“Rainbow!” Applejack's laughter ended just swiftly enough for her to take survey of the situation, and her observations sent her heartbeat into a panic. Taking action, she swiftly bit onto Rainbow's tail hairs and yanked her back down to her seat with practiced familiarity. “Mmmf—Honestly!”
“Owch!” Rainbow Dash placed her mug down so she could caress her own tail. She gave Applejack a wounded—adorably wounded—look. “Why do you always go for this thing? For real?”
“Because you never fail to be so gosh-tootin’ obnoxious!” Applejack angrily retorted.
To Applejack's fury, Rainbow merely smirked. “But really, Applejack, this cider blows. Like, big time.”
Those words settled and took root in the fertile fields of Applejack's mind. Something about the moment was stupidly pathetic... so much so that it tickled. At last, a helpless chuckle came out of Applejack's lungs, followed by one after another. She had to grip the edge of the patio table to keep from doubling over.
Rainbow smiled at that. Her pride restored, she picked her mug back up and swirled its contents. “Like, for real? Did they fill this with fifty percent mud concentrate?”
Applejack cleared her throat and replied, "Just because we’re in the High Pollutin’ Diamond District don’t mean everything they serve here is honest-to-goddess nectar." Ponies were staring. Applejack knew this. She also knew that Rainbow knew it, and somehow... that was relaxing enough to do the irreedeemable. She leaned back and kicked her lower hooves up onto the table. “Which proves the point I was tryin’ to make to you.”
“Oh yeah?” Rainbow spoke into her mug. “Ugh… and wh-what point is that?”
“That throwin’ tons of golden bits into somethin’ ain’t no substitute for pouring one’s heart and talent into the same thang. This here establishment likely serves cider every month of the year. And to what end?” Applejack exhaled thoughtfully, her thoughts returning to warmer things. “But when Sweet Apple Acres hits cider season…”
“...it’s mother buckin’ ambrosia!” Rainbow Dash interjected, smiling. “Got it.”
“Erm… right.” Applejack sat up again, her mind and body going back into "farmer" mode. “Though I might say it with a tad bit more grace, sugarcube.”
“So what? It’s the honest truth!”
“Right, but t’ain’t no reason for bein’ ugly with the truth.”
“Pffft. Oh come off of it, Prudejack!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “It was just an expression.”
Applejack smiled tiredly. “I reckon so. And I’m mighty happy that you have so much respect for what my family produces every year. Only now..." Applejack's ears drooped slightly as she remembered the torrential vaccuum that the Gala night had become. "...I hope ya might understand why we gotta make it in such small doses. ya hear?”
“Right…” Rainbow Dash droned, teetering the mug in her grasp about in a bored fashion. “You put a lot of diligence and craftponyship and all that jazz—”
“Not just that, sugarcube,” Applejack said. She was coming across as very mellow now. She couldn't help it. The warmth in her fuzzy chest was tempered by just the right amount of bittersweet cold. “We put our love and commitment into it.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Love… and… whatnow?”
“Heheh. Reckon it sounds silly. But we really do put our hearts into what we do. If everythang was just mechnical-like, then it’d taste watered down and awful. Instead, we treat our apples like we treat our loved ones, and the rest works its way through. Like magic!”
“You mean you buck your loved ones out of trees and squeeze ‘em out like juice?”
“Now don’t be pullin’ a Twilight. Ya know rightly well what I mean.”
“Yeah, I hear you, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I kind of feel super bad for barking so angrily at you every year.”
“Ya just need to show up at the farm on time for once!” Applejack said. She recalled a time when a skyborne pegasus crash-landed in the field, forming a stupidly deep trench. She smiled slightly. “That way you won’t miss out on a single drop that’s due to ya!”
“Yeah, yeah. I get the picture.” Rainbow Dash nodded, staring into her mug. “Your love and… commitment…”
“I’m willin’ to bet that this year’s cider season is gonna be a tad bit huger than the last two or three years’ combined,” Applejack said. And just like that, her heart sank again. The shadows felt thicker around the patio, reminding her of the night's sky above the Gala. “Heck, it has to be.”
“Why’s that?”
Applejack bit her lip, but she remembered who she was with. It was none of the girls still prattling away under the fancy roof of a perfumed salon. Instead, it was a little scamp licking at the edges of a mug like some goofy preschooler. Somehow—for whatever reason—that was enough to make the truth burst right out. “To make up for my recent setback, is all,” Applejack said with a shrug.
Rainbow Dash's body locked curiously in place. "Set... back...?"