus. "You mean to tell us that you've never had Granny Smith's super special apple cider doughnuts before?!" The filly's bright amber eyes blinked in shock.
"Heh... g-guess I never got around to it." Rainbow Dash then winced as her stomach gurgled.
"Well, she sure picked a darn good time," Applejack said, chuckling.
"Applejack!" Granny Smith frowned, glancing at Rainbow Dash's figure in the window's dark reflection. "Where are yer manners?! Offer the mare a coat or somethin'!"
"I done tried, Granny! But she's too stubborn to accept—"
"Fiddlesticks!" Granny wheezed. "I ain't gonna have no guest freezin' to death in my own home!"
"Really, Ms. Smith..." Rainbow Dash steadied her forelimb long enough to wave assuringly. "I'm fine. I've been through way colder altitudes and survived—"
"Now now, darlin', I insist."
"But—"
"If you dun bundle up, you dun get to sample it up!"
Rainbow Dash's pupils shrank. She crossed her front hooves, blushing. "Well, since you put it that way..."
"Heheheh!" Granny Smith chuckled. "Gets 'em every time!" She turned around. "AJ?"
"I know just the thang..." Applejack trotted off into the other room, making the floorboards squeak beneath her well-toned hooves. "Though I gotta make a trip into the attic for it!"
"The attic?" Rainbow blinked.
"Oh, you mean Featherstem's?" Granny called across the house.
"Eeyup! Be right back, y'all!"
"I... uh..." Rainbow Dash squirmed. She spoke to avoid the ponies hearing the chatter of her teeth. "I-I really don't wanna be a bother to you guys..."
"Don't be silly, Twilight Shy!" Granny Smith waved a hoof before glazing another tray of baked rings. "So long as yer standin' between these walls, yer practically family!"
"Yeah, but—"
"And ain't no big whoop! I've been bakin' these here doughnuts since I was yer age! The more who get to munch on 'em, the better!"
"Wow... you really... uh... like baking those, don't you?"
"You bet!" Granny Smith paused to wipe her brow. "It's been a long, swealterin' apple buck season!" She winked. "Or at least that's what my granddaughter and grandson tell me. Heeheehee-hyeh!"
Just then, the kitchen door swung open, carrying with it a scented breeze of autumn and sawdust. Big Macintosh trotted in, effortlessly hauling several stacks of wood as if they were balls of yarn.
"Hey, Big Mac!" Apple Bloom waved. "Wow, did you drag in the whole forest or what?!"
"A fire!" Granny Smith smiled wide. "Why, that's a darn good idea! The first fire of the year!" She squinted. "Did Applejack think of it?"
Big Macintosh nodded with a smile. "Eeeyup."
"Well, go on and get the hearth ready! There's an old newspaper besides the rocking chair."
"Eeyup..." Big Macintosh trotted past Rainbow Dash, his heavy hoofsteps making the whole house creak and shake. It felt small and fragile inside, and yet strangely sturdy all at once. A cold chill ran through from window to window, and Rainbow Dash couldn't tell if that was the reason why she was shivering, or if it was something else.
Granny Smith's voice snapped her out of it. "The rest of y'all, why dun ya go into the family room and get all nice and comfy? I'll be done with this here batch in a few minutes, and then we can begin preparin' our taste buds for tomorrow... ya feel me?"
"Sure thang, Granny!" Apple Bloom tugged on Rainbow's tail. "Come on, Rainbow! I wanna show you somethin'!"
"Uhhhh... sure thing, kid!" Rainbow Dash stumbled after her.
They entered the next room, which was considerably dimmer than the kitchen. Big Mac stood before a large fireplace. After pivoting two sofas and a rocking chair to face the hearth, he lit a pair of candles and then squatted before the partition, crumpling old newspapers and forming a neat bed across the metal wood brace.
"Squee!" Apple Bloom tugged Rainbow into the corner of the living room, diverting her attention. "I can't believe it! Rainbow Dash is hangin' out here! At our place!"
"Uhhh..." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Apple Bloom, you and I see each other—like—every Tuesday. Why's it so gut-bursting all of the sudden?"
"It's just that you're the most amazin' flier in all of Ponyville—if not Equestria!" Apple Bloom giggled. "At least, that's what Scootaloo says all the time. Heehee. I bet she'd kill me if I told her about tonight."
"Er... yeah..." Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane. "Well, I dunno if I'm worth killing over..."
"Check this out, Rainbow!" Apple Bloom unruffled a stretch of red and silver fabric and held it up over herself. "I've been makin' this for Nightmare Night! It's my costume! What do you think?" She hopped up and down. "Huh? Huh?"
"It's uhhh... uhhhh..." Rainbow squinted across the dim candle-light, her nose twitching. "I give. What are you supposed to be? Diet Colt-a-Cola?"
"Rainbowwww..." Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out. "What are you, blind?!" She pointed at the puffy "armor plates." "Isn't it obvious? I'm King Sombra!"
Rainbow blinked. "King Sombra."
"Well..." Apple Bloom fidgeted, blushing slightly. "I guess 'Queen Sombra' is more like it. I still need to figure out how to add a scary horn, and I'm still working on my speech... y'know... for when I'm goin' door to door for treats. Ahem." She stretched her fuzzy yellow muzzle to the breaking point. "CrYsTaLsSsSsSs!"
"Hehehehe..." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Not bad, kiddo. It's pretty scary." She winked. "After all, every translucent pony from the north knows that the diabolical enslaver of thousands was really just a cuddly yellow filly underneath!"
"Rainbow!" Apple Bloom stomped her little hoof and pouted. "Con sarn it! I've worked really hard on this!"
"And it looks spiffy! For real!" Rainbow Dash knelt down and pawed the loose outfit with her hoof. "I mean, for fabric, it actually kinda looks like plated armor! But I think it could use less... y'know... frills."
"Well, I did say I was gonna be Queen Sombra."
"Heh, you have a point there. Still..." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Ever thought of being a little Shadowbolt instead?"
"Pffft. You for real?" Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out. "My big sis tells me you dress up for that every year."
