//------------------------------//
// The Festival 
// Story: Star-Crossed 
// by Enter Madness 
//------------------------------//

	The Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot was one of the biggest events of the year. Thousands of ponies gathered in the City of Marble to see relatives, mingle with the upper class, and watch their beloved Princess Celestia raise the sun. It was the most important day on the calendar for artisans, salesponies, and the like, but none more so than the Apple family. At least, that’s how it seemed to Applejack.
        
The orange earth pony with the straw-blonde mane and signature Stetson hat stepped off the train from Ponyville, eyes wide with excitement. There was so much to see, so much to do, so much to sell! There were ponies everywhere with bits lining their pockets, like apples ripe for the picking. Applejack pulled her sales cart behind her. It was closed at the moment, but soon it would yield its treasures to the good citizens of Canterlot, and the young mare from Ponyville would reap all the rewards. She took a few deep breaths to calm her excitement.
        
“Come on, Applejack,” she said to herself. “Don’t get ahead of yerself. Granny Smith is countin’ on you to bring home the bits, so don’t let her down.”
        
Applejack left the train station behind for the streets of Canterlot. The air was thick with excitement as ponies buzzed about the celebration. Applejack asked for directions to Canterlot Square, where she figured the bulk of her business would be, and set out on her way. As she got closer and closer to the heart of the city, the crowd grew thicker. There were vendors already set up this far back selling dainty hors d'oeuvres, tiny sandwiches and cakes suited only for the most sophisticated of palettes. Applejack shook her head at the sight. She was determined to show these stuck-up city folk just how good down-home cooking could be.
        
Or she would, if she could fit her cart into the square. Canterlot Square was enormous, twenty times bigger than Ponyville’s town square, and yet it was absolutely filled with ponies. Applejack could barely hear herself think over the roar of the crowd. Here and there ponies were shouting to be heard over others, vendors lining the outside of the area screaming at passersby in an attempt to peddle their wares. Applejack gulped. How was she supposed to compete with this? Back in Ponyville, there were only ten or fifteen other stands. Here, there were dozens, hundreds even. One thing was for sure: Applejack wasn’t in Ponyville anymore.
        
The orange pony muscled her way through the crowd, apologizing every time she knocked somepony to the side. No matter how hard she tried, it was slow going. She was sweating and panting after barely making any headway at all when she saw it. There was one open spot, not even twenty feet from where she was standing, where her cart would fit perfectly. She pulled as hard as she could, trudging through the crowd at the speed of molasses, until she was only a few feet away. Then, quick as a whip, another cart flew past her face and parked itself right smack dab in her spot. Standing behind the cart were two ponies with wide-brimmed hats and slicked back, red and white manes. One had a moustache. They smacked the top of their cart and it sprang open, revealing shelves upon shelves full of useless junk and a sign that read “Flim Flam Brother’s Doohickey Sales and Knick-knackeria, Open for Business!”
        
“Hey!” Applejack shouted. “That’s my spot ya’ll are parked in!”
        
The brother without the moustache dropped to the ground and started examining it intensely. Applejack raised an eyebrow at the pony, who soon sprang back up into position.
        
“I don’t see your name on it. Flam, do you see this pony’s name on this spot anywhere?” 
        
This time, the pony with the moustache looked around on the ground. “Why, no, Flim, I don’t see this pony’s name on this spot anywhere.
        
Applejack glared at the ponies. “That may be,” she said, “but I saw this spot first. Ya’ll got no right comin’ in here before I could stake a claim.” 
        
“Well,” Flim responded, “we got here first, so it’s ours. What’s that saying? ‘Finders keepers, losers weepers?’ Perhaps you can find another locale at which to peddle your, um, wares.”
        
Applejack looked around. The rest of the square was totally full. “Ain’t no place else to sell!” she said. “Look, I’ll pay ya for it.” She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the bits she was supposed to use for a hotel room.
        
“Not interested. Move along, young lady, you’re scaring off our customers.”
        
