Sun, Sand, and Serenity

      Two eyes were narrowed to hardly more than slits as they stared down their target like a panther on the prowl, the rich cerise color faintly visible glimmering under lowered cyan lids. A tickle from above her brow registered as a bead of perspiration swelled, free to roll part-way down the frozen mare's forehead; her hooves clamped the edge of the table with such force that it seemed almost impossible she could wrench them away now. It was a good thing, then, that peeling her hooves from the wood where they had quite possibly made an impression was the last thought that crossed Rainbow Dash's otherwise-occupied mind.

     She zeroed in on the prize before her, catching it in her visual crosshairs from eye-level, nose almost brushing the table upon which it stood. It was a marvel, a teetering masterpiece that required but one more brushstroke, a puzzle that required but one more piece. That last component, the very thing that would complete the legend before her, the thing about which the golden angels sang, was gripped in Rainbow Dash's mouth.

     Go time.

     In a swift move, the mare dropped the final slice of tomato on the top of her open-faced lunch, her triumph rivaling that of a climber cresting a mountain summit with his flag. It was lovely, a giant, precariously piled stack of perfectly placed and precisely peeled vegetables that all came together in beautiful harmony to create a godly work of art. Lettuce over tomato, thick provolone slices over cucumber, topped with a smear of cream cheese and a pinch of zesty roasted garlic and-

     Unwilling to wait another minute, Rainbow covered the top of her meal with a thick slice of bread and took a bite of her sandwich.

     And what a bite it was.

    "RD, is that you?" A voice floated to Rainbow Dash from sandwich heaven. "We better get goi-" The voice cut off, nearing the munching RD just before turning the corner. "Are ya in mah kitchen again?"

    "No." She lied through a mouthful of deliciousness; the mare wasn't the Element of Honesty for a reason. Rainbow turned to face Applejack who had just entered, leaning coolly against the frame, front hoof crossed over the other.

     Applejack smiled, cocking a brow as she allowed her friend the chance to swallow.

     Gulp. "Sorry, you were taking so long, I was hungry, and you have a raid-able fridge." Rainbow explained, one hoof leaning on the edge of Applejack's rustic table, looking at her friend as though she had a perfectly excusable reason. The orange farm pony dramatically rolled her eyes, irises virtually disappearing under her lids, the corners of her mouth still pinched up in a playful grin.

     She gave a low chuckle and tipped her hat back with a hoof, scruffy ponytail falling over her shoulder in an effortlessly cool way. "Well, Ah guess you're lucky Ah'm used to ya, RD."

     Rainbow licked up the last crumb on her plate before looking up, smiling, with her tongue still peeping partway out. "I gueth tho." She concurred, licking a crumb off her lip. "Ready?"

     "Ah have been, sugarcube." Applejack was already halfway to the front door, glancing over her shoulder, her defiant stetson tipping back down once again.

     Her saddlebags, stuffed full of all sorts of day-away paraphernalia, were beginning to dig into her back; Applejack wouldn't have minded just to plop down her apple-emblazoned bag and let the sun and surf come to her. Post-lunch Rainbow Dash, however, wasn't having it; she was raring to go with new-found energy.

     "Don't you sit down, AJ, we are leaving the building!"

     Rainbow pushed her plate aside and, with a flit of her wings, landed beside her friend, tugging at her saddlebag strap with her mouth as she did so. With a cool flick of her messy hair, the cyan mare met her friend's spring green eyes. "This is gonna be awesome."

     "Sure will, Ah can't wait to see the ocean!" Applejack agreed, breaking Rainbow's look and gazing ahead of her, visualizing the sparkling indigo waves under the great yellow sun. It was a dream come true for the orange pony, who had never been more than a short train ride away from her farm which, despite how dear she held it, was getting a bit old. A change of scenery, even if just for a day, would surely prove endlessly therapeutic for Applejack, the perfect thing to clear her mind.

      The orchard had better watch out when she would return; every apple would be bucked with a vigor only a truly rejuvenated pony could have.

       A very sudden, strange feeling hit AJ, who let out a strangled 'eep' of surprise, an uncannily Fluttershy-like one at that. Rainbow, who had grown impatient with her friend's distant gaze, nudged Applejack's flack with her head once more, before looking up with deceptively innocent eyes. "C'mon, let's go!"

      "Simmer down, RD, Ah'm goin'." Pulling her bags just a little more secure, Applejack broke into a slow trot, allowing her friend to stride alongside her.

      Leaving the Acres, the farmpony enjoyed the blissful warmth of the sun beating down on her coat, and the dry, dusty feel of the earth under her hooves. Every step felt like the beginning of a journey, inflating her with a wonderful feeling of freedom and independence that, even though it was unfamiliar, Applejack welcomed. Here she was, humble pony from the country, going on a beach getaway with her best friend, carefree and with a spring in her step; she now knew what it really felt like to be Rainbow Dash, always after an adventure, and this certainly was one.

     "You look really happy, AJ, what's got you smiling so big?" Rainbow asked playfully, nudging her friend with an elbow. Applejack wasn't even aware of the big, dopey smile she wore until just then.

