The chilly evening air sent a brief wash over the small town of Ponyville. Winter had arrived and was in full effect as the icy winds rained down droplets of snow to the accepting ground below.
Shop owners began packing up their things to settle down for the night, weather ponies began to clear the sky of clouds and prepared for nightfall. Winter had just settled over the small town and the first bits of snow fallen earlier in the week, fillies gathered up their things and turned to their parents and headed home.
Overhead, Rainbow Dash zoomed through the sky, her shift had as a weather pony had just ended and she was ready to get home. The cold wind blew through her mane as she flapped her wings faster and faster, she could see her cloud castle in distance as she began decrease her speed. She landed at the entrance and took a moment to catch her breath and admire the view in front of her home.
“Damn. What a nice view....” she thought to herself.
Once her composure was regained, she fumbled for her keys in her saddlebag, once she had a hold of them she jiggled them in the keyhole and gently unlocked her front door and closed it gently behind her. Walking into her home she quickly set her things aside and slowly made her way to her bathroom.
Once she was inside, she stared at herself in the mirror and cracked a soft smile at her reflection. “Looking' good Dash.” she said with a hint of sarcasm.
Rainbow quickly adjusted her body, stretching out the joints in her wings, which cracked loudly as she gave a satisfied grunt.
“Ahh... nothing' like a little hard work to get the ol' body all worked up.” she said, voicing her thoughts to nopony in particular.
She turned to her shower, and cocked an eyebrow after giving her body a quick whiff. Curling her nose, she had obtained quite the odor. No doubt the result of working up in the skies nonstop.
“Whew...only one way I know to take care of that.”
Slowly stepping towards the large shower she reached a hoof around to the three small dials inside of it, after twisting one of the small dials, she slowly stepped inside the stall, letting the lukewarm water run down her body.
Rainbow sighed, allowing her mind to wander as the water flowed down her mane and neck. She moaned contently as the pressurized water washed away all her stress from her hours upon hours of weather pony work.
After about ten minutes or so, she turned off her shower and stepped out of the large stall, shaking off any excess water, allowing her mane to fluff back into it's natural position. After drying herself off, Rainbow walked out the bathroom gently shutting the door behind her, and proceeded down the dimly lit hallway that was leading to her bedroom.
Rainbow Dash gently trotted down the hallway, that of which was lined up with multiple Wonderbolt posters and various pictures, and many awards for the various activities of her youth.
Stopping for a moment and taking in the sense of accomplishment she now felt, Dash gave a subtle grin.
She had always been a prideful mare.
Once reaching her bedroom door, she entered through it slowly and walked towards her large cloud bed. She walked towards her nightstand, and retrieved a copy of the latest "Daring Do" comic book. Hopping on to her bed, she glanced over to her pet tortoise, Tank, who was currently fast asleep in his makeshift bed on the cloud -lined floor.
Since he was napping she decided to set his foodbag aside. She could always take care of that later.
“Sweet dreams little guy.” she remarked with a small smile.
She turned her attention back to the comic book and began to rapidly flip through the pages. She had already read this current issue, and was currently waiting for the next issue to be released sometime next month. Sighing to herself in boredom, she gently closed the comic book and set it back on her nightstand, and flopped over on her back, staring up at the colorful ceiling.
Slowly, her mind drifted to her five friends and what they could be doing at this time. It was at this moment that she realized that Hearth's Warming Eve was coming up in a few days, which meant majority of her friends would be visiting family.
She knew for a fact that Twilight, and Rarity were gone visiting family in Canterlot, Fluttershy would be busy with her animal caretaker duties and Pinkie had gone south to visit her family at their rock farm.
Dash sighed, That left Applejack... She looked out her window, the sun hadn't gone down yet which meant that the farmer would most likely still be bucking apples, given her notoriously tedious work schedule.
For a brief moment, Rainbow considered paying her friend a visit, but decided that she didn't want to impose at this time of the day.
*glorp*
Her train of thought was shattered by a loud rumble that echoed throughout her entire bedroom. “What the Hay was that?” she thought.
Rainbow's eyes darted from side to side, looking around her bedroom before finally locating the source of the noise.
...Her stomach.
It rumbled again, albeit much louder this time.
Rainbow Dash prodded her gut with a hoof.
“Shut it.” She said plainly.
She sighed, thinking back to this mourning's events, playing back the memories in her head. Her boss had been on her case heavily the past few weeks and in order to appease him, Rainbow Dash had been showing up to work much earlier than normal.
