Chapter 3
Rainbow Bucking
Rainbow zoomed around one of the many cottages in Ponyville, coming to a screeching stop once safe in its shadow.
“Phew,” Rainbow drew a hoof across her forehead. “I think I lost her.”
“Rainbow DASH! There you are!” squealed Pinkie Pie.
“GAH!”
Rainbow took off again, racing around the town, looking for a new hiding spot. Pinkie had been following her all day long, and Dash had gone everywhere. She had been in Ponyville for little over a week and Pinkie had already dropped off seven milkshakes, lead three private tours of the town, and left a couple of surprises for her around her house. Dash couldn’t take it anymore, and so she had zipped behind Sugarcube corner, around Carousel Boutique, over the library, under a few trees, and into every cloud in the sky. She’d gone to every place in Ponyville--except Sweet Apple Acres. Nothing could convince Dash to go anywhere near that place.
She now dove into the schoolhouse bell tower, carefully clinging onto the bell clapper. Softly, she let out a breath of exhaustion. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the tower, looking around cautiously. Then her heart froze. There, below was a figure holding the rope to the bell clapper. The dim light couldn’t show too much about the figure, but her voice filled Dash with so much alarm, it’s a wonder her heart didn’t burst.
“Hi!”
Pinkie tugged on the rope, trying to reach Dash. The sudden jerk caused Dash to hit the side of the bell and to fall. The frightened pegasus angled her fall towards the schoolyard, landing heavily in a sandbox. Meanwhile, Pinkie, who saw her actions may have hurt her, dropped her grip on the rope and landed onto the landing below. However, she didn’t land right, and this caused herself to slip and fall down the staircase that went up through the tower. Bouncing like a rubber ball, her cries echoed out of the top of the tower.
Without giving herself time to think, Rainbow took off towards the park, going on hoof since she was too dazed to take to the sky. She ended up collapsing in a bush behind a park bench. There she gave herself a self-assessment. She came off with a few bumps and bruises, but the biggest casualty was her wing. It wasn’t broken, but it sure stung. She rubbed it softly with her hoof, but pain shot through the sore, causing her to jerk back and moan.
“H-hello?”
Dash popped her head out of the bush in alarm, to find a greenish mare with yellow hair sitting on the park bench. Worry and concern filled her amber eyes.
Dash’s cheeks felt hot as she realized how silly this had to look. “Oh, erm...” She scratched the back of her head with her hoof.
“You’re that new filly in town, huh?” Familiarity dawned on the mare’s face. “Rainbow Dash, is it?”
“Oh, yep, that’s me.” Dash laughed nervously. “I’m kind of hiding from--”
Rainbow suddenly cut herself off, as she spotted who she was hiding from in enough time to dive back into the bush.
“Hey, Sassaflash!” called Pinkie Pie. “Have you seen Rainbow Dash? Ooh that rhymed!”
Sassaflash shifted in her seat. “Uhm, why? You need her for something?”
“Oh, I was just wondering if she wanted to play down by the watering hole with a group of friends. Plus, I think I may have hurt her over by the school house, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.” Pinkie’s ears drooped.
“Oh my, what happened?” A warming smile of comfort came over Sassaflash’s face.
Pinkie explained the bell incident in detail, her guilt clearly showing. The bush behind the bench shuddered slightly.
“I didn’t mean for her to get hurt, honest!” Pleaded Pinkie. “I just want her to feel welcome.”
“I’m sure your intentions are good,” comforted Sassaflash, "but it seems you have welcomed her a bunch already. Maybe she just needs a chance to make friends on her own.”
“I guess you’re right,” sighed Pinkie. Then she lit up. “Hey! Do you want to come to the watering hole instead?”
The green mare smiled. “Sure!”
The two began to trot off, but at the last second Sassaflash turned back to the bench and gave it a wink.
After they had left, Dash lifted her head above the green leaves. That mare had just covered for her. And they hardly even knew each other. A feeling of care and connection warmed in Dash’s chest. But she quickly shrugged it off, and stood. She began walking down the path in the opposite direction of the watering hole.
But she didn’t walk far. Even though she was an athlete, sprinting around the town for thirty minutes wasn’t her go-to workout. Before long Dash’s hooves began to drag and her eyelids began to droop. Dash was a lazy pony, and right then that lazy pony needed a nap. Finally, the need for sleep was so strong she climbed up into the nearest tree, and fell asleep.
“Ah didn’t realize Pinkie gave you such a hard time.”
“Yeah, that first bit in Ponyville was pretty rough.”
"Although, Ah did already know ya were a lazy pony..."
''Hey!"
"Ya walked right into that one."
"Guess that's true..."
The world suddenly shook back and forth in large, sudden surges. Well, Dash’s world did at least. She grabbed onto the nearest branch, her eyes now widened and awake. The shaking stopped followed by a chuckle from below.
“What are you doin’ on mah property?” called a southern voice from below.
Dash peered over the edge of her branch with a scowl. Sure enough, there was Applejack. Disgruntled at being awoken, her mood was particularly foul. Slowly, she began to remember the events before her sudden slumber. Then her sleepy gaze sharpened, and her temper flared.
“This isn’t your property!!” argued Dash. “This is the park!”
Applejack chuckled. “The park? Then why are ya in an apple tree?”
“I am not in an apple tree!” Dash turned away towards the leaves of the tree. She was face to face with a shiny red apple. Her cheeks began to blaze.
