Applejack glanced over at her girlfriend as she pulled the long, bulky package out of the back of her family's pick-up, then back to the bundle she was tugging on. Heaving it up on her shoulder, the weight really nothing since her power up at Camp Everfree, she turned back to the other girl. "You sure this is a good idea, Sugar Cube? You know Ah ain't really one fer heights."
Rainbow Dash huffed a little and frowned. "AJ, you promised!"
"Ah know Ah did and Ah'll go through with it. Ah'm just saying Ah don't like bein' much higher than halfway up an apple tree, that's all."
Dash just grinned and stepped into the farm girl's personal space to drop a quick kiss on her lips. "It's perfectly safe! My friend Gilda went over the glider with a fine toothed comb and I'll be there with you if something happens anyway." She smiled more softly, a smile only Applejack ever saw. "You know I would never let anything happen to you, right?"
AJ took a deep breath and slowly released it with a slow nod. "Yeah, Ah know ya wouldn't. That's the part Ah know Ah can count on," she said, looking Dash straight in the eyes.
The shorter girl actually blushed a little, the smiled brightly. Grabbing the blonde's free hand, she tugged her toward the launching platform. "Come on, slow poke! We're wasting daylight!"
Applejack just laughed and allowed herself to be hurried along. Soon, the two friends had the hang glider assembled and double checked, with Applejack tightening the last strap of the harness she'd need to fly the glider. Dash busied herself checking every strap and buckle that would keep her girlfriend attached to the hang glider's framework. Yeah, she was absolutely sure she could catch her if something went wrong, she really didn't want anything to go wrong.
"Okay, everything checks out. You ready to fly?"
AJ nodded her head, then looked fully at Rainbow Dash and smirked. "Well, Ah am. You look like your stayin' on the ground after all."
Dash just grinned and shook her head. "Funny girl. Gimme a sec, okay?" Looking inward, she concentrated on her Element and what it meant to her. After the Friendship Games, all seven girls had sat down and talked about how it felt and what they'd been doing and thinking about when they first ponied-up without music. As Sunset had guessed/surmised, they ponied-up when they embraced their true essence as an Element of Harmony. Thinking hard, she thought about her friends and what they meant to her, what she hoped she meant to them and what she'd do to help any of them should they ask. Pretty much anything, really. If they needed her, she was there.
Feeling a familiar "thrum" move down her spine, Dashie felt the weird sensation of her ears melting away and re-growing on the top of her head and her wings suddenly unfurling from her shoulders. She felt the familiar weight of a foot and half more hair growing from the end of her ponytail and laughed as she gave her wings a couple flaps, lifting off the ground a few inches. God, how she loved this feeling!
AJ smiled at the look on her girl's face, the sheer exultation as she was able to leave the ground and be herself. Then her smile turned to a grin and she hefted the glider up and onto her shoulders, clicking all the safety lines in place. "Now that yer finally ready, let's get this show onna road, Ace!" Three big, almost running steps and she was airborne with a laugh!
Rainbow looked at where AJ had been and processed what she'd heard, then spun in place to see the blonde leaving her behind. "Hey!" she yelled in surprise, then launched herself after her girlfriend, wings blurring, Applejack's laughter burning in her ears. Catching up quickly, she spun onto her back and eased up under AJ. With a playful grin, she gave her nose a "boop". "Tag, you're it!" Then she dropped a foot and sped up, looping over top of the glider as the indignant squawk the other girl gave was swallowed by the wind. With a laugh of her own, she started playing in the air, never more than a few dozen feet from Applejack, just in case. She was finally back where she belonged.
* * *
Applejack watched as Rainbow Dash once more waved at her from the cloud she was sitting on. No matter how many times Sunset or Twilight explained it was the pegasus pony magic Dash got when she ponied up, it was still wild to see. Twisting her wrist, the blonde was amazed to see they'd been up her for over two hours. She knew it should've been a far shorter time, but every time she'd gotten what Dash had determined to be too low, she'd grabbed the rope the two girls had attached for the purpose and literally hauled AJ and the glider back up a few hundred feet and released it. They'd learned, after the first time, if AJ angled the nose of her craft up when Dash pulled, there was a lot less air resistance for the "pony-girl" to fight.
