Trials of the Heart

Chapters

The Tryout
The Celebration
The Distraction
The Heart of the Matter

The Tryout

Trials of the Heart

Chapter One

The Tryout

Rainbow Dash burst through the cloud bank and slowed to a hover, looking around to get her bearings. Cloudsdale shimmered in the late morning sunlight off to her left, so she pumped her wings and angled toward it. The rope in her mouth grew taut, but she bit down and yanked on it, heedless of the load she was pulling.

A ways behind her, where the rope passed back through the cloud bank, the sea of white rose and parted, allowing Twilight’s hot air balloon to float up through it and follow the chromatic pegasus toward Cloudsdale. The balloon’s lone occupant clutched her worn Stetson to her head to keep it from blowing away in the growing wind as she was dragged toward the cloud city. Applejack’s mouth moved, but any words of awe or wonder were carried away by the wind.

Several minutes later, the balloon set down on a landing pad near the outskirts of the city. Rainbow tied the rope in her mouth to a post so that the balloon wouldn’t float away and then reared up and hooked her forelegs over the edge of the basket. “We’re here!” She chirped.

“Really? Ah hadn’t noticed.” Applejack replied wryly. She looked over the side of the basket at the cloud surface it was resting on and swallowed.

“You know, you’re adorable when you’re scared.” Dash smirked before darting in and planting a quick peck on her marefriend’s cheek.

“Ah ain’t scared!” Applejack shot back, a light blush rising in her cheeks.

“Sure you aren’t.” Rainbow winked. “Now come on, we’ve only got forty-five minutes and it’s gonna take at least twenty to walk to the stadium from here.” She started walking toward the city, planning out the most efficient walking path to the Cloudsdale Coliseum. “Let’s see... if we take Rainfall Road down to the Cloudwalk, we can bypass the weather factory and all that traffic. Sound good?” She broke into a trot as she got to the edge of the dock and reached a ramp down to a nearby road. She gazed in the direction of the Coliseum, her wings fluttering in anticipation.

After half a minute, Dash realized she hadn’t heard anything from Applejack. Not a complaint, not a word of encouragement. Nothing. Turning back to the landing pad, she saw that her marefriend was still sitting in the balloon basket, eyeing the cloud surface warily. She galloped back up the ramp, leapt into the air, and flared her wings, gliding across the dock to land next to the basket.

“Come on, AJ! We’ve gotta get going if we’re gonna make it on time.” Dash reared up and grabbed the cowpony’s hat in her teeth before wheeling around and galloping away.

“Get back here ya thievin’ varmint!” Applejack leapt over the edge of the basket, sinking into the cloud landing pad with a soft hiss, but she didn’t fall through. With that particular fear abated, she pursued the prismatic hat thief off of the dock and down a ramp that connected to the main road. After a minute of chasing, she caught Dash when the speedster skidded to a stop to avoid barreling into a group of elderly pegasi.

“Gotcha!” She leapt onto her marefriend’s back and grabbed her hat, sending both of them to the ground in the process. She triumphantly placed her Stetson back in its rightful place atop her head, then turned her attention to the mare trapped under her. “Now... what’re we gonna do with you?”

“Not now, AJ.” Rainbow squirmed and tried to free herself, but she couldn’t get any leverage over the much stronger earth pony. “We don’t have time for this. We’re running late as it is!” She wriggled harder as she spoke, a note of worry creeping into her voice.

“Ya shoulda thought ‘bout that before takin’ mah hat.” Applejack replied, a devious smile spreading across her face. “You know the rules. If yer gonna take this bull by the horns, you’d better be ready fer a ride.” She leaned down and dug a hoof into Dash’s ribs, a little below the wing joint. The other mare immediately started convulsing uncontrollably, her breath forced from her lungs in short, erratic bursts.

“No! Please!” Rainbow managed to choke out between fits of laughter. “Uncle! I give!” She tried to curl into a ball and protect herself, but the orange mare held her in place and continued her assault. By the time it ended, she was gasping for breath and a light sheen of sweat matted her coat.

Applejack stood up, finally allowing her marefriend a respite. “Maybe that’ll teach ya, although the last couple dozen times haven’t seemed to make a difference.” She reached up and adjusted her hat before lending a hoof to help Rainbow up. Once they were both back on their hooves, they noticed a crowd had gathered to see what the commotion was all about. The elderly pegasi that Dash had so nearly bowled over gave them knowing smiles and a few winks, while a few younger mares walked away rolling their eyes. However, most of the observers were stallions, who were smirking, leering, or just staring open-mouthed.

“So... which way was it now?” Applejack felt her cheeks tingle as blood flowed into them, and she reached up to pull her hat down so it covered her eyes.

“This way.” Dash, her face as red as the streak in her mane, broke into a trot and wove her way through the crowd, angling for a thin road of cloud. It was a rarely-used, and therefore rarely-maintained, strip of cloud that was barely wide enough for one pony to walk on. Several spots were even narrower due to chunks of the walkway having been blown away by the wind, or from just a general lack of repair. Rainbow easily wove her way along the road, barely looking where she was going and focusing instead on her destination.

Off in the distance, the Coliseum rose above the rest of the skyline, an ever-present reminder of the pegasus race’s military heritage. Every minute or so, a pegasus could be seen flying around the air space above it, stringing together stunts into elaborate routines.

“Oh man, did you see that one?” Dash asked, again forging ahead without waiting for answer. “An inverted three-sixty corkscrew? I mean, I could pull that off in my sleep, but it’s impressive to see someone else who can pull it off.” She kept walking until she saw another small figure rise up out of the Coliseum, twirling and flipping in seemingly impossible ways. “Whoa!” Rainbow pointed excitedly. “Did you see that? That was—” She turned around and her words died in her throat as she realized her partner was still a ways back, and only advancing at a snail’s pace as she edged around a missing piece of the walkway.

“Applejack!” Dash broke into a canter and made her way back. “We don’t have time for this! We gotta go.” She hopped off the pathway and glided around behind the other mare. “Let’s get moving.” She lowered her head and pushed on her marefriend’s backside.

“Whoa, nelly!” Applejack dug her hooves in and sat down, keeping her eyes on the edge of the walkway. She swallowed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Well, pardon me if’n Ah’m not keen on fallin’ off.” She leaned over and glanced past the edge, feeling her head start to swim before she settled back onto the middle of the road. “Ya know Ah ain’t a fan of heights to start with, and bein’ all the way up here counts as just a bit more’n ‘high,’ Ah reckon.”

“Aww...” Rainbow edged around her marefriend and stood in front of her, a mischievous grin on her face. “Is poor widdle AJ scared?” She asked, reaching out to pinch the other mare’s cheek.

“Ah ain’t scared!” Applejack huffed, glaring for a moment before her eyes were drawn back to the walkway’s edge. “But did ya hafta pick such a... small road?” She looked back up to see her marefriend eyeing her hat and placed a protective hoof on it. “Don’t even think about it, sug, or have ya already forgotten how that turned out fer ya last time?”

“Oh, please.” Rainbow shot back. “If it hadn’t been for that group of old pegasi, you wouldn’t have caught me until we got to the Coliseum and I let you catch me.” She turned and faced back toward their destination. “Well, in that case, do you want a ride?” She asked, shaking her rump suggestively and glancing over her shoulder to catch the other mare staring. “At this rate, it’s the only way we’ll— Ow!” She sat down, rubbing her newly sore flank after her marefriend smacked it.

“Now now, AJ.” Dash threw a sultry look over her shoulder. “I think we need to agree on a safe word before you start getting too rough.” She ducked under another blow, this one aimed at her head, and hopped out of range of any further attacks. “Now hurry up, slowpoke. We should be almost there by now, but somepony is dragging her hooves.” She trotted down the path, checking behind her every few seconds to make sure the other mare was keeping up.

Applejack swallowed nervously and reluctantly sped up to a trot as well. She tried not to look down, hoping that ignoring just how far away the ground was would soothe her frazzled nerves a bit. She kept her eyes focused on the back of Dash’s head and tried, with only partial success, to keep her gaze from wandering down to her marefriend’s prismatic tail, which seemed to be swinging side to side a bit more than normal. She was about to say something about it when her hoof landed on the edge of a missing piece of the walkway, sliding off when she shifted her weight onto it. She fell sideways off the edge of the road and grabbed onto it with a forehoof for a second, but the cloud broke apart under the strain.

“Dash!” She yelled up at the rapidly receding walkway before she tumbled over and lost sight of it, giving her a perfect view of the ground as it rushed up at her. A second later, saw Rainbow speed past her and come to a hover underneath her. She braced herself, but her landing in Rainbow’s hooves still jarred her.

“Gotcha!” Dash caught her marefriend in her forelegs and immediately began looking her over for injuries, even as Applejack’s momentum carried them down. “What happened? Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you? Do you ne—”

Applejack silenced the other mare’s flow of questions with a hoof. “Ah’m fine, sugar.” She looked up and saw her hat slowly floating down, so she grabbed it and held it in her lap. She nestled into Dash’s chest and tried to slow her racing heart. “Thanks fer catchin’ me.”

“Like there was ever any doubt.” Rainbow flashed a cocky grin and flapped her wings harder, slowly rising back up toward Cloudsdale. She leaned down and nuzzled against her marefriend’s cheek. “You know I’ll always be there for you.”

“Ah know.” Applejack nuzzled back, smiling as Dash alighted on a new road, this one much bigger than the one they had just been on. “Now, ya mind tellin’ me just why we had to take that dinky little side road?” She asked once she had gotten her hooves onto relatively solid ground. She cast a glance behind her at the path they had come from, suppressing a shiver.

“It was either take Rainfall Road, or deal with that.” Dash stopped and pointed a hoof through a gap between two stores. Across a large empty space sat Cloudsdale’s Weather Factory, swarming with pegasi buzzing around at high speeds. A walkway in front of the Factory was packed with ponies, including the occasional unicorn or earth pony, and the factory workers sped by, their hooves passing inches above the heads of those walking below them.

Applejack merely stared at the scene, her mouth agape. A prod in her ribs brought her back to reality, and she swallowed nervously. “Ya know... that nice little side road ain’t lookin’ nearly so bad right now.” She pulled herself away from staring between the shops and followed her marefriend as they continued on toward the Coliseum. As they reached the building, Dash looked up at yet another pegasus flying in the airspace above it.

“Is she... no, way. AJ, check it out!” She pointed up as the pegasus began streaking down from an extreme height. “Look, she’s going to try and break the sound barrier.” As soon as Rainbow finished speaking, a familiar white cone formed around the speeding pegasus, but she slowed down as she reached the barrier and was thrown backwards.

“Ooh, so close.” Dash shook her head. “Gotta give her props for having the guts to try, though.” She trotted through an archway with a banner hanging across it. Applejack paused for a moment to read the sign.

Wonderbolts tryouts today. Applicants only beyond this point.

“Uh, Dash? You sure Ah’m allowed in with ya? The sign says—”

“Yeah, you’re fine. The letter said I can bring one pony along for ‘moral support’.” Dash rolled her eyes, a cocky grin spreading across her face. “More like one pony for ‘post-tryout celebration support,’ right? Now, come on. It’s this way.” She trotted down a nearby hallway, leaving the other mare scrambling to catch up.

They eventually found their way to the interior of the Coliseum, where a dozen or so pegasi were sitting in the bleachers off to one side while Spitfire and Soarin’ were sitting off to the other, flanked by a pair of security guards. Most of the pegasi in the stands looked winded, and a few were being comforted by their ‘moral support’ pony. Spitfire was busy talking to one of the guards, who was writing on a clip board, while Soarin’ seemed uninterested in the whole ordeal.

Rainbow walked up to a grey pegasus stallion dressed a Wonderbolts shirt and holding a clipboard. “The name’s Rainbow Dash. I’m here for my tryout.” She stated proudly, puffing her chest out a bit.

“Yeah, you and everyone else here.” The stallion replied, letting out an exasperated sigh. He made a note on his clipboard and pointed to the stands where the applicants were sitting. “Take a seat, fly your routine when called, and try not to mess up.” Dash glared at him and opened her mouth to respond, but her marefriend cut her off.

“Thank ya kindly, sir.” Applejack bumped her friend, edging her toward the stands. “Let’s go, sugarcube. There’s some nice ground-level seats right there.” They walked over to a bank of seats nearby, waiting until they were out of earshot to speak again. “Ya know, if’n yer really anglin’ to make the Wonderbolts, ya probably shouldn’t go mouthin’ off to anypony.”

“He started it.” Dash seethed. She shot a dirty look at the stallion, who was now talking to a light teal mare with a two-tone yellow mane. Rainbow blinked a few times before recognition struck. “Lightning Dust?” She uttered the words with an air of disbelief and waited for her former academy partner to catch up.

“Rainbow Dash?” Lightning smiled broadly, speeding up to reach the cyan mare. “How’s it goin’? I haven’t seen you since... well, the Academy.” Her cheeks colored as she finished, and she rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck.

“Yeah.” Dash responded a little coldly. “It’s been, what... almost two years? Honestly, I never thought I’d see you at a Wonderbolts tryout after what happened there.” She kept her expression neutral, but her voice carried a hint of aggression.

“Me neither.” Lighting Dust admitted with a nervous chuckle. “I'm actually glad to see you here, I never got the chance to apologize to you..." She looked past Dash in surprise. "Or your friends for that matter. I just let my dream be the most important thing, and didn't care about who I hurt while I was chasing it. After I got kicked out of the Academy, I realized what a huge jerk I was being to ponies who I might have to have as teammates someday.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “Anyway, I've been working on it, and Spitfire finally gave me another chance to show I'd learned my lesson.”

“Just like that?” Rainbow asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

“Well, not quite.” Dust replied, her blush deepening. “I may have... sort of... kinda followed Spitfire around for a while, like six months or so, begging for another shot.” She flashed a weak smile. “Whatever it takes, right? Anyway, she said ‘yes’... eventually, and I got another invitation to the Academy.” Her smile grew more confident as she talked. “She said she was impressed with my tenacity and my new work ethic, so she asked me to come and try out for the team. How awesome is that?”

Dash said nothing, staring at Lightning for several long moments. Then, her expression brightened and she smiled. “Totally awesome!” She put out a foreleg and they bumped hooves. She turned as someone cleared their throat behind her. “Oh, right, sorry. Lightning Dust, this is Applejack, my marefriend.” She stepped over to the cowpony and draped a wing across her back, darting in for a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hi there.” Lightning extended a hoof. “I remember seeing you that day at the Academy.” Her smile faltered as Applejack narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “It’s, uh, n-nice to meet you?”

“Likewise.” Applejack replied, shaking the other mare’s hoof with a strong grip.

“Just like that?” Dust asked. She cradled her foreleg gingerly once the other mare finally freed it. “You don’t hate me for what I did?” Her voice wavered on the question, and she cringed slightly, as if she expected somepony to attack her.

“What’s done is done.” Applejack stated plainly. “Ain’t nothin’ doin’ bout it now.”

“Thank you so much.” Lightning let out a relieved sigh. “I was really worried that—”

“Lightning Dust! You’re up!” The clipboard-wielding stallion’s voice boomed across the Coliseum, and immediately Lightning Dust was in the air, rapidly pumping her wings to gather speed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack called out some words of encouragement before she got too far away, then trotted over to sit in the stands and watch her audition.

“Hey.” Rainbow nudged her marefriend with an elbow. “Thanks for that.”

“Fer what?” Applejack asked, looking away from Lightning’s routine long enough to shoot the other mare a questioning look.

“For being cool with Lightning Dust.” Dash leaned in for a quick nuzzle before going back to watching the tryout. “I know that you and the girls never really got to know her when she wasn’t being a pain in the flank.”

“Everypony makes mistakes, but that don’t mean that they shouldn’t get a chance to fix ‘em.” Applejack reached down and held hooves with her marefriend. “Ah ain’t ‘bout to be all buddybuddy with her, but she deserves a second chance.”

Rainbow shifted over, snuggling up to the other mare and resting her head on Applejack’s shoulder. “Have I told you lately how amazing you are?”

Applejack chuckled and leaned down to kiss her marefriend on the forehead. “Not since we left Ponyville this mornin’.” They shared a brief smile before turning back to watch the rest of Lightning’s tryout. Several of the tricks involved drew reactions from the crowd, and one even garnered an impressed nod from Spitfire, though Soarin’ appeared to be taking a nap.

After she finished her routine, Lightning Dust landed next to Rainbow and Applejack, pausing for a quick smile before collapsing into an exhausted heap on one of the empty seats. She spent a few minutes catching her breath before she finally spoke. “So, how’d... I do?” She asked between heaving breaths.