     She cleared her throat, turning slightly pink. "Uh, nothin', just lookin' forward to this trip, is all." Honest, as always.

     "Yeah? Me too. I love the beach." Rainbow flew ahead a couple of hoofsteps, before turning around to face her friend, walking awkwardly backwards. "Have you ever been?" She asked, throwing a look behind her just to be sure she wasn't about to peg a tree.

     "Who, me? Nah, mah place is here, y'all know that, RD."

     Rainbow's eyes widened, partially in surprise at her friend's small horizons, partially because she had just stumbled over a small root jutting from the ground. "Ow, geez... Never been to the beach? Well, in that case-" She turned around before finishing, retaking her place next to her Applejack; walking backwards and not tripping like a foal was best left to Pinkie Pie. "Are you in for a treat!"

     Applejack lit up. "Really? What's it like?"

     Rainbow Dash was all too eager to share her experiences with the shore with her friend. "It's amazing, big, wide sand flats, crashing waves, clear blue sky, perfect for flying..."

     It all sounded wonderful to Applejack. "Tell me more."

     "Sometimes you can see seagulls flying together, and you can collect shells! When the sun sets, the beach gets so pretty, purple and pink, the sand looks like it's glowing..." She stopped, a blush tinting her cheeks as the cyan pegasus realized her soft spots were beginning to show through the cracks. Applejack didn't seem to notice, or perhaps didn't mind, but Rainbow had to make a save, for the sake of her own pride.

     "But it can get really dangerous too!" Rainbow felt satisfied as Applejack's eyes widened like a foal being told the most climatic part of a bedtime story. "The waves can get higher than me! Or, y'know, you can get a sunburn!"

     That sounded considerably less pleasant for Applejack who, though it was outside, spent most of her days working under the protective shade of the orchard. "Sunburn?"

     "Oh yeah, real bad. Did you bring sunscreen?"

     Applejack's face fell; she thought she had everything in that bag. "Well, no." She admitted.

     Rainbow laughed lightly, playfully thumping Applejack's shoulder as she walked. "Hey, no sweat. You can use mine. The price is that you're gonna have to help get my back."

      Applejack chuckled. "What else did ya bring?" Rainbow looked at her, and the orange mare explained, "Just wanna make sure Ah didn't miss anythin' else."

    Rainbow nodded, before looking thoughtfully into the air above her. "Well... A towel, sunscreen obviously, inflatable beach ball, sunglasses." She listed. "You?"

     The cyan pegasus looked around her in the brief moment during which her friend thought, admiring how far they had walked already; Ponyville was already behind them, the mountains of the north far behind as they headed to the warm south. It only took an hour by train, but the shore wasn't far to walk either, and neither competitive pony wanted to be the first to suggest the easy way out.

        Rainbow Dash had initially doubted the soundness of the plan to walk to the beach, but every step with Applejack reassured her that maybe, just maybe, this was a good idea. She felt so light, her smile plastered on in permanent ink, unable to keep the swagger from her step. It was a feeling that was only paralleled by flying through the sky, except all of her hooves were planted firmly on the ground, and for once, Rainbow Dash didn't long to sail the clouds instead.

     Applejack's drawl cut through her thoughts. "Um, Ah also packed a towel, spare hair ties, some lemonade, and snacks." She spoke firmly, sure she hadn't forgotten anything that may have been tucked at the bottom of her bag.

     One particular word perked up Dash's ears. "Food? What kind?"

     Applejack snickered; this was definitely her Rainbow Dash. "Mini apple fritters, do Ah even need to ask why?"

     Rainbow scoffed, shaking her head as she looked to the ground. "Apple things; shoulda known." Applejack gave Dash a light punch to defend the honor of her apples.

     Rainbow changed the subject and her pace as she stepped faster, little clouds of dust rising under her hoof falls. Applejack followed suit, her bound tail flicking behind her as she broke into a more rapid trot. "You know what we should do when we get there?"

     "Besides swimmin' and sunbathin'?" Applejack joked.

     "Well duh, besides that stuff." Rainbow said, before turning to the burnt orange pony with a familiar glint in her eye, that Rainbow Dash glint that could only mean one thing. "We should race."

     Applejack nodded, eyebrows raised. "That is a terrible idea for ya, Rainbow."

     Soft sand, endless stretches of white beach, a crystalline layer of sea on the shoreline to splash through like an enormous shallow rain puddle to race RD through? The perfect day for Applejack, though perhaps not for her competitive cyan friend.

     Rainbow tilted her head, brows furrowed, unsure of what to make of what she had just heard. "Huh, why?"

     Applejack turned to Rainbow, looking at her from the side, a smirk playing across her face, a glint mirroring her friend's lighting up her shimmery greens.

     "Because Ah'm gonna win."

*~*~*

     "We made it!"

     Rainbow Dash threw her hooves up to the skies as she rejoiced, declaring their arrival to the heavens. She slumped into the sand, belly down, piling up a pillow of fine, silky sand in with her hooves and burying her face in it, absorbing the very essence of the coast like a kitten in a pool of sun.

