I
Applejack tapped a hoof against the ground in impatience. She knew she couldn’t exactly be surprised that Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt-to-be and nap connoisseur would be late to work, but she had hoped that today would be different, given it was the first help she had asked for in a while. She glanced up at the barn. Two hours ago, it was bare wood, and now it sat half painted. At first, she started because she figured Rainbow Dash would be a little late. She worked faster than she realized, channeling some of her irritation into her work, only stopping when she saw a tell-tale rainbow trail in the sky, a sure-fire sign that the cyan pegasus would be arriving in moments.
Sure enough, Dash appeared, a gust of wind behind the farmer. Before she could turn to admonish her friend, she felt the hair of a tail brush over her cutie mark, causing the farmer to stiffen up by the unexpected contact. She felt a hot breath on the back of her ear and heard the pegasus whisper, “Hey Jackie.”
Suddenly coming to her senses, she pushed Dash back in an instant. “Whoa there! Ah figured ya were comin’ down, but that was a bit... close.”
“Sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, “I just figured, ‘oh, here’s my marefriend out here all alone. I better greet her like her mate would greet her.”
“What if somepony’s lookin’, Dash?”
“So what?” She said defensively as she approached the farmer. “All they’ll see is a couple enjoying a personal moment together.”
“More like a private moment,” Applejack retorted quietly, “and ya know ah ain’t comfortable doin’ that yet. Ah don’t—”
“Yeah yeah,” Dash waved off her marefriend’s concerns with a hoof. “I know you don’t wanna tell anypony that we’re dating yet. I just don’t get why.”
“Well...” Applejack rubbed a hoof against her neck. “I already explained it to ya Dash. Ah’m not sure if, ya know, this’ll work.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “That’s why ponies, you know, date. So it isn’t a lifelong commitment from the get-go. Besides, didn’t you tell me last night that you lo—”
“Ah-ah was drunk!” Applejack interrupted, a blush emerging onto her cheeks. “Ah didn’t know what ah was sayin’!
Rainbow Dash chuckled at her marefriend’s deflection. “So you didn’t mean it?”
“Th-that’s not what ah meant... ah just...” Applejack sighed.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash walked up next to Applejack, throwing an arm over her shoulder. “I mean, yeah, I’d prefer if I could tell everypony. I’m sure Pinkie would throw a great party. And not-kissing you is really hard when we’re in a bar drinking.” Applejack blushed a bit. “But if you want to wait, that’s cool. Gotta know where we’re at, right?” Dash offered.
Applejack looked up at her marefriend’s face. Despite the smile, she could see some worry hidden behind her eyes. Applejack took in a deep breath, then let it out, and with a nod, quickly pecked Dash on the cheek, the action making the pegasus cease all movement. “Tell ya, what, we tell them this week, okay?”
Dash was unmoving for only a moment before she exploded into the air, doing a quick flip and landing right next to Applejack. “Sounds good to me!” Once still, she glanced around. “So, uh, what are you doing out here anyway? You look really lonely next to this half-painted barn.”
Applejack blinked. “Why’d ya come by if ya didn’t know what was up?”
“I was just flying by, and I saw my marefriend that I was out bar-crawling with last night! All, uh, one, bars in Ponyville. But yeah, so I thought I’d come by and say hi.” Rainbow grinned. “You seemed happy to see me. Did I miss something?”
“Take a wild guess,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash glanced around for a few seconds, then turned her head to her back. Still not finding what she was looking for, she looked to Applejack, then past her. The barn sat tall, the front not yet painted, the bare wood showing, and a side of it painted a bright red. She then glanced at the base of the barn, noticing some paint cans and two paint brushes.
“Oh.”
With one last swipe, Applejack covered the last of the barn in the crimson paint. “All done,” Applejack said. “Would ya like to come by for a snack? I know how much hard work can leave a pony like yerself short of breath.”
“Haha, very funny AJ,” Dash said as she landed next to the farmer, the two then making a steady trot towards Applejack’s house. “I need to scrub these paint blotches out of my wing, eugh. The feathers feel like they’re clumping together.”