“Not bad, not bad at all.” Rainbow replied as another pegasus took to the air. “You started to lose it on that triple corkscrew loop, but you did a great job saving it. Even Spitfire seemed impressed.”

“Really? Sweet!” Lightning pumped a hoof in the air weakly, then seemed to pass out from exhaustion. Dash snickered into a hoof and looked up to watch the current applicant’s routine.

“She did good... like really good.” She whispered, a note of nervousness creeping into her voice.

“Ya ain’t worried, are ya?” Applejack asked, offering a quick squeeze of support. “You’ve been working for this for Celestia only knows how long. You’ll be fine. Besides, Ah doubt anypony here can beat yer finale.”

“Worried? Me? No way.” Rainbow waved away her marefriend’s allegation and flashed one of her trademark cocky grins. Her smile soon crumbled as her gaze fell upon the passed-out pegasus a few seats down. “I’m just a little... well, yeah, I am worried.” She lapsed into silence and simply watched her former partner catch her breath with a downcast smile.

Applejack nudged her marefriend with a shoulder. “Care to explain, sug?” She glanced over at Dust to make sure their conversation was still private. “Ya just said she did a great job. What’s there to be worried ‘bout?”

Dash nestled a little closer, sinking into the embrace before letting out a small sigh. “The Wonderbolts have only ever accepted one new member per tryout, and that’s if they take anypony.” She paused to shake her head. “Starting about twenty years ago, there was a fourteen year stretch where they didn’t accept anypony. They even started holding more tryouts in different places, hoping to find some hidden talent somewhere. Between that and some of the older members retiring, the Wonderbolts were down to two members before Spitfire made the cut, and then Soarin’ a few months later.”

“Well, couldn’t she just go to the next tryout and get in then?” Applejack wondered, keeping her voice down as Lightning Dust started to stir next to them.

“There’s no way of knowing when the next one will be.” Dash looked up at the current participant just in time to see her hit a patch of rough air and get thrown off-course. “Now that the Wonderbolts have gotten their numbers back up, they’ve cut down on the number of tryouts they hold. This is the first one they’ve had in nearly three years, and it’s only happening because Silver Lining is retiring.” She looked across the arena to where Spitfire and Soarin’ were sitting and sleeping, respectively. “Who knows how long it will be before another Wonderbolt retires?”

Rainbow swallowed, slumping down into her seat. “Besides, it’s not her I’m worried about, it’s... me.” She was barely whispering by the time she finished. She brought her hind legs up onto the seat and hugged them to her chest. “Lightning did so well, what if I don’t stack up? What if... what if I’m not good enough?”

“Rainbow Elizabeth Dash.” Applejack reached down and lifted her marefriend’s chin to look in her eyes. “Yer the fastest, best flier in all of Equestria. Not to mention, yer the only pegasus to ever pull off a Sonic Rainboom. That’s gotta count fer somethin’.”

“That’s just it.” Dash looked off to the side, unable to hold the other mare’s gaze. “I don’t want to skate by on that one trick. What if it gets old? Sure, it’s cool now, but what about after five shows? Ten? A year? What happens when people get bored with it?” Her ears folded back against her head. “You saw what happened at the Best Young Fliers competition. What if that happens here, or even worse, what if it happens during a performance?”

Applejack seemed to think about that for a moment, but in the end, she simply leaned in and kissed Rainbow. The pegasus was hesitant at first, but she eventually succumbed, returning the kiss with a slow-burning passion. After a few seconds, Applejack drew back with a smile. "Then you'll just find another, even more amazin' trick, sugar. And nopony will be able to stop ya."

Dash smiled, but instead of being cocky, it was simply confident. She nestled down next to Applejack, laying her head on her marefriend’s shoulder. “Thanks, AJ. You’re the best.”

“And don’t you forget it.” The farm pony nuzzled her lover’s mane, unable to keep a smile off of her own face.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re up!”

Rainbow was gone with burst of air. Applejack reached up to keep her hat from blowing away and watched her marefriend climb into the air. After a few moments, she dropped her gaze down to Spitfire and Soarin’ to watch their reactions. She had seen Dash’s routine enough times over the last few months to have it memorized, after all. She saw Spitfire tap Soarin’ on the shoulder, but he made no move to get up from his nap.

“Hey.” Lightning’s voice pulled Applejack’s attention from the Wonderbolts across the stadium. The pegasus had struggled up to a sitting position, but her breathing was still a little labored. “So... you and Dash, huh?”

“Eeyup.” Applejack confirmed, feeling a light heat flush her face. She coughed into a hoof to try and cover it up.

“Cool.” Dust looked up to see Rainbow pull out of a steep dive and move into a complex series of tight spirals and loops, a small smirk forming on her face. “Honestly, I didn’t think that she swung that way. I could’ve sworn I saw her checking out a couple of the stallions at the Academy.” She leaned back, draping a foreleg over the back of the seat next to her. “Man, if I’d known she was into mares back then, I would’ve made a pass or two.” She shook her head and turned back to the earth pony. “How long?”

“It’ll be two years next month.” Applejack bit her lip and watched for the other mare’s reaction.

“Wow, congrats!” Lightning went back to watching Dash’s routine, but after a few seconds, something clicked in her head and she flattened her ears back nervously. “Two years? So that means when she was at the Academy, you two were...” She trailed off into silence, dropping her gaze to stare intently at her hooves.

“Eeyup, for ‘bout a month.” Applejack replied.

“Oh.” Lightning Dust tapped her hooves together, chancing a look up at the cowpony. “Um... sorry about that ‘making a pass’ comment. I... didn’t know.”

“Don’t you fret none.” Applejack waved away Lightning’s apology. “Ah couldn’t rightly expect ya to. We were mighty secretive ‘bout the whole thing early on.” She noticed a questioning look from the other mare and felt her cheeks flush with color again. “It was mah fault. Rainbow woulda been happy to parade ‘round town hoof-in-hoof and shout it from the top of town hall, but Ah talked her into keepin’ it quiet.” It was her turn to fold her ears back and stare at her hooves.

“Ah wasn’t ashamed or nothin’, it’s just... mah family’s really old-fashioned, and mah Granny Smith’s been goin’ on ‘bout me findin’ a nice stallion to settle down with fer ages.” She pulled her hat off and ran a hoof through her mane. “The only ponies who knew about us back then were our closest friends... and mah brother, after he caught us bein’ a little too friendly once.” She clutched her hat to her chest, as if trying to hide behind it. “We’ve been gettin’ more... open with who we let know about us, but Ah still ain’t had the heart to tell Granny Smith.”

“Yeah, I can see—” Lightning stopped talking as she looked up to see Rainbow streaking downward, a familiar white cone forming around her. “Is she...” She turned to face the earth pony. “Is she gonna try a Sonic Rainboom?” Applejack didn’t answer, instead focusing across the stadium, where Spitfire was flailing a foreleg and smacking Soarin’ in the face to wake him up.

A deafening boom ripped through the Coliseum as Dash broke the sound barrier mere feet above the building. The ring of chromatic light spread out over the arena, briefly blinding its occupants with its brilliance. Everyone present broke into thunderous applause, except for Spitfire and Soarin’, who shared a meaningful look with each other.

“That’s it, everypony! Show’s over!” The clipboard-wielding stallion’s voice rang out across the Coliseum, but it seemed quieter in the wake of the Rainboom. Everyone made their way toward the exits, chattering excitedly about witnessing such a legendary event from so close, though several of them groaned about how they would never get into the Wonderbolts now. Applejack and Lightning Dust lingered for a bit, waiting for Dash to make her way back to the Coliseum.

Just as the residual streak of prismatic light was fading, a new one streaked down, and Rainbow alighted on the ground nearby. The trail of chromatic light seemed to flow from her mane and tail for a few moments, making them seem to flow in an ephemeral wind like one of the princesses. She shook it off, scattering shards of colored light in every direction and returning her mane and tail to their normal ruffled appearance.

“So, how’d I do?” She asked, flashing a confident grin.

“Ya did a great job, sug.” Applejack trotted over and leaned in for an affectionate nuzzle.

“Great?” Lightning repeated. “Great? You did a Sonic Rainboom! Forget all the other stuff, you could have just done that and sat down and still been the best one here.” She slumped into a seat, her earlier enthusiasm gone. “I don’t even know why they had the rest of us come in. They should have just offered you the spot and called it a day.”

“Hey.” Dash sat down next to her and placed a comforting hoof on her back. “Don’t be like that. You did great. Even Spitfire thought so.” She began rubbing small circles on the other mare’s back.

“Oh, please.” Lightning scoffed. “Like anypony is going to remember anything that happened today other than your Rainboom.”

Applejack watched Rainbow comforting her former partner, and a twinge of jealousy plucked at her heart. She brushed it off and moved over to sit down on the other side of Dust. “Ya never know, maybe they’ll offer both of y’all a spot.”

“Yeah, right.” Lightning spat. She turned as Dash coughed and gave her a disapproving look. “Sorry.” She offered, giving Applejack an apologetic smile. “I guess the ‘Bolts offering two spots wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, but it would certainly be up there.”

“You know what you need?” Dash asked, standing up and flapping her wings once. “A drink. A strong one... or five.”

“That actually does sound really good.” Lightning admitted with a weak smile. She turned and nudged Applejack with an elbow. “Whadda ya say? You up for a little celebrating?”

“Do apples grow on trees?” Applejack responded, giving her hat a quick tug. “Y’all got anywhere particular in mind? Ah ain’t exactly familiar with the local waterin’ holes.”

Lightning Dust looked back to Rainbow, a smirk forming on her lips. “Skychaser’s?”

Dash broke out in her own smirk, enjoying some joke that Applejack wasn’t in on. “Oh, man. It’s been too long since I’ve been there. Let’s do it.”

“Is there somethin’ Ah should know ‘bout this place?” The earth pony asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Don’t worry about it.” Dash walked over to her marefriend and darted in for a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’ll see when we get there. Speaking of getting there...” She gazed off into the distance and chewed on her lip for a few seconds. “Hey, Dust, is there any way to get to Skychaser’s on hoof?”

Lightning put a hoof to her chin. “On hoof? No, but why would we need—” She stopped as her eyes fell on Applejack’s bare back. “Ah, right. Well, in that case, Dash, you can either give her a ride there, or find a nice cloud for her to sit on and push her there.”

“I think we’ll go for the second one. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time I tried to give you a ride, do we, AJ?” Rainbow shot her marefriend a playful glare, but couldn’t keep a light blush from coloring her cheeks.

“Ah told ya a hundred times before, Ah didn’t know you were that sensitive there.” Applejack giggled playfully, pulling the brim of her hat down to cover her face. “How was Ah supposed to know that a little brush would make yer wings stiffen up?”

“Didn’t make the ground any softer.” Dash shifted over and bumped her marefriend with her flank.

Lightning snickered into a hoof. “Oh, just look at you two.” She trotted over to a tunnel that led out of the Coliseum. “I’m gonna go on ahead. I’ll meet you guys there, okay?” Without waiting for a response, she left through the tunnel, leaving Applejack and Rainbow Dash alone in the arena.

“So...” Applejack cleared her throat and pushed her hat back up and out of her eyes. “Ya wanna get that cloud and we can head out?”

“In a minute.” Dash leaned in and nuzzled her marefriend’s neck for a moment before planting a light kiss.

“Come on, sugar.” Applejack protested halfheartedly, fighting to keep a shiver from running down her spine. “W-we gotta get goin’.” She placed a hoof against her marefriend’s chest, but couldn’t bring herself to push the other mare away.

“I told you, in a minute.” Rainbow replied, trailing a hoof along Applejack’s side and smiling as the earth pony let out a contented sigh. The muffled sound of hoofsteps made her ears swivel and face a nearby tunnel. She stopped teasing her marefriend, drawing a short but irritated groan from her, and turned to face the source of the noise.

“There you are, Rainbow Dash.” Spitfire emerged from the archway and trotted over to the pair. “I hoped I could catch you before you got away.”

“Sure. What’s up?” Dash tried to appear nonchalant, but Applejack noticed a small flutter of her wings that betrayed her thinly-concealed excitement. The farm pony suppressed a smile, knowing that her marefriend was likely freaking out in her head.

“I just wanted to say that you did a great job today. It’s clear that you’ve been working hard and pushing yourself since the Academy. You pulled off some really impressive stunts, and I’m not just talking about the Rainboom. Although, it was nice to be awake to see it.” Spitfire shook her head, chuckling to herself, then turned and started walking back toward the tunnel she had entered from. “Like I said, great job today. Keep an eye on the mail. We’ll be in touch.”

"No biggie, take your time, I'll be here when you're ready." Dash rubbed a hoof against her chest nonchalantly. She managed to maintain that posture for a full thirty seconds after Spitfire was out of earshot, then broke into the girliest squeal imaginable. Her wings shot up, the tips flapping excitedly, and she actually rose a few inches off of the floor. "Yes! I am so awesome! I mean, I knew I was awesome, but even I didn’t think I was this awesome! How lucky are you to have such an awesome marefriend, AJ?"

“Well, Ah reckon Ah’d have to be the luckiest mare in Equestria.” Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. She reared up and put her forehooves on Rainbow’s back, bringing her down to the ground again. “Now, you gonna be able to get those things—” She pointed at Dash’s still-fluttering wings. “—under control enough to get us to the bar?”

“Yeah, just a sec.” Dash scrunched her face up in concentration and slowly forced her wings back to her sides. “There we go. Wait here a second.” She trotted to the edge of the walkway and jumped off, only to reappear a few seconds later with a tuft of cloud in her hooves. “Here we are. Now we just give it a tug here...” She shaped the cloud, gradually forming it into a flat, round disc. “Alright, hop on.”

“Ya sure ‘bout that?” Applejack poked the floating platform, sending it floating out over the empty center of the Coliseum. Rainbow reached out and grabbed the cloud, pulling it back onto the walkway.

“Of course I’m sure. Besides, even if you fell, I’d totally catch you.” She pushed the disc, bumping it into her marefriend’s chest. “Now hop on. We’ve gotta get to Skychaser’s before Lightning Dust thinks we snuck off to do something else.”

Applejack lifted her forelegs and rested them on the platform, leaning on it to test its support. It dipped a little when she pressed on it hard, but it seemed solid. Satisfied, she climbed onto it, pulling her hat off and setting it between her forelegs. “Ya mean that wasn’t yer little plan before Spitfire showed up?”

“No!” Dash shot back, but after a second she shuffled her hooves and dropped her eyes to stare at the ground. “Well, maybe...” She looked back up and stepped over to push the cloud platform, flashing a devilish grin. “But only for a little bit, don’t get your hopes up.” She trotted over to the edge, hopping off and angling down through the hole in the center of the Coliseum. “Now, hold on tight, we’ve got some serious air space to cover.”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but her words disappeared as the cloud beneath her hooves suddenly accelerated and she slid backward a few inches. She reflexively laid flat and dug her hooves in, shutting her eyes against the rapidly passing scenery. After what felt like several minutes and a few impossibly sharp turns, the flying disc and its occupant slowed to a halt. The farm pony cracked and eye open and was greeted by the sight of Dash trying to contain her laughter.

“You doin’ okay there, AJ?” Rainbow asked, a giggle escaping her. She brought a hoof to her mouth to try and stifle it, but she couldn’t hide the smile covering her face.

“Ah’m doin’ just dandy, thank ya very much.” Applejack grabbed her hat and placed it back on her head. She looked around, taking care not to look too far down, They had arrived at a stand alone building that floated a short ways off of a heavily-traveled airway. The tavern was made of slate-grey cloud, and a wooden sign above the door read ‘Skychaser’s’ in simple block lettering. She dared a look at the base of the building and found a walkway running around the edge, though it was a bit too small for her taste. Scooting over to the edge of her platform, she glanced down, and immediately regretted that decision. The platform was still a little over a foot away from the path ringing the bar, and in the space between the two, Applejack got a good look at the ground, nearly a mile away. She quickly backpedaled, squatting down in the middle of the disc.

“Can’t ya get it any closer, sugar?” She asked, barely managing to keep a worried quiver out of her voice.

“Of course, but do you really think I wanted to miss that reaction?” Dash chuckled to herself and pushed the platform in closer until it eventually merged with the walkway. She flapped her wings and floated over to land in front of the other mare on the path. “There we go. No scary sp—” Her words died in her throat as she looked up and saw her marefriend glaring daggers at her. She involuntarily took a step back, swallowing. “I’m gonna pay for that later, aren’t I?”

