The train finally stopped at Applejack and Rainbow Dash's intended destination. Applejack was eager to leave the room and actually start their date. It had been a few hours since the two mares had first gotten on the train, and even though Rainbow Dash was awake for the better half of it, they both were growing more and more impatient.
As they got off the train, Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground to walk alongside Applejack. “So, the race doesn't start for another hour. What do you feel about grabbing some ice cream beforehand?”
The only thing Applejack loved almost as much as apples and her family was ice cream, and she knew that Rainbow Dash knew that. She also knew that she would never say no to the cold treat. “Sure. Sounds great!” She shot a look at Rainbow Dash. “But I'm payin' for the ice cream.”
Rainbow Dash, being almost as stubborn as Applejack, shook her head. “No way. I'm taking care of this date. You're not paying for anything.” She stuck her tongue out at Applejack and sped up a bit, forcing Applejack into a trot to catch up to her.
“Fine, but I'm payin' for the next one,” she said sternly. “And don’t ya dare try and tell me otherwise.” Before Rainbow Dash could protest, Applejack set off to a gallop toward the ice cream bar. Appleoosa wasn’t exactly known for its size, but it did have one ice cream parlour slash bar on the same side of town that they were in.
Even though Applejack had a headstart on Rainbow Dash, the pegasus decided to fly ahead and beat Applejack to the ice cream bar. The earth pony arrived at the entrance to the establishment with an annoyed smile as Rainbow Dash held open the door and motioned for Applejack to enter.
Applejack walked past Rainbow Dash and into the bar. She turned back to face the pegasus with an amused gaze. “Where’d ya learn those manners, Dash?”
Completely aware that Applejack was teasing her, Rainbow Dash decided to play along. “Oh, I’ve known them my whole life. I just never had a good reason to bust them out, you know?” She nudged Applejack. “But I figured you’re worth it.”
Rainbow Dash seemed to enjoy turning Applejack a colour that even the sweetest of apples would envy. Applejack turned away from Rainbow Dash and did her best to suppress a smile but failed miserably. Instead, she made her way to an open table inside the bar. True to Appleoosian style, there was a live band playing on stage on the opposite side of the room. It was the kind of music that Applejack enjoyed, but she caught Rainbow Dash in the middle of a dramatic sigh.
She ignored the pegasus and bobbed her head to the song. It was strange, she felt like she had heard it somewhere before. As she racked her brain for an answer, Rainbow Dash interrupted her thoughts.
“Do you want to get a banana split?”
Applejack glanced back over to Rainbow Dash who looked expectantly at her. Applejack had never had a banana split before, and she was definitely eager to have one, so she nodded. "Sure. What flavour are we getting the ice cream?"
Rainbow Dash shifted in her seat across from Applejack and leaned back a bit. "We can get whatever you want,” she said as she eyed the menu.
Applejack didn’t really have much of an interest in the other flavours. She knew what she wanted, and it was what she always got when at a new ice cream parlour. It was the safest choice after all. “In that case, mind if we get vanilla?”
Judging by the pegasus’ reaction, it seemed as if Applejack had just completely betrayed Rainbow Dash. The blue pony gasped loudly and put a hoof to her chest. “Vanilla?” She frowned at the word. “I didn’t think you were so boring, AJ!”
“It’s the safest bet, Dash. What if we get some weird flavour an’ we don’t even like it?” Applejack put a hoof on the table and shot Rainbow Dash a look. “Ya can never go wrong with vanilla, and ya did say that I could choose the flavour.”
Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash retreated further into her seat. “Yeah, true. Okay, we’ll get vanilla but we’re getting the strawberry syrup on top.”
Strawberry was not exactly Applejack’s first choice, but she wasn’t going to deny Rainbow Dash the decision. “Fine. Now we’re both happy, right?”
