Chapter Two:

Setting up the Pieces

From the sky, despite everything looking so very small, with Rainbow Dash’s keen pegasus eye, she could take in everything that she did spy as she flew by.

A piebald unicorn pony stallion with glasses and two colts in tow was out and about, greeting an orange unicorn mare with a blue mane and clocked themed cutie mark. She was wearing a hat similar to Applejack’s cousin Braeburn from Appleloosa and pulling a cart with what had to be loaded with all her possessions: tools, gears, an assortment of books, knick-knacks, what looked to be candles, and a small clock that looked to be an owl.

Two mares that looked vaguely familiar: a thin yellow pegasus, her mane and tail a teal color, and a fluffy tan-ish earth pony with a mane and tail that were red-orange. They were talking with... Marmalade? About something. There was a little orange colt hiding in the bushes, holding a blue, pink, and white ribbon of fabric, he was anxiously looking around...

The unicorn from the tea shop -What was her name again? Something...Brew? Subtle Brew... Yeah, that sounded right- was walking to the Pens and Quills shop. She seemed to be offering a bag of tea to the pale white unicorn who then exchanged it for super black ink blocks.

Lyra Heartstrings was trotting up to P.B. & J.J.’s Games and Puzzles Emporium, there was a small collection of ponies waiting?

Rainbow Dash recognized Poindexter and 8-Bit, but the tan mare with the brown mane with a strawberry stripe going through it and green eyes? No... Then, there was the green stallion with a red-orange mane that looked to be stuck in a permanent perm... His wings flapped and he gave a hoof wave that told her that while she didn’t know him off the top of her head... he somehow knew her. In the nearby alleyway, she swore that there was the outstretching of the bat-wing... but it most likely was just a nightmare night decoration that was stashed in the back. No way a soarin’ pegasus' would be out in the daytime. Especially out here in Ponyville...

A sleek, bone-white unicorn mare with a mane so black that it looked almost blue was at the Ponyville bulletin board in front of the town hall, she had a cutie mark that looked like a fly in a trench coat, at least that’s what Dash thought it was, there really was no time for a closer look, not with Cider Tasting Day on the line! She was putting up a wanted-missing poster of what looked to be a morose picture of Trixie Lulamoon... It was placed between advertisements of ‘Come One, Come All! The Fantastic Ballet Dancer Fabio at the Gallopi Theater!’ and ‘This Sunday! Come see the WonderBolts performing at the Mall of Equestria in Whinnyapolis! Tickets Still available!’

Only one of those three things made it into Rainbow Dash’s long term memory.

Puzzle Box and Joyful Jubilation, two ponies she only knew because they had Daring Doo figurines, were walking away from the post office with packages, no doubt brand new games and puzzle books based on the size and shapes of the stacks on their backs, all while a ferret dove about his owners' mane.

Passing the Ponyville Schoolhouse, Dash could just make out the Orphanage, and if she had taken a bit more time to scan the decrepit place, she would have seen the face of a filly momentarily brighten at the dissipating rainbow trailing behind the pegasus. She would also see the foul red maned mare with far too much makeup on giving the most sour glare possible.

Two fillies that were almost always seen together: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were at a local magazine rack. With the former instructing her butler to take several different publications. This would hardly be odd, had they not been for the titles being so... what’s the word Rarity would use to sound fancy? ‘High-Horse-born’?

Just then a shimmer caught her eye and just in the nick of time, Rainbow Dash swerved to avoid a rather large spider’s web that itself held an equally unnerving large blue spider!

“Whoa! That was close!” she gasped, giving a signature Rainbow Dash™ laugh. “Don’t know why I didn- Ah!” Suddenly and almost without warning, she almost crashed into a... flying muffin?

Dodging the massive flying mini-cake bread, she did a double take, only to see that it was an oddly shaped cloud that only looked like a muffin.

“Whew, for a second there I thought that I was still dream-” That’s when Rainbow Dash did find herself colliding with something, familiarly soft, elastic, and worst of all, feathery and fluffy?

Sent into a tailspin, it didn’t take her long to right herself, after all, she was awesome like that. However, before she could even get out an ‘Are you okay?’ She was greeted with a hostile ‘Watch where you’re going!’ from a frazzled looking fellow pegasus.

Dash looked at the pegasus whom she had flown into: She was a white pony with a windswept brown and tan speckled mane, upon her flanks was a swirling whirlwind, in her forelegs there were instruments that the rainbow maned one recognized for measuring detailed weather patterns.

“Uhm... Yeah, sorry about that... I’m a little preoccupied...” Rainbow apologized awkwardly. “IIIII didn’t catch your name.”

“Hmph. I didn’t tell you my name. It’s Dust Devil,” the pony all but growled. “And you should be! I’m trying to predict this week’s forecast!”

Rainbow looked confused. “Don’t we... like... control the weather?”

