"Whitetail Woods..." Stu Leaves grinned as he trotted briskly, carrying the wagon full of apple cider behind him. A warm breeze rustled through the trees, sending random leaves and specks of dirt rolling across the rough path. "I've always loved the name of this place. It's just as lovely up close."
"Hmmmph... honestly..." Applejack leaned back in the front seat, lazily plucking at a banjo with the corners of her hooves. "You pegasusfolk fly over these sorts of places all the time. Don't pretend like it's really all that special to ya at ground level."
Stu chuckled, shaking his head.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What...?"
"Why, Applejack, you surprise me!" Stu Leaves smirked as he took a right at a fork in the road, drawing the wagon further south. "A mare of your fame and standing in Ponyville... saying something so racist!"
"It ain't racism!" Applejack squawked. "It's dog-gone common sense!"
"Yes, and earth ponies love rolling in the mud since foaling."
"We do not!"
"Why not? You're all about the earth!" Stu glanced over his shoulder and winked. "Makes perfect sense to me."
"Unnngh..." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Fine. 'Oooh' and 'Aaah' over these woods all ya want, ya sap."
"It just smells so delicious here among the trees," Stu remarked breathily. "I can't imagine what it's like in autumn when the acorns and leaves fall. I bet the air just tingles with mirth."
"Stu, you should be a poet, not a wagon carrier."
"Heheh... if you want me to shut my muzzle, it can be arranged."
"I dun mind ya gabbin'," Applejack said, plucking a few more strings. "So long as nothin' comes out of yer mouth that's stupid."
"Er... I-I'll have to work on that."
"Eeyup."
"Heheheh."
Rainbow Dash sat in the back of the wagon behind Applejack. Her head was slumped, her chin propped up against the wagon's wooden edge. With dull eyes, she stared at the trees passing by. In a blink, she imagined them surging by faster, set to the rhythmic sound of galloping... galloping hooves. In the back of her mind, she heard Applejack's angry grunts as a blue pegasus rammed into her more than once, trying to shove her off the road.
A grimace ripped through Rainbow's body. She clenched her eyes shut, wincing, almost gnashing her teeth.
"You okay, sugarcube?"
Rainbow's heart jumped. She popped her eyes open, turning her head to glance at Applejack.
"Allergies?" Applejack glanced up from her twanging banjo. She smirked—a full freckled smile. "They can be darn irritatin'."
"No... nah, I'm... uh... I'm good." Rainbow Dash gulped, her hooves squirming as she glanced down at the wagon's floor. "Just... uh... uhmmm..."
"You remember these here woods?"
"Uhhh..." She blinked. "Huh?"
"Golly, feels like only yesterday we were gallavantin' through this place like foxes with their tails set on fire!" Applejack tilted her hat back and smirked. "Can't believe we ever got worked up over a silly little race." Her green eyes blinked. "Or was it the Iron Pony Competition?. Shucks, my head's not attached right. Which came first, do you remember?"
Rainbow gulped, flexing her hooves in thought. "D-does it matter?"
"Heh... we've come a long way, darlin'."
"We... h-have?"
"Why, I can't remember the last time I ever snapped at ya."
Rainbow stared blankly.
"Cuz if you ask me..." Applejack spoke pleasantly. "Y'all ain't half the braggin' prankster that ya used to be."
"I... d-don't really have much time for pranking these days, AJ."
"That's cuz yer always workin' so hard to get thangs done," Applejack said, glancing down at her banjo strings. "I like that."
"You d-do?"
"Darn tootin'. Seems like you've found yer place in this world."
Rainbow Dash stared at her. Softly, she sighed, resting her body against the rattling wagon. "I'm starting to..."
"Hmmm-mmmmm-hmmmm..." Applejack hummed, and it sounded to Rainbow Dash like the most heavenly sound in the world. The pegasus ears tickled from each melodic tone that wafted out of Applejack's throat, like angel feathers brushing across her heart. The farm pony murmured a lyric or two between each lazy note. "We're apples forever... apples together... family and so much more..."
Rainbow found a place between those rhythmic sounds, a warm place, and place where she could nuzzle up and drift off, even if nopony was able to notice but her. The sounds of the wagon and the rustle of the leaves were suddenly thousands of miles away, and all that was real was Applejack's golden smile and the th-thump of Rainbow's heartbeat.
"...Rainbow?"
"Hmm?" Rainbow jumped in her seat. "Huh? What?"
"The sights don't change for another thirty miles or so," Applejack said. "Reckon if yer bored, you could fly up and enjoy the wind a bit. I know how much you can't stand bein' in one place without stretchin' yer wings."
"Nah..." Rainbow smiled... and smiled some more. "I think I'm fine right here."