Applejack caught the scent of freshly brewed coffee dancing across the air welcoming all into the dawn of a new day. The copper mare rolled over onto her belly and gave a large stretch as her joints popped loudly.
Emerald green eyes focused on the dimly lit room with a joyous smile spread across her lips. The orange gleam of the morning sun peeking out from the vast horizon outside her bedroom window, the endless landscape of her family farm a lovely sight to behold.
Without wasting another moment Applejack sprung out of bed in a blur of copper pride. She might've been an older mare, but when given the chance she could run with the best of them. Applejack happily trotted her way down the darkened hallway of her farmhouse, as she followed the beckoning scent of coffee to the warm glow of the kitchen.
To nopony's surprise, Rainbow Dash was waiting at the old oak dining table with a smug smirk plastered across her muzzle. She puffed her chest out proudly to fill out her Wonderbolt jacket, her multicolored mane brushed into a sassy but confident style befitting a mare of her age and rank.
"Sleeping in?" Rainbow laughed as her turquoise hooves pushed an apple-shaped mug of coffee across the table to an empty seat in front of her.
Applejack snorted sarcastically as she jumped up onto her seat in a silent huff. "Waking up twenty minutes early isn't impressive." She lifted the mug in her hooves and took a deep sip of the Classic Roast she had grown accustomed to.
"Still at the end of the day, I'm the harder worker." Rainbow winked with a playful nature that seemed to always bring the fire out in Applejack.
"An overgrown bag of feathers like you can't be serious?" Applejack erupted into a hearty laugh.
"You'll never let me win will you?" Rainbow flaunted her hoof towards her friend with a calm collected smile.
"Unlike you, everything to me isn't a competition." Applejack lifted her hoof to her chest softly as she spoke with an air of maturity.
"Horse Apples!" The pegasus called out her friend with the stomp of a hoof across the table's surface.
"It's the honest truth!" Applejack flashed that sly smile across the table in delight.
"Fine, you go back to bed and I'll work alone today." Rainbow popped her lips.
"Nope, fraid' I can't let you win." Applejack giggled in reply as her friend joined her.
Rainbow enjoyed these early morning taunts with her best friend. It fired up her engine far more than any cup of coffee ever could. Applejack was the perfect companion to keep her on her hooves, both never getting rest unless absolutely every job around the farm was completed.
It was a routine of challenges that drove their farm to be Equestria's largest provider of apple-based goods. A title that meant the world to Applejack, as it brought a sense of pride and purpose to the aging mare's life.
As for Rainbow, it was no longer about fame or glory, but instead enjoying the company that her friend brought to the table.
It was warm and welcoming.
A true friendship that had only become stronger over the years.
If a bit stubborn as well.
"Well, we best be starting, Sugarcube!" Applejack chugged down the rest of her mug in a flash.
"The sun's not even out!" Rainbow added her two cents of procrastination.
"Starting late doesn't pay! The early bird gets the worm!!" Applejack hopped out of her seat excited to start her labors.
Rainbow laughed as she fluttered out of her seat and grabbed Applejack's hat off the counter behind herself. "Yeah, it does! The second mouse gets the cheese!!" She plopped the dirty Stenson atop her friend's head smirking.
"I swear!" Applejack couldn't stop laughing as she headed out the backdoor.
By noon the sun basked the rolling hills in golden rays of warmth. The orchard was in full bloom as vibrant red covered the landscape endlessly into the horizon. Green grass glistened from fresh rainfall the night before, an intoxicating scent of nature heavy on the air.
A perfect day to get tons of work done and enjoy the beauty of the scenery to boot. Applejack indulging herself on such a fine day, by taking it easy and bucking only a hundred and fifty trees before lunch.
Rainbow busy in the sky above teaching a few fillies the basics about flying. Of course, putting her workload of plowing the right field onto the back burner. Applejack nestling herself under a nearby apple tree with a grin, she enjoyed the show of flying hams while it lasted.
