After a hectic day in the Crystal Empire and a long train ride home, Twilight and Boltsinger disembarked. The entire way home, Twilight made mental notes of what their Cutie Marks had done, talking at length about the difference in how their individual marks danced. She was used to the way Boltsinger’s lightning crackles and whips around, but she hadn’t gotten to observe it for such an extended period. He had informed her that the stars of her Cutie Mark had a distinct sparkle to them, dancing like those she saw through her telescope every night. The moment they made it home, there was a magenta flash as Twilight teleported to the bedroom, floating her quill and the research book over and writing down every single detail she could remember.
After a few minutes, Boltsinger entered the room, having taken the long way. “Getting it down while it’s still fresh in your mind?”
“Of course!” she said, writing furiously. “As crazy as that trip was, it was extremely informative! If I don’t get this down now, we may lose it forever!”
Boltsinger sat on the couch next to Twilight, sneaking a peek at the book. “Well, while you’re getting this all down, I think I’m gonna go check on Spike and Soarin. We did sorta fly off without warning.” He planted a peck on her cheek, flying up from his seat and zooming out of the room.
“Way to go, Soarin!” Boltsinger exclaimed, giving the Wonderbolt a high wing. He had just heard about what happened between the white stallion and Rainbow Dash during his absence. “So, when is your next flying session?”
“Couple days from now.” He replied. “She also might be more open to seeing you guys soon. But don’t tell her I told you!”
Boltsinger made a zipping motion over his mouth. “So, if she is open to the idea… Perhaps we can give her some incentive…” He began pacing through the room, mumbling about ideas to appeal to the cyan mare as Soarin followed his movements. “I think I may need some help…” he stopped pacing, looking over at Soarin. “What would you do to appeal to her?”
“Me?” he repeated, pointing to himself. “I only just started, and all I did was ask if she wanted to fly with me! You’re on your own here.”
Boltsinger smirked, looking into the hallway. “Am I, though?” He trotted out of the room, searching the castle for its resident dragon. He found the baby drake sitting in the library, reading a comic book with a smile on his face. “So, where are you at in the story?” he asked, bringing his head next to Spike’s.
“They’re introducing a new supervillain!” He excitedly said, raising the book slightly. “The Power Ponies are facing a whole slew of problems they’ve never dealt with before!”
“Sweet!” Boltsinger replied, eyeing the page to see the Masked Matterhorn clashing rays with an unfamiliar Unicorn stallion. “Mind if I borrow it soon?”
“Sure!” Spike affirmed, looking up at him. “So where did you two go?”
“Crystal Empire. We’ll tell you all about it later.” He told him. “First, I need your help.”
Spike closed his comic, putting it aside and jumping up. “What do you need?”
“What can I do to encourage Rainbow Dash to come out of hiding?” he inquired. “I’m told she’s willing, but I think she needs incentive.”
“Got any cider?” he suggested. “She’ll go pretty far for good cider.”
Boltsinger sat down, grasping his chin with his wing. “We don’t have cider at the moment, but… Zapapple season is coming up! Thanks, Spike. I think that’s the idea I needed!”
“Rainbow!” a drawl came from below, shaking Rainbow Dash from her state of rest. “Rainbow Dash, wake up! It’s Zapapple harvest day!”
Rainbow got up, heading to her window to see Applejack looking up at her from the ground. “That’s nice, but what does it have to do with me?”
“We’re needin’ yer help!” she explained. “We gotta get all those apples picked before they vanish! We’re gettin’ all hooves on deck, and it ain’t all hooves without you!”
“All hooves, huh?” she repeated, holding a pondering hoof to her muzzle. It is getting pretty lonely around here… I suppose I can afford to go help everypony out. “Give me a minute, I’ll be right down!” Moments later, the Pegasus landed next to the Earth Pony, and they began the walk to Sweet Apple Acres. “So, why are you getting everypony together for this year’s harvest? Is it a big one?”
Applejack nodded, looking ahead. “There’s that, but we also had an idea that everypony might like. ‘Specially you.”
“And what would that be?”
Applejack beamed, just barely able to hold it in. “We’re makin’ Zapapple cider!”
Lightning struck on the Wonderbolt’s brain. “Zap… apple… CIDER?!” She repeated, a feeling of awe emanating from her being. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?!”
Applejack shifted her face from excitement to bewilderment. “Um… Thought I just did.”
