Due to errors in pagecount, a new Prompt Tag thread as been created. We'll just pick right up where we left off. For reference, this was the last post, and the location of it:

Also:

The Rules, as according to bookplayer:

What is AppleDash Prompt Tag? It's a game, and here's how you play it:

I'll start off by posting a 100-500 word mini-fic about AJ and Dash. At the end will be a one word prompt. If you would like to write a 100-500 word AppleDash mini-fic relating to that prompt within the next four hours, comment right away to claim that prompt. Post the story when you finish, and add a one word prompt at the end for the next people to claim.

Simple enough?

Just to make sure everything is clear:

* The mini-fic can be in any style, any tag, AU, humanized, whatever. It can be a cute scene, a snippet of conversation, or an excerpt from an Equestrian history book. It's not expected to be preread or proofread, and if you've never written before that's just fine. Just try to keep it rated teen or lower and make sure it's 100-500 words of fiction about AJ and Dash and it relates somehow to the prompt you claimed.

* Claim prompts with a quick post responding to the last post. Just the word "claimed" is fine. When you finish, make a post with the mini-fic and the next prompt.

* Your claim is valid for four hours, to keep someone from accidentally holding things up all day. After four hours, another person could post a claim for the same prompt. If you ran out of time, and no one else has claimed it, and you still want to write it, just go ahead and reclaim it.

* In the event that people become confused, and two fics are posted for the same prompt, the first one posted contains the official next prompt.

* Please include a one word prompt at the end of your fic. There are lots of words, and they can mean lots of things, and it's up to the next writer what they want to do with it.

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The last post, as written by HazardPony.

Power... now that's a prompt I can really work with.

As the words left Rainbow's lips, their eyes locked, and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees at once, sapping the air dry of energy. A sickening grin spread across Rainbow's lips, her sharpened teeth glinting brightly in the sunlight.

“What was that about again, sugarcube?” Applejack asked slowly. Twilight interposed herself between the pair, obviously sensing the argument that was about to go down.

“Now, now, girls... this isn't how friends are supposed to behave...”

“I said that I'm probably stronger than you. I do train all the time, after all.”

Applejack seethed. Their fight seemed to be getting more and more regular as time went by, Twilight thought. She could only guess as to why they decided to prod that particular hornets nest. Twilight braced herself for Applejack's inevitable comeback...

“Well, I can make apples fall from trees... just by kickin' 'em!” Applejack retorted. “Seriously. Who else does that?”

After all, it was only last Tuesday that they argued about who was fastest... and the day before that it had been who could eat the most pears...

“Well, I once pushed a whole cart, loaded to the brim with lumber, for a whole five minutes, just to prove I could! Down Sugar Street, too! That isn't easy, let me tell you.”

Rainbow Dash had won, of course. Pears didn't agree with Applejack...

“Draggin' Bloomberg all the way t'town weren't no picnic, neither! That took me a half hour!” Applejack retorted proudly.

“Oh, please. Cart beats tree, ten times out of ten. The cart was way heavier! It had, like, five trees' worth in there.”

Twilight wondered why their lumber carrying capacity was so important to those two. And why did they feel the need to do this every half hour? Why vent their own frustrations in front of everypony? No matter what they had done to each other, it was very inconsiderate, Twilight thought.

“Tree beats cart when I drag it over a longer distance!”

“Yeah, but it took you twenty times longer!”

Twilight finally exploded, wishing to high heaven that they would move their fight some place else.

“Well, maybe you two should try a physical activity over a prolonged period of time in private and stop annoying everypony else with your constant bickering!”

Applejack and Rainbow both went quiet for a moment, as if they had been caught with their hooves in Celestia's private cake stash. It took Twilight a second to realize that she should have perhaps phrased her sentence better. Despite blushing furiously, it was Rainbow who spoke first.

“Uhm... watt?”

The next prompt is moment.

I'll be extra impressed if you take it about a point.

Take it away, folks.

3746743
I'd add a link to the firs thread, and perhaps copying the rules from bookplayer's first post too.

3746839

Soooooo bossy.

3747163

3747175

Alright, get a move on. Twilestia's group prompt tag just broke 300. We can't be second to anyone! Let's set this cannonball on fire and G-O!

Prompt: moment

It was a brief moment, really. The tiniest of moments. One of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of moments.
It was Rainbow's absolute favorite.
She was hoping to see it again today. She hid a smile as she pushed the bushels with her head back to the farmhouse.
She arrived and knocked on the door.
Applejack opened it. Her eyebrows raised. “Well, hey there, Rainbow,” she said. “What brings you here today?” She glanced back at the clock on the wall, double checking what she already knew. “And so early, too?”
“I found these,” Rainbow said, gesturing at the bushel in front of her. “Figured you'd want to be the first.”
Applejack squinted. “Are those… zap apples?” she asked. “Well, butter my buns and call me a biscuit.”
“You go first,” Rainbow said.
Applejack picked one up. “Well, thank you, sugarcube,” she said reverently. She took a bite of the apple. The juicy, waxy, dripping…
Wait.
Applejack pulled back. Though the apple was colorful, it had not remained so; the colors had washed off as if they had been…
“Paint?!”
There it was. That moment when she realized she had been pranked. Her face grew red, her nose scrunched up, and her tail flicked erratically.
She looked so cute for that split second.
And then Rainbow had to quite literally flee for her life.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called after her as she flew away, giggling uncontrollably.
Applejack threw her hat to the ground. “I see you again I'm shoving all those apples down your throat see who's laughing then,” she grumbled under her breath as she returned back inside.
But there also might have been the tiniest smile there, too.

Have we done 'time' yet?

3751056

If not, I'm doing it now! Claimed!

Prompt: Time
--------------------

Applejack looked down at her watch for what seemed like the thousandth time. Rainbow Dash was late. Again. Her one-pony war against being on time was once again getting in the way of their date.

