A light morning drizzle welcomed Rainbow Dash as she glided over Ponyville. It had been the gentle conclusion to an overnight downpour, which had lessened enough for the morning sun to help start drying out the town.
She swooped low over Ponyville, catching the faint wisps of scents of a town just waking up – the fresh, earthy smell of air cleansed by rain, a few wafts of fresh bread from Sugarcube Corner, and burning wood from chimneys.
She continued past the town, until the houses below were replaced by acres and acres of apple trees. With a graceful loop-de-loop, she managed to land on the Apple family front porch with her wings tucked in. Grinning to herself, she knocked firmly on the front door.
“Hey, Applejack? You up yet?” she called.
Big Mac answered the door, looking down at the Pegasus seated on their welcome mat.
“Hey, Big Mac. Applejack up yet?”
“Nope,” the stallion replied, shaking his head.
“Is she getting up soon? We were going to hang out today.” A slight blush lit up her cheeks, but she made no comment on it.
“I’m sure she’ll be home soon,” Big Mac said.
“Wait, she’s not here? Where’d she go?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head.
The Apple stallion just shrugged. “Nopony knows. She just heads off by her lonesome sometimes. I’m sure if you just wait here, she’ll be back in no time.” He stepped to the side of the doorway, welcoming her in.
Rainbow Dash shook her head fiercely. “Wait, wait, wait… how long has she been gone?”
“Since last evening. Had supper, then left.”
The Pegasus’s eyes widened as her eyebrows shot up. “Since last night?” she exclaimed. “The weatherponies must’ve dropped a million gallons of rain last night! Aren’t you worried something might’ve happened?”
Big Mac shook his head again. “We were worried the first few times she left, I’ll admit, but Granny Smith said not to worry none. And she’s always come back before.”
“Well, I’m going to go look for her,” the Pegasus huffed, flaring her wings and taking off before any further words could leave Big Mac’s mouth.
The stallion simply shrugged and shut the door.
The first place to start looking, Rainbow Dash reasoned, was close to home. The rain had hit close to sunset last night, right on schedule. She couldn’t have gone too far in that kind of downpour.
“Applejack!” she called from the air above. “Applejack! You out there?”
With a huff, she realized she couldn’t see past the Red Delicious and green leaves of Sweet Apple Acres, so she promptly landed. Though the grassy fields were slick with rain, they weren’t terribly muddy.
“Applejack!” she called again, trotting around what she assumed to be the eastern orchard. "Hey, Applejack, you out here?”
As she neared the edge of the property, marked by an old wooden fence, she heard a rustling in the brush. She ran to the fence line and peered over it. “Applejack?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s me,” came the reply, interrupted by a yawn. Sure enough, the orange Earth pony walked out of the underbrush, rubbing at one eye sleepily.
“I’ve been looking all over for you,” the Pegasus said with a huff. “Where’ve you been?” She narrowed her eyes. “Were you… sleeping in the woods?”
That seemed to wake Applejack right up and she promptly lowered her hat brim over her eyes. “’C-Course not. What kind of fool pony sleeps in the woods in the middle of a rain storm?” she asked.
“Then why do you look like you just woke up?” the Pegasus accused, pointing a hoof at her.
“Cause I did.” Applejack frowned, regaining her composure. “What the hay are you doin’ around here at the crack of dawn anyway?”
Rainbow Dash’s blush returned. “Because we were gonna hang out today, remember? I figured, since you’re such an early riser, I might as well get a head start too.” She cleared her throat. “That doesn’t answer my question of why you’re in the woods after just waking up.”
It was Applejack’s turn to blush and she averted her eyes. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked. “I mean it now, you can’t tell anypony. Not my family, not even the girls.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, but she nodded firmly. “Cross my heart, hope to die,” she said, making the motion across her chest.
“Alright.” Applejack glanced around hesitantly. “Follow me.”
She turned and walked back into the woods. Rainbow Dash hopped over the fence and quickly followed after her.
After a few minutes of walking, they came across a little clearing, so small that one could barely even call it that. There, resting in the midst of some trampled grass, was a barrel, a quarter of the way into the ground.
As they approached, Rainbow Dash noted its age – shelf-like mushrooms grew on the one side of it, and a vine had snaked its way along another. Aside from that, the barrel had a little round window in an unoccupied side, too small to even stick a pony’s head through. The clearing was full of the sound of rain dripping from the trees onto the barrel’s lid like a drum.
Applejack stood by silently as Rainbow Dash examined the barrel, looking it over, before turning to her.
“You slept in a barrel?” the Pegasus asked.
Applejack looked away into the woods, her muzzle stoic. “It’s my thinkin’ barrel. Yeah, I know how it sounds – go on, get your laughs out now, but it’s where I like to be alone sometimes,” she said.
Rainbow Dash tilted her head, then looked back at the barrel. “So… it’s like a quiet place to just… be alone?” she asked.
