"Despierta, Dash. Wake up."
It was early morning, and Celestia had barely raised the sun. Dash lay on her back, hearing Lightning gentle words. Without opening her eyes, she gave a tired grunt before turning over, ignoring Lightning's quiet command.
The stallion nudged her with his snout, repeating, "Come on Dash, get up. It's seven o'clock." No response.
Lighting Flash heaved a heavy sigh, muttering under his breath, "You wanna be like that, Arco, then fine by me."
Then he raised his voice and, in mock disappointment, said slowly, "Oh ,well. I guess Rainbow Dash doesn't want to meet the Wonderbolts and show them she's the best flyer in the world. And maybe, she'll never have the chance to impress them. Ever. Again." The stallion added emphasis on the last two words, and waited for the reply.
He didn't need to wait long. The moment he finished that sentence, the cyan pony leaped out of her bed, her eyes wide open. With her wings ready to go, she said confidently, "Now who said that? 'Cause I certainly didn't. So what are we waiting for, Lightning, let's hurry and get this over with!"
Before she continued, Dash paused and gazed at her surroundings. Instead of the open sky and the towering view of the cliff she had been expecting, she saw the familiar surroundings of her own room. It took her a few seconds to piece together the fact that, somehow, she was in her house once again. Confused, Dash asked, "Wait a sec'. How'd I get back here? I remember falling asleep back on that cliff."
Her cousin, already halfway out the door, turned around to show his signature, loving grin. He answered solemnly, "I carried you." Then he raced out into the wide blue sky, beckoning Dash to hurry up. The rainbow-maned pony could only shake her head and grin before joining her cousin out in their blue domain.
As the two pegasi gracefully glided towards their first destination, Lighting asked, "So where are we headed first?"
"We're heading over to help Applejack. She runs this farm called Sweet Apple Acres, and I always head over there to help her out. Y'know, picking apples, destroying barns with nuclear explosions, stuff like that," Rainbow Dash answered confidently.
"If you wake up in time, that is," Lighting replied with a snicker.
"Haha, very funny," the mare said sarcastically. Her lips were curled in a pout, her face showing utter annoyance. But seeing her exaggerated expression only made Lighting Flash chuckle even more.
"Well it not my fault Applejack gets up at like, 6 in the morning. How is anypony supposed to function after waking up so early?" Dash continued jokingly.
"You're a riot, Arco," the steel-colored stallion replied coolly, followed by a round of raucous laughter from the two pegasi.
Finally, tall, green trees of Sweet Apple Acres loomed in the distance. The shining red apples dotted the landscape, and the birds had begun to sing their melodic songs. Out in the field, Applejack stood, waving at the two approaching pegasi.
"Howdy there, Rainbow. Ah see you brought Lighting by to help out," she said cheerfully.
"Yeah, well, can't have one without the other! Always a pleasure to help, senorita," the stallion replied happily.
"That's mighty kind of you, Lightnin', and great timin' too. Big Mac's out of town visiting Appleloosa, so we've been needin' a big, strong stallion like yerself to pull this here plow." The farm pony pointed over to a large contraption standing in the middle of an open field. "I hope ya don't mind."
The pegasus was already strapped onto the large plow, and he shook his head and replied, "No problem, Applejack, let's get to it."
Rainbow leaned on a tall tree underneath its cool shadow, asking, "So uh, anything I can do AJ?"
"Sorry, Dash. Ah think that's all I got fer now. How 'bout you take a rest over by the barn while I help Lightning, okay?" Applejack apologized.
The cyan pegasus knew that her hard-working friend never lied, so she answered indifferently, "Whatever. Less work for me then."
For a little bit, Dash watched her cousin steadily pull the heavy plow across the dirt, making long rows for Applejack to apply the small, brown apple seeds. Lightning was making quick work of it too, his sleek body showing no signs of fatigue. Actually, he was just as upbeat as ever, heartily laughing and talking with the honest country pony.
"Not bad, Lightnin'! Yer a natural at this stuff!" Applejack remarked.