“I’ve been happy all day,” Rainbow Dash said plainly, as if it wasn’t the most adorable thing that Applejack had ever heard her say. “Ice cream is just the beginning.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at that, but before she could ask, Rainbow Dash quite literally dashed to the bar to give the bartender their order. It was amusing to see an ice cream joint also sell alcohol, but it wasn’t entirely uncommon. Applejack herself quite enjoyed the mix of certain alcoholic beverages and ice cream. She just wondered if foals were allowed to enter the shop. A quick look around and a few foals spotted affirmed her question. Well, this is Appleoosa, she rationalized. Just ‘cause they’re allowed in don’t mean they can get alcohol.
The shop itself was about as standard Appleoosian as it could get. Apple themed decor hung from the walls, and everything was in a brown and orange colour palette. Applejack felt right at home, of course, but it was still humorous that an entire town could have the same motif. Ponyville was always so varied, but Appleoosa wasn’t. To be fair, most of the ponies who lived in the small town in the dry plains were related to her in some way or another, so it only made sense.
After a few moments of taking in the decorated interior, Rainbow Dash returned to their booth with a banana split served in a dish. As promised, the three ice cream scoops between the two halves of the banana were vanilla, and the syrup that was expertly drizzled on top was pink. Three bright red cherries rested on top, and Applejack grinned as she wondered if they came from Cherry Jubilee’s orchard. If they did, she knew they’d be the perfect topping since the cherries from the ranch were high quality. Eager to test one, she picked a cherry off of the scoop closest to her with her mouth and bit into it. It was as juicy as a cherry should be, and as tart as one paired with ice cream must be.
The two mares hardly spoke as they split the task of consuming the ice cream between them both. Truthfully, it was because they were too busy indulging in the rich flavour of the frozen treat. Applejack didn’t want to stop eating for even a moment and it seemed that Rainbow Dash had the same idea as she continued to devour the ice cream faster than Applejack had ever seen anypony do to ice cream. Other than Pinkie Pie, of course. The only pause the blue pegasus took was to scrunch up her face in what Applejack assumed to be a brain freeze, which was exactly what she deserved for trying to eat all of the ice cream. Applejack capitalized on this lapse in judgement and sped up her own eating a little more. She was rewarded with the last bite of ice cream.
“Aw, no fair,” Rainbow Dash whined. She rubbed her forehead with a hoof as she squinted the brain freeze away.
Applejack licked her lips, savouring the last of the ice cream's flavour. “Whaddya mean no fair? You ate most of it.” She leaned across the table on her forelegs and grinned. “If ya hadn't tried to eat it as fast as ya did, you wouldn't have had to stop.”
With a defeated frown that indicated that she knew Applejack was right, Rainbow Dash placed some bits on the table and stood up. Her frown was replaced by an excited look that would suggest that she had never been bested in logic. “Come on, we have to get going. The race starts soon and we still have to get there.”
Applejack followed Rainbow Dash back out of the bar. The closed-off scent of alcohol mixed with the sweet, milky smell of ice cream disappeared and was replaced with the fresh scent of apples in the air as the wind blew in from the direction of the apple orchard. She wondered how her prized tree was doing and decided that maybe they'd have time to check on him later. In the meantime, Applejack set her sights on the traveling race track in the distance as she and Rainbow set off toward it.
While it was commonplace for the two mares to engage in friendly competition, it still surprised Applejack when she realized that she and Rainbow had started an impromptu race. Applejack sped up slightly to gain some distance on Rainbow Dash, who had no intention of getting left behind as she sped up as well. By the time they made it to the travelling stadium, they were both at a full gallop. Applejack turned back on Rainbow Dash with a fulfilled expression.
“Hah!” she exclaimed loudly. “I beat ya this time!” She adjusted her hat on her head and shot Rainbow Dash a sly grin.
Rainbow Dash, who was surprisingly out of breath, bit her lip. “Only cause I let you beat me!” The slightly annoyed pegasus sported an otherwise amused smile and pushed Applejack’s hat down her face. It was a gesture that the earth pony had grown accustomed to from the blue pegasus, even if it was a bit annoying.
The pair walked through the revolving doors into the stadium. It wasn’t anything like the Wonderbolts stadiums in any of the major Equestrian cities, but it had a very cozy feel to it that Applejack enjoyed, and she assumed Rainbow Dash did too by the passive smile on her face. It wasn’t a very big stadium; it barely had room for one minor league sized racetrack, and there weren’t many seats to go along with it. All in all, it could probably hold about half of the occupancy of the smallest major league multi-purpose sports stadiums, never mind a Wonderbolts racetrack.
