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Autumn to Winter: Day 15,098 words
Winter to Spring: Day 2 and 39,368 words
Spring to Summer: Days 4 and 55,922 words
Summer to Autumn: Days 6 and 76,303 words
Day 81,711 words

Day 8

"Extra, extra! Read all about it!"

It was to this chorus that the ponies of Equestria danced every morning. Newspapers traded hooves on the street, at coffee shops, train stations, and at work. In households, the paper would be divvied up and scattered across the members of the family. But the news, ah, the news was discussed around breakfast tables, in living rooms, and at work.

One name was on everypony's lips: Sweet Apple Acres.

Everypony with a newspaper was more than familiar with the name, but things had escalated from speculation to celebration. It was no longer a matter of wondering whether they could succeed or not, but of spreading the word that they had.

Sweet Apple Acres. It meant a lot of things, now. Once, it meant providing the best apples come rain or fair weather. Now, it meant providing the best apples come heaven or hell. It didn't mean security. It didn't mean being able to go into a store and knowing that's what you'd find. It meant guardian angel. It meant moving mountains for the good of Equestria.

Newspapers crossed hooves all across the country. But in Fillydelphia, it was apples that were being traded like hot cakes, and that was better news than any story column.

But even though Sweet Apple Acres was a name everypony now knew, two names were less widespread. Oh, many would recognize them for their exploits across the world. But right now, their names were drowned out by the name of the farm that saved a city.

But those who did know the names, those who knew what they had given to make everything possible, wondered.

They wondered: where are they? And more importantly, when would they be back?

Rainbow turned on her side. She was in her own bed. She could tell: beneath her head was a soft pillow, and her shoulders were wrapped in a thick blanket. She had to be home. There was no other explanation.

She grunted as she felt pain flare up her sides, and her hind leg.

The hurricane.

She tried to move, residual panic from the night before taking over. Her blanket and pillow tightened around her, keeping her still.

"Hush, now. Ya'll got mighty banged up, sugarcube," her pillow said, leaning close to Rainbow's ear.

Not a pillow. Applejack. Not her bed. A quick, makeshift shelter under the upturned cart. Not a blanket: Applejack's foreleg, wrapped around Rainbow's body to keep her warm.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked, letting herself be calmed by the sweet, warm feeling of Applejack's flesh against her own. "How many carts made it out? How many did we lose?"

Applejack pulled Rainbow closer, smiling broadly. "We only lost this one. The others all made it out."

Rainbow's eyes widened, surprise taking over. "All of them?"

"All of them," Applejack replied, happiness creeping across her eyes, softening her every feature. "You did real good."

Rainbow tried sitting up, but realized her sides hurt too much to manage it. Applejack gave her a quick lift, propping her injured body against her own. Rainbow got a good look at her leg: a thick, harsh friction burn circled her hoof. Her sides were bruised black, and her head throbbed like it had been sunk into a freezer.

"I think I passed out," she admitted. It was a lie: she knew she had passed out. Whether from flying, or from knocking her head, she wasn't sure. Both, probably.

"You did," Applejack said. "I found you in the hurricane. You'd be on the ground one minute, then torn right back up to be crushed 'gainst the ground the next." Rainbow felt Applejack's grip tighten. "I've never been quite that afraid."

"And the friction burn?" Rainbow asked, gesturing at her hoof.

"I lassoed you in. Pulled you into this here cart. Then I just waited out the storm."

Rainbow examined her injured hoof. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry it hurt. I just... didn't know how else to get you down. Your wings were actin' like kites, and I wasn't fast 'nough to..."

"Oh, I meant it," Rainbow said, flashing her a smile. "I could have been smashed to pieces if you hadn't."

Applejack returned the smile. The pair sat in silence for a moment. Beyond the safety of the cart, she could hear birds singing. Autumn leaves, torn up by the wind, danced across the ground. Wherever the storm had gone, it was no longer there. The weather had thrown its tantrum at being used and bent to the will of mere ponies, and now it had gone to its room to sulk. The morning sunlight crept from behind the clouds, flashing across the grey countryside.

Applejack took a deep breath, her chest rising.

"So... about what we talked about last night?" she began, careful to avoid tripping on her words. Rainbow nodded.

"I remember," she said. "I think I feel the same way."

Applejack's stomach jumped into her throat. "Really?"

"Yup," Rainbow replied. "I only pass out for really special ponies."