Dust Devil frowned, her wide wings flapping hard as she looked away from the sextant and other odd looking weather measuring device she had. “You should know that there are things that are even beyond our control when it comes to the weather! One misplaced breeze, a single sneeze, or wing flap can throw everything out of whack!” She flew right into Dash’s face. “I’m telling you... There’s a storm a-brewing... Something in this area is throwing all my calculations out of sorts!”

“Is it something that I should be worrying about?” Dash asked, only a little concerned. “Cause I got this thing that I have to do today and-”

“Pah!” Dust Devil threw her hooves up into the air, dropping her instruments, which she then dove down and caught. “Go ahead and go do whatever it is you were going to do and leave the real work to the professionals!” Just then, a small watch on her wrist started going off with a beeping alarm. “Speaking of which...”

Just like that, as quickly as the weather pony had entered her day, she was gone, leaving Dash a bit flustered, confused and more than a bit miffed.

After that short, heated encounter, nothing sounded better than freshly squeezed tangy, spicy, frothy, delicious, sweet Apple Acres Apple Cider!

“Yeah! I got cider to sip!” She exclaimed.

So, she continued zipping unimpeded to her destination and the mare that could quench her thirst.

=========

Applejack wandered her family’s orchard, eyeing each tree with a practiced gaze that only fame from generations of experience and years of dedication on account of hafin’ ta take on said responsibilities at such a young age.

Some would say that such determination and grit may have robbed her of her fillyhood, denied her experiences with others her age, and made her a little more than ‘stall-bound.

“But those ponies wouldn’t know a hickory from a hawthorn, let alone an Empire from an Evercrisp!” she mused.

She, of course, was very much right.

A.J. knew these orchards like the back of her hoof- she could tell so much about a tree by placing an ear to the trunk and giving it a light, apt, loving tap-tap to listen to the resonance from within.

Everything from age, health, how the sap was flowing, if they were suffering from stress, even a good idea how well the harvest would go or how sweet or tart the apples were to turn out could be determined this way.

‘Along with if any... fettin’ insects goin’ an tryin’ ta make a meal outta trees like Ol’ Bethany here...’ she thought looking at the lush green foliage. Thankfully, this tree was spared the problem that she wished she had caught earlier... One that the whole Apple Family was scorched and frozen with last month.

She pushed her ear against Bethany’s trunk again, this time closing her eyes while she rap-a-tap-tapped.

‘Ah ought to know whether or not ah wanna thank Fluttershy’s varmint of a pet or call fer him ta be made an example fer the others ta stay outta the Orchards! On the one hoof, he did almost try an’ get H.B. roasted alive... an then forced us ta freeze the fire ants out...’ She pulled back and then took a deep smell of the apple tree for her inspection. ‘On the other hoof, all that did lead ta us findin’ out about them fire ants... Still... sum of ma best trees got cooked! An’ frost bitten!’ She bitterly smiled.

Applejack shook her head, tsking at the information she had gathered. “Oh, Beth... The good news is that yer roots are soundin’ healthy an’ ya were spared all that fire an’ ice.. The bad news? One of these years, yer gonna help me win a blue ribbon for sure, but... not this season. Maybe we try again next time? Ah’ll be sure ta give ya some serious T.LC.!”

She looked at her lovely orchard, a pained expression marring her face.

“It’s just been a hard year so far...” Applejack said, sighing sadly. “What with what happened last moon an’ all the things goin’ on with H.B...” The leaves of the apple trees seemed to rustle sympathetically. “Now don’tcha go an worry yer crowns about me. Ah’ll be alright.” She sniffed hard. “Heh,” She rubbed her eyes. “Can’t be cryin’ an’ havin’ ya all’s apples lookin’ an’ tastin’ all sad now! Keep them tears for the barn, A.J.!”

She took a deep breath, and steeled herself up again before moving on to another tree, once again applying her tried and true method of listening to the trunk and giving a good old ‘knock on wood’ in hopes that this one would also be spared any damage.

That’s when the leaves of all the trees quivered in the most subtle way, this was accompanied by the bright, happy, joyful yip-yaps of Winona zooming down the orchard paths, bounding into the air and snip-snapping at nothing as if there were very specific things floating or fluttering on the dog days breeze. All of this of course was a sign that Applejack had learned meant one thing.

That one thing arrived with a rush of hot summer air, a blue blur, and the fading of a variegation trail as the pony who it all belonged to dropped out of incomprehensible speeds and appeared mere hoof steps in front of the brilliant gamboge pony.

There was barely a reaction in the mare’s expression, save for her left forehoof reaching up to secure her father’s light brown stetson hat from that arid gust that continued onward without the one who had brought it.

“Hey, A.J.!” Rainbow Dash cheerfully exclaimed, her normally brash attitude was tempered with that of a young filly’s excitement just before the opening of Hearth’s Warming presents. “Funny seeing you here!”