“You have no idea, sugarcube.” Applejack replied, breaking out in a wry grin. She stepped onto the sidewalk and nudged Dash with a hoof. “Now let’s head on in before Lightning Dust gets any ideas ‘bout where we are.” Her marefriend turned and walked toward the door with her tail tucked meekly between her legs, and the farm pony followed suit, making sure to keep her eyes forward and not daring to look down again. After an agonizingly long time, she reached the door to the bar, trotting through it as Rainbow held it open from the other side.

The Celebration

Trials of the Heart

Chapter Two

The Celebration

Applejack paused after passing through the doorway to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting of the tavern. She didn’t need to see to hear the sounds of drunken revelry drifting out. It wasn’t loud enough to be overly annoying, especially once the cider started flowing, but the noise level would provide a consistent background buzz to any conversation.

After Applejack blinked a few times, the interior of the building slowly came into view. It had a fairly typical bar-style layout, with booths along three walls while the actual bar took up the entire far wall. Wooden tables were scattered throughout the middle area, except for a corner at the end of the bar that had a jukebox, pool table and dartboard set up. It wasn’t spacious, but there was enough room between the tables to avoid bumping into anypony while carrying drinks. A little more than half the tables and booths were full despite the relatively early hour.

Applejack noticed a teal hoof waving above a pair of pegasi making their way to the bar, and once they moved, she saw Lightning Dust sitting at one of the tables near the back of the bar. She glanced over her shoulder at Dash and indicated the table with her head, before making her way over.

“Hey guys, what took you so long? Did you get lost or something?” Lightning asked when the couple sat down. “I mean... I’m sure it’s been a while, but you should at least remember this place.”

“I didn’t forget.” The cyan mare huffed, ruffling her wings in annoyance. “I came here so often during Flight School that I could find my way flying blindfolded and backwards.” She crossed her forelegs and muttered to herself. “Forgot how to get here.” She spat.

Lightning snickered into a hoof. “Well, what took so long then?” She leaned back in her chair, and after a few seconds she grinned conspiratorially and bounced her eyebrows. “You didn’t sneak off for some ‘alone time’ did you? You know, you could have just asked and I would have given you some privacy.”

“That ain’t what happened, though it weren’t fer lack of tryin’ on somepony’s part.” Applejack glanced over at Dash, who was making a point of looking at the bottles of liquor behind the bar, then turned back to Lightning. “We were on our way here, but we ran into Spitfire before we left the Coliseum.”

Dust’s jaw dropped, and she sputtered incoherently for several seconds before she managed to form words. “You what? You just ran into Spitfire? After a tryout? How? Where?” She scooted around the table, grabbing Rainbow by the shoulders and shaking her. “Dash! Details, now!”

“H-huh?” Rainbow pushed Lightning’s hooves away and took a second to run a hoof through her mane. “Not much to say, really. We were getting ready to leave—”

“Sure we were.” Applejack interjected, making her marefriend blush.

“Ahem.” Dash cleared her throat. “Like I was saying, we were getting ready to leave, and she just shows up, saying she was looking for me.” She leaned forward, visibly growing more excited as she told the story. “She said she wanted to tell me what a great job I had done, and get this... She said ‘keep an eye on the mail, we’ll be in touch.’”

“No way!” Lightning shouted, earning a few curious looks from nearby tables, but she ignored them. “She might as well have offered you the spot right there.” She accentuated the end of her sentence by slamming a hoof on the table, again resulting in nearby patrons casting curious glances in her direction. She slumped back in her chair, shaking her head slightly. “Celestia, this calls for a drink.” Dust hopped down to the floor. “What’re you girls having? My treat.”

“Now, ya don’t need to do that, sugarcube.” Applejack protested. “Ah’ll be more than happy to pay fer me and Dash.”

“Oh no, tonight is my treat.” Lighting insisted. “Think of it as a ‘Congratulations on getting into the Wonderbolts’ present, and an early anniversary gift.” She smirked and leaned down to take a quick peek under the table. “Besides, how were you planning on paying? It doesn’t look like either of you brought saddlebags, so unless you keep your bits under that hat of yours...”

“Ah did too bring mah saddlebags, they’re—” Applejack stopped mid-sentence, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing a hoof to her forehead. “They’re in the basket of the balloon. Ah forgot to grab ‘em when somepony stole mah hat.” She shot a glare at Dash, who was looking off to the side and whistling innocently. She reached over and poked her marefriend in the ribs, eliciting a surprised squeak.

Lightning Dust snickered into a hoof, then turned toward the bar. “So, is cider okay?” Applejack and Rainbow nodded, and Lightning walked off to get the drinks. The farm pony leaned back in her chair, making it creak, pulled off her hat and dropped it on the table. She looked around the bar absently until the creak of her chair brought a question to mind.

“Uh, Dash?” She leaned over to her marefriend so that she wouldn’t have to yell. “Why ain’t these chairs and tables fallin’ through the floor?” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as though expecting it to disappear out from under her.

“I dunno. Magic, I think.” Dash shrugged, watching Lightning as she got three mugs from the barcolt behind the counter. “I know they taught us about it in school once, but I forgot. I bet Twilight knows, if you’re really interested.” She licked her lips as Dust came back to the table and slid the tray carrying the drinks from her back onto the table. She picked up the closest mug and pulled it closer to her, the sudden movement making a slosh of foam spill over the edge. “So, what’d we get?”

“The house brew, Skychaser’s Special.” Lightning grabbed a mug for herself and slid the remaining one toward Applejack. She took a quick drink, wiping away the foam that stuck to her lip and sighing. “Not quite Apple Family quality—” She raised her mug and nodded toward the farmer, who returned the gesture. “—but it’s still pretty good. Now, a toast. To Dash, future Wonderbolt and all-around awesome mare!”

“I’ll drink to that!” Rainbow exclaimed, grinning and holding her drink out over the table. The three ponies clinked their mugs together and took a drink. Applejack was the first to lower her cider a couple seconds later. She looked down at the mug, nodding slightly. Lightning had been right; the cider certainly wasn’t up to Apple Family level, but it was still a quality drink.

She looked up and saw that Dust and Dash were both still drinking, each watching the other to see who would give up first. “Come on you two, this ain’t a race.” Her words when unheeded, and the two pegasi tilted their cups ever higher. A few moments later, Rainbow slammed her now-empty mug on the table with a thud, and Lightning followed her lead a fraction of a second later.

“I can tell that tonight’s gonna be fun.” Dust grabbed the two empty cups and put them back on the tray before sliding onto her back with a wing. “Sit tight, I’ll be right back.” She Began trotting for the bar, but stopped and called back over her shoulder.

Applejack shook her head, not wanting to shout to be heard. Lightning weaved her way back to the bar and came back with two more mugs of cider. She and Dash both lifted their drinks and took long pulls, but both of them still had some cider left when they finished. The three of them settled in, chatting amiably about what they had been doing since the Wonderbolts Academy.

As the afternoon wore on into evening, the empty tables and booths filled up, raising the noise level from a buzz to a dull roar. Applejack and Lightning Dust both scooted their chairs around the table toward Dash to keep from needing to yell to be heard.

“So, after that—” Lightning paused to take a quick swig of cider. “—he comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, what was that about?’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want me to call your mommy now, or wait until I see her tonight?’” She and Dash burst out laughing while Applejack merely chuckled and took her own quick drink. The farm pony was nursing her third mug of cider, while the pegasi were both on their sixth.

“Ooh, check it out!” Rainbow nudged Dust with a foreleg and pointed toward the door. “Prime targets, incoming.”

“Hmm?” Lightning rubbed a hoof across her eyes and blinked, focusing on the door. After a second, her face lit up in a huge smile. “Oh, this should be good. Where do you think they’re gonna try first?”

“I dunno.” Dash replied, swirling her nearly empty mug of cider and scanning the tavern. “Probably over there.” She nodded off to the side. “Same numbers.”

“What in tarnation are you two goin’ on about?” Applejack raised an eyebrow at the pair or pegasi, who were still looking off in the direction of the front door. She turned and followed their gazes to a trio of pegasus colts who had just entered the building and were heading for one of the few remaining empty booths along the wall. All three of them looked around nervously, but had small hopeful smiles on their faces. They conferred privately for a moment before one of them made his way to the bar, returning a minute later with three mugs of cider.

“You don’t think they’ll try us, do you?” Lightning asked, leaning in to speak quietly. She swayed back and forth slightly, coming close to brushing up against Rainbow. “I mean, sure they—” She jerked her head toward a table near the colts where three pegasus mares were seated. “—have the right numbers, but so do we.”

As if on cue, one of the colts glanced over at their table before leaning in to talk to his companions. They spoke animatedly for a few moments, then the other two colts tried to discreetly peek at Lightning, Dash and Applejack under the guise of stretching or coughing. They went back to discussing amongst themselves, and one motioned to the table with the other mares, but his friends shook their heads.

“Uh oh.” Rainbow muttered, watching as the colts seemed to come to and agreement and one of them, with a brown coat, blond mane, and a cloud for a cutie mark, got up from the booth. She raised her mug and drained the last of her cider. “Well, desperate times, desperate measures.” She dropped her empty cup onto the table, leaned over and threw her foreleg around her marefriend. “Hey, AJ.”

“Wha—” Applejack’s words were cut off as Dash kissed her hungrily, forcing her tongue into her marefriend’s mouth. The earth pony’s confusion and halfhearted resistance quickly melted away when Rainbow pushed deeper into the kiss, probing her tongue deeper and entwining it with her partner’s. The world ceased to exist for Applejack, outside of the urgent and frenzied kiss, and she finally began to reciprocate, moving her lips and tongue in a well-practiced dance.

It ended as abruptly as it started. Dash pulled back and settled into her chair, a goofy smile plastered on her face and her cheeks glowing red. Applejack blinked a few times, as if coming out of a daze.

“Just what in the hay was that all about?” She asked, while her tone added ‘and why’d you stop?’ She felt her face heat up, so she picked up her mug of cider and took a long, slow drink to try and cover it. When she lowered her mug, it was empty, so she put it on the tray in the middle of the table.

“Sorry.” Dash lifted her own cup and brought it to her mouth before remembering it was empty and dropping it onto the tray with a sigh. “Those colts were about to come over here, and the fun part is watching, not experiencing.”

“Oh Celestia, Dash.” Lightning clutched at her sides, trying in vain to hold in her laughter. “You should have seen his face when you did that. It was priceless.” She wiped a tear from her eye and glanced over at the booth, where the colt had sat down again and was angrily whispering to his friends. She stood up and slid the tray onto her back, turning to head back to the bar. “I thought it was hot, too.” She winked and headed for the bar with a sway in her hips, but whether it was intentional or alcohol-induced, nopony could tell.

“Rainbow Dash.” Applejack glared at her friend, or at least tried to, but it was difficult since neither of them were very steady in their seats. “You tell me what’s goin’ on right now, missy, or so help me Luna, Ah’ll... Ah’ll...” She trailed off and realized she didn’t actually have a threat to finish with. “Ah don’t know what Ah’ll do, but ya won’t like it.”

“O -hic- Okay, okay. You win.” Dash held up her hooves in a gesture of surrender, but then she broke out in a sly grin. “First, check that out.” She pointed, and Applejack followed her hoof over to the table that Rainbow and Lightning had been talking about earlier. One of the three colts from the booth, this one with a blue coat, white mane, and an air gust cutie mark, was standing at the table, talking to the mares and visibly trying to maintain a calm demeanor. After a few more seconds of discussion, the mares giggled amongst themselves and two of them draped a foreleg around each other. The colt stammered out a few attempts at an excuse, then beat a hasty retreat back to his booth.

“Aww... did I miss it?” Lightning slid the tray back onto the table, complete with three full mugs. She plopped down in her chair and knocked a hoof against the table. “Darn. I thought I’d have more time after that little show you two put on. Are there any more potential groups?” She glanced around the bar, abandoning any attempts at subtlety and staring at any table with three mares. A few even smiled coyly and waved to her.

“A couple.” Dash grabbed her mug and took a quick pull from it. “After losing two in a row like that, though, they’ll probably take a while to work up the courage to try again.”

“This is what we came here for?” Applejack put a hoof on her marefriend’s drink and forced it down to the table. “You two brought me here to watch some poor colt get shot down?”

“No.” Lightning replied, rolling her eyes. “We brought you here to drink. The ‘colts getting shot down’ thing is just a bonus.” That earned her a glare from the farm pony. She leaned over, placing a hoof on Dash’s shoulder for support. “I think you might need to explain the... situation a bit.”

“Yeah, sugar.” Applejack said through clenched teeth. “Why don’t ya explain it to me?”

“Okay, calm down, AJ.” Rainbow shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. She swept a hoof around the tavern. “Look around. Do you notice anything a little odd?”

Applejack turned and looked out across the room. By now, almost all of the tables and booths were full. She tried to focus, scanning over a pair of colts in a booth, then a table of mares, and another, and another. She stopped and looked again, searching for any groups of colts. After sweeping the room twice, she only found the two booths, leaving a total of five colts in a room with scores of mares. Only one possible explanation came to mind. “Dash... is this a fillyfooler bar?”

Rainbow nodded, biting her lip to keep from snickering.

“Well, why in tarnation are colts comin’ to a fillyfooler bar?” Applejack picked up her mug and took a quick sip.

“It’s kind of a Cloudsdale Flight School tradition to tell the first-year colts that this is a great bar to come to and meet fillies.” Dash flinched a little as her marefriend hit her with a withering glare. “H-hey... it wasn’t my idea or anything, and after they came back we always told them about the bars where they can actually go to meet fillies.”

“Oh man, Dash.” Lightning leaned over and threw a foreleg around Rainbow, earning herself a scathing glare from Applejack that went unnoticed. “I bet when you came here, colts were lining up around the block to hit on you.” She made dramatic sweep with the hoof around Dash’s neck, but she wrapped a wing around the cyan mare to help keep her balance.

Applejack gritted her teeth as several choice words threatened to spill out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and stared at her cup, swirling the liquid and watching the foam slowly start to rotate. It ain’t nothin’, girl. It’s a pegasus thing. It’s the same as throwin’ a leg ‘round somepony’s neck. Just a friendly gesture. She swirled her drink faster as something Lightning had said during Dash’s Wonderbolt tryout came back to her.

Man, if I’d known she was into mares back then, I would’ve made a pass or two.

She lifted the mug to her lips and took several deep gulps, emptying it and dropping it back to the table. Calm down, girl. Yer makin’ a mountain out of a molehill. She stared at the table, hearing Dash and Lightning talk back and forth, but not paying attention to the words. Evetually, a laugh from her marefriend pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Hehe. Careful, Lightning.” Rainbow cringed away from her former partner’s wing, spilling a bit of cider on the table. “That tickles.” She looked down at the offending appendage, taking a few seconds longer than necessary to examine it. “I gotta say, you’ve done a great job preening it.” She scooted away and held out the other mare’s wing. “Primaries. Secondaries. Coverts. Axillaries. All straight as arrows. How long does it take you to get that done? An hour? Two?”

“Maybe after a night like tonight.” Lightning lifted her mug, flashing a conceited smile. “Usually, it only takes about thirty, maybe forty, minutes.” She flapped her wings once and folded them back at her side.

“Not bad, not bad.” Dash nodded appreciatively. “If you’re looking to win second place.” She smirked and extended her own wing, displaying her perfectly aligned feathers. “Takes me just fifteen minutes, eighteen on a rough day.” She rubbed a hoof against her chest and examined it nonchalantly. “I guess not everypony can be as cool as me, though.”

Applejack arched an eyebrow as their conversation reached her ears. Ain't that a personal thing? Dash had told her a lot about pegasus culture, and wingcare was typically a very personal thing, not usually discussed with anyone other than family or close friends.

“Oh please. Just look at this.” Lightning rolled her eyes and leaned down to peer at the cyan wing. “You’ve got misaligned primaries all over the place, and your secondaries are all out of whack.”

“What’re you talking about?” Dash lowered her head to look at her wing. “My feathers are all just as straight as yours, straighter even. It’s your eyes that are misaligned.” She folded her wing and shoved Dust playfully, giggling to herself.

“Hey now.” Lightning leaned back in her chair, pointing at her former partner. “I’m telling you, both of you—” Her hoof wavered between Dash and the empty air next to her. “—my eyes are just fine.” She lifted her mug to drink from it, but missed her mouth and splashed cider on her coat, making Rainbow burst out laughing.