“I am in an apple tree,” Dash said, turning as red as the apple and feeling her stupidity full force.
“Yes ya are,” The smug look on Applejack’s face made Dash feel even worse. “now get your flank out of it.”
Rainbow didn’t have much of a choice unless she wanted to look even more ridiculous, so she let herself down off the branch onto the dirt.
The two stood there, a pace or so away. Rainbow’s ears were flat against her head, trying to get the heat in her cheeks under control. When she did look up, Applejack still had that smug smile on her face. That smile from the party. But Dash was already too embarrassed to notice the tingling sensation this time. She just gave Applejack a slightly agitated, slightly bored expression and spoke.
“What?”
Applejack’s smile widened. “Oh, nuthin’.”
“Nothin’?” Dash inquired. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“‘Cause yer funny,” Applejack chuckled.
“Funny?” Dash repeated again. “What are you saying?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Nuthin. Now git off mah property.”
“Okay.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “And I won’t come back either.”
Dash began to hover above the ground, her wing feeling much better after the nap.
“Fahne by me,” smirked Applejack. “We don’t need vermin like you on this farm.”
Her voice was so playful and insincere that Rainbow Dash almost didn’t leave. But knowing she wasn’t safe from Pinkie for long, she decided to go home. But that wasn’t the last time she got bucked out of the orchard.
The very next day, Dash landed on the outskirts of the park, nerves tense. She knew Pinkie could jump out at any moment, and she was just waiting for it to happen. She turned her head towards the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres. And she couldn't resist.
Soon she was soaring above the trees, looking for the plushest, shadiest one. Spotting one that fit her standards, she dove down inside its foliage. She stretched out along a large branch and let her eyelids rest. It was the most peaceful she had been since she's arrived in Ponyville, and she loved it.
Before long, Applejack came down the orchard path with apple cart in tow. She stopped abruptly, spotting the lazy pegasus hanging from the branch of the larger apple tree, munching on one of its juicy fruits.
"What the HAY do ya think yer doin'?!" Applejack shouted.
"Just chillin'." Rainbow put on her coolest look and smirked.
"Well," Applejack's cheeks flushed slightly. "Git out of here and chill somewhere else!"
Rainbow put on a completely put-out face. "Aw, you're no fun."
"It's in mah job description." Applejack finally smirked. "Now leave and remember not to come back this time."
"I will!" Dash huffed playfully, and zoomed into the clouds.
She was back the next day.
This time she was in a shorter tree, performing over-exaggerated pull-ups on the lowest branch.
"What do think yer doin' this time?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Just workin' out the ol' muscles," Rainbow puffed between each lift. "You know how stiff they can get."
This time Applejack rolled her eyes. "The only one who is workin' here is me." With that she kicked the tree.
Rainbow dropped from the branch only to be caught by her wings and propelled into the sky.
"Okaygoodridancebye!!"
Applejack just shook her head and went back to applebucking.
Soon every morning for the next week Applejack would find Rainbow 'napping' in a different tree in the orchard. It soon became their little game, and every time she was caught, she’d be bucked out of the tree. Applejack was so skilled at tracking her down though, Dash soon gave up on sleeping and just waited while she mock-snored.
However, one particular day Applejack took a little longer to buck her tree, and Dash was soon dozing inside one of the trees in the south orchard, her rainbow tail lazily draped down the trunk on that late spring day.
Applejack snickered when she approached the tree finally, beads of sweat lining her face under her hat. She could hear the quiet snoozing inside the leaves, and she knew she shouldn’t, but the temptation was too great. She turned her back to the tree, and gave it a good kick.
WHACK!!
Dash’s eyes flew open, realizing her guard was completely down, and that she was caught. Unable to brace herself, she slipped from the branches and onto the hard ground. Pain and soft aching ran up through her flank and hind legs.
“OW, AJ! What gives?!” Rainbow blurted out loudly.
Applejack stifled a giggle.
“Ah’m sorry, Rainbow. You just looked so peaceful.” she winked.
“Okay, okay, I’ll 'git off yer property’!” Rainbow mimicked a southern accent as best she could.
She crouched down and jumped into the sky, only to be yanked back down onto the path. Whipping around, she saw Applejack standing on her tail.
“Ya want somethin’ to drink before ya leave?” Applejack sounded more sincere than normal. She’d never asked Dash to stay before.
“Depends,” Dash shot a suspicious glance at the farm pony before giving her a playful grin. “You got juice boxes?”
“Sure,” Applejack returned the playful grin.
Dash found herself genuinely excited now. “Really? What flavor?”
“Apple juice, of course.”
“Of course.” Dash frowned and rolled her eyes. “Alright, show me where they’re at,” she sighed.
“Over by the barn,” Applejack laughed. “C’mon, you slow pony!”
“Slow? Who’re you calling slow?!”
And with that, the two raced to the barn laughing and shouting the whole way, like real friends.
Applejack's chuckles echoed through the hayloft.
“Heh heh, if there was one thing Ah loved more than buckin’ apples, it was buckin’ you out of those trees.”
“Yeah,” Dash smiled at the friendly memory. “Those were the good days, weren’t they?”
“Ah guess,” Applejack’s smile faded. “But it wasn’t always a bed of roses.”
“That’s true. Like that Mother’s Day, a few weeks later, remember?”
“That was a rough day on the both of us.”