Applejack scowled and replaced the bits. She sighed, defeated, and began trekking through the crowd once more. Then, she saw some tough-looking kids hanging out near an alleyway, and an idea struck her. She left her cart and, careful to keep her wares in sight, approached the nogoodnicks.
        
“Oi, what’s all this, then?” one of them questioned as she approached. “What’s your business ‘ere, stranger?”
        
Applejack flashed some bits, which the young colts eyed hungrily, and said, “Ya’ll lookin’ to make some money?”
        
The young ne’er-do-wells nodded eagerly and Applejack leaned down and whispered her plan into their ears. Devilish smiles grew on their faces.
        
“Got it?” she asked. The children mock-saluted and took off to carry out their objective. Applejack returned to her cart and watched her plan unfold.
        
The youngest child wandered up to the Flim Flam Brother’s cart and bumped it, falling to the ground and scraping his knee. He started wailing and crying at the top of his lungs. Applejack was impressed; if she hadn’t put the young pony up to it, she would’ve believed his pain was genuine. Then, while the Flim Flam brothers were distracted, the other children ran up and started snatching items from the cart. Half of the knick-knacks were gone before Flam finally noticed what was happening. Then the crying child snatched an item and ran off. Flam took off in pursuit of the older children, while Flim chased the youngest, leaving their cart totally unguarded. Applejack strolled up and pushed the cart out of the way, fitting her own apple-selling wagon into the space and opening it up to the world. 
        
Soon, Flim and Flam returned with fierce scowls on their faces to find their cart replaced by Applejack’s. Their scowls deepened.
        
“Hey,” Flim whined. “You can’t just take out spot like that!”
        
“Yeah,” Flam agreed. “That’s our spot!”
        
Applejack flashed a grin. “I don’t see your name on it nowhere.”
        
The brothers scoffed. “But we were here first!” they cried in unison.
        
Applejack’s grin grew wider. “What’s that old sayin’? Oh yeah. ‘Finders keepers, losers weepers.’ Now move along ya’ll, yer scarin’ away my customers.”
        
Applejack could swear she saw steam come off of the brother’s heads, but they eventually grabbed their cart and went to set up somewhere else. Applejack leaned back and smiled smugly to herself. It was going to be a good day.

(*)

        
“But father, I’ve never even been to the Summer Sun Celebration! I’m a grown mare now, and I deserve to go!” Lady Rainbow Dash of the Royal Canterlot Household stomped her hoof and flung herself onto her bed in a manner quite ill-befitting her title.
        
“Rainbow Dash! That is quite enough out of you, young lady. You are not to leave this room until your mother and I have returned from the celebration, and that is final!” Rainbow Dash’s father, Duke Ellington Dash IV, was the foulest sort of royalty. He was squat and fat, with a round, chubby face and a low-set brow, completely in contrast with his daughter’s lithe frame. He was the color of dirt, with a greying mane and tail, and he tended to spit when he talked.
        
Rainbow Dash glared at her father from her bed, a glare that could melt ice, but Duke Ellington ignored her. He turned and left the room.
        
“Make sure she doesn’t leave,” he said to the guard at the door on his way out. The guard saluted, and the Duke was gone.
        
Rainbow Dash sighed a heavy sigh and rolled over onto her back. She looked up at the mural on her ceiling, a watercolor painting of the clearest, brightest blue sky to ever exist in Equestria. All it did was make her sick. Her bed was goose feathers, with the softest silk sheets money could buy, but she didn’t care. She had rare paintings from all around the world in her room, but they were meaningless to her. All her money, her treasures, her art, what were they worth when all they could ever be thought of as were decorations in a prison?
        
The Lady pulled herself from her bed and walked over to her window. From her view in C, she could see all of the festivities that were happening in Canterlot Square. She slammed the shutters closed. It wasn’t fair! How could her father keep her locked up like this when she was almost of age? She looked back at her wings resentfully, stretching them against the leather belt that bound them. The leather held, as it always did. She just wanted to scream, wanted to fly away and show her father that she could handle herself. Instead, she flung herself back down on her bed.
        
