“Ugh, this is going to be so laaame,” Rainbow Dash whined. Her sneakers skidded against the gravel as her mother dragged her towards the gates of some place called Sweet Apple Acres.

“Oh, don't be like that, sweetums. It's going to be lots of fun, and very educational. Don't you want to know where your food comes from? Plus we get to tell stories by the campfire, and sleep in a cabin!” Her mother's grip remained shackled around Rainbow Dash’s wrist, despite her best efforts to slip away.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as hard as she could. “Why couldn’t we go do something awesome, like go to a water park or something? Apples aren’t even that good!”

“Woah there, lil missy. Those could be considered fighting words round these parts.” A tall, broad shouldered man in a cowboy hat stood up from the bench he’d been sitting on behind the gate. He grinned widely at Rainbow Dash, then winked. “Course, I’ll forgive you just this once.”

“Tch. Whatever,” Rainbow Dash muttered, looking away.

“You must be Windy Whistles. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” The man shook her mother’s hand and tipped his hat. “It sure is a blessing that folk like you are willing to come all this way for a day at our humble little farm. I hope y’all can enjoy yourselves.”

Her mother giggled girlishly, her cheeks flushed. “Oh, the pleasure's all mine! Ever since I read about this place online, I’ve been dying to come here. Everything is so… charming!”

The man chuckled. “Wait till you meet the missus. Charmed me right into three kids. Ah, shoot, I forgot to introduce myself. The name’s Bright Mac.” He knelt down, looking Rainbow Dash in the eyes. “You’re Rainbow Dash, right? Here.” He reached behind Rainbow Dash’s head, and with a flourish, he produced a bright red apple. “Fresh as fresh can be. Try it, I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Rainbow Dash took the apple with pursed lips and eyed it suspiciously. How had he fit that up his sleeve anyway?

“What? You ain’t scared of it, are ya?”

“I’m not scared of anything!” Rainbow Dash immediately shot back, and bit into the apple. It was crisp, juicy, and amazingly sweet. Her eyes widened, then her cheeks colored at her earlier indignation.

Bright Mac threw back his head and laughed. “Told ya. We’re good at what we do.” He stood up and clapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. “I got a daughter about your age. She’s really been hoping that you’d be someone she could hang out with.”

Rainbow Dash perked up at that. Someone her own age would be a lot more interesting than a bunch of stuffy adults talking about farming or whatever. She took another bite of the apple so she didn’t have to say anything.

“Eyup.” Bright Mac stood back up, then dusted off his jeans. “Now then, how about we head up to the farmhouse and I’ll give you a quick history of Sweet Apple Acres.”

Her mother giggled again, then let out a soft sigh. “Please do, I’m all ears.”

“Well, this here farm started with my momma, but the real story started a couple centuries ago, when my great, great, great…”

Rainbow Dash immediately tuned him out. She had to listen to enough boring lectures during the school year. There was no way she was going to waste brain space learning during summer break.

A fly buzzed past her face, and she swatted at it, trying to keep it away from her apple. Odd scents mixed through the air. The apple trees smelled fresh and sweet, but the distant scent of manure made it all seem vaguely unpleasant.

She’d never really gotten nature. All of the camping trips she’d taken with her parents were kind of boring. They’d walk around a bunch, fail to catch any fish, get rained on, and then her father would bring out his acoustic guitar and they’d sing terrible, terrible songs about how awesome Rainbow Dash was.

Rainbow Dash shuddered. Just the memory made her feel queasy. She really hoped that these people didn’t own a guitar.

“Psst.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, then looked around. They were coming up to a bend of the hill, apple trees lining both sides of the path.

“Psst! Over here!”

Out of the corner of her eye Rainbow Dash caught a flash of movement, a freckled face and blonde hair ducking behind a tree. She glanced back towards the adults. They’d kept moving without her. Bright Mac was engrossed with his story, and her mom was engrossed with Bright Mac. Rainbow Dash grinned, then darted off the path.

A pretty girl her own age waited for her behind the tree. Her blond hair hung parted into twin braids, and she had a bright smile that revealed a missing tooth. “Heya. Sorry about that. Pa can get real long winded when he goes on about the farm. Name’s Applejack.”

Rainbow Dash fistbumped Applejack’s outstretched hand. “I’m Rainbow Dash. How old are you?”

“Eight and a half.”