“Shut up.” She muttered, taking a pull from her cider. She sulked for a few seconds before speaking up again. “Seriously? Only fifteen minutes?” She admired the other mare’s folded wing as Dash nodded, a smug smile on her face. “Dang, that’s impressive. I thought I was good at thirty.”

Applejack could hear her teeth grinding together, and she squeezed her mug between her hooves so hard that the wood was beginning to crack and splinter. She started counting to try and calm herself. One. Two. Three...

“No no. Don’t get me wrong.” Dash raised her hoof in a placating gesture, sloshing cider from her cup in the process. “Thirty is awesome. Hay, it’s the best I’ve heard from anypony that wasn’t me. It took me forever go get down to fifteen, too. I always had trouble with the axillaries.” She shook her head, then rolled and stretched her neck. “It took me years to get my neck flexible enough that I could reach and preen them quickly without messing up.”

It was Lightning’s turn to flash a smug smile. “Yeah, I never had that problem.” She craned her neck back and touched her chin between the bases of her wings. “I’m double jointed, so I’m super flexible.”

Rainbow just stared for a few seconds, her mouth hanging open, then she started snickering uncontrollably. “Oh jeez, I bet that comes in handy sometimes.” Dust just looked at her blankly for a moment before blushing and snickering as well.

Applejack’s mug broke with a crack, leaving a gash down the side that let precious cider spill out onto the table, though the pegasi were too busy trying not to burst out laughing to notice. “Rainbow!” She hissed, grabbing her marefriend by the shoulder and turning her around. “Ya can’t just go ‘round sayin’ stuff like that.”

“Come on, it was hilarious!” Dash managed to say through her dying giggles. “You can’t really expect me to pass up something like that, can you? Besides, she thought it was funny too.” She went to take a drink of her cider, but pouted as she realized her mug was empty.

“Ah don’t care.” Applejack retorted. “What if Lightnin’ here had said somethin’ ‘bout—” She stopped as she looked up and saw that the yellow-maned mare was no longer at the table. “Uh... where’d she go?”

“Dash!” As if on cue, Lightning’s voice carried over the tavern. Rainbow and Applejack, along with a few other patrons, searched the room for her, eventually finding her next to the jukebox in the corner of the bar. She was waving a hoof and beckoning the cyan mare over.

“Oh, heck yes.” Dash’s face lit up and she looked over and pieced together Lightning’s plan. She turned back to her marefriend. “You coming?”

Applejack grit her teeth and took a deep breath before responding. “Nnope. Ah’m fine right here, thank ya kindly.” She went to take a drink of her cider, only to find that it had all drained out of the crack in the side. She reached across the table and grabbed the mug that Lightning had left unguarded on the table, taking a quick sip and slumping back in her chair.

“‘Kay.” Dash hopped down onto the floor, smiling over her shoulder before trotting off to the corner of the bar where Lightning was scrolling through the songs on the jukebox. She extended a wing and tapped the other mare on her far shoulder. Dust looked off to the side for a few moments in confusion before turning the other direction to catch Rainbow snickering into a hoof. She punched the prismatic pegasus in the shoulder lightly, then went back to examining the song list on the jukebox.

After sifting through a few more pages, Lightning pointed to one of the songs with a hoof, nearly falling over in the process. She threw a wing across Dash’s back and used it to keep both of them steady. Rainbow nodded and pushed a few buttons on the control panel. The machine picked up a record and played it, sending a wave of music over the room that went unnoticed by most of the patrons.

Back at the table, Applejack took a deep drink of her new cider and watched as Dash and Lightning began singing. Between the distance and the noise from the rest of the bar, she couldn’t hear them, but based on the looks some nearby patrons were giving them, she could guess that they didn’t sound very good. She felt the twinge of jealousy from earlier return. She shook her head and sighed, a small amused smile on her face. Come on, girl. She’s just havin’ a bit of fun. Ain’t nothin’ to it. Her smile withered and faded as she watched the pegasi across the bar. As the song progressed, Dash and Lightning started swaying together in time to the beat. Lifting her cup to her lips, the orange mare took a pull from her drink, but nearly spat it out when she saw one of Lightning’s wingtips dip down and brush Dash’s cutie mark.

Applejack rubbed a hoof across her eyes, anger rising in her chest. She blinked and looked again, but saw that Lightning’s wing was firmly wrapped around Dash’s shoulders, nowhere near the cyan mare’s flank. She sat back in her chair, staring down into her half-full mug. Great. Now Ah’m seein’ things. Ah think Ah’ve had enough fer tonight. She dropped the cup onto the table, splashing some cider, and pushed it back across the wood to where Lightning had left it. Hopping down onto the floor, she slowly wove her way over to the jukebox, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw Lightning Dust teeter to the side and brush her cheek against Dash’s.

Alright. That’s enough of that. Applejack cleared her throat, but the singing pegasi didn’t hear her. She coughed into a hoof noisily, making Dash and Lightning take notice of her. “Say, RD, Ah hate to spoil yer fun, but ya think we could skedaddle? Ah’m gettin’ mighty tuckered out, and mah eyes are startin’ to cross. Ah could go fer a bit of shuteye.”

“Huh?” Rainbow blinked a few times as Applejack’s words sank in. “Oh, yeah, sure thing.” She slipped out from underneath Lightning’s wing, but her former partner barely noticed as she had already gone back to singing along with the jukebox. “Lightning... hey, Lightning!”

“Whazzat?” Dust looked around in confusion before finding Dash next to her. “Wha’s going on?” She belatedly realized her wing was still extended and tucked it back against her side.

“We’re heading out.” Dash threw a wing across Applejack’s back, pulling herself against the earth pony to keep from leaning too far and falling over. “AJ’s getting tired, and—” A yawn forestalled the rest of her sentence for a moment. “—and so am I. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Lame.” Lightning droned, frowning for a second before smiling playfully. “I’m just messing with ya. That’s cool. We did get a pretty early start, didn’t we? Take care you two.” She extended a foreleg and bumped hooves with Dash and Applejack, then made her way back to the table, muttering under her breath. “Now, where’s that cider?”

“Come on, sugar. Let’s go.” Applejack nuzzled her marefriend and leaned against her, enjoying the familiar contact rather than needing the support to stay upright. They slowly wove their way to the front door, opening it and revealing the dark night sky beyond. Just as the door was closing behind them Lightning’s voice rang out over the bar again.

“Hey! Who drank my cider?”

“I’m -hic- serious, AJ.” Dash tried to assure her marefriend for the fifth time since they left the bar. “I’m gonna do soooo many things to you when we get to the hotel. You’re not gonna be able to -hic- walk straight tomorrow.” She pushed the cloud disc from the Coliseum, swerving through the empty air space while she talked. “I’ll even do that one thing with my wings that you like so much.”

“Sure thing.” Applejack responded a little shortly, though it went unnoticed by the other mare. She’d been through this particular rodeo before, and she knew that Dash was all hat and no cattle once she got a few drinks in her. Despite knowing that, she couldn’t help but get a little excited at the memories and images that Rainbow’s words brought to mind. However, she quickly quashed those feelings, knowing that following them would only leave her wanting in the end.

It’s a shame too. She looked up to see the full moon hanging in the sky. A romp in the hay’d be mighty nice right ‘bout now. She glanced back down just in time to get a face full of cloud as Dash pushed the platform through it. Though, Ah suppose up here it’d be a romp in the clouds. She let out a small sigh, remembering just how unlikely that was, given Rainbow’s current state. “How much further?”

“Um...” Dash pulled the platform to a stop and looked around, trying to get her bearings. After searching for a few seconds, she flew around to the front of it and started pushing it the way they had come. “Oops, we passed it a little ways back.” She looked up at the farm pony, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, I was thinking about... things.”

Applejack smiled despite herself; she never could stay mad at Rainbow. “Ah know.” She leaned down and nuzzled the cyan mare’s cheek, edging her way higher until she could nibble her lover’s ear. “So was Ah.” She breathed, delighting in the shiver it sent through her marefriend’s body.

Dash bit her lip and flapped her wings harder, as though they were a little stiff. She focused on flying and guided the disc toward a large rectangular structure with several rows of doors and balconies. She headed for an attached building off to the side, the only one that still had light shining from the inside.

“Wait here, sug.” Applejack stood up and made her way over to the door. “Ah just gotta get us checked in and then we can head off to bed.” She pushed the door open, sending a bell above it tinkling.

“Welcome to the Cloudwalker Inn.” A grey-coated pegasus stallion behind the counter looked up from the magazine he was reading. He brushed a lock of his blond mane out of his face and grinned. “Well, this is a surprise. We don’t get many earth ponies up here. What brings a pretty young filly like yourself up to Cloudsdale, miss?”

“Ah’m here with mah marefriend fer the Wonderbolts tryout that was over at the Coliseum.” Applejack smiled as her chest welled with pride. “Ah got a reservation under the name ‘Applejack.’”

The stallion let out a low whistle. “Whoo. The Wonderbolts, huh? You don’t meet one of them every day.” He pulled a large binder from below the counter, dropping it onto the cloud surface and sending up a light spray of mist. He flipped through a few pages, mumbling to himself. “Applejack... Applejack... Here we go.” He tapped the paper with a hoof. “Room 106, one queen-sized bed.” He turned around and grabbed a round mass of cloud from a rack of cupboards on the wall behind him. He was about to set it on the counter when he scrunched up his face, clearly thinking to himself.

“Is somethin’ the matter?” The farm pony shifted on her hooves nervously.

The innkeeper let out a small sigh. “Forgive me for prying, miss, but just how are you staying up here?”

“Oh.” Applejack looked down at her hooves. “It’s some fancy cloud-walkin’ spell a unicorn friend of mine found. Mighty useful, if’n ya ask me.”

“Mhmm.” The stallion nodded. “How long does it last?”

“Three days.” Applejack smirked, knowing where he was going with the conversation. “Just had it cast this mornin’, so ya don’t need to be worryin’ none ‘bout me fallin’ through yer floor.”

“Maybe not.” He turned back to the mass of cupboards and replaced the round ball of cloud he had pulled out and moved to another slot, pulling out an identical looking puff of cloud. “Either way, I’ll sleep better tonight if I upgrade you to one of the special non-unicorn rooms. It’s got enchanted carpet and a nice real bed, king-size. Room 207” He put the cloud on the desk in front of Applejack.

“Oh, there really ain’t a need fer that. Ah’m sure the room we’ve got booked will be just fine.” She went to push the ball of cloud back across the desk, but stopped and peered closer at it. “Say, just what is this thing anyway?” She poked it with a hoof, and it rolled a short ways.

“It’s the doorknob to the room.” The innkeeper chuckled at Applejack’s confused expression. “You ever tried to make locks and keys out of cloud? It’s a nightmare. It’s like making them out of soft cheese. It’s easier to just pull off the doorknob.” He shook his head. “Anyway, take the room, please. It’ll let me sleep a little better tonight, and it’s rarely ever booked anyway.”

“Well, if’n ya say so.” Applejack picked up the doorknob and trotted back to the door, pausing before pulling it open. “Thank ya kindly, sir.” She left the building and found Dash sitting on the cloud disc, her eyes falling shut. “Come on, sug.” The earth pony nudged her marefriend in the shoulder, startling her slightly. “We’re in room 207.”

“Huh?” Dash looked around for a second, then focused on the nearby block of rooms. “Oh, right 207. Then, when we get there, the fun begins.”

“Ah’m sure it will.” Applejack smiled as the platform pulled away and angled for a room at the end of a row. After a couple missed attempts, the cloud disc merged with the room’s balcony and she stepped up to the door, popping the handle into the hole and throwing it open. She let out a low whistle as several magical lights along the wall flickered to life. The room was fairly large for being in a cloud building, stretching fifteen feet across and twenty from the door to the far wall. True to the innkeeper’s word, a lush violet carpet spanned the entire floor, and a huge king-sized, four-poster bed sat against the far wall.

“Wow.” Dash edged around her marefriend and made her way unsteadily across the room, flopping down on the bed. “This room is awesome.” Her voice was partially muffled by the sheets she was laying face-down on. She rolled over onto her back and beckoned the other mare over with a hoof. “Get over here, AJ, I wanna—” She let out a huge yawn, trying to cover her mouth with a hoof that ended up in front of her eyes instead. “I wanna... do things... sexy things...” Her words slowly trailed off as her eyes closed, and after a few seconds she began snoring softly, but it quickly rose in volume.

“Every time.” Applejack took off her hat and tossed it onto a chair near the door and trotted into the bathroom, looking around for a sink. After finding it tucked away on the other side of the shower, she splashed some water on her face and dried it with a towel hanging on the door to the shower. She went back out to the bed and laid down next to Dash, nudging the sleeping pegasus until she rolled onto her side and Applejack could snuggle up behind her. She stretched her neck out and kissed her lover’s cheek, drawing a contented sigh from the sleeping cyan mare.

“Good night, sugar.” She yawned and nestled down into the mattress, wrapping a foreleg around her marefriend’s barrel. “Ah love you.” The words made Rainbow stir a bit, snuggling back against the farm pony. Applejack let her eyes drift shut as sleep rose up to take her, but it was a fitful sleep, full of images of Dash and Lightning swaying together.

The Distraction

Trials of the Heart

Chapter Three

The Distraction

“Mmm... AJ?” Rainbow Dash rolled over, but threw a foreleg over her eyes to block out the sun streaming through the window after it tried to sear her retinas. “Oh Celestia, my head.” Once she was safely ensconced in darkness again, she flailed around with her free foreleg until she hit the lump lying next to her.

“Watch where yer wavin’ that thing.” Applejack gave her a playful shove back, then nestled in close for some snuggling, reaching up to kiss her marefriend on the cheek. “Mornin’ sugarcube. Ya sleep well last night?”

“Ohhh...” Dash leaned into the contact, burying her face in the farm pony’s neck and mane to escape the evil light. “AJ, I thought you loved me...”

“A-Ah do!” Applejack replied, shocked that Dash would ever doubt her.

“Then why did you let me do this to myself?” Rainbow asked, her voice muffled by the mane covering her face.

“Ah didn’t.” Applejack replied, giving Dash a light punch on the shoulder. “You were the one tossin’ em back like yer mouth was on fire.”

Dash levelled a glare at her. One that lasted for a fraction of a second before she groaned and dropped her head back onto the bed. “Kill me, please.” She muttered. “Just make it quick... or get me coffee. Either one, I don’t really care which right now.” She rolled over onto her back and laid a foreleg across her eyes again.

Applejack sighed and shook her head, then wrapped a comforting foreleg around her marefriend and rubbed her back. “Don’t worry, sugar, Ah’ll make it all better.” She leaned over for one more kiss, then scooted over to the edge of the bed and hopped down to the floor, staring at the cloud walls in surprise for a moment before she remembered where they were. Hmm... how does an earth pony go about gettin’ food in Cloudsdale? After a quick search of the room, she found a room service menu on an end table sitting under a strange box on the wall. The box was plain except for a wire mesh circle and a big red button labelled ‘Push.’ Lacking any other options, she pushed the button.

A crackling noise came from the wire mesh for a second, followed by a voice. “Yeah? What can I get you?”

“Whoa, nelly.” Applejack jumped back, nearly tripping over her own hooves in the process. When the box was silent again, she slowly edged closer, keeping a wary eye on it. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on here?”

“What, you never seen an intercom before?” The voice asked from the box.

“Can’t say Ah have.” Applejack reached up and knocked on the side of the intercom. “How does this doohickey work, anyway?”

“I don’t pretend to know.” The voice responded, growing impatient. “Now, is there anything I can get you?”

“Uh, yeah.” Applejack flipped the menu over to the breakfast side. “Lemme get... two orders of oat pancakes, two sides of eggs, and two sides of soy bacon. Oh, and a pot—” She paused, looking over at Dash doubtfully. “Better make that two pots of coffee, please.”

“Alright, we’ll have that up for you in fifteen minutes.” The box crackled one last time and went silent.

“Thank ya kindly.” Applejack was unsure if the pony on the other end could still hear her, but offered her thanks anyway. Looking back at the bed, she saw that Rainbow had fallen back asleep, her chest rising and falling gently. Opting not to wake her, Applejack trotted into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Briefly, she wondered what happened to the water after it went down the drain, but ultimately decided that worrying about it wasn’t worth the headache it would inevitably cause.

Stepping into the shower, she let the water run over her head and neck, plastering her mane over her eyes. Behind her eyelids, she saw Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust from the night before, swaying together as they sang and examining each other’s wings. Shaking her head and spraying water across the walls, Applejack turned and let the water run down her back while she grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up her forelegs and chest.

