Author's Note
For added emotion and atmosphere, listen to the instrumental music as you read! Totally optional, of course!
November Leaves
You could feel the dirt path beneath your hooves crunch as you slowly walked towards Sweet Apple Acres. The night was calm and quiet. Somewhat cold for this time of year, but not intolerable.
You had long since left work and ordered the skies be made clear for a starry night, and the weather team did a good job in doing so. In the mix with the dirt beneath you were dried up leaves, scattered around like crispy flakes, all dried and ranging in multiple varieties of colours of oranges and yellows.
As you were gradually nearing the farmhouse, the closer you got, the knot in your stomach seemed to slowly become tighter, close to the point where you could feel the warm sensation of vomit arise in the depths of your throat. On any other day, you’d find it as easy as a flick of your tail to hide anxiety and fear, but tonight, there was no hiding from it. Oh, no.
Eventually reaching the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, you took in the farmland. Almost the very instant that you came to the farm’s entrance, the aroma of the rotovated mud and hay mixed in with the unmistakable scent of sweet apples that the farm is famous for hitting your nostrils. You took a moment to observe the sight.
All of the lights around the farm were still lit, indicating that somepony was home. The one you came here to speak to. The rest of the Apple family that occupied this land and kept it functioning were out of town to make it to Appleoosa to help out with some of their farmland to get the harvest in before the winter season came up.
Thankfully, that left you with the opportunity to have some privacy with Applejack.
The knot in your stomach was on the verge of coming loose, blackmailing you with the threat of vomiting as you stood there, taking in the farmhouse. Aside from the building barrier of anxiety between yourself and your intentions of heading up to the porch of the home in the heart of the land, you weren’t exactly sure what you were stalling for.
Nerves began to trickle through your veins like ice, stinging from the inside out as you watched in silence, not even daring to breathe. Just what were you hoping for, anyway? Her silhouette to come by the window before she notices you and runs outside to meet you, likely ending with her rear hooves planted into your face?
C’mon, Rainbow, mare up! You’re Rainbow Dash, for Celestia’s sake! Rainbow. Danger. Dash! What’s life without a little risk thrown into the mix? Now, mare up, compose yourself and for crying out loud, breathe!
Wait, what?
You coughed and gagged, only noticing right then and there that you had not remembered to breathe. In your silent pondering and anxiety, your mind forgot to tell you to get some fresh air into your lungs.
Okay, okay...phew, alright... You whispered mentally to yourself, eventually managing to pull yourself together.
You drew in a breath and gave a heavy sigh, proceeding to walk forward towards the porch of the farmhouse.
‘’I guess it’s now or never,’' You whispered to yourself.
When you arrived to the porch, stood there, just staring blankly at the door for what seemed like hours. You glanced over to your back towards the khaki brown saddlebags with a yellow lightning bolt on the straps, silently hoping that the contents of said saddlebags will shed some light on your position.
Okay, Rainbow, knock on the door, be patient and stay calm. Do that, and this should all go over easily.
Knock-knock.
You waited.
Silence.
Knock-knock.
Still silent.
After waiting for about five minutes, you pressed your ear to the door, only to hear silence.
Knock-knock.
Still no answer.
‘’Applejack?’' You called, hollering below shouting level, wondering if she could hear you. Well, or if she could but was actually intentionally ignoring you. ‘’AJ, come on, I know you’re there. Only you would ignore me for this long!’'
Suddenly, the door knob turned and it pulled open slightly ajar, stopped by a steel chain. An emerald eye peeked out back at you, eyelid turned downwards on an angle, giving you the impression she was scowling.
‘’What do you want, Dash?’' She asked bluntly and annoyedly, clearly not in any mood for a conversation. From her tone of voice, cold and deprived of the usual warmth her country accent typically invites to any conversation, you could feel your stomach flinch and twist.