Sighing softly, the orange earth pony took a moment to gaze at the scene before her. The sun was just approaching the horizon line, casting the sky above and the earth below in ever deepening shades of red and orange. Trees and buildings, intercepting the sun’s warming rays, cast long skeletal shadows along the grass. Dash may not have had a very good time, but she certainly had an eye for beauty.

A small speck growing in the corner of Applejack’s eye caught her attention, and she turned to see a cyan dot approaching from the distance. She smiled as she leaned over and reached into the picnic basket next to her. From its confines, she pulled out an empty pie tin, and set it carefully next to her before reaching back into the basket. Hooves finding what they were looking for, she gently broke off a piece of pie crust from the still warm apple pie inside. Crushing the piece between her hooves, she sprinkled the empty pie tin with crumbs. Leaning back, she attempted to mask her smile to avoid giving any clues that she might be pranking Dash. Not that such a thing was difficult. That filly always thought with her stomach first.

A few moments later, a small gust of wind announced the presence of another pony at the picnic.

“Sorry I’m late AJ!” The cyan pegasus apologized. Applejack merely pulled her stetson down over her eyes, and smiled a bit wider. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Weather stuff. Real busy. Now anyways, you said there would be pie?”

Dash’s eyes darted quickly around the blanket until they fell on the empty tin. Applejack could practically hear her jaw drop, and risked peeking out from under her stetson to see her marefriends eyes widened in horror. She almost swore she could see tears forming.

“YOU ATE ALL THE PIE?!” Rainbow shouted, devastated. She was too distracted to understand why Applejack had all of a sudden burst out laughing. Unable to process what to do next, Dash simply sat there stupefied for nearly a minute before her friend had calmed down enough to start talking again.

“Now don’t you fret, sugarcube.” Applejack said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She pulled the real pie from the picnic basket. Rainbow’s face lit up as she saw the pie, but transformed into a pout as soon as she realized she had been pranked. AJ knew she would get over it though. She always did.

“Darn it AJ!”

“Shut up and eat, sugarcube.”
--------------------------------------------------

Next prompt is: Spooky

3751056

Prank her, Rainbow, not poison!

3751188

Uh oh. The madness is spreading.

3751260
It's water-based and nontoxic paint. Promise.

Heh, had an idea for Spooky, but won't claim because probably be better to leave it for someone who can do it more in line with Halloween and such.

3751188

Claimed.

EDIT: Gonna take a little longer to complete than I'd anticipated. If someone else wants to claim it in the meantime, feel free.

Are we writing pranks now? Because I don't have a problem with that.

Prompt: spooky

Applejack yawned as she stumbled back into her home, her legs and sides aching with every movement. Nightmare Night or no Nightmare Night, it was autumn, and that meant one of the largest harvests of the year. She had been working around the clock with Big Macintosh whilst everypony else had been out having fun. It wasn't fair, in Applejack's opinion, but right now, she just wanted to make herself some food and go to sleep.

She trudged through the living room over to the kitchen, completely oblivious to the out of place box that sat in the centre of the room, silent as the grave.

Applejack scanned the kitchen for some easy food, but the best she could find was a packet of cereal. She began lazily pouring the contents of the box and some milk into a bowl before chomping down on the crunchy food.

In the meanwhile, the large box , made of heavy mahogany and iron, slid slowly across the carpet, the textile floor brushing against the hard wood of the trunk. It's lid opened slightly as it got closer and closer to Applejack, like the jaws of a venus fly trap waiting for it's prey.

Applejack slurped the rest of her snack down and let the bowl clatter into the sink. She'd clean it up the next day: right now she had to go and face the stairs.

The box was mere inches away from Applejack, the hinges clattering as it crawled towards Applejack's tail. It brushed against her golden hair gently, just enough for Applejack to notice. The farmpony glanced around, and faced the mysterious chest. She leaned in, puzzled.

"I ain't never seen this box before..."

Suddenly, it's lid opened up and snapped Applejack up with a horrifying:

"Rawr!"

The lid snapped shut, trapping Applejack inside the box. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as she'd have expected... in fact, the inside of the box was rather soft. Too soft...

Rainbow Dash cackled as her plan came to fruition. "Ha! Bet... bet you didn't see that one coming, huh? Haunted box on legs... You should have seen your—"

Applejack yawned again. "That's nice, sugarcube. I'll just close my eyes a second now..."

Rainbow Dash frowned. This wasn't how scaring ponies was supposed to go.

"Eh? Applejack? Hey, AJ?"

Applejack answered her back by snoring loudly.

"You awake?"

Rainbow realized that it was now she who was trapped underneath Applejack's sleeping form, used as a cushion by the sleeping earth pony. Rainbow shrugged.

"Meh. I'm pretty comfy too."

Next prompt is camera.

Prompt: Spooky

"Don't suppose you remembered to grab a lantern or something?" Rainbow's voice echoed in the tight quarters of the musty, underground hallway. A few dozen pinpricks of light of an unknown source interrupted the consistency of the utter darkness, and hooves clopped softly against wet, mossy stone floors to try and find purchase.

"Eheheh..." the pegasus heard her friend laugh nervously. "Don't worry none, sugarcube. We've always got the stone, if'n we need it."

"Then couldja just pull it out so I can see something besides nothing?"

"Nnngh... workin' ... mmph... on it!"

A few more firm pulls, and Applejack managed to free the amethyst gem from its embedded prison in the temple's lift. As it made contact with her hoof, it enveloped the two in a soft, lavender light.

The sound of stone grinding against stone caused both the yelp and jump back. The gem rolled across the floor, and the makeshift elevator rose, sealing the two in the temple depths.

All turned pitch black. The sound of dripping water and breathing was all that reached the pair's ears.

“AJ?”

“Uhhh... yeah?”

“Please tell me you watched where you dropped that rock...”

“Buuuuuh...”