Applejack couldn’t help giving a quieted chuckle that playful statement, especially as the pegasus hovered in the air, wings flappy slowly to keep her aloft, forehooves crossed in a ‘I’m too cool for school’ pose. “Is that right now?” She asked whickering and adjusting her hat before moving on to the next tree to check. “Now where else did ya expect ta find me?”

Dash felt a little thrown off by the question. “Uhm, I mean... here but, I don’t know... more around the...” she landed and tried to hide her lip smacking. “... the cider mill?” she asked with a parched anticipation.

“Oh yeah...” Applejack dusted the bark of a tree from Cosmic Crisp before tapping the trunk. “Ah would be there by this time, wouldn’t ah...”

Rainbow nodded eagerly, her tongue threatening to loll out of her mouth.

“Ah would be...” A.J. Trailed off a bit before tapping once again before she nodded, turned and bucked the trunk of the tree, sending down speckled fruits into waiting baskets.

“You would be... buuuut?” Rainbow Dash anxiously asked, lowering her head and looking up at her friend, her ears drooping.

“Huh? Oh right.” Applejack replied, mulling something over about the next tree. Cousin Jazz had sent this one. “But Ah’m a bit behind on account that Ah’m bein’ a touch more thorough with Ma tree checkin’. Pullin’ them fire ants out last month gave us a good look at the nest that them varmints had set up! Now we’re lookin’ ta see if there was any damage ta our orchard’s roots!”

Winona, sensing her owner's distress, bound about the pony’s hooves, mouth opening and closing between playful panting, her lovely black eyes filled with no thoughts other than A.J.'s wellbeing.

Dash’s eyes were anything but that.

“Wait! Fire ants? Damage? Extra time? A bit behind?... Fire ants!?” She asked all in rapid succession, her wings starting to flitter about uneasily.

“Yeah... ya remember last month when Fluttershy was havin’ a time teachin’ Heartbreak-”

At the mention of that name, Winona’s demeanor changed, she looked around sniffing the air while whimper-whining between soft growls.

“-H.B.” A.J. corrected herself, petting her dog for comfort. “When she was here?”

Dash tried hiding embarrassment under an extended ‘Uuuuhm...”

Applejack sighed and nuzzled Winonia’s head to reassure the pup before continuing on with the trees. “Right, before Flutters asked you fer help, she asked me fer help. Ah thought that by showin’ her the farm’ fixin’s that she might get herself a better diet." She gave a couple more pats to her pet who still seemed to be sniffing the air, staring towards a place near the Everfree Forest, and then looking back at her master. “Turns out that little... fettin’ varmint that Fluttershy calls a ‘pet’ had gone an’ convinced the moles ta dig tunnels leadin’ off ta the front door of them there fire ant’s nest!”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped. “Wait... that’s what happened?”

“Eeyup!” Applejack replied, about to knock on wood once more only to stop and give her friend a look. “Ya didn’t know about all that?” she asked in disbelief.

“I knew about the fire ants, the burn, the uhm...” Dash folded feathers on a wing down trying to recall the events that transpired. “The cat bite!” she exclaimed. “How do you know about all of that? I mean, about Angel being the one doing that?”

Applejack whickered disapprovingly. “Cause Ah felt the need ta do a check-up with her after she got back from the hospital, ya know, after she fractured her foreleg?”

Dash snorted. “Hey! That was totally not my fault! Me and Fluttershy caught-”

“Fluttershy an’ Ah,” Applejack corrected, the skin on her shoulders twitching.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and tossed her mane. “Flutters and I caught her just in the nick of time before anything serious happened!”

A.J. took a deep breath before letting it out. “Yeah... ya did...” She wiped her brow before pulling a water bottle from her saddlebags and hydrating herself. “Ah’m sorr’eh there, Dash...” She once more sighed before placing the nice cool bottle on her forehead. “Ah guess Ah’m just a bit sore at Maself on accountin’ ta what happened at the hospital after the whole bike thing is all...”

“Wait, something else happened at the hospital?” Dash asked, her face twisting in confusion.

“Ya really don’t stay in the loop, do ya?” Applejack’s question was only met with a guilty side eye.

Rainbow’s mane got a hoof going through it for yet another time as shameful eyes looked at the ground. “You know that gossip and Ponyville news is more of Rarity’s thing...” she postured herself as to defend her lack of knowledge. “Besides! I’ve been busy!”

Applejack’s head dropped disappointedly and she sighed. “Alright, ya might wanna have a sit while Ah filly ya in then...”

=========

“So... The numbers... the ones that are... in the ones? They’re the ones on the right?” Scootaloo asks, her face doing all sorts of gymnastic flip-flops and twists as the gears and springs in her brain grind and shake.

It’s... frustrating for both of us. I can see that she’s honestly trying. She really is!

