Apples & Rainbows

by Hazama

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash's quest was off to a spectacularly disappointing start. Applejack's safety concerns kept her grounded. Twilight Sparkle was busy doing whatever the smarty-pants did in her spare time. Fluttershy was out the question because the stunt called for a non-pegasus; she'd probably be too scared of the high-speed acrobatics, anyway. Pinkie Pie, well... she didn't quite comprehend the idea. They'd probably be picking pieces of her gyrocopter out of the trees for days.

Rarity was the last of her friends on the list. Carousel Boutique appeared ahead, and Dash landed in front of the door. She rapped on it a few times, after which a muffled voice could be heard from within. Moments later, the door opened to reveal Sweetie Belle.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie said, smiling.

"Heya, Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity busy?"

Sweetie's smile faded. "Well, she's--"

"Rainbow Dash?" a voice called out from within the building. "Do come in, dear!"

The unicorn filly stepped aside and Dash walked through the doorway, glancing about the room until she found the voice's source. Rarity was fussing over a dress form and the garment that adorned it, concentration furrowed into her brow. Pieces of fabric floated in the air around her, moving about at the unicorn's will as she tested various design changes.

As her guest approached, Rarity turned to face her. "Welcome!" she smiled. "How are you, Rainbow? To what do I owe the pleasure?" A clearly feigned smile. The two ponies didn't really mingle outside of group activities, but the unicorn's distress read like a book.

"Uh, Rarity... you okay? Something bothering you?"

The fashionista's eyes grew wide. "Of course not, darling!" she laughed. "What ever gave you that idea?" She continued to absentmindedly arrange the dress form as she spoke.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I don't know the first thing about fashion, but even I know that," Dash stuck a hoof toward the dress form, "is terrible." Rarity paused to give her attention to the dress form again. Fabric haphazardly adorned the frame and could hardly be called a dress. The unicorn hung her head shamefully.

"Sweetie Belle and I were at the park earlier today to spend a bit of quality time with each other. Just as we were leaving, somepony complimented me on how adorable my daughter is!"

Dash looked confused. "You don't have a daughter. Uh, do you?" She figured that'd be something she would know.

"Celestia, no!" Rarity gasped. "Do you not understand? She was speaking of Sweetie Belle! She thinks I'm ooold!" she wailed frantically, taking Dash's forehooves in her own. "Is that really how I look? Do I look old to you?"

"Uh, well..." the pegasus replied. She was being made very uncomfortable. Rarity wasn't old, but Dash could understand how the mare's compliment could come about. The unicorn sisters were separated in age enough to appear as a young mother and daughter. "I don't think you look all that old. It's... just the age split between you two."

Rarity released her grip and recomposed herself. "I... I never thought of it that way. Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I needed to hear that." A genuine smile crossed her lips. "Now, let us put this out of mind. You came here for a reason. How can I help?"

Dash looked around the room. It had seemed oddly unoccupied, and she just now realized why. "Where'd Sweetie Belle go?"

Rarity shrieked, running about the shop in search of the filly. "She must have snuck away while we were talking!" She sighed heavily. "That filly gives me nothing but trouble. I'm terribly sorry, darling, but I need to go find my sister." The unicorn made for the door. "We will have to catch up another time. I apologize again, Rainbow!"

All the pegasus could do was watch, dumbfounded, as her friend bolted out the door. Sighing, she followed and closed the shop behind her.

---

Dash found herself on the way to Sweet Apple Acres once more. Applejack was her best bet, if only she could get her to overcome her reservations. She arrived at the orchard and scanned the area for signs of activity, settling her gaze on the blot of orange making its way through the green of a field and speeding down to meet it.

"Well, howdy, Rainbow," Applejack greeted the pegasus. "What brings ya here again so soon?"

"Oh, nothing, really." Dash considered for a moment explaining how fruitless her search for help was, but decided against it. Instead, an idea sparked to life in the back of her head. "Hey, you going somewhere?"

Applejack looked up at the hovering pony and quirked a brow. "Ah'm goin' to the barn. Why d'ya ask?"

"How about a lift?" Dash smirked.

"What?" the earth pony asked, confused. Realization soon set in. "Rainbow, Ah told ya Ah ain't flyin'. 'Sides, it ain't that far away."