"Yeah, so?" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Every pegasus secretly wants to be a rough, tough Shadowbolt! It's okay to dream! Even dream dark!"
"But I dun have wings!" Apple Bloom blinked. "How am I ever gonna pass off as a Shadowbolt?"
"Apple Bloom, we're talking Nightmare Night, not flight camp! Ever heard of using your imagination?"
"Oh, all the time! But whenever I do, Miss Cheerilee snaps at me for not payin' attention to the class lecture!"
"Don't tell me you've never flown."
"Rainbow... heehee... I dun have wings, silly filly!"
"That's no excuse!"
"Heeheehee... What are you even talkin' about?"
"Better yet, I'll show you!" Rainbow Dash squatted down and laid on her back. "Ever played 'hoof-ups' with Applejack?"
"Uhhh... I'm not a toddler anymore."
"Yeah, well, I'm about to one-up her." Rainbow Dash motioned the filly over, then stuck her hooves up. "Come on! Climb up!"
"Awwww... do I have to?"
"Stop whining! I promise it'll be awesome!"
"Well, okaaaay..." Apple Bloom reluctantly trotted over and "climbed up" onto Rainbow Dash's legs. "If you say it'll be awesome..."
"Lemme know when you've got a balance."
"Just a sec..." Apple Bloom wobbled slightly. At last, she stood with her hooves firmly planted over the flats of Rainbow's. "Uhm... okay. I'm balanced n'all. Now what?"
"Okay. You ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"When I tell you to, I want you to jump up. Straight up."
"Jump up?!"
"Right."
"What for?"
"You'll figure it out by the time you come down." Rainbow winked. "Because you won't be coming down."
"Uhhhhh..."
"I'm going to count down to zero."
"Okay..."
"Three... two... one... zero! Now jump!"
Apple Bloom leapt straight up. In mid-air, she saw Rainbow Dash's legs disappear from underneath her. She jolted, squeaking in fright—but suddenly had nothing to shriek about. As a matter of fact, she seemingly didn't have gravity either. The mare gasped to see that she was levitating straight over the pegasus, elevated by the sheer force of Rainbow Dash's flapping wings.
"Well?!" Rainbow Dash grinned, straining to maintain the beat of her feathers from where she lay flat on her back. "Did I tell you that I'd show you what flight's like or didn't I?!"
"This... is..." Apple Bloom's mouth exploded. "Awesome!"
"Heheh... you think?"
"I'm flyin'!" Apple Bloom chirped, her red mane and redder bow flapping in the artificial breeze. "I'm actually flyin'!" She spread her little yellow wings out as she hovered, bobbing up and down from Rainbow's wingpower. "Wooohooo! Look... Look, Big Mac! I'm a pegasisterrr!"
"Heheheh..." Big Macintosh smiled, setting down the last of his firewood. He struck a match and lit the shredded newspapers beneath, eventually igniting the entire hearth.
As a toasty warmth spread through the room, Rainbow Dash heard Applejack's hoofsteps from beyond the flapping of her wings.
"Whoah, nelly! Apple Bloom, are y'all possessed?!"
"Sure am, sis!" Apple Bloom cheered, her eyes tearing from the brisk air billowing past her face. "Possessed with neigh for speed."
"Eh, close enough." Rainbow Dash chuckled, sweating slightly. "Keep this up, and your little sister's liable to get a flight license, AJ!"
"Uh huh." Applejack reached the bottom of the stairs and shook a hoof. "That's enough, now. Her lil' head's windblown enough as it is."
"Awwwwwwwwwww."
"You heard Captain Freckles, kid," Rainbow Dash said. "We're comin' in on the runway! Lowering landing gear! Aaaaaand..." She coiled her wings to her side in a snap.
"Whoah!" Apple Bloom fell like a rock.
Rainbow Dash caught her in a full, fuzzied hug. "Touchdown! Let's roll 'er into the hangar, boys!"
"Heeheehee!" Apple Bloom nuzzled Rainbow Dash, giggling in her embrace. "That was amazin'! Again! Let's do it again!"
"Another time, Apple Bloom." Applejack trotted over, helping the filly to her hooves. "Not on an evening when we have candles and the fireplace lit, ya reckon?"
"AJ! AJ!" Apple Bloom hopped happy little circles around her. "I changed my mind!"
"Oh? About what?"
"I wanna be a Shadowbolt this year for Nightmare Night, just like Rainbow Dash!" Apple Bloom grinned wide. "Can I get some purple and blue cloth from Carousel Boutique tomorrow mornin'? Huh?"
"Uhhhhhhh..." Applejack fidgeted, gazing at the deflated costume lying on the floor. "How about we just... st-stitch some cardboard wings to what y'all already got and call it a 'Sombracorn?'"
"Awwwwww..." Apple Bloom paused, blinking. "Y'know..." She rubbed her chin. "That ain't half bad, actually..."
"Heh..." Rainbow Dash goy up, shivering slightly as she stood at window-level. "And here I was afraid you had no imagination..."
"Rainbow, shiver no more." Applejack turned and offered her a woolie... woolie sweater. "I got you just the thang you need."
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow Dash grimaced visibly, staring at the thick wad of calico fibrous. "Am I supposed to wear this thing or sheer it?"
"Now, none of that." Applejack briefly frowned. "It won't kill ya to bundle up some. And besides..." She smirked. "Granny will have bouth our gullets if you don't, ya hear? So slip it on."
"Mmmf..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Alright." She took the sweater in a blue hoof, and nearly fell to the floor from the weight of it. "Wh-whoah!"
"Yeesh. Are yer legs made of noodles, sugarcube?"
"AJ, this wears a ton! What gives?!"
"That means it'll do the trick!"
"But I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Just as she said that, a brisk breeze blew through the windows, and she trembled. "Then again..."
"Heheheh..."
"Mrmmff... guh..." Rainbow Dash fought and fumbled her way into the insulated outfit.
"Here..." Applejack leaned in. "Lemme help."