The sun may have been beating down on them in such a cloudless sky, but given that it was just September, and that the running of the leaves was merely weeks away, the air felt chilled compared to the summer months. Easily cool enough to work all day outside and not break much of a sweat. The paint job only took a little less time with the pegasus helping, mostly due to her lack of experience. She had to stop several times when her wings would accidentally brush against a section of the barn she had just painted, and tried to brush the paint off of her feathers with a hoof, but it seemed to only make it worse every time. Applejack didn’t mind; painting was mind-numbingly boring to the farmer. It wasn’t like apple-bucking or any other kind of labor that she usually engaged in: those required raw strength. Sure, a little finesse, but mostly strength. When it came to painting the side of a barn, it just took time. Time she could be putting into, say, harvesting apples or something, anything else. Like spending time with Rainbow Dash.
Spending time with Dash under the guise of farm work that was actually still farm work sat just fine with the farmer, even if was less ideal to the pegasus. It was two weeks ago that the cyan mare had asked Applejack out, and it had thankfully been when she was home alone. The farmer had been laying bare some worries about how the farm was doing, and Rainbow Dash threw them by the wayside with a long, direct kiss to Applejack’s lips.
The farmer still remembered her emotions vividly. The smallest sprinkles of surprise topping off the somewhat anxious frosting, all atop a grand cupcake of bliss. She felt like it was something she was missing her whole life; she needed somepony closer than family, somepony she could come to with anything and everything, somepony she could rely on, instead of being the one others relied on. Who else but the only pony who could keep up with her in a hoof-race?
Yet afterwards, she had to tell Dash that she wasn’t sure if... dating would even work. Her entire life spent occupying the farm and fending off invading platoons of desolation and neglect, she was always working. She needed time to know if that this was something she really wanted, not just something different that she liked.
Dash didn’t seem to get it, and Applejack wondered if it was still unclear to her. Even now, the two walked close together, but Dash kept trying to close the distance, something the farmer would react to by moving an inch further. She said earlier that she was willing to open up to her friends, but was that to quiet Dash, or to quiet her own worries about the matter? She didn’t even know now.
Her train of thought was interrupted by Rainbow Dash speaking. Applejack cleared her throat and asked, “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”
“I said, when do you wanna tell the others?”
Applejack glanced around at her surroundings. She saw her home visible in the distance, and nothing but apple trees and blue sky in sight. “Hey, don’t you think I looked around before asking that?” Dash said. “Come on, you know I don’t mind keeping it a secret.”
Applejack was skeptical. “Don’t mind? Dash, ya ask me every time we meet when ya can tell everypony. If it weren’t for the fact that ah know you so well, ah’d be worried ya might accidentally blab it to Pinkie Pie. Then this half of Equestria’d know we’re datin’ in minutes.”
“Hmm, yeah, they probably would.” A glare from the farmer put those words right back in Dash’s mouth. “Look, I’m just trying to get why you don’t wanna brag to everypony that you’re dating me! Future Wonderbolt and master of the Sonic Rainboom, able to pull them off at will, whether rising or falling!” She jumped up with a quick flip, and landed softly on Applejack’s back, who continued walking at her normal pace, the pegasus supporting most of her own weight with the flapping of her wings. “Why wouldn’t you want to tell everypony you’re dating somepony as awesome as me?”
“Well, first off, just now you made it look like ah had to get you, when you really made the first move.”
“Well, sure, but that just means that you won me over without even trying!” Applejack looked up to find Dash beaming so brightly that she wondered if the weather pegasus could get a part time job replacing the sun. “Come on, tell me what’s up.”
“Ah’ve tried.”
“Try harder.” The pegasus, almost effortlessly, hovered off of the farmer’s back and landed in front of her, turning to meet her snout-to-snout. “I wanna know why my marefriend doesn’t want to let the whole world know that she’s totally into me.”
Applejack chuckled. “Ya know, ya can be pretty cute when yer gloatin’ left and right.”
“See?! It’s stuff like that that just confuses me more. It isn’t like you thought you liked stallions or something, right?” Dash asked, throwing the question into the air with as much effort as one throws tissue paper into a hurricane.
