As Rainbow Dash meandered down the cobblestone road, hordes of ponies passed her, She aimlessly wandered, taking turns and corners at random. Her traipse was completely unfocused. She had spent the afternoon with Scootaloo and Rainbow noticed the sky was beginning to darken. Gray cumulonimbus clouds littered the sky and covered the airspace with a pattern of dark shadow. As she gazed upwards, she noticed some familiar pegasi were the ones responsible for the imminent torrential downpour.

“Hey! Cloudchaser! It’s me, Rainbow Dash. Down here!”

The purplish-gray mare turned her head to and fro, trying to locate the ominous voice.

Rainbow groaned and redoubled her efforts, yelling more audibly. “Down here!”

Cloudchaser peered down at the kaleidoscopic pegasus and gave her a cheerful wave, before flying down to greet her.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash!”

The cyan mare reciprocated the wave and regarded the purplish-gray pony. “Heya! How soon before this storm is active?”

Cloudchaser glanced at the team of pegasi collectively accumulating the cloud coverings and answered. “Maybe twenty minutes. It’ll be isolated. An hour of rain before the sky becomes sunny once more.”

Dash gave a nod of gratitude and said farewell. Cloudchaser returned to her weather duty as Rainbow sauntered on. After taking a right turn, she spotted another pony she recognized, and her meander became a promenade.

“Applejack!”

The orange mare’s ears twitched, hearing her name called. She glanced around the vicinity for a moment before her green eyes spotted the weathermare. Applejack gleefully greeted her friend.

“Howdy, Rainbow! What brings ya aroun’ these-”

The farmpony abruptly stopped speaking as her eyes fixated on the grayish hue of Rainbow’s mane and tail. She stared, mystified for a few moments before finding her voice.

“Uh, Dash? Didja dye yer mane or summin?

“Nah. I think it’s caused by a lack of energy lately. It’s not important. Look, the pegasi ponies are assembling a large storm cloud. Gales and cold fronts will arrive within fifteen minutes. You should head home.”

Applejack looked towards the sky and frowned. The gray clouds cluttered the horizon. She clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Well, ain’t that a sour apple? Was a perfectly pleasant an’ sunny day. Ponyfeathers!”

“Cloudchaser says it’ll be a passing storm. An hour of rain and wind before it breaks apart. The sun will shine and coat Ponyville with its rays again.”

“Ah’m glad ta hear it's a quick sprinkle, Dash.”

Applejack glanced at the large, tall, stone exterior of the clock tower. She looked at the face and deduced from the analog hands that it was approaching six in the evening.

“Almos’ time fer supp’r, anyways. Mah apple cart is empty o’ produce. Ah was abou’ ta be headin’ home ‘fer ya showed. Are ya helpin’ the pegasi make the stormcloud, Dash?”

The speedster shook her head. “No. I was just walking around town. Preparing myself for tomorrow.”

Rainbow’s stomach gurgled and the farmpony chuckled at the audio emanating from her friend’s gut.

“Sounds like somepony is hungry, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash was silent, but the small tinge blush on her face spoke for her. In response, Applejack put a comforting hoof around Rainbow’s neck and chuckled.

“Hey, why the long face?”

Despite feeling slight embarrassment, Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist chortling at the demeanor of the farmpony.

“Yer welcome ta join. Yer practically family, Rainbow. There’s plenteh fer everypony. Yeh won’t be a bother.”

Rainbow paused for a moment and regarded the honest mare. She bobbed her head and accepted the invitation.

“I’d appreciate that, AJ. Thank you. I could definitely eat. What’s on the menu at Sweet Apple Acres tonight?”

Applejack removed her hoof from Rainbow’s neck and began to stroll towards the farm. She motioned for the pegasus to accompany her. After she did, the orange mare replied.

“It’s Sunday. Ev’ry Sunday is soup night. Quick, easy ta make, an’ perfect fer a brisk autumn night.”

As the friends walked, they made small talk. Applejack asked Rainbow about her expectations for tomorrow. Rainbow answered honestly, saying she was unsure what to fully expect. She told AJ that Spitfire was a mare she met before, and was a no-nonsense type of absolutist.

“Yer confident that ya’ll gonna be alrigh’ when ya begin?”

“Of course. While I may not know the private details of what takes place there, I’ve got the skills to stand out. I don’t foresee any difficulties.”

The pair discussed what lay ahead for Rainbow Dash for a few more minutes before the pegasus changed the subject.

“So, Applejack, how’s the farm doing this month? We’re midway through October. Is that a good profit month for business?”

“Ya bet! October is one o’ the best months fer the farm. Pumpkins, parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery stalks, jus’ ta name a few. We drum up lots o’ biz fer Sweet Apple Acres. Oh, an’ apples, o’ course! So many that get harvested aroun’ this time o’ year.

“Oh yeah? Which ones?” Rainbow challenged.

Smirking, Applejack listed the varieties. “Lesse, there’s Braeburn, Cameo, Empire, Evercrisp, Fuji, Gold Rush, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Ida Red, Jonagold, Macoun, Mutsu, Nittany, Northern Spy, Pink Lady, Rome, RubyFrost, Snapdragon, an’ Stayman Winesap.”

Rainbow blinked incredulously after Applejack listed not only the varieties, but in an alphabetized way.

“We haven’t eaten yet, and I already feel full of apples.”

AJ chuckled at her pal’s reaction and playfully socked her in the shoulder.

“Hey, a farmpony like Ah am, mus’ have lots o’ knowledge on all produce, ‘specially apples.”

Rainbow rubbed her shoulder in a jocular manner. The friends continued their trek back to Sweet Apple Acres. The wind billowed around them, causing the pair of ponies to shiver. Wanting to take her mind off the gales, Rainbow asked another question.

“Hey, AJ?”

