"Say AJ..."
"Heh heh heh heh..."
"...what's so funny?"
"Nopony ever seems to notice but me."
"Notice what?"
"'Say AJ.' It rhymes."
"Oh? Oh! Ohhhhh..."
"Heheheh..."
"Whoops. My bad."
"Ain't nothin' to feel sorry about, Rainbow. I just think it's silly. Never thought of mentionin' it out loud until now."
"Heh... go figure."
"What did you mean to say, sugarcube?"
"Hmmm? Oh! Uh... about... uhm... about..."
"Well? Are ya gonna spit it out or ain'tcha? I can't stay awake forever, y'know."
"I was just... just thinking about something..."
"Hmmm? What something?"
"Well, I remember one time we were hanging out on the farm. Like... the Sun had set, and I had just helped you harvest apples in the field. We sat on a hill and talked and talked and stuff."
"Ah, yeah. I remember."
"You do?"
"About a few months back. Right before Sweet Apple Acres hit it big."
"You remember that?"
"Well, no offense, sugarcube, but I don't have a whole ton of memories to choose from. You haven't been all that keen on apple buckin' until... well... until recently."
"Er... right..."
"But I-I'm grateful all the same! Just... hard to forget, is all."
"Well, do you remember what you said that evening?"
"Uhm... Okay, so I dun remember everything about that night. Why, what did I say?"
"I forget what brought it up, but at some point you mentioned how... uh... h-how you've always sorta hoped that someday a special stallion would sweep you off your hooves."
"I did?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. What, like, you don't remember that?"
"Well... heheh... I certainly won't deny it."
"Oh..."
"I figure it's every inner filly's fantasy."
"Uh huh..."
"Granted, I've never really taken much stock in all that romantic fantasy nonsense. Can't say that a part of me detests the notion of bein' placed on a pedestal by a white knight. Heheh..."
"But... like... the other day... uhm..."
"Yeah?"
"...well, while we were carrying the wagon along the southern highway, you said that you don't really... uh... see yourself having foals someday."
"Reckon I did say that."
"Soooo... like... wh-what's the deal? Do you ever want to settle down or don't you?"
"Well, first thang's first, sugarcube. I'm already livin' and workin' out of my home. Sweet Apple Acres is my home! So, if y'all ask me, 'settlin' down' is a mite bit redundant."
"Er... yeah. I guess."
"But, beyond that, I'm sure y'all know that there's a fine difference between what a grown mare wants and what a grown mare expects."
"Uhhhh... huh?"
"I was just speakin' all realistic-like, sugarcube. I'm so caught up in the apple buckin' as it is. I don't rightly see myself havin' the time to get hitched or have foals or... y'know... any of that stuff. I'm too concerned with the Apple Family as it is. Addin' more to that? I dunno. Seems like somethin' of a gamble."
"Even with as well as you're doing with the farm as of late?"
"Rainbow... heheh... just what are you getting at?"
"I just... I just kind of see it as a shame that you don't want something more awesome out of life."
"Is that so?"
"Well..."
"And do you, Rainbow Dash, actually think that bein' married and makin' baby horsies is what counts as awesome?"
"Er... maybe? I mean, to each their own."
"Whew-wee! You must have been flyin' an awful lot of circles with yer job, lately! That's nothin' like the Rainbow Dash I know!"
"Hey! I know how to be awesome! I mean... being me is just awesome enough! But at the same time, what's awesome for me... erm... m-may not be so awesome for somepony else."
"How do you mean?"
"Applejack, being part of a family and helping others is... is so totally you. I see the way you love on Apple Bloom. I see how you fret and worry over Big Mac and Granny Smith all the time. I just... always sorta got the impression that if you had a way to put more on your plate, you would. Because everything about you just screams 'family.'"
"You mean everythang about me just screams 'motherin'."
"Uhhh—I-I-I didn't say that!"
"Heheh... reckon ya thought it though. I mean, ain't that what yer goin' for? 'Applejack, how come you don't plan on bein' a mother someday.'"
"Well..."
"For the same reason that you say I'm all about takin' care of a family, I'm hesitant to even try startin' one of my own, Rainbow."
"Eh...?"
"I just dun know if I can even afford it. Raisin' a farm ain't easy. I dun care how things go down with Shindig or not. If I bring a beautiful new life to this world, I'd feel responsible for makin' sure it gets the best future possible. And until I feel that kind of security, I can't pretend to get my hopes up."
"You can't pretend or you just don't want to?"
"I... uh... I reckon I don't see the difference."
"For real? You can't even afford to think selfishly for one in your life, AJ? Even when it means an opportunity to do something that—knowing you—could be completely awesome?"
"Heheh... Rainbow, are you fixin' to get me pregnant or something?"
"Pfft! No, AJ! I just wonder if you've ever asked the question of yourself."
"What question?"
"Like, without any strings attached, without havin' to worry about the future or the farm or how you're doing with your crops, what would you want out of life?"
"Luna have mercy. Ya silly filly, I dun told you I can't—"
"I'm not talking about what you expect to afford, Applejack. I'm asking you... simple and plainly... what do you want out of such a life?"
"What... do I want?"
"Yeah..."