Applejack nodded, walking over to set a hoof on the lid. “It’s not that I don’t like to be around folks and all, but sometimes I just need some… ‘me time,’ ya know? I like hangin’ out with y’all and my family, but this here is just for me.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, sitting back to look through the tiny window in the side. With the morning light filtering through, she could see the barrel seemed spacious inside. A little shelf held a mug and a book, but wasn’t big enough for much else. Dangling from the book was a little air freshener. A little handkerchief curtain was bunched to one side of the window to let light in.
“I get like that sometimes,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling softly. “I don’t have a barrel in the woods or anything, but sometimes I’ll just bunch up some clouds and just… chill, ya know?”
Applejack nodded, opening the lid slightly so Rainbow Dash could see inside, but not enough to let the water in. A small pillow rested at the bottom, next to a lock. On a small hook opposite of the shelf dangled the key that must’ve belonged to it.
“Ever since my parents… well, you know, I just wanted some space to myself. The first place I found was this here apple barrel,” Applejack explained. She patted the side of the barrel. “It was a lot roomier back then, but it still fits. Eventually, I got the idea to fix it up a little and I put it out here.”
“So, your family doesn’t know about it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack shook her head. “It’s a ways off our property, and even away from the old pear orchards. And the nearest road’s quite a walk away.” She shut the lid and turned to Rainbow Dash. “It’s not that I’m embarrassed by it or anything, but… if you could just…”
“Keep it a secret?” Rainbow Dash finished, smiling fondly. “Not a problem.”
Applejack nodded, then pulled her in close for a hug. “Thank you,” she said.
The Pegasus blushed redder than before, but nodded, nestling her muzzle into Applejack’s mane as she hugged her back. After a moment, they released one another, and Rainbow Dash seemed more interested in the trees above.
Applejack smirked at her. “Now, I believe we were fixin’ to hang out today? Let’s head up to the house and get some breakfast first.”
Rainbow Dash quickly nodded, and with one last glance at the barrel, followed Applejack out of the clearing.
Two weeks later, Applejack invited Rainbow Dash back over to Sweet Apple Acres. The setting sun was slowly being blotted out by thick rain clouds by the time the Pegasus took off for the farm, which according to the Earth pony was right on schedule.
When she landed at the front porch, she found Applejack waiting for her.
“Come on, follow me,” she said without further explanation. Puzzled, Rainbow Dash trotted after her.
As they headed through the apple trees, Rainbow Dash kept sneaking glances up at the sky. “Where are we going? It’s going to start raining any minute.”
“Don’t you worry none, we’ll be there soon,” Applejack replied.
The pair hopped over another old fence at the property line and made their way into the forest. Rainbow Dash had to stick closer to Applejack as the light began to fade.
They approached a clearing deep in the woods, and to Rainbow Dash’s surprise, there was another barrel. However, unlike the one Applejack had led her to, this one was at least three times bigger. And yet, just like hers, it was buried halfway into the ground.
Applejack trotted up a small set of stairs that had been nailed into the side of the barrel and opened the lid. “Hop on in,” she said, before climbing inside.
Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise, then jumped when she felt the first few tickles of rain. She quickly leapt into the barrel and pulled the lid shut behind her.
The only light that filtered in was from a round window on the side – this one big enough to fit a pony – but in the gloomy evening it wasn’t very strong. Rainbow Dash could only faintly make out Applejack’s smiling muzzle. Otherwise, all she could feel was a soft pillow under her, smell the freshness of the barrel’s wood, and hear their breathing.
“Applejack,” Rainbow Dash began, before quickly lowering her voice at how loud she sounded in such an enclosed space. “What is this?”
“Well, sugarcube, this here is a quiet place built for two,” Applejack replied proudly. “It took quite a bit to get it all set up and get it out here, but I think it was worth it.”
“A quiet place… built for two?” Rainbow Dash gulped, very glad the gloomy light hid her hot blush.
“This is for both of us, but you could come here when you want to, too. I know you said you had your clouds, and I know how you Pegasi like ‘em, but this here’s a true quiet place. And you want to hear the best part?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, but Applejack didn’t reply. The barrel was quiet until a steady and soft thrumming could be heard up above, like fingers dancing on the barrel’s lid. It wasn’t until she noticed the raindrops trickling down the window that Rainbow Dash figured out what it was.
“Wow,” the Pegasus whispered.
“Best way to fall asleep, if you ask me,” Applejack said softly.
Rainbow Dash felt Applejack shift next to her until she felt her warmth up against her. She gulped down a squeak when she felt – she swore she felt – Applejack peck her cheek before becoming still next to her.
“Night, sugarcube,” she mumbled.
Rainbow Dash smiled softly, nestling into her own cushion. Ever so carefully, she stretched out one wing and draped it over Applejack before getting comfortable herself. She took one glance at the window before shutting her eyes.
“Night, Applejack,” she whispered, before falling asleep to the sound of the thrumming rain and Applejack’s warmth.