      Applejack shrugged off her bags, placing them in the sand as her eyes locked onto the endless blue before her. The wind whispered through her mane and tail, blowing them gently with the warm salty air. Heart pounding, standing still and allowing the sun to warm her to her very center, Applejack felt whole, that very complete feeling of a pony who has reached the glorious end of a long, winding journey. That end, that endless eternal end, was the bright, beautiful ocean.

     She pulled in a deep breath through her nose, allowing her eyes to drift shut as to completely immerse herself in her warm surroundings and the lungful of fresh sea air. Energy and completion rushed through her, from the point where Applejack's hooves were buried in the fine beach sand to the tip of her nose, which was raised to the cloudless sky, taking breath after breath of the crisp breeze.

     AJ finally opened her mouth, allowing herself to fully appreciate the view for the first time. There was nothing but pure almost white sand as far as the eye could sea in either direction, followed by the visible strip of ocean, which glittered a reflective blue under the light of the huge yellow sun hanging suspended above them. The beach was deserted, not a single hoofprint tainting the water's edge, where the sand became slick and damp as the tide came and went, smoothing out the rough edges and leaving a trail of pearly white shells in its wake.

     The scene was perfect, heavenly to Applejack, right down to the blue pegasus sprawled at the tideline, who had progressed to making sand angels.

     Rainbow, noticing Applejack hadn't moved since their arrival, reared up from her sandy bed. "What's the matter, AJ? You plant roots or something?"

     "Wha-what?" Applejack shook her head, breaking her serenity. Rainbow giggled.

     "You pretty much froze solid. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

     Applejack sighed, tilting her head back and admiring the gently rolling waves once more. "Yeah, it is."

     Rainbow stood to her hooves, sauntering over to her friend, grinning widely. "How about that race?" She challenged.

      The orange pony turned to her. "You bet, RD. Prepare to lose.

          "Ha!" Rainbow gave a shout of mirth, tossing her prismatic mane over her shoulder and cantering away from Applejack, stopping parallel to the water's edge, where the farmpony presumed the starting line to be. "You wish!"

     Following her friend, Applejack aligned herself alongside her, head tilted slightly forward. "One way to find out, RD. Give me one second though, hold on." She paused, pulling at the red ribbon binding her thick golden locks until it came undone, and tossing it aside. Her hair unfurled delicately, falling lusciously over her shoulders, longer than maybe even Fluttershy's, multi-faceted and shimmering.

     Applejack pulled off her hat as well, placing it gently away. She lifted a hoof to run through her flowing mane, detangling the strands, before pausing and looking at her friend. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"

     Rainbow Dash, realizing she had been staring at her friend, who looked liked a golden-haired siren in the sunlight, turned a vicious shade of red and averted her eyes. "N-Nothing, sorry. Ready?"

      Applejack tossed back her mane, turning back forward and pawing the ground, ready to take off. "Ready."

      "Go!"

      Two ponies took off light lightening, blurs of orange and blue as the galloped alongside each other, tracing the edge of the foamy tide. The sun followed their backs as they ran, neck in neck, nose to nose.

      Applejack's free mane whipped behind her with the breeze, blowing wildly in ribbons of gold, while Rainbow's shorter, choppier mane painted streaks through the air, a spectacle of bright colors. They both kept on, panting heavily in time with thundering hooffalls, though neither allowed fatigue to slow them down.

      Rainbow Dash, with untied wings, could easily have bolted to the end, leaving Applejack in the dust, but the thought didn't cross her mind even once.

      As they ran, and Applejack's lungs began to sear as exhaustion stretched her at the seems, a fact became more and more apparent to the racing pony; they hadn't designated a finish line. As of right then, they were racing each other indefinitely, into the nothingness; it seemed a little counterproductive to Applejack, who slowed to a halt.

     Noticing the lack of orange next to her, Rainbow stopped, skidding up a wave of sand as she froze in her tracks, before turning back. "What gives?" She demanded of Applejack, before a small spark of triumph began to burn in her eyes. "Too much for you to handle, AJ? Giving up?"

         Applejack furrowed her brows, flinging a hoof into the air in the general direction from which they came. "No! Just, don't ya think we should have set a finish line first?"

     "Oh yeah, haha. Well, the finish line is right here." She declared, stomping her hooves down as Rainbow turned a little circle, marking in the sand exactly where she stood. She then looked up to Applejack, one eyebrow raised, daring her to challenge her ruling.

     Applejack scoffed, now pointing her upwards-facing hoof to the circle her friend had made in the sand, the extremely unfair finish line. "What the hay? You're already there!"

     Rainbow flitted her wings, hovering a foot above the ground for a better view of her handiwork below. "Yeah, that's kinda the point, AJ." She said, snickering and crossing her hooves to her chest as the orange pony's cheeks transcended a full spectrum on red color.

     "That ain't fair, Rainbow Dash! Ah'm settin' the finish line here!" As she said the last bit, Applejack cantered to a hill of sand farther beyond Rainbow, turning around to face her friend before dragging the tip of her hoof through the earth into a line.

     Rainbow Dash landed back on the ground, raising a hoof to sweep aside her bangs, and turned her head away from Applejack, simply stating, "Nah."

