Applejack’s day had gone surprisingly well, all things considered. The Apple harvest was in full swing now, and for once they were ahead of schedule, despite her having to run the farm completely alone for the past week. The Apple family reunion was being held in Appaloosa this year, and Applejack had drawn the short straw on who had to stay and look after the farm. Admittedly, it was only out of her and Big Mac, as Bloom was far too young to stay home alone for a week, and Granny was too old to look after the farm alone, but she still felt a little cheated.
Despite not being able to see her extended family, she was still in a good mood. She’d managed to get all her jobs done today, as well as finally getting round to fixing her broken cabinet door, having put up with it constantly slipping out for most of summer. She only had to finish making the pastry for the Apple pies and she would be free to relax.
She allowed her mind to wonder as she mixed the ingredients together, the process almost a second nature to her now. Her face settled on a large, happy smile as her mind took her to where it always did when it could: Rainbow Dash.
The girl had been on her mind almost constantly since she had gone off to university just two months ago. Applejack couldn’t get her out of her head, be that when working in the orchard, looking after her family, at home, wherever she went, she saw Rainbow Dash.
Her laughter, the way she spoke when she was excited, her surprisingly soft, caring
side which she kept hidden underneath her characteristic blasé attitude, every aspect of her made Applejacks heart flutter in her chest and her head dizzy with excitement.
Her phone buzzed suddenly, interrupting her dreamlike musings, causing Applejack to jump slightly. She made her way to the kitchen table where her phone was, pushing her glasses back up her nose with her arms, trying and failing not to get her flour covered hands all over her face.
It was a notification for a language learning app, more specifically reminding her to practice her German. Applejack couldn’t help but smiling once more as the phone screen faded to black. For the past year since she and Dash had been dating, she had committed herself to learning German, partly to help Dash in communicating with their friends, and partly because she knew Dash appreciated the effort Applejack made for her.
As she went back to mixing the pasty, the smile never left her face as she gazed out of the small, square window in front of her. She could remember vividly the long process of learning English that Dash had gone through, and though it wasn’t the same for Applejack learning to speak German, she felt that making an effort for Dash to learn the language she was most confident in would at least make her more comfortable.
She continued on quietly as the setting sun stained the slowly gathering clouds a faint salmon pink against the blue sky.
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By the time Applejack finished up the Sun had long set behind the tall Apple tree’s that surrounded her house. She had finally been able to change out of her work clothes into some more lose fitting jeans and a shirt, and more importantly been able to have a much needed and appreciated shower.
She fixed a towel to her head to keep her hair out of her face as she left the bathroom, feeling a small chill as she went down the stairs, despite her fresh clothes. She made a beeline for the kitchen, intent on quickly grabbing a glass of water before retreating back to the warmth of her duvet and pillows for the night.
She could hear the rain falling faintly against the kitchen windows as she filled her glass up, the sound bringing Applejack a strange, familiar feeling, reminding her of nights spent listening to the rain thundering down with Dash in her arms.
She couldn’t help from feeling a small twinge of loneliness at the thought.
She shut off the tap with a small sigh, and swiftly left the kitchen, setting her glass down on the dresser in the hall before darting back through the house to shut off all the lights. A few moments later, after fumbling back through the now pitch dark house, she made it back to the hall, grabbing her glass as she turned left for the stairs.
“At least my trees will be enjoying this rain”, Applejack thought to herself happily as she ascended the stairs, the rain having gotten heavier from before. She got to the twelfth and final step, and was just about to cross the landing to her bedroom and sleep, when she heard a quiet, almost timid knock on the front door below her.
Applejack stopped, confused. She couldn’t think of anyone who would be turning up at her farm at this time, let alone during a rainstorm. Deciding to feed her curiosity, went into her room to set her glass down, before heading back out and descending the stairs once more, shivering slightly and desperately wishing she had a blanket wrapped around her.
She reached the bottom of the stairs, and fumbled around with the key for a few seconds before managing to unlock it. Taking a deep breath, and not quite sure what to expect, she turned the handle in her hand and swung the door open.
Applejacks eyes went wide and her mouth formed into a huge smile when she saw who it was.
Rainbow Dash, soaked through with her helmet in one hand and keys in another, stood on her porch, grinning back at her with an almost excited-nervous look.