They weren’t actin’ like it was a big deal, so why should I? She tried to convince herself, but the words rang hollow. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something might have happened last night between Rainbow and Lightning. She remembered the first time that Dash had wrapped a wing around her to help fight off an early winter chill. The pegasus had tried to play it off as no big deal, but the blush in her cheeks had told Applejack that it was a gesture not to be taken lightly. Her suspicion was later confirmed by Twilight and the lecture that Applejack had gotten when she mentioned it to the unicorn, complete with a reference book titled Mood Wings. Yet, Lightning had draped a wing across Dash’s back like it was nothing.

With a frustrated huff, Applejack put the soap back and ducked into the stream of water to wash off. Once the last of the lather was circling the drain, she turned off the water, reached out of the shower, and grabbed the towel hanging there. She shook off as much of the water clinging to her coat as she could, then stepped out of the shower and draped the towel over her head, rubbing it through her mane to dry it as much as she could. A knock came from the door, and she trotted over to answer it. Pulling the door open allowed a cart full of covered dishes to come barreling into the room, followed by a light grey pegasus stallion.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” He mumbled, wheeling the cart into the room. He looked down at a slip of paper. “We got two oat pancakes, two eggs, two soy bacon, and two pots of coffee. The total comes to thirty-five bits.” He looked up expectantly, stopping just short of holding out a hoof.

Applejack winced internally, remembering that her saddlebags were still in the hot air balloon. “Can ya put it on the bill fer the room?” She asked.

“Of course.” The stallion trotted back to the door, stopping for a moment before leaving. “If you need anything else, just buzz the intercom. Enjoy your breakfast.” Without waiting for a response, he took to the air and disappeared from sight.

Applejack pushed the cart a little closer to the bed before hopping up onto it, causing Rainbow to stir slightly. She poked her marefriend with a hoof, focusing on the ticklish area around her ribs. “Come on, sugarcube. Food’s here.” The pegasus merely rolled away, curling in on herself. “Coffee’s here, too.”

Dash’s ears perked up at the mention of coffee, and she rolled back to face the farm pony, cracking an eye open to look at the cart. When she saw the carafes of coffee, she dragged herself to the edge of the bed, stretching out a hoof for the precious liquid, but coming up a few inches short on her reach. “AJ...” She whined, letting her head flop back down on the bed.

Rolling her eyes, Applejack slid to the edge of the bed and got down, pulling the cart closer. After picking up a carafe and pouring two cups, she dumped half of the sugar cubes into one coffee and moved it into her marefriend’s reach, opting to take hers black.

Rainbow picked up her cup carefully, taking a deep whiff of its aroma. She blew on it a few times to make sure it was a safe temperature to drink, then downed half of the liquid in one large gulp, sighing as the warmth spread down her throat and into her stomach. “What else did you get?” She nodded toward the four covered plates on the cart, immediately regretting it as the movement redoubled the headache pounding at the inside of her skull.

“Oat pancakes, eggs, and soy bacon.” Applejack uncovered the plates and revealed the food, pushing two of them closer to her marefriend. She chuckled as Dash eyed the food hungrily for a moment, then leaned down and took a single bite.

“Oh Celestia, that’s good.” Rainbow sighed before picking up a piece of soy bacon and popping the whole thing in her mouth. “Thanks for the food, AJ. You’re the best.”

“Ah know.” Applejack examined a hoof nonchalanctly for a moment before smiling and eating her own piece of soy bacon. Once she finished it, she poked at an oat pancake and cleared her throat. “Say, sugarcube, Ah need—” Her request broke off in a fit of laughter as her marefriend looked up with half of an oat pancake hanging out of her mouth. “Sorry. Ah need ya to run over to the landin’ pad where we left the balloon and get mah saddlebags.” The pegasus gave her a disbelieving look. “Well, we wanna be able to pay fer the room and food, don’t we?”

“Ehhh... I guess.” Dash wolfed down another piece of bacon, followed by a mouthful of eggs. After draining the second half of her coffee, she licked off a few flecks of egg that had gotten stuck to her muzzle and hopped off of the bed, pressing a hoof to her head. “Alright... I’ll be back in a bit.” She walked over to the door and pulled it open, then stepped out and flopped down on the cloud disc from the previous night, pushing off from the building and flying away with lazy flaps of her wings.

“Oooh. My stomach.” Dash wrapped her forelegs around her abdomen and curled up against the edge of the balloon basket. “Food was a bad idea.” Covering her mouth with a hoof, she dry-heaved yet again, pulling herself up so that her head hung over the edge of the basket. A gust of wind rocked the balloon, and she fell back in covering her eyes with a foreleg. “AJ...” She whined. “Make the balloon stop shaking... and it would be nice if you could get the sky to stop spinning too.”

“No can do, sugarcube.” Applejack chuckled as she pulled a rope to open vents along the top of the balloon, causing it to drop abruptly. Her marefriend pressed a hoof against her mouth again, cracking an eye open just long enough to glare at the farm pony. “If’n ya didn’t wanna deal with a hangover, then ya shoulda taken it easy on the cider last night.” She poked the prone pegasus with a hoof. “Maybe then yer mouth wouldn’ta been writin’ checks yer flank couldn’t cash.”

“What are you—” Dash stopped as memories of the flight to the hotel bubbled up past the pounding headache currently trying to split her head open. “Oh man, I’m sorry, AJ. I’ll—” Her eyes shot open and she lunged to the wall of the basket, retching as her stomach emptied itself for the second time that morning. “Sorry.” She mumbled to anyone who might have been under their flight path. Slumping back down against the side of the basket, Rainbow wiped a hoof across her mouth. “I promise I’ll make it up to you... tomorrow.”

“Ah’m sure ya will, sugar.” Applejack looked over the edge of the basket, swallowing as the ground approached a little more quickly than she would have liked. A quick tug on the balloon’s burner slowed their descent, giving her time to warn her marefriend of their imminent landing. “Hold onto somethin’, RD, we’re comin’ in hot.” Just after she finished speaking, the balloon landed hard on the dirt, bouncing once before skidding to a stop a short distance from the library. She hopped out of the basket, happy to once again have solid ground under her hooves. “Here we are, home sweet home.”

“Celestia, AJ, where’d you learn to fly that thing?” Dash half-jumped, half-fell out of the balloon basket, taking a few wobbly steps before sitting down. “Seriously, I’ve flown through thunderstorms that were smoother than that.” After wavering back and forth a few times, she fell onto her side and rolled over onto her back, letting out a pained moan as she covered her eyes with a foreleg again. “Sun’s too bright.” She muttered. “Get Twi to send a letter to the princess asking her to turn it down.”

“Ah don’t think it works like that, sugarcube.” Applejack walked over to her hungover marefriend and sat down. Extending a hoof, she gently started rubbing Dash’s belly in small circular motions. “Besides, us farmers need that sun nice and bright to help our plants grow.” The prone mare offered an unintelligible response, instead opting to settle down and enjoy the belly rub.

“I suppose I should have known it was you careening through the sky like a madmare, Applejack.” Rarity called out as she came out of the library, pulling the door closed behind her with a pulse of magic and stopping next to the basket. “Twilight did instruct you on how to fly this thing, did she not?” The unicorn teased playfully, indulging in the decidedly un-ladylike practice of sticking her tongue out for a moment.

“Well howdy to you too, sugarcube.” Applejack gave Rainbow’s belly one final rub then stood up, clutching her hat against a sudden gust of wind. “Could ya do me a favor and let Twi know her balloon’s back? Oh, and tell her ‘thanks’ again fer lettin’ me borrow it.”

“Well, dear, I would venture to say that everypony in Ponyville knows you’re back after that... landing.” Rarity smiled for a moment. “Unfortunately, dear, Twilight is in Canterlot today, defending her thesis.” She looked wistfully up at the mountain Canterlot was built on, where her marefriend was defending her work of the last four years. “If all goes well, she’ll be coming home as Doctor Twilight Sparkle.”

“Regardless—” With a flick of her horn, Rarity opened the balloon’s vents, allowing the hot air to escape and the fabric to deflate. “—I will put it back in storage before I head over to the Boutique. Thank you for returning it in one piece.” As the balloon deflated, she trotted over next to Dash. “Now, don’t keep me waiting, darling, how did it—” She stopped talking as the pegasus rolled onto her side, dry heaving into the grass. Shifting her gaze to the farm pony, she smirked at Rainbow’s obvious alcohol-induced discomfort. “I assume that means things either went spectacularly well... or very poorly.”

“Eeyup.” Applejack nodded, sitting down again to rub her marefriend’s back. “She put on one heck of a show up there. We ran into Spitfire before we left and she told Dash to keep an eye on the mail. We went out for a few... celebratory drinks afterward. Though, some of us mighta had a bit more to drink than others.”

“Well, she certainly deserves it.” With that, Rarity turned on the spot and walked back over to the basket, lifting it along with the deflated balloon in her magic and floating them toward the library. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get these put away so that I can head over to the Boutique. I’m due to open in less than fifteen minutes.” Pausing at the doorway while she floated the balloon components inside, she called back over her shoulder. “Oh, and Rainbow, dear, you’re more than welcome to take a nap here if you’re not feeling up to returning to your own home.”

“Thanks fer the offer, sugarcube, but Ah think we’ll head back to the farm and she can rest up there.” Applejack tipped her hat to the unicorn.

“If you insist.” Rarity shrugged, gripping the library door in her magic. “Take care, darlings.”

“Ohhh... Th-thanks, Rares.” Dash moaned, gathering her legs under her so that she could stand. After rising a few inches off of the ground, she flopped back down, prompting her marefriend to come over and help her.

“Come on, sug’.” Applejack lowered herself to the ground so that the hungover pegasus could lean on her and they stood together. Rainbow awkwardly slung a wing over the farm pony’s back, using it to pull herself closer. Applejack smiled at the familiar feeling, leaning into the embrace and nuzzling the other mare’s neck as they walked in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. When they reached the bridge at the edge of town, Rainbow started to falter, and eventually Applejack had to wiggle under the pegasus and lift her up on her back to finish the trek out to the farm.

Once they reached the farmhouse, Applejack carried her marefriend up to her room. “Here we are.” She slid Dash off of her back and onto the bed as gently as she could, though it still elicited a pained groan. “Ah, quit yer bellyachin’. Get some rest, and I’ll see you for supper, okay?”

Rainbow pressed a hoof to her mouth. “Please don’t mention food right now.” She rolled over onto her side and pulled the covers up over herself, wincing as the sun streamed in through the window. “Can you get the window, AJ?” She mumbled, pulling a pillow over her head.

“Sure thing, sugarcube.” Applejack replied, trotting over and closing the drapes. Once the room was darker, she walked back over to the bed and kissed her marefriend on the nose, the only part of her head sticking out from under the pillow. “Ah gotta head back now. Ah’ll see ya when yer feelin’ better.”

“‘Kay.” Dash muttered, her voice already sounding sleepy. “Love you.”

“Love ya too, Dashie.” Applejack pulled the door closed and headed downstairs, glancing at the clock to see that is was a few minutes until noon. Stepping out of the door and into the noontime sun, she tugged her hat down to better cover her eyes and headed out to the East Field, checking random trees as she went to determine where the rows of ripe trees started. Once she found them, she started setting out baskets under them.

Two hours later, she was hauling back the apples from the fourth row of trees when a familiar blue streak raced toward her. “Feeling better, sugar?” She asked as it screamed to a halt near her.

“Yeah, lots better, thanks.” Dash trotted over and kissed her marefriend on the cheek. After rolling her neck to elicit a series of cracks, she flapped her wings and rose into the air, hovering. “I’m gonna head out for an afternoon flight. Be back for dinner.” Without waiting for a response, she raced off into the sky, leaving her signature chromatic trail in her wake.

“See ya later, sugarcube.” Applejack said to the empty air her marefriend had occupied a moment ago. She watched the prismatic trail as it arced away, smiling and shaking her head before getting back to work. Occasionally she looked up as Celestia’s sun slowly made its way across the sky. While she worked, her mind wandered back to some of the more interesting times she and Dash had spent together, like the time she had taught Rainbow how to throw a lasso.

That girl’s nothin’ if not stubborn. Took her nearly three days, but she got it. She smiled to herself while she unloaded the cart of apples into the barn and headed back out to to the field. Still can’t figure out how she got herself stuck in that tree, though. Not that I was complainin’. As she went to leave the barn, she nearly tripped when she stepped on a small rock. After kicking it away and cursing under her breath for a minute, it reminded her of the time Dash had convinced her to help play a prank of Twilight.

Ah can’t believe Twi thought that little pebble Rainbow was danglin’ in front of her telescope was a meteor headed fer Equestria. Still, gettin’ Spike to fake a letter from Princess Celestia sayin’ she believed what Twi was sayin’ mighta been a bit much. Poor girl spent the next week lookin’ through that thing, even after we told her it was a prank.

Applejack made her way back out to the last batch of apples and stopped to admire a small bunch of flowers growing on the side of the path. Her smile evaporated as the colors brought to mind another memory, one of when she and Dash had been lured into helping Rarity with a ‘rush order from Canterlot.’ Rarity begged us to come over and help with her ‘order,’ but all we did was model dresses fer her. A shudder ran up her spine as she remembered one dress in particular. It may have been purple, but that was a weddin’ dress, plain and simple. In her mind, she saw the sly smile the unicorn had given them when Applejack was wearing that dress and Rainbow was wearing something that looked suspiciously like a gentlecolt’s tuxedo. Gotta give her credit, though. Dash looked mighty nice in that getup.

Just as she got the last batch of apples into the barn, Applejack heard the ringing of the dinner bell come from the farmhouse. After pulling off her hat and wiping a foreleg across her brow, she walked over to the farmhouse and headed inside, only to be assaulted by a barrage of questions from her little sister.

“Applejack, you’re home! Did Rainbow Dash make it? Is she gonna be a Wonderbolt now? Did she do a Sonic Rainbooom? How many other ponies were trying out? Are ya gonna—” Apple Bloom’s torrent of words was cut off by an orange hoof pressed against her mouth, but she kept talking for a few seconds before she realized all of her words were being muffled.

“It’s nice to see you too, Apple Bloom.” Applejack ruffled her sister’s mane, knocking her bow askew. “We don’t know if she made it yet. Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts have to talk it over and decide who they wanna take.” Looking around as if to see who was listening, she leaned down and whispered to the filly. “Between you and me, though, Spitfire told Dash to keep an eye on the mail.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom bounced into the air. “Ah gotta go tell Scootaloo!” She turned and bolted for the door, but stopped mid-stride as she ran into a large hoof in her path.

“Whoa there, AB.” Big Mac lifted his hoof from her tail and gently guided her toward the table. “ Ah’m sure Scootaloo already tracked Miss Dash down and asked her all ‘bout the trip to Cloudsdale and her tryout. ‘Sides, it’s time fer dinner.” The family sat down at the table, where one seat was noticeably empty. “So, where is Rainbow Dash, AJ?”

“Probably out there practicin’ some new trick.” Applejack replied, smiling and shaking her head. “Ah’m sure her stomach will remind her ‘bout dinner and she’ll be here any second now.” She leaned back in her chair, eliciting a groan from the well-used wood. “Y’all go ahead, Ah’m gonna wait fer her.”

The rest of her family dug into the food on the table. As the minutes ticked away, the plates of apple dumplings, fritters, pancakes, turnovers, and even the apple pie slowly disappeared. Eventually, Applejack piled some food onto her plate and the one next to hers, just to make sure she and Dash would get some, but the chair next to her remained empty. Part of her wanted to keep waiting so that she could eat with Dash, but she decided to go ahead and start eating before the food got cold. She took a momen to get up and put Rainbow’s plate in the stove to keep it warm, then she sat down and ate, glancing at the clock between bites. A few minutes after her family had left the table, the door burst open, allowing Rainbow Dash entry.

“Hey, AJ. Sorry I’m late.” Dash plopped down in the chair next to her marefriend, looking at the table for any leftover scraps of food. When she didn’t see any, she slumped back against the chair, frowning slightly.

“And just where in the hay have you been?” Applejack asked, trying her best to keep calm until she heard the other mare’s explanation.

“Oh, you’ll never guess what happened.” Rainbow turned away from the empty table, beaming at her marefriend. “I ran into Lightning Dust.”

The farm pony arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Ya just ran into her all the way down here in Ponyville?” Getting up from the table, she pulled the stove open and grabbed the plate she had squirreled away there, placing in front of the pegasus.