However...

My pattern seeking brain is dying to blurt out the answers. Thankfully, or maybe not so much, I’m not the only one, as Apple Bloom also has a similar expression adorning her face.

“Mmm, Huh, and all the numbers in the left-hooved column are ‘the ten’s’.” Be patient, H.B. She can get it.

“Now that you’ve written zero to nine going down on the left side, the ‘tens’ and nine to zero going down on the right side, the ‘ones’, say the two sides as if they were one number.” Fuck. I hope that wasn’t too confusing...

“Uuuh...”

Fet. Locks. I suck as a teacher.

“Here.” I use the cast on my forehoof to cover all but the top set of numbers. “Zero-nine, which is...”

“Nine?” she asks with an all too familiar uneasy laugh.

“Yup.” I lower my cast to uncover the next number. “One-eight is...”

“Eightteen...” Scoots taps her chin and is chewing on her pencil almost aggressively.

“And this would be?” I slide that lilac cylinder encasing my... arm... leg... whatever, now’s not the time for insecurities. Another number gets uncovered.

“Twenty... seven?” She asks, looking for approval.

“Yup, that’s right!” Apple Bloom interjects. Sweetie Belle has been rather quiet, opting to watch in a somewhat detached fascination- I think- while her lips seem to be mouthing some secret song that’s playing in her head.

“Thirty-six... forty-five... fifty-four... sixty-three... seventy-two... eighty-one... ninety!” Hoofston, we have a breakthrough. Let’s see if she can get what I have to lay on her next!

“That’s right, now here’s a little something neat to notice...” I write down the digits one through nine next to each of the numbers Scoots just rattled off. “Look here, each of the tens is one less than the numbers you’re multiplying it by... and if you add the digits of said number together... you are always going to get nine! It’s nine’s all the way down!”

Now the three of them are looking over my shoulder and at the page as if they can’t believe what I’m saying.

“Two and seven is nine!” Sweetie Belle squeaks pointing at the third set of numerals.

“Six an’ three is nine!” Apple Bloom beams, little hoof on the seventh set.

“And... and... nine and zero is nine...” Scootaloo mulls over. “What does it mean?”

My brain screeches to a slow stop at that question.

“Uhm... well... nothing really...” Great, now I sound like an idiot... Come on, find a way to save this! “Ooother than it’s a property of any multiple of nine and can be used to determine if a number will divide evenly by nine or not!”

“Huh... really?” Scootaloo asks.

“Totally for sure! Take my favorite number, one-hundred and forty-four!” ...Good grief. Is there something in this ‘Peachy Keen’ soda? I sound way too happy. Especially when talking about something as seemingly dry as the subject of numbers. ... Whatever. Maybe I’ll get to make the joke.

“You have a favorite number?” Scootaloo is asking this with disdain and confusion in her voice.

“Yes... It’s my favorite number, because not only is it a square number...” I line up for the pitch... “But it’s also a gross number!”

The joke goes as I expect it to- three confused little fillies giving me that look... You know the one that says-

“Oh!” Apple Bloom bursts into fits of laughter. “Ah get it! Cause a ‘gross’ is a number of sumthin’!”

“Huh... It is?” Scootaloo asks, looking at her friend.

“Yu-huh! Granny Smith uses it a lot!”

“Huh... so, anyway...” Gotta try herding them back to the point of what I’m trying to show them. “If you add the digits of one-forty-four-” my hoof is gonna be sore from all this writing, but fet it. This is sorta fun. “You get...”

Scootaloo seems to look up at me for a moment. “One... plus four... is five... and five and four is... nine!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are giggling more than they are cheering their friend on in her academic pursuits. I can’t help wonder why... Until I see a ratty shadow adjoined to my mane being cast on the paper.

That little ratty shadow with little ratty fingers that are all up- save for what it has for a thumb.

“Saaaaam...” I feel my newly acquired companion’s body stiffen up atop my head, and there’s a panicked yet curious little high-pitched squeak. “Are you helping Scootaloo with those little fingers of yours?”

There’s an... iffy teeth chattering sound and Sam’s shadow gives a shrug.

“You aren't mad at him are you?” Scoots asks with a worried tone. Geez, I hope I don’t come off as a po- ... an individual that would get that mad with their pet. Yeah, Sam is insisting on being called a ‘companion rat’, but that’s still some form of pet. Not that I’ll tell that to him...

“Nooo...” I say after a little chewing on the thought. “He’s just trying to help and if it gets whatever it is that I’m trying to show you into your head... then what works works.”

“That’s what Applejack is always sayin’! Ya might not buck as hard as Ah do, but ya still bucked the tree so whatever works works!” Apple Bloom pipes up quoting her sister before taking a good drink of her slush, which I am amazed to see has remained still partly frozen in this heat.

“Yeah...” Simple wisdom from an honest pony.