‘’I, um, just wanted to, uh, t-talk,’' You stated nervously, scratching the back of your head and averting your eyes from Applejack’s single emerald peering out at you. She simply scoffed.
‘’Oh, is that all? Ah think ‘apologise’ is a more appropriate word for it, don’tcha think?’'
‘’Well, yeah, that’s basically why I came here. Y’know, so we could...work things out between us?’' You said slowly, turning back to face the orange farm pony mare. You could see your magenta eyes in her large, black pupils.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, remaining silent as if she was thinking, wondering if she should maybe boot your flank from the farm and turn her back on you.
‘’Nope,’' She said, closing the door on you with a swift motion, slamming it shut in your face only inches away from your muzzle.
‘’AJ, wait!’' You called, only to hear the voice of Applejack fade away as she spoke, indicating that she was walking away from you, perhaps for good.
‘’Goodbye, Rainbow Dash. Nice knowin’ ya.’'
Oh, crap! Quick, do something, Dash! We’re gonna lose her!
Oh! That’s it!
‘’Applejack, wait, please! I got it fixed!’' You called to the mare on the other side of the thick wooden door. However, this time, she didn’t respond. Yet another gap of dead silence was born into existence as you stood and waited for her to say something, anything to make sure that she had heard you.
The bridge of silence between you and the farm pony was so intense that it was as if reality had slowed to a halt and the pause button had been pushed, leaving the only ones able to breathe, move and speak be you two.
Ever so slowly, you picked up the sound of slow-pacing hooves coming back towards the door, followed by the rattle of the chain being removed before it slowly opened, revealing the face of Applejack.
Her face was blank, but her eyes radiated with an attentive and curious glimmer. It was a face you have never witnessed from her before, and it was hard for you to figure what her response might turn out to be once you revealed it to her.
You stared back at her for a moment, looking to the top of her head, seeing an empty space atop her blonde mane where her precious hat once sat comfortably like a bird on its nest.
It was foreign to see the Element of Honesty without her trademark hat, and it was true that you felt guilty. The reason as to why you and the farm pony fell out, despite the fact that you were like zap apple jam in a pie, was due to you and a seemingly harmless, friendly prank. A joke of sorts. Naturally, of course, ever since you and Applejack could remember, both of your competitive streaks have constantly dared and tested your will-power to prove who the stronger pony truly was.
It was a very innocent and friendly form of bonding that the two of you saw as fitting for your needs of proving yourself against a dare or an odd, and neither of you were all too willing to back down against a dare or a bet. However, not only a few nights ago, did you, Rainbow Dash, try to pull a prank that had unforeseen consequences.
You thought it would be fun to see Applejack's reaction when you managed to slip into the Apple family's homestead and sneak out with Applejack's hat from her room. When you had returned it back to her bedside table after committing your deed, you returned home for the night and awaited the following morning for when you would get results.
You couldn't even begin to describe the unnatural mix of hurt, anger and frustration plastered on her face when she saw you again, like the gates of Tartarus were about to explode and unleash a world of pain upon Equestria's soil.
How she screamed and hollered at you from below your cloudhouse. The reason as to why she was screaming? Her hat, once a simple shade of aged brown, scratched and marked, was now holding a polychrome colour scheme that matched your own mane. You knew that the second she woke up to the horrific sight of her treasured hat with a fresh lick of rainbow paint, she would know right away that you were the culprit.
However, no matter how hard or long you may have laughed your flank of at her suspense, all you felt now was guilt and pure regret. You had violated a treasured personal item to your best and closest friend.
Quietly, you lowered your back, allowing your saddlebags to slip off of your body and onto the floor behind you. Pulling them in front of you so they sat in the empty space between yourself and Applejack, you slowly undid the clasp on one of the flaps of the saddlebag before reaching your hoof into the pouch.
Retracting your hoof, you saw Applejack’s eyes widen in disbelief and a gasp escaped her lips once you presented the contents of the bag to her.
