Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by goo


Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often

Applejack trotted quickly through the hot summer night air, her cart teetering along behind her easily. She was a reserved pony, and would usually be fast asleep at such an odd hour. However, it was usually not the night of the Ponyville fair. Ponies and horses alike stayed out all night, almost all of the ponies enjoying some of the many activities available. Some were swaying to the quaint little band. Others found solace in the magic rides. A few tried their luck at winning the excessively difficult and possibly impossible carnival games.

Applejack was not almost all of the ponies.

She was working tonight, as she did every night.

The golden pony knew that it had to be done. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by the whirl of golden lights in the dark sky. If only I had enough money to take off one night. Maybe I could meet a handsome stallion and be whisked away from this miserable life in Ponyville. The mare kicked at the dirt. Despite her cutie mark revelation, apple vending was no dream life. Shaking her head to clear the useless thoughts, she roused her voice to call out in the still-churning crowds of rowdy teenage ponies. Her voice was loud but a bit husky after a long evening of shouting.

"APPLES FOR SALE, THAT'S RIGHT, EVERYPONY GET YOUR CARAMEL APPLES, APPLE CIDER, APPLE FRITTERS, AND MORE. RIGHT O'ER HERE, STEP RIGHT UP!"

Soon enough, a new customer approached. Applejack's head reeled from the overpowering perfume as the vain, pompous, and downright horrible white unicorn sauntered towards her carriage with a dark, handsome date in tow. The two had been classmates for almost a decade, and for not one of those years had they gotten along. Mutually gotten along, at least. She braced herself, squishing her face together and pinning her ears back for the ...

"Ooooh ~ ! Well if it isn't my favorite quaint little farmer-friend! Let's see what you have here..." The feeling of being given a pat on the cheek caused the golden cowpony to shudder. The positively gaudy unicorn turned and gazed at the wares before her. She sniffed a few of the treats, not once looking at her stolid date for input.

It's for the farm. It's for the family. It's for my livelyhood. It's for the orchards...

Applejack responded with the most neutral tone possible, saying, "Hello, Rarity. We've got your apple tarts, caramel apples, and more. Please do take your time."

Rarity noted the tone, but she had expected it and actively ignored it. For some reason, AJ was never too thrilled to be treated like a proper friend. Maybe some day she would catch on and act socially acceptably. Such a strange gal, Rarity mused to herself, without breaking her giddy mask.

There wasn't much that could set Applejack on edge quite like the heinous being that was Rarity.

"Daaarrling, do you think you could get us two of those delectable apple tarts?" Applejack paused to grab two plates, but was arrested before she could complete the rapidly-becoming-arduous task.

"Ooooh ~ ! I simply forgot to introduce you to my da-ate! This is Midnight Prowl, he is destined to be a Canterlot Guard! Can you believe it?" She grinned and closed her eyes, putting her front over her stallion possessively. The massive stallion ducked his head in acknowledgement to what must have been the dozenth time he was forced to listen to his introduction. Thus far, he had not uttered a single sound. Applejack wondered what their alone time was like. Did he talk? What could they possibly talk about? And finally, how could anypony tolerate Rarity for that long?

Applejack's worn and dirtied hoof extended to shake hooves with the new acquaintance. "Pleased to meet you, Mister Prowl. Have a good night, y'all!" They shook quickly, and the couple turned away with their tarts. The cowpony could've sworn she saw the stallion give the freshly-shaken hoof a disdainful shiver as the two receded into the thinning crowd. She looked to the clock tower and noticed that it was almost two in the morning. Only one hour left to endure.


Dash puffed out her chest and tossed her mane back, attempting to recover from the embarrassing moments prior. "The name's Dash, Rainbow Dash. I'm the fastest flying pegasus in all of Equestria!" Her voice did little to shield her overpowering pride. Her cyan hoof met Applejack's and shook it with a bit more zeal than the cowpony could return.

Applejack was unimpressed, to say the least. She cocked one eyebrow and drew back her hoof while Dash was still shaking it. For just a moment, the two had seemed like a normal pair of ponies. Back to square one, it seems.

"Good for you. I'm glad you're fast, because you have a long day ahead of you. Get up, we're going to work in the orchards all day long." With that, Applejack turned around, the strands of her tail lightly whipping across Dash's face. Dash shook her head in surprise, but followed along anyways, humbled slightly. Very slightly, that is.

The two walked down the stairs, and out of the humble Apple abode. Applejack didn't forget to take the pie out of the oven and dump its burned remains in the trash before exiting. She felt a hot temper boiling beneath her skin, but kept her emotions under check. The pegasus didn't have to help her, but the prospect of getting all of her day's work done today despite the distractions provided by Rainbow Dash was tantalizing.

The two sauntered outdoors and became bathed in the hot summer sun. Applejack's flaxen mane seemed to glow in golden bath of mid-afternoon light. Dash started sweating as soon as she stepped outside and felt the dead heat surround her body. The yellow mare began to trot in the direction of the orchards. Dash stared after her blankly, dreading the work that would ensue.