Hooves scuffed the in the darkness. “For serious, AJ! I can't see your butt in front of my face!”

“If you'd gimme half a minute, then I could—” A pause. “Oh, here it is.”

A soft, violet light once again filled the stale-smelling corridors as Applejack lifted the polished stone up above her head. Rainbow's magenta eyes stared back from a few inches away. Looking up the hall, rats hissed in the dark at them, their red eyes reflecting the soft light emanating from the stone before scurrying into their burrows.

“You sure you can keep a hold of that thing? I don't like the thought of you dropping it down a hole somewhere and us being lost forever in here...” Rainbow shivered. "Or the thought of being rat food..."

“Oh, would you give it a rest?” the cowpony replied with a roll of her eyes. “The noise just startled me. I got a hold of it now.”

The pegasus sniffled and sneezed. “Tell me there's some kind of map that came with that glorified Lite Brite so we can hurry up and get outta here. All this dust is bugging the horseapples outta me.”

Applejack turned to her with a dimly-lit smirk. “Awww, does mah little Dashie got dah sniffles?”

Rainbow glared. “Stick to Honesty, AJ. Pinkie's better at Laughter...”

Her friend cackled, leading the way deeper into the sanctum. As their eyes adjusted, the faint light reached farther into the darkness, allowing them to see several meters. A thin haze gathered around their fetlocks from the moisture in the air.

“What're you so nervous for? It ain't like we've never been in some smelly 'ol ruins before. What, with the Castle of the Two Sisters, that little run-in with Darin' Do-Right at that Temple of... heat... or somethin'..."

"Daring Do."

"Yeah, her." Applejack shrugged, leading them around a corner. The straight and cramped path ahead was overrun by moss and the bones of dead rodents.

"And it was the Dark Tower. Not the 'Temple of Heat'. That's just stupid."

The earth pony scowled. "Oh, and 'Dark Tower's' any better?"

"Sure is better than the 'Temple of Heat!'" Rainbow said with a smirk. "Your name sounds like a rut club, not a place to find mysterious artifacts of power!"

Applejack blushed. "So I ain't much of a writer. 'Scuse me..."

The pegasus chuckled and hugged her friend with a wink. "You could be. I hear that Fifty Shades of Hay guy finished his series..."

The farmgirl's blush worsened. "Oh, hush up..."

The duo came upon an intersection, partially collapsed by a pillar that had given out over the years. Applejack leaned up against the collapsed pillar and peered around.

"See anything ya like?" Rainbow asked behind her with an implicit tone.

"You make one more innuendo, sugarcube, and I'm gonna buck ya in the schnoz."

The pegasus cackled, though it was a nervous one.

Applejack sighed. "I can't see nothin'. The one to the left has stairs headin' down from the looks of it. The paths ahead and to the right look like they collapsed." She lowered herself. "Don't see no markin' sayin' which way to go..."

"Uhhh... duh. No temple's gonna tell you where it's treasure is, AJ."

"Thanks, Ms. Know-it-All..."

Sighing, the earth pony pushed herself up over the collapsed barrier and marched down the left path, ducking vines hanging from the ceiling and nearly slipping on the slick, moss-covered floor.

"H-hey! Where are you going?"

"Takin' these here stairs! I don't see any other way..."

The pegasus mumbled a complaint and darted after her friend. The pair descended a decrepit staircase part of the way.

A portion of the stairs dislodged itself and crumbled, taking a section of them with it. The loud crash didn't reach the twos' ears for several long seconds.

"Stairs..." mumbled Rainbow. "Greeeeeat idea..."

"Hush up and fly us down, ya nervous ninny."

"I'm n-not nervous!" the pegasus protested, grabbing her friend about her barrel. "I just... I don't even know what we're looking for, so what're we doing here?"

Applejack grunted in discomfort as Rainbow levitated downward with her. "Well, I assume we'll know it when we see it. How many treasures can one adventure have?"

"Do you want me to go by Daring Do's books?"

"Never mind..."

The two touched down several moments later in a large antechamber. Four paths took off in all four cardinal directions.

"Well, great... now what?"

Applejack scowled at her friend and flicked her tail across the pegasus's nose. "Would you relax a little bit already? What would Darin' do?"

Rainbow blinked and considered the ground for a moment.

"Probably say something awesome, then somehow figure out which way to go..."

"So start figurin', then," the earth pony said, grabbing her friend and pushing her forward. "Think like yer great hero and tell us which way we're supposed to go!"

The pegasus blushed. "It's not that easy... She always knows what to look for. A pattern, a clue, or something..." Rainbow frowned and looked at each of the four doors. "I don't see anything that's a giveaway..."

Applejack hmm'd aloud and examined the archways above the four doors, scratching at her chin. There were no distinguishing marks or characteristics. Each was simply a stone doorway leading north, east, west and south, respectively.

"Well... it ain't like we're in any kind of hurry." Applejack turned south and marched through the door. "C'mon. We'll just try 'em all out 'til we figure out which one's the right one."

"Or... y'know... we could go back and just say we couldn't find this place...?" Rainbow suggested hopefully, beads of sweat on her brow reflecting the purple light.

Despite her marefriend's perspiration, Applejack found it quite chilly down so far.

She paused at the south door.

"Rainbow, you've been more jumpy than a Mexicolt jumpin' bean. What's the matter, sugarcube?"

"N-nothing! I'm not jumpy! I think you're the jumpy one!" The pegasus hovered in-place, crossing her forehooves stubbornly.

"Rainbow..." the earth pony said softly with a smile, turning back and walking up to embrace her friend. "If yer spooked, you can just admit it. I'm a little jumpy 'bout this place too," she admitted.

"I'm not spooked, okay?!" Rainbow took a breath and blew it out. "I just... I don't like tight spaces, okay? I hate not being able to fly..."