It was, however, a Wonderbolts sanctioned event, judging by the many posters of the famed blue and gold uniformed pegasi that served as ornamentation on the walls that had no roof. Again, Applejack was confused about how the rules of racing went as far as pegasi were concerned. She reminded herself to ask Rainbow Dash once they got to their seats.
In the meantime, she looked around at the posters while they walked to the ticket booth a short distance away. Most of them were images of one or two of the uniform clad pegasi with some kind of slogan or motto above. She spotted one of Rainbow Dash and Spitfire posing together and giving the viewer an intense look. Applejack felt something in her stomach as she focused her gaze on the pictured Rainbow Dash who wore the unmistakable, custom tailored Wonderbolts uniform along with a cocky grin. She definitely looked like a Wonderbolt, that was for sure.
They reached the ticket booth quickly, forcing Applejack out of her thoughts. Rainbow Dash leaned against the counter and gave the vendor a quick glance. “I’m here to pick up my tickets,” she said coolly, flashing a cocky grin.
The brown furred unicorn vendor with a white mane and thick-rimmed glasses squinted at Rainbow Dash, then looked behind her at the same poster Applejack had her focus on and opened his mouth in an ‘O’ shape. “Right, Miss Dash. I have your tickets right here.” He encapsulated two rectangular strips of paper in a green aura and floated them to Rainbow Dash, who took them in her mouth and said a muffled thanks. The unicorn nodded, looking a little bit more than excited to have recognized Rainbow Dash. "Thank you for coming to the show. Have a great time!"
Since Rainbow Dash couldn't respond, Applejack decided to do it for her. She tipped her hat politely at the pony who gave them their tickets. "Mighty appreciated," she called to him as she followed the basically buzzing blue pegasus toward the seating area. It was amusing to see Rainbow Dash so excited to go to a race when she took part in them as much as she did.
By the entrance to the seating area, Applejack spotted a familiar orange face. It seemed that he, too, noticed her as he turned around and waved. “Well, well. If it ain't cousin Applejack!” He waited until they were closer and took off his hat in a greeting.
Applejack did the same. “Howdy, Braeburn! Figured I'd see you at the race. I know yer a fan of racin’,” she pointed out as they both simultaneously put their hats back on their head.
“Sure,” the taller stallion replied. “I was gon' ask what ya were doin' here but I guess I don't need ta ask if yer with her.” He motioned to Rainbow Dash with a hoof. She flexed her wings out in response and deepened her smile in an inaudible greeting.
Applejack looked to her date. “Eeyup, this one practically dragged me over here fer this,” she teased. Rainbow Dash shot her a look. “Though I did get some ice cream, so I guess ‘twas worth it after all.”
Braeburn nodded. “The ice cream over at Tipsy Scoop's is the best ice cream in the area,” he announced proudly. “I hope y'all got the butterscotch or the chocolate. They're ta die for, really.”
Rainbow Dash whipped her head toward Applejack. “I tol’ you we shoulda gotten somefin’ ofer fan vanilla!” the blue pegasus complained through the paper in her mouth.
“Y'all got vanilla?” Braeburn let out a short laugh. “Never change, cuz, never change.” At Applejack's subtle look of dismay, Braeburn smoothly changed the subject. “So, I figured that Rainbow Dash here likes racin’, but why’d she pick ya to come with her? Don’tcha have work on the farm?”
Applejack shifted her weight between her hooves. “Well, I did most of it ‘fore I came, and I promised I'd do more than my fair share when I got back,” she explained without answering his first question.
Braeburn, it seemed, was more observant than Applejack gave him credit for. He looked between an increasingly nerve-wracked Applejack and a too-cool Rainbow Dash and grinned knowingly. “So y’all on a date? Gee, Rainbow Dash, didja lose a bet or somethin'?"”