"Thanks AJ. This is pretty fun, actually! Muy divertido!" the plowing pegasus replied.
It's pretty nice to see those two getting along, Dash thought as she leaned back against the wooden barn, her arms folded behind her head in a resting position.
XxXxX
It was about 30 minutes later, after Dash recovered from a quick nap, that she saw her cousin high above the trees, dropping apples into a bucket below. At the base of the tree was Applejack, guiding the wooden bucket around the tall foliage. That's funny, Dash thought to herself, observing the two work together. I'm the one who usually does that kind of stuff.
From her spot underneath the barn's overhang, trying to sound as unconcerned as possible, she called out, "Hey AJ, you think I could help you guys out now?"
"Naw thanks, Rainbow. Ah reckon we've got it handled. You good up there, Flash?" Applejack responded while holding a bucket in her teeth.
"Estoy bien, Applejack. I'm good," the lightning streaked pegasus remarked, dropping a large, juicy apple into the waiting bucket below.
Dash tapped her hooves on the ground impatiently, slumping to the ground. She gave a long, annoyed sigh, hoping her cousin had heard it. The pegasus anxiously looked up at the sun's position, which showed that it was only 7:45 AM. How long am I going to be sitting here?, she thought as she gazed upon the many acres of apple trees, waiting to be plucked. Wanting to show her usefulness, Dash shouted again, "You sure I can't, like, hold the bucket or something?"
Applejack called out once again, "Nope, pretty sure we're good!"
Disgruntled, the cyan pegasus plodded into the barn, uttering, "Fine then. More rest for the Wonderbolts." But in truth, the Wonderbolts weren't the ones the young flier worried about.
Not knowing how to busy herself, RD just sat on her hindlegs, biting her lip as she watched the duo move along with their duties. The pegasus soon found a discard apple core and began to fiddle around with it, glancing up every now and then to check on her friends. But every time she'd look up, she'd find her cousin doing yet another job usually reserved for herself. Normally, the lazy flier would have jumped at the opportunity for others to do her work. But, for some strange reason, Dash couldn't shake this dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach.
It was around 8:50 when Applejack and Lightning finished their duties. The two ponies sat under the shadow of a tall apple tree, sipping ice-cold apple cider. Dash sat across from them next to a low shrub, commenting with an unsure grin on her face, "Sooooo, you guys done with everything?"
"Ah do believe so, Dash. You two are free to go," AJ replied, taking a huge gulp from her glass. As the two pegasi began to fly off, the farm mare called out happily, "An' feel free to stop by anytime, you two!"
Rainbow and Lightning flew high up in the sky, grazing the clouds with their manes. The air blew steadily through their fur as they soared across the horizon towards their next destination.
Lightning, with a satisfied look on his face, told his cousin, "Applejack's a fine pony, Arco. She's really nice. And hardworking."
Dash, however, did not return her cousin's gaze. Still looking straight ahead, she replied, "Yeah, she's cool, I guess."
The stallion noticed his cousin avoid his eyes, so he asked, concerned, "Are you okay, prima?"
This time, Dash looked back at her cousin's hazel eyes, albeit anxiously. She unsteadily replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just,uh, it's just because that took longer than expected, that's all."
With an assuring grin on his face, Lighting replied, "Well, don't worry Dash. We'll finish this stuff with enough time to practice, okay?"
Dash nodded and gave a small smile. Satisfied, her cousin asked, "So who're we helpin' next?"
"We're going over to Rarity's next. Apparently she wants to 'fluff my image', whatever that means."
"So, girl stuff pretty much?" Lightning replied, his eyebrow cocked.
With a laugh, Dash said, "Heck, I don't like it any more than you do, cous'." At that moment, Lightning began to imagine his cousin in a long shimmering nightgown, make-up accentuating her broad features, her rainbow mane put into an elegant braid…nope, can't do it, he thought.
Apparently, Dash had read his mind, and replied indignantly, "Hey, I can look nice if I wanted to." And yet even she couldn't say that with a straight face.
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