Applejack smiled and pulled her friend closer. "Don't worry, sugarcube. You can stay here if ya want. I ain't gonna tell nopony."

Rainbow's ears perked. "You won't?"

"Nah," the earth pony said, shaking her head. A smirk alighted on her lips. "I'll just call ya 'chicken-wings' in private from now on..."

The pegasus scowled, and Applejack swore the air between them began to stink from the stare her friend shot at her. "Hey, you don't see me making fun of you for being afraid of flying, do you?"

"I'm not afraid of flyin'!" her friend replied with a grin. "I'm afraid of fallin' and dyin'."

"Yeah? Well I'm afraid of something jumping out at me in dark, cramped space and not being able to fly away!" the pegasus snorted.

Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash. The two's eyes met for a long series of moments.

Then the pair grinned at each other and burst out laughing.

Suddenly, the dark chambers felt a lot less creepy.

Next prompt: Lightning

Sorry about the long wait, folks.

Never mind. Got beaten to the punch. New prompt is Camera.

3759491
The prompt is camera! You got ninja'd, son!

3759510

Should've refreshed the page, I guess.

3759526 prompt stealing no jutsu!

3757920 Since it seems unclaimed so far, unless I really missed something...Claimed!

Prompt: Camera
Word Count: 556

Applejack grunted as she woke up, blinking blearily. A shiver ran down her spine as she reached for the covers that just weren't there. The cold draft her room had been suffering for the last few months made itself readily apparent.

"Whazzat?" She sat up, wrapping herself in a hug. Another shiver followed the first, and the distinct lack soft, familiar covers became obvious. The farm-pony rubbed her eyes as she turned her head. It wasn't exactly hard to work out where her blanket had gone.

Rainbow Dash snored and it was, for wont of a better word, cute. She was all but snuggled with Applejack's covers wrapped around her, the corner having found its way to her mouth at some point only to be soaked in drooled and chewed on by the sleeping pegasus.

A quiet chuckle escaped Applejack as she stared at her marefriend. Seeing Rainbow Dash being unself-consciously adorable was such a rare thing, she didn't mind being woken for it. The draft reminded her a moment later that being woken was one thing, but freezing her teats off was another. Applejack reached for the blankets Dash had stolen, tugging part of it free.

Even asleep, unfortunately, Rainbow Dash turned out to be stubborn. She turned, pulling the blanket tighter. Letting out a groan, Applejack considered the quandrary before her; she could wake up Rainbow Dash, but, gosh darnit, she just looked so happy like that....

A downright devious grin spread across Applejack's muzzle. She chuckled again, coming out with a far more sinister undertone. She slipped off her bed, tiptoeing out of the room. She was relieved to find, upon her return, her 'radical' marefriend still reaching fluffy puppy levels on the cute-scale.

A loud click filled the air, followed by a few more as Applejack circled the bed. After a few minutes of work, Applejack vanished from the room again. This time she returned with a spare blanket, and slept with a wide, wide smile on her face.

*

Rainbow Dash came down pretty early, at least as she counted it. After all, it was her day off, and lunch wasn't for at least ten minutes.

"Morning Mac."

The big red stallion glanced in her direction, nodding slightly and....was it just her imagination, or did he...snicker? Dash blinked. Big Macintosh snickering was odd, but she shrugged it off when her stomach growled.

Rainbow Dash trotted into the ktichen, yawning. She didn't freeze up in shock until she had sat down, by which point it was far too late. She found herself staring at....herself? Rainbow Dash stared at the dark picture, jaw dropping. Moonlight illuminated the figure of the blue pegasus snuggled up, hugging balled up sheets like a teddy bear.

Click!

"Afternoon, sugarcube," Applejack drawled from the door. She lowered the camera, smiling smugly. "Like it? Got it developed express this mornin'. Ah was gonna wait till ya woke, but, well, ya seemed so darn happy sleepin' like that-"

"Give it!"

Applejack ducked under the leaping pegasus, pausing for a moment to snap a shot of the pile of dazed Rainbow Dash on the floor.

"That one's goin' in the album too," she remarked. Her smug grin didn't fade, not even as she bolted out the door, a blur of embarrassed blue pony chasing her. "What's wrong? Ya look adorable! Everypony says so!"

"Applejack!"

Next prompt: Maid
Let me know if that's been used before and I'll think up something else.

3760146 Nice prompt! But darn it if all I'm picturing from that prompt is Dash is a maid costume.

Not claiming, though.

3760878

picturing from that prompt is Dash is a maid costume.

Muwhaha, just as planned! I hope whoever claims it, if they do, has the same picture in their head, because whatever the reason it would be hilarious.

I shall use this first post of mine, since I just joined the group (because some scaly guy I'm not mentionning forced me to) (because apparently I'm not socializing enough) to claim the Maid Prompt. It should come soon.

Prompt : Maid
Word Count : 546

I arrived at my barn after I had finished getting dressed. It felt uncomfortable, but Rainbow Dash had assured me it would make everything more…interesting. I wasn’t convinced, though.

I raised my hoof and knocked at the door, three times, slowly and ponderously.

No answer. I was starting to wonder what would somepony think if they saw me dressed like this. I didn’t want to stay in the open for too long.

Wasn’t she ready yet ?

Just as I was about to knock once more, it opened fast and wide, leaving me surprised, my forelimb half-raised.

A rainbow mane flashed in front of my eyes for just an instant before disappearing. I couldn’t catch more of the pony that had opened the door.

Even though I knew who it was, I needed stay true to my role.

I quickly entered the barn. The door closed behind me, leaving me in complete darkness. Disoriented, I dared not to move. I was starting to be worried. This was not what I expected.

A soft, romantic voice echoed in the air.

“Perhaps you want so more light ?”

The words flew melodiously to my ears. They felt like a gentle caress, trying to invite me to things I dared not imagine.

My heart skipped a beat.