‘Too bad it doesn’t work in fixing all your problems...’

Aaaand good morning to you too. Didn’t know that your pink fluffy butt would be up this early!

“How did you learn all this stuff about numbers, H.B.?”

Scootaloo’s question catches me off guard. Like, it’s not a question that I would expect from the filly. It doesn’t feel all that right. I shake myself from that moment.

“I... guess just playing around with the numbers and seeing the patterns that they all have- cause that’s what numbers are: patterns. A way to describe the world around us. Otherwise, they don’t exist.”

Uh-oh... that might have been the wrong thing to say because the girls are giving me those wide-eyed flabbergasted looks to indicate what was uttered into the air just... broke them and shattered their existences.

“If numbers don’t exist, why am I putting so much work into learning about them!?” Scootaloo exclaims throwing her hooves into the air.

“Because...” Come on! Quick! Quick! Think! Why! “It’s...” Yeah... yeah... what. What is it? “It’s useful stuff that doesn’t exist?” Great, you’ve really set yourself up here, H.B. Maybe think of an example where numbers are useful that’s also fun?

========

Rainbow Dash held her head against the dog of her hoof, attempting to take in everything that Applejack had just told her.

"Right, so, after I went to meet up with... Fast N' Fit..." she grimaced and rolled her eyes, feathers fluffing at having to say that pony's name...

"Ya mean after ya up an' left?" Applejack asked, eyeing her really good friend.

"Hey! I had to meet up with him!" She crossed her hooves. "Even if it turned out to be a scam..."

Applejack gave her a pointed side eye.

Dash puffed up defensively. "It could have happened to anypony!" She protested.

The only response she got was a miffed 'mmmhum...'

"Ugh, so after I went to do that, and H.B. was at the hospital, she got her x-rays, then the squirt-"

"Cream Puff."

"... Cream Puff gave her a muffin- but the muffin had sunflower seeds- and she’s allergic to those- so then she got shots- which caused her to panic- and that panic caused a magic sliver to nearly freeze her to death- but they were able to pull the sliver out in time with the help of 'Brick House'?" She blinked and trotted back and forth. "Then, after all that, it turned out that everypony found out that it was Angel- Fluttershy's cute little bunny rabbit pet, that was going around sabotaging her lessons in an attempt to..." Dash rolled her hoof and looked elsewhere, attempting to find a less grim phrase...

"Knock her off the wagon?" Applejack suggested, standing up and walking over to a tree worth a small tag marked 'Paula Red'.

"Yeah, let's go with that, but he failed at every attempt, so the white puffball got a hawk-"

"Ah reckon it was a falcon," Applejack interjected, huffing at the tag before performing her tree doctoring magic.

"Whatever! The white rabbit hired a hit bird to attack H.B. only for them to be foiled by... and I just want to know that I heard you right... a spider, a snapdragon vine, and... a rat?"

Applejack tapped her chin. "Come ta think about it, there was a cat, fox, an' a mole there too, though the mole wa'n't there ta help an' Ah dun't think they stuck around..." she said, looking over the tree one more time before giving it a sturdy buck with her back hoof, causing more fruit to be collected.

"I feel like I missed out on a really awesome Daring Doo story... if Daring Doo was a rat," Dash amended.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when ya go out on the hollow promises of Fibs N' Fat..." She picked up the tag on the tree right next to the last. She scowled once more. "Cornel Red..." Applejack muttered.

"Hey it was Lt. Fa-" Dash felt a hard glare from Applejack as she bucked the tree, causing it too to give up its fruit. "Ha, yeah, even I have a hard time arguing that..." she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. Just then she noticed the scowl hadn't lifted off her friend's face. "Uhm... something wrong?" She trotted over to one of the baskets and picked an apple from the Paula Reds before proceeding to take a bike of the sweet, tangy, crunchtastic treat. "Can't be these! They're awesome!"

Applejack pondered telling Rainbow Dash what had her in a snart. After all, though the pony was arguably the element of loyalty... she sure wasn't the element of paying attention. "Hmph... tain't nothin' important..."

Rainbow took another bite. "Ah come on!" she said with a mouthful of apple particulates following her words. She swallowed and finished off the juicy refreshment before trotting up to A.J. and giving her what she believed to be an assuring pat on the shoulder. "You know that you can tell me anything!"

"See these trees here?" Applejack asked with an uneasy sigh.

"Uh... yeah?"

"A few of the old timers in the orchard did suffer from root damage on account of them fettin' fire ants an' then sudden freezin'..." She tapped the two trees. "After we found out, we reached out ta cousins an' family fer some replacements..."

Dash looked confused. "And... you're upset that you got them?"

"Ah was hopin' that Great Uncle Wealthy or Great Aunt Duchess would be sendin' some help..." she snorted and hooved at the ground. "Fet, Ah'd even take a few from Keepsake an' Centennial Crab, an' C.C. is a fancy marine biologist or whatever, but instead Ah got a couple from the Reds!"