Applejack paused her pace and glared back at the lazy pegasus. "C'mon, lets see that athletic body of yours get to work, Miss Fastest-Flier." The pegasus brushed a prick of sweat off of her forehead, and swiftly followed behind on wing. A curious shade of red adorned her cheek. Dash wasn't quite sure if it was the heat, embarrassment, or the cowpony's latest epithet.


The dizzy Rainbow Dash and patient Applejack reached the farmhouse fairly quickly. This was likely because Rainbow Dash wasn't actually hurt. Despite this fact, the pegasus didn't hesitate to lean into her friend. Applejack's face was right in front of Dash's nose. Her hat was touching Dash's ear, and it tickled a little.

Looking back, the idea wasn't that great. Crush or no crush, getting a hardworking pony's sweat rubbed all over you isn't that pleasant. A bit of a turn-off, to be honest. Every breath inwards was stained with the smell of a long day's exercise and a growing sense of guilt for disrupting work.

All the same, the pair reached the farmhouse. The entry through the apple-themed wooden portal was coupled with a refreshing blast of magically generated cool air. AJ gently walked her friend over to a chair at the kitchen table. The wood seemed to feel even harder than usual. Dash looked over into Applejack's eyes, wondering why she didn't take a seat as well. For a few precious moments, there was no sound but breathing.

Two voices started at once. Dash started out with what would have been a drawn out "so", but cut off when a decidedly twangier tone started with an "I'm s-."

The bold pegasus was the next to take a stab at conversation, saying, "How about you go first? And sit down, let's eat or something!" She waved her limb at the chair opposite the one she was occupying, but her waves grew rapidly feebler as she gauged her friend's facial expression.

Gray bags hung under AJ's eyes. She knew that face. Dash wanted to smash her face into the table. How could I be so stupid! It's ...

"Fair season. I had a rough night last night." Applejack's inflection was duller than before. Apparently the walk to the farmhouse had taken out more of her energy than Dash had expected.

"I can get you a glass of juice, if you like." Guilt and embarrassment crept from the tips of Dash's hooves all the way to her cheeks. She blushed inadvertently, but pinned her forehooves over her face before it was noticeable. Plan B sucks.

Like a poorly made database, lines and lines of queries to Dash's brain stacked up and each returned an invalid statement. Error. Error. Error. Abort mission.

Almost tipping over her chair, Dash flip-flopped out of the sweet-scented abode. Her wings flapped haphazardly as she did so, nearly knocking over the old family portrait on the wall. "Gottagobyethanks." That was all she said.

Dash barely kicked the door shut behind her and took off into the sky. Each breath came heavier and heavier as she accelerated through the clouds and pumped her wings. The familiar feeling of her mane whipping against her back and her tail stinging her back legs was her only comfort. If she had looked back, she might have seen a tired, golden form sitting at the table, hunched over and sobbing.


"You know, this is harder than it looks! I'll give you props, this is real work."

Applejack deadpanned. If honesty was her element, then patience was her most common isotope. "I'd say so, too." She had been listening to the multicolored pegasus's musings about her livelihood for almost an hour now. The world's fastest flier was actually pulling almost as much weight as the trained cowpony was. Despite that nice token, Applejack was quickly regretting the whole situation. She clenched her jaw and kicked again. The reassuring sound of apples falling caught her ears.

Dash's style was unlike anything AJ had ever seen before. Her aerial frame was, though the pegasus put it differently, too frail for bucking. Instead, she flew into the trees and flapped her wings, knocking down the apples almost as effectively.

"I know I just said this was hard work, but uh, can I work here?" Applejack's buck only struck with one hoof, causing her back-right leg to overextend. She landed squarely, but sorely. Instinctively she flexed it up and forward. Still functional enough.

"Uh, come again?"

"Well, I kinda smashed somepony's cart while I was supposed to be working, and I got fired from my weather patrol. And I'm broke. And I don't think my parents ever want to see me again. So, can I work here?" Dash smoothly descended from her latest victim and landed in front of her new only friend.

The green-eyed cowpony searched the other pony's face. Despite the fact that this unemployed, annoying pony was a thief, she seemed to be telling the truth. AJ couldn't help but wince a little midway through the pegasus's statement, all the same.

"We're all full on employees at the moment." Dash looked at the ground, crestfallen. AJ had intended to stop there, but decided to change her tune after seeing the reaction. "Ya know, I could talk to the weather captain if you need me to. I could vouch for you. He's known me for years, he'd take my word for it."

The next thing Applejack felt was a warm body pressing into her. All she could see was a swirl of rainbow colors. She didn't really want to breathe in and associate a smell with the moment because the odds were slim that it would be a pleasant one. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankou!"