Rainbow Dash twisted around, trying reach the belt latch with her teeth, but it was no use. She stood up and began pacing, trying to vent some of her energy. She walked up to her vanity and examined her tight athletic frame in the mirror. With nothing to do, she filled her time with exercise. Her light blue coat was lustrous, and her chromatic mane was pulled into a thick braid that ran down her back. Her ears perked up as she heard a muffled voice outside the door.
        
“May I speak to the Lady Dash?” It was Twilight Sparkle!
        
“Of course, Miss Sparkle, but it will have to be brief,” the guard responded.
        
“I understand.”
        
The door opened and a lavender unicorn strolled in, horn aglow, levitating a stack of books behind her.
        
“Greetings, Lady Dash,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash just tackled her friend into a big hug.
        
“Hello Twilight. Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but why are you here? I don’t have lessons today.”
        
“I’m more than just your tutor, Lady Dash. It’s my duty to make sure you keep up to date on all your studies, regardless of the day.” Twilight leaned down and whispered in Rainbow Dash’s ear, “Plus, I brought you the newest Daring Do book.”
        
Rainbow barely contained a squeal of excitement. “I knew I could count on you! I suppose it will keep me occupied for the time being.”
        
“Your father forbid you from going again, hm?” Twilight asked.
        
Lady Dash’s face darkened. “I just wish he would stop treating me like such a foal!” She stretched against her bonds again. “And I wish he would take this damn thing off of me!”
        
Twilight gasped. “You shouldn’t use such language, Lady Dash. It is unbecoming.”
        
“You sound just like him,” Rainbow Dash said, turning away from her friend.
        
“Your father only wants what’s best for you, Lady.” Twilight reached a hoof out, but Rainbow pulled away.
        
“And being a prisoner is what’s best for me?” Rainbow asked
        
“If you are a prisoner, then you are the world’s luckiest one. Look around you, Lady.”
        
“Useless trinkets, all of it,” Rainbow Dash dismissed.
        
“Oh, don’t be such a foal,” Twilight responded.
        
Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her tutor. “I think you should leave, Twilight.”
        
“But, Lady Dash—”
        
“I said begone! Leave me to my misery.” She slumped down on her bed.
        
Twilight sighed. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” she muttered.
        
“Hmm?” Rainbow sat up, but stopped when she felt a tugging on her back. She looked at the belt and saw that it was engulfed in a purple glow. She watched in fascination as the metal latch slid out of its loops and came undone. The belt fell away, and lady Dash spread her mighty wings. Whenever she got the chance, Rainbow Dash had exercised her wings as much as possible, and it showed. They were toned and muscled, built for speed.
        
“Alright, now go, Lady,” Twilight said. “Go before they find out what I’ve done.”
        
Tears started forming in Rainbow’s eyes. She placed a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “Thank you, Twilight. You are a true friend.”
        
“Go,” Twilight said, smiling and nodding in the direction of the window. Rainbow Dash threw open the shutters and, with one last glance to her friend, took off into the sky.
        
The rush of flying was something all too foreign to the Lady Dash. She hadn’t flown freely since flight school, but that was changing. She relished the feeling of the wind rushing past her ears as she climbed higher and higher, reveling in weightlessness as she reversed direction into a gut-wrenching dive. At the last possible moment, she opened her wings and pulled up, gliding over the Royal Canterlot Statue Garden and circling her tower. She laughed out loud, pure joy carved into her features. She turned and angled herself toward Canterlot Square, her heart already pounding at the prospect of freedom. She rolled the thought around in her head. Yes, freedom at last.

(*)

        
The sun was just kissing the horizon when Applejack closed up shop. Her saddlebags, heavy with bits, jingled as she loaded them onto her back. The celebration would continue all night and into the morning, when Princess Celestia would raise the sun, but Applejack had already sold out. She decided to enjoy the rest of the festival with her newly-acquired spending money.
        