Before a now completely panicked Applejack could interject, Rainbow Dash snorted in amusement and set the tickets on the floor under a hoof. “If this was the result of a bet, it’d have been ‘cause I won it.” She shot a completely obvious look at Applejack, who couldn’t help her face heating up.
“Dash,” she hissed at the pegasus, who picked up the tickets back in her mouth and plastered an innocent look on her face. Applejack squeezed her eyes shut for a second and looked back at her cousin. “So ya don’t care?” Her voice threatened to waver, but she kept it steady.
The hat wearing stallion turned his head with a confused look on his face. “’Course not,” he said. “Why would I care?”
Applejack felt her entire body relax in a way that stunned her. She felt silly all of a sudden. Was she just assuming the worst? “I dunno, I just figured ya might think it’s… strange,” she admitted. “Since we're both mares ‘n all.”
Braeburn’s face dropped into an almost empathetic smile. “Applejack, ya do know I have a coltfriend, right?” His voice was laced with a mix of amusement and pity for his cousin.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes flashed with surprise, but she didn’t say anything. Applejack, on the other hoof, let out a surprised grunt as her jaw fell. “What? Really?”
“Yup,” Braeburn confirmed. To Applejack’s surprise, he laughed a little bit. “I brought him to the family reunion last year, cuz. You met him.”
Applejack instantly began to file through her memories of that day. The image of a strong looking pale green stallion flooded her mind and she gasped in realization. “Oh rotten apples, I’m such an idiot. Yer talkin' about Pinecone, aren’t ya?”
Braeburn smiled a goofy smile that made Applejack’s heart fill up. “Yeah, the whole family knows about us. I’m surprised ya didn’t. Ya always struck me as one of the more observant ones.”
What he said was true, in most ways. Applejack always tried to learn about her family’s lives because that was important to her, although she knew she could be a little dense sometimes. Instead, she shrugged and pushed a sheepish smile on her face. “I guess I just assumed y’all were friends or somethin’,” she admitted. “Feel mighty stupid about it now, though. I shoulda known, ‘specially if y’all weren’t tryna hide it.”
If the whole family was okay with Braeburn and Pinecone, why would they be against her and Rainbow Dash? Maybe she was misjudging her family the whole time. The thought sent a somewhat sickening feeling to her stomach. She was so worried about her family assuming things about her that she assumed nasty things about them. Applejack felt her smile fall into a frown, something that didn’t go unnoticed by either pony. Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing carefully around Applejack and gave her a gentle smile.
“If ya were worried about tellin’ yer family, I’m tellin’ ya now. Don’t be. They won’t care, they’ll be happy fer ya,” Braeburn assured the stetson wearing mare. "Besides, at least yer family already knows Rainbow Dash, and she’s got a bit of a good reputation what with having saved Equestra a number of times.”
Applejack couldn’t help the scoff that came out of her. “Granny was just tellin' me this mornin' that she thinks Dash is a bad influence,” she said with a teasing smile.
Rainbow Dash ducked her head. “What?”
“’Cause ya keep draggin’ me away from the farm, Dash,” Applejack explained as Braeburn laughed. "And 'sides, once we tell her about us, she'll be less harsh on ya.” Applejack paused and raised a hoof to her chin as an amusing revelation came to mind. “Or maybe she’ll be more harsh on ya. Don’t matter none, I’ll make sure she likes ya as much as she likes Pinkie Pie.”
Braeburn nodded contently. "Well, the show’s gon’ start soon and I still need ta get some stuff fer Pinecone an’ me." He raised a hoof to Rainbow Dash who bumped it with her own, and did the same with Applejack along with a mutual tip of their hats. "Nice seein’ y’all, and I trust you’ll have fun. Good luck with tellin’ yer family. If ya need me, send a letter and I’ll come quicker than the pigs at dinner time.” With a final smile to them both and a wave of his hoof, Braeburn walked in the direction that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had just come from.
To say that Applejack was relieved would have been an understatement. At first, she had been doubtful and admittedly a little afraid of the prospect of running into her cousin, but now that it had happened, she was incredibly glad. The underlying fear that once rested in her stomach had completely dissipated, and she had nopony to thank but Braeburn. She'd have to do something nice for him at some point.
