“Hey, seriously. Thanks.”
Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes, rolling onto her stomach and peering over the top of the wagon. Applejack kept her eyes forwards and continued to pull the cart effortlessly, as if Rainbow’s extra weight didn’t bother her at all. “You’ve said it a million times.”
“And I meant every single one of ‘em,” Applejack replied. “Saved my hide right there. Apples don’t forget a thing like that.”
Rainbow grunted, rolling her eyes. “You keep saying that, what does it even mean?”
Applejack chuckled. “Reckon you never heard of the Apple Family before. We’re the biggest provider of Apples in Equestria, from Canterlot right down to Dodge. If you’ve ever eaten an apple, chances are it’s one of ours.”
Rainbow stomach growled at that. “Uh, speaking of that…”
“Sack of apples in the back, sugarcube.”
Rainbow smiled, spreading her wings and gently hopping off the wagon. She glided into the back of the wagon with ease, touching down in the cramped interior. Rainbow found the sack easily and pulled out a single apple, tossing it in her hoof.
With a shrug, she ducked back out and returned to her perch atop the wagon. She shined the apple against her coat, watching as it almost glowed in the sunlight.
She took a bite out of it, savoring the taste. It was miles better than any meal the Second Division cooks could dream up.
“How’s it taste?”
“Great,” Rainbow replied through a mouthful.
Applejack glanced back at her and winked. “Plenty more where they came from.”
“Yeah?” Rainbow rolled over to her stomach, holding the apple with one hoof and smirking at Applejack. “What if I get sick of apples?”
“Then I reckon you start lookin’ for a new job,” Applejack replied with an easy wink.
Rainbow laughed, flipping over to her back and taking another bite of the apple. She stared up at the sky, as a few clouds blew past. “So you guys really have natural weather out here?”
“Eeyup. Don’t have enough pegasi for a patrol so we rely on what we can get. Ain’t stopped us from growin’ crop, though,” Applejack said. “... even if it’d be a mite easier to deal with things.”
Rainbow’s ear twitched as she detected a drop in her voice. She flipped back onto her stomach and saw Applejack’s ears droop a little and her posture falter. “Everything alright?”
“Fine, fine!” Applejack quickly said, picking herself back up. “Farm’s just been goin’ through a rough patch lately. Nothin’ we can’t handle! We Apples are nothin’ if not resilient,” she declared, tossing her head back.
Rainbow shrugged, not quite believing her, but not sure what else she was supposed to say.
“But that’s enough about me,” Applejack said. “I think you’re mighty tired of my voice. What about you? What’s your life been like?”
Rainbow chewed thoughtfully, keeping her eyes on the sky. “Not much to say, I guess. Born and raised in Cloudsdale. Times were tough for my parents, money was tight. We didn’t really have the bits to spend, y’know?” She held her apple up to the sunlight, gazing at it languish. “Kind of had to head to work as soon as I got out of school. Thing about Cloudsdale is that there are a lot of ponies there fighting for not that many jobs… usually means ponies are eager to take whatever they can get.”
“That what happened to you?” Applejack asked.
“Sort of. Kind of got wormed into a job without reading the fine print,” Rainbow replied. “Took me a long time to find a way out.”
“Ah.” Applejack glanced back over her shoulder and winked. “Hope you ain’t gonna work your way out of this one.”
Rainbow cracked a grin. “Depends how much you’re going to pay me.”
“Pay you? Now, who said anythin’ about pay,” Applejack said smugly. “You mean you ain’t doin’ this from the goodness of your heart?”
“Please! I’ve got the best heart in Equestria,” Rainbow said, banging on her chest. “But even I need some sort of compensation! The Great and Powerful Rainbow Dash demands it!”
Applejack rolled her eyes and came to an abrupt stop, jerking the cart forwards.
“Woah!” Rainbow tumbled over the top of it, crashing down to the road in a small cloud of dust.
Applejack laughed, her voice sounding crisp in the empty air around them.
Rainbow picked herself off the ground, growling at her. “Jerk. I’ll get you back for that, just you wait.”
“Sure thing, sugarcube. Sure thing.”