“Cool, me too! When’s your birthday?”

“January seventh.”

“Hah!” Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out triumphantly. “My birthday’s January sixteenth! That means I’m the older one.”

Applejack blinked, and tilted her head. “No it don’t. The seventh comes before the sixteenth. That means I turned eight a week and two days before you did.”

“I…” Rainbow Dash pursed her lips, then tried to work through the numbers in her head. She scowled. “Whatever. It’s not like a week matters much anyway.”

“Eyup. It sure don’t.” Applejack laughed. “Still though, I’m glad we’re so close. Only kids that end up coming here are just tots. I get enough of that with my little sister. You seem cool though. And yer a girl besides.”

“I’m the coolest girl in school,” Rainbow Dash said, leaning against the tree and trying to look cool. She totally nailed it. “So what’s there to do for fun around here?”

Applejack shrugged and gestured vaguely at the orchards around her. “What ain't there to do? We could climb trees, play hide and seek in the fields, chase goats. Ooh, I know. You ever been crawdad hunting before?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “What the heck’s a crawdad?”

“They're… well, they look kind of like giant bugs, but they're actually more like tiny lobsters. You can find em in the mud and under rocks in streams and stuff. You just gotta suss ‘em out, then snatch ‘em with your bare hands! And be careful not to get pinched.”

“Dude!” Rainbow Dash grinned, and leaned forward. “That sounds awesome! Let's do it, I'll race you there!”

Applejack giggled. “Hold on a sec. We'll need to grab a bucket to put the crawdads in. And it's not like you know the way, right? C’mere, I'll show ya.” With a practiced motion, Applejack scrambled up onto a low hanging branch of the nearest apple tree, then leaned down to offer her hand.

Rainbow Dash took the boost, and the two of them climbed up to the highest branches together. “Woah.” This particular tree stood taller than the others around it, and on top of a hill besides. Sweet Apple Acres stretched out below them, full of rolling hills and valleys.

Applejack took a step down a long branch, holding onto the trunk with one hand and pointing with her other. “You see that building there? That's my house. Should be a straight shot down the road from here. Then we gotta circle around the back of it, and there should be two buckets right by the trough. We each gotta grab one. Then, you see that pasture behind the house, with the big oak on the other side of it? That'll be our finish line. Creek is right there anyway.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, her heart already pounding in her chest from anticipation. “Alright. House, bucket, tree. Got it.” Her ponytail flapped in the breeze behind her, and she had a sneaking suspicion that they both looked totally epic right now.

“Good.” Applejack grinned wickedly. “In that case, ready set go!” Without warning, she crouched, then swung to a lower branch with all the grace and precision of a monkey.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash hesitated for a second, then growled and started picking her way down the tree. “Hold up, that's not fair, I don't know how to get down this tree like you do!”

Applejack hit the ground and took off running. “Guess it sucks to be you!”

Muttering curse words she'd heard from her dad under her breath, Rainbow Dash finally reached the ground. She'd almost gotten herself turned around, but could still see Applejack through the trees. “I'll show her.”

Once on the open road and sprinting with all of her might, Rainbow Dash was a force to be reckoned with. Nobody could or ever would outrun her. Each second brought her closer and closer to Applejack.

Applejack looked back over her shoulder, and her eyes widened in surprise. She leaned forward and picked up her own pace. “And here I was gonna take it easy on you since I pulled that trick, but looks like you didn't need it!”

Rainbow Dash laughed as she fell into step beside Applejack, the two of them matching each other's speeds. They sped past her mother and Bright Mac, who seemed to be explaining the history of a rock.

They barreled down the hill into the open area surrounding the farmhouse. “Remember, you gotta grab a bucket or it doesn't count!”

A pretty woman worked hanging up clothes on a clothesline strung between the front porch and a nearby tree. She looked up, saw them coming, smiled, and waved.

Applejack waved back. “Hey ma! We're goin’ crawdaddin’!”

The woman looked at the two of them, looked at the clean clothes on the line, then sighed. “Be back before supper!”

As they charged towards the porch, they both glanced at each other and split off in opposite directions to circle the house. Applejack to the left, Rainbow Dash to the right.

Right turned out to be a mistake. As soon as Rainbow Dash rounded the corner, she nearly collided with a tall boy carrying a bundle of sticks on his shoulders. Rainbow Dash spun around him to avoid him, but the awkward dodge cost her precious speed, and the boy dropped his cargo in the process.