"IIIII'm still confused. Is there something wrong with the trees?" Rainbow reared up on the Cornell tree and imitated Applejack's tree checking, only to realize that she had no idea what she was doing and was getting bark bits in her ear.

"The trees are fine! Healthy and prolific producers! Like Ah said, the problem stems from them comin' from the Reds!" Applejack snorted frustratedly.

"Why's that? Aren't all members of the Apple family like..." Dash flicked the apple bark out of her ear with her forehoof. "One big happy orchard?"

"Not every Apple is a goodin'! Sometimes even the prettiest of Apples can be hidin' a worm or water bound core!" The old craggy creaky croak of Granny Smith.

Rainbow Dash jumped into the tree, startled that somehow the old graymaned, pale green, geriatric mare had managed to stealth her way right up next to her!

It didn't help that her voice sounded like the Mad Mare of the Weeping Willow Wood said to be in the darkest, loneliest part of the Everfree Forest, come to snatch up colts and fillies with her silver sorrow cord!

"Geez! How did you-?! You shouldn't sneak up on a pony like that! You're gonna give them a heart attack!" Dash shouted prying herself from the tree branch.

Granny Smith held a hoof to her ear. "Huh? What's that there little missy? Yer gonna have ta speak up!"

"I said-"

"Heart attack? Ha! Not today! This ticker of mine is still going strong! You on the other hoof might wanna learn ta relax, don't wanna get sent to that great apple pie in the sky too soon, ya hear?" Granny Smith chuckled and gave a wry wink before looking lost for a moment. "Now what were y'all gabbin' about? Oh yeah, the Reds." She shook her head. "Them two might act all nicey-nice, givin' ya gifts, and sweet dipped apples- though it ain't poison- though ya might prefer that when they're done with ya, on account that there's always some sort of strings attached, even with their most innocent of gifts!" she growled.

"Good... to know..." Rainbow Dash said feeling like her ear was chewed off.

"Now what was I doing..." The wizened one wondered. "Oh yeah, Ah was comin' back with the mail!" She smiled a dentured smile as she proceeded to pull out a stack of stuffed envelopes, advertisements for old pony ailments, and junk mail. She then took out her thick glasses whose lenses looked more at home on the bottoms of Colta Cola bottles than her face. Licking her lips, she began to hoof through it once she donned her spectator spectacles that made her eyes look three times too big.

"H.Bills... H.Bills... cat catalog... H.Bills..." She shook her head. "Why in tarnation are we gettin' H.Bills mail?!"

Applejack walked over to her granddame. "Let me see that there, Granny Smith..."

Granny Smith pulled away defensively. "Yooou implyin' sumthin' about Ma eyes there, young filly? Ah have half a mind ta-"

"No! Not all all, Ma'am!" Applejack could sense the signs of exhaustion in her grandmother. "Ah just thought that maybe a second set of eyes wouldn't hurt is all..."

Like a nanny nanny goat, the elderly mare stock her face out judging before snaking back to a softened expression.

"Oh, alright, if ya wanna look at it like a big filly then here ya go..." She gave the hefty stack of things, save the cat catalog, to Applejack, almost smacking her in the chest causing her to make a squeaky noise. "But yer gonna have ta be the one that brings it back ta the house, ya hear? Now!" The old mare's vigor revitalized as she started mildly trotting back to the farm like house. "Seein' Ah've done Ma duties fer the day, Ah'm gonna go clip me some coupons!" she exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as a mare her age could muster, her newly acquired treasure being stuffed into her saddlebags.

Winona barked and then walked alongside her hoping for some treats or kibble once they had returned to the house.

Applejack sighed watching the matriarch of the family trot away thinking that she just got one over her granddaughter. She turned her attention to the mail clasped in the crook of her hoof.

"Who's H.Bills?" Dash asked, finally finding her voice to sate her curiosity.

"H.Bil-: Applejack clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes giving a nickering chuckle as her tail swatted a fly at seeing the real name the letters were addressed to. "H.B.'s House."

Dash looked over the envelope, and it was indeed addressed to 'H.B.'s House. However, the mouth writing was heavy in ink, with sharp outlines, and some letters too close together; almost to the point of fusing. It was a wonder it got to the mailbox of Sweet Apple Acres and not near some forgotten realm called Demon Pigomination or 'The Florpus'.

"Who's Dib?" Dash asked, the curious little critter in her mind wanted to be satisfied before she inquired about the real question relating to the actual reason she flew out here in the first place.

"Oh... that's H.B.'s nickname fer Crab Apple." Applejack gave her an over the shoulder side eye. "Ya remember him, right?"

"Uuuhm..." came the uncertain answer.