“Nah, nothin’ like that,” Applejack answered. “It’s nothin’ to do with you, and everythin’ to do with me.” Rainbow Dash sat down, and Applejack took that as a sign to continue. “Ever since ah got mah cutie mark, ah’ve just put mah entire life into the farm, ya know that.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “When yer workin’ an entire orchard that supports an entire town almost single-hoofedly, it takes a lot of work. Not just hard work, but lots of work, work that takes time. Without time, ah ain’t ever thought of, well, not the farm. Ah mean, ah gotta make time for friends. Everypony needs friends. Then there’s savin’ Equestria from mortal peril. That’s a newer thing, but still somethin’ that needs to be done. Ah never even thought that there might be more to my life than mah work on the farm and a few friends. A special somepony? Not even an idea ah can relate to. It’s just, out there, outside of mah brain, sittin’ around like a lazy good-fer-nothin’, but then yer kiss that night...”
“Which was totally an awesome first kiss, right?”
“...woke me up to the fact that there is more to life than this farm. Not just mah life, but life in general as ah thought of it, which is why this is hard. Ah don’t know if ah like, uh, you, because it’s new, because it’s what ah really want, because ah’m closer to a friend, because of... other wants, or any of that kind of stuff. So ah just... ah wanna make sure. Make sure this is what ah want, and not chasing some other... emotion, or somethin’. It’s hard to explain. Ah probably should have started with that.” Applejack forced a smile to her face, unsure how Dash would react to such a slew of thoughts.
Initially, she was quiet. Not angry, ashamed, sad, or even thoughtful, just quietly looking up at the farmer. Eventually, Applejack’s false smile faded and she found herself returning the gaze, the two staring at each other like looking at anything else might blind them.
Dash broke the silence with a simple utterance. “Oh.”
“Oh?” Applejack echoed.
“You’ve thought a lot harder about this than me, that’s all.”
“What do ya mean?”
“I just asked you out because, you know, you’re nice and honest and competitive and stuff. And hot.” Applejack blushed, which caused Dash to giggle. “Well, that’s cool. So, what you said earlier—”
“Ah’m thinkin’ about it Dash. Ah mean, why keep datin’ ya if ah don’t think it’s what ah want? And Celestia knows ah love seein’ ya every day,” Applejack said, stepping forward and nuzzling her marefriend.
Dash returned the gesture and said, “I just wanna make sure you’re cool with it,” Dash said, rubbing a hoof against the back of her neck. “Actually, I kinda feel bad for asking so much now. I just thought you were nervous or something...”
“It’s alright, sugarcube. Ah don’t mind one bit that yer so excited about all of this. Wouldn’t be you otherwise.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Great, glad we had this talk, but—” she was interrupted by her stomach growling.
Applejack chuckled. “Well, come on then, ah’ll get us some grub back home.”
The moods of the two mares renewed, they both made for Applejack’s home at a speedy trot, arriving in minutes. They chatted idly away as they went, Applejack’s anxiety lifted by Dash’s high spirits.
Once inside, Dash promptly took off for the kitchen, apparently heading for the fridge. Applejack took a moment to sit on a bench at the entrance.
Was that all it took to make her happy? A single talk with Rainbow Dash? The farmer was confused at her own comfort. Was she guilty for not having said anything before-hand when Dash had questioned her so often? She was starting to wonder if it mattered. She was happy—happy that she was on the same ground as Dash.
“Oh, to hay with it.” Applejack said as she leapt off of the bench and made for the kitchen. She found Dash already cramming half a pie into her mouth. When then pegasus saw the farmer, she froze up, some of the pie balanced on her hooves, some in her mouth.
“Let’s tell ‘em tomorrow,” Applejack said, causing Dash’s eyes to go wide. “Ah can’t act like we’re not datin’ cause ah may not be sure about it. It ain’t fair to you.”
In one gulp, she finished what pie was in her mouth, then leapt to the farmer, their snouts crashing into each other. “Really?”
Applejack blushed from the close contact, but smiled and nodded. “Yup.”
Without warning, Dash took her into a kiss, the two closing their eyes as they savored the moment. It was the same bliss she felt that night, two weeks prior, but now there was no surprise or anxiety behind what she did. When they pulled apart from the kiss, it was half-hearted. Their eyes opened in sync, and while Applejack was smiling softly, Rainbow Dash seemed to be smirking. “You’re gonna have to kiss better than that if you wanna be my marefriend.”
