I can steal horses with you

by Avellana

Chapter four

Applejack woke up on the sofa where she and Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep the night before. She had one arm flung over the side of the sofa, with the other tucked up close to her chest underneath the warmth of the duvet. There was an empty spot beside her where Rainbow Dash had slept next to her, now empty of all traces of her save for a faint imprint on the old, worn sofa. She sat up, poking her head over the back of the sofa as Rainbow Dash came through from the kitchen with a huge smile spread across her face, holding two mugs in one hand and a plate piled high with toast on the other. She moved around the sofa and set the plate and mugs down on the coffee table in front of them, before maneuvering herself back under the warmth of the duvet. Applejack lifted her arm to fall over Rainbow’s shoulder, kissing her on the forehead lightly while reaching for their mugs, handing Rainbow Dash her own first before taking her own in two hands, appreciating the comfortable flood of warmth that washed over her palms from the contact.

“Morning sleepy head” Rainbow Dash said, sighing happily as she leant her head back on Applejacks lap while sporting a content smile. “We only made it halfway through the movie before you fell asleep on me” She chuckled, yawning slightly as she sat up to take a small sip of her coffee, setting it down on the coffee table in exchange for a slice of toast.

“Mmhh” Applejack mumbled, still fighting down waves of drowsiness as she smiled back at Rainbow Dash. “Thanks” She said, gesturing to the toast and coffee Rainbow had prepared for them both while yawning loudly. She took a large sip of her coffee, humming happily as the hot coffee began working it’s magic almost immediately in waking her up. The pair settled into a comfortable silence, content with one another's company as they slowly worked their way through the mountain of toast and hot coffee. Rainbow Dash had repositioned herself to be lying against Applejack’s side, sticking one leg out of the duvet. Drumming her fingers against the side of her now significantly emptier mug, she kept stealing glances toward Applejack every so often, trying to figure out how she was going to ask Applejack to… to marry her.

Even just thinking about it terrified her, while at the same time impassioned her beyond belief. She could feel her face heating up and her heart beating faster as she imagined the moment in her mind, the look on Applejack’s face as she pulled out the ring she had safely tucked away in her leather jacket as she asked the woman next to her to spend the rest of their lives together. She turned slightly to shield her face from Applejack, hoping she wouldn’t notice her sudden flustered state. Just thinking about that moment filled her with a jittery, excited feeling that coursed through her veins, making her heart beat that much faster and her head spin with dizzying excitement. Once the heat in her cheeks had died down sufficiently Rainbow downed the remains of her coffee in one swift motion, setting her cup down by the now empty toast plate and nestling back down under the duvet with Applejack, using her lap as a pillow to rest her head on.

Applejack glanced downwards at Rainbow Dash with a smile, content to spend the rest of the day cuddled together under the warmth of the duvet. She leant her head softly against Rainbow’s own, holding her now empty mug in one hand while she brushed her loose hair from her face. “So how long are ya here for sugarcube?” Applejack asked, glancing toward the wall clock and taking note of how late they’d slept in.

“I’ve got a couple days till I need to be back” Rainbow Dash replied, stifling a small yawn before continuing. “I got all my assignments done before I left, so I’m all yours”. She grinned up at Applejack with a glint in her eyes, sporting that trademark confidence Applejack had always found so endearing about her. “Though…” Rainbow began again, her usual confidence faltering slightly as she continued. “I do have something planned for this evening…” She said while fighting down waves of anxiety before stammering on the end “Tha- That’s if your free, that is”. She fiddled with her hands while speaking, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Applejack.

“Of course Ah’m free sugarcube” Applejack responded, giving Rainbow Dash a light squeeze in an attempt to lighten her mood. “Though, may Ah ask what it is?”. She smiled at Rainbow supportively, both intrigued and flattered that she had planned something for the two of them.

Rainbow Dash shook her head while trying to think of a good enough excuse, before settling with “It’s a surprise AJ”. She flashed a nervous smile, before adding on “You’ll just have to wait and see I guess”. She reached down for her phone to check the time, wincing slightly as she noticed how late it was, at least by Applejack’s usual standards. “Anyway, that can wait till later” Rainbow Dash said, wanting to change the subject. “What work you got planned for today?” she asked, “Anything I can help with?”.

“Not a lot really sugarcube” Applejack replied, stretching her legs in anticipation of standing up. “Ah’ve been pruning the dead branches from the tree’s in the north orchard for the past few days, and apart from that, just the usual day to day running of the farm”. She stood up, arching her back as she stretched her arms over her head. “Ah’d appreciate the help all the same, it’ll be a good chance for us to catch up with one another”. Rainbow Dash perked up at the invitation, throwing the duvet over the side of the sofa and shooting straight into an over the top warm up stretch, complete with a faux serious expression plastered across her face. Applejack merely chuckled at her small display, picking up their dishes from the coffee table and bringing them to the kitchen as Rainbow Dash quickly gave up on her small performance in favour of following Applejack into the kitchen.

