"Oh! I love fun things!"
"Then it's settled. We'll have a fashion show starring us."
"So all you have to do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for one, two, three, four, five—plus yourself—six ponies? And lickety split?"
"Oh A-A-Applejack! You make it sound as if it's going to be hard!"
"Golly, I'd love to see you strut yer stuff in that competition."
"Yeah. I wish you guys could be there. Fluttershy's a great support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational."
"Oooh! I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom! It's like the most coolest thing ever! Even though I've never actually seen it, but I mean come on! It's a sonic rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?!"
"Hoh, doggies.! If you can take this bull by the horns, you better be ready for a ride. Come on, ponies! Kick 'em up, kick 'em out! Buck 'em up, buck 'em down!"
"They busted their rumps here! And now they're supposed to bust their rumps again, just 'cuz some buffalo won't stampede someplace else?!"
"Plant the trees somewhere else!"
"Where?! It's the only flatland around these parts!"
"The buffalo had it first!"
"When I got my cutie mark, I saw a rainbow that pointed me home... ... ... I bet it was yer sonic rainboom!"
"There was an explosion I could never explain when I got my cutie mark!"
"This is uncanny! If that explosion didn't happen when it did, I would have blown my entrance exam. Rainbow Dash, I think you helped me earn my cutie mark too!"
Pleasantly humming...
Applejack trotted up to Carousel Boutique, drawing a wagon full of baked apples and supplies. She smiled into the crisp afternoon air. Off in the distance, Canterlot Castle loomed... and the hazy sight of its pristine ramparts sent a happy chill through the farm mare's body.
As she rounded the bend, she spotted a familiar blue figure parked out in front of Rarity's establishment. Rainbow was seated by the mailbox, flexing and fussing with her left fetlock. Her colors glittered in the sunlight.
Applejack smiled even harder. "Howdy, Rainbow Dash!"
"!!!" Rainbow leapt in place, clearly startled. She made up for it with a smug pose, hovering on two strong wings. "Uhhhh... hi yourself, Applejack!"
Applejack beamed. "We ready to get this show on the road?"
"Uhhhhhhhhh..." Rainbow Dash smoothed her bangs back, flexed her forelimb, and fiddled with her hair some more. "I mean... I-I guess?" She cleared her throat and nodded towards Applejack's wagon. "Whatcha got there? Somehow I doubt Rarity will let you haul all of that to the Gala."
"It's my wares for sellin' at the event," Applejack said with a wink. "I saved up to hire a pegasus delivery crew to carry it to Canterlot ahead of us."
"Oh. Uh... did you call up Banner Company?"
"Who?"
"Never mind..."
Applejack pointed at the saddlebag lying in the grass between Rainbow and the mailbox. "And what have you got in that bag, 'lil Missy?"
"Uhm..." Rainbow Dash hugged herself and sighed. "... ... ...it's my dress."
"Snkkkt—haah haah haah!" Applejack laughed and slapped her knee.
Rainbow frowned. "What?"
"Rarity's gonna kill you for sure once she finds out you shoved it into a measly ol' saddlebag!" Applejack smirked in spite of herself. "Aren't you afraid of it gettin' all creased and such?"
"Could be worse. I could be wearing that other outfit."
"Ya mean the thang with the... thangs attached to the helmet and sandals?"
"Yeesh... we were really rotten to her, weren't we?"
"Yeah, well, reckon it's time to make it up to her." Applejack tilted her hat back. "Not that it should be that hard. She'll have her eyes full of stars tonight... especially if she ever meets her... 'him.'"
"Heh. Yeah... her special little 'him.'"
"A him for her!"
"Her-him!"
Both mares laughed bombastically in the bright air.
Applejack brushed her bangs back and sighed through a smile. "I gotsta admit, Rainbow... this whole 'Gala' thang has got me frazzled somethin' awful. But I sure am glad that yer goin'."
Rainbow Dash's ears twitched. "Really... ... ...?"
"Eeyup. It's just too fru-fruey for my taste. But havin' you around? Somehow it makes it all more bearable. Does that make any sense?"
"No, but I'm not complaining."
"Boy, howdy."
Silence.
"So... uhm..." Rainbow fidgeted, landing on all fours. "When is Rarity going to open the door or whatnot?"
"I dunno, but she'd better hurry. I ain't fixin' to be gussin' myself up for hours on end."
"Ugh. I feel like barfing already."
"Same here!"
And again, both mares laughed in the presence of each other.
"Gonna be one whizzbanger of an evening."
"Y-yeah..." Rainbow rubbed her fetlocks together. "What y-you said."