//------------------------------//
// ...Nelly? 
// Story: Appledashery Vol. Two 
// by Just Essay 
//------------------------------//

"You seriously never heard of them?!" Rainbow's voice cracked.  She looked ready to fly around the world in a single leap.  "Ever?!?"

Applejack recoiled slightly, raising a limp hoof.  "I... dun suppose they grow corn or potatoes, now do they...?"

"The Wonderbolts are the fastest expert stunt fliers in all of Equestria!" Rainbow Dash barked, and yet as bombastic as her voice got it still had a youthful melody to it.  "They're... like... the friggin' most awesome pegasi who ever awesome'd!  Well... almost.  They haven't inducted me yet."  She slicked back her mane.  "But... ho ho hoooo... will that be the day!"

"Heh..." Applejack grinned, glad that her "guest" was calming down.  "Fancy yerself a showstopper, eh?"

"Hahaha!" Rainbow spun in the air, and Applejack was surprised by the gust of wind the petite pegasus produced.  She steadied herself in time to see the mare plopping back down with a devilish smirk.  "You can say that again!  I was foaled for one purpose!  And that's to steal the spotlight and make history!  Cuz... somepony's gotta do it, right?"

"Heh... well, I wouldn't know anythang about that spotlight biz..." Applejack tilted the brim of her hat.  "Unless yer countin' blue ribbons from the Equestrian Rodeo Games."

"Whozzawhat?"  Rainbow blinked.  "Blue ribbons?  Rodeos?"

It was Applejack's turn to smirk.  "Eeyup."

"I... I don't know much..." Rainbow said.  "Only I hear that entering those things are super hard.  And dangerous.  Like... lots of ponies die n'stuff.  It's cool."

"Whelp..." Applejack leaned forward.  Even from a distance, she could tell she overshadowed the mare.  "Yer lookin' at the pony who's won the Best Rodeo Mare Champion Ribbon three years in a row!"

Rainbow's jaw adorably dropped.  "No friggin' way..."

"Dun believe me?"

"How do you find the time?  I mean... I thought all you did was buck apples!"

"Right.  And gets me nice and prepared!"  Applejack flexed her fetlock.  "Y'all see that?"

Rainbow's eyes traced the length of Applejack's limb.  "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"That's from years and years of hard work, every day, doin' chores and the usual grind.  And the apple buckin'?  Whew!  I'd show you my hind legs too but..."  She chuckled, reining herself back in with a slight blush.  "I dun want ya to lose a head, sugarcube."

"Pffft.  As if."

"Point is, this here town ain't nothin' to spit on," Applejack said.  "There be loads'a'ponies fixin' to show off their stuff.  So if you want competition in yer life to make ya stronger, you've come to the right place!"

"Heh... killer..." Rainbow grinned.  "And by the time I've smoked everyone here in the dust, they'll have their work cut out for them!"

Applejack fought the urge to laugh.  "Whew!  That's some tough talk for a little pony!"

"Heeheehee!  Yeah!  I—wait."  Rainbow squinted.  "'Little?'"

Applejack's insides froze, but she rolled onwards.  "Well, I didn't wanna use the word 'petite.'  Sounds awful condescendin'-like."  Again... the urge to laugh.  "Besides, them's one of Rarity's words."

"Rarity?"

"Oh boy, best I let you discover on yer own."  Applejack chortled, remembering her visit to Sugarcube Corner a few days back.  "Y'all want a pony you can smoke in the dust, she's yer first candidate."

"Well, I'm not about to shoot fish in a barrel!  So you're a rodeo champion, huh?"  Rainbow formed a line in the dirt before the porch with her hoof.  "Let's test your mettle."

Applejack blinked.  "Er... in what way?"

"A race, that's the way!" Rainbow motioned Applejack over.  "To the entrance of Sweaty Oven Acres and back!"

"Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack droned.  "And, sorry, sugarcube, but no can do."

"Hah!" Rainbow smirked.  "I knew you were all talk!  Or, in your case, drawl."

"Huh?" Applejack narrowed her eyes.

"Pffft!  Some rodeo champion!"  Rainbow Dash snickered.  "If you back out from a little race—"

"Oh, if you wanna race, we'll race," Applejack said with a grin.  "Just, not today."

"Why the heck not?"

"Well, if you must know, my lil sister shows up from school in the next few minutes.  And that's when I gotta start preparin' dinner for her and my brother and Granny Smith.  Wouldn't wanna do any of that while sweaty or short on breath.  That's why I..."  Applejack fidgeted, glancing at the barrels of apples in the distance.  "...wasn't doin' no chores when you slam dunked yer skull into my grounds 'bout ten minutes ago."

"Huh..." Rainbow Dash blinked.  "Well... uhm..."

"But in the mornin'?  Especially the wee hours?  Woo!"  Applejack grinned, teeth glinting.  "You bet yer b-bottom bit I'll race y'all into the ground!"

"Well, how about tomorrow morning, then?"

"Yer on!"

"Shake on it?"

Applejack proceeded without thinking.  She spat on her hoof and held it forward.

To her relief, Rainbow mimicked the gesture, and the two clopped their fetlocks together.  "Heh..." Rainbow grinned.  "I like your style, Applejack.  Too bad you got family chores to weigh you down, or else you'd be a regular iron pony for sure!"

"Ya say that as if havin' family is a burden."

"Uhhh..."

"'Cuz y'know what I just said about the daily grind?"  Applejack flexed her forelimb again.  "Doin' my chores and gettin' stronger day by day?  Well, havin' my family is more than half of that.  And if it weren't for them, I wouldn't even have a single blue ribbon."

"Yeah... but..." Rainbow cocked her head to the side.  "Don't you ever wanna be your own mare?  Go out there and... own some chumps n'stuff?"

Applejack shrugged.  "I dun rightly see what I got to prove.  So long as I stick by the ponies I lurve and care about, then all's right with the world.  Heck... I dun even need the ribbons in the end.  They're just a darn good bonus.  Heh... Dun tell me pegasi in Cloudsdale have no need for family or close relations."

Rainbow's eyes darted to the side.  "Uhhh... sure.  I mean totally.  Who... knows where I'd be without... without my—"

"Well, the way I see it..." Applejack reached forward and rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.  She did it gently—so as not to agitate a bruise once again.  The pegasus' coat was surprisngly velvet-soft to the touch  "I made a new friend today, and friends are as good as family, especially in this town."  She winked to punctuate the friendly gesture.  "So dun yer worry none.  If y'all wanted a place to become calmer... even awesome, then ya came to the right place."

Rainbow Dash took a curiously long time to respond.  "Eheh... cool."  Her ears folded above a calm smile.