“Sorry!” Rainbow Dash managed to bark in between labored breaths. She rounded the back corner of the house in time to see Applejack, bucket in hand, scrambling over a short wooden fence.

“Ain't winnin’ this one, Dash!” Applejack hooted with laughter as she reached the other side of the fence and took off into the pasture, her bucket trailing behind her.

Rainbow Dash growled, saw the bucket waiting for her by the trough, grabbed it, then vaulted the fence in a single leap. Once she was in the field, though, it wasn't nearly the straight shot she'd thought it would be. The ground was soft and uneven, and the bucket was large and awkward to run with.

Applejack zig zagged back and forth as she ran, her familiarity with the pasture letting her know the safest path. In comparison, the mud threatened to absorb Rainbow Dash’s sneakers with every step.

There was no way she could lose! Despite all of Applejack’s advantages, Rainbow Dash could win with sheer speed. Step by step, she closed the gap. But their goal drew closer. She needed more, somehow. But there wasn't time to think of anything clever.

“Oh shoot!” Applejack’s familiarity betrayed her, and her foot caught on an upturned root. She face planted right into the soft earth.

A horse whinnied from somewhere nearby.

Rainbow Dash leapt over Applejack, then ran for a few more steps before she killed her momentum and stopped. She scowled, dropped the bucket, then made her way back to Applejack. “Hey, you alright?”

“Oof.” Applejack pushed herself up and spat out dirt. “I think so. Skinned my elbows a bit.”

“Doesn't look that bad.” Rainbow Dash helped Applejack to her feet.

Applejack brushed some of the dirt from her overalls, looked over at Rainbow Dash, then burst out laughing. “Shoot, that was a lot of fun! I ain't never seen anyone run like you before. You'd definitely beat me clean on a track, for sure.”

Rainbow Dash beamed, and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Yeah, I play soccer and do track and stuff. I'm like the best in the whole school.”

“Phew. Thanks. Maybe we can have a rematch later, but I don't think I can run anymore for a bit.” Applejack crouched down to pick up her fallen bucket, then pointed towards the tree. “Come on, creek’s just over there.”

It was hardly an impressive body of water. Rainbow Dash could easily hop it without so much as a running start. But it was perfect for what they came here for.

“You wanna check under rocks and logs and the like,” Applejack said. She held up one of the wriggling mini-lobsters between her fingers. “Make sure you grab em by the tail, 'cause those pincers smart something fierce." She tossed the crawdad into the bucket, then grinned at Rainbow Dash. “Now it's your turn.”

Rainbow Dash managed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. She only got pinched about two dozen times.

It wasn't entirely clear how many hours had passed, but eventually a bell rang out from the farmhouse.

Applejack wiped the sweat off of her brow, leaving a streak of muddy water behind in the process. “Guess it's time for food. We got ourselves a nice haul.”

Rainbow Dash crouched on a pile of tree roots, staring into the buckets worth of the weird, segmented creatures. “Are we actually going to eat these?”

“Crawdad gumbo is mighty fine, but it's something you gotta get used to. Nah, when we got guests and stuff Ma usually bakes up a bunch of apple dishes.”

“Cool. What do we do with them?”

“Bring ‘em back up to the house, show ‘em off to Dad. Might cook them up tomorrow night.”

The trek back to the farmhouse was a considerably more subdued affair. Rainbow Dash didn't have the energy left to even propose another race, and the crawdads were surprisingly heavy all stacked together.

They came upon Bright Mac fiddling with a fence post. When he looked up and saw them, he burst out laughing. “Sugarcube, no way you're going in the house like that. Best go rinse off with the hose.”

They glanced at each other, and giggled. They were both completely covered in mud.

“Look how many we got, Pa.” Applejack set the bucket down in front of her dad and beamed.

“That's a fine stew right there. But seriously, best to get cleaned up. Don't want to keep Granny waiting, do you?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “What was that about a hose?”

She found out a minute later when Applejack mercilessly sprayed her with ice cold water, disregarding all shrieks of protest. She was shivering so bad by the end of that, she could barely even enjoy the sweet revenge when it came time to return the favor.

With the worst of the mud gone, they took turns showering, and Rainbow Dash dressed in some of Applejack’s spare clothes. She'd packed a suitcase, of course, but had no idea where it was at the moment.