"Grnnfh... I got it... mrmmf..." Rainbow's head popped out. As she fiddled with the sleeves, she looked down at herself. Her upper body was already teetering forward from the imbalance. "Ugh... I swear, if I flew in this thing, I'd nose-dive instantly."
"Good thang ya ain't flyin' anytime soon."
"Heh, not like I could if I tried," Rainbow muttered. "Fat chance of this thing having—" Just then, her wings popped free. She looked back at the twin holes allowing her feathers to breathe, and she gasped. "Holy parasprites!" her voice cracked. "This thing has wing holes?"
"Yup! Sure does!"
"But... how... why?" Rainbow squinted. "You would have a sweater in your attic for a pegasus to wear?"
Applejack smiled. "Great Uncle Featherstem. On my mother's side." She winked. "A Manehattan Orange to the core. Heck, he has a building named after him on that bustlin' island somewhere."
"No kidding...?" Rainbow stretched her legs, suddenly admiring the sweater in the warm glow of the fire. "I had no idea you had... y'know... featherblood."
"Hard to believe, considerin' how much me and my folks drool over apples, huh?"
"Hey, I drool over apples, but that doesn't make me an earth pony!" Rainbow Dash fidgeted. "D-does it?"
"Land's sakes!" Applejack mock-gasped, eyes wide. "The next thang you know, you'll be wakin' up in mud and digging up worms with yer fetlocks!" She smirked and gave Rainbow's shoulder a light punch. "Now quit her fussin' and have a seat. By the smell of it, Granny Smith's almost—"
"It's that time, y'all! Gather 'round!"
"Oh boy!" Apple Bloom squeaked. She darted up onto the couch and hopped up and down. "Oh boy oh boy oh boy!"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh stood up from where he finished putting up a metal grate before the open flame.
"Apple Bloom, quit roughhousin'," Applejack said. "Though, I'm scared to think how bouncy you'll be after a bite or two."
"Yeah? So?" She beamed. "Don't we do this every year?"
"I knew there was a reason why I ached so much around Nightmare Night! It's on account of my limbs bein' so sore from chasin' you all across the farm!"
"Heeheehee!"
"Now that, I would pay to see," Rainbow Dash said. She climbed up onto a couch, turned around three times, and squatted down. "Whew..." She fidgeted with the sleeves of Featherstem's woolie sweater. "Wow, that fire... uhm..."
"Nice and toasty, huh?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah..." Rainbow gulped, still shivering slightly. "I guess." She felt a soft blanket draped over her shoulders. She looked up.
Applejack smiled. "Just makin' sure our guest is comfy, is all." She trotted over to the other sofa, laying out another blanket. "Here ya go, Apple Bloom. Don't wrinkle it up too bad."
"What am I, two?"
"Heh... sometimes I wonder."
"AJ!"
Big Macintosh chuckled as he sat on a chair. Meanwhile, a familiar green figure trotted into the room on wobbly legs, carrying a large plate on her flank.
"Here y'all go, darlin's!" Granny Smith smiled. "Now, I know yer young and bouncy, but try'n'savor them some, ya hear? This is a real treat for sure, but dun forget that we're tryin' to sample for tomorrow night! That's when the rest of Ponyville shows up to try our vittles! We dun wanna let 'em down, now do we?"
"Granny, we know the drill!" Apple Bloom said, licking her lips. "We won't let you down!"
"D'awwwww... I know that, precious. Just remember, all good things needn't go by in a flash."
"Eeyup." Big Mac said, nevertheless swiping a doughnut and taking the first bite. Almost instantly, his eyes shut and he murmured into a mouthful. "Mmmmmmm..."
Rainbow Dash's eyes darted to Apple Bloom, who grabbed a doughnut, broke it in half, and began nibbling on a morsel. Her cheeks instantly flushed and her ears twitched like two yellow hooves clapping above her head. "Mmm-mmm-mmm! Mrmmmff—You done outdid yerself this time, Granny!"
"Apple Bloom, let's be civil-like!" Applejack sat down next to Rainbow Dash. "If yer gonna talk with yer mouth full..." She winked. "At least make it somethin' worth hearin'!"
"Heeheehee!"
"Heheheheh."
"Mrmmmf—mmffyfpp!"
As Granny Smith trotted on by, Applejack grabbed two doughnuts, one for herself and another for Rainbow Dash. "Here ya go, sugarcube. Tell us what you think."
"What... I-I think..." Rainbow Dash trembled slightly, feeling the granular texture of the treat in her hoof. As she held it up to her mouth, the dough nearly imploded. It was a lot softer than she imagined. She gazed at it as if it was pure ambrosia wrapped in a circle. The silence was daunting; the crackles of the fireplace sent shivers down Rainbow's spine. Sensing the eyes of he entire Apple Family on her, she simply shrugged it off with a devil-may-care grin and dove in muzzle-first.
At first, Rainbow couldn't tell if she was biting into anything. She may just as well have been chewing on thin air. But then, with feather-light tingles, the breaded bits of the treat came alive in her mouth, then veritably exploded with cinnamon flavor. Her mouth became awash with a strange warmth—not unlike the heat of the fireplace resonating from just a few feet away from her and the sofa that she was curled up on. Rainbow's tongue swam through the ocean of flavor, and deep down inside she finally sensed it... the ever-tangy taste of apple. She swore that half of the fruit went to her brain while the other half came out her nostrils in a muffled gasp, serenaded by the quiet hush of the autumnal breeze drifting leisurely through the windows to tickle her delicate blue fuzz from beyond the sweater and blanket. She felt enshrouded in a cocoon of warmth, at the very nucleus of which was a supernova of apple and cinnamon spreading to all parts of the universe at once, and through her.
When Rainbow Dash's eyes reopened, it took a good ten seconds for the fog to clear, and she saw that all four sets of Apple Family eyes were locked on her, waiting in great anticipation for a response, a word, a burp. Anything.
Rainbow reluctantly swallowed the morsel down, regained her breath, and mewled forth: "Sh-shazam."
Big Macintosh chuckled while Apple Bloom grinned a crescent moon.