    Applejack advanced closer, her voice rising in intensity. "What do ya mean 'nah', the finish line is over there, that's fair!" She exclaimed, motioning over her shoulder to her precisely drawn line.

   "Pfft, I don't feel like arguing. We'll finish this later." Rainbow flung herself backwards into the air, throwing her hooves behind her head in her signature position of relaxation while she drifted to the sand bed like a leaf.

      Applejack huffed; the race was entirely pointless then, if they couldn't even draw it to a close! "Fine. We better."

    Though she hated to admit it to herself, and would like Rainbow Dash to know even less, Applejack was glad for the open conclusion and a chance to catch her breath. However, at the end of the day, even if the truth hurt, she was Applejack the Honest. "Ah guess Ah could use a little rest anyway."

        Rainbow Dash looked up with a smile and patted the spot next to her, beckoning Applejack to join. "Well, then take a load off."

     Applejack complied, dropping into the silky sand next to her friend, propping herself back on her hooves. She faced the sparkling ocean, losing herself in its beauty once more as she soaked up the sun and serenity. "Mmmh..." The orange pony smiled and lolled her head back, the sun addling her mind and muscles in the most pleasant, relaxing way.

     "Yeah..." Rainbow Dash drawled, just as comfortable where she lay as her friend. "This is really nice, AJ." Her voice came lazy and heavy, the relaxed sound of a pony about to drift off into sleep.

      The sun slid across the blue sky like warm butter, leaving a trail of soft yellow light in its wake, light that the two ponies wallowed in at the shoreline. It was absolute silence, save for their synchronized breathing and the ethereal sounds of the tide beaching every now and again.

      Time passed, thick like honey, and the minutes became indistinguishable from each other as the moments blended together. The two friends simply sat there, half-buried in the sand, peacefully watching time pass as the waves rolled up the beach, licking over the sand, before drawing back, revealing a glassy plateau as they left.

     Applejack felt as though she was sinking into the sand, allowing it to envelope her tired muscles, the water kissing her hooves like a gentle massage. She didn't know how much time she spent just sitting there with her best friend, though of one thing Applejack was certain; she didn't want to move, not now, not ever.

      Eventually, the sun dipped into the ocean, the yellow light turning golden as the evening drew near. The blue of the sky faded, tinted instead with the lavender and pink of the setting sunlight.

     Rainbow Dash lifted her head slowly, opening her eyes even more so. "Applejack..."

     Applejack turned to Rainbow, brows raised but eyes still closed. "Hmm?" She asked, the gooey relaxation that had overtaken her present in the tone of her voice.

     "The sun is setting."

     Applejack straightened, looking into the colorful haze with half-lidded eyes. "It's beautiful." She appreciated, watching the sun sink lower and lower into its ocean bath, and the sky become more and more saturated with the rich hues.

     "Yeah, it is." Rainbow Dash agreed, her read rolling to the side.

     At that moment, Applejack felt a weight on her shoulder; Rainbow Dash had allowed her head to fall, her cheek resting against Applejack while she quietly appreciated the sunset. The orange pony did not move, did not shrug. She felt a rush of affection for the tough cyan pegasus, now leaning against her so softly, so innocently. Acting on impulse in just that moment, Applejack leaned back, her own head resting on top of Rainbow's silken mane. So the two sat, silent, watching the sun lay itself to bed over the now rusty orange sand and the deep blue sea serenely roll and tumble with the evening breeze.

     It couldn't last. "Mmmf-" Rainbow said, stirring up from place quite suddenly.

     Applejack looked down, bewildered. "What?"

     Rainbow Dash straightened herself out, flinging her hooves into the air and groaning as she stretched like a bear awakening from a thousand-year slumber. "Sun's setting, soon it's gonna be dark." She stated, pushing her foreleg over her shoulder, loosening the muscle, before swinging down and repeating with the other.

     Applejack wasn't following. "Yes, that it is. What's yer point, Rainbow Dash?"

     The pegasus hopped to her hooves, impatiently flicking her tail. "Well, do you wanna collect seashells or not?"

     With that, Applejack too hopped up, snatching her hat from the ground and settling it atop her head as quick as a whip. "Oh, right! Yeah, Ah do!"

     "Come on then!"

     The two took off, Rainbow Dash taking to the skies, surveying the sand like a search copter, while Applejack made like a bloodhound, scanning the shoreline as she looked over every pebble at nearly eye level.

     Occasionally, a cyan streak would paint the setting sky as Rainbow Dash dived, snatching up a shell to put in her growing stockpile of clams and swirls. She kept glancing back, as if to be absolutely sure there was no malicious hawk or whatnot swooping out of the yonder to steal her prizes.

     Applejack, however, revealed her more discerning eye as she plucked shells from the shore, leaving half behind as she chose only the most perfectly formed. Applejack's hoard, though significantly smaller than that of Rainbow Dash, comprised much finer, shinier swirls.

     Other than hoofsteps through sand and swooshing of Rainbow's wings, the beach was quiet once more. Quiet, that is, aside from the occasional, brief quips of conversation that floated between the two.