Applejack wandered from stall to stall, carefully managing her bits. She bought a daisy sandwich, a bottle of water, and some fresh tulips for dessert. The crowd was thickest in the middle of the square, so Applejack hung back and sat on a stoop to eat her meal. From her slightly elevated position, she could see that the middle of the square was emptying. The crowd was being ushered back by a group of oddly dressed ponies, until they formed a large circle in the middle of Canterlot Square. Then the show began.
        
The oddly dressed ponies were wearing sequin jumpsuits of all different colors. Applejack counted six in all; one purple, one blue, one yellow, one orange, one white, and one pink. The pony wearing the pink jumpsuit was pink herself, with an out-of-control mess of a mane atop her head. She was the first to speak. 
        
“Fillies and gentlecolts.” The noise from the crowd was still a dull roar. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” the pink pony repeated. The crowd still didn’t quiet down. “Hey!” the pony screamed. The crowd went silent. “That’s better.”
        
“Fillies and gentlecolts, I, Pinkie Pie, the Royal Jester to Her Majesty, Princess Celestia herself, do proudly present to you the amazing acrobatics and daring, death-defying deeds of the one, the only, Cirque du Ponè!”
        
At her cue, fireworks went off, sending sparks high into the air and cascading back down. The crowd let out a chorus of ooooh’s and ahhhh’s. Then the real show started. On the ground, the troupe of ponies stood in the circle in pairs, each partner facing the other, and took low bows. They touched their hooves together and held them there, unmoving. The silence was tangible. Then, in one instant, they acted, one pony in each pair throwing their partner up onto their shoulders. The three pony towers converged in the middle of the circle and then the tower on the left grew one pony higher. Each pony was climbing the tower like it was a ladder, ending up at the top, standing on another pony’s shoulders.
        
When all six ponies were on the tower, the pink pony on top reached her hoof down to her belt and then up to her mouth. She blew on her hoof and a column of fire spewed forth into the open air. The crowd cheered, the sound deafening. Applejack cheered, too. Then the ponies climbed down from the tower one by one and the pink pony spoke again.
        
“Thank you, thank you! Alright everypony, let’s party!” The crowd cheered even louder and a band near the edge of the circle struck up a jaunty tune. Ponies grabbed partners and started dancing in the circle. Applejack leaned back, eating her tulips, and scanned the crowd with her eyes. Then she saw her.
        
There, on the far side of the circle, was the most beautiful creature Applejack had ever seen. The down-to-earth pony had always thought that “love at first sight” was something out of a fairy tale, but it was the only way she could describe how she was feeling right now.

She had a coat the color of the sky, a lustrous light-blue that made Applejack think of warm, sunny days on the farm. Her eyes were a striking magenta, huge, adorable orbs that stared with wide-eyed wonder at the dancing ponies.  Her smile was radiant, tugging on the edges of her face and revealing perfect white teeth. She had a mane that was every color of the rainbow; red and blue and yellow and more were all woven together into a tight braid that ran down her back. Just looking at her made Applejack’s heart beat faster. “Perfect” was the word that sprang into Applejack’s mind. She had to know her name.
        
Applejack moved through the crowd, eyes fixed on her pegasus. The outside world didn’t matter. She felt like she was floating toward the mare, like she was walking on a cloud. The music was gone, the crowd was gone, and only the mare remained.
        
“Hi there,” she said when she was right next to the pegasus. Applejack was never one for fancy words. The pony either couldn’t hear her over the music or was ignoring her, because she didn’t respond. “Hi there,” Applejack tried again, a little louder. Still no response, so she took a deep breath. “Hi there!” She shouted.
        
The band finished playing and the square went quiet in the moment before she said the words. Everypony stopped what they were doing and stared at her. The pegasus looked amused. Applejack’s face turned as red as her namesake and she tried to make herself as small as possible. Soon, though, ponies lost interest and the band started playing again.
        
The pegasus giggled. “Hello,” she said. Her voice surprised Applejack. It was scratchy and boyish, which the earth pony found oddly appealing.
        