"So you like it, huh?" Applejack said between tender bits of her own doughnut. "Mrmmff... so... are ya just gonna sit there all quiet-like or are ya gonna tell us more?"
"AJ, for Celestia's sake!" Granny Smith squabbled from where she sat on the edge of the other sofa besides bouncy Apple Bloom. "Give her a chance to get a proper taste for the whole thing!"
Rainbow Dash was suddenly flabbergasted by the commonly-known fact that it took more than one bite to finish off a proper doughnut. So, with her heart pumping like she was about to dive off the City Hall building to perform a swooping Wonderbolts trick, she turned to the treat and took another chomp out of it... or at least she tried to. The remaining doughnut broke in half, almost dissolving completely in her nervous hooves. "Mrmmmf—whoops!" It was a difficult task to navigate past the electric shocks in her muzzle and keep the rest of the bread from rolling onto the floor. "Mrmmf... it's... mrmmff... v-very crumbly..."
"Well, we'd hope so!" Applejack helped Rainbow scoop up the remaining bits and plant them back in her grasp. "Apple Cider Doughnuts ain't like the regular thang. They're breaded to contain their flavor throughout. But you taste it, though, don't you?" She smiled. "The bits of apple?"
"Mmmmff..." Rainbow Dash nodded and nodded, eyes wide and bright. "Ohhhhh yeshhh—mrfmmfff." She gulped. "It's... it's there. Like, you gotta swish your tongue around a bit to get at it, but it's good. Really good."
"No sense in puttin' it all in the glaze," Granny Smith said. "That'd lock out the flavor. And we boil the cider a bit so that it don't come on too sweet-like."
"You mean this could actually be sweeter?" Rainbow almost flipped off the couch.
"Y'all think it needs to be?" Applejack asked.
"Well... uh..." Rainbow Dash looked at the last tiny morsel. Reluctantly, she scarfed it down, doing what she could to savor the flavor on the way down. "Mmmf... no... guess not. I mean, like... it's perfect." She gulped, smiling pleasantly. "Totally perfect."
"Would you like another, darlin'?" Granny Smith asked.
Rainbow's eyes instantly sparkled. "M-more...?"
The whole room laughed as the fireplace crackled on, growing brighter and warmer.
"Reckon that's a check-plus right there, Granny!" Applejack said, reaching over to grab another treat from the plate. "You certainly get two hooves-up from me!"
"Mrmmf!" Apple Bloom gulped and grinned. "And from me!"
"Eeyup."
"Heh, as if I had any doubt," Granny Smith said with a smile. "Every year rolls by, and I'm a-scared that I might have lost my touch." Closing her eyes, the wrinkly old mare tilted her head up, relishing in the cool breeze from the autumn night before slumping back down to warm herself in the fire's glow once again. "Hmmmm... but I reckon I worry too much. There's somethin' about this time of year that just brings out the ol' doughnut baker in me."
"Yer got the magical tough in more places than that, Granny," Applejack said between tender bites. "Mrmmfff... why..." She brushed the crumbs off her orange hooves and curled a blanket over her legs and flank. "The recipe for farm-fresh apple pies changed five whole times while you've been alive! And all thanks to you, I bet!"
"Ohhhh, now yer just flatterin' me!"
"Honest truth, Granny! T'ain't the zap apples that made the Rich Family's Barnyard Bargain stores so big in the first place! It was the bake sales you and great grandpa held back at the original store here in Ponyville!"
"Oh yeah!" Apple Bloom nodded, grinning wide. "Didn't y'all hold those every Saturday mornin' or somethin'?"
"Heh! Yer darn right, we did!" Granny Smith smiled. "Spent the whole week for twenty years, bakin' pies and fritters and cobblers—you name it! When the train station opened up here in town, I set up a little bakery right by the west side! Ponies a'visitin' from far and wide got to sample some of Sweet Apple Acres' finest on the way to and from... uh... well wherever them busy hooves'n'wings were takin' them. Eheheheh..."
"I bet the folks at the train station were really happy to have you around!"
"You bet! Why... th-they used to give me free train tickets every month!" Granny Smith winked. "That's how I finally got to see the sights and sounds of Equestria! Cuz of them free train rides!"
"Ohhhhhh!" Apple Bloom smiled. "And here I thought it was 'cuz grandpa came from a steel-makin' plant!"
"Nope! It was all the conductor's doin'! He used to flirt with me somethin' awful. I just paid him no-mind and got myself on board the train for another bumpity ride to nowhere! Eheheh! Why... I remember near-about fifty years ago, I took a train to Chicacolt! No reason... only that I'd always heard about it while I was a lil' filly livin' on the farms right outside Fillydelphia. The 'Windy City' they always called it. I reckoned I was about to find out for myself. I got on the train, and I lowered the windows to my coach. It was a real crisp, clean, autumn day—just like it is right now... all cool and gentle-like." Granny Smith shut her eyes, taking a luxurious breath while her ears danced to the crackling embers of the fire. "Mmmm... back then, I had a nice full mane, not this stringy gul-durn mess that time has a'given me. Somethin' in the countryside came in through the train windows and put a scent into my mane... a wonderful honey'd smell that couldn't go away. You can bet grandpappy liked it... eheheh. Things weren't like they are today. There weren't no point in goin' out and buyin' rich conditioners n'sludgy stuff when all you needed was a good train ride and mother nature."
"That sounds delightful, Granny," Applejack said.
"What happened when you got to Chicacolt?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Pffft!" Granny Smith nearly slobbered. "I didn't!" She waved a hoof. "As soon as we got to depot, I turned right around and got my apple-green behind onto the first train back and enjoyed the breeze all over again!"
"Heeheehee!"
"Heheheheh..."