Before I could answer, I heard the crack of a match, and a little spark appeared in front of me, captivating my gaze as it moved and danced in the dark. It seemed as if a fairy had entered the barn.

She was playing her part wonderfully.

It finally landed high above me, before giving birth to a wide blue flame, burning on a candle held by a beautiful rainbow-maned Pegasus. Her purple eyes looked directly into mine. They seemed to read through me as easily as if I was an open book.

Rainbow Dash was soaring a few inches above the ground, her blue wings slowly beating to keep her aloft.

Then, as she approached me, the flame of the candle started to come closer and closer. Her eyes, shining in the dark, were growing bigger, captivating me more with each inch.

She stopped just an step away from my face. I could look at every detail of her muscled body, sculpted by her tireless flying training, half lit by the flickering flame of the candle.

Judging by her malicious smile, it was clear how likeable this was for her.

“Are you my new maid ?” she said, her bewitching voice bypassing my ears entirely and echoing directly in my mind.

Her breath was loud, panting with…excitement ? I couldn’t be sure, as its exotic smell was caressing my face, giving me shivers and slowly sapping my mind.

I could not answer. I had lost control of my body. I was simply hypnotized.

Without a warning, she pressed her lips against mines, her hoof holing my chin against hers.

I was now all but too taken by this. Her soft tongue rubbed against mine, in a passionate, intoxicating touch.

“This…We have’ta play… we ain’t gonna make the game last at this rate…” I panted.

She chuckled in a terribly luscious manner. She came even closer to me.

“Oh, but you’re playing well, Applejack. That maid outfit looks really interesting on you.”

Next prompt : Red

I like color prompt. They are very open. So let your imagination flow.

3762606 Well, well, well, five days and no ideas?

Claimed and finished. Prompt: red

“Well, it's more vibrant than maroon, which is kind of brownish,” Rainbow countered. Applejack tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“Well, what about crimson?”

“Too, um, purple, I guess.”

Applejack leaned in towards Rainbow's mane, squinting furiously, as if the power of her tensed eyelids might reveal the answer.

“It's still mighty pretty, whatever it is,” she declared admiringly. “I wish I had such a nice mane, t'be honest.” Rainbow was quick to agree,.

“Yeah, right, it's just... well... it's always 'rainbow mane'. Nopony ever tries to figure out what the different colours are, you know?”

Applejack nodded. “I get that. Most ponies just call me 'orange'.”

“Brown,” Rainbow corrected. Applejack huffed. Apparently brown was not a colour Applejack approved of.

“I'm way more interestin' than brown!”

Rainbow Dash back-pedalled as Applejack glared at her. She felt a rant coming, and Rainbow wasn't keen to receive one.

“A very nice shade of brown! A very cute shade of brown...”

“Well, what shade is it, specifically?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow hesitated, thinking furiously.

“Mahogany?”

“This ain't no mahogany! It's tangerine orange.”

Their discussion was interrupted by Rarity, who poked her head over the screen, hissing angrily.

“Girls! When I let you wait in my boutique while I dealt with a very important clients coiffure, I had assumed you'd keep quiet!” she snapped. After a brief moment, she added: “And it's red. Rainbow's first mane colour is red: it's not cinnamon, magenta, strawberry or crimson. It is actually red, and will always be red, the primary, inimitable red that comes from breaking the light spectrum! Into red!”

Both Applejack and Rainbow went quiet. Rarity slowly lowered her head behind the screen again and continued working on her customer, who had been scared into silence by Rarity's outburst. Rainbow turned back to Applejack.

“Okay, so that's red figured out. That leaves five more colours to go,” Rainbow said. Applejack grumbled, annoyed.

“Well, it ain't tangerine.”

And the next prompt shall be:

Fiesta

I think it's probably a good time to remind everybody about a rule that hasn't been relayed to the this new thread, regarding circumventing difficult prompts and changing them, by bookplayer:

Here's my ruling: The person giving the prompt can change an unclaimed prompt at any time, for any reason. After a day or so, that person should seriously consider doing so.
After 48 hours, any word from the previous fic can be used as the prompt. Just include which one you're using in your claim. (In the event that the prompter disappears, or is being stubborn.)

As far as I know, this rule wasn't changed in the last thread, though I'm not sure how often it was invoked (I only joined for about the last three pages of the thread, and there are a lot of them).

So in case my prompt isn't doing anything for you, feel free to invoke this rule. After all, I'd hate to break the thread because I happen to like tacos and tequila.

3800727 I don't know everyone else, but, I am a little busy right now and can't participate until monday (if I'm lucky)

3800829 oh, it's no big deal. just wanted to make sure is all, and not wait two weeks to have someone turn around and want the prompt changed when I can just as easily pre-emptively solve the problem (if one exists). Not to mention, that rule didn't make it through to this thread, and that probably should be rectified.

Prompt: Fiesta [Word Count: 877]

„Applejack~“ Rainbow Dash wailed once again, desperately clinging to the empty mug in her hoof.

It was the about thirtieth or forthieth time the farmpony’s name echoed through the empty streets that night, but despite the mild annoyance it caused her was Applejack still most sympathetic with her friend.

„I’m listenin‘ Rainbow Dash,“ she calmly replied and leaned a little to the right that the pegasus wouldn’t fall off her back – again. „Just busy walkin‘ ya‘ home and all.“

Rainbow Dash buried her snout even deeper in the blonde mane and a mixture of drool and cider began to slowly run down Applejack’s neck. „I’m not going to sleep in the barn,“ protested Rainbow Dash with more or less unintelligle voice that got followed by a small burp.

„I mean…“ Rainbow Dash wanted to explain her reasons, but got cut off by a long lasting yawn that teared ist way through her throat. Once it was over she smacked her lips for several times, not even remembering that she wanted to say something.