"Red an' green coat? Black weird lookin' mane, glasses, an' a magnifyin' glass cutie mark?" Applejack asked, only to be met with the same list chin tapping. "He wanted a detailed map layout of Cloudsdale, cause he thought the reason we can't find Big Hoof is cause he can turn invisible and can fly?"

"Ooooooh, yeah..." Dash recalled with a bemused smirk. "He was like... the most un-Apple Apple."

"Family's family, even if Professor Maluskin's kin down in Hoofthorn have been a little on the far side of the orchard..." Applejack said, detached as she hoofed through the rest of the mail.

"Yeeeah..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, choosing not to go further down a path that would end up with her insulting A.J.'s family. "So! Anyway!"

"Whoa, Nelly! Would ya look at that!" Applejack pulled out a rather thick looking envelope with a star shaped wax seal. "Call me Princess of The Apple Orchard, cause Ah got a letter from Twilight!" She gave a whinny that was accompanied by the sound of a breaking seal.

Rainbow Dash watched her friend begin to read the letter disinterestedly. "Sooo, about Cider Testing D-"

Suddenly she was caught off guard as something flat, rectangular, and paper thwacked her in the chest, causing her to flinch. Looking down at what now landed in the dusty dirt ground of the orchard she found herself staring down the long side of a particularly familiar looking letter...

"Looks like Ah'm not the only one she sent a letter to," A.J. said looking over a rather fancy piece of scrolling paper. "That there is fer you."

Dash's face turned to a barely concealed grimace. "Thanks..." she said through a smile that was more teeth than grin. "Why'd Twilight write to you?"

Applejack gave a small chuckle as she read her scroll. "Ta make sure that ya got yer letter out would seem!"

"Of course she would do something like that," Dash griped, taking the letter. She was about to tuck it away in her tail when Applejack gave her a disapproving 'eh-em!' "What?"

"Ain't ya gonna read that?" she asked, her left eyebrow raised a little.

"I'll read it..." Dash said, sheepishly, still trying to tuck it away, only to receive an even greater raised eyebrow of even greater disapproval! "Really, I wi-" She bit her lip, her eyes shutting tight to avoid the glare of- her wings splayed out in defeat and she stomped on the ground with her forehooves. "Fine! OK! Geez!"

It seemed that there were few things in the wide world of Equestria that she couldn't bare- oh yes, Dash could stare down dragons, perform high-flying feats, help defeat armies of some of the most dastardly villains known to ponykind!

However, when it came down to meeting her friend's down, especially when facing Applejack's 'Mom' face- the one that said 'Ah ain't mad, Ah'm just dis-'

"Well?" Asked a voice laced with tartness and who was also wearing a hat. "Ya gonna read it already or am Ah gonna have ta get the rope an' hogtie ya dow-"

"I'll read it! I'll read it!" Dash protested, turning to hide any flush on her cheeks. It didn't take much effort to gingerly rip the top off and pull out the so-called prize within.

Unrolling the paper, the normally self-assured pegasus had her head turned and eyes closed, as if that would change what was on the paper or make its contents disappear.

"Ya need me ta read it fer ya?" Applejack coyly asked, practically scooching beside Dash.

"No!" Rainbow Dash protested, pulling away. She took a deep breath and reacted down to that dash of confidence that she was well known for... her uhm, Dashidence? Rainbowidence? 'Whatever,' she thought before clearing her throat, her mane taking on a semi-Twilight style.

"Dear Rainbow Dash,"

"Geez, Twi, didn't think that we were that close..." she said, only to be met with Applejack's questioning gaze. "Yeah... Right! E-hem!"

"Dear Rainbow Dash,

As you know, I am currently on my way to the Crystal Empire Archives in order to continue my research in assisting H.B. with her branding issues, (if she asks about this, please use the cover story about me taking an exam for unicorns). I was informed by Fluttershy that she was successful in her lesson about kindness, (which is very good!)... with that said...”

Rainbow sighed. “Oh, great... Here it comes...”

“I learned that her lesson was not without some... shall we say...
hiccups? Look, you’re a very good friend and I’m sure that your heart was in the right place, but your execution was... Well, it could have been better from the information that I was supplied with.”

“Ooof, thems harsh words comin’ from Twi’,” Applejack interjected. She was then met with an irritated snort from Dash. “Sorr’eh... keep readin’.”

“As such, I think it would behoove you both for you to take the reins and be her teacher for this month’s lesson. Not only so you can instruct her in your Element of Harmony, but so that you can also (hopefully) smooth over any animosity between the two of you. After all, we don't want any unresolved feelings left to fester that could possibly interfere with our efforts to rehabilitate our little Heartbreak- er H.B.

I know you can do it. Best regards, and good luck!

Twilight
Sparkle

“Gotta really make it super fancy by signing it like that. Eh, Twilight?” Rainbow gumphed, her mane returning to its normal wind swept form.