Rainbow Dash brushed the statement aside, rising to the air. “Never mind, not important! I’ll see you at the farm! BYE!” She shot off into the distance, leaving a rainbow streak behind her. Applejack chortled to herself and galloped after the lightning-fast mare.
Applejack galloped up to the barn, where Rainbow Dash had left skid marks from her landing. She was standing in front of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, talking excitedly with all of them about the project ahead. “Well, that’s almost everypony.” She started, getting a head count. “We’re still missin’ four. Then again, one of ‘em’s never been to the farm before, and another sleeps in a bunch. I wouldn’t be surprised if--”
CRASH.
“We’re here!” Twilight cried from a cloud of dust. She had landed safely, but her husband wasn’t so lucky. He had landed on his back, the lilac mare sitting on his stomach. He brought his wings forward, flexing the feathers and testing to see if they were okay and letting out a sigh of relief from the lack of pain. Twilight hopped up, trotting happily over to Applejack. “What do you need us to do?”
Rainbow Dash stepped up beside Boltsinger, looking down at him. “Didn’t we work on your landings? I thought you were past crashing by now.”
“Twilight has been pushing herself when we fly together more recently.” He told her, standing up and dusting himself off. “I’ve been… cushioning her landings for the baby’s sake.”
“That seems a little extreme.” She commented. “Not that I have the right to talk about extremes, these days.”
“I think all of us are going a little crazy, lately.” He assured, trotting to the main group.
“Okay, once Soarin ‘n Spike get here, I’ll give ‘em their jobs, but we ain’t got time to wait!” Applejack began, marching in front of the group like a drill sergeant. “Those apples ain't gonna pick themselves, so we need to divide up into sections an’ get as much done as we can! We’ll be splittin’ up into groups of two!” She stopped at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, you’re with Fluttershy. She’ll get ‘em offa the trees while you catch ‘em! Ya gotta be movin’ fast, ‘cause we don’t wanna waste even one o’ those magical fruits!”
Pinkie stood tall, saluting with her foreleg. “Okie dokie loki!” She answered, speeding off and grabbing Fluttershy by the tail to pull her along.
Applejack continued her march, stopping at Rarity. “Rarity, you’ll be workin' out there with Sugar Belle. She’s already out pickin’, but with your help it’ll go that much faster!”
“Sugar Belle is here?” Rarity asked, leaning in closer to receive a confirming nod from her favorite farmer. “How lovely! I’ll go find her right away!” She stepped into the barn, coming out a moment later in a frilly pink attempt at farmer’s attire before sashaying into the fields.
Applejack chuckled at the fashionista’s antics, moving onto Boltsinger. “Bolt, you ‘n Big Mac are workin’ together on this one. He’ll do the buckin’, you do the haulin’!”
Boltsinger nodded, giving out his best “Eeyup!” as he took off towards the orchard.
Applejack looked at Twilight and Rainbow Dash, smirking. “Twilight, RD, you two’re teamin’ up! Got any problems with that?”
Twilight shook her head. “No problems here!” She turned to Rainbow Dash with a smile. “You ready to get some apples picked?”
Rainbow looked at Twilight’s fond smile, thinking back on what Soarin had said on that cloud. She knew he was telling the truth, but it had been a while since she had seen evidence of it like this. She grinned back at her. “Definitely! You get them off the trees, I’ll get ‘em to the barn! Between the two of us, this’ll be done in no time!”
The two mares shared a hoof bump, galloping for the trees where the rainbow apples grew. When they came upon the first tree, Twilight’s horn began its work, lifting the fruit carefully and placing it into the buckets, with Rainbow taking them one at a time to the barn as fast as she could manage at such a low altitude. A few trees in, Twilight looked up at the Pegasus. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so happy. What changed?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened for a moment, returning to normal as she looked back with as aloof of an expression as she could manage. “Yeah, well, Zapapple cider is just too good of an idea to resist! It’s not like I’m doing this just to see all of you…”
Twilight rolled her eyes, emptying another tree into the buckets below. “Of course. It’s all about the cider.” she teased. They moved onto the next tree, repeating their work. “So, how have things been with Soarin?”
“Why does that matter?” the rainbow streak asked, taking the next bucket. “We fly together sometimes, but that’s pretty much it. Why are you so curious?”