Rainbow Dash cast around for a tea towel while Applejack busied herself with rinsing their dishes, passing them to Rainbow to dry and put away. Once they’d cleared the dishes away, they went upstairs to get changed into some more practical clothes; a pair of loose fitting blue jeans and a black tee shirt for Rainbow, perfecting her look by placing Applejack’s beloved stetson on her head. She checked herself out in the floor mirror in the corner, smirking as she noticed Applejack come up behind her and swipe the hat from her head and place it back on her own in one smooth motion. “Awww come on AJ” Rainbow teased, spinning around on her heels to face her. “That looked good on me”.

“Mmm, in your dreams darlin’” Applejack said over her shoulder, motioning for Rainbow to follow her as she flicked the light switch off and headed out of the room. Rainbow Dash stayed put as Applejack headed downstairs, briefly left alone with her thoughts. She glanced down briefly at her leather jacket, thinking about the ring she had safely tucked away in it’s zipped up pocket. Glancing towards the door briefly to make sure she wouldn’t be seen, Rainbow grabbed the jacket from where it was hung and patted it up and down, feeling for where she’d left the small box that contained the ring, breathing a small sigh of relief upon finding that out of place lump in her left pocket. She breathed a small sigh of relief, before hastily hanging her jacket back on the bedpost and standing up.

“You coming Dash?” Applejack shouted from the bottom of the stairs, having found a pair of boots for her to wear.

“Sure, just a sec” Rainbow Dash called back, jolting back to her senses and jogging downstairs to where Applejack was waiting for her. “I’m good” Rainbow said, tying her hair back into a loose ponytail similar to Applejacks.

Applejack smiled at Rainbow Dash, excited to be spending the whole day with her girlfriend. She leaned in closer to Rainbow and pecked her on the lips lightly, humming happily as she did. “Shall we” Applejack asked, gesturing towards the front door with an excited smirk. Rainbow Dash met her smile with one of her own and nodded, following Applejack out of the house and into the morning sun with a renewed spring in her step.

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The sun was just beginning to dip below the hills of the west Orchard as Applejack and Rainbow Dash finished clearing away the last of the branches they’d cut down. Rainbow Dash let out a deep sigh of relief, flopping down at the base of an old, gnarled apple tree that was set slightly apart from the others. Applejack soon followed her example, gently leaning her tools against the tree trunk and settling down next to Rainbow Dash with a content look on her face. Rainbow leant her head against Applejacks shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the chance to rest her tired limbs for a moment. Applejack sighed happily, leaning her head against the rough bark of the tree and taking a moment to admire the view. The deep green leaves swayed gently in the evening breeze, contrasting darkly against the light blue skies overhead.

“Thanks for today Rainbow” Applejack spoke softly, closing her eyes along with Rainbow Dash as the warmth of the dying sun warmed her body. “This was really nice, spendin’ time with you and all”. Rainbow opened her eyes and smiled at Applejack, wrinkling her nose slightly as she let out a small yawn.

“You too, I had a lot of fun” Rainbow Dash replied. She turned her head to see the sun setting behind the hills, finding herself admiring the hazy mixing of oranges and reds against a canvas of light blue sky, the view carrying with it an air of both comforting familiarity and fiery intrigue that both pushed and pulled at her emotions at the same time.

“Hey Applejack” Rainbow Dash spoke up, turning back to look at her girlfriend. “You wanna go for a drive?”.

Applejack failed to hide the excitement from her voice as she replied “Like we did on your old 125 back in school?!”. She sat up from her lazy position slouched against the tree, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she hurried to stand up on wobbly legs, pulling an equally excited Rainbow Dash along with her.

“Yeah, like that!” Rainbow said, stumbling slightly from Applejacks enthusiastic lift up, before adding “It’s a dry evening, so why not? Besides, I can’t remember the last time we had the chance to go out together really”. Applejack nodded in agreement, taking Rainbow Dash’s hand in her own as the two began walking back to the farm, their brusque walk soon changing into an all out race against one another as the fatigue of the day’s work was soon forgotten, their shared competitive spirit taking over as the low setting sun cast long shadows across the hilly orchards.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, real life things got in the way then I managed to distract myself, but I’m determined to finish this fic! I have the next chapter half written already, so I’m hoping to get that out in the next week or so (don’t hold me to that). I have some plans for a sequel floating around, but nothing solid yet, I’m going to focus on this and give it the justice I feel it deserves.

Till next time