Unfortunately, that meant on most days she would have to sacrifice her breakfast in order to make it on time.
Stupid job...
Losing herself in the urge for sustenance , her mind began to drift. She imagined a big juicy, warm, and steamed, hayburger with fresh hay fries, and the thought alone was enough to make her mouth water and stomach grumble loudly.
Snorting harshly in defiance, Rainbow sat upwards in her bed, sighing once more.
It was clear that she was burdened with two dilemmas- not only was she bored... she was now hungry. Unsure on what direct her attention to first however, Rainbow placed a single hoof on her chin in thought.
As if it were voicing it's opinion on the matter, her stomach let out another audible protest of hunger. The organ's gurgling cries echoing throughout the the room boisterously. Nearby, a disheveled Tank stirred in his slumber, retracting his head further into his shell, desperate to find some peace and quiet.
“Alright alright, I heard you!” Rainbow said, looking down at her cyan colored barrel.
Letting out a frustrated groan, She quietly got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen.
As Rainbow trotted towards the kitchen, she gave a frustrated sigh as her stomach became a dull ache.
Upon entering the kitchen, her face lit up as she eyed her refrigerator and opened it.
Her initial smile turned into a stoic frown upon seeing her fridges contents. Aside from various bottles of water and other mysterious liquids, and a half eaten cupcake, it was completely empty.
"Ugh..."
Shutting her fridge with an irritated groan she turned around, eyeing her large cupboards above her sink.
She quickly checked her cupboards, opening them up at a rapid pace. Inside the smallest one, she found a large box of Wonderbolt stylized cereal, to which she grabbed a hoof full of and plopped into her mouth. Upon doing this however, Rainbow soon realized that the cereal was horribly stale, and quickly spat out the pieces.
“Ah come on!” She yelled, hooves crossed, flopping on down on the kitchen floor pouting angrily.
“This sucks...” She moaned.
Due to her busy and eccentric lifestyle, Rainbow Dash barely bought food, she would mostly eat takeout, or end up grabbing a quick meal from Sugarcube Corner... and on the rare occasions whenever she did try to cook food it never ended well.
She would either end up getting bored midway through the cooking process... or she would end up outright burning her meal.
Sighing once more, Her mind drifted back to her friend Applejack and her family's famous cuisine, this time an image of a warm slice of apple pie, next to a mug of famous Apple Family cider floated into her mind, causing her to lick her lips involuntarily.
Looking out her window once more, she noticed the the sun was just now beginning to set. If she was going to act, she would have to do so in a hurry.
“Applejack won't mind if I swing by for a small snack...would she?” Dash thought to herself, surely her good friend, Honest Applejack wouldn't mind.
Her ever vocal stomach made the wining decision for her with another muffled groan from under her pelt.
Dash smirked. "Guess I don't have a choice, huh?"
Mind made up for the time being, Rainbow Dash stepped out her front door, and spread her wings, preparing for flight. The sun was beginning set at rapid pace, so she would have to be quick..., and luckily that's what Rainbow Dash did best.
A pair of golden delicious apples fell from their respective branches into a large brown basket that was already filled to the brim with various other apples. “ Whew... that's the last of em over here Mac, did ya finish up yer side of the farm?” Applejack asked as she set the basket of apples down, turning to her older sibling.
“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh responded back with his usual monotone drawl.
Applejack let out a satisfied sigh... she had been working for hours now as applebuck season finally came to a close. She trotted over to the open interior of the large red barn and sat back on her haunches, giving another sigh of relief as she rested her eyes. Big Mac slowly trotted out slowly in-front of her.
“Granny gots' dinner goin' so Ah figure Ah'd better go in and help 'er.” Mac said to no response.
He trotted closer to his sister, her eyes were closed, chest slowly moving up and down with each shallow breath.
“Ya alright AJ?”… still no response.
Big Mac stepped towards his sister repeating his question. This time Applejack gave Big Mac a weak glance of acknowledgment.
“Huh...oh sorry Mac.. Ah'm just just resting' mah hooves for the day.” Applejack weakly said, gesturing at her hooves.
Big Mac smiled. He told AJ that he was there if she needed him to which she responded with a brief hug, and with that, he slowly made his way inside to help cook dinner. Applejack smiled as she looked at the sunset. She had to admit, despite her frequent chores, staring at the sunset was one of her favorite things to do to pass the time. She yawned, working nonstop in the fields all day had left her physically and mentally drained, and pretty soon her eyelids began to feel extremely heavy.