All this time, Rainbow Dash nibbled slowly on her second doughnut. By the time Granny Smith was done with her story, she was only halfway through with her treat. Between the heat of the fireplace and the blanket gathered around her petite figure, Rainbow felt a glow resonating from deep within, sprinkled with the cinnamon sugar now coursing through her veins. Every heartbeat pulsed with some strange nebulous excitement that was also quiet and serene at the same time. If she so much as moved an inch—or a hair of her fuzzy ears—she felt the cold chill from the world outside, and yet she was further bathed in the warmth from the fireplace. Rainbow Dash felt paradoxically cold and warm at once, and she couldn't quite put her hoof on how to describe it, only that it felt good... very good. She hid her face behind the remaining half of her doughnut, for fear that somepony might see how flushed her cheeks were and wonder if something was amiss.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom was chirping: "I totally know what you mean about the whole mane-thang, Granny!"
"Oh, do you, now?" Granny Smith narrowed. "Is there a lil' 'grandpappy' on the recess yard that I should be aware of?"
Big Macintosh and Applejack chuckled.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Nothin' like that!" She waved a hoof. "Just that the first time I ever rode with Scootaloo on her scooter, it was on an October afternoon too!"
"Ya dun say?"
"Yeah! We had just met the weekend before at Diamond Tiara's cute-se-nera! Sweetie Belle was all 'When do we start crusadin'?—only in that squeaky voice of hers. And Scootaloo was all 'Well it's too bad I can't fit you all on my scooter or else we could get around town really fast!' And that's when I gasped and said, 'Well, I have a red wagon that Big Mac used when he was a little colt! Why don't we hitch that to the back of the scooter so the two of us can ride along with you?!'"
"Oh, I remember that." Applejack's brow furrowed. "When I found out y'all went rollin' around town without helmets, I done about had a heart attack."
Apple Bloom winced. "Look, AJ, I'm tryin' to make this a happy story..."
"Heheh... dun mind me."
"Right!" Apple Bloom spun about. "So we got the wagon hitched up and Scootaloo started blurrin' away with them orange wings of hers! And before we knew it, we was all glidin' all over town like a bat out of Tartarus! Swooooooosh! Nyeuuuurrr. Y'know?! Blazin' trails!"
"Heh..." Rainbow Dash nodded with a smirk. "I know. I've seen it." She savored another morsel of doughnut.
"Only, like, this was the first time n'all. I was whoopin' and hollerin' the whole time! Sweetie Belle kept screamin' for the ride to stop."
"Mrmmmfff... what about Scoots?"
"Oh... pfft... she was laughin'! Heehee!"
"Heh... that sounds about right."
"But... uhm... to make a long story short..." Apple Bloom squirmed in her seat. "We kinda sorta cr-crashed into a pile of leaves in front of Roseluck's house."
Applejack almost choked on her next crumbly bite. She coughed and wheezed, then glared in Apple Bloom's direction. "Y'all never told me that part!"
"Oh, we were all right in the end!" Apple Bloom smiled nervously. "Although..." She looked in Rainbow's direction. "...for the whole week, half of my mane smelled like dead leaves." She giggle-snorted. "And other half like Sweetie Belle's tears."
"Hahahaha... awwwwwwwww."
"So now when the weather gets cool like this, I remember rip-roarin' trips through town on the wagon," Apple Bloom said with a perky smile. She blinked. "That, and browsin' for 'Get Well' cards through a drugstore to give to Sweetie Belle."
"Well, I hope that wears off," Applejack said, brushing her hooves off again. She gulped her last bite and uttered, "Yer too young to remember this time of year for somethin' so dag-blame'd silly."
"Oh? And I bet you have a much better memory to with the fall!"
"Yer darn right I do!" Applejack nodded.
"This I gotta hear," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
"Oh shucks..." Granny Smith winced. "Is this gonna be the Nightmare Night story?"
"Yup!"
Big Macintosh merely chuckled.
"Oooooh..." Granny Smith drew a hoof over her brow. "This kills me every time I hear it told."
"Awwwwwwww, don't be that way, Granny!" Applejack smiled sweetly. "S'not like anythang really bad happened!"
"What?" Rainbow Dash blinked, juggling her last breaded bit in pensive hooves. "What happened?"
"Well..." Applejack leaned back, allowing her golden bangs to flutter in the wind from the windows. "I was maybe... what? Ten? Eleven?" She shrugged. "Anyways, it was my first Nightmare Night after comin' back from my stay at the Oranges in Manehattan. Instead of makin' myself a costume, I got this fancy-smancy idea of just goin' out as the silly guss'd up filly that the Oranges wanted me to be at dinner parties in uptown Neigh York."
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked as she broke into a fresh round of giggles. "Of all the monsters and ghouls and ninjas you could have been, you chose to be a friggin' diva?!"
"Hey! Come on!" Applejack frowned. "It was my first year with a cutie mark!" She glanced aside, kneading the couch cushion with her hooves. "So wh-what if I wanted to show it off a b-bit as 'Apple Jewell?'"
"Heheheh..." Rainbow Dash wiped a tear from her eyes. "I would have killed to know this Applejack at the time."
"Yeah, well, it's mighty hard to go trick-or-treatin' door to door in Cloudsdale, I reckon."
"Age eleven? Wasn't that the year that Star Whinny came out? Why didn't you just dress as a stormtrotter?"
"Anyways!" Applejack snarled, making Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh chuckle. "Granny Smith bought me a purdy little dress that didn't cover up my cutie mark too much. We did my mane all nice and fancy, and off I went with my best friends at the time."
"Who were...?"
"Golden Harvest and Daisy."
"Brbrbrbrbrbrrrr..."
"Yeah, well, I was young, and they were our neighbors' foals." Applejack cleared her throat. "Ain't like we had the Elements of Harmony to point me in the right direction at the time."
"I'd say. You used to be best friends with Daisy?"
"She had a lot of broken barrels at her farm. We played loopty-hoop until sundown."
"I bet you did."
"Anyways, yer steerin' me off course. Where was I?" Applejack gasped. "Oh, right! So... Nightmare Night..."
"Uh huh..."
"I was really bouncy and excited that year, on account of my earnin' my cutie mark n'all. At some point—I dunno how it happened, exactly—but I broke off from the rest of the group and wandered on my lonesome."
"Wuh oh."
"I still hate myself all over for it too," Granny Smith groaned.