Applejack gave Dash a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Ah’d be more worried if she didn’t!” she said, smirking before getting another long drink of water.

“Yeeeah...” Dash grumbled, rolling the letter back up and stuffing it in a spot in her mane. “Buuut it can wait till after Cider Tasting Day...” She attempted to look cute by resting her chin on her hooves while fluttering her eyes at her sweet juice connection.

Applejack let out a huffing snort of disapproving disappointment before plucking up the empty envelope that Dash had dropped on the ground. She put it in her saddlebags along with the rest of the mail. “Ya outta take this a bit more seriously, Sugar Cube. H.B. is just as stubborn as any Apple worth their cider, an just as difficult ta manage. She’s the pony they talk about when they say ya can lead a pony ta water but ya can’t make her drink.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So I’ve heard... but that doesn’t answer my question!” She zipped up to A.J. and desperately squished her face between her hooves while looking directly into those green eyes. “What. About. Cider. Tasting. Day?!”

Applejack frowned and pushed the hooves away while shaking her head. “Ah’m afraid that due ta the questionability of these here trees, not ta mention that the cider presses need some readjustin’ ‘n maintenance...” She paused pensively at what she had to say next. After all, when it came to the matter of cider? Save for the Apple Family themselves, none were more serious than Rainbow Dash. “We’re gonna have ta postpone Cider Tastin’ Day.”

Dash’s hooves dropped in dismay as her eyes widened and her mouth opened with an audible ‘ah!’ escaping. “What?! Postpone Cider Tasting day?! Are you crazy?! This is my one chance to get cider!”

“What’chu talkin’ about?” Applejack asked, her ears misaligning to express her clear confusion. “Cider Season is next month an’ we’ll have everythan’ sorted out by then!”

“My chance to get cider before Pinkie Pie!” Dash exasperatedly rephrased.

“Ah’m sorr’eh but, nothin’ can be done about it, Sugarcube!” Applejack apologized. “An’ it ain’t helpin’ none with ya... doin’ whatcher doin’! Now why don’tcha go an’ do what needs ta be done there with what Twi’ told ya ta do with H.B., an’ Ah’ll do what needs ta be done here!”

“How long is that going to take?” Rainbow Dash asked, flapping her wings to hover, crossing her forehooves.

The apple pony rested herself against a tree and huffed. ‘Fer somepony who can be so lazy, she sure can put a day’s work in when her cider is on the line!’ she thought.

“Ah dun’t know, three-four days, possibly a week-”

“A week?” Rainbow’s mane stood up in fright over the prospect of being denied her delicious cider!

“Ah just told ya that there’s nothin’ doin’ about it, an’ the longer ya keep me from doin’ Ma jorb, the longer it’s gonna take!” Applejack nearly snapped, her mane coming undone a bit at the ends.

“But what am I sposta do for a whole week?” Dash asked, only to get the most incredulous ‘are you serious?’ eyebrow raise from Applejack. The pegasus gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her multi-colored mane. “I mean... other than-”

“Ya oughta be choosin’ yer next words before finishin’ that there sentence, Sugarcube.”

“Ugh... But!”

Applejack raised a hoof and put it on her friends’ shoulder. “Ah get it, waitin’s hard an’ startin’s hard but if ya never start ya’ll never get anywhere,” she said, switching up her tactics with her longtime friend. “An’ Ah know ya there, Sugarcube. You can do this cause yer, uhm, awesome. An’ yer not alone. Ya got the knowhow of five other ponies ta help ya if ya need it. Now, go get an’ before ya know it, H.B. will have learned her lesson, Ma work here will be done, an’ ya’ll be back here for some cider tastin’. Fet, ya might be findin’ yerself wantin’ ta bring her along with ya!”

‘The simple country Apple charm strikes again...’ Rainbow Dash’s internal prism of voices thought.

“Yeah... Maybe you’re right...” she admitted, looking away, a blush on her cheeks. “But I don’t even know where Hea- H.B. is right now! How wi-”

“Ah think Apple Bloom an’ her friends said sumthin’ about havin’ a meetin’ in Weepin’ Willow Wood Park!” Applejack said over her shoulder as she trotted back to the trees. “Ah’m sure they’re still there!”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and nodded before running a hoof through her mane. “Thanks.” She said, trying to sound more grateful for the idea of where the mystery tan mare could be located, but the two of them knew it was for the roundabout prep talk they just had. She flapped her wings to get airborne and looked as if she was going to just dash off, however she stopped midaction. “You’ll let me know when the cider is ready for tasting, right?” she asked over her shoulder.

Applejack chuckled while shaking her head a little as she laid hooves on another tree. “Eeyup.. Now get, an’ good luck.”

Author's Note

And the second chapter is done here! Again Scared Ghost and Psychopath helped me with this. The chapter art is here! Let's keep this train arolling!