Before Applejack could respond, she heard the front door slam open. “AJ? AJ, you there?”
“Applebloom?” the farmer called back as she walked towards the entrance. She immediately saw the yellow and red filly charging towards here, then glanced at the clock. “Yer home early, somethin’ happen at school?”
“Uh, well no, not exactly—oh, hey Rainbow Dash!” She did a quick wave to the pegasus, who was standing at the table again. She nodded in response, and continued eating her pie. “But AJ! A mailpony brought a letter to me personally, and ya won’t believe who it was from!”
“Who then?” Applejack asked
“Ma!”
The farmer froze. “Ya mean... our mom? Our mom Apple Butter?”
“Yeah!” Applebloom said with a beam, “She said she’ll be back in a week to visit!”
“A week?! Is that all the warning she gave us?!”
Applebloom shrugged. “Ah guess...”
Applejack took a deep breath. “Heavens to Betsy...”
“What’s the big deal?” Rainbow Dash asked from behind. “So your mom’s coming to visit?”
Applejack turned around towards the pegasus. “Dash, have ya ever even seen her before?”
“Uhhh,” Dash tapped her chin in thought, “not that I know of, actually.”
“Because she ain’t been here for ten years, Rainbow Dash. Not since... well...” she tilted her head back at Applebloom. Applejack turned back to her little sister and asked, “Hey, you seen Big Mac yet?” When the filly shook her head, Applejack continued, “well, go find him!” Applebloom nodded, then turned and darted out the front door.
Applejack turned and gave a long exhale. “You okay, AJ?” Dash asked from the table.
“Ah think... ah’m just relieved, ah think.”
The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Dash... our mama left Applebloom here when she was two years old. She works for Equestria and Sweet Apple Acres, settling new towns and helpin’ build them up. She’s been gone ten years for one of them. She wrote a few times maybe.” Applejack’s eyes fell to the ground. “Ah’m not sure what to think, other than ah’m glad she still remembers us.”
“But what about all those reunions you guys have? Didn’t you host a huge one a while back?”
“They always send the same letter, sayin’ they can’t come. It’s almost like gettin’ form letters.” Applejack stepped back a few steps back to sit down on a nearby couch. “Ah’m not mad. Ah can’t get mad at them, they’re mah folks! But... how can they not come see us in such a long time? Applebloom barely remembers them...”
“So are you gonna be happy to see them?” Dash asked bluntly.
Applejack gave her a confused glance. “’Course ah am!”
“Then be happy to see them when they get into town!” Dash threw her arms up in example. “Give them the best party they can get!”
“B-but they’ve been gone so long...”
“So?” Rainbow Dash sat down next to Applejack. “Are you gonna tell her off when she gets here?”
Applejack spun towards her. “Why would ah do somethin’ like that?”
“I’m just saying,” Dash said. “I mean, remember when Twilight first got back to Canterlot for the wedding? She was mad at first, but they still were brother and sister.”
“But—”
“I just don’t think you should only be mad or only be happy. Just, tell her how you really feel.” Rainbow Dash threw an arm around Applejack. “I mean, it isn’t like she hates you.”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah... ah just... ah’m her family. We’re family, and she hasn’t even...” Applejack shook her head. “Ah don’t know. Just, go tell everypony, okay? Ah need some time to figure this out.”
“You sure AJ? I could—”
Applejack stepped off of the couch and turned towards the staircase at the other end of the room. “I just need a bit to myself. Ah’ll see ya later, okay Dash?” Dash raised a hoof as if to protest, but thought better of it, and decided to fly out the front door. Applejack wondered briefly if she had been too sudden in asking her to leave, but she figured that Dash would understand. She had listened to her ramble on all day, after all.
Moments later, Applejack entered her room on the second story. She darted to her night stand next to her bed, retrieving a framed photograph from the lower compartment, and tossing it on her bed to be examined.
It was an old photograph of her family. Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, a baby Applebloom, and... her parents. Applejack looked to herself and her big brother first. Ten and eleven years old, the two hadn’t changed much in their appearance over the years, except for growing several inches, given that they both had their cutie marks at the time. Granny Smith looked like she hadn’t changed even a smidgeon.
