//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: A Race to the Finish // Story: The Fruits of Our Labors (Book 4) // by LotusTeaDragon //------------------------------// CHAPTER FOUR: RACE YOU TO THE BOTTOM She closed the gap within a split second, and barged into the tent. Landing on all fours, she crouched, quickly glancing about the inside of the tent, ready to take on any assailant. All she saw, as she looked about, were shelves of various candies, some in jars, others in barrels. She eased up from her crouch, and slowly crept forward, looking about for any signs of a hidden assassin, or armed thief. "Oh my! Can I help you?" came a meek voice from the other side of the tent. Rainbow Dash started at the sudden break in the eerie quiet. She ducked back into her crouch, and squinted toward the source, which had come from behind a counter some six or seven meters away, and laden with assorted candies, sitting next to an old cash register. "Where are you, and what have you done with the hostage?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, putting as much intimidating anger into her voice as possible. "Oh, goodness, dearie! You don't have to shout...er, what hostage?" Rainbow Dash was caught off guard by the question. "Uh, the hostage that was screaming right before I came in here?" She asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice. A light chuckle was the response. Rainbow Dash frowned. "Listen, whoever you are, there's something funny going on, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Now if you don't tell me where the hostage is, I'll-" "Oh relax, child. There's no hostage here." A moment later, the source of the voice came from behind a flap next to the register. It was an elderly mare, and she was holding a small cage with some bird inside that Rainbow Dash didn't recognize. The mare's steps were feeble, but Dash remained on alert just in case it was all a ruse. Dash cocked her head. "If there's no hostage, then how do you explain the scream, there, Miss, whoever you are." The old mare chuckled drily as she sat the birdcage on the counter. "Because, child, the only ponies in here are you and I." Dash grunted in frustration. "I heard a scream. Now if you don't tell me where they went, I'm going to have to take you to the authorities." The old mare outright guffawed at this. "Oh my, darlin', you'd arrest an old mare for nothing? There's no hostage, and that wasn't any scream. It was the call of my harpie crow here." Rainbow Dash frowned as she examined the bird that was sitting in its cage. It was a tiny, black, and about the size of a parakeet. Its orange eyes darted about the tent, and it ruffled its wings slightly, every so often. Rainbow turned back to the old mare. "Do you really expect me to believe your story? That's silly! How could a-" "Liddy, speak." A scream erupted from the harpy crow without any further warning, knocking Dash to the ground. The blue pegasus put her hooves to her ears, and scrunched her eyes shut, the sound keeping her from even standing up. And like that, it was quiet again. Dash got to her hooves a moment later, dazed from the bird's devastating squawk. "What IS that thing?" Dash asked the elderly mare as she tried to keep her balance. The ringing in her ears was going to stick around for a while, and that only agitated the already growing headache. The elderly mare smirked. "That, darlin', is my harpy crow. Her name is Liddy, and she is my security system. No thief would ever think of stealing from my shop while she's around. Her squawk penetrates most forms of ear protection, and it's strong enough to disrupt a magic user's ability to cast." With what appeared to be pride, Liddy chirruped softly. Rainbow Dash gazed upon the bird with newfound respect. "Um, okay, but could you promise not to do that again? Hey, why did it squawk in the first place? Was there a thief in here?" Dash asked. The elderly mare shook her head. "No, I'm afraid that was my fault. Liddy is a sound sleeper when she knows I'm around. Well, I stepped out for just a minute to gather a few flowers for a candy I've been working on, and I guess it scared her that I was gone. I'm sorry about that, dear. I didn't mean to scare you." "S-scared? No way, I wasn't scared, I was, uh, concerned. I was just, you know, concerned that somepony had been ponynapped, or something, and I, uh, wanted, you know..." Dash's voice trailed off as she looked about the room. "Oh, don't worry about it, sugar. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Everypony gets scared; being scared is what tells us there's danger on the hoof. You know what? Why don't I give you something as a thank you gift for coming to my rescue." The cream furred mare reached under the counter and pulled out a small box wrapped in silver foil. "Here you go, honey, you can have these. They're Prench Chocolates, sent to me by one of the premiere chocolatiers in all of Equestria." She handed the box to Rainbow Dash. "Oh, um, thanks, but you don't have to give me anything. I didn't save anypony." Dash said, trying to politely wave off the gift, even though she was curious as to what Prench chocolate tasted like. "I insist, youngin'. Your intentions were good, and I've no doubt that if I were in trouble, you would have saved me, so please, make an old mare happy and accept the gift." The mare smiled gently, her glasses edging a