      "Woah, AJ, look at this one!"

      "That's mighty pretty, Rainbow, 'cept for the crab still livin' in it."

      Rainbow dropped the shell as though it had burst into flame. "Eughh!" She exclaimed, hardly audible over Applejack's hoot of laughter.

       Another bout of quiet before the orange pony this time spoke up.

       "Are y'all havin' a little trouble seein' yet, RD?" She asked, before squinting at the sand and muttering, "Ah'm losin' all mah shells."

     It was true; the sky had begun to darken, navy blue replacing the sunset pastels as it bled from the horizon. The faintest light from the stars was not enough to spot little shells in the shore, and, as luck would have it, there was only one cloud left in the sky, and it was busy covering up the moon.

     "Nah," came Rainbow's reply from somewhere in the air, "I've got pretty great night vision." She ended her sentence with a gasp, followed by a dive as yet another shell was added to her reserve.

     Applejack laughed airily. "Well, maybe you do, Rainbow Dash, but Ah'm goin' blind." With that, she stopped, lifting her head from the sand, and walked to her stash of seashells, sitting quaintly on a pile of sand and gleaming under the soft starlight.

     "Fine, my pile's pretty big anyway." Rainbow remarked, touching down to earth from a pocket of air before galloping merrily to her own stock, shells upon shells sprawling over each other in a messy, very Rainbow Dash-like way. On second glance, Applejack was sure she could spot a few rocks in there.

      It didn't matter to the pegasus, however, who smiled wider than Spike in a diamond mine.

      "Mine's bigger."

      Applejack looked down; a glance to both of their two piles confirmed that fact. The earth pony laughed playfully, lightly touching the shiny scallop that topped her heap, reflecting light like a milky white opal. "Mine's nicer lookin' though."

     Dash eyed the pile in question, diplomatically stating her rebuttal in the form of a whap to Applejack's shoulder. "Well I can punch harder." She laughed, obviously pleased.

      An orange hoof from the pony who wasn't going to take things lying down sailed and collided with the cyan pony's  side. Applejack chuckled, grinning at her friend's reaction; Rainbow Dash's eyes shot wide and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks before she slowly turned, eyes narrowed and an exclusively 'you're on' smirk on her face.

         A blur of cyan came at Applejack as Rainbow Dash tackled her like a linebacker, taking her down with strength disproportional to her small size. The earth pony came crashing down, but was not deterred; she swiped back, even from her position on her back with the blue pony above her, pinning her down. They struggled with each other in a fashion not so different from baby lions in a tousle, laughing hysterically as they wrestled, kicking up clouds of sand as they tumbled down the beach.

     Rainbow Dash squealed and turned deep red as her friend tugged her tail, yanking her up with a smile on her face. "Ow, hey, no pulling!"

     Applejack dropped the colorful tail from her jaw. "Sorry, sugarcube."

      Rainbow took the moment's distraction to her advantage, pouncing on Applejack and sending them both sailing once more, much to the orange pony's surprise. "Woah-!"

         Summoning up a burst of energy she didn't know she had, Applejack flipped them both by the strength, pressing Dash into the sand with her own form. The pegasus struggled, squirming like a fly in the entrapment of a spider's web, but it was to no avail, as she found she could move one measly little hoof. Applejack watched her crusade, a satisfied smile spreading across her features. "Well, looks like Ah won." She gloated, dismounting and allowing Rainbow Dash a lovely lungful of air.

      "Nu-uh, it's just break time." Rainbow sat back down in the sand, her fur soaking through as she realized just how close to the ocean they had tumbled in their fervor.

       "That's alright with me." Applejack agreed, sitting back down as well and allowing the water to wash up to her waist, foaming around her orange coat.

      The moon had finally emerged, and the beach's glow was surreal; the sand looked white-ish, while the water glittered and rippled in an almost magical way, the light playing off the glassy surface like fireflies in some faerieland.

      Silence, as well as the silvery glow of the moon, washed over them once more.

      Rainbow Dash was sitting like a little filly, splashing in the water with her front hooves, giggling in glee as the water came and went. Applejack, however, had busied herself with something else, some fine hoofwork that Rainbow Dash had to crane her neck to see, and even then she hardly could.

      "Whatcha doing?" The pegasus asked, looking over while her hooves still patted the water absentmindedly.

      Applejack smiled to herself, not taking her eyes off her work, long hair forming a swinging curtain that blocked Rainbow's view. "Just a little craft, sugarcube. You'll see."

      Accepting the answer, Rainbow sat back, creating a mini whirlpool in the water in front of her while Applejack worked with dexterity and silence.

      Before long, the orange pony swung back her freed mane and held up a string of small objects that Dash could hardly make out in the moonlight. "Done!" Applejack announced, admiring the fine bit of work.

      Rainbow looked over to see her friend adjusting something on her head, before sweeping back her long blonde mane to reveal a halo of seashells strung together with red ribbon. The craftsmanship was impeccable, but Rainbow Dash always knew how multi-talented her best friend was.

      What she didn't know, however, was how the humble farm pony could become lovely a golden-furred goddess with shimmery blonde hair and a crown of seashells under the moonlight.