“Yeah, RD?”

The speedster playfully rolled her eyes at Applejack’s imitation penchant and jokingly scoffed at her copying the acronym for their names.

“What’s the difference between a ‘grove’ and an ‘orchard’?”

Applejack did a double take at the cyan pegasus and gave her a look of incredulity.

“Why ya askin’ all these farmin’ questions fer? What? Thinkin’ if yer unable ta make it as a Wonderbolt, ya wanna work on mah farm?”

“Ha-ha.” Rainbow said dully and with a hint of snide in her tone, giving Applejack a shoulder punch, delivering the receipt for the earlier clout.

The honest and hardworking pony gingerly rubbed the spot where Rainbow Dash had hit. She grumbled before she answered.

“Iffin ya mus’ know, an orchard is preplanned plantin’ o’ trees that are maintained fer growin’ food. They’re cultivated on farms in organized rows ta help manage produce an’ make harvestin’ easier. Groves are smaller groups o’ trees that are found in natural settin’s like parks, gardens or forests. While orchards are formed fer agricultural reasons, groves are valued fer recreational or environmental stuff.”

Rainbow stared blankly at Applejack and murmured something incomprehensible. Sensing the pegasus’s confusion, AJ sighed and made it easier.

“Ta do summarizin’, orchards are cultivated plantin’ o’ fruit bearin’ trees fer sellin’ produce, while groves are small tree groups that naturally grow an’ seen in gardens, parks, an’ forests.”

“Oh! That makes more sense!” Dash replied chipperly.

“Happy now? Glad ya asked?”

Rainbow gave a sly smirk and shrugged her shoulders. Accompanying the gesticulation was a grunt of indifference. Applejack huffed and grabbed her stetson in a firm hoof, before whacking Dash over the head with it three times.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Could you not clobber me with your hat, Applejack?”

Applejack put the stetson firmly on her head and glared at Rainbow with scrutiny.

“Hmph! Yer askin’ questions, then not bein’ ‘ppreciative when Ah answer ‘em!”

“I’m totally grateful, AJ. You gave me clear definitions and how to distinguish between the two. Now, if a mugger comes up to me and threatens to take all my bits unless I explain the difference between an ‘orchard’ and a ‘grove’, I’ll have you to appreciate when I keep my bits.”

Applejack listened to the speedsters sardonic reply with cynicism. Despite the mocking tone, the farmpony chuckled at the overly descriptive hypothetical scenario.

“Then ya’ll bett’r hoof ov’r ten percent o’ yer stash ta me for mah expertise.”

The air became colder and the wind blustered around them. AJ and RD shivered from the dropped temperature. Both ponies hurried to Sweet Apple Acres, eager to get out of the chilly outside elements. Applejack’s cart squeaked as the pony dragged it along the cobblestone road. Nopony else was around and the two friends looked at each other before Rainbow gazed at the carriage hitched to Applejack’s back.

“You know, without that extra weight, you could move at a brisker pace, AJ.”

The farmpony thought it over. Her family had another one, and, remembering what Dash said earlier, this storm would be a passing one. She twisted and shimmed her body free from her cart and stood adjacent to Rainbow.

“Boy, howdy. That does feel bett’r.”

“I bet! Besides, it’s not like anypony would steal it. I’ll come back and grab it once the storm clears up.”

“Mighty kind o’ yer hospitality, Rainbow Dash. Ah’ll hold ya ta that promise.”

The two friends shared a hoofbump, confirming the silent vow. After Dash scratched her nose, and Applejack stretched her hooves, the Element of Honesty and the Element of Loyalty galloped towards the farm.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow and Applejack walked through the white gate bedecked with shrubbery and five plastic apples. A wooden plank hung below the arch’s apex. The plank was woodworked, with an apple shape etched out of the board.

Rainbow eagerly looked around, taking great strides and absorbing the scenery. Her demeanor wasn’t unnoticed by the farmpony.

“Dash, ya alrigh’? Ya seem jumpier than a fruit bat durin’ zap apple season.”

The weathermare waved a dismissive hoof. “I’m fine, AJ. Just looking around.”

“Ya’ll been ta this farm many times, Rainbow.”

“Yeah, but I’m usually napping in the branches when I am.”

At this, Applejack squinted at the pegasus. “Fair.”

They passed the ornate stone well on the left, and the chicken coop on the right. A few hens clucked as the ponies traversed by.

Dash stood thirty feet away from the barn and gazed at the horizon. Twisting hills and curved knolls were eminences that commanded the farmland.

“Rainbow Dash? When yer done bein’ amazed at the grasslands, Ah’d like ta go inside.”

The pegasus gave a sheepish smile and an apology. She walked forward but abruptly stopped and gazed up at the farmhouse. It was a tall facility, composed of red color. There were some patterns embellished on all sides of the barn. Metallic roofing served as an awning atop the three story home. Potted plants ornamented the windowsills of the farmhouse.

Craning her head higher, Rainbow noticed a weather vane atop the ridge. A metallic red delicious apple sat atop the arrow. Peering closer, the speedster noticed the narrow end of the vane pointed to the west, signifying the direction of the wind.

Shuddering, Applejack called out to her friend again. “Rainbow Dash!”

“Sorry, sorry. Let’s go.”

Rainbow, with a burst of speed, ran towards the front door. She leapt over the three steps and landed on the top one. She raised a cyan hoof and was about to knock on the wooden door when Applejack groaned.

“Why ya knockin’ fer? Ah’m righ’ here, Rainbow. Ya can go inside.”

Abashed, Rainbow obliged and pushed the door open. The pair of ponies walked inside, and closed the door behind them.

Author's Note

Short chapter. Nonetheless, it's an update. Another coming tomorrow and a fourth on Wednesday. Big developments are happening soon. Stay tuned!