And then there were her parents: her father, Haralson Apple, and her mother, Apple Butter. Her dad had a bright red coat that bordered on a hot pink, and his mane was a dirt-brown. His cutie mark was a solid, dark red apple, similar in shape to Big Mac’s cutie mark, without the cross-section.
Her mother... she had almost forgotten what she looked like. Her dad seemed stuck in her mind, probably because of how similar her brother looked, but her mom was always harder to remember. She had a green coat, only a few shades darker than Granny Smith’s. Her mane was a bright pink, tied up into two separate ponytails, and her tail bound much like Applejack’s. Her cutie mark was simple: two apples, yellow and blushed red, set side by side. She was rather tall, almost as tall as Haralson, and a bit lanky as well, but she was every bit a strong apple bucker that Applejack’s father was.
Applejack sat herself on the bed and picked up the picture in both hooves. After a few seconds, she felt her eyes watering up. She hugged the picture close and blinked the tears away.
Just a few more days, Applejack, and then Ma’ll be here, and everythin’ will be fine. She’ll tell you why she hasn’t talked to you in ten years, why she’s comin’ back alone, and maybe why she ain’t even stayin’.
Applejack took the photograph, placed it back under her night stand, and slammed it shut. She wiped away a few remaining tears, and decided to make for Ponyville to help everypony plan for her mom’s arrival.
When the farmer awoke, the first thing she felt was the prickly feel of hay on her back side and something soft nudging at her back. Her eyes shot open and she leapt off of whatever surface she had been sleeping on, spinning around to see what it was.
She was only a tiny bit surprised by her surroundings. It was the morning of her mother’s arrival, and for some reason, sleeping in her own bed had begun to be a challenge for her as the week went on. She vaguely recalled deciding to spend the night in the barn on a bale of hay, though she didn’t feel as sore that day as she usually did in her own bed, which was odd given that she knew that by all rights hay was not nearly as comfortable as her mattress.
What really surprised her was the rainbow-maned pegasus that had moved another bale over next to hers, and then had apparently decided to spend the night there, snoring nice and loud. Applejack idly wondered how she managed to sleep through Rainbow Dash’s monster of a snore, but she figured she had done it once before—while in a cave, no less—and so disregarded the thought.
She walked over beside the pegasus, and lowered her head so she’d be only inches away from her marefriend’s, and said, “Rainbow!”
It was only an indoor voice, but due to being so startled, Rainbow Dash shot up into the air, her head smacking into the roof. She came down to earth slowly, rubbing the top of her head in an attempt to ease the pain. “Hey, what gives?!”
“Ah’m just wonderin’ why ya decided to sleep next to me. In the barn.” Applejack tapped a hoof impatiently.
“Oh. That.” She her gaze darted back and forth, probably making sure the coast was clear, before she said, “Well, I was just worried about you. I checked your window and didn’t see you—”
“Ya check on me through my window?” Applejack asked.
“N-not usually! O-or ever! I just did it last night because I was worried about you, okay? I found you in the barn, and I couldn’t wake you up. You looked,” Rainbow Dash mused for a second, “Peaceful, I guess. So I just figured I could keep you company.”
“While I slept,” Applejack clarified.
“Yeah.”
“Right.” Applejack cleared her throat. “So what has ya so worried? The planning seems like it’s been goin’ good and all—”
“Because we—” Dash walked forward, poked herself in the chest, and then Applejack, “—haven’t spent any time together this week!”
Applejack took a step back, avoiding her marefriend’s gaze. “Well, that’s not entirely true, sugarcube.”
“We sure as heck never spent any time alone!” Dash said, stepping forward to match the farmer. “If we were ever in the same room, Pinkie or Fluttershy or somepony else would be there. Why haven’t we hung out? Heck, why haven’t we told the girls about us? I thought you said we’d do that this week?!”
“Ah did say that, but mom’s more important than that right now!” Applejack yelled. Rainbow Dash fell back on her rump at the voice, but Applejack’s angered expression dissolved in an instant. “Sorry. Ah’m just a bit stressed. That’s why ah couldn’t sleep in mah bed. This just... felt more comfortable last night.”