She followed Rainbow Dash through the door and the pegasus showed a gruff looking earth pony her tickets. He showed her where their seats were with a gesture and a brief explanation and the two mares set off to find their seats. They were close to the top right in the middle of the row, so they had a great view of the track. They were also more spacious than the seats they passed and had a spot next to each of them for their belongings. Rainbow Dash's face lit up as she sat in a seat and looked out into the still empty track.
“This is awesome! I can’t wait for the race to start!” Rainbow Dash turned to look at Applejack who settled in her seat and set her saddlebag behind them.
“Eeyup, I’m excited too,” she said as she matched Rainbow Dash'’s smile. She turned to take out the bottles in the bag and pushed one toward her date. “Brought us some cider since I know ya like it.”
Rainbow Dash happily took hers and set it next to her. “Yes! I was going to ask you to bring some but I wasn’t sure if you had any,” she admitted. “But you really pulled through. Typical AJ.” She gave the orange pony a soft shove.
Applejack pursed her lips in a suppressed smile as she made a point to dramatically roll her eyes. “So, who we cheerin’ for, Dash? I gotta admit, I don’t have any clue who's competin’ today.” She set her own chilled bottle of cider to her right, quietly thanking Twilight for enchanting her bag to retain the cold.
Her question made Rainbow Dash shoot up with a sudden squeak. “Oh pony feathers!” She extended her wings. “I’ll be right back! I gotta get us those little flags to cheer him on! Oh, I’ll also get us popcorn!”
Before Applejack could even say anything, Rainbow Dash disappeared, leaving behind a rainbow coloured streak, true to her name. Applejack shrugged to herself and used the time to really look around. Just as Rainbow Dash had said on the train once Applejack woke her up, the view was pretty amazing. It was definitely a lot different than what would be considered a good view in a sport like buckball, being high up instead of down and right at ground level. She noticed that it was going to be a multi lap race with the usual amount of six competitors. There seemed to be just one Wonderbolt in the running, and Applejack wondered if they would win. She also assumed that this would be the pony that Rainbow Dash would cheer for.
Applejack didn’t know much about the Wonderbolts apart from some of the ones she had met before. Ponies like Spitfire, Soarin, and Thunderlane she only knew because she had met them, but there were a few newer ones that she had never had the chance to meet. She wondered if this one would be one of those.
Rainbow Dash came back impressively quickly, although that was definitely no surprise. The mare came back with two little yellow flags in her mouth that both had the same design on them; an orange and red flaming star, which Applejack assumed to be the pony they would cheer for’s cutie mark. She also had a container of popcorn in the crook of her foreleg as she floated back down and into her seat. Applejack took the popcorn so that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t risk dropping it.
“Okay, so I got us these little flag things,” she said through the objects in her mouth. She dropped them onto her hoof and gave one to Applejack. “Now, he definitely won’t be able to see them, but at least I’ll know I had them. And then he can’t get mad at me for not buying them next practice.” She glared ahead of her as if she was annoyed with her teammate. She shook her head dismissively and her smile returned as she turned toward Applejack. “And I got us some popcorn. Extra buttery, just the way you like it.”
Applejack quirked an eyebrow. “Ya mean just the way you like it,” she pointed out, although she was not at all upset. “I don’t really have a preference for butter on my popcorn, but if ya like it extra buttery, then so do I.”
Rainbow Dash seemed satisfied with the answer as she took a mouthful of popcorn from the bag. There was a loud bang in the centre of the field as blue smoke filled the clearing. Everypony started to cheer ecstatically, which could only mean that the race was about to start. Rainbow Dash cheered loudly next to Applejack as the Stetson wearing pony joined in.
Applejack watched in amusement as all of the competitors flew into the field each with their own entry show. There were flips, dives, and other ways of showing off that were meant to excite the audience. Applejack glanced over to Rainbow Dash who watched intently with a somewhat impressed expression, but one Applejack knew all too well to mean ‘I could do that too.’
Then, the exposed stadium was covered with a magical dome that blocked out most of the light and a low boom rang through Applejack’s ears. Everypony started to cheer even louder, while Applejack was left a bit confused.