Applejack stifled a laugh. "I guess that's about right," she said. "Celebration drinks in Filly, then?"

"You bet," Rainbow replied, a faraway look on her face. "It's a date."

Both ponies let themselves relax. Rainbow still winced from her injuries, but they felt like worthwhile pain. Like aching after a work-out. They didn't matter, because you had gained something in exchange. In this case, something wonderful.

Both ponies heard a knocking sound on the side of the cart. Applejack sat up, eliciting a yelp from Rainbow.

"Hello?" she asked.

"So this is where ya'll have been hidin' out," came Braeburn's familiar voice, followed by his gleeful expression as he popped his head around the outside of the cart. "I thought you'd have found someplace safe to wait the storm out."

Barrelling past him came Big Macintosh, who snatched his sister up in a bear-hug, squeezing the life from her. Rainbow toppled to the side, wincing from the pain in her sides. "Ow!"

"Ugh... air..." Applejack grunted.

Braeburn knelt over Rainbow Dash. "You okay there, partner?"

"I might have broken things."

Braeburn gestured behind him. "That's fine: we came prepared."

Two doctors arrived with a stretcher. Applejack finally disentangled herself from Big Macintosh's grip. "Okay! I'm fine, ya'll can let go."

"Sweet! A stretcher," Rainbow exclaimed. "Just what I wanted."

Braeburn chuckled. "You don't look all that bad," he said. "I'm sure you'll be up and at 'em in no time."

"There's a whole crowd waiting for you back in Fillydelphia, miss Applejack," one of the doctors said. "We're all very grateful for what you've done."

Applejack blushed. "It were a team effort," she said. Big Macintosh handed her back her hat, which she slapped back on her unwashed mane. "We all pulled through in the end."

The group stepped outside of the makeshift shelter, revealing an ambulance cart. Twilight was there too, relief plain as day on her face. Applejack raised her head as she breathed in the fresh morning air.

"It's autumn," she said. "And it'll be autumn tomorrow."

What a nice thing to say, she thought to herself. It'd be nice to not have to spill sweat, blood, and tears over changing the weather in a day.

"Come on," Twilight said. "Let's get you to Fillydelphia."

Apple stands stretched as far as the eye could see. There were apple pies, apple treats, candy apples, and of course, the original, natural, Sweet Apple Acres apple in all its uncooked, unchanged glory. Applejack reckoned they'd get sick of them pretty soon... but for now, each and every one was amazing.

The warehouses towered in the distance, giant temples dedicated to preserving the fruit that had arrived in the city's time of need.

Rainbow limped after Applejack, her sides and leg in bandages. Her eyes span from one side of the street to the other.

"This is awesome," she said.

The sunlight poured from behind grey clouds, bathing the streets in strands of yellow light. The majestic concrete buildings were like an orchard all of its own, with ponies instead of fruit. And those ponies were all looking at Applejack and Rainbow.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who had been in charge of the whole ordeal. Everypony knew from how the ponies in charge of the apple stands tipped their heads towards the pair. From how mister Wheatland, overseeing the market square, gave them a little bow as they passed.

"Three cheers for Applejack!" came a shout. It was repeated just enough for it to turn into a roar. The crowd all looked towards the mare who made a year into a week, and cheered.

Applejack couldn't remember being happier.

"We did it," she muttered.

"It was your idea," Rainbow said, nuzzling her friend. "I'm just the pegasus who knew it was a crazy plan and still went along with it."

Applejack pulled Rainbow in as close as she could, their chests touching. Rainbow craned her neck back to avoid knocking heads with Applejack. Their manes brushed against their noses.

"I couldn't have done it without my crazy pegasus, though," Applejack said, and leaned in for a repeat performance of the night before.

This time, there wasn't any wind to get in the way. There was just Rainbow, Applejack, and a whole lot of cheering.

The End

Author's Note:

And that there is the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed the ride. This is probably the story I worked hardest on, and it was a blast to write.

If you enjoyed the story, please upvote (as that helps it get noticed by other people who will hopefully enjoy it) and of course, feel free to comment with criticism, thoughts, or just to post cute pictures of cats. I like cats.

Also, a big shoutout to the 4th (I think it's the fourth, but I always forget) AppleDash contest on the AppleDash group. There's sure to be plenty of cool stories over there, and I'd recommend you check out my competition!

Thank you very much for reading, and have a good one. Cheerio!

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