But just before slowly falling into to a slumber...the sound of flapping wings in the sky disturbed her.
“Ugh... cornsarnit who...or what could that be?” Applejack bellowed groggily, steadily rising from near slumber state.
As the sound began to get closer, Applejack slowly got up from her spot in the barn and began to investigate the source of the sound.
Looking up in the sky, a cyan colored blob was barely visible, but although Applejack could make out the who the Pegasus was.
“Rainbow...” She thought to herself, before cracking a small smile.
“Come on down RD, Ah see ya up there!” Applejack yelled up to the blob in the sky.
Up in the sky, Rainbow's ear twitched at the sound of her name being called, however upon on realizing who the voice belonged to, she gave a nervous glance down towards the ground below.
“Just gotta' grab a snack and then leave... simple as that” she thought to herself.
Swooping downwards, she hovered closer to the ground, locking eyes with her friend.
“Uh...hey AJ what's up?” Rainbow uttered as she landed. Applejack glanced back at her, giving a warm and friendly smile.
“Nuthin' much RD... aside from the usual applebuckin' and whatnot.” Applejack responded, seemingly eyeing the Pegasus down.
“Ah'm surprised yer still even in Ponyville 'round this time of the year...don't ya got family in Cloudsdale?” Applejack said, with a tone of genuine interest.
“Yeah about that...” Dash began, rubbing the back of head with a hoof, trying to avoid direct eye contact.
As much as she hated to admit it, The holiday season was one of the times of the year she dreaded the most. Dash loathed the fact that all her friends were gone away with their families, while she would be usually be at home..alone (Excluding her pet tortoise of course) .
To be completely honest, Dash didn't really have much of a “family” to begin with, well aside from her father. And even her relationship with him was...strained.
Rainbow swallowed a stone down her gullet and sighed. A third issue had been added to her list of dilemmas. She was bored, hungry and most of all she was...lonely.
It was moments like these, that the usually confident and boastful Rainbow Dash felt absolutely...pathetic.
It was a pitiful sight.
And yet, here she was... latching onto her friend Applejack for a free meal like some useless parasite, while her other friends were probably off having the time of their lives with their respective families.
For a brief second Rainbow Dash's eyes glazed over and she considered cutting her losses and taking off into the now moonlit sky and leaving without a word, but a orange hoof lightly resting on her shoulder caught her attention.
“Is everythin' alright sugarcube?” Applejack asked, her face a mask of genuine concern.
“Well it's that...I...just...well I...” Rainbow stammered in her tracks, struggling to find her words.
“Be honest with me RD...Are ya feelin' lonesome?” Applejack said with a reassuring tone.
“How the hay did she know!?!?” Rainbow thought to herself, before turning to Applejack, finally making eye contact.
“NO!.....well maybe, it's just that... all the other girls are with there families, and stuff... and well I guess I got a bit...lonely.” Dash stammered bashfully.
“Well...shucks girl why didn't ya say so!” Applejack responded, with a light grin.
“We got plenty o' room here at the farm, and yer always welcome ta stay the night if ya would like.”
Rainbow pondered for a brief moment, what would Applejack's family think?
Would she appear like a freeloader, looking for a hand out?
A million thoughts raced through Rainbow Dash's overwhelmed mind until... something clicked in the back of her conscience...
WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?
Applejack was her friend for crying out loud, of course she'd be willing to help her out when she needed it. Pride be damned, Appejack was offering her hoof, so who was she to say no?
Rainbow turned back to Applejack, who was smiling gleefully.
“Yea... I guess spending the night wouldn't hurt...would it?” Rainbow said, returning the smile. Applejack gave a gentle laugh, before speaking again.
“Of course not sugarcube, Ah would-"
*glorp*
Before Applejack could finish her response , Rainbow Dash's momentarily forgotten stomach decided to remind everypony within the near vicinity of the reason why the cyan mare had shown up to Apple Acres in the first place.
The silence lasted only for a minute or so, but it felt like nearly an eternity to Rainbow. She kept her eyes facing the ground , trying her hardest not to let Applejack see the blush that had formed on her cheeks.
Finally, the farmpony broke up the monotonousness atmosphere with a forced chuckle.
“Sounds like ya'll could use a hot meal or two.” Applejack said with a chuckle.