“And now, the moment you have all been waiting for,” the amplified announcer pony's voice said dramatically.
A uniformed pegasus flew out of the competitors entrance leaving behind the usual Wonderbolt trail of thunder clouds and lightning. Applejack leaned forward to see if she could recognize him. Rainbow Dash grinned eagerly as she stuck her hooves in the air and cheered somehow even louder than before.
“Tonight's Wonderbolt competitor…”
The Wonderbolt did several flips in the air and moved so quickly Applejack could barely make out the electric mane of the pony. He drew out a star with his thunderous trail as he dove toward the floor at breakneck speeds.
“Undefeated in every race he’s partaken in this season…”
The blue and gold wearing pegasus veered up just before he hit the ground and sent a whiff of air into the crowd toward the section that Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat in. Despite herself, the orange mare could feel herself getting excited. The pegasus flew over the crowd to do a fly-by and offered his hoof to the audience for hoof bumps.
Applejack barely saw the blur of the pony as he flew by, but there was something unmistakeable about the dark blue fur that contrasted his bi-coloured mane. Applejack cocked her head, trying to work it out. It couldn’t be.
The announcer confirmed her suspicions after the most dramatic introduction that Applejack had the pleasure of hearing in the last few months. “Put your hooves together for Hot Shot!”
The crowd erupted into chanting the stallion’s name as he did one final corkscrew and landed on the floor next to the rest of the competitors who had varied reactions ranging from excitedly clapping their hooves to nervously ruffling their feathers. Hot Shot confidently extended his wings and lifted his flight goggles to reveal the deep rose coloured eyes that Applejack had seen before.
Even though nothing changed about his physical aspect, Applejack was surprised at how different he appeared. He was almost an entirely different pony than the self deprecating stallion she had met on the train. His tired smile was replaced with a confident grin and an equally cocky expression as he waved to a crowd full of fans excited to see any Wonderbolt, even if he was a newer one.
Despite his confident appearance and the distance at which Applejack sat, she could tell that the look in his eyes was the same as before – tired. Putting up a wall was not a new concept to Applejack, and she was able to see right through it. A quick look over to Rainbow Dash made her suspect that even she didn't notice as she waved the flag in the air and continued to scream her support. Applejack shook it off and set on to support him, too. Especially after everything, she hoped that Hot Shot would win. He deserved a victory.
It definitely wouldn’t be much of a challenge though. According to the announcer, Hot Shot was undefeated in these races. The only pegasus that had that record so far into the season was Rainbow Dash, and they had been lucky enough to not have to race each other yet.
As the rest of the contestants settled into their spots in the floating starting line and reared up their bodies, wings flexed and ready to fly, Hot Shot seemed to relax and took an extra moment to extend his wings. He casually pushed his flight goggles back over his eyes and his face dropped into a glare of concentration. The crowd went silent as three large red orbs of light appeared in front of the racers. One disappeared, then the other, then they all reappeared in green instead. Instantly, the racers took off.
Hot Shot lagged behind a little, although Rainbow Dash didn’t seem too worried, so Applejack assumed this was all part of the show. After all, he was a Wonderbolt. An elite flier from Equestria, there was no way that he would leave things without putting on a show to entertain the fans. Up in front, a navy blue stallion with a vibrant blue and red mane took the lead with a pleased look on his face. Not far behind, a yellow furred mare with a short pastel blue mane inched forward, now shoulder to shoulder with the leader. The next three ponies lagged behind a little more but were definitely about as skilled as the others. The first was an orange mare with dark blue and white striped mane, the next was pure white mare with a yellow mane, the other a deep golden mare with a spikey green mane.
In the back still was Hot Shot. He flew casually, and even though he looked like he put a fraction of the effort that his competitors had, he was still barely in last place. He flew forward as they completed the first lap of ten and made eye contact with the green maned mare. He ducked his head a bit into his hooves and surpassed her as she struggled to speed up. Hot Shot maintained the position calmly. Another lap. He shot forward slightly, grinned at the white mare and waved as he dropped his head more. Next lap, he eased up and let the orange pegasus keep her hold on third place. Hot Shot pretended to fail to catch up, but as soon as they marked the fifth lap, he shot past the pegasus, leaving her dumbfounded.