“You sure you didn’t feel me sleeping next to you?” Rainbow Dash said with a wink. Applejack jabbed her in the chest. “Ow! Look, just tell me why you’ve been avoiding spending time with me!”
“Ah haven’t been tryin’ to Dash, that’s what ah’m sayin’. Ah’m just thinkin’ about the party and mom and everythin’ so ah never thought about... well, uh, us. Ah’m sorry Dash. It’s just, right now, family comes first.”
“So what am I? Chopped liver?” Rainbow Dash asked. There was a moment of silence between the two mares as Rainbow Dash studied her marefriend’s expression.
Applejack returned the gaze, not worrying about what she was thinking, or how she looked. Dash’s expression intrigued her. The pegasus was almost always smiling in some manner. Smugly, excitedly, happily. She tended to smile a lot. Applejack loved that about Rainbow Dash. But at this moment, she had a cross of a few expressions. She supposed some of it was anger—the pegasus wore a mighty frown, paired with her narrow eyebrows. Yet, something in her eyes was flickering. She was unsure. Anxiety? Was that her worry presenting itself?
Applejack’s thoughts returned to herself. Why didn’t she tell her friends that week? Why did she keep herself from Rainbow Dash? Applejack wasn’t entirely sure either. Most of the week had been spent with Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, both of whom were an overwhelming help to setting up the celebration for her mom. Rainbow Dash had been there most days, but she hadn’t been over bearing, simply present to do her best to help, and she had been a help. Did Dash really hold herself back so much during the week? Applejack had been so focused on her mom that she didn’t’ even realize that Dash had been so passive that week. The usually abrasive pegasus had really held herself back, just for Applejack.
Something inside of her ticked. She couldn’t stand seeing Rainbow Dash like that, that weak veil of anger, barely hiding her concern for the farmer. She was starting to hate it even, and decided to do something about it.
She quickly took a few steps forward, bringing her face dangerously close to Dash’s. Her face fell and surprise was quickly propped up in its place. “AJ, what are—”
She was silenced by Applejack’s lips meeting hers. The kiss was sudden but no less powerful, and Applejack pushed Dash back with both mouth and body until she hit the hay that had been their beds the previous night. After another moment, the farmer pulled back, leaving Dash with a stunned expression.
“Wh-what was that about?” Dash asked.
“That’s just me apologizin’, ‘sall,” Appejack said. “Yer right. Ah haven’t been focusin’ on the right ponies lately. If yer gonna be mah marefriend, ah gotta realize yer as important as family.”
“Uhm.” Rainbow Dash blushed for some reason unbeknownst to the farmer. “Th-thanks AJ. But it’s no big deal, really. Stuff, you know, happens sometimes. Can’t always be ready for it.”
Applejack shook her head. “It still ain’t right, so—” she pecked Dash on the cheek and continued, “—how about we tell them tomorrow, after everythin’s died down? Heck, let’s make it tonight. Ma’s gonna arrive today, but that don’t mean that we’re any less important. Ah could even introduce ya to the family, Dashie.”
“Dashie, huh?” Rainbow Dash only pondered her marefriend’s response for a moment before nodding. “Sure sure, that’s fine. I mean, I get it. It’s your mom and all.”
Applejack nodded. “So, until we tell everypony, we probably won’t have a lot of time together. I’ll probably be at the party today, then spendin’ time with family tomorrow, and after that ah’m not sure—”
“So let’s put this time to good use,” Dash interrupted, stopping Applejack with a kiss. Dash didn’t push back like the farmer did earlier, and instead she brought her in close, leaning back against the hay bales. After the initial shock, she became lost in the kiss, closing her eyes and relishing the closeness she had never once felt before with the athletic pegasus.
They pulled apart after countless moments, Applejack slowly opened her eyes. She was smiling that same smug smile she was missing that morning. She forgot how... sexy it made Rainbow Dash.
“Hmmmm,” Applejack said.
“You aren’t worried about anyone coming out to the barn, are you?” Dash asked.
Applejack shook her head. “Nah, not today. So ah think...” she planted a quick peck on Dash’s snout. “Ah think a mornin’ with you’d be perfect.”