There, hanging off of the edge of your hoof, was a brown Stetson hat. Much like the old hat that was once the crown of the farm pony’s head, this one held an identical appearance. Well, that was mainly because it is her old hat, minus the paint job that it had previously taken on. You were only thankful that you didn't use too much paint, which would have otherwise made it difficult to remove the coating. Once again, you had Rarity to thank for that.
Say what you will about the fashionista, she sure does know her fabric cleaners and substance removers. It was with thanks to Rarity's knowledge that the hat, previously riddled with scratches, marks, scuffs and wear, that it now appeared as if it was completely new. Every single accountable mark that was once covering the material of the hat was completely fixed and polished up with a form of magic spell that Rarity had managed to conjure up so that nopony would know they were ever there.
An upside to the magical spell was the aroma it left behind - A soft hint of oakwood and a spring-like scent that hung crisp in the air. It was actually rather fitting for Applejack, now that you think about it.
Ever so gently, one of Applejack’s hooves reached towards the hat and lightly took a soft hold of it. She brought the hat to her head and placed it on top of her mane, giving it a small series of tweaks and adjustments before giving a satisfied smile. Once she was done, her eyes once again focused upon you, and the anger that was previously etched into her features was replaced by what you recognised as gratitude.
‘’Aw, shucks, sugarcube, Ah don’t know what to say,’' She said, her eyes become slightly misty. ‘’Thank you, Dash,’' She said thankfully as she pulled you into a loose but firm embrace. You couldn’t help but hug her back, happy that you made things right once again.
‘’Actually, Rarity’s the one you should be thanking for this one, AJ. She’s the one that fixed your hat up.’' You admitted with a smile. After a short moment, Applejack broke from the embrace, moving back to gaze into your eyes.
‘’Is that so? Well, she did a mighty fine job of fixin’ it up.’'
‘’Oh, believe me, even though I managed to get her to fix it up so it was back to normal after hours of arguing, Rarity kept on insisting that she should put some gems and ribbons on it, or something, but I didn’t think that you’d like that.’' Applejack’s amused grin matched your own and you shared a short laugh.
''Aw, shucks, sugarcube, c'mere,'' Applejack said, pulling you in for a brief hug. Her soft and warm cheek rubbed against your own and you'd be lying if you said you didn't blush at the display of affection. After a brief moment of cuddling, Applejack broke away, placing a warm and soft peck to your cheek, deepening your blush against your cyan cheeks. You were sure that you looked like a rose bush by this point.
''Does this mean that you forgive me?'' You asked hopefully, to which Applejack's face grew cocky and stern, although it was hard to tell which one it was.
''Ah wouldn't say that Ah forgive ya, but this,'' She pointed to the newly patched-up Stetson atop her head. ''This is a start. So, thank you,'' She said, leaning forward and planting a soft peck onto your lips, warm and leaving a light hint of spiced apple cider on your lips. ''Anyhow, how'd ya like to spend the night with me? Ah would be mighty grateful for the company, an' we got the whole farm to ourselves for at least a few days. Whaddaya say?''
You stared into Applejack's eyes for a moment, gazing deep within them as you felt a warm sensation well in your stomach. It felt like butterflies were dancing around in your insides as you looked into the shiny green emeralds that made Applejack's eyes. True, there was still some healing and regaining friendship to be done, but as you stood here right now, staring in a trance at the loving eyes of the farm pony mare with the chubby orange cheeks and white freckles, there was no way that you could say no.
It was rather promising and comforting to know that you could finally ease the tension that had developed between you two and you could maybe remove that wedge in the way of your friendship over a mug of warm cider. And you, Rainbow Dash, loved your cider. There was no denying that whenever a mug is promised or offered, you will take it in a heartbeat. And when a mug is offered from the mare you love and you get to spend a quiet evening together, the thought of a mug of cider seemed to be even more appealing.
A warm and happy smile etched its way onto your lips and you said, ''Sure, I'd like that.''
