How I Met Yer Mother

by applejackofalltrades

2. A Bit Warm For My Taste

It must have been the hottest day of fall, which wasn't exactly saying much. But still, the lack of that trademark autumn breeze and the nip in the air made Applejack sweat. It was as if the darn pegasi forgot it was fall.

And the pegasi? That was something Applejack had to get used to, too. It's not that she hadn't seen Cloudsdale before—sometimes it floated above Ponyville where she could just make out the giant city in the clouds—but recently, they had stayed there. That sure was… different.

Applejack wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

And just what exactly were they doing up there? Applejack frowned and pressed her hat onto her head. It was weird, calling it her hat. She scowled at the thought and trudged on through the mud, not particularly enjoying the feel of the still-cold mud against her warm fetlocks.

Why couldn't those darn pegasi make up their mind? They could just pick a spot to leave their city and make sure the weather actually made sense. It sounded simple, so why didn't they just do that?

Sighing, Applejack crouched and let the buckets on her back slide onto the ground. She positioned them almost robotically exactly where they should be.

A bead of sweat formed on Applejack's face as she turned her back to the tree. With a sharp exhale, she gave the tree a firm buck. Most of the apples fell into the bucket. Satisfied with that, she gave another buck and cleared the tree of the apples.

The bead of sweat rolled down her face. She groaned.

“Hey.”

Applejack jumped.

“Hah. Made you jump.”

The Stetson-wearing mare looked up, pushing the brim of her hat up so the newfound obstacle wouldn’t get in the way of her vision. “Oh. Hey.”

Rainbow Dash, at least, Applejack thought so, leaned back on the branch. “Wow, it’s been a while, huh?”

If three years counted only as a while. “Sure.”

“Neat hat,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a whistle as she moved her prismatic bangs from her face. “Really adds to the whole cowgirl look.”

Applejack shuffled her hooves. This was an awkward conversation. And yet… “Why are you in my tree again? What, ya can’t fly?”

She couldn't help but smile.

Rainbow Dash scoffed, rolling onto her stomach, and looked down at Applejack. "I can totally fly. I'm just a bit tired and trees are really comfy."

"Really," Applejack deadpanned. "Comfier than those nice, fluffy clouds y'all got up there?" She gazed up at the sky, wondering what sleeping on a cloud would look like.

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Yeah, sure. Although, I can't really sleep when there's some mare kicking trees," she joked. "I mean, what's that about? Are you angry? Cause, sheesh, girl, there's other ways to take out your anger than kicking a poor, defenseless tree."

She had to be kidding. Right? Rainbow Dash was kidding… right? Applejack snorted. "Uh, I'm buckin' the trees," she corrected.

"WOAH," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She recoiled with a grimace. "Applejack, that's gross!"

Unsure if she was joking this time or not, Applejack rolled her eyes. She definitely didn't plan on enabling this or letting Rainbow Dash continue her shenanigans. Instead, she opted for a topic change. "So, Rainbow Dash, I'm assumin' you know a mare called Fluttershy?"

Rainbow perked up at this. She looked straight down at Applejack. "Fluttershy, yeah! Why, do you know her?"

"She tells me about you, y'know," Applejack started, taking a seat under the branch that Rainbow Dash had nestled herself in. "Talks an awful lot about her friend from Cloudsdale who's just the nicest pony and her best friend." She glanced up at Rainbow, who seemed flustered, judging by her slightly red cheeks. "I reckon y'all are like sisters? That's how she talks about you, at least."

Rainbow Dash coughed. "I guess you could say that," she mumbled. After a moment of silence, Rainbow Dash looked around her as if scoping out the area. She then looked down at Applejack, leaning her head down from the branch. "Look, don't tell her I said this, but my parents are helping me buy a house. I'm gonna move it to be above Ponyville so I can visit her more often!"

Though the logistics of keeping a house from drifting away confused Applejack, she nodded. "That's mighty cool of you, Rainbow. I can see why Fluttershy's so fond of you," she admitted. With a wink, she added, "And don't worry, sugarcube, I won't tell her."

Rainbow Dash nodded looking up at the sky with a fond smile. "Hey, who knows, cowgirl… Maybe I'll come visit you some more, too. You seem like fun."

"What?" Applejack asked. "I'm awful busy. Got a whole farm to run and not enough hooves to run it," she admitted with a slight frown. "Don't get me wrong, Rainbow, you're a real nice gal, but I can't get distracted."

Rainbow Dash's smile did not waver as she looked down. "You're friends with Fluttershy, right?"

"Yup," Applejack confirmed, unsure of where Rainbow would take this.

"So, why can you two be friends but not us?"

Applejack sighed. "I don't mean we can't be friends, I just mean ya can't just come here all the time," she clarified. "Fluttershy's my friend 'cause I deliver food for her animals every week, so I see her pretty often."

Rainbow seemed to ponder on that for a moment before letting out a short 'hm'. She stretched out her wings and stood from the branch, effectively knocking down a few loose leaves into the humid wind. "Alright, then, Applejack. So what you're saying is that if there's a reason for me to see you, then we can be friends?"

"Uh—"

"I'll figure something out," Rainbow interrupted. "Trust me. You said you don't have enough hooves on the farm? Well I've got four right here and a set of wings." Rainbow jumped down from the branch, using her wings to catch the air and soften her landing. "I'm sure I can be useful, and in return, you and I can hang out!"

Well, Applejack at least had to admire her tenacity. She'd never met anyone so insistent on being her friend. Rainbow certainly didn't seem like a bad pony, at least. If Fluttershy was her friend, well, that had to mean something, right? Especially if the shy pony spoke so highly of the boisterous pegasus standing in front of her.

Yeah, Rainbow definitely seemed like a good mare.

Applejack smirked, raising an eyebrow. "A little pony like you? You sure you can handle farm work?"

Snorting, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Little," she muttered under her breath before returning her voice to normal. "You bet, country girl. I may be used to flying, but I can work just as hard as you."

Somehow, Applejack doubted that. She didn't want to let Rainbow know that, though, so she simply shrugged. "I guess we'll see," she put simply. "Now, whenever you're ready, swing by the farm at the crack o' dawn and I'll give ya somethin' nice an' easy to do, alright?"

Rainbow Dash saluted (which was strange) and spread her wings, ready to fly. "That's really early, but yeah! Sure thing, cowgirl. Don't forget you're going to hang out with me if I do this."

"We'll get to it," Applejack said with a smile.

"Alright. Now, I gotta go help with my new house. I'll catch you later!"

Applejack took off her hat and waved. "See ya soon, Rainbow!" She fanned her hat in an attempt to cool her face. "Oh, and one more thing…"

Rainbow, who stopped mid ascent, turned to look at Applejack with a curious gaze. "Yeah?"

"Can y'all please make it a little cooler?" Applejack asked with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Sun's beatin' down somethin' fierce an' my body's ready for fall."

"Hah," Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I'll see what I can do." With a final wave, she flew up and away.

Applejack stared until she couldn't see her anymore, then turned back to her tasks, swiping sweat from her face.

The warm tingle of sunlight stopped, and instead was replaced by the slight cool of shade. Surprised, Applejack looked up to see a single batch of clouds appearing over the orchard.

She smiled. "Thanks."

Author's Note:

I just like writing them. I have some more ideas which is good. Wooh! First official update!