Sixth lap, the yellow mare in second place seemed to be a more competent racer as she beat her wings strongly and tried to keep slightly in front of Hot Shot, occasionally glancing over her shoulders at him. Hot Shot, much to Applejack's surprise, frowned slightly as he was forced to stay in third place for an extra lap.
Applejack was beginning to think that Hot Shot might be forced to take bronze, when Rainbow Dash leaned over, never taking her eyes off of the race, and muttered, “She’s good, but her right wing is slightly lagging behind her left.” At that exact moment, Hot Shot reared back a bit and exploded forward on the mare’s right side. The blue maned pegasus stumbled a bit to her left as her right wing became completely disoriented from her left and she struggled to stay in the track, causing her to fall behind into last. “Hot Shot’s got this one in the bag. The leader has no stamina.”
Rainbow Dash had her full attention on the race, and Applejack found herself unable to look away as Hot Shot inched forward until he was neck to neck with the navy blue stallion that almost exactly mirrored his own body. They shared the same colour eyes and similar shades of blue fur. They turned to look at each other and each gave the other a cocky grin.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Are they related or somethin’?” She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better indication of the red and blue maned stallion that Hot Shot was beginning to gain a lead on.
Rainbow Dash let out a humm as she processed the question, her mind clearly occupied with the race. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Painted Streak and Hot Shot are twins.” She shoved some popcorn that Applejack had long forgotten about into her mouth and took a swig of cider. “Honestly, Streak definitely has the skills to be a top racer, maybe even a Wonderbolt, but he never dedicated time to it and so his stamina sucks.” She shrugged as she looked quickly at Applejack. “His technique is great though. Shame he never pursued it.”
Applejack watched as Painted Streak indeed fell behind panting and ended up taking third place at the last second. “Well he definitely looks like he’d be a good flier,” Applejack admitted. “Any idea why he didn’t? I’d have assumed that his special talent was related to flying.”
Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves as Hot Shot took a victory lap and formed another star in the air, except this time with a check through it and landed on the top of the podium, flanked by the second place orange mare, and his brother in third. “I’m pretty sure he likes art or something along those lines. Actually, Streak’s cutie mark is a star in front of three coloured lines.” She put a hoof up to her chin and rubbed it. “I think he changed his name or something, which is why it fits so well. Their parents were awful at naming their kids,” she said with a laugh.
Applejack joined her in the laugh. “Yeah, I reckon that’s what he told me on the train,” she recalled.
“On the train?”
Applejack nodded. “Sure. Remember I told ya I had met somepony on the train that I talked to?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “It was actually Hot Shot. Small world, right?”
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, definitely. Figures that Showboat would take a train like that instead of a private car or just flying himself.”
Applejack started to stand up to leave, and Rainbow Dash mimicked her. “Showboat?”
Rainbow Dash smiled at Applejack as she finished the last of her cider. “It’s his Wonderbolt nickname. His first day, he tried to show off so hard that he flew right into a prop ship we were using to practice for one of our marine shows,” she explained. “Now we call him Showboat.”
Applejack nodded in amused understanding as she finished her own cider, practically chugging it. “Right. Forgot y’all have those silly nicknames for each other.”
"What?" The pegasus scoffed and shoved Applejack. "It isn't silly, it's tradition!"
Applejack didn’t say anything, deciding to simply stick her tongue out at her date. She gathered her saddlebags and ate the mouthful of popcorn that Rainbow Dash left, and the two started to head back out with the crowd of ponies that were buzzing with excitement. Instead of leaving the main way, though, Rainbow Dash led them to some side stairs with a sign labeled ‘Restricted Access’ and they made their way to the floor level of the arena.
“We won’t risk getting interrupted by anypony who might recognize me,” the cyan pegasus explained.