“Yeah... sorry about that. I missed breakfast.” Rainbow uttered as she rubbed her hoof in the dirt below her, her response coming out as barely above a whisper.
“Well then, let's get some food up in yer belly before ya starve. Ah think Granny is just about done with dinner.”
“That sounds great, AJ.” Dash replied back, the blush still plastered on her cheeks.
And with that the two friends trotted towards the Apple Family home.
As they made their way inside, Applejack gently closed the door behind the them, and they soon made their way towards the kitchen. As she made her way down the hallway, Rainbow's nose was instantly hit with a warm and delicious smell, one that she instantly recognized as the scent of a warm apple-pie that she had long desired.
“Oh my gosh... that smells amazing!” Dash thought to herself, mouth watering.
“APPLEJACK IS THAT YOU!?!?” the familiar voice of Granny Smith hollered out.
“Yeah It's me Granny. Sorry Ah took so long, but Ah was havin' a little chat with Rainbow Dash.” Applejack bellowed back, her voice directed towards the kitchen.
”YER PEGASUS FRIEND!?!?”
“Yeah...And Ah hope y'all don't mind but Rainbow's been feeling a might lonesome...so she's gon' be joinin' us for dinner.”
“OF COURSE NOT SUGAR, THE MORE THE MERRIER!” Granny Smith yelled back. Applejack smiled, turning back to Rainbow, who was currently salivating.
“Hot damn RD. Y'all must be really hungry.” Applejack asked, muffling a giggle with her hoof when Rainbow's stomach groaned audibly again.
"Starving.” Dash replied blankly, her voice low and meek.
“Don't y'all fret none, the food's comin'.” Applejack said reassuringly, chuckling once more.
"I sure hope so..." The flier mumbled quietly as she followed closely behind, using her free hoof to rub her aching gut to soothe the emptiness she felt inside.
The duo made their way into the Apple Family kitchen where Big Mac, Granny Smith, and young Apple Bloom were already setting the up the dinner table with various foods and silverware. An Apple Pie, Apple Crisp, Apple turnovers, multiple bowls of steamed hay and several large mug's of fresh Apple cider were all piled onto the large wooden table at an extreme pace as Big Mac quickly set down the silverware for everypony to enjoy.
It was like Rainbow had died and gone to heaven. It was a total Apple-family feast! They even had apple-cider!
Rainbow Dash eyed the Apple Pie, it's flaky, warm, golden crust called out to her, and she nearly fainted at the sight of it. Her mouth watered drastically, she was practically drooling.
“Look's good don't it?” Applejack asked, coming up from behind her, placing a hoof on Dash's shoulder.
The only response she received was yet another loud stomach grumble from Rainbow.
Applebloom laughed.
“Wow.. Rainbow, it sounds like ya got' a Timberwolf trapped inside of yer tummy!” The filly giggled as she took her seat at the dinner table.
Rainbow quickly snapped out of her momentary hunger-induced trance and glanced off to the side, clearly embarrassed.
Seeing her guest's visual discomfort, the old and wise Granny Smith walked over to her and spoke up.
“Aw shucks girl... ya ain't got nuthin' to be ashamed of..” She began.
“No pony in their right mind can resist a good ol' slice of homemade Apple pie, ain't that right Mac?”
“Eeyup.”
Rainbow Dash smiled.
The Apple Family's southern hospitality was beginning to make the Pegasus feel right at home.
“Yeah... It smells great, and you guys make really awesome food!" Rainbow Dash said with a light grin.
“Wasn't nuthin' to it sugar.” Granny Smith replied, taking her own seat at the head of the table.
Suddenly, another loud growling sounded throughout the room, but only this time it came from Applejack's stomach.
Smirking at her body's own outburst, Applejack went and took her seat.
“Ah don't know 'bout y'all but Ah'm starvin', let's eat!” Applejack bellowed.
“Yes, finally!” Dash harped in agreement .
With that, everypony gathered their own individual plates and stacked them sky high with mountains of food.
Rainbow Dash took a huge slice of Apple pie began to make her way back to her seat. Once she was seated she immediately dove right into her meal, wolfing down bite after bite of warm Apple Pie.
“This tastes...so amazing!” Rainbow exclaimed, mouth full of food.
Applejack was no different, she plowed through multiple plates of Apple crisp, at an extreme pace.
“This is sum cookin' ya did granny!” Applejack said, before taking a huge bite out of a piece of apple crisp.