“Uh, hi there. I was watchin’ you from across the way there and, well, I wasn’t stalkin’ you or nothin’, I just, well, um…” Why was it so hard to talk to this mare? Every time Applejack tried to say something, the words just wouldn’t come and she struggled dumbly for something to say. She realized that she had trailed off and the pegasus was looking at her expectantly. Applejack took a deep breath. “Let me start over. I’m Applejack.” She stuck out a hoof. “What’s yer name?”
        
The pegasus giggled again, covering her mouth with her hoof as she did so. Applejack thought it was adorable. The pegasus daintily shook Applejack’s hoof. It was like shaking hooves with a butterfly.  “I’m Lady-er, Rainbow Dash. My name is Rainbow Dash. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Applejack.”
        
“Pleasure’s all mine, Miss Dash. Now, I know this may seem mighty abrupt of me, on account of our just meetin’, but would you like to dance?” She gestured toward the group of dancing ponies.
        
Rainbow Dash eyed the dance floor. “I do not believe I know the steps to this dance.”
        
Applejack followed her gaze. The ponies on the dance floor were dancing a traditional earth pony jig, latching hooves with their partners and spinning madly before switching to dancing circles around each other. Applejack knew the steps well, as the dance was performed often back in Ponyville. She smiled. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Rainbow Dash by the hooves and pulling her onto the dance floor. “I’ll teach ya.”
        
Rainbow Dash let out a yelp of surprise, but it was too late to resist. In moments the ponies were caught up in the dance, hooves linked as they spun around and around. Rainbow Dash struggled to keep up with the pace. All around her, ponies were twirling and prancing about wildly. There was no pattern she could follow, no steps to speak of, but Applejack seemed perfectly in sync. Rainbow Dash bumped into a pony and lost her grip on Applejack’s hooves. She clambered wildly for her orange refuge, but to no avail. The collision spiraled out of control as the first bump caused another, and another, and another. Rainbow lost sight of Applejack as she was jostled back and forth across the dance floor.
        
“Hey!” one pony shouted at her.
        
“Get off the floor!” another said.
        
Rainbow Dash wanted to speak up about her social stature and the respect she should be treated with, but the vibrant mass around her stunned her. Here she was, dancing with commoners, and for what? Some mare she had just met? She shook herself out of her trance and went to leave the floor, slumping her shoulders. Then, she was in motion again. Applejack had come for her, seized her hooves once again, and gotten her moving. All her doubts vacated her mind when she saw the smile on Applejack’s face.
        
“Thought I lost ya!” the blonde pony shouted over the noise.

Rainbow Dash spun, watching in all directions for ponies she might hit. She narrowly avoided collisions left and right, attention focused on dodging rather than dancing. Then, one of her hooves collided with the other, sending her tumbling to the ground. She braced for impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes and found Applejack holding her, inches above the ground, their bodies touching. Rainbow could feel the other mare’s tensed muscles, could smell the excited sweat dripping off of her. Rainbow Dash’s breath quickened and her heart raced. Applejack said nothing, instead just smiling at the pegasus before lifting her back to her feet.

They started the dance again. This time, Rainbow Dash didn’t focus on the steps or the crowd. She heard only the music and saw only Applejack. She emulated her partner’s behavior, matching Applejack’s steps as best she could, and soon she was keeping up with the crowd around her.

“That’s it, yer gettin’ it!” Applejack cried.

Rainbow beamed at the praise. Her form wasn’t perfect, but she was keeping up, and that was good enough for her. The music sped up to a furious pace, throwing its melody back and forth across the dance floor with savage intensity, with the ponies following suit. 

Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep up. She fell one step behind, then another, and another, until finally her hooves missed the ground and she toppled to the floor on top of Applejack. They knocked down the pair next to them and soon the entire dance crowd was tripping and falling over itself, tumbling like rows of dominoes.The fallen ponies were grumbling and shooting dirty looks at anypony they thought might be to blame. Rainbow Dash removed herself from her partner with an intense blush, expecting to be scolded for her clumsiness. Instead, what she got was a laugh.