"For the last time, Granny!" Applejack smiled at the other sofa. "Don't be hatin' on yerself! You had to chaperone for twenty foals that day. Twenty! While every other adult was off enjoyin' the fall hoedown to their hearts' content, you was stuck with foalsitting duty all night!"
"Still, ain't no excuse for losin' an apple from my own bushel," Granny said, sniffing.
"Awwwwwww..." Apple Bloom leaned in and nuzzled the old mare's side. "Don't feel sad, Granny! See? My big sis is alive n'well!"
"Yes, thank Celestia."
"Now... uhm... c-can I have another doughnut."
"Heh... here ya go, ya little whippersnapper."
"Yaaaay! Nom nom nommmm!"
"So what happened then?" Rainbow Dash asked, curling tighter into the blankets as she delighted in the warmth from the fire.
"Well..." Applejack tapped her freckled cheek, smiling into the flickering shadows of the toasty room. "For some reason, I trotted straight into the Everfree Forest. Eheheh... I know it sounds dangerous, not to mention plum stupid, but my head was in another place at the time. I had always heard about the Everfree Forest, but I didn't know what it looked like to the naked eye. Plus, it was pretty late into Nightmare Night, and I couldn't rightly see the difference between Ponyville proper and the woods. So, when I was stuck in the middle of the forest n'all, I barely noticed."
"You barely noticed?" Rainbow blinked incredulously. "Like... you didn't see the evil-looking trees and the wild bushes growing everywhere?"
"Oh, I noticed the trees alright, but I found them... mmmm... kind of hypnotic-like."
"Oh?"
"Just... the way the wind blew through the barren branches and made everythang whistle and rustle..." Applejack's nostrils flared. "It was like the whole wide world was alive with somethin' magical and unseen. It was creepy, for sure... but in a delightful way, if you can believe that."
"Sure, why not?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "A little bit of fear is good for you, I think."
"Only, t'ain't fear." Applejack shrugged. "It's hard to say. But... I hear it now... I feel it now... in the breeze comin' in through the window... in the way that sounds and smells seem to carry extra far in the quiet hush of autumn night." She smiled pleasantly, her emerald eyes dancing with tiny flame. "It's like somethin' is callin' out to me... to all of us... and there's nothin' else quite like it. No words to describe it, either. I just feel like... somethin' is alive out there, watchin' over us, ready to pounce on us... but holdin' back. It's somethin' we have every right to fear but respect at the same time."
Big Macintosh nodded while Apple Bloom finished her last doughnut.
Rainbow Dash looked at her last morsel, gobbled it up, and swallowed with a soft smile. "Mrmmff... wow, Applejack. I didn't know you had it within you to be so—"
"Silly?"
Rainbow blinked. "I was gonna say 'deep,' but that works too... heh..."
"A close brush with fate," Granny Smith muttered. "That's what lil' 'Apple Jewell's' experience was."
"Huh?"
"Ohhhhhhhh Granny..." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Not this again!"
"I knows what I be sayin'!" Granny Smith frowned. "Wouldn't have been the first time the Everfree Forest tried to claim an apple!"
"What?" Rainbow blinked. "Did you have a close brush, Ms. Smith?"
"And how!" Granny Smith smirked. "In the years before Ponyville was founded, I trotted deep into the woods to find me some zap apples!"
"Buttttt..." Applejack smirked, waving in Granny Smith's direction.
"But I found an awful pack of timberwolves runnin' fast on my tail!" Granny Smith sat up tall and proud. "Had to gallop all the way back to the log cabin and bang on metal pots to scare the oversized varmints away! Why, if I hadn't been lucky, I woulda been mashed to bits in the monsters' chompers! And so would Applejack, I bet, if I hadn't found her in the woods fast enough that Nightmare Night!"
"Wait..." Rainbow Dash blinked. "You mean to tell me that you... you marched deep into Everfree and took on a whole pack of timberwolves all by yourself?!"
"Pffft! Why..." Granny Smith waved a hoof. "Ain't nothin' like the time Applejack's great-grandpappy and I fought off a hydra tryin' to storm in on our zap apple orchards!"
"A hydra?!"
"Yup! Took the whole bunch of us settler ponies to ward the dag-gum thang off with slingshots and apple launchers too! It was a struggle, till we learned that we could just harvest the dang lightning from the zap apple trees and aim it at the big pests! So we started settin' up metal rods all over town! It sure did the trick! Hydras migrated away from Ponyville the very next summer, and they've been livin' in Boggy Bottom Bog ever since!"
"True story," Applejack said with a proud smirk. "It's even archived in the Ponyville Historical Institute."
"Eeeeeyup."
Rainbow Dash gawked, huddled under blanket. "That. Is. So. Awesome!"
"Well..." Granny Smith brushed her mane back. "I ain't fixin' to brag..."
"Applejack, you never told me your grandmother was a friggin' superheroine!"
"Heheheheh..."
"Takes all my gumption every autumn night not to bang on the pots all frightened-like," Granny Smith said with a shudder. "As if a timberwolf or a hydra be creepin' around the corner. I don't take stock in the 'joy' of bein' creeped out like Applejack does, but if it works for her, than who am I to complain? Hmmm?" Granny Smith held another plate out. "Another doughnut, darlin'?"
Rainbow Dash tried her futile best to contain her squee. "Pl-please!" She grasped it and nibbled instantly. "Mrmmfff... th-thankies..."
Granny Smith winked. "Anytime, sweetie."
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow glanced over. "Big Mac? Mrmmfff... how 'bout you? Does this time of year bring you any fancy memories?"
Big Macintosh nodded with a smile. He opened his mouth—
"Oooh!" Apple Bloom hopped off the couch and stood in front of him. "Is this gonna be about the time you caught the four-foot-long trout with a broken fishing lure outside of Fillydelphia?"
The red stallion blinked. He opened his mouth once more—
Apple Bloom hopped again. "Or that time you went looking all over Ponyville for nails to fix the gazebo?!"
Big Macintosh sighed. He once again parted his lips—
"Oooh! Miss Cheerilee! The two of you carved pumpkins together last year right before—"
He glared at his littlest sister, eyes reflecting the heat of the fire.