Dash pumped her wings joyously, picking the two off the ground for a few seconds and twirling vertically. Applejack, unused to the flying sensation, no matter how brief, felt terror as the force of the spinning pulled her away from the pony who held her away from peril. She couldn't help but let out a little squeak and close her eyes. Soon enough, her back two legs scraped against the ground and spread to regain friction. Her front ones landed a second after.

The normally grounded cowpony swayed as the world around her spun wildly. Dash reached out with a front leg and steadied her. AJ's smile turned sour as she realized what had happened.

"You can't just pick me up like that! I'm a grown pony, and I hardly know you!"

"Sorry, I always forget you earth ponies can't handle spinning." Dash feigned apology, but from the grin that had been plastered on the cowpony's face, she knew it wasn't unwelcome. It was fun to have so much power. "Oh, and I gotta go. Let's hang later."

Applejack could only look on in wonder as the bizarre creature sped off into the sky.


Rarity sprawled into her bed, tucking her mask over her face. Her date had departed approximately one half-hour ago, and she had since taken a bubble bath and changed into silk pajamas. She slipped the perfect amount of blanket over herself with a faint blue glow and felt the bed-gravity sink her into her luxurious bed. Sleep thickened her eyelids. Sensations from the outer world faded into the first stage of sleep. Rarity sighed. Tonight, she might dream of Midnight Pro - CRACK.

Suddenly, a loud breaking noise from outside caused her to jerk back into a state of wakefulness. The noise caused her to not only mentally jerk, but to physically do so. Rarity resettled the sheets and began to drif - THUNK.

A different noise, one like banging on a piece of wood, shattered the serene atmosphere of Rarity's room. But unlike the crack noise, this one began to repeat. THUNK THUNK THUNK SHIT DAMMIT.

The loud thunking was enough to send Rarity reeling with rage, but the loud cursing pushed her over the edge. She flung her night-mask across the room and barreled down the stairs. THUNK THUNK THUNK

Even the kinetic temper tantrum wasn't lessening her wrath. She practically busted down the front door of her house and yelled, "How dare you make such a wracket! Can't you see it is in the middle of the night!" The white unicorn gesticulated wildly, her right-front limb waving this way and that, alternating with the turning of her upturned head and closed eyes. She then leveled her permanently-eyeshadowed glare at the miscreant before her.

Applejack was breathing heavily, her front legs locked with one leg still pushing against the back of her cart. It was moving, but only by skidding across the ground. The simple wooden cart had a single axle, and it was made to be counter-balanced by a pony or its kickstand. The axle had cracked in half, so the only way to move the cart was by painstakingly scraping it through the dirt. Her head was low, and she didn't meet her verbal assailant's eyes. She looked down at the dirt between her front hooves.

For once, Rarity didn't say something that annoyed her classmate. Her tune changed so suddenly that it was almost frightening to the cowpony. "Oh, why didn't you just knock! I can fix that pretty easily with this." She tapped her head despite how obvious what she was referring to was. The unicorn tittered lightly. With a faint crackle, the axle bonded itself back together.

Applejack yanked her hoof away from the cart and stared in awe. Her mouth gaped open for a couple seconds before she started, "Rare, I - I don't know how to thank you enough." She paused and looked away from the vain unicorn. "I'd better get going before all this food gets wasted, and I'd hate to ruin any more of your rest." Her tone was tinged with guilt for having immediately assumed the unicorn would only make the night worse.

Rarity searched the pitiful sight before her. The pony had bags under her eyes and twin bruises on her shoulders and sides where the arms of the cart embraced her muscular form. Everything about her was tired. The mare's flaxen braid was more frayed than usual. Though it may have just been a trick of the low lighting, Rarity could've sworn she saw the tacky brown hat droop.

The whole thing together made her heart ache with pity. "It was no trouble at all, Applejack." The golden pony had braced for the word "Daaahling", but was pleasantly surprised to hear her name pronounced in the young mare's musical tone. "Why don't you and I hang out sometime before school starts up. You could use a nice day at the spa. My treat!" The vain unicorn smiled, but didn't quite grin like she usually did.

Applejack let out an exasperated sigh. She was so close to acting like a normal pony! "I'd love to, but I've got work every day, all day. I'm going to go home now. Working again tomorrow. Enjoy your rest and your summer break." The pony smiled kindly, but it fell into a deep-set one of listless apathy as her face disappeared from the unicorn's view. The working mare latched herself back into the cart and teetered off down the road. Rarity awkwardly touched her front hooves together, but returned to her falsely joyous tune quickly. She waved and called out, "Ta-ta, daaahrling!"


Hopefully this will hold you over for the next chapter! I'm sorry about the wait, I've been sick and stuff. Also, I'm getting concerned that the timeline won't be evident. Here's what I have thus far:

-Rarity + AJ are going to school together
-AJ parent death
-Cutie marks
-Friendship with Dash
-Fair
-Friendship with Rarity
-School ends, things are normal, everypony gets jobs
-Everypony meets Twilight
-Building romances
-Rarity tells Dash about her crush
-And more plot which will be revealed later!