“Yeah.” Dash nodded, a bit of her mane falling over her eye before she brushed it back with a hoof. “Well, I guess she really ran into me down by the lake while I was practicing some new tricks. She said that she decided to come hang out down here for a few days.” A growl sounded from her stomach, and Rainbow licked her lips as she gazed hungrily at her plate before diving in.

“And did she happen to mention why she’s just all the way down here?” Applejack asked, an uneasy feeling twisting at her stomach. “Seems like an awful long way to come just to ‘hang out.’”

“I guess.” Dash shrugged, taking a bite of apple fritter. “After hearing what Spitfire told us, Lightning said she decided to come hang out down here to see what happened. She even asked to do some training with me while she’s here, help her get used to flying while keeping in position with somepony else. She even asked if I could show her a trick or two for the next time she tries out.”

“That sure is nice of ya.” Applejack mumbled, trying to keep her frustration from bleeding into her voice. Silence filled the room for a few moments, broken only by the crunching of Dash eating her food. Applejack sat up a little straighter as a thought rose in her mind. “Say, sugarcube...” She paused, staring at the wood grains of the table, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer. “Where’s Lightnin’ gonna sleep while she’s here?”

“My place.” Dash replied nonchalantly.

Applejack bit her tongue to keep from letting loose a venomous retort. Images from the previous night flashed through her mind again, but they were mixed with new ones of the two of them in Rainbow’s house, lying on the couch or even the bed. She was about to say something, but before she could, her marefriend kept talking.

“So, I figured—” Dash paused to wolf down a dumpling and leaned against the farm pony. “—that I’d sleep over here with you for a few days while she’s in town.” Shifting a bit, she extended a wing and wrapped it around the other mare.

Applejack opened her mouth, then closed it again, all of her anger and frustration melting away like the last winter snow under the noontime sun. “That sounds mighty nice.” She nestled into the embrace and smiled, then playfully nudged her marefriend with an elbow. “Though, ya mighta asked me first, before just invitin’ yerself over.”

“Come on, like you’d ever turn me away.” Dash teased, sticking her tongue out. After they shared a laugh and a nuzzle, she turned and looked out the window. “But, I suppose I could go if you wanted me to, even though I only have one bed at my place.”

“Don’t joke about that.” Applejack blurted out with more force than she had meant to put into it. In order to avoid her marefriend’s questioning gaze, she looked down at the table, locking her eyes on her empty plate.

“What was that about?” Rainbow pulled her wing away and turned to fully face the farm pony, waiting for a response. When none came, she pressed again. “AJ, what’s wrong?”

Applejack paused for just a second before answering. “Nothin’.” She lied, a quick flick of her eyes and a scrunch of her mouth accompanying her reply.

“Come on, AJ.” Dash prodded the other mare in the shoulder with a hoof. “What’s up?”

“It’s...” Applejack started, preparing to deny the allegation again, but she stopped and let out a sigh. After pulling her hat off, she ran a hoof through her mane, took a deep breath, and looked her marefriend in the eye. “It’s Lightnin’ Dust.” She finally admitted. Afterward, she waited for Rainbow to say something, but the pegasus merely cocked an eyebrow, waiting for a further explanation. Steeling herself, Applejack kept going.

“Ah don’t trust her.” She raised a hoof to stop the other mare from speaking. “Ah know she’s gone and said she’s different now, but Ah ain’t buyin’ it. Just look at last night. She was leanin' in a little too close, lettin' her wing dip a little too low."

“She was being nice, AJ!” Dash responded, clearly upset that her new friend’s intentions were being misunderstood. “Okay, maybe she got a little too friendly. She’s done nothing but try and show that she’s different now. She even picked up the tab last night.”

Applejack slumped back in her chair, stunned at how easily Rainbow had brushed off her concern. After a moment to consider, she realized that maybe Dash was right, this was just a bad case of the green-eyed monster. ”Yer right... of course yer right. Sorry, Sug’. Ah'm just a bit out of sorts after that trip. Probably something to do with feeling like Ah was gonna end up a pony pancake.” She shook her head to dislodge a vision of the ground rushing up to meet her. “Next time Ah'm getting a pair of those danged wings from Twi, Ah don't care how silly they look!" Biting her tongue to cut off any further foolishness on her part, she snatched her hat up off the table and turned to get up.

“Oh man, I would pay good bits to see you with a pair of those butterfly wings.” Dash chuckled to herself for a bit before her expression shifted to concerned confusion. “AJ, are you sure that’s all? I mean, all we did was get drunk and dance a little...” The corners of her mouth flicked up, like she was trying to smile but couldn’t force herself to do it. “It’s not like it meant anything.”

“It ain’t you Ah’m worried about!” Applejack snapped back, her tone softening at the sudden look of hurt on Rainbow’s face. “Ah’m sorry, sugar, Ah’m sorry... It’s just...” She sighed, staring at her hooves. “Ah don’t like the way she was lookin’ at ya last night. You get so danged loopy when you’ve had a few, and I could just see her whisperin’ in yer ear to sneak out the back door with her.” She forced herself to look her marefriend in the eye. “Ah trust you with mah life, Dashie, but Ah don’t trust her half as far as Ah could toss her out on her danged plot!”

“Come on, AJ, you were there the whole time, right?” Dash leaned back, throwing a foreleg over the back of the chair. “Besides, it’s not like I’m gonna go out and get drunk every night. Last night was a special occasion.”

“You wanna settle mah fears?” Applejack looked Rainbow dead in the eyes, her gaze unwavering. “Pinkie promise me, right here right now, that you won’t touch a drop of anything stronger than a juice box until she’s outta town.”

“Fine.” Dash said after a moment of consideration, making the appropriate motions. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Once she was done, she leaned forward and hugged her marefriend. “Happy?”

“Yeah.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and held onto Rainbow’s forelegs. “Ah hate bein’ like this, sugarcube, but ya gotta understand... Ah know Ah can trust you when ya got yer wits about ya, and maybe Ah’m dead wrong ‘bout Lightnin’, maybe she has changed. Ah ain’t gonna risk you on that, though.”

“AJ, it’s cool. Hay, if I was with a somepony as hot as me I’d wanna keep her under wraps too.” Rainbow kissed her marefriend, wrapping Applejack in a tight wing hug. “Listen, I got some stuff to do, I’ll be back in a bit. Okay?”

“Alright, just don’t stay out too late. We got work in the mornin’.” Applejack smiled to herself as she felt Dash tense up behind her.

“Whaddya mean ‘we’ got work?” The pegasus asked, worry clear in her voice.

“Exactly what it sounds like, sugar.” Applejack turned and smirked at her marefriend’s wide eyes. “We got work. Me and you.”

“B-b-but...” Dash sputtered for a minute before she managed to voice the question on her mind. “Why do I have to work?”

“Well, if yer gonna be sleepin’ here—and eatin’ here, most likely—then ya gotta pull yer weight. If’n ya don’t, then Ah just might have to make ya sleep on the floor.” Applejack gave the other mare’s legs one last squeeze then let her go, listening as Dash got up and trotted over to the door. “Dashie.” Her voice was full of emotion when she spoke again, looking over to the door to see Rainbow still looking outside. “Ah love you.”

“I love you too, AJ.” Dash looked back over her shoulder, a small smile on her face. With that, she broke into a gallop and took to the air, the sound of her wingbeats fading into the night after a few seconds.

Applejack stared at the open doorway for a minute before walking over to it and closing the door. After putting the last few plates from dinner in the sink, she trudged her way up to her room, flopping down on her bed and looking out the window where Luna’s moon and stars shone. A tiny shape blazed past the moon before disappearing back into the darkness of the night sky.

Ah hope to Celestia that Ah’m wrong ‘bout Lightnin’ Dust. She rolled onto her side and pulled the covers over herself. But if’n she wants a fight, Ah’ll be more'n happy to give her one.

Rainbow Dash sped through the air, the low lighting provided by the moon and stars adding an extra level of thrill to her flight. Weaving her way through the sparse clouds leftover from earlier in the day, she made her way back to her house, darting in through a window instead of the front door. “Hey, Lightning, I’m back.” She called as she alighted in the living room, trotting over to the couch and draping her forelegs over the back.

“Cool.” Lightning Dust looked up from the copy of Wonderbolts Illustrated she was reading and rolled onto her back, crossing her forelegs behind her head. “So, what do you wanna do now?”

“It’s gettin’ kinda late, so I’m gonna hit the hay.” To reinforce her statement, Dash yawned, covering her mouth with a hoof. Once it passed, she hopped down from the back of the couch and headed for a hallway across the room. “Come on, bedroom’s this way.”

“Sweet.” Lightning rolled off the couch and followed Rainbow down the hall. When they reached the bedroom, Dust whistled as she walked around the bed, which took up a large majority of the room. “Nice bed, Dash, not sure if it’s big enough, though.” She crawled up on the bed and splayed out on her back with her hind legs crossed, letting her wings unfold and lay flat. “It’ll be a little cramped, but I won’t mind.” She looked at Rainbow with half-lidded eyes, smiling suggestively.

“Alright, bathroom’s through there—” Dash gestured to a doorway with a wing. “—help yourself to anything in the fridge, and I’ll see you in the morning.” With a flap of her wings, she started toward the bedroom window.

“Wait, morning?” Lightning sat up, confusion written on her face. After looking at all the empty space next to her on the bed, she turned back to the other mare. “There’s plenty of room here. Where are you going to sleep? The couch?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes at the idea. “Come on, we’ll bunk together. Get you used to what it’ll be like with the ‘Bolts.”

“I don’t think that’s how ‘bunking’ works... well, except maybe for Spitfire and Soarin’.” Rainbow chuckled, shook her head, and kept moving toward the window. “Anyway, I’m staying with AJ at the farm for a bit.” She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “We had... a bit of a fight, and I wanna try to make it up to her.”

“A fight?” Dust cocked her head to the side. “About what?”

Dash sighed and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. “It was about last night."

“What about last night?” Lightning lay back down on the bed with her forelegs behind her head. “I don’t know about you, but I thought we had a pretty awesome time last night. Does Flapjack have something against fun?”

“Applejack.” Rainbow shot a look over her shoulder, then went back to staring at the floor. “She’s worried about... how I was acting last night.”

“Seriously?” After a moment of rustling, Lightning settled down next to Dash, nudging her with an elbow. “I thought you had some sweet moves out there. Hay, we should hit a club or two while I’m here.”

“I can’t.” Rainbow shook her head, running a hoof through her mane. “I promised AJ that I’d lay off the cider for a bit.”

“What?” Dust leaned back, blinking in surprise. After a second, she huffed, crossing her forelegs. “Doesn’t she trust you?”

“Of course she does!” Dash shot back, her wings ruffling in agitation. “I made her a promise, I’m going to keep it, and that’s the end of it.” Sliding off the bed and onto the floor, she stalked over to the window. Stopping for a moment, she snorted and smiled. “Probably for the best, I woke up with a wicked headache this morning. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without waiting for a response, Rainbow broke into a gallop and dove out the window, angling for Sweet Apple Acres. A shiver raced up her spine as she sped through the crisp night air, and she pumped her wings harder as she rushed back to the warm bed she knew was waiting for her. When the farmhouse came into view, she saw that the window to Applejack’s room was open, so she dove toward it. Right before she passed through the frame, she pulled in he wings, flaring them again on the other side to kill her momentum and alight on the floor.

Walking carefully to avoid any of the creaky floorboards, Dash made her way over to the bed and climbed in, snuggling up behind Applejack. She wrapped a foreleg around her marefriend and yawned, the toll of her evening flights catching up to her.

“Land sakes, girl.” Applejack mumbled, curling in on herself. “Ya dip those hooves in ice water before gettin’ in bed?” She leaned back and sleepily nuzzled the other mare, laying her foreleg over the one resting on her barrel. Nestling back down into the pillow, she yawned and started drifting back to sleep. “Mmm... love ya, sug’.”

“I love you too, AJ.”

The Heart of the Matter

Trials of the Heart

Chapter Four

The Heart of the Matter

Applejack groaned and buried her face in her pillow as the rooster’s crow floated through her window. She started to mechanically get out of bed, scooting her hind legs closer to the edge. As she moved away, the foreleg wrapped around her barrel pulled her back, and she remembered that her marefriend had spent the night, and would be doing so again for the next few nights. A tired smile spread across her face and she nestled back into the bed, enjoying the warmth of Dash resting against her back. A couple extra minutes never hurt nopony.

Just at that moment, Dash let loose a massive snore right in Applejack’s ear. The farm pony slammed a hoof over her ear to try and block out the auditory assault, but it did little good. Moving to the edge of the bed again, she pulled free of Rainbow’s grasp, turning around to see the pegasus roll onto her stomach. She stifled a giggle as her marefriend’s wings jutted into the air.

“Hey, RD.” Applejack poked Dash in the ribs, drawing a half-asleep grumble of protest. Poking again, she got a faceful of feathers when her marefriend rolled onto her side facing away. “Dangit, girl.” She rubbed her cheek where the leading edge of the wing had caught her. She was about to just give Rainbow a shove to wake her up, but stopped when a better idea came to her. Crawling back across the bed, she leaned in so that her mouth was right next to her marefriend’s ear.

“It’s time to wake up, Dashie.” She whispered, pausing to blow into the cyan ear a bit. It flicked back, but the pegasus it was attached to remained firmly asleep. Applejack crept a little closer, getting close enough to kiss along the edge of Dash’s ear before giving it a playful nibble. Rainbow murmured appreciatively but didn’t wake up. Letting out an annoyed huff, Applejack’s eyes drifted down to her marefriend’s extended wings. She reached down and rubbed the pad of a hoof along the leading edge, taking time to trace some small circles around the wing joint. Once again, Dash murmured sounds of approval, even stirring a little bit, but otherwise didn’t budge.

Rise ‘n shine, sugar. Applejack thought with a smile, trailing her hooves down her marefriend’s flank. Her smile took on a hint of wickedness and she lifted her hoof, bringing it down with a resounding smack! The effect was immediate, sending Dash flying up with a yelp before coming down just as fast. Getting tangled up in the covers was a problem that even she couldn’t fly her way out of, and stiff wings certainly didn’t help.

“What the?” Rainbow looked around while she slowly disentangled herself from the sheets currently twisted around her legs. Eventually she found Applejack sitting on the bed, chuckling to herself. “What gives, AJ?”

“Ah tried wakin’ ya up all gentle like, but ya weren’t budgin’.” Applejack let out a hearty laugh at the glare that her marefriend levelled at her. “Hey, if’n yer gonna get any work done, ya gotta get up early. It’s an old Apple family sayin’. ‘Up with Celestia.’”

Dash climbed back onto the bed, letting her wings hang over the edge and trying to bury her head under a pillow. “I don’t count. I’m not an Apple.”

“The hay you ain’t.” Applejack felt a blush creep into her cheeks when Rainbow lifted the pillow over her head, giving her a curious glance. “Ah mean… maybe it ain’t all official like… yet.” She swallowed to clear a lump forming in her throat. “But, yer an Apple to me.”

Rainbow sat up, watching the blush spread across her marefriend’s cheeks. After watching the earth pony fidget for a couple seconds, the leftover haze of sleep evaporated and she took in the full meaning of Applejack’s words. She leaned over and hugged the other mare. “Thanks, AJ. That means a lot to me.” She tried to wrap a wing around Applejack’s back, but ended up just smacking her on the back with the stiff appendage.

“Watch it, sugarcube.” Applejack nudged Rainbow with a foreleg to the ribs. She turned and poked the wing against her back with a hoof, causing her marefriend to jump slightly. “You want some help with that?”

“No, thanks.” Dash grunted, wrestling the unruly things back to her sides. They stayed in place for a fraction of a second before springing back out. Rainbow let out a frustrated groan, flopping back onto the bed. “Morning stiffies are the worst.”

“Ah told ya Ah’d be happy to help with it.” Applejack went to stroke one of her marefriend’s wings, but the pegasus pulled it away at the last second.

“It’s not… like that.” Dash sat up. “But I’d totally be down for that.” She slumped down a bit when the farm pony rolled her eyes. “They’re just… really sensitive, and it takes a little while for them to— gahahaha!” Rainbow cringed to the side, trying to escape the hoof that her marefriend was trailing down her wing.

“Ah see.” Applejack grinned, a playful glint in her eye. “They’re ticklish.”

“Uh oh.” Dash swallowed, scooting over to the edge of the bed. “No ropes?” She asked hopefully.