"Err..." Apple Bloom backtrotted with her tail between her legs. "Eheheheh..."
Big Macintosh closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Afterwards, he merely nodded at Rainbow Dash with a smile. "Eeyup..."
"How about you, Rainbow?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash looked up from the doughnut she was sweetly savoring. "Hmmm?" She gulped. "Me?"
"Yeah!" Apple Bloom beamed as she got back up on the couch beside Granny Smith. "I bet you get a real good look at the changin' leaves from high above the trees in flight!"
"I... uh..." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "It's n-not really worth sharing..."
"Why not?" Applejack grinned. "Yer here, aren't ya?"
"But..."
"Then hop right in! What's stoppin ya?"
Rainbow Dash chewed on the edge of her lips, staring into the fire. "Well... uhm... around th-this same time last year, this really awesome Daring Do book came out... one that I had been looking forward to for a long time: Daring Do and the Cloudy Clock Caper. And... uhm..." She shrugged. "I went out to the park near to where Rarity lives and sat on a lone bench, thinking I could read just a few chapters. Turns out I got super-hooked and I couldn't stop myself from reading, even to just walk home."
"So... you stayed in the park?"
Rainbow nodded, clutching the blanket around herself. "I was right under a lamppost, so I could read by the light past sundown." She kneaded the edges of her sweater sleeves. "It got... like... really chilly... but a good kind of chilly, if you can believe that. The wind kept blowing at the pages, and it was a challenge just to keep reading straight... like I was having an adventure just keeping up with Daring Do as she had her adventure. I can remember every scene from the book vividly, along with the climactic battle in the clock tower between Daring Do and Ahuizotl. And with the wind in my mane and all... it..." She smiled warmly. "It k-kinda felt like I was actually there, y'know? With Daring on her adventure." She gulped. "It's... kinda silly, but now when I smell the crisp autumn air, it's like I'm in another place. Pure magic, ya feel me?"
"Heh..." Applejack smiled. "Ain't nothin' wrong with that, sugarcube. Sounds like a delight."
"It sure isn't close to getting lost in the woods at age eleven or plowing into a mountain of leaves in a wagon or catching a giant trout or fighting off friggin' hydras..." Rainbow shrugged with a sigh. "You'd think with all the crazy things I do and the stunts I pull that I would have something awesomer to tell, but... but th-that's it..."
Apple Bloom blinked. "Well, how about your family?"
Rainbow twitched. Her eyes looked up thinly. "Huh? Family?"
Apple Bloom smiled. "I bet your mom and dad have tons of stories that they passed down to you!"
"Eh..." Rainbow chuckled dryly. The remaining doughnut in her hooves looked like it was a hundred miles away, suddenly. She cleared her throat and murmured, "They... never really passed much onto me."
"Why not?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Apple Bloom," Applejack muttered in a dull tone.
"Naw..." Rainbow Dash interjected, waving a hoof. "It's alright! She doesn't know." Rainbow shrugged. "Pegasus families don't... uh... do stuff like earth pony families do."
"What kind of stuff?"
Rainbow gestured dramatically towards the room, the fire, the blankets, and the doughnuts. "This kind of stuff," she said. "Pegasi are born with wings, so we don't stay in one place for very long. You understand?"
Apple Bloom's muzzle scrunched. "No," she said. "Not really."
"Well, someday you probably will." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Scootaloo's different. Her folks aren't from Cloudsdale, so they live differently. For the rest of us, though? We fly by the Cloudsdale philosophy. Everything's fast and fleeting, ready to dissolve the next moment like a cloud. If the seasons need to change, we change it. Guess that's why I... I-I've not made such a big deal out of something as simple as the autumn weather." She turned over the doughnut in her hooves, inhaling the scent of pumpkin and wooden embers as it wafted across the chilly room from window to window. "Until t-tonight."
The Apple Family gazed on from a distance.
For the first time since sitting down, Rainbow felt a chill run up her spine. Rather than sigh, she gobbled up the last doughnut, enjoying it with no amount of delicacy. "Mrmmmfff... well... count me in for tomorrow's—mmff..." She gulped. "For tomorrow's festival thingy. I see it's totally worth checking out after all."
"Awwwww..." Apple Bloom's ears folded. "Does this mean that yer leavin'?"
"Heh, I'm afraid so, kiddo." Rainbow Dash stretched her legs out from beneath the blanket. As soon as she made contact with the floorboards, her body instantly shivered. She hid it with a professional smirk. "My home's a long flight away, and I've got stuff to do tomorrow!"
"Yeah? Like what?"
"A pegasus like me who loves to live dangerously?" Rainbow trotted by the opposite couch, pausing to ruffle Apple Bloom's mane with a wink. "I'm sure I can totally find something!"
"Ohhhhhh..." Apple Bloom pouted. "But you just got here!"
"Don't worry. I'll get you to 'fly' another time, shorty."
"Well, it was sure nice havin' you around to try out our tasty vittles, darlin'," Granny Smith said. "It's a shame to see ya leave so soon, but yer always welcome to stop by again when the wind blows right!"
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said with a nod.
"Heh... I'll keep that in mind!" She waved a blue hoof as she made her way for the front door. "And anytime you need me for more than just leaf-blowing around the farm, you give me a holler!"
"Sure thang. Y'all take care now, ya hear?"
"No promises," Rainbow said with a devil-may-care grin, then stepped on through the screen door.
Once outside, embraced by the full chill of autumn night, Rainbow shuddered. She stood on the very edge of the porch, her wings twitching with the need to fly, but something anchored her there. She stood in place, fidgeting. Whenever she tried to stop her teeth from chattering, her muzzle grimaced. She listened to the rustle of branches from a distance. The whole dark world trembled with something enchanted and alive, carried on the thin winds of October, and yet the pegasus knew it was all in the wake of nature's gradual death.