little further down her muzzle as she did so. Rainbow Dash smiled, and accepted the gift. "Thank you, ma'am," she added. "So, do you have somepony you plan on sharing those with?" *** "Come on, now! Let's get this ground furrowed!" Applejack called out to the young stallion pulling the plow. Dozens of crystal earth ponies, yoked to plows, were preparing the hard soil for the new apple seeds. She had measured out a hundred acres of the best growing land they could find, and now she was plying her special talent to making it fertile, and profitable, for the new seeds. "Miss Applejack," came the voice of one of the research assistants beside her, "we're ready to plant. Do you want us to proceed?" "Ah sure do. Let's grow some apples." The assistant nodded and trotted off to carry out her order. A few moments later, a team of ponies began spreading apple seeds, traveling along the furrowed ground, with another team of ponies behind them, covering and patting down the soil to prevent any birds from eating the precious seeds. Applejack smiled as she watched the crystal ponies working. She admired a strong work ethic, and these ponies had it. It was no wonder that a few ponies turned a frozen wasteland into an amazing empire that spanned the entire northern regions of Equestria. "Miss Applejack?" Applejack turned to see a courier standing behind her. "Princess Cadance has asked to see you in her chambers. You can take this carriage back to the castle," he said, motioning to a single carriage that had pulled up as he spoke. Applejack thanked him and climbed inside. *** Upon returning to the castle, she was directed to Cadance's personal chambers, where she saw both Cadance, and Rainbow Dash, seemingly in conversation. They both stopped as she approached. "Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean ta interrupt ya, Princess," Applejack said as she came close enough to speak without raising her voice. Cadance smiled. "You didn't interrupt me, Applejack. I was just discussing something with Rainbow Dash." "Really, now?" "Mhm." The Princess continued. "I hear that the two of you have been busy as of late, is that true?" Applejack nodded. "Yep, but that ain't nothin' unusual for us." "No kidding. It's always apples, apples, apples." Rainbow Dash commented. Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Well, we are Apples, aren't we?" "To the core, AJ." "Heh. That's cute. Still, Ah don't see any complainin' when we sell our harvest every year." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Of course not. I've got this thing where I like food." "Ah noticed." "You callin' me fat?" "Nah, but sometimes, when Ah'm asleep, Ah mistake ya for mah pillow." "So?" "Ah once had a dream Ah ate a giant blue marshmallow." "Sounds like a great idea. Maybe we should try it sometime." "Ahem. Mares, please." The bickering couple stopped upon hearing the kind, but cutting, voice of Princess Cadance interjecting herself into the conversation. "Sorry, Princess," said the pair. "Anyway," Cadance continued. "I called the both of you here because I want you to take a break." "Princess, Ah-" "Don't interrupt. Applejack, the seeds are in the ground, and according to this report, which I'm holding, we're on track for the largest, and most bountiful, crop the Crystal Empire has ever seen. You've done everything I've asked, in little time, and what's more is you've executed it flawlessly." "Pardon mah interruptin', Princess, but Ah don't think ya should count yer apples before they're growed." Cadance smiled at the earth pony mare. "Applejack, I have confidence in your abilities. I have no doubt they will be the best apples we've ever seen." "Er, aren't they the only apples ya have ever seen up here?" Cadance chuckled. "Point taken. Still, I don't want the two of you around here bored off your flanks while we get on with the day to day routine. So, what I have done is this." She nodded toward Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash smiled. "We're going to a ski resort!" She reached under her wing and pulled out two tickets, and handed one to Applejack, who took it and began studying the gold slip of paper. "Crystal Plateau Ski Resort? Ah ain't never heard of it." Applejack said, as she absently scratched behind her ear. Rainbow Dash grinned. "It's the biggest ski resort in the Crystal Kingdom! You can ski, go snowboarding, they've got the Polar Pony Club, where you jump into ice water without any clothes on!" "Well, we don't actually-" "It's so cold, you can't feel your hooves!" "Uh-" "And then we all drink hot chocolate, and sit around a fire telling ghost stories!" While initially hesitant to leave the potential apple crop unattended, Applejack couldn't hold out once she looked at the expression on her wife's face. There were times when her stubborn will could refuse anything to anypony, but this wasn't one of those times. "Oh, alright. We can go." Rainbow Dash jumped up and down, and then grabbed Applejack in a tight embrace, peppering her muzzle with kisses. Cadance, for her part, just laughed at the display from the young couple. "Well, we better get packing, we have to leave tonight!" With that, Rainbow Dash dragged the surprised earth mare out of the room. *** Two hours later, they found themselves standing in front of the fanciest ski resort they'd ever seen. Considering they had never been to a ski resort, that wasn't saying much, but still, it was pretty big, and posh. Very posh. "Have ya seen anythin' this fancy?" Applejack asked as they grabbed their luggage and entered the main lobby of the resort hotel. "Nope. Even the Ritz-Colton back in Los Pegasus didn't look this awesome. Plus, they never had snowboarding." They approached the front desk, and handed the clerk the two reservation receipts. The stallion glanced at the paper, his eyes bulging for a moment, and he cleared his throat. "Welcome to the Crystal Plateau Resort, Mrs. Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I will have you to your room promptly." He tapped the bell sitting on the counter, and an earth mare bellpony appeared a moment later, offering the couple a crisp salute. "Gold Star, please take our guests' baggage to their room, and see to their immediate comfort." He turned to the pair. "Please enjoy your stay. If there's anything you wish, you need only ask us. We are at your service." With that, he bowed. Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash, who merely smiled, and they turned to follow the bellpony to their room. "Well, that was right nice of him. Better than what happened last time we was in a fancy hotel." Applejack commented as they entered the elevator, watching as they passed each floor. "Why do ya think he looked at us like that anyway?" she asked a moment later. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Don't matter to me. I just think it's awesome! The Princess must have let them know we were coming or something." A few seconds later, the elevator came to a halt, and the bellpony stepped out as the doors opened. The couple followed behind her. Mouths agape, the stood outside the elevator entrance. "Sweet Celestia," Applejack muttered. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!" Rainbow uttered. The room was furnished in bright hues of blue and pink, trimmed with gold and silver accents. There was a floor space in the center of the room, that was filled with cushions and throw pillows. To each side were overstuffed couches and chairs, a large screen television was mounted on the wall. They could see into the fully stocked kitchen on their left, and on their right, the entrance to the game room, where one could see a pool table, a poker table, a private bar, and toward the back, the entrance to the bedroom. The piece de resistance was above them. Floating in air, mere centimeters from the ceiling, was a massive chandelier, red and purple gems glistening, emitting a soft warm glow, and casting the room in a lavender hue. Each mare could almost swear she heard the chandelier give off a soft hum. The bellpony left them to stare as she took their bags to their bedroom. "You know," Rainbow Dash said after a moment, "I'm not so sure I want to actually leave the hotel." Applejack merely nodded. The bellpony returned a moment later, and gave Applejack the keys to the hotel. "If you need anything," she said, "just call for me. I will be your personal assistant, always at your service, day or night. Do you require anything as of this moment?" The two mares shook their heads, still in awe. The bellpony smiled. "Very well, then. My name is Gold Star, and if you need anything, simply press the jewel on the key, and I will be summoned right to your door." She entered the elevator. "Please enjoy your stay," she said with a smile, as the doors closed. A few seconds of silence passed, before Applejack whooped loudly. She ran for the living area, and dived into the pile of pillows laying in the center. Her hat flew up, off her head, as pillows, and feathers, flew away. Without hesitating, Rainbow Dash ran right behind her, and dived in, on top of her. She pulled the orange earth pony to her, and kissed her passionately on the lips. The farm pony's emerald eyes closed as she took in the sweet and tender love of her wife. They broke from their ministrations, and snuggled into one another. "You know, I never thought that you would ever love somepony like me." "What do ya mean, sugarcube?" "Well, ever since that first day I asked you out, it's felt like this great big dream, you know? I mean, we've been through so much together, and I love you just as much now as the day I first saw you. No, wait, not as much, I love you even more now." "Ah know what ya mean, Dashie. Ah figured Ah'd settle down someday, maybe with some cowpony with the same work ethic as mahself, but Ah think I did far better than any cowpony. Ah got the most beautiful, athletic, stubborn pony Ah ever did lay eyes on. Ah feel like Ah also got a sister, in Violet, and Ah jus' can't believe mah good luck. Ah will never stop lovin' you, Rainbow Dash, an' that's the honest truth." Tears ran down Dash's face, and she pulled the orange mare close to her body, pressing her tight against her chest. She kissed Applejack on the forehead, and then on the lips. "I love you, Applejack." Applejack smiled, and kissed Dash on the forehead as well, and then the lips. "Ah love you, Rainbow Dash." They held each other in that warm embrace, the cold kept at bay, while the snow fell softly, outside their window. There was nothing that would ever hold them back; could ever hold them back. Honesty and loyalty would forge a path to the brightest future for not only them, but the two unicorn foals that Applejack carried within her. The fruits of their labors; the labors of love. THE END ***