“No reason.” she fibbed, moving on. “Just curious. Have you seen how Scootaloo’s been doing with her flight training?”
“Haven’t seen anypony but Soarin till today.” Dash stated, eagerly approaching the next tree. “But he tells me she’s made some great progress. I’m lookin’ forward to taking over teaching her when she’s ready!”
“She’s even got a flight buddy when she practices outside of training!” Twilight added, performing her assigned task. “You know Rumble, right?”
“Thunderlane’s brother?” Rainbow guessed.
“Uh-huh.” Twilight confirmed. “He saved Scootaloo when she first tried practicing on her own.” Rainbow’s face began to sour exponentially at the idea of Scootaloo practicing full-on flight all by herself. “Without Boltsinger or Soarin’s permission, mind you.” the cyan mare’s face slowly shifted back to normal. “She jumped so high when she tried to hover that he had to save her when she fell. Bolt tells me that the colt was as mad as you just were, so they agreed that Rumble would be her practice partner.”
Rainbow lightly nodded, picking up the next bucket and running it to the farm and back. “The kid’s a good flyer. He’ll be a good partner for her.” The two continued their task, talking about a number of things, including the adventure Twilight and Boltsinger had in the Crystal Empire, along with Rainbow Dash gushing about the latest Daring Do book, which her fellow fans had yet to finish. The sound of their shared laughter echoed out of the orchard, bringing smiles to the muzzles of the ponies on the farm.
In another part of the orchard, Rarity and Sugar Belle were hard at work. The fashion expert gingerly picked the apples, one at a time as the baker followed suit. They would walk back and forth to the barn with their haul together, Rarity looking at Sugar Belle every now and then with a question burning in her heart.
Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore. “So, Sugar Belle, when do you intend to settle down with Big Mac?”
Sugar Belle dropped her buckets, the apples nearly becoming bruised from the potential fall as Rarity extended her magic to encompass them. “What?!” she shouted, turning around to face the glamorous one. “Settle down? You mean, getting married? That’s just…” she blushed furiously, averting her gaze. Her eye sneaked back up to look at the pony she was working with. “Why are you so interested in all of that?”
“Let’s just say that weddings have been on my mind a lot, lately.” Rarity said, passing the extra buckets back to Sugar Belle. “I’ve been designing many wedding outfits, and the way that Twilight and Bolt have been… I must admit I’ve been doing a little pining of my own.”
“I see.” Sugar Belle replied, resuming the walk to the barn. “Well, Big Mac and I haven’t talked about that kind of thing. So, is there anypony special on your mind?”
“Nopony, really.” the fabulous filly admitted. “I’ve been putting myself out there, but so far, I’ve had no luck. Besides, my search for love still has to make way for my work. There’s a lot of ponies looking to be fashionable, and I can’t simply abandon them, now can I?”
Sugar Belle gave an understanding nod as the barn came into view. “That’s true. I like Big Mac a whole lot, but even with our relationship, I still concentrate on my bakery the most. Just like he still puts the farm first.”
“It must be difficult, living so far away from your special somepony.” Rarity mused.
Sugar Belle sighed softly. “It’s true that we don’t get to see each other very often, but…” She perked up, smiling as she looked at Big Mac and Boltsinger making their way to the barn. “We make it work. I’ll always need apples, after all!”
Rarity let out a swooning sight of her own, looking dreamily at the sky through the trees. “What I wouldn’t give for somepony special of my own… You have no idea just how beautiful what you have truly is. You hold onto it as tightly as you can, darling. You never know when you’ll come across something that amazing again.”
Sugar Belle smiled warmly, moving closer to Rarity and putting her hoof around her. “I will. You just make sure you find something just as beautiful.”
The fashionista gave the baker a weak smile, offering up a dainty nod. “I’ll do my best.”
Applejack returned from the orchard, wiping her brow and turning to look out at the orchard. Every single one of the magical trees had been emptied of the Zapapples. Granny Smith and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were well on their way to making the best darned jam anypony had ever had, and a special bunch of the fruits had been set aside for their big project. Her friends and family all emerged from the orchard, each of them having worked up a sweat and an appetite.
“So, do we have enough apples to make the cider?” Rainbow Dash asked eagerly, speeding over to the orange mare.
“Yeah, Rainbow, we got plenty to make the cider with.” AJ answered, pointing to several buckets of the prismatic fruit. Nearby was a cider press and several barrels to store the beverage when it was made.