Applejack mildly smiled at the dozy and drunken pegasus. „I already told you, no pony’s gonna‘ have to sleep in the barn,“ she said reassuringly and set hoof on the dirt road that leaded to Sweet Apple Acres. „So just relax and try not to fall off again.“

Rainbow Dash slighly nodded against Applejack’s mane and for the first time since they left the fiesta to Ponyville’s 100th anniversary, a few minutes passed in somewhat of a comfortable silence during which there were just two mares walking home in the blueish light of the new moon. Until the second Rainbow Dash recalled why she didn’t want to sleep in the barn, that was.

„No Applejack, you don’t understand!“ Rainbow at once blurted out, her panicking voice ringing in Applejack’s instantly flat lying ears. „The barn is cold and ugly!“ The pegasus waved the mug up and down in protest. „I’m not going to sleep there!“ she huffed, then clinged to the other pony‘s sides in fear that she would fall off again otherwise.

Applejack sighed. „Okay, I got you don't wanna' sleep in the barn,“ she replied with mildly pained tone. Rainbow Dash digging her hooves in her sides with all strength was not exactly a good feeling. Yet was it something Applejack did also enjoy in some way.

„So, how’s my barn ugly?“ Applejack tried to find a topic they could talk about in hope that it would help Rainbow Dash relax again.

A few moments passed until Rainbow Dash released a long-drawn ‚Uh…‘ that got followed by the sound of a mare trying to clear her throat, but somehow failing in the process. She gave the expression of a foal trying to describe the difference between Ginger Gold and Goldspur apples what elicited a delighted snicker from Applejack’s snout.

„Well…“ Rainbow Dash’s mind worked like one of the weather factorie’s cloud machines during storm season, until it made a click. „It’s not cool!“ she shouted in triumph for having found the best reason there could be in the entire world. But it still was not good enough for causing Applejack to not throw an amused glance at her.

Feeling that her friend was not fully satisfied with the response did Rainbow’s mind resume working, this time however with the intensity of twenty cloud machines during storm season. „I mean… there are just hay… and tools… and…“ Rainbow Dash ran out of ideas and for some reason unknown shot the truth to her mind. The pure thought of it caused her a shudder and her voice decreased to a weak whisper „…and spiders…“

„Hah!“ Applejack’s reaction didn’t take long. „Now don’t you tell me that the great Rainbow Dash, best flier all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt is scared of some tiny spiders?“ With a gloating smile on her face, Applejack craned her neck around to make her eyes meet with those of the pegasus who at first ceased herself in mortified silence.

The thought of the pure possibility of spiders crawling in her plumage and from there on her snout during preening caused a really cold feeling shiver running down Rainbow Dash’s spine. „I’ll also give you back your hat!“ she shouted in despair and already wanted to grab it from her mane to put it back where it belonged to, but couldn’t muster up the courage to remove just one of her hooves from Applejack’s sides. „I mean… I really like it and all, but… I don’t want to sleep in the barn!“ she cried out in hectic, however the next second her lips got gently sealed by a familiar orange hoof.

„Don’t you worry Rainbow Dash,“ Applejack said with soothing tone, gently removed the mug from the other mare’s tight grasp and carefully rolled Rainbow Dash from her back onto the bed. „There are no beds in the barn,“ she added and covered Rainbow Dash under her like fresh apples smelling soft blanket.

„And talkin‘ about my hat,“ Applejack gently patted said headgear and with it Rainbow Dash’s mane below. „You can keep it till’ tomorrow.“

Ruminating where she had stored Apple Bloom’s old spidermane toys, Applejack gave her already sleeping friend a soft nudge and left the room.

Next Prompt: beans

I think I might join in on this, it looks really fun! (As long as that's ok with everyone )
Beans. Um, okay. Here goes.

"What was that?"

Applejack tilted her head against her pillow as she asked Rainbow. They were lying in bed on a lazy Saturday morning, when a bizarre noise interrupted their peaceful silence.

"I didn't hear anything," Rainbow replied, a little too innocently.

Applejack raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"You didn't? Because Ah could have sworn--"

Suddenly, another bizarre noise interrupted her speech. Applejack's eyes widened as she realized where it generated from. She lifted the covers to check and sure enough, the lovely aroma of last night's baked beans hit her nose. She groaned.

"Daaaaash, gross!"

"What?" Dash cried, "I had to let it out!"

"In the bed?"

"Um..." Dash's eyes shifting around the room, fear of being kicked out of the warm covers showing on her face. "...yes?"

"Why?"

"Because..." Rainbow racked her brain for an answer. She looked from the bathroom door to the bed, then back again. An answer came.

"Because I didn't want to leave you," Dash replied. "I didn't want to leave your warm embrace only to be met by the cold wood floor."

A smile crept onto Applejack's face. It was a weak and sappy excuse, but it was enough.

"Oh Dash," she smiled wider, "you are just too cute."

She then leaned in and met her in a kiss. It was warm and tasted of chapped lips and morning breath, and it was wonderful. It probably would have lasted longer had a new bizarre noise not sounded from the covers, quickly followed by a chuckle from Applejack.

Rainbow broke the kiss, bewilderment on her face.

"Applejack! That was disgusting!!"

End.

So, here it is. A little silly, and short, but I hope its not too bad.
The next prompt word is: morning.

Morning, I'll take it. Consider it claimed.

Word count : 645

I was thinking about us. About our time together. More than a year already. A whole year…

I still remembered how it started. The whole “Elements of Harmony” business. And everything that followed. Letting my mind wander around whilst I flew, I could not detach my eyes from the rising sun, in front of me.

The huge star took almost all the sky with its rays, like an enormous fire ball. It was blinding, but I didn’t care. Time was flowing differently for me since...

Nothing was keeping me on those lands, now. Applejack left ages ago.

One morning she was there with me, in the hot and comfy bed. Next thing I knew, she had simply vanished. Not a word, not a kiss. It was almost like she let the ache in my heart talk for her. It was a gnawing feeling, stretching and ripping my heart.