She made it downstairs in time to find the entire family seated for dinner.

“Oh, there you are, Rainbow Dash!” her mother said. She looked around the kitchen, and sighed. “Isn't this place just amazing, hun? We only get big family dinners like this on the holidays, but that's every day out here in the country. Come on, grab a seat!”

Applejack pulled out one of the chairs at the table for her, then leaned in close. “Guess you don't know yet. That there's my big brother, Big Macintosh. And my ma, Buttercup. And in her lap there is my little sister, Apple Bloom. You already met my dad. And finally, my grandma, Granny Smith.”

“Woah.” Rainbow Dash looked at all the smiling faces seated at the table across from her. Dishes full of ham, and mashed potatoes, and baked apples and pie filled the kitchen with their heavenly scent. She raised a hand and gave an awkward wave. “Sup.”

Buttercup smiled a warm, motherly smile, casually rocking the squirming toddler in one arm as she piled food onto her plate. “It's so nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash. Your mother has already told me so much about you! I hope you like it here.”

Rainbow Dash felt her cheeks heat up, and she rubbed at the back of her head. Of course her mother had been hyping her again. “It's pretty cool, I guess. Never caught a crawdad before.”

Applejack snickered. “They got you pretty good, huh?”

“Nasty little buggers,” Granny Smith muttered.

Rainbow Dash held out her hands, admiring all the red welts on her fingers. “We got them back, though.”

The whole family laughed. It felt strangely warm.

Bright Mac cleared his throat. “Now, I know how hungry you two girls must be, but right before we eat I always like to give thanks. Bit of a family tradition, you could say. Right now, I’m thankful for my wonderful family, and all the good food we can share with each other. But more specifically, I’m thankful that city folk like you are willing to come all the way out to our humble little farm just for a little taste of the country life. I hope you find it to your liking.”

“And they pay for the privilege, too,” Granny Smith muttered, stabbing her fork into a piece of ham.

“And there is that, too.” Bright Mac blushed, and looked away. “Ain’t gonna lie, money can be tight around here sometimes. Doing these retreats means we don’t have to worry about gettin’ the squirts school supplies or anything like that.”

Buttercup nodded, and put her hand on Bright Mac’s arm. “And it’s so nice being able to get to know you. When you live in a small community, everyone knows everyone. Can only take hearing the same stories again for so long, you know?”

“Oh.” Her mother’s own cheeks colored a bit, and she smiled broadly. “You two are just the sweetest. Believe me, this trip is worth every penny. I’m going to tell everyone I know about this place! And probably come back, besides!”

Rainbow Dash perked up at the thought, and glanced over at Applejack.

Applejack caught her eye, and gave an uncharacteristically shy smile.

“Right then.” Bright Mac cracked his neck, then grinned. “Enough with the warm fuzzies. Let’s eat!”

“Yeehaw!” Granny Smith hollered, and began shoveling food into her face like some sort of terrifying human garbage disposal.

As soon as Rainbow Dash took her first bite, it struck her how much of an appetite she’d worked up earlier, and she dug in with just as much gusto as everyone else around her.

Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t anywhere near as lame as she’d expected it to be.

Rainbow Dash had never seen so many stars in her entire life.

“Wanna’nother’marshmellow?” Applejack asked, her mouth full of the sticky treats. She held a poker towards Rainbow Dash, a perfect golden brown lump on the end of it.

It smelled absolutely heavenly, but… “Nah.” Rainbow Dash patted her stomach, and burped. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

“Fair enough.” Applejack scraped the marshmallow onto a nearby plate, then licked her fingers. “Hey, you wanna hear me play the guitar?”

Rainbow Dash stiffened at the mention of the dreaded instrument. She almost dissed it, but caught herself at the last second. “Uh, sure, if you really want. You any good?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nah, I still got lots to learn. My ma teaches me when she can, but it's tough with the baby and all. She’s got such a perfect singing voice too, I can’t hope to match it.”

“Cool,” Rainbow Dash muttered. She could pretend to like it, at least. Couldn’t be that hard.

“Right, I’ll be right back.” Applejack dashed into the darkness, back toward the farmhouse.

The campfire popped, spraying embers onto the dirt. Rainbow Dash sighed and leaned back in her camp chair. The way the smoke drifted up into the moonlit sky was mesmerizing. She felt like she could trace the hazy patterns for hours.