“YES!” She cheered, doing loops in the air. “I call first cup!”
“I take it we’re ready to start pressing?” Boltsinger suggested, placing another bucket in the barn.
Big Mac stepped forward, looking at the equipment. “Eeyup!”
“Nice.” He replied, looking out at the orchard where the rest of the mares were coming back to join the gathering. “I guess we should get started so these ladies can have their cider, huh?”
The red stallion was way ahead of his smaller winged friend, getting set up on the treadmill on the side of the press. “Eeyup!”
Boltsinger smiled and looked at the girls one more time. “You ladies sit back and enjoy yourselves. Big Mac and I will handle making the cider!”
Applejack nodded greatfully, holding her hat over her heart. “Why, that’s mighty generous of you boys! I think I’ll go ahead and oblige ya.” The mares looked at one another, turning and making for the main house, grouping up around the kitchen table. “So, while those two’re doin’ all that, whaddaya say we do sumthin’ together?”
Fluttershy smiled at the idea, turning to look at Rainbow Dash. “It has been a while since we were all together like this.”
“Oh! Oh! I know!” Pinkie started, jumping around the table. “Why don’t we make a cake? I would suggest a pie but Rainbow Dash doesn’t like pie even though pie is one of the most wonderful amazing terrific and delicious things in the whole world, but so is cake! And we have three great bakers here with a whole bunch of magical delicious ingredients!”
Sugar Belle looked around the room at the rustic decor, getting a confident look on her face. “Sounds like fun to me!”
“So, not only are we having Zapapple cider, but a cake to go with it?” Rainbow summarized, starting to shake like a teapot approaching a boil. “This… is… AWESOME!!!”
The mares all set to work, getting the ingredients together and experimenting with different recipes. They all shared stories and jokes, letting the good times sink in as the batter took shape in the oven. The time flew by as at least four different cakes featuring rainbow-colored frosting and decorations were gathered up on the counter, each one featuring the fruit they were working with in some decorative fashion at the top.
As they put the last Zapapple slice on the last confection, Rarity turned to Twilight. “I have to say, I’m a little surprised with Bolt, lately.”
Twilight raised her ears, coming out of her concentration. “What do you mean? What’s so surprising?”
“Come now, you live with him!” Rarity started, nudging her with her elbow. “Clearly you’ve been privy to how he’s been behaving!”
“You mean the royal training he got?” the Princess wondered. “Or are you talking about teaching Scootaloo how to fly?”
“Honestly, both of those are a little surprising to me.” Fluttershy chimed in. “I never thought he was the type to take on responsibilities like that so quickly.”
“He does normally take a lot more convincin’ to get started on a project that ain’t some fancy performance.” Applejack concurred. “I wonder what got into ‘im?”
“I think I have an idea…” Rarity began, smiling at her currently-pregnant friend. “But no matter what it is, it’s wonderful to see such confidence out of him, don’t you think?” Everypony else, save for Twilight, gave their own bits of confirmation as the door swung open. In walked Big Mac, Boltsinger, Soarin, and Spike, with the ponies each carrying a barrel full of cider.
“Okay, ladies, who’s thirsty?” Boltsinger asked, putting his barrel on the counter. “There should be enough for everypony, provided we divide it up equally.” He put extra emphasis on his last word, directing his eyes to Pinkie Pie, who was already holding onto at least ten mugs.
Rainbow Dash was the first one forward, filling her mug in what felt like an instant with the sweet liquid. Like the apples it came from, every color of the rainbow swam about in the cup, sparks of electricity surging harmlessly out to invite her to consume it. She stepped aside, letting each of the other occupants of the room fill their cups and gather round. They all raised their mugs with a cheer, downing the drink in a single gulp. A flawless mixture of sweet and tart washed over their taste buds, along with a sensation they didn’t quite expect. There was a tingle and a jolt going through their bodies, causing the ponies unaccustomed to the feeling to jump. Rainbow Dash looked around at the gathering, where every hair in the room, hers included, was standing on end, causing everypony’s manes to look like a porcupine. As they all caught sight of one another, the entire room burst into uproarious laughter, the cyan mare chief among them. She pointed her muzzle at her now-empty mug, keeping her eyes fixed on her friends. Okay… I’ll admit it. I really missed this!