Applejack’s laugh rang out across the crowd of grumbling ponies. It infected the ponies around her and spread like a virus until the whole pile of ponies had stopped trying to extract themselves from the mess and instead just laughed. They laughed with friends, with families, and with complete strangers at their situation, but none laughed harder or smiled wider than Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Eventually the laughter died down and the ponies escaped the predicament with grins on their mugs.
        
“Applejack, that was incredible! I’ve never felt so—so alive in all my life!” The corner’s of Rainbow Dash’s mouth were still turned upward as the mares started picking their way through the crowd.
        
Applejack laughed. “You don’t get out much, do ya?” she asked.
        
Rainbow Dash’s smile wilted. “No, I don’t.”
        
“Well, all the more reason to enjoy it then, right?” Applejack’s positive attitude was contagious, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but smile again.
        
“Right,” she said with a nod.
        
As the pair picked their way through the crowd, the crowd became decidedly higher class. Then, as they passed a certain square, the nearby band started a softer, gentler piece of music featuring the cello and the harp. Rainbow Dash perked up.
        
“I love this song!” she said. This time, it was her who was dragging a pony onto the dance floor.
        
“I don’t know any slow dances,” Applejack said. “What if I make a fool of myself?”
        
“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly bold. She reared up on her hind hooves like the ponies around her and pulled Applejack close. “I’ll teach you.” Their snouts were inches apart when Rainbow started the waltz. 
        
The ponies danced in steps of three, accompanied by the throaty voice of the cello and the light, dainty plucking of the harp. Applejack had never done a waltz before, and it showed. She was always out of step with her partner, her hooves touching the floor long after Rainbow Dash’s had left. Her steps struck the ground like stomps, miles away from the light steps of her companion. Rainbow Dash practically dragged Applejack across the floor behind her, the orange mare’s pathetic attempts at the dance drawing stares and whispers from the other dancers and the ponies in the crowd alike. The final straw came when Applejack stepped on Rainbow Dash’s hoof and fell forward, head first. To her surprise, Rainbow Dash caught her just before she hit the ground, wrapping her in a firm embrace. Applejack felt a foreign warmth in her chest where the two mares were pressed together. She could feel Rainbow’s excited heartbeat the pegasus’s hot breath on her neck.
        
“I can’t do this,” Applejack whispered.
        
“Yes you can,” Rainbow responded, pulling Applejack to her hooves. “Just relax and follow my lead.”
        
Applejack nodded, taking a deep breath and putting on a determined expression. She listened to the music, timing her steps with the soft sound of harp strings that went in groups of three. She stopped resisting the pull of her partner and instead allowed herself to be led, surrendering control of the dance to Rainbow Dash. Her eyes went wide when she felt her steps start to fall in line, no longer behind Rainbow but with her, the two mares moving almost as one. As the steps became easier, Applejack’s attention shifted from keeping time to her companion.

The melody swelled and sunk and the dancing ponies bent to its will, growing and shrinking in passion with the music. The two mares had locked eyes, each not daring to look away for even a second. Their chests were pressed together, and each could feel the other’s rapid heartbeat, almost thumping in unison. Applejack moved with a sureness that betrayed her previous uncertainty. They wove between the other couples as if on instinct, not watching where they were going, not caring even if they were. In that moment, there was only Applejack and Rainbow Dash, together. 
        
Then, with a few mournful plucks and a long chord, the song was over. Couples returned to the crowd, leaning on each other and nuzzling affectionately. 
        
“Wow,” Applejack said when they had returned to the crowd. Both mares were flushed. “If I had known slow-dancin’ could be like that, I sure as heck woulda done it a lot more back in Ponyville.” 

“The Suite 6 Sarabande is one of my favorite pieces,” Rainbow responded with a gentle smile. “Something about it just really speaks to me.”

“I can see why you like it so much. It’s beautiful.” Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash. “And it’s not the only thing.”

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Why, Miss Applejack, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were being forward with me.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I ain’t the one who pulled you closer’n a rattlesnake’s belly to the ground, now am I, Miss Dash?” 