A raucous shout from the adults broke her out of her reverie. The adults had built a bonfire not far off, and broken out their “special” cider.

Applejack came back a few minutes later, a beat-up guitar cradled in her arms. It was way too big for her, but she carefully sat down and rested it over her lap. She plucked a few strings, then twisted the little knobs at the top a few times. She looked up at Rainbow Dash, and bit her lip. “Like I said, I’m not that good.”

“it’s cool, don’t worry about it.”

“Right.” Applejack took a deep breath. “Ma taught me this one. It’s one of her favorites. Anywho, here I go.” She plucked at the strings, producing a simple and uncomplicated melody. Then she opened her mouth to sing. “There are loved ones… in the glory… whose dear forms, you often miss.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, then leaned closer so she could hear better. Applejack’s voice was rough, yet soft. The fingers that danced across the strings were practiced, but they still slipped and rang out with an off note every once in awhile.

But somehow, it worked. The melody was simple. The lyrics were simple. But Applejack sitting there, her new friend, playing that simple song struck Rainbow Dash far more deeply than any of the obnoxious folk songs her parents always sang.

By the time the song was over, Applejack’s face was bright red. She took a deep breath, then carefully set the guitar aside. “Well? What’d you think?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t speak. What could she possibly say to that?

Applejack chuckled weakly, and looked away. “Well, I warned you and all. Anyway, we might as well… Um, Dash? Are you alright? Are you… crying?”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash blinked, and a hot tear slid down her cheek. “No I’m not!” she sputtered, the catch in her voice betraying her. She angrily wiped at her eyes. “I’m fine!”

“Come on now, what’s wrong?” Applejack closed the distance between them, and put a hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “I couldn’t have been that bad.”

“We’re never going to see each other again!” Rainbow Dash blurted out. She sniffed, and the tears began falling in earnest. She couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Y-you’re like the coolest person I’ve ever met and this place is awesome and you’re awesome but I’m just going to go home tomorrow and it's so far away and what’s even the point!”

“Oh.” Applejack hesitated for a moment, then pulled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug. “It can’t be that bad, right? Didn’t your ma say she wanted to come back here?” Applejack’s voice wavered, and she took a deep, shuddering breath.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, and squeezed Applejack tightly. “She won’t! It’d be next summer if anything, but she won’t because she always gets super interested in stuff then gets bored with it like two weeks later!”

Applejack sniffed. “Then, uh. I dunno. Maybe I could come visit you? But my parents are always so busy, and with Apple Bloom and… Aww dangit, now you’re going to make me cry!”

Rainbow Dash winced, and tried to stifle her tears, to little effect. “I’m not a crybaby!”

“I didn’t say you were.” Applejack forced a smile, even as her own tears started to flow.

“Oh goodness.” Buttercup stepped out of the shadows, approaching the two of them. “Are you both alright?”

Both girls looked at each other, then dove into the embrace of Buttercup, sobbing into her skirts. After several blubbering attempts, they finally managed to explain their problem, and she held them until they stopped crying.

Buttercup smiled, and smoothed their hair back. “You two really are sweet girls, you know that? You’re perfect for each other. Applejack's right. Taking a trip to the city will be difficult. But once harvest is over, we might be able to swing it in the winter.”

Rainbow Dash perked up. “Oh, we have a totally awesome Christmas parade in Cloudsdale. You’ve gotta check it out.”

“That ain’t so bad, I guess,” Applejack mumbled. “Still far off.”

“Not good enough, hmm? What else could we do.” Buttercup placed a finger on her mouth as if she were thinking, then grinned. “Well, actually. We’ve been saving up a little extra money lately. How would you like an early Christmas present, Applejack?”

Applejack tilted her head to the side. “Christmas present? Like what?”

“How about, say… a cellphone? Nothing fancy, of course. But you could call or text Rainbow Dash as much as you wanted.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She looked over at Applejack. Smiles slowly crept up both their faces.

“Oh my gosh! I have a cellphone! We could talk all the time!”

“Really Ma? That would be amazing! Thank you so much!”

“And that way we could plan any trips we take and stuff!”

Buttercup laughed heartily. “Calm down, you two. I’ll have to talk it over with your father first. And it’ll take us a little bit to get one. But we’ll do our best, I promise.”

Rainbow Dash hugged Applejack again as tight as she could, unable to contain her glee. “This is going to be so awesome!”

