Hooves on the Ground, Head in the Clouds

by TheNinthWorld


Apple Pie... With Rainbows...

Applejack was sitting on her front porch, looking over Sweet Apple Acres. It was a pleasant fall day, and the apples were almost ready for harvest. For now, though, she was relaxing. The morning's chores were done, and that's all she wanted to do. Relax

Rainbow Dash was flying through the clouds, overlooking all of Ponyville. Even if it was a pleasant fall afternoon, it was always perfect to be zooming around in the sky. Everything was excellent, and the wind in her face made it better. But there was one thing that would make the day truly epic and awesome. A slow smile spread across Rainbow’s face. She turned and headed for the place that smelled of apples and was resided in by her bestest friend in Equestria.The slow smile quickly became a mischievous grin, complete with steely-eyes.
Let’s see what AJ is doing...The pegasus thought to herself. If she could have smiled any more, she’d be able to stuff a whole apple pie in her face. Mmm...She thought. Apple pie....

Applejack looked up to the sky. She could recognize the rainbow trail coming towards her anywhere. It was Rainbow Dash. She got up to greet her friend, grabbing the pie on the windowsill. She knew that Dashie loved the pies she made, and would be hungry after the flight there.

Rainbow flew up, expecting an unaware Applejack to run into, but instead, found the smug earth pony waiting. Waiting with pie. Disappointed, Dash tackled her anyway, sending the pie flying.

“Now, Rainbow Dash, what in Equestria would you do that for?”

“Aww, AJ, you know I was just playing around. I didn’t mean to knock your pie over. I didn’t come for pie...”
Just then, her stomach growled, betraying her earlier statement. Rainbow Dash smiled guiltily.

“Heh-heh...,”laughed Rainbow Dash. “If I help, could we make another? You know, together?”

“Sure. And we could invite Pinkie over for help!” She said jokingly, grinning a bit.

“NO!” shouted Rainbow Dash more loudly than she intended. “ I mean, no, that won’t be necessary. We can make it ourselves...”

Applejack laughed a bit. "Whatever you say..." She said, starting to walk towards her house. "We better get to baking!"

Rainbow Dash grinned with anticipation. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt really excited.

Applejack opened the door to her house and gestured for Rainbow Dash to enter. "Come on in!"

Rainbow Dash walked in, only to be hit with the euphoric scent of apples.

“Does your house always smell like apples?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Applejack walked in behind her, closing the door. "Yup. All day, every day. You get used to it..."

"Mmm... I would not mind if I lived here at all..." Thought Rainbow, but unfortunately, she said this aloud, causing Applejack to raise an eyebrow.

“Pardon?”

“I, uh...,” started Rainbow, realizing she said what she thought aloud. “Nothing, nevermind...” she mumbled lamely, not even convincing herself.

Applejack tilted her head. "Ooookay, then..."She walked towards the kitchen. "If you wanna bake that pie, come on..."

Rainbow followed AJ into the small kitchen. Even though it was rather tiny, ingredients, bowls, a table, pots, pans, spoons, and an oven were still crammed in there. Neatly.

“If only I were this organized...” said Rainbow, thinking of her disorganized tornado of a house. If Rarity were to ever see it, she’d surely die of overwhelming chaos. Rainbow Dash smiled, unintentionally staring at Applejack.

Applejack looked at her. "Well, maybe you should take some time to clean instead of fly or relax..." She pulled a few apples from a basket. "Here. Cut these into slices."

Rainbow Dash was suddenly chopping apples. Working! She thought. This is the only time I’d work for anypony! Rainbow Dash thought that again. She realized her statement was true. There was no other pony she’d work for. Except the Wonderbolts, of course, but she wasn’t one, so Applejack so far was the only pony who could keep her busy. At least, at the moment...

Applejack stood behind Rainbow Dash. "Pretty good, but cut 'em smaller... Like this..." She grabbed one of Dash's hoove gently yet firmly and helped her chop the apples. AJ's coat was surprisingly soft, for all the work she did.

Rainbow blushed as pressure was applied to her hoof. Without thinking, she started to rub against her, covering the movements with each CHOP. Applejack noticed this, and backed away, blushing.

"Oh... Er... Sorry" AJ said, not wanting to admit that she actually kind of enjoyed it.

Rainbow Dash started to blush again. “Eh...It was...my fault..eh...Heh-heh...”

They both stared into each others eyes, searching for the meaning of what just happened. The timer went off. Applejack rushed to the oven.

“Pre-heatin’s done...” said Applejack, not looking at her to avoid embarrassment. “Pass me them apple slices.”

Rainbow Dash obligingly handed her the apple slices, trying to sneak a look at her, but embarrassed to find her glancing at the same moment. Both turned away, causing the pan of apples to fall to the floor. Simultaneously, they dropped down to clean up the mess, only to bonk heads together, with a solid THUMP. They looked into each others eyes, and felt a little spark.

Applejack rubbed her own forehead and blushed. "Sorry... That was my fault..." She said, trying to ignore the fluttering of her heart. "You okay?"

“Uh, yeah...”Said Dash, trying to clear her head. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” said AJ, cleaning up the mess while Rainbow Dash tried to think about what happened.

“I-I think I’ll just see myself out...” said Rainbow Dash, and bolted out the door before Applejack could even reply. “We’ll make the pie tomorrow, I promise...!” she yelled as she flew up and away.

Applejack could only watch in deep loneliness as her friend disappeared in the evening sky. AJ watched the sunset, and wished she could enjoy it with a special somepony...