Dash wouldn't give up that easily. "Come ooon, AJ," she pleaded, touching down to the ground. "It's just a ride! And you said it isn't far, so what's the harm?"

"Now don't ya--"

"Puh-leeeease?" she whimpered, putting on her best pouty face and letting her wings droop limply.

Applejack sighed and brought a hoof to her face. "You just ain't gonna let this go, are ya?" The sad face stared back at her, looking as pitiful as possible. "Fine," she sighed exasperatedly.

Dash's feigned mood immediately shot upward as she squealed a bit more enthusiastically than she had wanted. "Hop on!" she said, kneeling on all fours.

"Straight to the barn," Applejack warned, climbing onto Dash's back and wrapping her forehoofs around the pegasus's neck. "Ah'm only doin' this for ya just once, so don't make me regret this."

Dash felt the warmth of the embrace and unwittingly smiled. "Oh, you won't regret anything. You ready?" At the nod, she stood up and extended her wings, pausing momentarily before leaping into the air. She felt the grip around her neck tighten as her passenger instinctively held on for life.

Applejack's heart raced as the two of them flew above the tree tops. She had begun to regret caving in, but the feeling washed away as she looked out across the entirety of the orchard. Even the outlying fields were clearly visible; she could see Big Macintosh working one from her vantage point.

After a few moments, Dash decided to give her friend a true taste of the sky. "You okay back there, Applejack?" She received a shaky affirmative. "Hang on! We're going up!" she shouted, gently inclining her path.

"We're whaAAAAT ARE YA DOIN'!?" Applejack shrieked as they gained altitude. She clung tightly to the pegasus, unwilling to look down. They soon breached the lowest cloudline, where they leveled off. The view took Applejack's breath away once she allowed herself the opportunity, and she dared to reach out and skim through a cloud. Her hoof passed with no resistance, simply dampening slightly in the vapor. The sensation was radically different than her time in Cloudsdale; there, she had been enchanted with a cloud-walking spell and it had felt like walking on a mattress: soft and slightly springy. Now, it felt wet and intangible.

Dash glowed with delight. Not only was she where she loved to be, she was there with someone she liked. She had grown to appreciate Applejack's company, and enjoyed the days when they would hang out. With the apple harvest upon them, the country mare's time was spent in preparation for bucking the vast number of apple trees. The blue flier relished today's flight for that reason alone. Unfortunately, their time was coming to a close as the barn approached, and she eased herself into a downward spiral. They circled the barn a few times and touched down in front of the door.

Applejack slid off of Dash's back and paused to catch her breath. "Rainbow," she huffed. "Ah oughta smack ya for goin' up so high!" Seeing the pegasus recoil from the anticipated blow, she softened. "But Ah guess it wasn't so bad," she said, looking to the side, then back. "It was a pretty nice view, once I got over the whole 'really high up' part."

"Nice enough to rethink your decision from yesterday?" Dash said with a smirk.

Applejack lowered her head and shook it, smiling. "Now don't go jumpin' the gun, RD." She lifted her head, still smiling, and looked at her friend. "But maybe Ah wouldn't mind another sky-ride sometime. Just don't pull any sudden moves again."

While she had been hoping Applejack would have changed her mind, Dash was happy that they might get to fly together again in the future. She scratched her head and grinned. "Right, nothing fancy." Suddenly, the pegasus's stomach loosed a ferocious growl, and her grin turned sheepish. She had forgotten lunch today.

Applejack chuckled and said, "C'mon, Rainbow. Why don't ya stay for dinner? It's been a while since we had a sit-down."

Dash's thoughts drifted momentarily to the stacks of fast food takeout containers at home awaiting disposal. She was a terrible cook and her mouth salivated at the idea of a genuine home-cooked meal. The temptation was too great to resist and the two mares galloped side by side into the farmhouse.

Comments

[CyborgAlicorn]

first came here two days ago and noticed you didn't have a comment for this chapter yet so i registered.
I'm really liking this story though seems to be coming along at a good pace, tricking AJ into the sky and getting her to enjoy it, good way to bond with each other, can't help but imagine Dash taking AJ for a flight now and Aladdin's song 'A Whole New World' being song. that would be great lol

[Hazama]

The ending of chapter two has been revised to create a lead-in to chapter three, which I'm starting as I post this.