      "Well, do ya like it?" Applejack asked, touching her halo with both hooves, forcefully pulling Rainbow Dash back to earth.

      "Oh-oh yeah, I do, it's really awesome." She prayed to all that was sacred that AJ couldn't see her blush.

      Applejack grinned, looking down bashfully. "Thanks, Ah'm sure proud of this one."

      Rainbow Dash wouldn't gave minded permanently substituting the seashell halo instead of Applejack's trademark beaten Stetson.

      Before she had the chance to grasp what had happened, Rainbow found herself wearing the seashell crown. "Wha-?"

     Applejack laughed playfully. "You clean up real nice, RD." She complimented, before adding. "These fancy things really suit ya. Why don't you wear them a little more often?"

      Reaching up to gently touch the shells, Rainbow sighed. "It's just not my thing."

     Applejack was unsatisfied. "Oh come on, sugarcube, y'all look so pretty!"

      Rainbow looked genuinely surprised, yet somehow completely disbelieving of her friend's words. "It's just not me."

      "Aw, don't be silly, RD, why not?"

          Rainbow Dash didn't want to say it. She really, really didn't want to say it, but it needed to come out, and there was no stopping it. Goodbye, friendship with Applejack. "I'm not pretty like you."

     The surprise moved to the other side. "Who, me? Ha, Rainbow Dash, Ah'm just a humble farmpony." She said, chuckling ever so lightly as she looked to the pool of water below her, slowly shaking her head.

      Rainbow Dash went on new courage, as the cat was out of the bag anyway, and there was no stopping her momentum. "No, AJ, you're gorgeous. You really are."

       Applejack looked up from under her lashes, effortlessly beautiful, carelessly attractive. She felt her cheeks grow hot as color flooded her. Rainbow Dash didn't say a word, she only silently hoped, prayed, that she and her big mouth didn't spoil everything. She valued Applejack more than anything, more than even her flying, her feelings for the pony always there, always pounding in her heart despite whatever she did to push it down.

       Applejack didn't say anything, nothing at all. Rainbow's heart froze, an awful lump hardening in her throat, suffocating her, the sickening black feeling seeping from the black hole that was beginning to form. It was over.

      Suddenly, so suddenly not even Celestia herself could have foreseen it, Applejack pressed her lips to Rainbow's in a fierce kiss. Rainbow couldn't think, she couldn't even breathe, her entire being was wiped clean with that one feeling, the feeling of Applejack against her.

      A warm sea breeze blew between them, and Applejack's long golden hair caught with it, wafting her scent to Rainbow, who breathed a deep lungful. It was indescribable; sweet yet crisp, like a juicy red delicious mixed with the tender spice of cinnamon that sent a rush of warmth to Rainbow Dash's toe.

     She never wanted it to end, time may well have just frozen, trapping the two in a snowflake, forever suspended in Rainbow Dash's living memory. They could stay just like this, sitting at the brink of the sea under the starry sky, orange embracing blue.

     Perfect.

     *MATURE WARNING FROM HERE ON IN (look for another of these to know when it ends)*

      It could only get better as Rainbow's mind went on the fritz, pure instinct assuming direct control of her action as she reared against Applejack, deepening the connection. She allowed her tongue to slither out, probing the earth pony's mouth, silently begging for entrance.

     Applejack hadn't expected the sudden stroke of boldness, though her mind, too, was no longer in the domain of rational thought; she parted her lips, letting Rainbow's tongue slip inside, exploring her own. Applejack was wary, though she quickly let go of her inhibitions and swirled her tongue with Rainbow's tasting the refreshing flavor of spearmint and cool, fresh rain.

      She ventured further, stroking Rainbow's cheeks from the inside, feeling the radiating heat from the pony so close to her. Applejack raised a hoof and, driven by the warmth, ran it through Rainbow's wild mane, pushing the soft strands out of the way and pulling the pegasus's face closer to her out as the temperature increased.

      It came out before Rainbow could stop it. She couldn't even have bitten her lip, for it was extremely preoccupied. The cyan mare moaned, softly, pleasurably, into Applejack's mouth.

      Sudden, intense embarrassment hit the both of them like a tsunami as they broke apart suddenly, Rainbow Dash pulling a hoof over her eyes, Applejack looking as though she would love to burrow into the sand and never see the sun again.

      Honest as she was, however, the orange pony had to be the first to speak. "Rainbow Dash... Ah am so sorry, Ah don't know what came over me..." Applejack uttered through gasps, trailing away as she caught her breath.

      Rainbow Dash recovered quickly, leaning close to the gasping Applejack's face, her own voice thick and husky with passion. "Please, don't be, AJ, it was me and...and...I kinda liked it." She admitted, her face displaying genuine apology.

      Emerging slowly, Applejack looked at the pegasus only a few inches from her face. "Really?"

       Rainbow nodded, a small smile growing as her breath tickled Applejack's nose.

      "Can we...can we try it again, maybe?"

      Rainbow closed her eyes halfway, looking so exceptionally sultry it weakened AJ's knees. "Do you want to?" She purred, the seductive side neither pony knew she was capable of coming out as the words dripped from her lips like honey, minty breath filling Applejack's nose. That was it.

