//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Six days ago, somewhere in Ponyville // Story: What do I win? // by HapHazred //------------------------------// Six days ago Somewhere in Ponyville Applejack flicked her mane out of her eyes as she dragged the cart, the wheels kicking a cloud of dust into the air, through the streets of Ponyville, the cobblestones dying and cracking as the sun, unrelenting, drew out all the moisture over the course of the few days that had passed in the Sun Season: a time of year when, due to frequent storms and rain showers in summer, Celestia ordered no rain or cloud be sent across the land, so that the water would have time to flow out into the rivers and the sea. The Apple Family knew this time as the Lazy Days. Nothing much changed during the two weeks of sun, so they would often take time off, get up later, and spend time with their friends. It was too bad that the friend Applejack wanted most took the idea of Lazy Days far too seriously: there would be no flash of colour across the yellowing sky, not for another two weeks until the end of the holiday. Applejack sighed: she had come to terms with her feelings for the mare a long time ago. After a while, when the last thing you think about before going to sleep is somepony else's face, you eventually figure out you may have a crush. And as the saying went, absence only made the heart grow fonder, and Applejack hadn't seen her friend in days. She stopped: she had reached the town square. Wiping her brow, she kicked out a small stand, folded neatly into the side of the cart. "Apples for sale!" she shouted, knowing full well that by now, everypony knew that she would be there, right on schedule, just like she was every other day. She let herself relax as the slow trickle of customers earned her a steady flow of bits. Her hat shifted down over her eyes over time, darkening her vision in such a way that she didn't see Rarity arrive. "Applejack! How nice to see you!" she greeted. Applejack, startled, immediately tilted her hat right back up, accidentally blinding herself with the light of the sun. Once her vision had cleared up, and she recognized the pristine white mare, she smiled. "Oh! Hi, Rarity." "Enjoying Sun Season?" Applejack grinned: of course she was. "Yup! Gives me more time to spend with my family. You?" Rarity chuckled. "Well, I work in the shade, so I still have to hold regular hours. But it's nice to be able to roll out my swimwear line for a change: mostly ponies only come looking for a new tie, or whatnot." she explained. "I was thinking, speaking of swimwear, if you would like to join us and the other girls as we head out to the lake? Drown our sorrows, so to speak." Applejack pondered briefly. "Well, of course, no actual drowning should happen, ha ha, I hope." Rarity added clumsily, mistaking her hesitation for dislike of the idea. Applejack elected to ignore her friend's forced humour. "Well, I certainly won't say no to a swim." she said, realizing that since the girls would be going, that implied Rainbow Dash would be there, too. She grinned. No way she could refuse, especially when there was a chance of seeing her. Rarity smiled, victorious. "Excellent. Well, we were going tomorrow, so if you join the four of us there after lunch, that would be marvellous, dear." Applejack memorized the time quickly... before realizing Rarity's exact words. "Four of you?" Rarity rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, you know how Rainbow Dash gets during Sun Season... she does nothing but sleep all day and all night, and it would take a dragon attack to get her to even open one eyelid... unless they were offering food, of course." Applejack frowned: she did, indeed, know all about Rainbow Dash. For somepony that thrived on activity, she certainly did let herself fall into apathy easily enough. "Ya'll sure you can't convince her to get moving?" Applejack asked. Rarity shook her head. "If a gorgeous day at the lake won't convince her, I'm afraid I'm at a loss for ideas." Applejack leaned back against her cart, thinking furiously. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to come up with an idea: there was no mare in Ponyville, maybe even all of Equestria, who knew Rainbow Dash better than Applejack. And she knew exactly the sort of thing that would get Rainbow Dash moving: but it wasn't a day at the lake. "Rarity... what would you say to rounding the girls up? I think I might have a way to get Rainbow out and amongst the livin' again." Applejack said. Rarity raised her eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?" "Oh, it's not what I have in mind... I think it'll be much more interesting if I let you and the others handle that part. Make the challenge as juicy as possible." Applejack replied. Rarity leaned in conspiratorially. "Challenges? Now there's something I didn't think of..." Applejack nodded. "So? Can ya'll round 'em up?" Rarity shook her head. "Oh, goodness no! Fluttershy's busy and Twilight is doing some report... thing. We'll just have to ask them at the lake tomorrow." Applejack nodded. "Oh! Yeah, sure." Rarity rubbed her chin. "Well... I hope you'll be able to convince her to give it a shot. My powers of persuasion fall horribly short when dealing with that mare." "I can handle it." Applejack smiled. It had been a long wait since Sun Season had begun, but now, if her plan worked, she'd be able to see her again, and sooner than ever. It would be perfect.