Rainbow Dash charged toward the ground; Fluttershy had been gone for a couple of hours now, and she refused to believe the alternative. Crying wasn't cool, and depression would only distract her, so she pushed any and all negative thoughts from her mind. Fluttershy was fine; she had landed safely on the ground, maybe she'd just hurt herself, and was simply sheltering somewhere until somepony from Cloudsdale came to pick her up.
The pegasus filly passed over an orchard filled to the brim with apple trees; she slowed down a little, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of her friend underneath the scrub. It was impossible to get a clear view of the ground from here, so she decided to land.
“Hey,” someone called out to her, “what you doin' round here, stranger?”
Rainbow Dash turned to see who was addressing her. It was a small but tough-looking earth pony with an orange coat and a brown hat pulled over her blonde mane. “I'm looking for a friend. Have you seen her?”
“I ain't seen anypony but my family,” the earth pony replied. “I'm just back, though. I can help you look if you'd like? Name's Applejack.”
“Rainbow Dash,” said the pegasus. “I've been all over town, but I haven't checked the orchard here or that creepy-looking forest.”
“What's she look like?” asked Applejack.
“Small, yellow coat, pink mane. Her name is Fluttershy.”
“Is she a pegasus, too?”
Rainbow Dash nodded.
“What's she doin' down here, then? Don't you guys normally stay in the nest until you're a bit older?”
“It's a long story,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. She told the story of the race and Fluttershy's tumble from Cloudsdale as they made their way through the tangle of trees, but she left out the bit about the sonic rainboom and her cutie mark. Now wasn't the time for bragging.
“I don't want to be a Negative Nancy, but uh, it's quite a ways to fall from Cloudsdale to Ponyville. Are you sure she's even-?”
“Yes,” Rainbow Dash stated firmly.
Applejack smiled.
“What?” asked the pegasus.
“Mighty loyal of you, comin' all this way to find somepony you've only just met,” Applejack said.
“It's my fault she fell. Loyalty has nothing to do with it,” replied Rainbow Dash with a shake of her head.
“Just callin' it like I see it. Not many would care so much about a stranger.”
“She wasn't really a stranger. I've seen her around school plenty of times, but up until I saw her being picked on, I'd never spoken to her at all.”
“And you decided to defend her honour, as you put it?” asked Applejack, her muzzle curling up into a smirk.
Rainbow Dash hissed through gritted. “Okay, it wasn't the best choice of words.”
“It's mighty sweet of you, sugarcube.”
Sweet, ew. Rainbow Dash blushed all the same.
Eventually, they came to a clearing by a stream; they found a small yellow filly sitting with her muzzle pressed against the surface of the water, gawping in wonder at the many types of fish flitting back and forth. “Fluttershy!” cried Rainbow Dash, bounding to her friend and pulling her into a tight hug.
“Rainbow, what are you doing here?” asked Fluttershy, awkwardly pulling herself out of the embrace.
“I came looking for you. Why haven't you come home?”
“Oh, sorry if I worried you,” Fluttershy said, cowering behind her mane as Rainbow Dash glared at her, “but I was just so caught up with all the animals down here that I … forgot.”
“We should be getting back. Your parents'll be worried sick,” said Rainbow Dash. She turned to Applejack. “Thanks for your help.” She offered a hoof to the earth pony who bumped her own against it.
“Okay,” Fluttershy said sadly.
Just as the pegasi unfurled their wings, a loud grumbling sound echoed horribly through the glade. Two pairs of eyes turned to Rainbow Dash and she reddened slightly and covered her belly with a foreleg. “Um, I may have skipped lunch.”
Applejack nodded in the direction of the farm. Steam was beginning to rise and the sweet smell of cinnamon floated through the woods. “C'mon, girls. Granny Smith's apple pies are to die for.”