      "Oh hay yes."

      She pushed herself back onto Rainbow Dash, reconnecting their lips with far more fire than before. Rainbow moaned in surprise, this time unashamed as Applejack practically forced her tongue into the cyan mare's mouth, an advance she could only succumb to.

      "Mmmh..." Rainbow Dash moaned as Applejack pushed the two of them over, claiming her place on top as her long hair draped over either side of them, secluding them in a curtain of gilded strands.

         Rainbow lifted a hoof, brushing AJ's face with an unusual gentleness as she drew her closer. Applejack's kiss too was so soft, so tender, the emotion behind it never to be expected from the industrious workhorse. The pegasus couldn't have cared less; she simply lost herself in her touch, allowing herself to be warmed from the inside out.

      As the minutes ticked by like mini lifetimes, the heat intensified between the two like the kindling of what was to be a grand bonfire. Rainbow Dash began to succumb to the swell of arousal that conquered her body, the heat between her haunches growing as she tangled tongues with her best friend, heating her to the point where her hips had begun to gyrate on their own against Applejack's leg, desperate for relief.

     As Rainbow moaned again, AJ finally caught wind of what was moving against her leg. she pulled away looking at the furiously crimson pony beneath her with a grin. "Eager, sugarcube?"

     Rainbow flung her head back, eyes closed in passion, groaning aloud, "Shut up, AJ, and kiss me."

      Applejack, forever reliable, complied, trailing butterfly kissed over Rainbow's jawline to her throat, nipping and sucking gently as she went. The pegasus had a muffled noise for each one, the spark between her legs turning to a fully-fledged flame as moisture seeped from her marehood. She moved faster against the farmpony grunting and moaning with every gyration.

      The thought of what could happen if this continued finally registered in Applejack's hazy mind, and she adjusted her position over the pegasus, straddling her to the sand, thereby denying Rainbow further satisfaction against her leg. "That's-mmf-just cruel." Dash grunted, thrusting her hips upwards to meet nothing but empty air.

      For once, Applejack, whose mind was too clouded with dripping arousal, held no remorse. "Ah'm holdin' the reigns here, sugarcube."

     Somehow, the notion of Applejack pressing her soft body against her own, holding her unable to move as she pleasured her became too much to bear for poor Rainbow Dash, who shuddered. "Please, AJ, do it." She begged, voice cracking with lust.

      Applejack looked up from kissing down Rainbow's furry belly. "Do what, sugar?" She asked with mock-innocence. She punctuated her sentence with another kiss, lower than the last.

      Rainbow groaned aloud, thrusting her hips upwards once again. "Come on, please, just...ughhh..."

      Applejack extended her small tongue, running the tip of it down Rainbow's lithe body tortuously, ending at her pelvis before trailing back up. She was an awful tease. "Ah'm not gonna do anything until ya say it, Dash."

      Rainbow was finished. She was already walking the edge of coming already, her sex swollen and soaked, pulse pounding, body flushed. She needed it, now. "Lick me!" She cried, grinding helplessly against the air.

      "Landsakes, RD, I got it." With that, Applejack grasped Rainbow's flank at the cutiemark, diving right into her pulsing sex. She drew a long lick from the base to the tip, before moving out to plant a kiss on either of Dash's inner thighs, just to see her squirm as she awaited the next shock of pleasure.

      "Nghhh-" Rainbow choked, her hooves finding Applejack's mane and stroking it as she forced her head back to her fiery marehood. Applejack obliged, sharpening her tongue to trace a circle or two around the mare's stiff clit before dipping into her love hole, tracing the edges slowly, too slowly.

     Rainbow hung by a thread, a thread that when cut would sent her into the abyss of release, and Applejack held the scissors, slowly sawing away at the thread, but leaving always one more fiber to cut.

      Applejack dragged her tongue up once more, lapping up some of the leaking product of Rainbow's arousal, sticky sweet but not at all unpleasant, not in the least. She reached up a hoof to rest against Rainbow's heaving belly, feeling her breath as it came and went in short bursts.

      The pegasus was moaning constantly. Every moan was short and load, dotted with the occasional voice crack and gasp as Applejack worked, swirling her tongue around and around her clitoris, every swirl striking her like lightening. She was seeing spots, her pulse thundering through her ears...Rainbow needed to come, she needed it now...

     Applejack sensed it; she was not a cruel pony, teasing, but not cruel. In her final act, she wrapped her lips around Rainbow's aching clit and sucked with all the vigor she could muster, flicking her tongue as quickly as it would go over the hood.

      "Mmh.. mmh...mmh...ohohohOH...AJ, I'm gonna, I'm gonna...aaauughh!" Rainbow released a strangled cry as she released at the same time, her pleasure reaching paramount heights as it came crashing over her, contracting every muscle in her body in sweet, godly release that sent her squirming, liquid dribbling out of her climaxing sex.

      As she calmed, Rainbow peeled her hooves from the back of Applejack's head, who came up for a deep gasp of air, before slinking up to Rainbow's face and meeting her in a kiss. Dash could taste herself on AJ's lips, the tangy sweetness, the erotica of it all sending her mind reeling once more.