“Well it certainly ain’t easy ta miss you,” Applejack teased as she ran a hoof through Rainbow Dash’s mane. “But I do like this quiet more.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a smile on her face as the two made their way down a hallway with what seemed to be changing rooms. Rainbow Dash turned to glance at Applejack. “Don't worry, they usually stay in the change rooms for a bit after the race so we won’t run into any of them.”
Applejack nodded, but she wasn’t sure if she was disappointed about not being able to talk to Hot Shot again. It seemed her disappointment, or perhaps lack thereof, wouldn’t be a problem as one of the doors opened and a frazzled looking Hot Shot exited, free of his Wonderbolts uniform that presumably was in the saddlebag on his side. His goggles still rested on his head, and he looked just like the stallion that Applejack had met on the train. The three ponies all bumped into each other.
Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. “My bad,” she said. She took a moment to look at who she had just bumped into. “Hey, it’s Showboat! Awesome race out there, bud!”
Hot Shot instead looked at Applejack wordlessly for a moment, then returned his gaze to the blue mare. “Oh, thanks Rainbow Dash,” he said awkwardly. He flicked his eyes back to Applejack. “Say, you’re that mare from the train, aren’t you?” He quirked his head ever so slightly. “Applesack, was it?”
“Applejack,” the earth pony corrected as she adjusted her hat. “Nice to see ya again, Hot Shot. I gotta admit, I didn’t think I’d be seein’ you again this soon,” she joked.
The stallion chuckled. “Yeah, me neither. I’m glad I pulled off the win, then,” he said as he rubbed his mane with his hoof. He faced Rainbow Dash with a lopsided smile. “So, this is that mare you kept going on about, is it?”
Rainbow Dash shot daggers at Hot Shot, who did not seem to care. The blue mare's face, however, turned a noticeable shade of reddish-purple. “Yes,” she said quickly. “Now shut up.”
Applejack leaned over to tease Rainbow Dash. “Aw, you talk about me to yer friends?”
Rainbow Dash ignored Applejack's question, which was in turn a wise choice. “I know you like to show off, but did that yellow mare really almost have you?” She flapped her wings one after the other. “I was surprised she was even in second with that whole uneven flapping thing she was doing.”
Hot Shot rubbed the back of his mane. “I was a bit distracted. She reminded me of somepony I knew,” he explained as he glanced to the floor. Applejack assumed he meant his ex-marefriend, and she understood why that could be distracting. It was still strange to see the stallion act so differently in front of them than in front of an audience.
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Well, you'd better not let yourself get distracted at practice tomorrow. Spitfire will make you fly laps the entire day until the cleaning crew leaves.” She shuddered. “Trust me.”
Applejack smiled slightly at the warning that Rainbow Dash gave, knowing that it was because she herself had been given that punishment before. Hot Shot seemed to have caught the not so hidden meaning behind her words as well, and gave his own friendly smile. He looked at the door of the changing room behind him and scuffed at the floor with a hoof. “Well, it was nice to see you both,” he said almost apologetically. “I’d better get back inside or else Streak is going to have a fit.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, we have to get going, too. Good job on the win! We’ll have to have a public race sometime so I can whoop your sorry flank,” Rainbow Dash said confidently.
That seemed to spark some confidence in Hot Shot as he gave her a challenging grin. “You’re fast and all, but I’m younger than you. We’ll see who’s whooping whose flank soon!”
Rainbow Dash snorted. “I’m not even that much older than you! It’s just three years!”
“And that makes all the difference sometimes,” the navy blue stallion pointed out. Before Rainbow Dash could protest, although Applejack knew he had a point, Hot Shot retreated into the doorway of the change room. “See you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash.”
Applejack watched as Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes so intensely she could almost hear it. She took a step closer to Rainbow Dash and tapped her with a hoof. “There there,” she said with a teasing smile. “You can beat him, I know it.”
Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out. “I know. Come on, we should get back to the train station, it’s getting late.”
Applejack followed Rainbow Dash back out of the stadium and toward the very same train station that they started in at Appleoosa, although a few hours later. What was it that Granny said about time when you’re with somepony you care about? Applejack pondered as she glanced at Rainbow Dash, who hovered in the air next to her. She grinned as she remembered the saying.