But that wasn't what held her in place. Everytime her wings flexed, she remembered the glaze of firelight across Granny Smith's wrinkled brow, Apple Bloom's fuzzy dimples, and Big Macintosh's chiseled features. At last, Applejack's freckles frickled across her mind, tingling in the back of her throat like cinnamon and sugar.
Rainbow Dash didn't realize how heavily she was sighing until she heard a set of hoofsteps breaking up the monotony from behind. She swiveled around with a jerk, only to see Applejack blinking at her.
"Didn't mean to startle you, sugarcube."
"Applejack. What..." Rainbow fidgeted, making sure her trembles couldn't be seen. "I-I mean why are you out here?"
Applejack smiled. "I was about to ask you the same thang, darlin'."
Rainbow blinked. "Huh?" She looked down at her long, woolie sleeves. "Omigosh!" She winced heavily. "I-I totally forgot! I'm such a featherbrain!"
"Heheheh—"
"S-sorry!" Rainbow grasped at the hem of the sweater. "I'll give it back! My bad!"
"No, Rainbow. Rainbow..." Applejack closed the distance, resting her hooves on Rainbow's shoulders. "Leave it. It's fine."
"But—"
"Ain't like Great Uncle Featherstem's gonna be needin' it anytime soon anyhow." Applejack gave a weathered smile. "All he should be sportin' right about now is a halo."
"Er..." Rainbow chuckled nervously, stepping back. "R-right..."
"Rainbow, what are ya doin' tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Rainbow blinked. "Well, like I said earlier. You convinced me. Or... eheh... the doughnuts convinced me. I think I'll be checking out this silly farm 'Festival' after all."
"No, I mean before that. What are you doin' in the afternoon?"
"Uhm... uhhh..."
"And in the mornin'?"
"I... I-I'm sure I'll have some clouds to... kick?"
"So, in other words, absolutely nothin'."
"Well..."
"Rainbow, why don't you just stay for the night?"
Rainbow Dash recoiled as if struck with a bullet. "St-stay?!"
Applejack nodded into the chilly breeze. "Yer home's so plum far away, and it's awful cold out tonight. Besides, yer already here." She smiled. "Seems awful inconvenient to expect you to fly home like this, sweater or no sweater." She blinked. "Not to mention rude."
"AJ, it's totally alright! I don't mind!"
"Then if that's the case, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"Applejack..."
"You know it ain't no trouble for us to extend our hospitality! Plus, seems like you was gettin' awful comfortable in there by the fire."
"Really, Applejack. Thanks, but—"
"But what?"
"I mean, you're all just so nice to me... and so pleasant to listen to..." Rainbow Dash gulped. "And me? All I ever do is fly around on my lonesome or sleep on clouds or... pffft... 'practice' for the friggin' Wonderbolts day in and day out."
"So?"
"So, face it. I'm just like any other pegasus." The mare's nostrils flared as she gazed across the starlit orchards. "Just like Mom and Dad. I don't have a reason for..." She cleared her throat, glancing up at Applejack with glossy eyes. "I-I mean I don't really deserve to—"
Applejack rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "You really think that loyalty deserves nothin', sugarcube?"
Rainbow Dash blinked.
Applejack's bangs fluttered in the breeze as she bore the softest of smiles. "How else you reckon Featherstem became an Apple, hmmm?"
Rainbow exhaled. She swallowed a lump down her throat, smiling thinly. "You've got an awesome family, AJ," she murmured. "You know that?"
"Yup." Applejack winked. "Bet you do too."
Rainbow gazed down at the floor, ears drooped.
"Now come on inside before you catch cold, silly filly." Applejack said, giving Rainbow a friendly little tug. "We've got ourselves a guest room all nice and prepared." Her ears twitched. "Or... you could just lie on the sofa... y'know... by the fire."
Rainbow Dash gazed up, blinking.
"Would ya like that?"
"Hmmm..." Rainbow Dash smiled, cheeks rosy beneath bespeckled eyes. "Yeah... I-I think I would..."
Applejack smiled, and both mares trotted in through the screen door.
Half-an-hour later, Rainbow Dash lay curled up against the hoof-rest of the couch, bundled up in a comfortable blanket. Across the way, Big Macintosh lay slumped back in his chair, snoring lightly. Apple Bloom sat on Granny Smith's lap, trying not to look exhausted as her tiny eyes fluttered. Granny Smith brushed the little filly's scarlet mane with a placid smile on her wrinkled muzzle.
"Let's see..." Applejack crawled up onto the couch a cushion or two away from Rainbow Dash. She opened a large, aged book in her hooves and flipped to a spot where an apple stem served as a bookmark. "Where were we? Ah yes!" She chuckled, then grinned across the way at Apple Bloom. "'The Yellow Birdie's Favorite Little Tree.'"
"Mmmmff..." Apple Bloom stifled a yawn. "A bedtime story...?" She rested her lazy chin on one of Granny Smith's legs. "But I'm not tiredddddd..."
"Apple Bloom, please." Applejack smirked. "Be polite in front of our guest! Unless..." She turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Nopony's in the mood for a nice, relaxin' story?"
"Uhm... nah, it's cool..." Rainbow Dash said, wrapping the blanket tighter. "If you wanna read for Apple Bloom, d-don't stop on my account!"
Applejack nodded. "Well, then, if yer fine with it, then so's the rest of the family."
"Amen," Granny Smith said, brushing Apple Bloom's mane.
"Mzzzztt-eeyuppp... zzzzzz..."
"A-a-ahem..." Applejack flipped to the front page of the tale. "'Once upon a time, there was a little bird with beautiful golden feathers! And he lived in a tree with his Mamma bird and his Pappa bird, and before them stretched an entire orchard just brimmin' with apples of all shapes and sizes...'"
As Applejack carried on, Apple Bloom struggled to keep her eyes open.
Rainbow stared at the sleepy filly, as if intoxicated by the sight. Her eyes wandered across Granny Smith's motherly smile, and at last to Big Macintosh's sleeping figure. Then, with a serene smile, she curled her forelimbs tightly under the blanket and closed her eyes to the crackling fireplace, feeling the warmth wash over her in the spaces between Applejack's drawling words.