Big Mac, Applebloom, And Granny Smith all sat in amazement as they watched the two mares pack away plate after plate. They knew that Applejack and Rainbow Dash both had huge appetites, but to see them in action up close and personal, was...fascinating to say the least.
“Hey AJ...” Rainbow said, wrapping a hoof around a mug of apple cider.
“Yeah Dash?”
“I bet I can drink more cider than you...”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe...only if you're not too... chicken.”
….
“Yer on, sugarcube...”
"Ugh..too much..."
"Ah'm stuffed..."
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were slumped in their respective chairs stomachs bulging. They had each eaten well over three plates of dinner and had drunken A LOT of cider.
And they had been like this for the past twenty minutes.
Young Applebloom had dozed off minutes ago, and Big Mac had gone off to tuck her in bed for the night, while Granny Smith was just now finishing cleaning the remaining dishes.
“Ah hope you two learned yer lessons by now.” She said sternly, stacking two squeaky, clean plates on top of each other.
“Ah'm glad y'all enjoyed my food, but being gluttons ain't ever a good thing.''
Applejack suppressed an unruly burp with a hoof. “Ugh...sorry Granny...Ah don't know what came over me.”
“Yea, sorry...” Rainbow uttered, echoing the apology.
Granny Smith gave a gentle sigh, and turned towards the pair with a warm smile.
“Now... Ah'm sure that the both of y'all can get too bed without little ol' me, rolling ya out with a wheelbarrow, right?”
The two mares could only respond with groans, as another wave of nausea hit them. At this Granny Smith could only give a warm grin.
“Ah'll take that as a no.” she said, laughing.
“Oh and Rainbow... y'all can sleep in the guestroom upstairs, next to Applejack's room.” Granny Smith chuckled as she grasped another filthy dish and plopped it into the sink.
Soon after that, Granny Smith eventually gathered up the remaining dishes and made her way out of the kitchen, leaving the two mares in complete silence (aside from the occasional grunt or moan of discomfort).
After roughly fifteen minutes of silence, Applejack finally spoke up.
“Alright, Dash... Ugh...Ah think we should hit the hay.”
Rainbow Dash, who had been completely silent, and slumped over in her seat weakly gave Applejack a brief glance and sighed.
“Yeah..that's probably a good idea.” She retorted, rolling out of the seat, hooves touching the cold wooden floor.
“Whew...boy..I am stuffed...I'm not even sure I can walk.” Rainbow remarked.
“Tell me about it...sugar...oof... Ah feel like one of our prize winnin' hogs.” Applejack said as she and Rainbow lightly trotted out out into the dimly lit hallway.
The duo slowly walked towards the large staircase that lead up to the multiple bedrooms and slowly made their way up the steps. Upon reaching the top Applejack turned to Rainbow and wished her a good night's rest and prepared enter her bedroom, when suddenly the familiar, raspy, voice of Rainbow Dash's stopped her.
“Uh...hey Applejack...”
“Yes, sugarcube?”
“Thanks...”
Applejack turned, and briefly scratched her head in confusion.
“Uh...Yer welcome...thanks fer what?”
Rainbow Dash sighed, she had always struggled with showing her gratitude, especially when it came to her friends. After quickly giving out another frustrated groan, she turned back towards Applejack and spoke.
“Ya know..for everthing...the food, the bed, the hospitality.....and most of all...for being my friend.” Dash facehoofed internally, hoping she didn't sound too sappy.
Applejack blushed, struggling to find her words.
“Aw shucks RD, it wasn't anythin' special, heck Ah've always considered ya an Honorary Apple anyway.”
With that, the two friends embraced in a soft hug and exchanged “good nights” before going their seprate ways and entering their respective rooms.
Rainbow slowly entered the family guestroom and gave a sigh of relief as she flopped onto her back as the bed springs creaked and groaned.
The weight of her bloated stomach was putting pressure on her chest causing her to roll onto her side.
Rainbow stared into the darkness and smiled. For the first time in a long time she felt like she truly belonged. She felt like had a family, she felt welcomed, she felt like well...a Honorary Apple.
Eventually, Dash felt her eyes grow heavy and she gave tired yawn. Internally thanking Applejack once more, she shut her eyes and feel herself began to slip into a relaxed and quiet slumber.
....
Just when sleep was about to overtake the mare, a sudden realization snapped her awake.
Aw ponyfeathers, I forgot to feed Tank!