      There wasn't a second to waste. "Your turn." Rainbow stated, an edge to her voice that set the impossibly aroused Applejack into a whirlpool. She found herself flipped so quickly, the orange pony had not a moment to react. Not that she wanted to, in any case.

      Rainbow Dash, following the tradition like which she did everything in life, went straight for the prize; Applejack's dripping, erect marehood. She assaulted it with her tongue, unleashing oral rapid fire over AJ's clitoris, flicking and rolling it in and out of her lips as the earth pony moaned long, drawn out and unimaginably sexy moans, unable to reign herself in.

      "Ahhhhhhh...Rainbow Dash..." Her name fell from Applejack's lips like syrup, pooling around them as Dash rimmed her pulsating hole, one hoof furiously rubbing over the top of her throbbing clit.

      Upon hearing her own name moaned so smokily, Rainbow Dash felt a bubble of affection swell in her stomach, and she replied with a moan of her own in AJ's sex.

       The vibrations were unlike anything Applejack had felt before, shooting up through her core like a drug; she was addicted, caressing Rainbow's mane and pushing her groin against her snout.

"Ohhh...more...more..."

       Smoldering. That was the single way to effectively describe Applejack's moans, rolling off the tip of her tongue as her clitoris rolled off the tip of Rainbow's.

       She wanted extreme pleasure, she would get it. The time had come for Applejack to feel something she had surely never before felt, and Rainbow Dash would ensure that she would never forget whose tongue gave it to her.

      Rainbow removed herself from AJ's sex, to a grunt of protest from the latter, a grunt that was dismissed. "You've done this before, right AJ?"

    Applejack just offered a weak moan, unable to say a single coherent word.

     Rainbow Dash smirked, running her hooves down AJ's sides, ruffling her fur and watching the muscular body writhe. "Well, I can promise you haven't done THIS before."

      With that, Rainbow dived into Applejack's sex like a hawk, sucking her entire clitoris between her lips as she thrust her hoof into her entry halfway, caressing the earth pony's inner walls. Angling the tip of her hoof slightly upward, Rainbow connected with Applejack's spongy g-spot, pushing against the hypersensitive area.

     The result was immediate, electric; Applejack screamed like she never before had, arching her back as her orgasm shredded her like a blitz, hair sprawling in every direction as the pleasure forced her head back. A stream of fluid jetted from deep within her, shooting into Rainbow's face, dribbling down her neck, matting cyan fur.

      Applejack was elsewhere, sailing the blue on cloud nine. She foggily registered Rainbow receding from her marehood, planting a gentle kiss on her lips, and lying down alongside her.

      As the orgasmic shockwave washed away, and the stars in the night sky began to reappear, sleepiness replaced release as the two lay next to each other, teetering on the edge of a dreamless slumber.

      *END OF MATURE SECTION, YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES NOW*

      Applejack pulled away, turning to face Rainbow Dash, who looked back with half-lidded eyes of deep cerise. "You know somethin', Rainbow Dash?" She asked, voice gentle.

       "Hmm?"

       "Ah think you're beautiful."

       Rainbow Dash blinked, before placing a soft kiss on the bridge of Applejack's snout, lingering for only a moment.

      Perfect.

      *~*~*

          The sky was perfectly clear, watery sky blue, not a single tuft of cloud to be seen. The sun too had been sliding up the sky for a couple hours now, its radiating heat getting warmer and warmer as the minutes passed, until it was downright sweltering under AJ's hat.

      "Better get a move on, sugarcube, it's gettin' muggy out here." She urged Rainbow Dash, who was strutting back, sopping wet from a final frolic in the waves. The prismatic pony through back her soaked sheet of mane, turning to give Applejack a look that spoke volumes in itself.

      "Chill, AJ, I'm coming." She said impatiently, shaking off a mist of excess water, leaving it rain down onto the orange pony near her.

      "Thanks for that, Rainbow Dash." Applejack chuckled, before hissing through her teeth and wincing. "Doesn't do a lot for mah sunburn though."

      Rainbow snickered, looking back at her own angry red shoulder, wearing her sunburn like a badge of valiance. "Yeah, we should've used the sunscreen."

      "Good thinkin', sugarcube."

      Accepting the light punch from her companion, Applejack slung her saddlebag over her back, yanking the straps tight as she did so. Rainbow Dash follwed suit, turning her back on the glinmering sea, regardless of how much it pained her to do it. "Let's just go, before I decide to become a sea pony, yeah?"

     The two set off, side by side, flanks swaying in time as they left the stretch of beach, the secret escape they had both long since agreed would be the best summer vacation locale. Only for the two of them, of course.

      After a moment of silence trek, Rainbow spoke up, her voice making it clear she had been in deep though before she voiced any of it. "You know what I just realized, Applejack?" She asked, pensively.

     Applejack turned. "What's that?"

      Rainbow Dash took flight, hovering close to the path below her, hooves flailing through the air in obvious exasperation.

     "We forgot to eat the snacks!"