“No ropes.” Applejack confirmed just before pouncing on the mare. However, Dash was too quick for her and rolled off the bed, landing on her hooves and bolting for the door. Applejack gave chase, skidding out through the doorway and pounding down the hall after her quarry. Rainbow may have been faster in the air, but on the ground, they were evenly matched, and the farm pony had a feeling that her years of hard work would give her an edge.

They raced through the kitchen, and Applejack saw her marefriend look longingly at the laden breakfast table as they passed. Bursting through the door, she put on a burst of speed, pulling just close enough to the fleeing pegasus to get a mouthful of prismatic tail. She gave it a quick tug, and the sudden sensation caused Rainbow to trip over her own hooves, sending her face first into the dirt. Applejack spit out the tail in her mouth and trotted around in front of the downed mare. “Ya alright there, RD?”

Dash lifted her head and spit out the mouthful of dirt she had accumulated. “Yeah… just great.” She slowly got to her hooves and shook out her mane, releasing a cloud of dust. Looking over her shoulder, she gave a quick flap of her now soft wings. “On the plus side, my wings are cooperating again.” After spitting a few last bits of dust out of her mouth, she turned and started heading back toward the farmhouse. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

“Ya really gotta ask, sugarcube?” Applejack kept pace with her marefriend as they headed back in, slowing to let Rainbow through the doorway first. Gently kicking the door shut once she was inside, she sat down at the table. Next to her, Dash’s eyes roamed over the table and she licked her lips, clearly trying to decide what apple-based delicacy to sample first. The hungry pegasus ultimately decided to start with some apple pancakes, barely holding back long enough to drizzle on some syrup before diving in muzzle first. Applejack chuckled and raised a foreleg to shield herself from flying bits of pancake. “Land sakes, girl. Ya act like ya haven’t eaten in years.”

“Hhh.” Dash tried to sound offended, but only ended up spraying half-chewed food onto the table. Once she had finished chewing and swallowing her pancakes, she tried again. “Hey. I was already hungry, and your little chase didn’t exactly help. Besides—” She flipped a piece of pancake into the air, catching it in her mouth and swallowing it whole. “You remember what Twi said. I’ve got a really fast meh… meh-table-thingy, so I have to eat a lot of food to keep my energy up.” Leaning over the table, she grabbed three pieces of soy bacon—the only non-apple based food on the table—and tossed all of them into her mouth. Once they and a the rest of her pancakes were gone, along with a few apple fritters, she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her stomach.

“That was awesome, as always. Thanks Granny Smith.” Dash nodded to the Apple family matriarch, who looked up and mumbled in confusion for a moment before going back to her own breakfast. Rainbow hopped down from her chair, flexing her wings as she walked around it over to her marefriend. “I’m gonna head out for a quick flight before we get to work. Meet you out there.” She reared up and hooked her forelegs over the back of Applejack’s chair, darting in to kiss the earth pony on the cheek.

“Sure thing, sugar.” Applejack laid a hoof over Dash’s, giving it a quick squeeze before the pegasus trotted over to the door and headed back outside. Applejack and Big Mac divided up the day’s chores between themselves, occasionally stopping to explain to Apple Bloom that she did have to go to school and she couldn’t stay to help them. After dropping their empty plates into the sink, the older Apple siblings headed out the door as well, each headed to their respective fields.

By the time Applejack made her way out to the Eastern Red Delicious field, she found her marefriend lazing about in the first tree she checked. “You comin’ down from there, or do I haveta harvest an early zap apple?” She sat down under the shade of the tree, pushing her hat back so that she could look up at her marefriend. Reaching back with a foreleg, she gave the trunk a few good knocks, rattling some of the lower branches.

“Yeah yeah. I’m comin’.” Dash stretched along the branch, then bunched her hind legs and pushed off, launching herself into the air. She angled her wings to carry her through the loop, landing at a trot a few paces in front of her marefriend. “Well, let’s get started, I guess.” She walked past the seated earth pony, flicking her tail so that the tip brushed past Applejack’s nose. Lining herself up with the tree one row over, she prepared to buck it, but froze at the last second. “Oh, don’t forget that I have to head out a little early. I’m practicing with Lightning Dust this afternoon.”

Applejack paused in her own bucking preparations, smiling warmly at her marefrined. “Sure thing, sug’, thanks fer remindin’ me.” As scatterbrained as Rainbow usually was, the earth pony appreciated that she was being kept in the loop. She leveled a smirk at her marefriend. “So long as you finish yer half of the field, that is.”

Dash looked down the row of trees, letting out a groan when it seemed to go on forever. She perked up an instant later, an idea springing up in her mind. “Hey, AJ, you wanna make this interesting?”

“Interestin’?” Applejack cast a sidelong glance at the pegasus, fairly sure what was coming next. “How’dya reckon?”

“A bet.” Rainbow stated confidently. “Whoever finishes their half of the field first, wins. If you win, I’ll do that thing with my wings that you like.” The appendages in question twitched and fidgeted at her sides.

Applejack bit her lip to keep a whimper from escaping, then turned and pretended to examine the nearby tree so that her marefriend couldn’t see her blush. Once she was sure her voice wouldn’t betray just how appealing that idea sounded, she looked back over her shoulder. “And if’n you win?”

“If I win…” Dash’s smug smile grew into a predatory grin, and she slinked forward. Applejack couldn’t help but watch as her marefriend approached, every lithe muscle bunching and spreading like a jungle cat stalking its prey. When she got close, Rainbow nuzzled into the earth pony’s neck, slowly working her way up and leaving a trail of feather-light kisses. She smiled to herself as a shiver ran up the other mare’s back, and when she spoke again, she breathed the words into Applejack’s ear. “Then next time, I get to use the ropes.”

Applejack suppressed a shiver, vivid images flashing through her mind. Her eyes flicked down the row of trees. She tried to calculate how many trees there were, but quickly gave up. Fancy mathematics had never been her strong suit. Looking back and finding her marefriend still grinning at her, she wracked her brain for anything that could give her an advantage. Swallowing, she eventually stammered out a condition. “N-not just buckin’ the trees, b-but ya gotta get the apples back to the barn.”

Dash thought for a second before nodding. “Deal.” The two mares spit onto their hooves and shook on it, then lined up across from one another. Rainbow dug her forehooves into the soil. “One.”

Applejack reached up and pressed her Stetson firmly down on her head. “Two.”

Dash crouched down, her rump wiggling in the air. “Three."

“Go!” They shouted in unison, lashing out with their hind legs to make simultaneous thuds against the trunks. Dual cascades of apples fell into the waiting baskets, and the two mares moved to the next trees. After a few trees had been cleared, Dash lifted as many baskets as she could carry and flew off toward the barn. When she got back, she could only stare at how many trees Applejack had cleared and how many baskets of apples were loaded into her cart.

“What… how?” Rainbow looked back and forth between the farm pony and her cart for precious seconds before zipping back to the next tree in her row and kicking it as hard as she could. As the day dragged on, Dash slowly made up the ground she had lost, but fell behind again each time she gathered up a load of baskets and flew it back to the barn.

Shortly after the sun reached its peak, Rainbow returned from hauling her latest batch of baskets to the barn just in time to see Applejack buck her last tree. Meanwhile, Dash still had two rows left to harvest. Applejack loaded the final few baskets of apples onto the last cart in a string of three that she had set up. She looked over the mountains of apples and swallowed nervously, suddenly unsure about her plan. Regardless, she hooked herself up to the collar on the lead cart and strained against the massive weight. Nothing happened, and after throwing her weight against the harness repeatedly, she slumped to the ground, her breath coming in ragged pants.

“Hey, AJ!” Dash paused in her latest trip back from the barn, alighting on the ground a few paces away. “Uh, no offense, but I don’t think even Big Mac could haul that back to the barn. You’re gonna have to take ‘em one at a time.” She shrugged and shot a smug grin at the stubborn mare. “If you wanna try and win, anyway.”

Applejack let out a snort and clambered back to her hooves. Rearing up, she threw herself forward, wincing as the collar bit into her shoulders. Her hooves slid backwards, digging little furrows in the dirt, but the carts didn’t budge. Dash chuckled to herself and turned to head back to her next load of apples when a sound caused her ear to twitch.

Creeeeak.

Rainbow whipped her head back around, staring in disbelief as the wheels on the carts started to roll forward in tiny increments. Applejack threw her marefriend a wry smirk and took a step forward. The groaning of the wheels faded as the carts began to move in earnest, picking up speed ever so slowly. Applejack lowered her head and pressed onward, each step a tiny bit easier than the last. Eventually she found herself plodding along at a slow, but consistent, pace. She risked a glance up and saw Rainbow speeding back from the field, a couple of baskets in her hooves and one in her teeth. The earth pony kept pulling, and soon she was walking at a slow, but steady, pace. She was even able to break into a light trot if she was going downhill, though sometimes a faster trot was necessary to avoid being run over by her carts.

Some time later, Applejack slowed to a stop just inside the barn door, and a few apples tumbled down off of their piles onto the floor. She unhitched herself from the carts and collapsed into an exhausted heap, barely able to muster the energy to roll onto her side and off of her aching hooves. A few seconds later, Dash glided into the barn with her last two buckets of apples. After placing them with the others, she trotted over and laid down next to her marefriend, nuzzling the earth pony’s cheek.

“Ah… won.” Applejack managed to pant out between heaving breaths.

“You sure did.” Dash smiled and kissed her marefriend on the tip of the nose. She extended a wing and draped it over the other mare’s side. “And you know what?” Rainbow leaned in closer so that she could whisper in Applejack’s ear. “It was pretty hot to watch you do that.”

“Glad ya…” Applejack lifted her head a bit, but it fell back to the hay floor of the barn, her ragged breaths sending up small puffs of dust and dirt. “Glad ya… enjoyed… the show.” She tried to wink playfully, but both eyes closed, and once they were closed, she couldn’t muster the energy to open them again.

“Come on.” She felt Dash trying to wiggle under her, and after a few failed attempts, the pegasus finally lifted Applejack onto her back. Forcing an eye open, the earth pony watched the landscape roll by as her marefriend carried her. She closed her eye again and simply enjoyed the rhythmic rocking of Dash’s steps. That is, until her head banged into the doorframe.

“Sorry.” Dash jostled her wings, using them to turn the mare on her back so that she fit through the doorway. Once they were through, she headed up the stairs to Applejack’s room. Using one of her wings as a makeshift ramp, she rolled the earth pony off of her back and onto the bed.

“Mmm…” Applejack let out a contented sigh and nestled down into the bed. She reached down blindly, finding and grabbing the sheets then pulling them over herself. “Than—” Her words were interrupted by a yawn. “Thanks, sug’.” She patted the spot next to her, beckoning the pegasus to join her.

“Sorry, AJ.” Dash grabbed her marefriend’s hat and placed it on the bedside table. “I’d love to, but I gotta run. I’m late for my training session with Lightning Dust.” She paused and stretched. “Don’t know how much practice I’ll be able to get in, though. All that work wore me out.”

Applejack tried to nod, her head barely moving. She could already feel sleep rising up to claim her. “‘Kay. Love ya.” Rainbow smiled and leaned down, kissing the earth pony on the cheek.

“Love you too, AJ.”

A few days later, Applejack stepped out of the farmhouse after finishing off a quick breakfast. She headed over to the barn and slung a bag of feed across her back before making her way to the animal pens, scanning the sky as she went. By the time she reached the cow enclosure, she still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Dash. She shrugged and tipped the feed bag over, pouring a generous helping into the feed trough. Upon hearing the sound of feed filling the trough, the cows came and lined up to eat their fill. In between mouthfuls, they talked to the farm pony. Leading a rather boring life, they often turned to gossip for topics of conversation. Applejack tried to humor the cows. Sometimes she felt bad that they had to be penned up, but their occasional stampedes reminded her just why they had to be. She listened to them as much as she could, but her mind kept drifting to her marefriend.

Prolly just takin’ her sweet time gettin’ here. Again. Unfortunately, as the days had passed, Rainbow had become less and less helpful around the farm, getting caught up in her training sessions with Lightning Dust. Every couple minutes, her eyes scanned the skies for her marefriend, but never found her. Once she had heard all of the gossip that she could stand, Applejack said her goodbyes and continued making her rounds with the farm animals, moving on to the pigs and eventually the chickens. When she finished and swung by the barn to put the feed bag away, she pondered where Dash had gotten off to.

Might be she went on ahead to the field so she could get a nap in before workin’, would just like her. She sighed, but a playful smile tugged at her lips when she realized she could sneak up on the pegasus and knock her out of the tree. Hooking herself up to the empty cart, she made her way out to the Western Red Delicious field. She stopped before reaching it and slipped out from the cart’s harness, not wanting the creaking wheels to give away her approach. Keeping an eye out for fallen twigs, she crept the rest of the way to the field and searched for her marefriend’s tail hanging down from one of the trees. After some time, she reached the far edge of the field without seeing any sign of Dash.

Where’s she hidin’? Applejack trotted up and down a few rows of trees, stopping to shake a few of them for good measure. Eventually, she gave up and went back to get her cart. Ah’m sure she’ll show up… with some excuse, no doubt. Well, best get started then. After bringing the cart to the edge of the field, she got to work.

Darn, lazy, no good pegasus. Applejack lashed out at the tree, kicking it harder than was strictly necessary. Moving to the next one, she lined up again. Ah told her plain as day that we were doin’ the West field today, and she goes and runs off, probably nappin’ in some tree… leavin’ me to buck this field all on mah own. She kicked again, only half-listening to the tree’s precious cargo cascade into the baskets. Pausing to pull her hat off and wipe the sweat from her brow, she glanced up to see the sun well on its descent back toward the horizon. A pair of birds flitted across the sky, chasing one another. In her mind, they turned into Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust.

Lazy, good fer nothin’ pegasi. Applejack slammed her hat back on her head and let out a frustrated snort. Goin’ off and galavantin’ about when Dash knows there’s work to be done. She dug her hooves into the dirt and bucked the tree behind her, waiting for the sound of the apples falling. When it didn’t come, she kicked again, but still no apples fell. Turning around, she saw that she tree was already empty. Shaking her head, she moved onto the next tree, falling back into her normal rhythm with practiced ease. While she worked, she muttered under her breath about Dash running off to fly with Dust, but the complaints left a bad taste in her mouth.

Ah can’t rightly blame her for it. A smile pulled at her lips as she remembered the few times she’d been brave enough to let Dash take her into the air. It is a heap of fun… but still, she coulda at least told me before just runnin’ off. Rearing up and bucking the last tree, she sat down for a minute before carrying the last few baskets of apples back to the cart and securing herself to the harness. Just as she started walking back to the barn, the dinner bell rang out over the farm, and after storing the last cartload of apples in the barn, she trotted into the kitchen.

Applejack took her seat next to her little sister and made her customary inquiry into Apple Bloom’s day at school. She only half-listened to the filly’s bored recounting of the school day, followed by a more animated description of her after-school crusading with her friends. Applejack tried to focus on her meal and mechanically ate the food in front of her, but her eyes kept glancing between the door and the empty chair next to her. One by one, her family finished their meals and wandered away, until eventually only she was left. She poked at the rapidly cooling food that was still left, her appetite gone.

“There you are.”

She looked up to find Dash standing in the doorway, her expression decidedly less than pleased. Applejack wanted to be happy to finally see her marefriend, but the fact that the pegasus had run off without so much as a word hung over her. “Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ ‘bout. Ah was right where Ah was supposed to be all day. Yer the one who went and ran off to go flyin’ with Lightnin’ Dust.” She nearly spat the last two words.

“What?” Dash looked confused for a second, then glared at the earth pony. “I was out there in that bucking field all day. I didn’t even get to take a break for lunch because I was trying to get done in time for my training session with Lightning Dust this afternoon.” She stalked across the kitchen and sat down across from her marefriend, grabbing whatever bits of food were left and throwing them on her plate.

“The hay you were.” Applejack slid her chair away from the table. “Ah was out there all day, harvestin’ without any help while you were off havin’ a good ol’ time.”

“I was not!” Dash sprayed the table with bits of half-chewed apple fritter. After swallowing the rest, she wiped a foreleg across her muzzle. “I was out there in the Western… whatever field, just like you said.” She waved a hoof off to the side. “I harvested that whole field by myself.”

“Wait a minute.” Applejack pressed a hoof between her eyes, dreading the answer to her next question. “What field were ya in?”

“The western one.” Dash waved a hoof off to the side again, then tapped a hoof to her temple. “The delicious ones. Yellow Delicious? No, Golden. The West Golden Delicious field, just like you said this morning.”

Applejack let out a mix between a groan and a sigh. “Ah said the West Red Delicious field, sugar.” She watched as Rainbow blinked in confusion for a few moments before the pieces clicked in her head.