A part of myself had been ripped from me. And despite the pain, I could simply not be mad at her.

Me and the others looked everywhere. We begged Celestia to send envoys. Even the Wonderbolts took off to find her. They owed me a favor.

But nothing. They all came back empty hoofed. And I was mad. Oh, I had been mad.

Most of my sanity had died that week.

First, I was simply depressed. Everything was black…and cold. My friends could not find any way to cheer me up. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t smile. I didn’t eat. Whenever they tried something for me, I answered with words of spite and anger.

All day long, I kept my eyes on the pictures. On the little words, written by her, in the house. They were everywhere : on the walls, on the fridge…

But then, it started to make me even more depressed. I tore them apart. Threw the pictures out the window. I yelled all day long, tears running on my coat. I could not understand. I didn’t try to understand.

It never crossed my mind that maybe, she felt like I deserved better. Or that she needed to ponder her feelings. Or any romantic crap they come up with in those books. No, I simply didn’t try.

It was her fault, after all. She had scarred me for life. All the promises ? They were no more. All the vows ? They crumbled to dust. All the happiness ? It had vanished.

One day, Fluttershy came to see me. She said that I was destroying her with my attitude. Her exact words where :

“I...feel the way Applejack was feeling for you !"

I do not remember what crossed my mind. But when she said this, I lunged at her, and hit her. Hard. In a bad spot. She crumbled in my arms, her eyes closed. A simple tear fell on the floor, and she stopped breathing.

I had woken up in a hospital room. I felt like utter crap. I was not me anymore. I was a simple pile of trash. I had killed one of my friend. For what ? My depression, my mutilated love, had spoken for me.

I just exiled myself. Forever. Took off, leant towards the west, and kept at it. I would continue like this until exhaustion, whilst remembering all of our moments together. Not trying to understand anymore. Not trying to hide from the truth anymore.

She needed time for herslef. She didn’t feel like loving me anymore. Her feelings had simply…died out. She was so scared to say it in front of me. She was asking me to wait, to give her time. She would come back, and we would speak about it.

That was her last note. Found it in the stables when I fled from the hospital, going by the house one last time. The one place I didn't have the courage to go to. All this happened because she had stuck it into a stupid place.

Your fault. All your fault. Your turn to live with the pain.

Next prompt for the daring : Reason

3885034

This isn't exactly AppleDash, now is it~

3885196

The base is, no ? I mean, it all starts because they are together, and it develops from there. But it's more of a...post-relationship ?

3885215
True enough. The prompts tend to be about the relationship though, so this one is a little off the mark!

3885218

I will make sure to be more on target next time, but I had that idea right when I saw the prompt and I thought it would still fit. Better late than never.

3885196
3885215
So is the prompt he gave game? I'm confused..

3886330 it is! Just the entry he gave was a little odd, i found ;)

3886395

Odd, huh ? I know this is not the thread for it, but I would not mind more details. I am still an author in the making, after all.

3886570 Well it's pretty much what I said earlier - the focus of these little prompts are the interactions between AJ and Dash... or others, in regards to AJ and Dash, etc etc. Something to show the relationship proper. What you had was mainly about Dash, and her reaction to AJ's disappearance. There wasn't much, well, AppleDash in there.

3886584

Huh, I see. I will ponder.

3885034

Prompt: Reason

"...What? That's it?"

Rainbow donned the best fake smile she could muster, laughing nervously and sweating bullets as she did so.

Applejack wasn't fooled.

The farmgirl's scowl only darkened, and the rest of the girls around her fidgeted nervously. Rarity hugged the cowering Fluttershy close, and Pinkie filed nervously away at her hooves with her teeth. Even Twilight hid beneath her own sheltering wings in fear of the worst that was to come.

"That's y'all's excuse?"

A pair of fiery green eyes darted between the girls and her own girlfriend, everypony flinching in turn.

"S-surprise?" Pinkie stammered, producing a piece of steaming apple pie with a forced grin.

Applejack drew gasps slapping the dish out of the party pony's hoof. Being so callous to apple confections of any kind was highly unusual for the proud earth pony, yet she seemed as entirely unmoved as before.

"Do y'all have any idea what you've done?!"

Fluttershy gulped and whimpered from behind her fashionista friend. "We... have an idea..."

"I mean, what could y'all have possibly been thinkin'?! This is gonna set us behind production schedule for weeks just to get ready, if'n this happens!"

"But we did it with good intentions!" Twilight boldly said, though drawing Applejack's ireful stare caused her to shrink again. She gulped. "W-what I mean is... t-tourism is a very lucrative business, and Ponyville's local economy has been suffering from a lack of visitors lately."

"And y'all just thought it'd be a good idea to turn Sweet Apple Acres into some kind of crummy amusement park fer a bunch of high-falutin' bluebloods?!"

Twilight gulped. "W-we just thought... we just thought that maybe if ponies got to experience what Sweet Apple Acres was like, then perhaps it could increase your revenue and spread word of your orchard!"

Applejack's brow smoothed over slightly, eyes still narrow and accusatory.

"Th-think about it!" the princess continued. "You could hold apple-tasting, tours of the farms, you could show everypony how you create your cider right from scratch, and everypony could buck their own apples to find out just how easy it is."

The farmgirl's glare could have killed a basket of puppies.

Twilight's eyes bulged. "Aaaaaand by 'easy', I meant, how NOT easy at ALL it is and how hard you Apples work to provide your produce to Equestria... is of course what I meant!" she corrected hurriedly. "Eheheheh..."

Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash and stared at her as if she willed her heart to stop beating.

"And you never thought to tell 'em I might have my own ideas about this?"

The pegasus pouted pitifully, which seemed to take a lot of the anger out of her girlfriend's eyes.