When Dash looked her way again, AJ signaled her to come closer. "Hey, it's getting' kinda late, Sugar Cube. We might want to call it a day."
Dash frowned a little, but looked at her own watch. "Yeah, I guess it is. Ready for me to pull you back up high enough to make it back to the truck?"
"Yeah. Give me a holler just before you start pullin', okay?"
Dash nodded and eased back catch the trailed rope, then up and over the top of the glider. Just before she could pull it tight, she yelled, "Ready?"
"Let'er rip, Ace!" AJ called back. Angling the nose upward, she felt herself climbing higher for the final time that day.
* * *
Applejack looked up for the fourth or fifth time as she zipped the glider back in its carry bag. "What?" she half snarled, half whined.
Dash just laughed and plucked the Stetson off her girlfriend's head and plopped it on her own. "Tol'ya you'd have a good time!" she crowed.
The blonde mock scowled and snatched at her hat, Dash evading at the last second with what she would later swear was not a giggle. AJ smiled softly and waved it off. She'd get it back. "Yeah, yeah, Airhead. It was an okay way to spend a few hours" She smirked. "Better than that last Daring Do game you tricked me into tryin', anyway."
"Hey," Dash squawked indignantly. "You told me you liked Rise of the Tomb Raider! Whatta y'mean you . . ." She finally noticed AJ trying hard to not laugh and frowned at her. "Oh, ha ha!"
AJ let go with her laughter and moved over, taking the frowning, now grumpy girl in her arms. "Aw, lighten up, Ace." Her smile widened a little when Dash grumped and tried to turn her head to one side. With a light chuckle, she leaned down and captured her girl's lips in a warm, if brief kiss. "Ah had a blast, Dash. Wouldn't mind doin' it again, truth to be told."
Rainbow looked up into green eyes she knew as well as her own and saw the truth of that statement. "Really?"
"Really. Ah can see why ya love it up there." Seeing the expression on the smaller girl's face, AJ gave her another quick peck of a kiss, just to shake her out of her daze, then released her. Moving back over to the glider bundle, she said, "C'mon, Sugar Cube. Let's get this tied up and stowed."
Applejack smiled softly as she carefully loaded the glider bundle into her truck, Dash watching her every move with a giddy, ear to ear grin. Even though the shorter girl had released the pony magic that allowed her to fly, she still seemed to float a foot off the ground. Applejack had no doubt it was from the way they'd spent the last few hours, since she felt the same way. For something she'd initially been unsure of, she'd had an awful lot of fun today, mostly, she was sure, due to the company she was keeping.
Looking into the sparkling eyes of her girlfriend, Applejack had no idea if what was between them was temporary or as permanent as things with Sunset and Twilight had recently become, but she did know one thing; She was going to see it through until the end. She wasn't quite ready to label it love, but it had all the signs she'd ever heard of, right down to the occasional bout of butterflies in her stomach. Whatever it was, the blonde was ever so glad she'd given Dash the chance to prove they could be great together.
Giving her head a little shake, she smirked a little and said, "C'mon, Ace, let's head back to town, maybe hit the Pizza Shack. Ah'm 'bout ready to take a bite outta that tree over yonder." She held out her hand and Rainbow moved fast as only she could to take it, then tug her toward the front of the pick-up.
"Aw, yeah! Since veggie girls aren't with us, wanna split a meat-lovers?"
Applejack nodded as they slid into the cab, the blonde behind the wheel. "Sounds good t'me." She got the truck moving, then took Dash's hand again, intertwining their fingers as Dash put her hat back in its proper place. "Now remember, ya promised to come help me on the farm tomorrow . . ." Her voice trailed off as the vehicle left the hilltop.
Author's Note
Acknowledgments: This story only exists because of Allykitty and her Homecoming universe. I've always liked the AppleDash ship and this just seemed to fall out of my head in 2 parts. It's intended as part of her Homecoming continuity, but it can probably be read alone, too.