“Seriously?” Dash threw her hooves into the air, slumping back against her chair. “I— You— Seriously? Why the hay would you name two apples ‘delicious’?” She slumped forward, her head landing on the table with a dull thunk. “You mean I harvested that whole feathered field by myself for no reason? I— You— Grr…” She jerked back up, causing a few stray crumbs to tumble out of her mane. She glared at her marefriend and jabbed a hoof in accusation. “You said that we were doing the Golden Delicious field today.”

“Ah did not!” Applejack sat up a little straighter at the claim. “Ah told ya we were doin’ the Red Delicious field today. Maybe you woulda heard me better if ya hadn’t been so busy shovelin’ food in yer face.”

Dash’s lips curled back in a snarl and she looked like she was getting ready to say something, but eventually just let out an irritated huff. She popped the last few pieces of food in her mouth, chewing them hastily before swallowing. “Well, the western Golden Delicious field is done.” She hopped down from her chair and trotted around the table, pausing to give her marefriend a quick hug with a wing. “Gotta run, I’ll be back late.”

“Run?” Applejack threw a foreleg over Rainbow’s withers to keep her from getting away. “Where ya goin’? Ya said the work was done.” She pulled her marefriend closer, nuzzling along her neck and up toward her ears. “Ah was thinkin’ that since we both had such a hard day…” She continued her journey upward until she was whispering into Dash’s ear. “We could do a little… relaxin’.”

Rainbow swallowed, and her wings twitched and shifted uncontrollably on her back. “Uhh…” She chewed on her lip for a bit, clearly torn. “I… I…” The pegasus stammered for nearly a minute, her wings a hair’s breadth from springing to attention. Eventually, she slid out from under the farm pony’s foreleg and edged toward the door. “I can’t. I’ve got a training session with Lightning Dust.”

“Now?” Applejack glanced out the dark window and then to the clock. “Awfully late to be trainin’, ain’t it?"

“Well, I missed the one this afternoon, and Lightning came and found me out in the field. I told her I had to work, and we rescheduled for tonight.” Dash smiled and nudged her marefriend with a shoulder. “I know you don’t like flying, but you should let me take you on a night flight sometime. The sky’s a totally different place at night. The stars, the moon, it’s just… awesome.”

“Well… if’n that’s what ya wanna do, have fun, Ah guess.” Applejack shrugged and got down from her chair, slowly clearing the dishes that were left on the table. Rainbow stood with one hoof on the doorknob, wracked with indecision again while she watched the earth pony clean the kitchen. After a few moments, she crossed the kitchen in a few quick strides and threw her forelegs around the other mare, burying her face in Applejack’s mane.

“Sorry, AJ.” Dash pulled back, then darted forward again and planted a kiss on her marefriend’s cheek. She smiled as an idea came to her. “Tell you what, I’ll make it up to you. Tomorrow, we can…” She leaned in to whisper her plans into Applejack’s ear, delighting in the shivers that it sent through her.

“We’ll…” Applejack paused as one last tremor raced down her spine. “We’ll haveta clean out the barn loft, then.” She smirked at the pegasus, hoping that her eyes didn’t betray the hunger that Rainbow had just awoken in her. “Ah’m gonna hold ya to that, Dashie.”

“Sure thing, Jackie.” Dash replied, grinning triumphantly. A moment later, she jumped, letting out a yelp and covering her flank with a wing.

Applejack let her tail fall back behind her, shooting her marefriend a playful glare. “Ah told ya not to call me that.” She chuckled as Rainbow stuck out her tongue in response. “Alright, go on, then. Just don’t be stickin’ yer icy hooves on me when ya get home.”

“Sweet.” Dash darted in for another quick kiss on the cheek, then trotted back over to the door, pulling it open with a wing. “See you later, AJ.”

Applejack flipped the last plate off of the table with her tail, sending it to land on the stack in the sink with a clank. “Have fun, and don’t go gettin’ yerself hurt zippin’ ‘round in the dark.” She turned to the doorway just in time to find it swinging closed. Shaking her head, she made her way up to her bed and turned in for the night.

Later that week, Applejack trudged down the road from the farm into Ponyville, the creaking apple cart following her. She grumbled to herself while she walked, her bad mood from the previous days bleeding over. Dash had somehow found a way to be even less helpful on the farm, but worst of all, she had simply not come home the other night. She claimed that she had just been too tired and slept on a cloud over her training field, but something about the whole thing didn’t sit right with Applejack. Regardless, it was Market Day and—thanks to a bad roll in rock, paper, scissors with Big Mac—it was her job to lug the stall into the town square and set up shop for the day. She didn’t mind market duty, it was just a little slow for her tastes. The day could drag on without something, or someone, to help pass the time.

Reaching her usual spot after a few more minutes of walking, she quickly set up the stall, displaying all of the Red Delicious that she, Big Mac, and Rainbow had spent the last week harvesting, along with the single field’s worth of Golden Delicious that her marefriend had accidentally harvested a few days ago. Just as she finished arranging her produce, the Ponyville clock tower chimed seven in the morning, and the farm pony leaned against her stand, knowing it would still be at least an hour before the ‘early bird’ ponies even woke up on the weekend.

A while later, Applejack heard a familiar sound coming from behind her. Moving slowly, she grabbed an apple from a bucket near her hooves and waited. Her body wanted to swivel her ears around to hear it better, but she kept them forward, waiting for the gentle hiss to stop. When it did, she tossed the apple up and caught it with her tail in a practiced motion. With a flick, she sent the apple flying and was rewarded with a soft puff and a moan of disappointment.

“Aww…”

She turned and saw Rainbow floating the rest of the way over to her, forelegs crossed. “Ah told ya, sugarcube, ya can’t sneak up on me. ‘Specially not with some noisy little thundercloud.” She glanced over her marefriend’s shoulder to where the last bits of said cloud were dissipating. Part of her wanted to be upset with the pegasus, but at the same time she was relieved to see Dash regaining some of her playfulness.

“Whatever. I totally got you that one time.” Dash did a little flip in the air before landing next to the earth pony. “Sorry you got stuck with market duty. I told you to go scissors."

“Ah know.” Applejack went back to leaning against her stall, pushing her hat further back on her head. “But Mac always goes rock. Ah figured… Well, it don’t matter now, does it?” She glanced over at the clock tower, then back to her marefriend. “What’s go you up so early, anyway? Ah figured that with me on market duty, you’d be zippin’ back to bed until noon or so. Or maybe run off flyin’, like ya always do.”

“Yeah, that was the plan.” Dash walked over and leaned against the earth pony, giving her a quick nuzzle before continuing. “But as soon as I hopped back into bed, I heard the mailpony stop by and got up to check the mail.” Her wings twitched and fidgeted on her back and her smile was big enough to rival one of Pinkie Pie’s.

“Well?” Applejack nudged her marefriend with a shoulder, her own smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Don’t keep me in the dark, sugarcube. What’d ya get?”

“Oh, nothing too big.” Dash examined a hoof disinterestedly for a moment. “Just a letter from Spitfire.” Her aura of affected calm finally broke and she leapt into the air, doing a quick loop and letting out a fillyish squeal. “She said that they chose me! They want me to be a Wonderbolt! How awesome is that?” She landed and walked back over to the stall, but her wings kept unfurling in little half-flaps of excited energy.

“That’s great news, Rainbow!” Applejack pulled her marefriend into a tight hug. After letting her go, she readjusted her hat. “So, what now? There some big ceremony or somethin’?”

“Not yet.” Dash could barely contain the grin plastered on her face. “The letter said something about one more thing that I needed to do before they could officially accept me, but who cares? I got in!” She leapt back into the air, zipping through a series of loops and rolls while letting out raucous cheers. The few ponies out and about regarded her warily for a moment, but soon went back to their business. She eventually slowed to a stop, hovering a few feet off the ground. “Oh, I ran into LD on my way over here, and we’re gonna have an extra long training session today. I’ll try and swing by later, okay?”

“Sure thing, sugar.” Applejack reared up and draped her forelegs over her marefriend’s withers, pulling her down for a quick kiss. She briefly considered pulling the other mare back down to the ground for a more… thorough goodbye, but knew that doing so would just leave both of them riled up and make Rainbow call her a tease. Reluctantly, she let go of the pegasus, falling back to all four legs. “Ya better get goin’ then, sug’.”

Dash looked off in the direction of the Everfree, drifting slowly toward the ground. “I think I’ve got some time before—”

“Oh no ya don’t.” Applejack nudged her marefriend in the chest, sending her floating away. “Get goin’. Ah’ll be here when yer done.”

“Fine.” Dash grumbled, pouting slightly. She flipped upside down, darting in for a quick kiss before pulling into a half-loop and speeding off. As she shrank into the distance, she called back over her shoulder. “See you later, AJ. Love you!”

“Love ya too, Dashie.” Applejack replied, even though she knew the pegasus couldn’t hear her. She watched her marefriend fade into the distance until she was indistinguishable from the rest of the sky. The sound of approaching hooves drew her attention back to the apple cart, where Cheerilee became her first customer on her way out to the schoolhouse. As more ponies woke and started about their days, the farm pony fell into a familiar practice of calling out her wares and drawing in customers. It was a good day as far as market days went, with plenty of hungry ponies to buy apples and pass the time quickly. That is, until a certain pegasus showed up.

“What’s up, Applesnack?” Lightning Dust trotted up to the stall, ignoring the four ponies currently in line. She picked up an apple and took a bite, pausing halfway through chewing for a belated, “You mind?”

Applejack slid the bits from the most recent sale into a drawer, sparing a baleful gaze at the new arrival. “If’n ya wanna wait in line like everypony else, then Ah’d be more’n happy to help ya, Lightnin’.”

“You do know there’s a ‘g’ at the end of my name right? Lightnin-guh” Dust took another bite, continuing to talk around half-chewed bits of apple. “Actually, there are ‘g’s on the ends of lots of words.” She swallowed, then tossed the rest of the apple in the air, catching it in her mouth as it fell.

“Thank ya kindly, Roseluck.” Applejack bid farewell to her last customer and finally turned her attention to Lightning, pointedly ignoring her last comment. “Now, that’ll be three bits.”

“Three?” Dust stared in shock for a moment. “You charged everyone else one! What gives?”

“Well, it’s one bit fer the apple, one fer cuttin’ the line, and one more fer stealin’.” Applejack smirked at the dumbfounded look on the pegasus’ face. “So, three bits.”

“Stealing?” Lightning nearly shouted. “I didn’t steal anything!”

“Ya took an apple without payin’ for it. That’s called stealin’.” Applejack tapped the stall with a hoof. “Now, three bits. Please.”

Dust grumbled for a few seconds, but ultimately extended a wing to open her saddlebag. “Fine.” She pulled out three bits and dropped them on the stall counter. After another couple seconds, she let out a sigh and smiled at the earth pony. “And I’m… sorry for cutting and stealing.”

Applejack regarded the other mare for a bit, then waved away her apology. “Don’t ya worry none. Ya made a mistake, and ya paid for it.” She pulled open the bit drawer and swept Dust’s coin into it. “Now, anythin’ else Ah can do for ya?”

“Not really.” Lightning shrugged. “Just taking it easy for now.” Her gaze drifted down to the baskets of apples again, and she pulled another bit from her saddlebag. “Hey, can I get another apple?”

“Eeyup.” Applejack took the proffered coin and put it away, motioning for the pegasus to take her pick. “Ya just missed RD, she swung by here on the way out to y’all’s trainin’ session.”

Dust paused mid-bite, furrowing her brow and cocking her head to the side. “Trghh—” She stopped, quickly chewing and swallowing the bite in her mouth before continuing. “Training session? We don’t have a session today.”

“Sure ya do. Rainbow said she ran into ya after gettin’ her letter and y’all set up an extra long session today.” Applejack glanced at the clock tower. “Ya better get goin’, she headed out a while ago.”

“What letter?” Lightning shook her head. “I haven’t seen Dash since yesterday morning. Wait!” She dropped her half-eaten apple and planted her forehooves on the stall, leaning over into the earth pony’s face. “Letter? Was it from Spitfire?"

“Uh, yeah.” Applejack took a step back, uncomfortable with the sudden invasion of her personal space.

“Well?” Dust asked impatiently. She leaned even further forward, bringing her hind legs up so that she was fully standing on the stall. “Don’t leave me hanging! What did it say?” By this point, she was leaning so far forward that she nearly fell off of the counter, and only her wings saved her from a mouthful of dirt.

“She said she ran into you after gettin’ it.” Applejack kept backing up, eventually feeling the edge of a fountain against her hind leg. She pushed the manic pegasus back with a foreleg. “Alright, alright. Just calm down, ya hear?” She waited while Lightning Dust carefully climbed down from the apple cart before continuing. “The letter said that the Wonderbolts chose Rainbow to join ‘em—” She couldn’t help but smirk a bit at the way Dust’s jaw fell open. “—but, there’s also one more thing they want her to do before they make it all official like.”

“No. Way.” Lightning fell to her haunches, her mouth still hanging open. After another couple seconds of stunned silence, she stood back up. “So, what’s this ‘one more thing’? They already saw her pull off a Sonic Rainboom! What else could they want?”

“Dunno.” Applejack shrugged. “She didn’t say. If’n ya wanna find out she headed off thataway.” She pointed off in the direction Rainbow had flown off in.

“Sweet. Thanks, Applejack.” With that, Dust broke into a gallop and leapt into the air, speeding off to find Rainbow. Applejack’s attention was brought back to her cart by the approach of Lyra and Bon Bon. She easily slipped back into her sales routine, watching with satisfaction as the baskets emptied. Celestia’s sun crawled up into the heavens, but the last apple sold before it could reach its peak.

“Thank ya kindly.” Applejack swept the last few bits into the drawer, sliding it shut and locking it. “Sorry folks, that’s all for today.” The few ponies still in line let out disappointed groans and left to find other food stalls. The farm pony closed up the cart and hooked herself up to the harness to start the long walk back to the farm. She passed the walk in silence as she had on the way out, but with the jingle of bits accompanying the creak of old wheels this time. Before long, the buildings of Ponyville gave way to trees and fields, which in turn gave way to fields of trees. The lunch bell rang out over the farm just as she finished locking up the cart, the day’s bits now safely in a bag on her back. Trotting back to the farmhouse, she threw open the door and saw a very surprised looking Big Macintosh on the other side, though Granny Smith hadn’t looked up from her plate. “Afternoon, y’all.”

“What’re you doin’ back so soon, AJ?” Big Mac’s voice rumbled as he spoke. He looked at the clock, then back to his sister. “Seems mighty early for ya to have sold all them apples… unless yer friend Miss Pie bought ‘em all for ‘nother one of her crazy experiments.”

“Nnnope, just brisk business this mornin’.” Applejack tossed the sack of bits onto the counter, glancing down at the food on the counter. “Daisy sandwiches and hay fries, huh?” An idea came to her, bringing a smile with it. “Say, Mac, Ah’m gonna pack up a few of these and head out to watch RD train. Ya got things covered here?"

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded, scooping up the last of his hay fries.

“Alright, then.” Applejack placed a quickly packed basket of food on her back and headed back for the door. “Ah’ll be back later.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “Ah’ll swing by and pick up AB from school if’n she’s done.”

“Well, have fun.” Mac drawled, sneaking a hoof over to Granny Smith’s plate to steal some hay fries. The old mare only snored lightly, having fallen asleep in her seat. Applejack chuckled to herself as she made her way out the door again and headed to Dash’s favorite practice field. Along the way, she scanned the sky for signs of either her marefriend or Lightning Dust. However, she still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of either of them by the time she reached the field. Slowing to a stop at the edge, she brought a hoof to her mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle. She tapped a hoof and scanned the skies again, waiting for Rainbow to come barreling down.

After a full minute passed with no sign of either pegasus, Applejack sighed and turned around, heading for the field by the lake that her marefriend liked to use sometimes. The scene repeated itself there, though, and at the third field that she checked. Eventually, she gave up and sat alone under a tree, eating the now cold hay fries and offering a few to a passing squirrel. She tried not to think about it, but her eyes darted up every few seconds, scanning almost desperately for some sign of her missing marefriend. Every time she gazed to the heavens without finding Dash, the knot of worry in the pit of her stomach grew a little bit. After a time, it overwhelmed her appetite and she pushed her half-eaten daisy sandwich away, only to have the squirrel grab it and scamper back up the tree. She voiced a question to the air, even though her imagination was already giving her plenty of answers

“Dagnabit, girl… where are ya?”