"It's as Twilight said, dear! W-we thought it would be a good opportunity for developing interest in Ponyville and could drum up additional business for Sweet Apple Acres! Rainbow Dash assured us you wouldn't mind."

Rainbow's eyes widened and she looked at Rarity with a grave expression.

Applejack grit her teeth and turned to her girlfriend again. "Did she now...?"

Rarity paled even further, if that were possible. "Oops."

For many moments, the cowpony seethed, breaths steady, even, and furious.

"W-we had the best intentions," Fluttershy assured her.

Applejack leveled her eyes at Rainbow again -- eyes that could shake a mountain to its foundation.

"Everypony in the crowd was looking at me!" she squeaked, cowering on the ground as the farmgirl stepped closer. "I wanted to say something cool! They talked up my ego! I GOT CONFUSED!"

Her girlfriend stopped not ten inches away. She stood over her as if a hooded executioner over his next victim. Rainbow Dash flinched and covered herself, expecting well-deserved pain.

She peeked up after several seconds, and instead found an ominous smile.

The other girls shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, it's mighty nice to know I've got such good friends willin' to help us out on the farm and get ready for all these new-fangled tours we're gonna be hostin'! Would sure be nice havin' a few extra sets of farmhooves to get ahead on the harvest 'fore all them tourists get here... Twilight."

The princess's ears fell in a pout.

"And the rest of y'all can help Rarity clean out the barn and barnyard and decorate fer all the guests we'll be gettin'! It's a big job, but I'm awful glad y'all are here to help!"

The girls all looked wincingly amongst one another.

"Sounds good to me!" the pegasus said in relief, darting up mid-hover. "This is gonna be like the most awesome thing for Sweet Apple Acres ever! I'll just go get a head start on that applebucking and--YAIGH!"

"Uh-uh," Rainbow heard, yelping as she was yanked from the sky by her tail. She landed with an "oof". Applejack stepped firmly on her partner's tail to root her in place, leaning in closer. The heat from her breath licked at the pegasus's fur like the flames of Tartauros. "I got darker plans fer you, sugarcube..." An evil grin washed over her girlfriend's lips. "And maybe it'll just shrink that ginormous ego ya got..."

Rainbow Dash's ears pinned and her pupils dilated.

***

"Step right up, folks, and welcome to the grand openin' of Sweet Apple Acres' Barnyard Tours! My name is Applejack, and I'll be your hostess while yer here! And don't forget to say hi to my brother Big Mac...!"

A large red stallion attached to a wagon nearby waved. "Eeyup."

"My baby sister, Applebloom!"

Her younger sibling grinned and saluted.

"My dear Granny Smith!"

Granny looked around dazedly. "Soup's up?"

"And the newest addition to our little slice of home, let's hear it for Sweet Apple Acres' new mascot, Sparky the Wonder-Apple!"

Rainbow Dash scowled nearby, dressed in an oversized zap apple suit. The cause for the flush and sweat on her face was hard to discern, whether it was from humiliation or from the heat. She pouted and sighed.

"Golly gee, wowzers, Applejack..." she droned, dancing limply from side to side, "what a zap-happy day..."

Next prompt: Firebrand

3887323
That last scene requires art.

3887697

Really? I half-assed this one. It's amazing someone still found something to like in it.

3887697
3887860

3887323
Claimed.

Firebrand:

Rainbow Dash landed on Sweet Apple Acres to find Applejack fuming.

“Hey, something wrong?” she asked, giving Applejack a peck on the cheek. “I thought you were clearing out dead trees today.”

“I was clearin’ out dead trees, but somepony is keepin’ me from my work.” Applejack motioned to a nearby tree, leafless and decrepit, with a yellow pegasus chained to it.

“I… um… said I was sorry for the inconvenience, but, um, deforestation is a very serious problem,” Fluttershy said firmly.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “The tree ain’t bein’ deforested, it’s dead! It ain’t forested anymore anyway! And this ain’t a forest, it’s an orchard!”

“That’s no reason to be disrespectful of it,” Fluttershy admonished. “Dead trees provide a habitat for squirrels and woodpeckers.”

“Be that as it may, this is a farm, and livin’ trees provide a better habitat for apples!” Applejack shouted.

“Apples aren’t everything, Applejack. And I’m not budging.” Fluttershy gave a nod. Then she chanted, “Um… no, no, I don’t think I’d really like to go... if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind, come to think of it!” Applejack said, stomping her hoof.

Dash just shook her head and sighed. Then she motioned to Applejack.

“AJ, AJ, come here…” Dash pulled Applejack into a huddle. “Look, she can’t stay there forever. She’s got, like, a million animals to feed. Why don’t we go for a run, and you can cut down the tree when she leaves to give them lunch.”

Applejack considered it a moment, then nodded and whispered, “I reckon you’re right. Lemme go put up my tools.”

As Applejack gathered her axe and saw, she spoke loudly and unconvincingly. “Well, looks like you win, Fluttershy! Yup, I ain’t gonna be cuttin’ down trees no more. I’ll just leave ya’ here in this here habitat and go for a run with Dash.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Good! I hope you both have fun…”

Applejack walked back to the barn. As soon as she was out of sight, Dash flew over to Fluttershy for a hoofbump.

“Thanks, Fluttershy!”

“You’ll be by this weekend to give flying lessons to the baby birds?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Dash nodded. “I don’t suppose we could figure out some way for you to protest making apple butter? She’s doing that all day Friday, and I was hoping we could hang out at the lake.”

Fluttershy considered the question. “Um… well… I don’t suppose being mashed up is very comfortable for the apples…”

“Great!” Dash grinned. “You can, like, chain yourself to the stove or something.”

“Dash! You ready?” Applejack’s voice came from the end of the row of trees.

“Yup! Let’s go!” Dash called back. She gave a wink to Fluttershy, then turned and headed off to have an awesome afternoon of fun with her marefirend.

Next prompt: Pardon