The rainbow pegasus performed a triple flip in the air before she plummeted towards the ground below. The children of course squealed in awe of such skill, as the mare elegantly spun into a barrel roll before touching down to earth.
"That's called a Dare Mare, of course, you'll learn that once the basics are mastered!" Rainbow spoke in a cocky tone of voice, the three fillies sat in the grass giggling excitedly.
"Whoo, show them The Procrastinator!" Applejack yelled out from under her tree enjoying an apple for lunch.
"Cool, what's The Procrastinator!?" A blue filly squealed in excitement.
"Can you teach me to Procrastinate!?" A pink filly chirped along.
"Heehee, not today." Rainbow flashed her friend an icy glare as her muzzle scrunched up adorably.
After a few autographed photos and this odd new fad of posing for a selfie, the children were on their way as they trotted out of the farm through the front gate. Applejack smiled as she waited for her friend to join her in the shade, yet the pegasus stood her ground in the sun with a slightly constipated look on her face.
"Yer' not just going to pout are you?" Applejack arched a thin brow curiously.
"Not pouting, just threw out my back!" Rainbow folded her ears back in obvious discomfort before collapsing into the dirt with a loud thud.
"Course." Applejack lowered her hat over her eyes in one swift motion of defeat.
Looks like this was a half-day.
Applejack had to drag the bag of feathers under her favorite tree. The clouds drifted across the sky lazily as the pale blue sky offered a cozy scene for anypony to enjoy. Rainbow quickly groaned in over-exaggerated pain, her wings cramping in a comical fashion.
"I remember when I could fly all-day and never break a sweat!" Rainbow scrunched her face in discomfort before a loud whiny escaped her muzzle.
Applejack sighed as both hooves gently began to rub the sore muscles of her friend's lower backside. "Mm-hmm, it's called being a filly." She used her firm touch to stroke and straighten the pegasus' wings out with care.
"Are you calling me old!?" Rainbow blew a loud raspberry sarcastically.
"No your body is, Sugarcube." Applejack rolled her eyes as she pressed firmly onto Rainbow's hip.
A pop echoed into the air as the pegasus screamed out with a loud horse noise. "Snap me like a twig, won't you!?" Rainbow let a loud sigh escape her lips before going limp.
"You love it!" Applejack giggled as she felt her friend begin to relax.
"Guess I ruined the workday huh?" Rainbow smiled back to the copper earth pony tenderly.
Applejack traced her hooves up and down the spine of her friend, she used a surprisingly gentle touch to melt sore muscles like warm butter. "We're ahead this month, so no foul." She returned that familiar smile of honest love.
Rainbow didn't say a word as she stretched her sore joints back into their proper place. In a blur of technicolored vibrance, she playfully pushed her friend onto her backside amongst the lush green grass.
Before Applejack could say a word, those strong lovely wings embraced her into a soft hug. Wrapping her safely into the pegasus's care as Rainbow planted a simple kiss onto her forehead, with a cocky yet goofy smile.
They didn't need words to enjoy the serenity of a lazy day, nor to understand each other. The light squeeze Applejack received from powerful wings of hope, or the gentle flicker of a farm pony's tail.
Both knew that they completed each other, for better or worse they'd face it together.
"I'm back in the sky, are you with me?" Rainbow purred as she watched the sun begin to set over the horizon, the sky a golden hue that brought tranquility to the world if only for a moment.
Applejack shook her head in dismay, her ear on the chest of her friend as she listened to the rhythmic beating of her heart.
"This is really sweet and all, but I'm hungry and yer' cookin'!" Applejack rolled out of the embrace with a smug giggle.
"Wouldn't you rather watch the stars light up the sky?" Rainbow grinned as both hooves waved over the darkening canvas above.
"I'd rather have apple pie." Applejack playfully bucked her friend on the haunches.
"Thought so," Rainbow mumbled under her breath.
As the pegasus rose to her hooves, she watched that beautiful country mare gallop at full speed towards the farmhouse in the distance.
This was the life, surrounded by those you love.
Sharing each day with your Best Friend.