Rainbow Dash just shrugged and smiled coyly. “So you’re from Ponyville,” she said, changing the subject. “What’s it like there?” They started walking through the crowd.
        
“Oh, it ain’t nothin’ much. Just yer typical small little town. Everypony knows everypony there. Ain’t nothin’ like Canterlot. Workin’ on an apple farm’s hard work, but it’s honest work, and I wouldn’t trade it fer all the bits in Canterlot. Look at me, goin’ on about myself. What about you, Miss Dash?”
        
“Please, just Rainbow.”
        
“Alright, Rainbow, I assume you live here in Canterlot. What’s it like livin’ here?”
        
“Oh, it’s nothing special. You know, tutoring, family issues, all that stuff. Do you know of the Wonderbolts?”
        
“That’s them fancy stunt-fliers, right?”

“Oh, but they’re so much more than that! They’re the very embodiment of speed, of agility, of freedom! They are so awesome! I mean, um, they’re really nice. I’m hoping to join them someday, but my father forbids it. Says it’s ‘unbecoming of a young lady’ to want to do stunt flying.” Rainbow Dash’s expression darkened as she talked about her father. “He’s always trying to control me, my father, you know? Tells me what to do, where to go, how to dress, what to say and when to say it, what to eat, how to act in polite society. He treats me like I’m still a foal, like he still needs to protect me from the world. It’s always, ‘no Rainbow, that’s too dangerous’ or ‘no young lady should deign to do that.’ I’m sick of it! I just wish he would let me do something on my own for once, let me spread my wings and fly.” She sighed. “I just feel… trapped.”
        
Applejack put her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and smiled. It was all Rainbow needed. Shereturned the smile and the two mares resumed walking, their bodies now a little closer. Applejack stopped at a vendor and bought a bouquet of brilliant red roses to snack on. Then they returned to the very stoop Applejack had spied her mare from. When Applejack sat down and leaned back, Rainbow Dash tripped and fell, landing right on top of the orange pony.
        
“Sorry, sorry!” she said, her face turning the same shade as the roses as she scrambled to get up.
        
“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. I kinda, um, would like it if you, uh, sat this close to me. If’n you don’t mind, I mean.” Applejack looked away. The warmth pressed up against her stopped wriggling and settled down, body delightfully close to Applejack’s, resting her head on her earth pony’s chest. Applejack looked down to find Rainbow Dash looking up at her, but the pegasus looked away shyly as their eyes met. Applejack put her foreleg around Rainbow’s shoulder. The two ponies settled down, Applejack letting out a contented sigh, and munched on their roses.
        
It was a long while before either of them spoke. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence.  “Applejack, have you ever been in love?” she asked, looking up at Applejack.
        
Applejack was quiet for a long moment before meeting Rainbow’s gaze. “I don’t rightly know. I thought I was once, but it turned out to be false. Why?”
        
“Well, I just… never mind. It’s stupid.” She averted her eyes.
        
“What is it?” Applejack said, putting her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s chin and guiding her face back toward her own. “I promise I won’t laugh.”
        
“It’s just, I never really had big ideas for love, you know? I thought it was all fairytale garbage, and that only weak princesses trapped in towers fell in love.”
        
“Y’know, before tonight, if you had asked me if I believed in ‘love at first sight,’ Id’ve called you a darned fool and bucked you eight ways to Sunday. But now… now I ain’t so sure. I certainly feel somethin’ for ya, Rainbow, an’ the only word I can think to describe it is love. It feels strange, like we’re rushin’ into things, but also... not, like we’ve known each other fer ages an’ this is just the natural progression o’ things. Gosh, look at me babblin’ on like a darned fool ‘bout somethin’ I got no sense talkin’ about.”
        
Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, instead leaning forward and planting a small peck on Applejack’s lips, only the shadow of a kiss.  Applejack was stunned for a moment, but only a moment. She pulled Rainbow a little closer and leaned down, their hot breath mingling for a second before their lips met. Both ponies were pensive at first, neither venturing forward until Rainbow Dash parted her lips and darted her tongue out. Then the dam burst, the kiss becoming a chaotic dance of inexperienced lips and passionate tongues. There was no gentleness, only intense need from both parties. Eventually Applejack pulled away, gasping for breath, both ponies red in the face.
        