“There’s nothing like good friends,” Buttercup murmured, and ruffled Applejack’s hair. “You girls deserve all the chances you can to enjoy it.”

07/26/04 5:55 PM - AJ: hi this is appuljack do i have the rite number?
07/26/04 6:05 PM - RD: no this is pizza place what pizza you want
07/26/04 6:05 PM - RD: LOL of course its me OMG this is so awesome u finally got ur phone huh took u long enuf
07/26/04 6:06 PM - RD: can urs take pictures? mine can but it kind of sucks
07/26/04 6:20 PM - AJ: 55764 gfdr3 5532
07/26/04 6:20 PM - RD: wtf
07/26/04 6:22 PM - AJ: sry
07/26/04 6:24 PM - AJ: im still fikguring this out

08/22/04 11:20 AM - RD: ugh I cant believe school starts tomorrow this sucks so hard
08/22/04 11:24 AM - AJ: i got 1 week of summer left but yea
08/22/04 11:24 AM - RD: lucky
08/22/04 11:25 AM - RD: u got friends at ur school?
08/22/04 11:26 AM - AJ: kinda
08/22/04 11:26 AM - AJ: theres this one girl who i hang out with sometimes. shes like the prettiest girl in school but shes super fussy and kind of annoying
08/22/04 11:27 AM - RD: lol
08/22/04 11:28 AM - RD: ive got a friend whos supe cute but like, shes painfully shy. I try 2 look after her and stuf but shes afraid of like everythin
08/22/04 11:29 AM - AJ: guess if i come 2 visit i could meet her
08/22/04 11:34 AM - RD: yeah shes a scardey cat but i bet shed warm up to u pretty quick
08/22/04 11:45 AM - AJ: lookin forward 2 it

12/13/04 8:04 PM - RD: omg im so exicited i cant wait aaaaaaaaaaahdfsdhfsdjfhdslf
12/13/04 8:20PM - AJ: i kno rite
12/13/04 8:24 PM - RD: what time are you guys gonna be up here this is going to be the best xmas ever
12/13/04 8:25 PM - AJ: not sure
12/13/04 8:25PM - AJ: have to wait for mom and dad to get back
12/13/04 8:27 PM - RD: tell them 2 hurry up lol
12/13/04 8:30 PM - AJ: hold on granny wants something sounds important
12/13/04 8:31 PM - RD: kk
12/13/04 9:40 PM - RD: anything yet?
12/14/04 9:18 AM - RD: sup
12/14/04 5:05 PM - RD: hey man is something up? how come ur not answering ur phone
12/15/04 8:07 AM - RD: like seriously yo my mom needs to kno when ur coming
12/15/04 8:10 AM - RD: where are u? did ur phone die or something? Lol
12/17/04 4:44 PM - RD: well, that was my last day of school before break. I tried to get mom to call ur mom but shes not answering either
12/17/04 4:45 PM - RD: r u even alive
12/20/04 12:03 PM - RD: fluttershy was rly looking froward to meeting u u know
12/25/04 1:24 PM - RD: merry christmas
01/01/05 12:00 AM - RD: happy new year
01/01/05 10:45 PM - RD: cmon AJ are you there? If i pissed u off somehow im rly sorry. Ur my best friend and i still want that to be true. If this is all some joke or whatever its not funny anymore. Plz just talk 2 me
01/05/05 2:32 PM - RD: fine.be that way. Im done trying. If you care at all u can make the effort urself, but i kind of doubt that at this point.
01/07/05 6:52 PM - RD: happy birthday

Rainbow Dash stared at the the text message log on her old phone. Even now, six years later, the rejection still stung.

It seemed like a silly thing to be dwelling on, but she couldn’t help it. She’d moved out here after all, and would be starting her freshman year at Canterlot High today.

The same town where Applejack used to go to school. Where she still might go to school. Where they might happen to run into each other.

There were so many things she wanted to say, but would it even matter at this point?

Rainbow Dash sighed, then slung her backpack over her shoulder.

There was only one way to find out.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Novel Idea, r5h, Posh, Undómë Tinwë, and Kalan for editing.

Thanks to wordsandpunctuation for the fantastic coverart!

My entry into Tchernobog's Appledash Contest "Second Chances."

Chapter 1 of this story was actually entered into the 2017 GeekKon fanfiction contest as a standalone, where it won second place.