“Wow,” Applejack panted. Rainbow Dash leaned forward and kissed her again, brushing their lips together, before settling back against Applejack’s side.

“You’ll be going back to Ponyville, won’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked after a while. “After the festival?”
        
“I reckon so,” Applejack responded.
        
“Will I get to see you again?”
        
“I don’t know, Rainbow. I hope so, I really do, but I just don’t know. I promise to do my darnedest to come back to Canterlot and see you again as soon as possible.”
        
Rainbow Dash looked up into Applejack’s eyes. “When?”
        
“Maybe next year at the Summer Sun Celebration,” Applejack responded.
        
Rainbow sat up. “A whole year!? I can’t wait that long! I’ve never felt this way before, about anypony, and now you’re telling me I won’t get to see you again for a year?” Tears were starting to form in her eyes. “How could you do this to me?”
        
Applejack put her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders and leveled her gaze at the pegasus. “Hey, now I never said I wouldn’t try, did I? I promised to come back again as soon as possible, and I keep my promises. ‘Sides, I can still write letters, can’t I? If’n ya’ll tell me where ya live, I’ll write a letter a week until I can come see you again. Deal?”
        
Rainbow Dash sniffed and wiped away her tears. “Deal,” she said, sticking her hoof out. Applejack laughed and shook it, sealing the deal. Then, the hoof was gone, pulled away. In an instant, Rainbow Dash was no longer with Applejack, instead replaced by a squat, fat pegasus the color of dirt. Applejack heard Rainbow Dash scream and looked up to see the mare of her dreams being carried off by a tough-looking pony in Canterlot Guard armor. Applejack tried to chase after them, but was stopped by the short pegasus.
        
“How dare you lay a hoof on my daughter, you filthy peasant!” When he spoke, spittle flew from his mouth. 
        
Applejack narrowed her eyes and lowered her Stetson. “What’d you just call me?”
        
“You heard me, you heathen!” He turned to the ponies flanking him. “Guards, this is the pony that kidnapped my daughter!” He turned back to Applejack and smirked. “Did you really think you could get away with stealing the child of a Duke?”
        
“Kidnapping? Duke? What in tarnation are ya’ll talkin’ about? I just met this here mare at the festival a few hours ago! Are you tellin’ me she’s your daughter?”
        
“Typical criminal lies. Guards! Arrest her!” Two burly earth ponies seized Applejack’s arms and held her in place. She struggled against them, but it was no use. Then, there was a groan of pain from behind the Duke and Applejack looked up to see a guard doubled over and Rainbow Dash running toward them.
        
“Father, stop, this pony is innocent! She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
        
“But she kidnapped you, took you from your tower and spirited you away!”
        
“No father, nopony kidnapped me. I ran away.”
        
The Duke only huffed and glared at his daughter. “When we get back to the castle,” he said, “you and I are going to have a very serious talk about this. And you,” he said, turning to Applejack. “If I ever catch you near my daughter again, I swear by the might of Celestia that you will rot in the Canterlot Dungeon for the rest of your days!” With that, he seized Lady Rainbow Dash’s hoof and sped off toward the castle, guards in tow.
        
“Applejack, don’t forget your promise!” Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder. Then she was gone.
        
Applejack fell back on her haunches. What just happened? Rainbow was a Duke’s daughter? That made her royalty. Applejack thumped herself on the head. 
        
Stupid, stupid! What was ah thinkin’?

Princess Celestia took to the raised platform at the far end of the square to give her pre-dawn speech, but Applejack hardly noticed. She moved as if in a fog, gathering up her cart and heading off for the train station. She had planned on spending the night after the celebration, but that suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea.
        
She could hear the crowd behind her erupt into cheers as the sun peeked over the horizon. Applejack, the saddest pony in Canterlot, under the fierce gaze of the rising sun, made her way back home to Ponyville.